abcha0s' 300G Ultimate Reef [Archive] - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:13 AM

Quick Links : Page 2 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=66389&page=2) | Page 3 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=66389&page=3) | Page 4 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=66389&page=4)

Forward.......................................Post 1
Milestones....................................Post 3 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534760&postcount=3)
Guiding Principals............................Post 4 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534761&postcount=4)
Hardware......................................Post 5 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534762&postcount=5)
Prelude: Waves................................Post 6 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534763&postcount=6)
Tank Builder..................................Post 7 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534765&postcount=7)
Designing the Tank............................Post 8 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534766&postcount=8)
Designing the Overflow........................Post 9 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534767&postcount=9)
Designing the Stand...........................Post 10 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534768&postcount=10)

Designing the Sump (100G).....................Post 11 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534769&postcount=11)
Putting it all together.......................Post 12 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534770&postcount=12)
The build.....................................Post 13 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534771&postcount=13)
Tank Images...................................Post 14 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534773&postcount=14)
Plumbing the Overflow and Return..............Post 15 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534774&postcount=15)
Fresh water testing...........................Post 16 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534775&postcount=16)
Details (Black, Floor, HRV, Screen Top).......Post 17 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534776&postcount=17)
Tank Leveling.................................Post 18 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534777&postcount=18)
Water Prep and Salt Mixing....................Post 19 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534778&postcount=19)
Continuous Water Change.......................Post 20 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534779&postcount=20)

Specialized Hardware
• Electrical..................................Post 21
• Sequencing and Automation...................Post 22 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534781&postcount=22)
• Neptune Apex Controller(s)..................Post 23 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534783&postcount=23)
• Flow (Tunze 6215, 6205 / VorTech MP60w ES)..Post 24
• Autofeeders.................................Post 25 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534785&postcount=25)
• Lighting....................................Post 26
• Heating and Cooling.........................Post 27 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534787&postcount=27)
• Reactor Loop (biopellets, carbon, phos).....Post 28
• Tunze Master DOC 9440 Skimmer...............Post 29
• ATO (Automatic Top Off).....................Post 30

Aquascaping - Part I of III...................Post 31 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534791&postcount=31)
- Supporting the structure
Aquascaping - Part II of III..................Post 32 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534792&postcount=32)
- Building the aquascape
Aquascaping - Part III of III.................Post 33 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534793&postcount=33)
- Sandscape

Life
• Fish........................................Post 34
• Corals......................................Post 35
• Inverts.....................................Post 36
• Refugium....................................Post 37
• Quarantine..................................Post 38

Opperation
• Night Mode, other, .........................Post 39

Temporary Notes
• Post 39 - Currently an experimental CWC

Progressions
• Full Tank Shots (FTS).......................Post 40 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534802&postcount=40)

Other Threads

My 90G Tank - http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=73619

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:13 AM

2010
* March -- Inception
* May 09 – Agreement in principal with tank builder
* Jun 03 – Final draft of tank and sump
* Jun 09 – Final iteration of the stand delivered
* Jun 17 – Tank build starts
* Jul 14 – Tank build concludes
* Jul 31 - Overflow and return plumbing complete
* Aug 02 - Fresh water tests - the tank sees water!
* Aug 18 - Ordered 300 pounds of Dry Rock from BRS

2011
* Jan 03 - Aquascaping Complete
* Jan 06 - Began filling tank (100GPD RO/DI)
* Jan 09 - Tank is full / Tunze wavebox operational
* Jan 11 - SG at 1.024
* Jan 12 - Cycle started
* Jan 13 - Skimmer online (Breakin started) / Biopellets online
* Jan 16 - Neptune Apex online
* Jan 23 - Added 240 pounds of live sand to the tank.
* Feb 06 - First fish added
* Feb 22 - Continuous Water Chanage System - Opperational
* Feb 23 - Sand in Refugium
* Mar 03 - First frag in tank (SPS)
* Mar 25 - Let there be light - Vertex Illumina 260
* Apr 09 - School of Anthias arrive
* Apr 14 - Biopellets offline
* Apr 28 - Calcium Reactor Online
* Apr 28 - Added smallish cleanup crew
* Apr 29 - First fish transferred from 90G - Pair of Clowns

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:14 AM

What makes the perfect tank? Ask a dozen people and I’m sure that you’ll get a dozen opinions.

I think it’s important to start with a set of guidelines for making decisions throughout the build. Any choice can be compared against these principals and it should either meet or exceed the minimums. It’s also important that there is some consideration to the overall cost basically ruling out things like Red Dragon pumps for my return lines.

Mechanics
• Extremely quiet – silent if possible
• Low power consumption
• Low maintenance – automate everything possible
• Redundancy and failure planning

Lighting and Flow
• Ridiculously High flow.
• Intense lighting but with consideration to heat transfer and power costs.

Filtration
• Live rock (about 1 pound per gallon) – Should be interesting without being dominant
• Shallow sand bed
• Powerful skimming
• Carbon and GFO as needed
• NP Biopellets or whatever comes next

Livestock
• Mixed reef. SPS dominated.
• High bio-load

Impact on house
• The system should be essentially self contained and not require any renovations to install or tear down. I have access to the ceiling and the furnace room for additional equipment, but building a fish room is not feasible.
• Impact on relative humidity must be managable.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:14 AM

This section might be a little dry and I don’t actually expect anyone to read it. Just thought I should list the hardware for completeness.

Control:
• Neptune Systems Apex
..Probes: Ph, ORP, Temp, Salinity
..Modules: 2 x EB8, Breakout Box (6 sensors), Probe Module 2, Wireless Expansion Module (WXM)
• Neptune Systems Apex Lite – For redundancy
..Probes: Ph, Temp
..EB8, DC8, DC4HD, Breakout Box (6 sensors)

Lighting:
• Main Display: Vertex Illimunia 260 - 6ft
• Refugium / Frag Tank: Coralife AquaLight Pro MH HQI Clamp-On Pendant (150W)

Skimming:
• Tunze Master DOC 9440 (.2010)
• BubbleKing Mini 180 v2 (.2008)

Flow:
• Tunze Wavebox 6215
• 2 x Tunze 6205 Powerheads
• 2 x Vortex MP60w ES Powerheads

Return Pumps:
• 2 x Eheim 1262 (900Gph – Max Head 11’6”)

Reactors:
• 2 x Vertex UF-20 Universal Media Reactors (Biopellets)
• 2 x TLF Phosban 150 (Carbon, GFO)
• Eheim Compact+ Pump 5000

Calcium:
• PM Kalkwasser Mixer
• Vertex RX-6 Duo Calcium Reactor

ATO:
• 2 x Tunze Osmolator

Heaters:
• 4 x Finnex 300W Titanium Heaters

Chiller:
• None

RO/DI:
• Kent Marine Maxxima 50GPD – Shutoff Kit and Manual Flush Bipass
• Vertex Puratek RO/DI 100GPD
• 2 x John Guest Solenoid

Water Change
• The LiterMeter III Paristaltic Pump
• LiterMeter III Remote Pump Module
• 2 x Quiet One 3000 Water Pump
• 1 x Pan World 150PS Water Pump

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:15 AM

I’m not sure what triggered it, but at some point I became obsessed with having a wave in my tank. It would seem to be the ultimate in energy efficiency vs. total water movement and in my opinion provides a very natural look to the tank. However, waves come at a price. In particular, they place added strain on the tank and stand that needs to be considered as part of the design and directly translates to increased construction costs.

After considerable research to identify the pros and cons of the Tunze Wavebox vs. the Vortex power heads, I concluded that for pure wave generation the Tunze had several advantages. Most importantly it is thought to be somewhat quieter.

Tunze publishes the following warnings:

TUNZE® Nano Wavebox and Wavebox is not a conventional flow-producing device for aquariums. Misuse or faulty operation may cause a hazard for the aquarium. Under certain circumstances, Nano Wavebox and Wavebox may constitute a risk for unsuitable tanks and may lead to water damage.

Please observe the following warnings:

Nano Wavebox and Wavebox operate according to the resonance principle and produce large water movements at a very low energy consumption (1).
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze1.gif

For such low electric power, the water circulation produced should never be underestimated! The aquarium should be high enough to hold the water variations (2)!
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze2.gif

The glass bonding adhesive should be especially strong and stable. The load on the bonding adhesive of the aquarium panes and on the aquarium pane itself is higher than without wave operation (3).
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze3.gif

The aquarium has to be produced on the basis of the Timoshenko formula (see <Tunze provides a dead link>) (4).
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze4.gif

Most aquariums are produced according to this formula (glass thickness and bonding adhesion).

The cabinet or the aquarium furniture, if and when applicable, should be especially stable and should be able to withstand dynamic weights. Risk of breakage in case of weak constructions!

I took these cautions to heart. Everyone I talked with had their own opinion of how these considerations related to the tank design, but no one could offer anything more than an opinion. If all you have to rely on is the opinion of various non experts, then at the end of the day you have to do the research and come up with the answers that you are comfortable with. If no one can tell you definitively what the implications are, then overbuild.

No one I spoke with about the design even considered the stand as being impacted by the wave motion.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:15 AM

I talked to all of the LFS owners about my project, but in the end I actually just got lucky and through a fellow Canreefer I met the guys from Concept Aquarium. Honestly, after getting to know the owner, the decision to have them build my tank was an easy one. These guys are passionate about big tanks and quality builds. If you’re having a tank built, I highly recommend talking to them.

The hard part was telling the other stores that someone else was building my tank. It was somewhat awkward and I regret this aspect of the overall experience.

Please feel free to contact me if you are considering a custom tank. I’d be happy to share my experience in more detail.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:16 AM

The Inspiration - Everyone wants a bigger tank, right? I thought I’d be happy with my 90 gallon reef for a couple of years. I thought I would wait to see how life played out before investing in anything bigger. Maybe not.

I was in Big Al’s and they have an amazing 250G tank on display. My wife looked at it and said “that’s about what you want, isn’t it?”

The tank we were looking at was the Marinland Deep Dimension 250G with Starphire front and dual corner overflows. There is also a 300G version which is currently the largest tank available in mass manufacturing. While these tanks have some limitations, I must say they are absolutely beautiful. There are really only a couple of things which I don’t like about these tanks. The overflows are poorly designed. The cross bracing makes access to the tank awkward and limits lighting, and they are very heavy. Marineland told me that the dry weight of the 300G is 650 pounds.

I started asking around at various LFS’ (and searching Canreef) and the draw of the perfect tank began pulling at me. Why invest all of this time and money into something that is “nice”. It was at this point that I decided to have a custom tank built.

Tank Criteria – What makes a perfect tank? – I know there is no absolute answer to this question, but I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted.

• Designed for a wave. - This highlighted structural concerns for both the tank and the stand. It influenced the overflow design. This was the most expensive criteria and likely added over $2K+ to the build cost.
• Starphire on front and sides.
• Eurobracing with no cross bracing.
• Polished glass on all visible edges.
• Modified External Beananimal Overflow – Dead silent, completely stable and fully redundant.

Most importantly – If I was going to have a custom tank built, it had to be built on-site.

General Tank Specifications

Shape: Standard rectangle

Tank Dimensions: Length 72”, Depth 37 & ¼”, Height 28” panel + thickness of Eurobracing

Glass:
• Front - 5/8” Starphire Glass
• Sides - 5/8” Starphire Glass
• Bottom - ¾” Float Glass
• Back - 5/8” Float Glass
• Inside cleat - ½” or 5/8” Float Glass
• Top Euro - 5/8" Starphire Glass
• Overflow - ½” Float Glass

Edges: All visible edges polished. Micro beveled.

Bracing: Top Eurobracing, Bottom Cleats

Overflow: External Cup – 3 Bulkheads for Beananimal overflow

Extras: Polished Glass cover for overflow

Options: Black Silicon

Designing for a wave – Overflow size and placement
All else being equal, I would have designed a coast to coast overflow, or at least as long as I could possibly make it. I really believe this is the ideal design, but a wave creates a pivot point and a coast to coast overflow doesn’t really make sense here especially if the goal if for silent operation. I settled on a width of 1/3 the total tank length positioned in the centre. Also, making the overflow external makes sense for many reasons but is really a requirement for a wave tank.

Designing for a Wave - Glass Thickness
There is a good chart available at about.com here:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/planasystem/ig/Guide-Charts--Tables--Diagrams/Glass-Thickness-Calculator.htm

The first question is whether this chart considers bracing. The answer appears to be that the chart is for rimless tanks and at the recommended thicknesses does not require bracing.

For a 6 foot span at 27" high, the chart suggests that 16mm glass would provide a safety factor of 4.04. At 30 inches high, 16mm glass would provide a safety factor of 3.20 - The recommended guideline for the safety factor is a minimum of 3.8.

My tank Is 28" high, but I'm not sure If you count the bottom 3/4" as this is the thickness of the bottom sheet. Also, with the overflow being 2" below the top of the tank, the water level when flat would be just over 25" from top to bottom. Therefore, I feel reasonably safe in the 27" calculation.

Side Note: Starphire glass is manufactured at a thickness of 15mm where normal float glass is standard at 16mm. I do believe that the 1mm difference in thickness is worthy of consideration when compared against a recommendation for 16mm, although I can only guess at how the numbers would change.

The consideration for the wave was really just to include the eurobracing in the design even though the calculations suggest that 16mm glass is sufficient for a rimless tank. While I was never able to figure out the math or find a calculator that considered eurobracing, I figure it is sufficiently overbuilt. Further, I opted for cleats on the bottom, which are sometimes called bottom eurobracing. I'm not sure these were necessary either, but with them I am certain that the tank will be strong enough.

Google Sketchup is my friend - If you haven't worked with google sketchup, let me tell you that it is a lot of fun. I had to go through several of the available tutorials to figure it out, but the end result was really helpful in visualizing various different design considerations.

These are the pictures that I gave to the builder:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign1.jpg
Figure 1: Showing the tank dimensions

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign2.jpg
Figure 2: Placement of the return lines (3/4” bulkhead)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign3.jpg
Figure 3a: Showing the external overflow dimensions and the overflow cover (right).

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign4.jpg
Figure 3b: Showing the placement and width of the overflow.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign5.jpg
Figure 3c: Overflow bottom glass – Dimensions and bulkhead spacing.

Note: Holes are to be drilled for 1.5” Bulkheads requiring a 2.5” hole.

I understand that the minimum safe distance from the edge that a hole can be drilled in glass is the radius of the hole. For a 2.5” hole, the radius is 1.25”. The math is pretty easy when the hole is centered (2.5” + 1.25” + 1.25”) and works out to 5”

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/TankDesign6.jpg
Figure 4: Glass cut sheets.

Addendum I - If I had a do over

I love my tank, but perhaps it's not perfect. If I could do it over, I would have gone with a thicker glass (3/4" instead of 5/8"). I would have reduced the height by a couple of inches and I would have gone rimless. The Eurobracing would not be needed in this scenario and the added cost for the thicker glass would be offset by the savings in the Eurobracing.

