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steveg
06-15-2010, 05:32 AM
Hi there, I have finally plucked up the courage to show off my little project. Hopefully nobody will fall asleep while viewing this thread!!!!

We decided to develop our basement and suddenly all sorts of thoughts started to magically appear in my head(tanks, tanks, tanks).

I work from home and the general idea was to put a big TV/play room in the basement as well as an office so that I could hide away while working. It struck me that it would be nice to have a view in the office and I started putting ideas down on paper.

Finally after receiving the appropriate planning permission from the relevant authorities i.e. calgary city, wife etc the work commenced.

The idea was to create a tank that was visible from both the office as well as the tv room. Plans were drawn up and the framing began:

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera436-Copy.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera437.jpg

The long support was made of 3 x (6x2") nailed together so that there was complete open access to the sump etc from the office side.
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera441.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera442.jpg

The TV side was simply made of 2x4" with a 12" gap:
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera444.jpg

Dimensions for the tank are 84" long x 18" wide by 22" deep. The 2 viewing panels are made of starphire glass. The bottom is 3/4" thick as there will be 5 holes for the closed loop with OM4. The tank is eurobraced.

:biggrin:

Delphinus
06-15-2010, 06:15 AM
Ooh! Fun! Can't wait to see where this goes. :) Jumping aboard!

kien
06-15-2010, 02:14 PM
Its about time :). Now hurry up and post the rest of those pictures :)

mseepman
06-15-2010, 03:21 PM
Hey this sounds great! You haven't mentioned any of the dimension on the tank yet or what kind of equipment you're planning to use.

Love to see these build threads.

DCDN
06-15-2010, 03:25 PM
Going to be following this one

muck
06-15-2010, 03:27 PM
Following along as well.. :mrgreen:

Mark, look at the text under his pics for tank dims... :razz:

steveg
06-15-2010, 07:14 PM
Thanks for reading, equipment is one of the tough decisions, below is a list of the planned equipment, I say planned because like a magpie I have a tendency for shiny things....

Reeflo Dart for a closed loop
OM4 for closed loop
2 x MP40
ETSS 900XR downdarft skimmer with collection canister
Panworld pump - 1000gph for skimmer
Homemade T5 lighting unit - 8 bulbs across and 8' long
Aquacontroller junior
Calcium reactor
Kalkwasser reactor
Marineland MJ3000 return pump
Media reactor for Rowaphos
Other minor bits and pieces

:biggrin:

steveg
06-16-2010, 05:10 AM
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/josoldcamera445.jpg

The next stage was to get the tank in....

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/049.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/048.jpg

And then a little insulation.....

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/057.jpg



An inspection by the site manager!!!



http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/058.jpg

And then some drywall and a few coats of paint.
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/113.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/062.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/112.jpg

steveg
06-16-2010, 05:15 AM
One of the most death defying tricks I have seen in a long time was watching the guys bring the tank in to the house and down the stairs into the basement, they managed to get in in without damaging anything so fair play to them although I imagine their backs will need early retirement if they carry on like that, then again maybe I am just a big girl who needs to man up!

:smile:

simplycoral
06-16-2010, 05:28 AM
Looks Great Steve! :smile:

Always great to see a fellow countryman's tank! How did you make out without the skimmer over the weekend?

S.

steveg
06-16-2010, 05:37 AM
Thanks, I have enjoyed building it and am already looking forward to the next build/upgrade.

The skimmer has turned out quite interesting, as you know the pump died and I had no skimmer over the weekend. Kevin from Red Coral kindly loaned me a reeflo dart to tide me over. I replaced the plumbing to the skimmer and turned it on with great reservation.

The skimmer manufacturer recommends a 1000gph pump to get best results, the dart theoretically kicks out about 3600gph and I had visions of water spraying around etc.

The skimmer has never worked better and almost instantly started producing a lovely thick foam. I must admit all thoughts of replacing the skimmer have been put on hold for the moment. I may well be heading up to RC for a new dart to power the skimmer.:biggrin:

Strange how things work out! Have you got all your bits sold yet?

muck
06-16-2010, 02:23 PM
AWWWWE-SOMME!! :surprise:

simplycoral
06-16-2010, 03:46 PM
Thanks, I have enjoyed building it and am already looking forward to the next build/upgrade.

The skimmer has turned out quite interesting, as you know the pump died and I had no skimmer over the weekend. Kevin from Red Coral kindly loaned me a reeflo dart to tide me over. I replaced the plumbing to the skimmer and turned it on with great reservation.

The skimmer manufacturer recommends a 1000gph pump to get best results, the dart theoretically kicks out about 3600gph and I had visions of water spraying around etc.

The skimmer has never worked better and almost instantly started producing a lovely thick foam. I must admit all thoughts of replacing the skimmer have been put on hold for the moment. I may well be heading up to RC for a new dart to power the skimmer.:biggrin:

Strange how things work out! Have you got all your bits sold yet?