Addendum II- Maybe not

I have changed my mind about the Eurobracing again. I love it. It's not just a structural thing. The bracing really helps to make to the tank managable. It creates a really nice platform for things like screen tops. It keeps splashes in the tank. It looks good too.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:17 AM

The basic concept for the overflow is based on an article by Beananimal. The article and subsequent discussion is also posted on RC. The original document can be found here:

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

I built the overflow on my existing tank exactly as the article describes including a coast to coast internal overflow. From this, I know that it works and I am confident employing it on my new tank with some modifications.

Some key points:

• Use slip bulkheads within the overflow so that standpipes can be modified with relative ease. Do not glue/weld standpipe to bulkhead.
• Limit the distance which water falls freely within the overflow. A 1/4" should be sufficient.

Here is my design as a starting point:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/overflow1.jpg

At this time, I haven't drilled the holes into the overflow standpipe. I am not convinced it will make any difference, but I may revisit this. The holes were intended to be drilled into the top section of the secondary standpipe and should allow the flow of water to increase gradually as the water level rises. This is the variance and is the range between which the system can be tuned.

I had originally thought to put the emergency standpipe slightly higher than the top of the overflow, but it occurred to me that this increased the risk of a return pump running dry. The display tank and sump have inversely related water levels. To raise the water level above the overflow in the main tank, the water must come out of the sump system. I settled on positioning the emergency standpipe at exactly the height of the overflow.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:17 AM

Designing the stand was a lot easier than the tank, but not without its challenges and mistakes. In fact, I made some big mistakes. I started by talking to a welder who proposed a standard 6 leg stand built like a box with an open bottom. He recommended two inch square tubular steel. This was his design.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/stand1.jpg

According to the welder, the bottom brace isn’t necessary as the downward force would prevent it from slipping. I think he’s probably correct, but I was happy with design because of the extra two inches of height that it affords assuming a plywood bottom.

The stand was designed with adjustable brackets for the lighting which are not shown in my sketchup diagrams. I don’t honestly know if I will use these, but I figured they would be nice to have (just in case). If I can use them I will, but it’s a little too early to say.

The first modification to the design that I made was to extend the platform beyond the back of the tank. The idea was to increase the under tank space and therefore maximize the space I would have available for a sump. The added benefit was that it provided a path for the overflow plumbing to enter the under tank area through the top of the stand at a straight vertical rather than through the back of the stand.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/stand2.jpg

I had the stand shown above built, powder coated and delivered. It was sitting in my garage waiting to be moved to the basement.

I made the mistake of doing additional research after having the stand built. I came across a great thread on RC titled ‘Lets see those steel stands (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1330053)’ (My stand shows up towards the bottom of page 44 (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1330053&page=44))

For anyone researching stand construction, this thread is a must read. One of the common themes in the various designs is bracing or gussets. You will notice that my stand doesn’t have any bracing or gussets. Is that a problem? – Well, here again we are back to opinions of non experts and the ultimate responsibility being your own.

I asked everyone including posting my stand to the thread referenced above. The majority opinion was that the stand was strong enough, but it’s not so simple. My biggest concern was the oscillating nature of the weight distribution due to the wave action. I basically became paranoid about the possibility of repetitive stress on the stand. I equate the risk to two strong guys on either side of the tank, which weighs over 3000 pounds, pushing back and forth once every second for 10 years. Would the welds fail? Would the failure be catastrophic or observable before failure occurred?

I can only assume that the math involved in calculating the risk factor would be ridiculously complex. It would require knowing the breaking strength of the welds, the actual shift in weight due to the wave and the effects of repetitive stress on welds.

In the end, I had the bracing welded on. This required grinding off parts of the original powder coating, welding the braces and having the whole stand powder coated again.

This is the design I gave the welder:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/stand3.jpg

The braces are intended to protect against the racking resulting from sway. The placement and number of braces was based on two considerations.

• The first consideration was minimal obstruction to the inside of the stand. Placement was based on the sump design and planned equipment.
• The second consideration was to reinforce the beams which run at spans of between 36” along the length and 40” front to back. This consideration actually backfired as welding the braces in place may have actually caused some deflection in the beams. I am trusting the plywood and stytrofoam to even this out.

Another lesson I learned is that it’s much cheaper to drop the stand off for powder coating yourself vs. having the welder do it for you. Having the powder coating redone is a lot more work because of the prep time required and the total cost was about half what the welder charged me. Ironically, when I dropped off the stand to be re powder coated, they recognized it having done it once already.

Here is a picture of the finished stand:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/stand4a.jpg

Stand Dimensions

Note: According to the tank builder, it is standard to add an extra ¼” in length and ¼” in depth to the stand dimensions.

Height – 30” – This is standard height for an aquarium stand. The stand has to be able to fit through all of the doorways!

Width – 72 ¼” – The aquarium will be 72” long + ¼” safety.

Depth – 42 ½” – The aquarium will be 37 ½” deep + ¼” safety + 2.5” + 2”

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:18 AM

I’ve seen some really nice and very creative sumps. However, most of these are meant to maximize a very limited space under the display tank. With such a large stand for this build, space isn’t really the primary consideration and a lot of the creative solutions don’t really apply.

I came up with a fairly basic design.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sump1.jpg

The compartments in order from left to right are:

• In – This is where water will enter the sump. The baffle will reduce turbulence before it enters the skimmer chamber.
• Skimmer Chamber – I designed it to be large enough to hold two skimmers. I will likely start with just one, but may add another.
• Frags or refugium or both
• Return (evaporation occurs here) – Live rock rubble.

Bulk Heads

• The two bulkheads in the first chamber are intended for a closed loop between the sump and my water room. More on that later.
• The two bulkheads in the last chamber are intended for dual return pumps.

Water Volume – Pumps Running

Note: I’m not concerned about precision here – numbers are rounded for glass thickness and to error on the side of safety.

• (7 x 10 x 24 / 231) + (18 x 9 x 24 / 231) + (27 x 8.5 x 24 / 231) + (12 x 7.5 x 24 /231) =
• 7.273 + 16.83 + 23.84 + 9.35 = ~57 gallons

Water Volume – Total Capacity and safety considerations

Total volume is: 65 x 24 x 16 / 231 = ~108 gallons

Free space = 108 – 57 = 51 gallons

1” of water in the display tank is: 36 x 72 x 1 / 231 = 11.22 gallons

I should be able to accommodate for 4 inches of water back siphoning from the main tank.

(50 / 12)

Water Volume – Return Chamber

This is important at it effects the time before disaster in the event that all of the ATO systems in place fail. If for example the ro/di reservoir runs dry, water will evaporate from this section of the sump until the pumps run dry.

• 1 inch in this chamber holds 1.25 gallons of water: (12 x 24 x 1 / 231)

The pumps will start sucking air when the water level reaches about 3.5 inches. Therefore, I safely have about 4 inches to work with or 5 gallons of water. The rate of evaporation will be dependent on the amount of evaporative cooling required. I would estimate this at somewhere just short of 24 hours.

I considered a down turned elbow to bring the pump intake to about 1” from the bottom. The benefit being increased water volume at the cost of increased flow resistance. I probably won’t do this.

Guiding Principal

The main consideration with the sump was flexibility. I find it very hard to plan everything without the spatial benefits of seeing the space available. The sump should be usable in ways that I hadn’t originally considered. Suggestions are welcome?

Last Minute Modifications – The builder offered to drill a second hole in the first chamber (IN). I’m not sure it was necessary, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. If I don’t use it, I can always plug it with a bulkhead and some plumbing. Also, the two holes drilled in the last chamber (return) were too close together, so I had a third hole drilled. I will cap the middle hole or possibly use it as a drain.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:18 AM

The tank should fit together something like this:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_stand1.jpg

There is a ¾” sheet of maple plywood that sits directly on top of the stand. There is ¾” Styrofoam (Check manufacturer part #) that sits between the tank and the plywood. The idea is that any imperfections in the plywood surface are minimized by the Styrofoam. The design also builds in an extra degree of safety.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_stand2.jpg

As I understand it, there is a little bit of a debate over whether glass tanks can or should be rested on Styrofoam. It seems to be a requirement for acrylic tanks, but there are two schools when it comes to glass. Many store bought tanks have a one-piece injection molded frame that goes around the edges of the tank. These tanks are intended to have a free floating bottom and Styrofoam is not recommended by the manufactures. I would add that some people still use Styrofoam anyway (including me on my previous tank), but others have had real problems including cracked bottom panels. Even though this tank is glass, the particular style of construction requires a Styrofoam layer between the glass and plywood.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_stand3.jpg

Here you can start to get a feel for how the overflow plumbing will be brought into the lower section of the stand. It did become apparent after the fact that there may be insufficient depth in the stand for the overflow plumbing to be rigid. Flex PVC overcomes this obstacle and is probably a better solution anyway.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_stand4.jpg

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:19 AM

This was the fun part. If you've never watched an aquarium being built, it might be really interesting. For me, it was inspiring.

I have to say again how impressed I was with the tank builder. As you go through the following slides, I think you'll see that this was not their first tank.

<< Images are clickable – View the images in hi-res >>

I'll spare you the commentary. A picture is worth a thousand words.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild001.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild001.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild002.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild002.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild003.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild003.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild004.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild004.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild005.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild005.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild006.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild006.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild007.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild007.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild009.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild009.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild008.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild008.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild010.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild010.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild011.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild011.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild014.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild014.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild012.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild012.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild013.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild013.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild015.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild015.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild016.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild016.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild017.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild017.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__TankBuild019.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_TankBuild019.jpg)

The tank was assembled as shown in these pictures in one evening. The cleats and Eurobracing were attached during a second visit. The overflow was attached during the third visit and cleanup was completed on the forth and final visit.

It not's hard to understand why a site build costs more than having the tank built at the shop. If you consider the cost of delivering such a large tank, I was happy to pay a little extra to have it built on-site.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the Eurobracing being assembled or the overflow. However, the final tank pictures show these features well.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:19 AM

Not sure what to say? - Here it is...

<< Images are clickable – View the images in hi-res >>

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank001.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank001.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank002.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank002.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank004.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank004.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank005.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank005.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank006.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank006.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank007.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank007.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank008.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank008.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank009.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank009.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank010.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank010.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank011.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank011.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_glasstank003.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/glasstank003.jpg)

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:20 AM

<< Images are clickable – View the images in hi-res >>

When I plumbed my 90G, it took me 6 months. Plumbing the 300 took me about 6 hours. I enjoy the creative aspect of plumbing.

A couple of tricks that I’ve learned over the year.
• Always use primer on hard PVC. Never use primer on flex PVC.
• Always dry fit everything first.
• Wipe off excess PVC cement. Both inside and out. Disassemble couplers when gluing so as to allow access to wipe of excess cement.
• Plumbing at the pump intake should be short and direct. If this is not possible, a larger diameter pipe should be used and the diameter should be reduced right before the pump. Minimize resistance on the intake.
• Elbows before the intake of a pump can be a source of microbubbles.
• Align the couplers uniformly throughout all runs. This allows any section to be replaced with a single coupler (one piece on each end of the section).
• Use two 45s rather than a 90 wherever possible.
• Use flex PVC wherever possible. Always attach pumps to a section of flex PVC.
• Don’t allow plumbing to stress the tank glass by acting as a lever.
• Use a silicone lubricant on all O rings.
• PVC is easy to ‘cut to size’ with a dremel. If a piece is just a little too big, cut it down. Make your own fittings.
• Make sure you have a way to isolate any pumps for maintenance or in case of a failure.

These aren’t really guidelines so much as rules. Short cuts here are just not worth it.

Return Pump Selection

For my return I selected the Eheim 1262. For redundancy, I will use two of them. This was not an easy decision and I researched many other great pumps, but in the end, the only other pump that came close was a Red Dragon. At 4 to 5 times the cost per pump and no spare parts, the Red Dragon pumps are really hard to justify.

The biggest limitation of the Eheim pump is that it does not have high flow like many of the other return pumps on the market. However, I’m not sure that high flow through the sump is really necessary. I only want enough turn-over through the sump to keep my skimmer happy. This is just short of 700gph or slightly more than twice the display capacity.

The Eheim specs that were important to me in making this selection are:

• External
• Low heat transfer
• Quiet operation
• Max output: 900gph (estimate at 600 after 8 feet of head loss)
- Two pumps should give apq 1200gph
• Power consumption: 80W per pump.
- Two pumps would be 160W

Another very important thing is the ability to get spare parts or a replacement pump if necessary. Just about everyone stocks these pumps and parts are often available.

Finally, Eheim has a great reputation and the average user ratings are almost always good. I have used them for other purposes and agree with the general consensus.

Modding the Eheim for PVC plumbing

Eheim pumps come standard with barbed fittings for flex tube. This is pretty standard stuff with fresh water tanks, but didn’t really work with my plans for plumbing. I really needed a way to connect a PVC fitting.

The pumps are fitted with ¾” FPT (Female Pipe Thread), but I’m not sure how standard the threading is. Typically this thread would be tapered causing the male and female threads to jam together forming a solid connection. However, the Eheim thread does not appear to be tapered. The obvious concern is an inadequate seal resulting in leaks. Teflon tape might address this, but I suspect a lot would be needed and it would need to be reapplied whenever the pump was disconnected for cleaning. The original part is shown here.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim001.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim001.jpg)

Note the ‘O’ ring just before the hex head. This is how Eheim maintains a water tight seal. I figured 'why reinevent the wheel'. If the 'O' ring works - keep it.

Using a dremel, I cut the barb adapter off.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim002.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim002.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim003.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim003.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim006.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim006.jpg)

The top view shows a relatively straight inner core. I rounded it out a little in hopes of minimizing turbulence. The concern here is micro bubbles.

For the intake I used a 1” to ¾” PVC reducer. This worked really well because of the hex shape matching the Eheim hex to within millimeters. For the outtake, I used a ¾” to ½” PVC reducer. This also worked well although the hex heads were slightly different in configuration. Only the intake is shown here. The first image shows the IPEX markings on the PVC fitting. In the second image they have been ground off.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim004.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim004.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim005.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim005.jpg)

I used Mr. Sticky’s underwater glue to bind the two pieces together.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim009.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim009.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_eheim010.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/eheim010.jpg)

The above process was repeated for the intake and outtake of both pumps.

Plumbing the return pumps

With the modded Eheim fittings installed back on the pump, I continued to plumb the return plumbing.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing002.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing002.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing004.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing004.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing003.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing003.jpg)

The first step was to attach the union fittings. For the intake it is a 1” union and for the outtake it is a ¾” union. The ball valve completes the pump plumbing.

On the tank side, I used a section of spaflex (Flexible PVC). I used spaflex so the I didn’t need to be concerned with an exact alignment with the pump and to minimize any transfer of vibrations from the pump to the sump.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing001.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing001.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing005.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing005.jpg)

The Styrofoam riser brings the pumps to the correct height and should also help to further minimize vibrations.

The astute reader would note that there are no valves for isolating the pump from the sump. The primary consideration here was space and a valve just wouldn’t fit. However, I do have a solution. The bulkheads are threaded on the inside. I can attach a threaded cap on the inside (wet side) to temporarily hold back the water. With a small Tupperware tub, I can catch any water that leaks while disconnecting the pump. Once the pump is off, I can attach a capped union such as is already installed on the center bulkhead. The net result is I do have a strategy for removing the pumps.

The first picture below shows the 5 tank fitted bulkheads and also shows the loc-line fittings. The bulk heads were installed with nothing more than a hand tight seal (no silicone or glue). The other 3 pictures show the vertical section from the return bulkhead into the stand.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing006.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing006.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing007.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing007.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing008.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing008.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing009.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing009.jpg)

I used hard PVC to plumb from the return bulkhead into the stand for a couple of reasons. This section of plumbing is visible and I wanted it to be straight. I had originally thought to use spaflex as far as the vertical section, but the flexible PVC doesn’t have a small enough bend radius to go from the roof of the stand to the vertical run without looking unfinished.

Note the check valves installed just below the top elbow. These serve an important role in the overall tank operational strategy. If one of the two return pumps fails, the check valve will prevent the failed return loop from back siphoning (or at least limit the rate of back siphon). It also allows the return pumps to be stopped without the water level dropping in the main display. I may want to stop these pumps for feeding or other maintenance such as sand siphoning. What these check valves do not do is protect against a flood. The sump has full capacity to hold all of the water that could potentially back siphon in a full power failure. In my opinion, check valves should never be trusted to be water tight.

If the check valve on the return line needs to be serviced (for cleaning, or in the event of a failure), the water level in the display can be dropped below the return lines. This is really only a couple of inches and should be a reasonable strategy for emergency repairs.

One final observation on this section is in regards to the ¾” bulkheads. I found these to be extremely poorly made. Specifically, the PVC pipe does not fit securely into the slip side of the bulkhead. This has me a little bit nervous, but I did use extra PVC cement in an attempt to get the best weld possible. The zip ties attaching the plumbing to the stand are intended to minimize any stress on the bulkhead weld due to twisting or turning of the plumbing. If need be, I will replace these bulkheads. Maintenance would involve lowering the water level and cutting them out with a dremel. This really would be ‘no big deal’, but I first have to find a better bulkhead.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing010.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing010.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing017.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing017.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing019.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing019.jpg)

The spaflex is zip tied to the frame to hold it in place. This is a temporary measure. I figure it’s sufficient for the purpose of this thread, but I wouldn’t leave it like this for anything more than testing.

Plumbing the overflow

As noted in the planning section, I am using a modified beananimal overflow. In contract to the ¾” bulkheads (no name) used for the return plumbing, the 1.5” bulkheads I am using for the overflow are really very well made (Lifeguard Aquatics). This first picture shows the unions glued to the bulkhead.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing011.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing011.jpg)

One problem that I knew I was going to have to deal with was the overflow not aligning properly with the stand. This came about for a variety of reasons, but it was easily solved. I had considered using 1.5” spaflex here, but I really prefer working with hard PVC and the benefits of spaflex don’t really apply to overflow plumbing.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing012.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing012.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing013.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing013.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing014.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing014.jpg)

Using two 45 degree elbows together creates a step. However, the step was way more than I needed, so I cut one side of the connecter in half. The result was a smaller step that was still too big, although manageable. You can see in the picture with the section attached that it enters the tank stand on a slight angle. I can live with this.

Another challenge that needed to be overcome is the orientation of the sump in relation to the overflow. The sump runs the full length of the tank from left to right and is designed for water to flow the full length before being returned to the main tank. The overflow is dead center.

The principals of the beananimal overflow make the problem somewhat easy to overcome. It is really only necessary for the ‘full siphon’ standpipe to enter the first chamber of the sump as this standpipe carries 90 percent of the total flow. The ‘open channel’ standpipe carries the remaining flow while the ‘emergency’ standpipe is dry under normal operation. Having the ‘open channel’ standpipe bypassing the skimmer section should really be inconsequential.

To relocate the ‘full siphon’ standpipe into the first chamber I used two sweep elbows.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing020.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing020.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing021.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing021.jpg)

The gate valve allows for fine tuning the siphon with an amazing degree of accuracy and ease. This task is much more difficult with a ball valve as you really need the accuracy. The weight of the plumbing is supported by the stand to ensure there is no additional stress on the bulkheads or glass.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing015.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing015.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing023.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing023.jpg)

The standpipes are different heights depending on their function. They are friction fit and can be easily removed. There are a couple of outstanding tasks such as fitting a strainer to the top of each standpipe and drilling holes in the top of the open channel standpipe. I’ll update the thread with a picture once I’ve done this. For now, the height of the standpipes is a best guess. I will only really be able to finalize the configuration once water goes into tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_plumbing022.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/plumbing022.jpg)

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:21 AM

<< Images are clickable – View the images in hi-res >>

Mostly, I just wanted to see water in the tank.

Aside from the primary motivation, there are several things that I really did want to test.

• Validate that the tank, sump and overflow hold water.
• Validate that sump baffles are water tight.
• Validate that all of the bulkheads are properly sealed.
• Validate that there are no leaks in the plumbing.
• Validate that the overflow standpipes are water tight when using a friction fit.

I filled the overflow and basically just watched for drips into the sump. The seals are good.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest01.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest01.jpg)

Starting from the first sump chamber, I watched as water filled one chamber and then overflowed into the next. There were no leaks. All of the baffles are water tight. All of the bulkheads have a good seal.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest02.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest02.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest04.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest04.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest05.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest05.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest06.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest06.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest07.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest07.jpg)

The height of the baffles decreases as you move from through the sump. The intention was to agitate the surface. This appears to work, although I won’t know whether it is sufficient until the tank is in full operation.
I allowed the sump to fill almost to the top and then started testing the return pumps. First the left only, then the right only, and finally both pumps at the same time. Everything worked as expected.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest08.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest08.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest09.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest09.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest10.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest10.jpg)

Measuring the flow through the sump

The Eheim 1262 are rated at 900gph before head loss. To measure the actual flow through the sump, I timed how long it took for the two return pumps to fill the tank a total of 5 inches.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest11.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest11.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest13.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest13.jpg)

• 5 inches of tank water is equal to: 71 x 36 * 5 / 231 = 55.325 gallons
• Time taken was: 2m46s or 166s
• Return rate per second is 55.325 / 166 = 0.333

Return rate per hour is: 0.333 * 60 * 60 = 1199.8 or 1200GPH

Filling the tank

It took a total of 1h and 14m to fill the sump and the tank. That’s a lot of water inside a glass box.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest15.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest15.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest17.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest17.jpg)

Tuning the overflow siphon

With the tank full and the pumps running, I adjusted the gate valve on the full siphon until water was trickling into the ‘open channel’ standpipe. This silenced the siphon.

The first image shows the water level in the overflow after tuning the siphon. The second picture shows the turbulence in the first chamber of the sump before tuning the siphon and the last picture shows the lack of turbulence after tuning the siphon.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest16.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest16.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest18.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest18.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest19.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest19.jpg)

I did learn a couple of things.

• The siphon should probably be an inch shorter to avoid sucking air from the surface.
• The open channel standpipe gurgles just a little bit. I will have to do some reading and see if there is a way to completely silence this. I suspect it might need to be turned down?

Bare Bottom

There is an interesting effect when viewing the tank bottom through the sides. I’d never really seen this mirror effect as I have always had a bottom substrate.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__watertest14.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_watertest14.jpg)

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:22 AM

Details are important. Details cause delays. I was pretty much ready to go with the tank, but had to take a big step back to work with some of the details.

Black

I love the depth that a solid black background creates. Almost an infinity or an abyss. However, I really want to preserve the viewing from all 4 sides including the back. Granted that rear viewing is somewhat awkward given the tanks proximity to the wall, but for a motivated viewer it’s actually not too bad. The glass of the tank is roughly 16” from the wall and it’s not too hard to squeeze behind the tank or just peak around a corner.

I also wanted to hide the overflow plumbing, but with a viewable back, the white PVC really stands out.

Rather than painting the rear glass panel black, I painted the entire wall behind the tank black.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_Wall1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/Wall1.jpg)

This really worked well. When viewing the tank from the front, the gap between the wall and the tank adds to the overall depth. When viewing the tank from the couch (10 feet away), the black wall makes the tank appear to float in space.

At some point I will replace the white electrical plates with black ones.

The overflow plumbing is also painted black. It should blend into the wall and while it will be visible, it should not be distracting. I used Krylon spray paint (for plastic) for the pieces that don’t touch water. For the in tank plumbing (inside the overflow) I used schedule 80 PVC which is naturally a dark colour.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_BlackPVC.JPG (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/BlackPVC.JPG)

Floor

Next was the floor. Our basement was previously carpeted and honestly, no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible not to spill when working on a tank. For the tank to be a long term success, the carpet had to go. We explored a number of options including cork, hardwood, laminate and tile. In the end, we settled on a vinyl tile (Armstrong Alterna). This floor is extremely durable, looks like natural slate even up close, but will not crack and is much warmer under foot than natural slate would have been. We are very happy with the results.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_Floor1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/Floor1.jpg)

The biggest challenge was moving the tank around while the floor was being done. You can imagine this was a big project. The carpet came out, the concrete was resurfaced and then the tiles were laid.

To move the tank around, I used a car jack to lift it and build a platform with wheels underneath. This was a little bit tricky to accomplish but the end result was I could easily role the tank around. The carpet guys just worked around it. Getting it down off the platform was also not an easy task, but I managed.

HRV

Humidity was a real problem in our house. With my 90G tank, on a cold day we had puddles on our windowsills. Ultimately, I am sure this would have ruined the house. More to the point, my wife was not very impressed with this aspect of my hobby and the prospect of a much larger tank was daunting.

An HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) seemed the obvious choice.

The whole thing is a bit of a monster and the installation was challenging. You really need a flexible space to install one of these.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_HRV2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/HRV2.jpg)

The HRV has 4 hookups for airflow.

1. Draws fresh air from outside to inside.
2. Vents fresh air to house – Split between tank room (66%) and house central heating.

3. Draws stale air in – Split between tank room (66%) and cold air return (33%)
4. Vents stale air from inside to outside.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_HRV4.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/HRV4.jpg)

It’s all about the heat exchange coil.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_HRV1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/HRV1.jpg)

This next picture gives you an idea of how the HRV will service the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_Floor2a.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/Floor2a.jpg)

The Stale Air Intakes are centered directly above the tank. The humidistat is positioned slightly to the left of the tank, but in close proximity. The Fresh Air Exhaust locations were chosen for their practicality in terms of ducting, but are within close proximity of the tank.

The result of installing the HRV has been nothing short of spectacular. The air quality in our house has never been better and our humidity problem is completely gone. There is a cost in terms of reduced heating efficiency during the cold months, but the tank adds some of that heat back in. I have no question that this was the right solution for me.

Screen Top

One of the principals that I am striving for is a “nothing over the top glass” look. This creates a nice platform for a screen top. I bought the clear mesh from BRS and used a screen frame from Home Depot to make this top.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/tn_ScreenTop.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Details/ScreenTop.jpg)

For anyone who has ever attempted this, you will appreciate how difficult it is to complete this project perfectly. I really took my time and laid everything out, but there are flaws. The frame is slightly off square and the mesh is not perfectly straight across all lines. However, it is not immediately evident unless you really inspect it. For the most part I am satisfied with the outcome, but may attempt a version 2 at some point in the future.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:22 AM

The only disappointment with our new floor was that it isn’t level or planar. This was pretty obvious when we pulled the carpet out, so we contracted the flooring company to level it for us. Well, my advice is to never have a “flooring” company do anything other than installing a new floor. They just aren’t qualified. They did try to level the floor, but it’s hard to tell if there was any improvement or if it’s actually worse. I negotiated a reduced rate for this aspect of the installation, but really I shouldn’t have paid anything at all. The floor just isn’t flat.

In leveling the tank stand, it was important that I do so in a way that wouldn’t damage the new floor. That rules out any kind of leveling feet as they would surely damage the tiles. The obvious solution is simply to shim the stand, but I also didn’t want the stand sitting directly on the tile.
The solution I came up with is somewhat elaborate, but worked extremely well. It basically amounts to layers.

Layer 1: Underlayment - Dense Rubber Mat cut into strips. This is 5/8” workout mat.
Layer 2: Supporting Frame - 1/2” standard grade plywood. Single piece with center removed.
Layer 3: Shim layer
Layer 4: Platform - 3/4" Oak – Full sheet.

The premise is that the shim layer is between two layers of wood. The rubber layer protects the floor and will compress a little to even out very small imperfections. It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the general theory. I wish I had more pictures, but sometimes documenting is not my primary focus.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Leveling/tn_Leveling1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Leveling/Leveling1.jpg)

You can see in the above picture that the width of the rubber strips matches the plywood and that it is roughly 3.5” – This is 2” for the metal frame with ¾” on either side. For support, it really isn’t necessary for this to be any larger as the plywood will flex and there will be no weight support beyond about 3/4”.

The rubber was cut to length and then glued to the wood frame.

The middle of the frame is cut out for two reasons:

1. There is a slight rise (or hump) in the floor. By cutting out the middle, this hump will not affect the overall level.
2. There is a sheet of 3/4” MDF cut to the inside dimensions of 1/2" plywood that is glued to the underside of the platform. While it isn’t shown in the pictures, this is an important concept in the overall design. It provides necessary rigidity to the platform. To visualize this, think of it as a plug that completely fills the available space.

The resulting platform layer (Layer 4) is actually 2” thick and itself is made up of 3 layers.

Layer 1: Lower Plug – 3/4” MDF
Layer 2: Platform – 3/4” Oak Plywood.
Layer 3: Upper Plug – 1/2” Standard Grade Plywood.

The three layers of the platform are glued together with wood glue and is extremely strong. The size of the platform is such that 3/4" extends out on all sides. This will permit the panels to rest on the platform rather than directly on the floor (which isn’t perfectly flat).

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Leveling/tn_Leveling2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Leveling/Leveling2.jpg)

In the above picture you can see how the shims are inserted. At some point I will clean this up and glue a finishing trim all around the base of the platform. The final result will be such that it appears as a solid piece of oak.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:23 AM

This post is part 1 of 2 dealing with water changes. Part 1 focuses on ro/di storage, salt mixing and the general layout of my water room. Part 2 will discuss the Continuous Water Change System.

The Water Room

I don’t have space for a fish room, so I’m calling what I do have a “water room”. This room is in fact my furnace room. It is physically about 10 feet from the aquarium, but there is a door and a hallway in between the two. The furnace room is of average size and is big enough for several reservoirs and all of the ro/di equipment. It also has plumbing for both a water source and a drain.

I do have access to the ceiling from several vantage points. Also, the wall behind the aquarium leads to a closet under the stairs. This means that I can run plumbing or any other system hookups between the two rooms with relative ease.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr1.jpg)

You can see the water heater and furnace on the right. The wall on the left was just vapor barrier over insulation, so I mounted 3/4" plywood. I sealed the floor with “Kitchen and Bath” caulking. We also did the floor with an epoxy so there is no exposed concrete anywhere. This is the starting point.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr2.jpg)

The picture above is the room as it is now with everything functional. The rest of the pictures in this post just attempt to show what’s going on.