The Dart pump is great. Sooo quiet for such a large pump & you can restrict the output with a gate valve to control the flow without damaging it! which is good.

i have sold around 90% of the equipment now & the tank :smile: I will be listing the remaining equipment shortly.

S.

Wayne
06-17-2010, 01:22 AM
OMG I want!

steveg
06-17-2010, 03:38 AM
I guess I had better get on with this.....:biggrin:

steveg
06-17-2010, 03:46 AM
Electrical supply from mains board, it helps having a brother who can frame as well as being an electrical contractor!!!!!!

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/060.jpg


The top up and water change will be carried out in the mechanical room with an RO unit plumbed into the mains supply, a bit more framing and the tanks were installed.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/119.jpg


The display tank in the wall and the top up system are connected by a pipe in which all of the plumbing runs, it can be seen to the right and top of the frame holding the top up tanks:

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/120.jpg

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:17 AM
The overflow was fitted with a herbie style drain to keep the noise down.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/IMG_2304.jpg

The OM4 connected to a dart was installed beneath the tank, first major mistake! Having drawn out the plan on the floor in the early stages a 24" wide wall looked way too thick so it was decided to go down to an 18" wall. Problem turned out that it was extremely difficult to fit the OM4 and the plumbing in with such a narrow wall. With much scheming and far too many 90 degree bends I finally got it all in.....

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/IMG_2299.jpg

plutoniumJoe
06-17-2010, 04:27 AM
Very exciting build. Can't wait to see the tank and the room. Tagging along.

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:30 AM
Next major mistake turned out to be the same issue, too little space between the walls for any commercially available T5 lighting units that could offer more than 2 bulbs which as I hoped to keep sps would not be very useful.

My brother took me down to EECOL for a visit and I came away armed with commercial 48" T5 ballasts, 8 of them. It turned out that despite the fact that I only had about 10" of space between the walls above the tank I could fit 4 of the commercial ballasts side by side allowing a total of 16 x 48" 54w T5 bulbs over an 8' length.

Better still was the cost, saved a fortune! Bolted together on an aluminium frame and connect to plugs the light was ready to go.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/114.jpg



http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/118.jpg

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:43 AM
I had seen an amazing tank - http://www.underseadiscovery.net/ which used an ETSS skimmer, thought to myself, that looks good to me so I departed from the needle wheel skimmers I have used in the past and got the 900XR with a collection vessel. The recommended pump for this downdraft skimmer is an iwaki 55RLT, I was advised that an equivalent pan world would do the job equally as well and went down that route "saving" some money.

The skimmer did not perform as well as I had expected until the pump died. Kevin from Red Coral in Calgary offered to loan me a dart pump which is 3600gph, over 3 times more gph than is recommended. I changed the plumbing and fired up the beast expecting to have to make serious use of the ball valves I had installed to reduce the flow. What a difference, Kevin will have to surgically remove the dart from me!!!! Thanks kevin.

Anyhow the skimmer is now working like a dream and producing well, decide for yourselves...

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/IMG_2300.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/IMG_2302.jpg

The collection vessel comes with a built in shut off to prevent the skimmate from overflowing if it gets too full, it works too!

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/IMG_2303.jpg

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:44 AM
Thanks, hope you enjoy.


Very exciting build. Can't wait to see the tank and the room. Tagging along.

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:52 AM
Plus some rock, sand, sump, chaeto, return pump, plumbing and electrics and you get this:


http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/various2009215.jpg

I always liked the look of pinnacles and tried to make something similar in the tank.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/various2009216.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/various2009217.jpg

Nothing quite like a bit of hair algae to make you feel good.......

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:55 AM
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/tank%20buildv1/various2009213.jpg

andestang
06-17-2010, 04:56 AM
This is shaping up to be a really nice build. Looks great so far ! Just curious why you went with 18" wide and not just a little wider ?

steveg
06-17-2010, 05:02 AM
Thanks for tagging along, I chose 18" as 24" looked very very wide in relation to the room and the wall. In retrospect it was the single biggest mistake I made in this build, still I have learned a lot and will be putting this in to use next time, assuming there is a next time of course.

If I did it all over again it would be at least 24" wide and perhaps even 30" wide, still I am nonetheless very pleased with how things have been going lately. I will post more pictures in the next day or 2.

Thanks

Steve


This is shaping up to be a really nice build. Looks great so far ! Just curious why you went with 18" wide and not just a little wider ?

andestang
06-17-2010, 06:16 AM
Sorry I just missed all those great pics you posted just before I posted. Must say your DIY light set up really lights the tank up, looks awesome :mrgreen: Are you going to run any kind of NR system or just stick with good old water changes ?

lastlight
06-17-2010, 07:17 AM
Interesting build. You've done well considering the narrow tank.