There are a couple of details worth pointing out in this picture - The first is that the sink is supported by brackets (Lee Valley) rather than legs. These laundry tubs come with really cheap legs that aren’t much good for anything. The bracket also frees up space under the sink for things like salt and buckets. The second detail is the florescent lighting. The room is inherently dark and I think it's important that you can see the water that you are working with.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr3.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr3.jpg)

I’m not a plumber and learning to weld isn’t in the cards. Fortunately, the plumbing in my house is flexible. I used “Shark Bite” fittings for everything which makes plumbing really easy. This picture shows where I tee’d off one of the main lines. I installed a shutoff right after the tee so that I can isolate my plumbing from the rest of the house.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr3a.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr3a.jpg)

The RO/DI is a key part of the system. The RO unit on the left is an old Kent Marine Maxxima unit that feeds my ATO reservoir. The RO unit on the right is a Vertex Puratek 100GPD unit that is currently only used to fill my RO/DI reservoir for salt mixing. This gives my capacity to change roughly 25% of the total water volume in my tank every day.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr4.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr4.jpg)

The system is pressurized with the use of Lifegard Aquatics Quite One 3000 pumps. I’m not a fan of these pumps but for occasional use where noise (or random failure) isn’t a big deal, they fit the bill. The pumps and reservoirs are isolated with ball valves and knife valves, so replacing a pump is relatively straight forward.

The ro/di reservoir is the one on the left (closest to the wall). The reservoir next to this is the salt mixing tank. There is a third reservoir capable of holding 200 gallons of prepared saltwater that is used for salt water storage.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr5.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr5.jpg)

The picture above shows two lines coming into the saltwater reservoir. The line that is currently connected is a loop from the pump attached at the bottom of the saltwater mixing tank. This pump runs for 10 minutes every 4 hours just to ensure that the water doesn’t sit in the pipes. It can also be turned on as needed when I am moving water out of this tank.

The line that isn’t hooked up to anything is for RO/DI water from the other reservoir. This comes into play only when the lid is off as shown in the next pictures.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr6.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr6.jpg)

Inside the saltwater mixing tank there are two Korallia Evolution 1400GPH pumps. These run continuously to ensure the water is constantly agitated, but the primary function is to facilitate rapid mixing of salt. Consider that this is 2800GPH of flow in a 50 gallon tank. That’s over 50X turnover. The pumps are directed at the bottom of the reservoir to keep the salt suspended and avoid settling.

Note: Since taking this picture, I have found that by angling both powerheads inwards towards the wall of the barrel, I can create a circular water current similar to a whirlpool. This allows the flow to be cumulative instead of canceling. I've found that this is more effective at keeping unmixed salt in suspension.

I also used a paint mixer attached to a drill when adding salt to the mixing tank. It takes me about 10 minutes to make up a batch of saltwater. I would always try to wait 24 hours before using the new saltwater, but in a pinch it would probably be suitable for use after about an hour.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr7.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr7.jpg)

To allow the lid to close, the power cords had to be routed through a hole I drilled in the reservoir.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr8a.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr8a.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr10.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr10.jpg)

In these pictures, you can see the clear tubing on the outside of the reservoirs. These enable the water level to be observed without opening the reservoir. They are attached with threaded bulkheads and an L shaped MPT to barbed hose adapter. There is some Velcro that easily slides along the tubing that I use to mark the water levels. I’ve also taking the time to calculate and mark increments of 5 gallons on the tubes so that I can keep track of how much water I’m using.

Another detail in the above pictures is the platforms and leveling feet. Each reservoir has it’s own platform and is leveled independently. These are the heavy duty feet from Lee Valley that someone else pointed out in another thread (thank you). One of the requirements of installing all of this equipment is that it be removable if/when we want to replace the furnace or hot water tank. I won’t be fun to take it all apart, but it also won’t be difficult.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr9.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr9.jpg)

As I’m not a plumber, the only way I could hook up the sink was to the drain in the furnace room. This works well enough. At some point I may have a plumber come and hook it up to the main drain, but I have no plans for that yet.

Note: It was pointed out that the way my sink drains is actually against building code.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/tn_wr11.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterroom/wr11.jpg)

These taps (left) allow me to pump out either RO/DI or saltwater into the sink. More to the point, I can fill a bucket from here. Their positioning is adjustable by loosening the union - they are pushed out of the way when not in use.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:24 AM

This post is part 2 of 2 dealing with water changes. This post may be somewhat long, but for anyone setting up a similar system, hopefully it is interesting.

Continuous Water Change System

“Continuous water changes, despite their name, are not necessarily performed every minute of every day. The distinguishing feature of these changes is that water is added at the same time that it is removed. The actual rate of addition can be high or low. Reef aquarists (myself included) most often perform these types of water changes with two matched pumps, one that removes the old water and one that adds the new water.” - Randy Holmes Fraley (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php)

Water Changes in Large Tanks

I’m sure that almost everyone does water changes on their tanks, or at least wishes they could find the motivation. The number that I’ve heard most often is 30% monthly. The diligent hobbyist tends to achieve this by performing weekly changes of 7-10% of the total system volume. There is lots of literature that promotes this and most people generally accept it as a requirement.

Water changes in large tanks seem to be thought of slightly differently. The bigger the tank, the harder it is to keep up with 30% monthly water changes. It may be that the overall benefit to the system also changes. Many large public and commercial tanks have such efficient filtration that water changes are rarely required. Calcium and other trace elements can be supplemented and there are other more effective means of nutrient export.

A good example of this is Inland Aquatics who claim to have 40,000 gallons of water and change only 5% annually.

* Over time I may experiment with reducing the volume of water that is exchanged every day. With a new tank, I personally feel that water changes will be an important part of maintaining overall stability. Once the tank has matured, the cost may start to outweigh the benefits.

System Goals

Basically, I never want to do another water change again. There’s nothing stopping me from siphoning detritus or doing emergency water changes, but the week to week changes that are typically a never ending part of this hobby just don’t work for me.

Total System Water Volume = 300 Gallons (1,136 Liters)
Percent Water Change = 33% Monthly
Total Monthly Change = 100 Gallons (379 Liters)
Total Daily Change = 3.33 Gallons (12.62 Liters)

The system can run unattended for 60 days. Realistically, I will top up the reservoirs and ensure everything is calibrated once a month, but it’s nice to have extra time as needed.

• Simple is best

Water Storage

There has been some debate as to whether it is reasonable to store saltwater for extended periods of time. I am confident that if you have a clean vessel suitable for storing potable water and no contaminates are introduced that it can effectively be stored indefinitely.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/loaftank/loaftank3.jpg

The dimensions of this loaf tank are 58"Lx29"Wx37"H. It was made by paddleplastics - www.paddleplastics.com - I picked it up in Crossfield from Promould: 403-946-9920

The tank comes with a mainway and a bulkhead that can be installed at the time of purchase. I had Promould put the mainway on, but I put the bulkheads on myself. I installed the bulkheads on the bottom of the tank to allow maximum drainage.

Note: It’s somewhat important to mix the saltwater in a separate tank from the one used for ongoing storage. From observation, it can be seen that the mixing tank gets dirty from particles settling out of the newly mixed saltwater. By allowing this to happen in the mixing tank before transferring to the storage tank, very little contamination is transferred. My storage tank stays very clean whereas my mixing tank needs to be cleaned somewhat regularly.

Peristaltic Pumps and System Pressure

Even high quality peristaltic pumps are incredibly sensitive to changes in pressure at both the intake and the outtake. A reservoir slowly draining will cause a pressure variance at the intake of the pump as a factor of the water volume remaining in the reservoir. As the reservoir drains, pressure will decrease and the rate of flow through the pump will decrease.

To overcome this characteristic of peristaltic pumps, pressure within the system must be a constant. After considerable research into high tech solutions, I came up with a low tech solution that works perfectly. It's basically a constant pressure regulator that helps ensure the pumps stay balanced.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc03.jpg

The water cooler can be purchased at Canadian Tire. Basically, the water enters at the top and fills the cooler to the point where the float valve shuts off the flow of water. As water is pumped out, new water from the main reservoir will replace it. There is a John Guest fiiting at the bottom of the water cooler that allows the peristaltic pump to connect at a low water point.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc01.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc02a.jpg

I know that you can get John Guest bulkheads, but they aren't really suitable here. The trouble with these bulkheads is they are difficult to tighten without access to both sides. The trick to installing the threaded adapter is make the hole using a drill bit slightly smaller than the size of the fitting such that it threads into the plastic. I used glue on the joint to ensure a permanent seal.

SpectraPure LiterMeter III Paristaltic Pump

I've tested a number of peristaltic pumps and the SpectraPure LiterMeter III (http://www.spectrapure.com/St_prec_p0.htm)system is, in my opion, by far the best. A good quality peristaltic pump is really important when setting up a continuous water change system or there will be a high probability of drift and/or premature system failure.

From the manufacturer’s description - "The new aquarium dosing pump is crafted from precision-machined aluminum fabricated to exacting aerospace tolerances. For example, such critical tolerances as the rollers are machined to +/-0.0005". The outer surface is polished to a mirror finish. Internal surfaces are held to a 63 micro inch finish and hard anodized to provide a durable and low-friction raceway. The pump's planetary direct drive is at an 11:1 ratio, thus providing enough torque to generate over 40 pounds of pressure. This incredible lift enables the LiterMeter III™ to pump over 60 feet above itself at a flow rate of over 250 ml/min. It can also draw up from 25 feet below. The motor in the LiterMeter III™ is made by a manufacturer of precision high reliability motors made to our specifications as a peristaltic drive motor. The pump is so reliable we now offer a five year limited warranty."

Some additional features that were important to me include:

Calibrated by volume not time
Remote pump support
Programming will survive a power outage
Ability to adjust dosing volumes on each pump independently by as little as 10ml/day without recalibrating
Automatically tracks pump run time and will beep after 300 hours
The desired daily volume is dosed in 150 equal parts throughout the course of one day

The System

The whole system really isn't complicated at all.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/cwc.gif

Black Tubing = Water from tank heading for the drain

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc08.jpg

On the tank side, I hooked up to the first chamber in my sump. This chamber has a constant water level and as such, the pressure will always remain the same.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc06.jpg

The water is drawn up by Pump A (built into the controller) through about 10 feet of 1/4 inch polyethylene tubing. The total vertical rise is only about 3 feet. This is then pumped through another 30 feet of tubing through the ceiling and eventually to the drain.

Red Tubing = Water from reservoir heading for the tank

The reservoir has two bulkheads installed on the bottom. One is connected to a large Panworld pump (picture not shown) which is used to agitate the water once every 4 hours. It can also be used to pump water into the main tank for larger water changes.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc05.jpg

The second bulkhead (shown above) has a John Guest fitting which connects to the pressure regulator water cooler. The floor of the main resevoir is elevated to approximately the same hight as the float valve installed in the water cooler thus allowing the main resevoir to completely drain.

This bulkhead also has an attachment for a drain line as can be seen by the cap at the end. The plumbing for the drain is stored detached to keep it out of the way, but can be easily reconnected as needed. The drain can be used in an emergency or for periodically cleaning the loaf tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/cwc2.gif . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc04.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/cwc/tn_cwc09.jpg

The remote LiterMeter pump pulls water from the pressure regulator water cooler and pushes it back to the tank through approximately 40 feet of tubing ran through the ceiling.

One interesting observation is that the run from the reservoir to the tank seems to have considerably more resistance. The calibrated flow rate through the LiterMeter pump B is about 80% of the calibrated flow rate through Pump A.

Heating the Reservoir

Heating the reservoir is not necessary. I keep a couple of spare heaters that could be used to heat the water in the reservoir if an emergency situation arose, but because of the very small volumes of water that are added to the main display tank, there is no measurable affect on temperature.

Tuning

The LiterMeter pumps are calibrated by volume. To accomplish this, the system asks you to fill a 500ml vessel and to stop the pump when complete. Once set, the system adjusts the calculated flow rate through each pump accordingly.

I found this difficult as the output of my tubing is nowhere near the controller. To overcome this challenge, I set the pumps to run continuously and timed how long it took to fill the 500ml. I repeated the test a number of times until I had an average that was within a reasonable margin of error. When I ran the calibration routine, I simply started a stop watch at the start of the test and stopped the pump at the appropriate time.

500ml - Pump A = 2.07s
500ml - Pump B = 2.47s

Once calibrated, you can then set the run time for each pump indendantly. Everything is done in metric. The initial configuration to achieve my desired rate of water exchange is:

Pump A: 12.62 liters per day.
Pump B: 12.62 liters per day.

The only reason we really care about precise calibration is to avoid any drift in salinity.

The SG of the saltwater in the storage reservoir is 1.025
The SG of the saltwater in the tank is 1.025

If the pumps are perfectly calibrated, then the tank will stay stable at 1.025.

If there is a calibration error causing a slow increase in salinity, then the daily volume for pump A can be increased (or pump B decreased).
If there is a calibration error causing a slow decrease in salinity, then the daily volume for pump B can be increased (or pump A decreased).

It's a little like guessing a number between 1 and 10 where the person who knows the number answers with "higher" or "lower".

The only other consideration is evaporation of tank water and the ATO. Ideally, this would be unaffected by the water change system as the volume of water in and out of the tank is balanced. However, if the margin of error is too high, the rate of evaporation could exceed the variance or vice versa. In any event, this is unlikely and the solution would be to recalibrate the pumps.

Safety

There are a couple of scenarios that warrant additional consideration.

Pump Failure or full blockage
These pumps are quiet. Without periodically checking, a failed pump could go unnoticed for weeks. The result would be a a proportionately rapid shift in salinity.

This scenario would not be immediately evident as the ATO would maintain a constant water level.

To mitigate this requires some diligence. Operation of the pumps should be checked at a minimum of every couple of days.

* I am considering installing flow sensors on the lines and connecting them to my Apex controller. I have one already that I am not using, but also haven't tested it yet. If I can trigger an alarm based on a period of inactivity, it may solve this problem.
Calibration drift or partial blockage
This would only be detectable through measuring salinity. Any unexpected change in salinity could likely be attributed to either calibration drift or a partial blockage of one of the lines.

When the pumps are flagged for maintainence (every 300 hours), all of the lines should be cleaned to prevent salt buildup.
Every second servicing, all of the lines should be replaced.
Once a month, the time it takes to fill 500ml should be recorded. If there is a variance greater than 2 or 3 seconds then the lines should be cleaned and the pumps recalibrated.

Dry Reservoir
This one is pretty easy to deal with. The reservoir is very large so simply spot checking should be sufficient. However, I also plan to install a level sensor into the pressure regulating water cooler. If the water level drops for any reason, the Apex controller can alert me.

The system is expected to run for extended periods of time without requiring any adjustments. However, it does require some monitoring to ensure that all systems are opperating as expected.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:25 AM

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/electrical/schematic.gif

<More detail coming soon>

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:25 AM

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/Automation/timing.gif

<more detail coming soon>

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:26 AM

I have a love hate relationship with my Neptune Apex Controllers. I love the features and what they are capable of, but I just don't trust them long term unattended. I haven't really had a problem - so to speak - but every now and then they do weird things.

My biggest complaint with the system has to be with the Triac based outlets (1-3, 5-7) on the EB8. I have had all kinds of problems with these outlets not properly shutting off. I engaged Neptune support about this and while they were responsive, they basically told me that I was crazy. Honestly - they just wouldn't believe the problems I was having. I did get this official response:

It is not the size of the load that determines whether or not the triac has trouble shutting it off. It is the power factor (how much current lags voltage), that causes the problem. Some inductive loads (motors) do no power factor correction and that is why the issue is mostly with small pumps. Larger pumps have power factor correction.

These are the ways to solve the problem:

Plug an additional load (small light bulb/wall wart transformer/fan) in parallel with the load.
Use a socket expansion box to control the device.
Use a DC4 or DC4HD to control the device.

Now of course they have the EB4 which also solves this problem.

Anyways...

I have elected to use two Apex Controllers on my system. The Intent is such that if one fails, the other will continue to operate. The two systems are electrically isolated.

Any of the systems which would be deemed critical, should be split across the two controllers.

Controller A - Return Pump 1, Heater 1, Heater 2, Skimmer Pump 1, ATO 1, Auto Feeder 1
Controller B - Return Pump 2, Heater 3, Heater 4, Skimmer Pump 2, ATO 2, Auto Feeder 2

The following section documents the configuration and application of the Neptune Apex Controllers. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress. I will keep this page updated as the program is expanded and enhanced.

Please - If you see obvious errors or ways in which I could improve the code, please let me know.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Neptune Systems Apex Controller - Primary
Attached Probes: Tank pH, Tank Temp, Tank Orp
Attached Modules: 2 x EB8, Breakout Box
Attached Switches: 6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Profiles

Day-R
type:Pump
minIntensity: 40
maxIntensity: 100
sync: Enable
div10: Disable
intOffTime: 88
OnTime: 88
OffTime: 0

Day-L
type:Pump
minIntensity: 40
maxIntensity: 100
sync: Enable
div10: Disable
intOffTime: 0
OnTime: 88
OffTime: 88

Variable Speed Outlets

VS1_Tunze-L (VAR 1)
Set Day-L
If Time 00:00 to 23:59 Then Day-L
If FeedA 004 Then OFF

VS2_Tunze-R (VAR 2)
Set Day-R
If Time 00:00 to 23:59 Then Day-R
If FeedA 004 Then OFF

VS3_Wavebox (VAR 3)
Set OFF
Fallback OFF
If Outlet MorningCalm = ON Then ON

VarSpd4_I4 (VAR 4)
Not currently used

Variable Speed Outlets

SndAlm_I6
Set OFF

SndWrn_I7
Set OFF

EmailAlm_I5
Set OFF
If Temp > 82.0 Then ON
If Temp < 75.0 Then ON

Virtual Outlets - Used for programming

MorningCalm
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 04:00 to 10:00 Then ON

EB8 - Left Side of Tank

Skimmer-T1
Fallback ON
Set ON

Skimmer-T2
Fallback ON
Set ON

Pump-Pellets
Fallback ON
Set ON

Unused-4_4
Fallback ON
Set ON

Unused-4_5
Fallback ON
Set ON

Unused-4_6
Fallback ON
Set ON

Unused-4_7
Fallback ON
Set ON

Unused-4_8
Fallback ON
Set ON

EB8 - Right Side of Tank

Pump_ReturnL
Fallback ON
Set ON

Pump_ReturnR
Fallback ON
Set ON

Light_Temp
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 09:30 to 21:30 Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then OFF
Min Time 030:00 Then OFF

Light_Fuge
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 21:25 to 10:00 Then ON
If Temp > 81.0 Then OFF
Min Time 030:00 Then OFF

Heater1
Fallback OFF
If Temp < 77.8 Then ON
If Temp > 78.0 Then OFF

Heater2
Fallback OFF
If Temp < 77.8 Then ON
If Temp > 78.0 Then OFF

Heater3
Fallback ON
Set ON
If Temp < 77.8 Then ON
If Temp > 78.0 Then OFF

Heater4
Fallback ON
Set ON
If Temp < 77.8 Then ON
If Temp > 78.0 Then OFF

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Neptune Systems Apex Controller Lite - Secondary
Attached Probes: n/a
Attached Modules: n/a
Attached Switches: n/a
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This controller is currently in use on my 90G tank and will remain there until the tank is shut down. I will update the configuration when the controller comes online.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:27 AM

Hardware

Flow within the tank is currently as follows:

Return Pumps: 2 of Eheim 1262 (600Gph)
Power Heads: 2 of Tunze 6205 (1,320 to 5,811 USgal./h), 2 of Ecotech VorTech MP60w ES (3500 to 7500 gph)
Wavebox: Seems to be a lot.

Total Flow (Maximum):
Return pumps: 1,200 gph
Tunze 6205s: 11,622
VorTech MP60s : 15,000
Wavebox: Lots

Total: 27,822 + Wavebox
Turnover: 27,822G (Flow) / 300G (Tank) = 92.74X + Wavebox

Note: Because of the variable nature of the powerheads, the actual turnover is difficult to calculate.

Closed loops vs. powerheads

In this tank, all of the flow will be provided by powerheads.

By far the best resource for closed loop systems is Oceans Motions (http://www.oceansmotions.com/). I used a closed loop on my previous 90G tank. It was based on two seperate loops (left and right) using an independant Oceans Motion Super Squirt 4-way on each side. Each loop was driven by a Poseidon PS4 pump. The flow patterns were very dynamic and the system was silent. Overall, it worked perfectly but I ultimately pulled it out and replaced it with Tunze powerheads.

There was really only one thing that I liked about the closed loop when compared to powerheads. When viewing the tank through the front pannel, it was barely visible. Aesthetically a closed loop wins every time, but that seems to be where the benefits end.

I pulled the closed loop out of my 90G for several reasons. The first being the heat generated by the two Poseidon pumps. The second being the electrical consumption and the third being the maintenance of the pumps and plumbing.

Note: I realize that Poseidon pumps are known to have unusually high heat transfer charecteristics, but they are also unusually silent. Another pump might have solved my heat issue, but I would then have a noise issue.

Granted there are some cool things that you can do with a closed loop which aren't possible with powerheads, but the reverse is also true. Consider the various modes that a Vortech pump can operate in.

I also like the fact that I can move the powerheads as the tank matures and corals grow. I can ramp up and down between 30% and 100% power. There are no holes drilled in my tank and cleaning is as easy as a vinigar soak.

In my opinion, simple is always better. Although I completely agree that powerheads are ugly, there's nothing simpler than a powerhead.

Surface Skimming - Powerhead orientation

It's necessary to skim the entire tank surface. The most effecient way to accomplish this is with a coast-to-coast overflow, but a coast-to-coast overflow doesn't work well with waves. It surprising how poluted the water surface becomes if it is not properly skimmed. The consequence of bad surface water is reduced light penetration, poor gas exchange and a visible scum build up.

Successfully skimming the surface of the tank really has everything to do with the proper placement of return plumbing, powerheads and close loop intake/outlets. It took a lot of experimenting to get this perfect on my tank.

With only the return pumps running, the surface water in my tank remains almost completely flat. Almost like a sheet of glass.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/flow/surface1.gif

In this first image, the dark blue is the surface area that is skimmed most effeciently. The light blue area is also skimmed, but not nearly as rapidly. The easiest way to observe this is with floating fish food. If you drop it in the far front corner, it is eventually skimmed but tends to circle around a bit first.

When I first positioned the powerheads in the tank, the orientation was based on flow within the tank and did not give consideration to the surface water. This resulted in a bulge roughly centered in the tank. This is the logical consequence of two opposing powerheads aimed towards the center area of the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/flow/surface2.gif

The problem here is that the surface water at the edges is not skimmed at all and the scum quickly builds up. In the image shown above, the black lines indicate areas where no surface skimming occours. Protiens on the surface tend to travel down hill. With the center bulge, they were trapped at the edges.

To really achieve proper surface skimming with a center overflow, some of the flow needs to be oriented at the outside edges. This creates a slop inwards and allows the entire surface to be skimmed.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/flow/surface3.gif

A smaller bulge in the center is still acceptable, but the outer edges should be within the confines of the overflow.

Connecting the Powerheads to the Apex Controller

This is pretty straight forward. The Apex controller has 4 variable speed ports (0-10V). Physically, there are two RJ45 ports, so a special cable is required. The cable splits the port and has two male Tunze connectors at the other end.

Important: Do not allow your Tunze powerheads to run at a power level between 1% and 29%. The Tunze controllers will not allow you to do this, but the Apex will. You can ruin your powerheads by doing this. I would assume everyone already knows this, but just in case...

Connecting the Tunze Wavebox to the Apex Controller

It would be great if the Apex could control the wavebox directly, but for most people it is not possible to set the frequency of oscillation to match the resonant frequency of the tank. This is because the smallest increment of time on the Apex is .1 seconds. It is possible that the resonant frequency of your tank will be an exact multiple of .1s, but this is somewhat unlikely. A much smaller increment such as .01 would likely be required.

There are a number of benefits of controlling the wavebox directly from the Apex.

Include the wavemaxer in feed timers.
Night mode that isn't dependant on a photocell.
Single point of control for all pumps.

There's a trick to make this work.

I used the wavebox controller (6091) to set the wave and used the Apex controller to enable/disable the 6091 wave function.

The wiring diagram looks like this:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze/tunze.gif

The Y adapter isn't strictly necessary but it makes things much easier because it serves as a gender changer for the cables. Both the wavebox controller (6091) and Apex have male ends whereas the Y adapter is female.

The second wavebox isn't necessary either. However, if two waveboxes are deployed in this configuration, they have to be on the same end of the tank running in synchronous mode.

The jumper in the 6091 controller needs to be set to slave mode to enable control from the Apex. You have to open the 6091 controller to change the jumper. This is explained in the user manual.

I haven't spent a lot of time experimenting with different voltages, but in the simplest of terms:

10V from Apex = 6091 stops creating a wave. The pump shuts off.
0V from Apex = 6091 operates in wave mode.

This seems counter intuitive, but it does make sense on one front. If the 6091 controller is disconnected from the Apex it operates independently and generates a wave. Therefore, it is not dependant on the Apex for operation; rather it is dependent on the Apex to know when to shut off.

Feeding

<rough notes>

I've found that shutting off the return pumps during feeding can be problematic. On my 90G this would cause the water level in the sump to rise, which meant that I had to shut off the ATOs. It also allows water to back siphon from the display which is supposed to be prevented by the return line check valves, but in practice it really only partially works.

I have programmed a feed mode for the Tunze 6205 powerheads and wave maker. It basically stops the pumps completely and then pulses each pump simultaneously for 1 second once every 10 seconds at 40% power.

The VorTech MP60s also have a built in feed mode.

Night Mode

I believe in reduced flow at night.

<<<This post is not yet finished. I am using the edit feature to add content. Check back later.>>>

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:27 AM

Post 25

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:28 AM

post 26

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:28 AM

The target temp for my tank is:
Low Temp: 78F (25.56C)
High Temp: 78.8F (26C)
The goal is to maximize temperature stability within this range. The tank temperature should fluctuate less than 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cooling
As it turns out, the more energy efficient hardware is, the less heat it produces. All of my hardware was selected based in part on energy efficiency. Most notable is the LED lighting which is significantly more energy efficient then alternative lighting sources. The upside to this is very little heat transfer into the water. For most of the year, I do not need any form of cooling.

The tank is located in my basement which tends to stay slightly cooler than the rest of the house. There is constant evaporation which translates to heat loss, so the tank tends to find a temperature balance slightly below the ambient room temperature. For the occasional heat wave, I have a fan in the sump that blows over the water surface to increase evaporation and cooling. The fan is connected to the Apex controller for temperature control.

Heating
Ironically, the downside to energy efficiency is also a lack of heat transfer into the water. My tank water stabilizes at room temperature and needs to be constantly heated (day and night). The energy consumption of the heaters required to keep the tank at a constant 78F cancels out a significant portion of the savings gained through energy efficient hardware. In my case I estimate this to be approximately 700 watts (~6 Amp/h) of heating.

Background Reading

BeanAnimal - Aqarium Heaters: What you need to know! (http://www.beananimal.com/articles/aquarium-heaters-what-you-need-to-know!.aspx)

BeanAnimal - Thermodynamics for the Reef Aquarist (http://www.beananimal.com/articles/thermodynamics-for-the-aquarist.aspx)

abcha0s - My Marineland 300W Stealth Pro Heater Exploded! (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=72729)

Heating my tank

I am using 4 300W Titanium Heating Tubes.

The Heaters are Finnex Titanium Heaters. I don't recommend this brand, nor expect it to work indefinitely. With that said, I haven't found any brand of heater where people haven't complained about failures. Ebo Jager seems to have the best overall user reviews, but it's still not hard to find incidences of failure.
Based on a very general rule of thumb, I need 3-5W of heating per gallon of tank water. For a 300G tank, this equates to 900W to 1500W.
I had heard that Titanium heaters were more efficient than glass heaters. After testing the two types of heaters I can't really see much of a difference. If the Titanium heaters are more efficient, it is a very small percentage.
I went with a heater without a thermostat because the thermostat is likely to fail anyway. One less component to worry about.
The Apex Energy Bar 8 (EB8) is rated to 5Amps per outlet. The basically means that the biggest heater I can use is 500W.
Several small heaters are better than one larger heater.
I went with 4 of the 300W heaters instead of 3 of the 500W heaters for efficiency and redundancy reasons. The 300W heaters have a 10 inch heating tube. The 500W heaters have an 11.5 inch heating tube. My assumption is that the diameter of the tubes is the same; therefore, the 300W version has 30W per inch. The 500W has 43.5W per inch. More surface area should make the 300W more efficient.

I know from observation that two 300W heaters (600 Watts total) running continuously will heat my tank about 9F (5C) above the ambient room temperature. To maintain a stable tank temperature, I really need a minimum of three 300W heaters (900 Watts total). In this configuration, the additional 300 Watt heater operates about 75% of the time.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/heat/tn_temp.jpg

This graph shows three interesting things.

The data to the left of 8:45pm is my tank with 2x300W heaters. You can see that it struggles to keep the temp between about 76.5 and 77.5. At this point, the heaters are on constantly and are unable to raise the temp to the target of 78F.
The drop in temperature at around 8:45 occured when I turned the heaters off to do some maintenace in the sump. The temperature dropped very rapidly.
Note: The temperature probe is in the sump. At the time these temperature measurements were taken, the return pumps were also shutoff meaning that the sump was isolated from the display. The display tank has thicker glass so is likely somewhat more insulated, but I wouldn't count on that to keep the tank warm. This could be a real problem in a power outage.
The data to the right of about 10pm is the tank with 3x300W heaters. With the increased heating capacity, the heaters really have no problem reaching the target temp.