Do those bulbs have reflectors?

kien
06-17-2010, 11:14 AM
Thanks for tagging along, I chose 18" as 24" looked very very wide in relation to the room and the wall. In retrospect it was the single biggest mistake I made in this build, still I have learned a lot and will be putting this in to use next time, assuming there is a next time of course.

If I did it all over again it would be at least 24" wide and perhaps even 30" wide, still I am nonetheless very pleased with how things have been going lately. I will post more pictures in the next day or 2.

Thanks

Steve

Go 30" ! Going 24" wide on mine was the single biggest mistake of my build :lol: Wish I had gone 36" :biggrin:

fishoholic
06-17-2010, 03:50 PM
Thanks for tagging along, I chose 18" as 24" looked very very wide in relation to the room and the wall. In retrospect it was the single biggest mistake I made in this build, still I have learned a lot and will be putting this in to use next time, assuming there is a next time of course.

If I did it all over again it would be at least 24" wide and perhaps even 30" wide, still I am nonetheless very pleased with how things have been going lately. I will post more pictures in the next day or 2.

Thanks

Steve

I was wondering about that, now I know. I would definatly have a wider tank over a taller tank any day. Really wish my big tanks were shorter and wider, longer would be nice too.

However that being said the tank looks good.

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:33 PM
Thanks for the comments, I am kind of lazy so when I looked at either relying on water changes or going zeovit I chose the water changes. I have seen so many amazing tanks that use the old school water changes plus ca reactor and kalkwasser that it seemed like the best choice for me.

Having said that the new NP Biopellets offer a relatively maintenance free method of reducing nutrients and I will definitely be trying it out. I belive there have been some encouraging results using the pellets and the cost is far less tha zeovit.

I like feeding a tank so any additional nutrient removal system that does not involve large amonts of effort will definitley get my vote::biggrin:

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:53 PM
Interesting build. You've done well considering the narrow tank.

Do those bulbs have reflectors?

This is an interesting question, I was quite disappointed when I realised I could not fit an ATI unit in the wall. I went as I mentioned to EECOL with my brother, he introduced me to the lighting specialist there. I showed him the specs of the ATI modules and discussed how best I could get something similar.

He scoffed at some of the claims regarding the reflectors and stated that the powder white finish on their standard reflectors would give almost the same results, possibly a few percent less and then defied anyone to point out the difference except perhaps by using specific measuring equipment. I guess you have to accept the "salesman" factor to a degree but I have to say I have had some pretty good growth already from a few frags I put in.

I am using the normal assortment of KZ, geisemann and aquascience bulbs, I may be tweaking the colour scheme but am very happy with the overall result. However you look at it, a difference of 4-5% on reflectors is not going to make a significant difference to my tank when I have 8 bulbs across a 10" gap. Put your shades on corals!!!!!

I am using an aquacontroller junior and each of the ballasts is controlled by the controller so it has been very easy to turn the light up as the day progresses and the down again to simulate what should occurr naturally. I have better control over this light unit than the metal halide and T5 unit I had over my last tank and I definitely prefer the colours.

I intend to put some white LED bulbs over the tank to provide the ripple effect that you dont get with T5. I saw a tank in England that had an LED strip over it and the shimmer was fantastic.

Thanks for following.

steveg
06-17-2010, 04:56 PM
Go 30" ! Going 24" wide on mine was the single biggest mistake of my build :lol: Wish I had gone 36" :biggrin:

So when are you going to upgrade to the 36" wide tank?:biggrin:

steveg
07-19-2010, 03:38 PM
Well it has been a little while and things have changed quite a bit now, my skimmer collection vessel that theoretically should prevent overflows did not quite do the job, something happened overnight and when I came down in the morning there was a large stinking mess of skimmate and tank water over the new carpet....

Needless to say my shares at home took a major plunge if you know what I mean!

I cleaned up as best I could and then tried to make sense of it all, cut a long story short I decided to change skimmer to something a little more conventional and ended up with a vertex 170 cone, best decision I have made in a while for sure:

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/20072010017.jpg

The build quality is superb and within a very short period it has started pulling out some really thick skimmate.

I would like to say a big thanks to Kevin at RC for helping me through this major problem, I did not loose a single coral or fish despite the disaster with the old skimmer and a lot of that is down to the first class service that I received.

:biggrin:

steveg
07-19-2010, 03:45 PM
I have been slowly stocking the tank and now feel it is starting to show some promise:

View from the TV side:

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/20072010001.jpg

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/20072010003.jpg


View from the office side:

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/steveggardner/20072010020.jpg


I may have to consult the section on photography so that I can get the colours right but it gives a rough idea of what has happened in the last few months. :biggrin:

Zoaelite
07-19-2010, 03:58 PM
Great looking tank, I love the idea of bringing the liverock all the way to the surface. Very excited to see this thing packed with coral!

bauder1986
07-19-2010, 05:15 PM
I always loved built in tanks. Tagging along!

snow1
07-19-2010, 06:30 PM
I like your tank it looks really good so far indeed.:)