The heaters are installed in the return section of the sump. The temperature probe is in the chamber right before the return section. Therefore, heated water has to circulate through the tank and back to the sump before the temperature sensor is able to detect a change. There is an approximate 0.5F temperature differential between the display tank and the sump.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/heat/heating.gif

The 4 Titanium Heaters are split evenly between two Apex controllers on independent EB8s. Each EB8 is connected to a separate 15A circuit. This should allow for the failure of three heating tubes before the tank water temperature begins to drop. The failure of one Apex/EB8 or 15A circuit would result in the loss of 2 heating tubes. The heating tubes don't have a thermostat, so they are basically stuck on already. If for some reason the EB8 outlets on one Apex stuck on, the other Apex should shut both heaters off. If one Apex completely failed, the surviving controller could maintain the tank temperature. This equates to "no single point of failure".

Another benefit of using two Apex controllers with independent temperature probes is the ability to identify any calibration drift between the probes. As the probes are both installed in the same sump chamber, the temperature readings should always be within about 0.1F of each other. If this drift increases, it is an indication that one of the probes is not operating at peak performance and that maintenance should be preformed.

Finally, if the temperature of the tank does deviate either up or down, both Apex controllers are configured to send email alerts to my phone.

When operating normally, the temperature characteristics should look like this:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/heat/temp2.jpg

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:29 AM

Post 28

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:29 AM

Post 29

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:30 AM

<This design is currently in draft status - There are some minor modifications planned for the final implementation - Check back later>

Pretext: I’ve had my ATO fail while on holidays. This caused the sump return chamber to completely evaporate leading to a subsequent failure of the return pump. After fixing the ATO and replacing the return pump, the ATO did what it was supposed to do and pumped 10 gallons of saturated Kalk water (pH 12.4) back into the system. The result was a pH spike reaching upwards of 9.5. While I was able to recover from this without a tank crash and better yet, without losing any wildlife, it drove home the importance of a reliable ATO. In my opinion, it is one of the more critical components and can potentially fail without warning.

Requirements: In keeping with the guiding principles, this aspect of the system has to be completely redundant all the way through from the breaker panel to the tank. It needs to be constantly monitored and should be able to identify and alert a failure event. In the event of any single failure, it should continue to operate without impact the tank.

Addition considerations include:

• RO units are not very efficient when run for a short duration. Therefore, the ideal situation is to fill the reservoirs in one cycle of the RO unit.

• The Tunze osmolator water pumps seem to lose their prime when they run dry. I’ve often had to suck water into the pump to get it started. Perhaps it’s just my pump, but the system needs to prevent these pumps from ever running dry.

• Kalkwasser is to be dosed through the ATO system, so there should be some safety measures in place.

• The return chamber of the sump does not hold sufficient water volume to survive a failure of the ATO system for an extended period of time. Making this chamber bigger would have meant sacrificing space elsewhere.

Diagram Conventions: The following table depicts the conventions used in this document.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_ato-legend.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/ato-legend.jpg)

System Schematic: The design I came up with is probably overkill if the ATO was the only consideration. However, many of the redundant systems utilized by the ATO are also being used by other systems.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_ato-schematic.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/ato-schematic.jpg)

The Solenoid Valves: The solenoid valves are closed by default. They are opened by the Apex controllers and solve the problem of an inefficient RO unit during the first few minutes of operation. It’s not a question of water high in TDS making it into the tank as the DI resin takes care of this. It’s really a cost savings measure designed to protect the RO membrane and the DI cartridges.

The easiest way to control the filling of the reservoir would be to have the sensors that are installed in the reservoir open the solenoid. It’s easy enough with the Apex controller to open the solenoid for a specified period of time (say 1 hour) whenever it detects a sensor event. However, I don’t really trust these sensors enough to completely rely on them. I am comfortable using them as a backup but I want a more reliable means of refilling the reservoir on a routine basis.

The solution is really simple. Each day at a pre-set time and for a pre-set duration the solenoid opens and the reservoir is allowed to fill. The amount of time required to refill the reservoir (assuming it is nearly empty) is estimated and a safety factor added. While the reservoir is filling, the Tunze ATO is shut off so that once full, no water is removed from the reservoir until the cycle is completed. The RO units are equipped with shutoff valves and will automatically stop when once the resevoir float valve creates sufficient back presure.

Another benefit of filling the reservoir based on time is that if the float valve in the reservoir were to fail open, the water damage would be limited. The solution provides a double shut off. The first being the float valve, and the second being elapsed time. I could install a high water sensor in the reservoir as a third safety, but I’m not sure that it is necessary.

The Primary and Secondary ATO systems are programmed to fill the respective reservoir at different times during the day. In the event that the rate of evaporation is higher than anticipated on any given day, the sensors in the reservoir will open the RO solenoid and fill the reservoir as would otherwise be expected.

The final benefit of a timed system is that the reservoirs would never randomly start filling at the same time.

Controlling pH: The use of Kalkwasser in the ATO necessitates a brief discussion of pH. The tank will have a natural pH swing based in part on the light cycle and the consumption of CO2 through organic processes. Using the Apex controller and pH sensor, we can manipulate the natural swing a bit.

NSW (Natural Sea Water) has a pH of between 8.0 and 8.3, but is generally estimated at 8.2. For a variety of reasons, I will target 8.2 as my “ideal” pH. I will consider of range of 8.1 to 8.3 to be within the acceptable ideal. I will tolerate a swing of 8.05 to 8.35 before trying to further adjust the system.

It is suggested that minimizing the pH swing is more important than hitting a precise value. For example a pH swing from 7.9 to 8.1 is probably better than a pH swing of 8.0 to 8.4 even though the average is closer to ideal.

• The Kalkwasser doser will always be operational except where the pH rises above 8.3. There is no consideration for night and day. Only the pH of the system is considered. If the pH rises above 8.3 the controller will stop operation of the secondary ATO system and only the primary ATO will function. However, If any of the low water level alerts are triggered, the pH condition will be ignored and the secondary ATO will be turned back on. I figure it’s better to allow Kalkwasser to be dosed without regard to pH, than to have the entire system fail.

• If the pH rises above 8.2, the Calcium reactor will be activated. This system is independent of the ATO system, but will serve to lower the pH and keep it closer to ideal.

• The Kalkwasser mixer and Calcium reactor operating in tandem provide a number of benefits which we can discuss in another section.

The obvious question at this point should be “Do you trust you pH measurement instruments enough to rely on them”?

There is a 2 part answer to this question.

1) It doesn’t really matter if they are completely accurate as it is more about the swing then the precise pH value. I consider it an acceptable error if the pH is actually swinging from 8.0 to 8.2 rather than the target of 8.1 to 8.3.

2) I will have some insight into the calibration and operation of the pH probes because I will have two pH probes connected to two separate Apex controllers. Once calibrated, these probes should have identical readings. If either probe produces readings outside of an expected baseline, I will know further investigation is warranted.

Water Lines: The difference between the high water mark and the low water mark does not have to be very big. It should be greater than the rate of evaporation between the two water levels such that the primary pump is not activated during a kalk mixing cycle (1h 10m) or a reservoir fill cycle (up to 2h).

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_ato-waterlevel.jpg

Primary ATO: The primary ATO holds the water level at the ‘Low Water Line’ and is always on. The only exception is while the reservoir is being filled, which is programmed to occur an hour before the lights come on. This time was selected because of the predictably low pH at this time.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_ato-primary.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/ato-primary.jpg)

This is pretty standard stuff here. The only extras are the float sensor attached to the Apex one of which is in the sump and the other of which is in the reservoir.

Secondary ATO: The secondary ATO holds the water level at the ‘high’ mark and is turned on and off according to the following logic:

• Kalk Mixer On (10m) – Tunze Osmolator Off (1h 10m)
• Kalk Mixer is On approximately 10m every 4 hours.
• The Tunze Osmolator is off during a reservoir fill cycle.
• The start time for a reservoir fill cycle is programmed to coincide with a kalk mix cycle, but is estimated at 2H.

What I’m trying to avoid here is pushing water through the Kalkwasser mixer and into the tank while the mixer is in operation. The kalk needs about an hour to settle after it has been mixed.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_ato-secondary.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/ato-secondary.jpg)

The reservoir is filled just before the lights go off. This time was selected because of the predictably high pH at this time.

Dual ATO: The two independently operating ATO systems provide a backup to each other. The system can withstand any single failure without crashing the tank.

Limitations: The systems not perfect. There are some failure scenarios that warrant a note. Although unlikely to occur, there is always a possibility.

• If either of the Kent Marine Float Valves fail, there is a potential that the reservoir will overflow during a scheduled fill cycle. To mitigate this, the overflowing water would pool in the sump area of the stand. This area is sealed for leakage and should hold a significant amount of water before spilling onto the carpet. A water on the floor alarm could also be triggered.

• The RO/DI units could spring a leak before the check valve. They are installed in the furnace room which has a floor drain. I am confident that water would be contained in this area.

• The John Guest fitting could fail at the reservoir. This could potentially be bad, but is reasonably unlikely to occur. The damage would be limited to my basement carpet and the tank should be just fine.

• If the primary ATO fails for any reason, then the secondary ATO is forced into an on state. This effectively disables the pH controls. However, the rate of kalkwasser addition to the tank is still limited by the rate of evaporation and the Calcium reactor would still be on. I don’t anticipate a significant pH spike.

• Larger reservoirs might make things a little easier and reduce the margin for error. However, they would also take up more space which is really at a premium under my tank.

• It would be nice if the two Apex controllers were aware of each other. Unfortunately, they are not.

Feed Cycles: I’d like to be able to stop the return pumps for feeding. I use a check valve on the return lines to limit the amount of water that back siphons into the sump. Don’t worry, the check valves are not safety features, rather just a convenience factor (the sump can hold the water if need be). However, the water level inevitably changes with the small volume of extra water and the high level alarm goes off. The other problem is when the pumps start up the water level in the sump drops while the overflow stabilizes and the ATOs start trying to compensate.

The solution is to shut off both of the Tunze Osmolators during the feed cycle and turn them back on 10 minutes after the feed cycle completes. The Apex controller has this feature built in.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:30 AM

Aquascaping is fun, but not an easy task. I’m pretty happy with what I managed in my 90g, but this tank is a little bigger. I’m also working with over 300 pounds of rock.

I really don’t want the rock sitting on the glass and buried in the sand. In my opinion, this causes a whole set of problems not the least of which is an unstable base structure. Instead, I want the rock elevated slightly above the sand. Amongst other things, this should help to ensure good flow while creating additional caves and shelter for various fish and inverts.

To accomplish this, I envisioned a peg board style base where I could plug acrylic rods wherever they were needed. If I wanted to move a rock to a different location, I could just move the pegs. Depending on the size and shape of the rock, the pegs can be inserted in a variety of combinations.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure006.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure006.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure007.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure007.jpg)

The rock above is supported by this peg configuration:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/pegs.gif

Assembly

There are two acrylic sheets.

The bottom layer is ¼” and does not have any holes drilled in it. The purpose of this sheet is primarily load distribution to avoid the effect of point loading.

The top layer is ½”. This layer has to be thick enough to provide adequate support for the pegs.

The pegs are ½” acrylic rod. The pegs are friction fit into the holes and are not glued in place.

The two sheets of acrylic are bonded together with Methylene Chloride. This was actually fairly easy to do. I simply used a syringe applicator to circle around the bottom of each hole and the sheets bonded together. I completed this step in the tank as I wanted a flat surface to work on to ensure the acrylic didn’t warp.

Construction

A grid was drawn. There are more holes towards the back. Spacing was 1”, 2”, 2.5”, 2.5”, 3” and repeating. The idea is that rock will be denser towards the back of the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure001.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure001.jpg)

Drilling the holes was more tedious than difficult. The biggest challenge was keeping the drill straight. Not all of the holes are perfectly vertical but, other than aesthetics, I don’t see this as a problem.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure002.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure002.jpg)

That’s a lot of holes. Notice the third row at the back. I drilled these holes just for good measure.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure003.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure003.jpg)

Having put the acrylic sheets into the tank, this was my first trial.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure004.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure004.jpg)

One of the problems that I wanted to avoid was having sand get between the acrylic and the glass bottom. I cleaned everything the best that I could and then siliconed the acrylic to the glass around the edges. I know that silicone does not bond well to acrylic, but I also know from experience that it does bond well enough when there is no pressure or stress on the seam. In this application, the weight of the rock will help to keep the sheets in place and the silicone is really only to keep the sheets from sliding and sand from getting under the acrylic. I used the weights to hold the acrylic in place while I was applying the silicone to ensure that there were no gaps.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__rock_structure005.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_rock_structure005.jpg)

Conclusions

One obvious limitation of this approach is that it is really only suitable for tanks with a sand bed. It also costs a fair bit of money. Having said that, I am really happy with the final product and am now looking forward to aquascaping.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:31 AM

Let the fun begin. While I find it incredibly difficult and challenging, I also really enjoy aquascaping. I've been really happy with my past efforts and I am equally pleased with the success in this tank. What I do regret is that the camera really can't show the 3rd dimension and aquascaping is really all about depth. The pictures of this rock work really don't do the actual structure justice. I struggle to see the aspects that I like most, so you might need to use your imagination to see why I like my final creation.

I started with 320 pounds of BRS Dry Eco Rock and an assorment of 1/2" acrylic pegs.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scape01.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scape01.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scape02.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scape02.jpg)

I built a total of 4 structures before deciding that I really liked the 4th. I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but the way the rocks fit together also played a large role in the final configuration.

Version 1 - This was supposed to be a cove providing lots of sheltered swimming areas and caves for the fish. I was successful in creating what I had envisioned, but in the end it really didn't look natural.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev1.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scape4a.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scape4a.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev1_1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev1_1.jpg)

Version 2 - In this one I was trying to create more of a sloped structure while introducing a more natural look. The results were somewhat successful, but not great.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev2.jpg)

Version 3 - When I see this in pictures, I like the look of it. I was going for more of a 'minimalist' look. The problem was that the rocks weren't really fitting together. It would have been difficult to place corals effectively.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev2a.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev2a.jpg)

Version 4 - This is the aquascape that I am keeping. It has all of the features that I was hoping to create, but most importantly it really creates depth in the tank. There is ample room for coral placement and I expect water circulation through the structure to be good.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_1.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_2.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_5.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_5.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_4.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_4.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_3.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_3.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_6.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_6.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scapev4_7.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev4_7.jpg)

Construction - For those who may be curious.

I did not drill or peg the rock directly. The initial placement is held together by gravity. If the rocks were not stable, I selected a different rock. After completing the structure and sleeping on it for a couple of days, I used 'Aquascape Millput Epoxy' to bind the structure together.

The peg system really worked well. I had to move them around a number of times and found myself using our central vac to clean out the dust from the holes. I also discovered that a 3 peg platform was often more stable than a 4 peg platform. It's hard to get the rock to sit fully on 4 pegs and one of the pegs is often to short or two long.

The base structure was put in place first and then everything else was piled on top of the base. The base creates the general shape and then the rocks decide for themselves what the overall structure will look like.

One lesson learned is that if I were to order the dry rock again, I would ask for more mid sized pieces. I found it difficult to use the largest of the pieces and didn't really need as many small pieces as I had thought that I might. Overall, I am very happy with this rock.

I used a total of approximately 200 pounds leaving me with about another 100 pounds of unused rock. I'll offer some of this for sale in the next month or two. This puts me at about .5 pounds per gallon which is way below the traditional recommendation of 1-1.5 pounds per gallon. Let's hope those bio-pellets work as well as advertised.

The following pictures are just for fun and show some of the stages of assembly:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scape03.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scapev03.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_scape04.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/scape04.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_pegs1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/pegs1.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/tn_pegs2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/scape/pegs2.jpg)

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:31 AM

I had a DSB in my 90G display and I really liked it. However, for this tank I decided that a shallow sand bed would be easier to manage.

In selecting a sand, I looked at color and grain size. Specifically, I wanted a larger grain that would not get blown around by the high flow in the tank. I selected Caribsea Arag-Alaive Special Grade Reef Sand.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/caribsea1.gif . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/caribsea2.gif

Note: On occasion, I've had my Tunze 6205 powerheads slip in their mounting clamp and end up pointing straight down into the sand bed. When this happens, the larger grain size has basically saved me from disaster. The powerhead pushes the sand aside and exposes the bottom of the tank, but the sand hasn't been blown up into the water column. This is a good sand for high flow tanks.

I should explain that in hind sight, I think the Arag-Alive product line is a little bit confusing and I would not purchase it again. The reason for this is how the weight is calculated. What I learned after the fact is that the water the sand is packed in is calculated as part of the net weight. This could easily be as much as 25% - On a very small tank I could maybe see the benifits, but on most tanks this is just wasting money. I do like the sand, just not the fact that I paid for 50+ pounds of water! One benefit of the Arag-Alive is that it comes pre-washed - I guess that adds some value.

At this time I have added 240 pounds of sand. With the water weight, lets call this at 200 pounds.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/tn_sand1.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/tn_sand2.jpg

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/tn_sand3.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sand/tn_sand4.jpg

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:32 AM

Fish List
-----------------------------------------------

Firefish (2)............................Feb 06, 2011
Solar Wrasse............................Feb 18, 2011
Royal Dottyback.........................Feb 18, 2011
Bartlett's Anthias (1M, 11F)............Apr 09, 2011
Diamond Watchman Gobies (2).............Apr 11, 2011
Purple Tang (Medium)....................Apr 28, 2011
Amphiprion Ocellaris (Mated Pair).......Apr 29, 2011

Coming soon
2 indigo dottybacks
Hawaiian Flame Wrasses (Mated Piar)
Tangs - Yellow, Hippo, Powder Blue, Sailfin

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:32 AM

Green Digitatahttp://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/coral/green_digi1.jpg

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:33 AM

post 36

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:33 AM

Initially I wasn't sure that I was going to have a refugium in this system. I really wanted a clean sump and had hoped to use the chamber for frags. However, with the dry eco rock, my tank started out with no life at all. I also want to keep a number of fish (anthias and dragonets) that may only be sustainable with a refugium.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:34 AM

Reserved

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:34 AM

I built this for my current 90G. After testing all aspects of the system, I decided against using it on my 300G. Many of the aspects of this system were designed to allow the use of cheap paristaltic pumps (read Aquamedic). For the CWC system on the 300G, I decided that it was more effective to simply invest in a high quality paristaltic pump and the whole loop thing wasn't needed anymore. I may pull this post down at some point, but for now you can take a look if you are interested.

Continuous Water Change System

“Continuous water changes, despite their name, are not necessarily performed every minute of every day. The distinguishing feature of these changes is that water is added at the same time that it is removed. The actual rate of addition can be high or low. Reef aquarists (myself included) most often perform these types of water changes with two matched pumps, one that removes the old water and one that adds the new water.” - Randy Holmes Fraley (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php)

The plan is to build a continuous water change system that changes approximately 30% of the total system volume every month. Estimating the total water volume at 400 gallons, then 30% of this is 120 gallons. Based on a 30 day cycle, this is 4 gallons every day.

There are a number of design challenges that need to be overcome for the system to be successful.

• Proximity to tank – The holding tanks are fairly large and in my situation must be located in the water room.
• Drain – Access to the drain is in the water room.
• Incorporate chiller into system.
• Able to operate unattended for a minimum of 30 days.

In order for the system to run for 30 days without any intervention, the reservoir has to be at least 160 gallons.

The basic premise is to build a closed loop between the tank and the water room. Along the loop, there will be several key components.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterchange1.gif

• A tap for a peristaltic pump to add water from a reservoir of premixed saltwater.
• A tap for a peristaltic pump to remove water into a drain.
• A Chiller.

It is assumed that the peristaltic pumps will add and subtract water from the system at exactly the same rate (matched pumps). However, this assumption needs to be tested and verified. If the system is not calibrated perfectly, the risk is that the salinity will either rise or fall over time. (The water level in the tank is unlikely to be affected as the ATO system will ensure that the water level is constant.) If the pumps are not perfectly synchronized, there are several easy solutions including running one pump longer than the other, or adjusting the salinity of the new saltwater to compensate for the calibration error. In any event, the rate of change is so small (4 gallons per day into a 400 gallon system = 1% change) that any drift in the system should be easily detectable before the parameters wander too far.

In addition to the basic loop, there will also be a system in place for larger “batch” water changes. This system will be based on a series of valves that really just enable two additional features of the loop.

1. Enable water to exit the loop directly by way of the drain.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterchange2.gif

2. Enable new saltwater to be pumped into the loop from the reservoir.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/waterchange3.gif

Plumbing

The plumbing schematic helps to illustrate the overall flexibility built into the system.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/sm_wcplumbing.gif (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/wcplumbing.gif)

All of the components are connected to unions so that they are both serviceable and replaceable.

Normal Operation:
* Open Valves – A,B,D,E,F,G,H
* Closed Valves – C,I

Batch Fill:
* Open Valves – D,E,F,G,I
* Closed Valves – B,C,H
* Doesn’t Matter – A
* Change from Normal - Close B,H - Open I

Batch Drain:
* Open Valves – A,B,C
* Closed Valves – D,I
* Doesn’t Matter – E,F,G,H
* Change from Normal - Close D, Open C

The Chiller

One of the secondary design goals of this system was to get the chiller as far away from the tank as possible. This is because the chiller is loud when running and produces a lot of hot air. Having the chiller in the water room should solve these problems. The only drawback that I see of including the chiller in the loop is the additional head pressure that it adds. The manufacturer estimates the head pressure through the chiller at 4’.

The Reservoir - Heater and UV Sterilizer

The reservoir mixing loop has both a heater and UV Sterilizer.

The heater will not normally be activated. With the extremely slow introduction of the new saltwater, I am not concerned about matching the tank temperature. While I expect it to be inconsequential, I would prefer the water to be cold to help with cooling. If I plan to do a batch water change, I will activate the heater and allow the temperature to adjust before doing the WC.

The UV Sterilizer will be on whenever the mixing pump is on (and valve H is open).

The Peristaltic Dosing Pumps

I bought the Aqua Medic Reef Doser Quad - Dosing Pump (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=am-d370115) for another project that I didn't end up building. As a result, I have 4 peristaltic dosing pumps sitting on a shelf.

Initially, I really didn’t like the Reef Doser Quad. The controller has some major limitations that make the pumps unusable in most situations. For example, in the event of a power failure, all programming is lost. Furthermore, there is no concept of actual time – everything is programmed based on elapsed time. Needless to say, I was disappointed with the purchase.

In hopes of finding an easy way to control these dosing pumps with my controller, I took them apart and found them to be easily moddable. Firstly, the motor runs on standard AC power. Secondly, all of the dosing pumps are easily detachable from one another. After tracing the wires, it was pretty easy to hook up the motors to a standard PC power cord which can then be connected to a timer or controller. The original controller basically went in the garbage.

These pumps are rated for (1.5L/Hour or 0.4GPH). To achieve a daily exchange of 4 gallons, the pumps have to run for 10 hours.

To minimize any stress to the system, I will stagger this throughout the day. The cycle will be 1 hour on followed by 1 hour off for 10 full cycles. The final cycle will be 4 hours off to complete the day. (24 hours = 4 gallons)

Challenges

As with any system, there are some unknown factors. Some of the questions that I have are:

• The loop is pressurized. I’m unsure what effect this will have on flow rate through the peristaltic pump?

Limitations

• Heat - The pump will introduce heat into the system.
• Energy – The pump will consume energy
• Maintenance – Cleaning the loop will be difficult due to the length. I will replace the spaflex tubing once every year or so.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 05:36 AM

Thanks for stopping by. It's been a lot of fun for me to build the system and somewhat enjoyable to document it. Still loving this hobby...

February 2011
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_feb-2011/tn_tank-feb18_11-03.jpg

March 2011
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/fts/tn_fts-march2011-small.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/fts/fts-march2011-small.jpg)

July 2011
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-1.JPG)

Next

*** Discussion from this point forward ***

Greenmaster

07-15-2010, 06:17 AM

I'll watch... when you "edit" one of your first 40 posts will the site notify us you have done so or will we have to keep looking back?... or you could just do a new post and link it to the post that has been updated :D Also could you link the posts to your index?
Example: "The build.....................................Post 13"http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534771#post534771

kien

07-15-2010, 01:17 PM

Game on! :pop2:

Oh, but where are the pics???? :).

No the board won't notify you of edited posts.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 01:32 PM

Perhaps my plan was flawed :smile: - In any event, I will make the best of it.

Kien - Lot's of pics to come.
Greenmaster - Thanks for the suggestions.

One thing I did test was going back to some of my first Canreef posts. It appears that the edit button still works after many months. I'm hoping the moderators will leave this option available to me.

I will post a note whenever I update content.

<Content Updated> - Posts 3,4,5,6,7,8

Greenmaster

07-15-2010, 02:01 PM

Interesting design for the thread even... can we see some photos though? :D

lastlight

07-15-2010, 03:27 PM

Loving the drawings thus far. Nice to see another builder doing the micro bevels or whatever you're calling them. That's looks so KEY.

Why 2 osmolators?

I like the use of dual Eheims for returns. You're not pushing more through your sump than needed and you have a backup if one bites the fat one.

Blue wave 7 ballasts? I had been looking to purchase a Blue Wave but couldn't find them for purchase. They aren't made anymore AFAIK. Do you have these already?

Are you still building on-site and has this happened?

Looking forward to more!

kien

07-15-2010, 03:42 PM

wow! It is a good thing you are a giant! Working in the back side of the tank at 36" will be fun! :lol: Great sketch up and I do love those dimensions.

Concept Aquariums will definitely be building my next tank. They're great guys to talk to and work with (yes, this is me sucking up to you Concept Aquarium dude! :lol: )

lastlight

07-15-2010, 03:49 PM

Next tank? Kien get outta here. Stop upgrading man...I pee larger than my current tank!

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 03:51 PM

Hi Brett
Why 2 osmolators?
I've got a whole section on this planned. I'll try to get it online in the next couple of days. The bottom line is that there will be two resevoirs each with an Osmolator. if either one fails, the other should be sufficient for continued opperation. There are some additional considerations, but I'll try to go through all of that in the content post.

Blue wave 7 ballasts? I had been looking to purchase a Blue Wave but couldn't find them for purchase. They aren't made anymore AFAIK. Do you have these already?

Yes - I already have this ballast on my 90G tank. When I learned they had been discontinued I was dissapointed and thought I had made a bad purchase decision. However, more and more people are telling me how good these ballasts are. I know you can still find them in retail but they are quickly dissapearing.

Lighting is still a big question for me. I'm really not sure what direction I will go, but I am considering LED.

Are you still building on-site and has this happened?

I'm very happy to say that the tank was completed yesterday. I will try to get pictures up in the next couple of days, but I am very happy with the finished product.

Looking forward to more!
Thanks for that. Your tanks are pretty amazing and I've learned a lot from reading your threads.

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 03:57 PM

wow! It is a good thing you are a giant! Working in the back side of the tank at 36" will be fun! :lol: Great sketch up and I do love those dimensions.
The tank is accessible from all sides. There's a platform at the back of the tank stand that I can use, so the middle of the tank will really be the hardest to reach. I might have made the tank a little higher than necessary, but the frustration of working in such a deep tank will be made up by the aquascaping options. I don't regret this yet :smile:

Wingin It

07-15-2010, 04:02 PM

Wow...i'm taggin along on this one! Great planning!

lastlight

07-15-2010, 05:05 PM

The tank's already built and pics in a FEW days?

I wanna see this thing. Do you do sleepovers? I can bring my own bag.

scherzo

07-15-2010, 06:07 PM

Tagging long!

Great planning. I wish I knew how to use sketchup as well as you do!

Just a suggestion. You could do what Kien did and do a table of contents that link to the posts.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=433479&postcount=1

Just a thought.

andestang

07-15-2010, 06:37 PM

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 07:14 PM

This looks to be a very nice build. I really like the dimensions, similar to what I have designed for my build. So if I understand correctly you have most of the components bought already ? Looking forward to the rest.

It is very similar to your tank dimensions. I'm following your thread intently.
I have most of the hardware already purchased. The missing pieces are lighting and live rock. Obviously I'm not ready for the rock yet as the tank was just finished.

DiverDude

07-15-2010, 07:56 PM

abcha0s

07-15-2010, 08:17 PM

I really like your thread layout. I think this makes a lot of sense since when you're done it'll read as a concise "This is how I did what I did" guide without all the chitter-chatter in between posts.

I've nver heard of Concept Aquariums. I googled it and I find references to a place in edmonton but their website is shut down....
Hi Mark - Thanks for the encouragement.

Anyway - There seems to be some confusion around the name Concept Aquariums. I don't know all of the details because I really have no idea who used to run the Edmonton based company. I do know that they are not the same company and that the owners have nothing to do with each other. As I understand it, the similar name is just a coincidence.

abcha0s

07-16-2010, 04:22 AM

<New Content Posted> - Pics

Designing the Overflow........................Post 9 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534767&postcount=9)
Designing the Stand...........................Post 10 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534768&postcount=10)
Designing the Sump (100G).....................Post 11 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534769&postcount=11)
Putting it all together.......................Post 12 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534770&postcount=12)
The build.....................................Post 13 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534771&postcount=13)

I also updated the index with clickable links. Credit to Kien for the index idea and making them clickable!

abcha0s

07-16-2010, 05:52 AM

<New Content Posted>

Tank Images...................................Post 14 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534773&postcount=14)

There it is...

Greenmaster

07-16-2010, 06:00 AM

Definitely a sweet tank... are you doing the bottom bracing as well or are you done the tank?
When you gonna water test it?

the marine apprentice

07-16-2010, 06:32 AM

very impressive. all i have to say at the moment.

lastlight

07-16-2010, 06:34 AM

dear god that tank is a thing of beauty! Those starphire euros are one heck of a nice touch.

What are your plans for the back of the tank? If you plan to have a backing on it...how will you also hide the overflow in a way that blends with your background?

abcha0s

07-16-2010, 01:57 PM

What are your plans for the back of the tank? If you plan to have a backing on it...how will you also hide the overflow in a way that blends with your background?

The tank was pushed closer to the wall than I had originally planned. When I first conceptualized the tank, the idea was for it to be an island viewable from all 4 sides. I'm still thinking that I will keep the back side clean and use it as a viewable pane. Perhaps I could paint a section of the wall black just to give the illusion of darkness towards the back. At the very least, I plan to leave enough space between the glass and rock/corals to clean all of the sides. No final decision on this yet.

Thanks for the comments btw!!

abcha0s

07-16-2010, 02:02 PM

Definitely a sweet tank... are you doing the bottom bracing as well or are you done the tank?
When you gonna water test it?
The bottom bracing is in place. It's somewhat subtle and perhaps hard to make out in the pictures. It has silicone on all 4 edges of the glass, so it somewhat blends in. These aren't really for strength as much as for adhesion. The structural integrity is still primarily the glass panes.

As for water testing - I have to slow down a bit for the next while. I may fill it with ro/di water and do an extended leak test over the summer, but plumbing in the sump and adding salt will have to wait for now.

Edmonton newbie

07-16-2010, 03:54 PM

another one i have to tag along for sweet looking build

Greenmaster

07-17-2010, 02:27 AM

The bottom bracing is in place. It's somewhat subtle and perhaps hard to make out in the pictures. It has silicone on all 4 edges of the glass, so it somewhat blends in. These aren't really for strength as much as for adhesion. The structural integrity is still primarily the glass panes.

As for water testing - I have to slow down a bit for the next while. I may fill it with ro/di water and do an extended leak test over the summer, but plumbing in the sump and adding salt will have to wait for now.

A weak point of the tank is typically the joints. I'm glad to hear you strengthened them :D... I would hate to see your fish flopping on the floor.

SAMSHUNG

07-17-2010, 04:01 PM

EPIC-ness!!!

(subscribing the s#it out of this thread.)

andestang

07-17-2010, 06:32 PM

Looking supreme ! Is that glass covering your overflow box ? You must of enjoyed having it built at home, seeing the whole thing come together. That's also up my sleeve.

abcha0s

07-19-2010, 12:12 AM

<New Content Posted>

Planning the ATO (Automatic Top Off)..........<moved to 38 - Changed status to draft>

Pretext: I’ve had my ATO fail while on holidays. This caused the sump return chamber to completely evaporate leading to a subsequent failure of the return pump. After fixing the ATO and replacing the return pump, the ATO did what it was supposed to do and pumped 10 gallons of saturated Kalk water (pH 12.4) back into the system. The result was a pH spike reaching upwards of 9.5. While I was able to recover from this without a tank crash and better yet, without losing any wildlife, it drove home the importance of a reliable ATO. In my opinion, it is one of the more critical components and can potentially fail without warning.

steveg

07-19-2010, 01:24 AM

Amazing how a quick look on the computer can generate such green eyed monster feelings................:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen :

Looking forward to seeing this develop!

TheMikey

07-19-2010, 01:30 AM

abcha0s

07-19-2010, 02:29 AM

Absolutely fantastic build. The level of detail and planning incorpotated into the build (as well as the great explanations) could (should?!) be made into a How-To for those looking at building large tanks. You seem to have all your bases covered on your build.

I do have one question, however:

In regards to the steel design (and redesign) I've noticed that on the stand that the aquarium isn't actually sitting on the back brace where you've added the additional support and the entire backside seems to be for the benefit of the overflow alone. You were very concerned in this build early on about having enough support but from my (rather limited, forgive me) knowledge it seems like you are ignoring the rear re-enforcement entirely. Can you give me the rationale for it?

I really hope this doesn't come off as a flame/troll post (it's not I assure you :) ) I just found it a little odd the way the tank fits on the stand.

Again, fantastic tank journal; it's making me itch for an upgrade :D

Hey Mikey

Sure - ask me a difficult question. :smile:

There are a couple of ways to look at this. Let's make sure we are talking about the same thing.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/question1.jpg

I believe that you are referring to the fact that the tank sits on Beam B and not Beam A. I did consider this.

The first modification I made to support this arrangement was to add an additional brace from front to back. Where splitting the load in two squares (3'x3') should be sufficient, I am splitting the load in three rectangles (3'x2').

I also figure that the two beams together, being only 2.5" apart and welded in 4 places, will collectively have a strength greater than a single beam.

Finally, I am counting on the distance to the braced beam (Beam A) being small enough that the load will be almost directly transfered between the two beams.

Having said all of that - there's not a lot of science behind it. It's more intuition than anything. If the stand weren't overbuilt, I would be a little more concerned, but I think there is a sufficient safety variable built in to offset the risk of deflection along this beam.

This stand design gives me considerably more space underneath the tank. The extra 4.5" makes a big difference. It also will make it easier to hide some of the plumbing when I start panneling the stand. So far, I don't regret the design.

Anyway, the question is perfectly reasonable, no need to appologize.

- Thanks

abcha0s

07-19-2010, 02:38 AM

Looking supreme ! Is that glass covering your overflow box ? You must of enjoyed having it built at home, seeing the whole thing come together. That's also up my sleeve.
Thanks!!

There is a glass cover for the overflow. It is removable and is primarily there for looks. There may also be a secondary benifit of noise reduction making a quiet overflow almost silent

One note if you are considering something similar. Glass on glass scratches and chips. I will put little rubber feet (matching the silicone thickness) to ensure that the pieces never touch. I considered an acrylic cover, but 15mm acrylic is either very difficult to find, or just not manufactured.

Watching the build was a lot of fun. Can't wait to see yours.

BTW - If you wan't to come check out the tank before you finalize your plans, just let me know.

DiverDude

07-19-2010, 03:18 AM

...Watching the build was a lot of fun.

The voyeur in me wonders if perhaps you happened to video the assembly of the tank.

That would be....awesome :biggrin:

lastlight

07-19-2010, 03:27 AM

When Gary built my old 400 on-site there was a strange smoke/fog surrounding him. The shroud of mystery if you will. Try as I did I could not directly view the magic that is the on-site build.

Actually...I just felt he wanted some privacy and I let him be =)

abcha0s

07-19-2010, 03:38 AM

Sorry - I didn't get any video.

+1 on the privacy consideration. You'll notice that there are no pictures of the mysterious builders surrounded by their shroud of smoke and fog. :smile:

andestang

07-19-2010, 06:12 AM

I may just have to do that, thanks.

BTW - If you wan't to come check out the tank before you finalize your plans, just let me know.

bauder1986

07-19-2010, 02:39 PM

Holly crap, this looks like a developement proposal to me! Nice tank and nice tank build porposal thread:razz:

rjengen

07-20-2010, 06:27 AM

Alright, you were not kidding when you said it was a little bigger...all I can say is wow! I can't wait to see it all come together...thanks for bringing me to your thread!

abcha0s

08-02-2010, 04:52 AM

<New Content Posted>

Plumbing the Overflow and Return..............Post 15 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534774&postcount=15)

So, I had the evening to myself yesterday. My wife was working and the kids were sleeping. A rare opportunity for me to work on the tank without interruptions. The next step was to plumb the tank and I have to admit I really wanted to see some water in it.

At one point, I was kneeling on the floor beside the tank. The basement floor was scattered with PVC fittings. Paper towel lay in a pile where I had been placing it after wiping excess glue from the joints. Various tools were within reach. I had the Apple TV streaming ‘Chillout Dreams’ from DI.FM to the home theater – In fact I was really enjoying myself.

It occurred to me that I was sharing an experience of so many others before me. Plumbing the tank. - I’m not talking about professional aquarists, or even when you are working on a tank with friends. It was the solitude that struck me.

lastlight

08-02-2010, 05:14 AM

I'm not sure I can get too poetic about plumbing but I totally love doing it!

Greenmaster

08-02-2010, 08:29 AM

Your plumbing looks awesome... I'm doing the plumbing ATM too... doesn't look as good as yours and I don't get the solitude... I get the kids wanting to "help" and the wife wanting me to do anything that doesn't involve working on the fish tank.

abcha0s

08-03-2010, 03:49 AM

So, I filled my tank with fresh water this morning. Everything checked out and there are no real problems to speak of.

Ironically, we had a flash rain storm here this evening and one of the basement window wells flooded. I figure about 20 gallons of water ended up on the carpet. Oh well...

<New Content Posted>

Fresh water testing...........................Post 16 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534775&postcount=16)

Parker

08-03-2010, 07:52 PM

I talked to all of the LFS owners about my project, but in the end I actually just got lucky and through a fellow Canreefer I met the guys from Concept Aquarium. Honestly, after getting to know the owner, the decision to have them build my tank was an easy one. These guys are passionate about big tanks and quality builds. If you’re having a tank built, I highly recommend talking to them.

Concept built my tank as well, they did a very good job on it and I'm 99.9% happy with it. They did get a litte sloppy in a couple of places with the silicone, IE: when the bottom trim went on some of the silicone sqeezed out and above the trim and was left there. Other then that I have ZERO complaints, it was completed earlier then quoted, all of the holes were where they were supposed to be and I have A LOT of holes, 16 of em in my tank.

I would recommend them to anyone.

Parker

08-03-2010, 07:56 PM

Great build, a lot of thought went into your tank!

dave_C

08-03-2010, 09:47 PM

Concept built my tank as well, they did a very good job on it and I'm 99.9% happy with it. They did get a litte sloppy in a couple of places with the silicone, IE: when the bottom trim went on some of the silicone sqeezed out and above the trim and was left there. Other then that I have ZERO complaints, it was completed earlier then quoted, all of the holes were where they were supposed to be and I have A LOT of holes, 16 of em in my tank.

I would recommend them to anyone.

We would love to take credit for building your tank but i am positive you are thinking about Concept Aquarium up in edmonton :redface: lol

Sorry Brad had to jump in too clear that up, back to your great thread you have going here, oh by the way give me a call when you need help setting up your rocks would love to see what you come up with

Parker

08-03-2010, 09:59 PM

We would love to take credit for building your tank but i am positive you are thinking about Concept Aquarium up in edmonton :redface: lol

Sorry Brad had to jump in too clear that up, back to your great thread you have going here, oh by the way give me a call when you need help setting up your rocks would love to see what you come up with

My apologies for making the mistake.

abcha0s

08-04-2010, 03:56 AM

Swimming with the fishes...

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn_merman.jpg

I can tell you that the water is cold. :smile:

abcha0s

08-04-2010, 03:57 AM

Great build, a lot of thought went into your tank!

Thanks Robb! - Your build is pretty spectacular too.

shrimpchips

08-04-2010, 05:50 AM

Whoa. Is it a jumper? :D

Very well thought out build. Will be really nice to see it all come together. I can't remember, but are you going to have automatic water changes on the tank?

abcha0s

08-04-2010, 10:49 PM

I can't remember, but are you going to have automatic water changes on the tank?

I'd be interested to know the definition of an "automatic water change system" . I've heard it used to describe a fully automated system and I've heard it used to describe a mechanical system? - Just semantics I guess.

I am planning a mechanical system. Honestly, I don’t trust computers enough to automate this aspect of tank maintenance. The system I have in mind should allow me to change about 65 gallons of water in under a minute.

Anyway, this is the next post that I was planning to write, so I’m not going into detail here. I should have something ready to post in the next couple of days.

Thanks for the question…

Very well thought out build. Will be really nice to see it all come together.

Thanks for that. I'm having fun with the build thread. Not as much fun as I am with the tank, but still fun.

abcha0s

08-09-2010, 05:50 AM

<New Content Posted>

Water Changes - Part I of II..................<moved to post 39 - changed status to experimental>

A week ago I had a totally different system in mind. I'd been planning this for months and had it completely figured out. I even had the updated content ready to post.

After reading some of the other threads on Canreef, I started wondering whether I had the best possible system for my application. In a nut shell, I've done a complete 360 from my original plan and have decided to go with a continuous water change system.

I would be very interested if anyone had suggestions for optimizing this system or can see potential problems. I'd also be interested if anyone is using a similar setup?

abcha0s

08-19-2010, 03:15 AM

Today, I ordered 300 pounds of BRS "Reef Saver" Dry Aquarium Eco Rock (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/brs-reef-saver-dry-aquarium-eco-rock.html).

The concept of dry rock was entirely foreign to me until only recently. Everyone uses “live rock” right? Well… Consider the advantages.

Live Rock
• Matures quickly and provides some bio-diversity.

Dry Rock
• Guaranteed not to have any pests (critters or algae).
• No water weight, so pound for pound you get more.
• Significantly cheaper.
• Much easier to aquascape as it can be done dry.

The dry rock can obviously be seeded with good quality live rock. I will not be using the live rock in my 90g as there is some pest algae that I don’t want in the new tank. I’ll either use this live rock in a qt setup or perhaps try to sell it.

I am actually really excited about this purchase. It is a big step forward in terms of planning and keeping this project on track.

Prior to making this decision, I ordered 20 pounds of the rock from BRS. I asked for an eight pound piece and a twelve pound piece. Here’s what it looks like.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__ecorock06.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_ecorock06.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__ecorock03.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_ecorock03.jpg)

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tn__ecorock01.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/_ecorock01.jpg)

Greenmaster

08-19-2010, 04:02 AM

Nice looking rock... I can't wait to see what you do with it :D

abcha0s

10-12-2010, 06:11 AM

<New Content Posted>

Aquascaping - Part I of III...................Post 21 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534780&postcount=21)
- Supporting the structure

Status Update

We've been renovating the basement, so work on the tank has been slow. However, things are starting to get back on track and I'm hoping to have salt water in the tank within the next 4-6 weeks. There's a ton of work to do between now and then.

lobsterboy

10-12-2010, 06:13 AM

nice Brad, cant wait to see what you do with the scape.

lastlight

10-12-2010, 06:35 AM

Really neat idea with the peg system. Can't imagine how long that must have taken you...wow! I think I'd give the peg leg thing a try one day but maybe forgo the slots due to laziness.

So what do you have planned for rock->rock stacking? Are you also drilling and pegging those?

TheMikey

10-12-2010, 03:22 PM

I find the peg idea to be really intriguing. My only concern might be that once you put the substrate in (your plan if I read your build right) the sand will fill in the peg holes. Subsequently, I would think that this fill-in would make it really difficult to move the aquascaped pegs after-the-fact (as the sand would presumably fill in the holes). Have you given any thought to this?

Other than that little problem, I think this is a wicked idea for aquariums. It keeps the rock stable and protects the bottom from scratches. So long as algae and things cant slip underneath I could see people implementing this into their builds.

abcha0s

10-13-2010, 05:18 AM

Thanks for the comments and feed back!! - It's was nice to hear from you.

nice Brad, cant wait to see what you do with the scape.

Thanks John. Seeing what you've done with your tank has been inspiring.

Really neat idea with the peg system. Can't imagine how long that must have taken you...wow! I think I'd give the peg leg thing a try one day but maybe forgo the slots due to laziness.

So what do you have planned for rock->rock stacking? Are you also drilling and pegging those?

I do plan to drill the rock where necessary, and to use acrylic rod within the rock structure to create overhangs and other such structures. I really can't say exactly what it will look like, which is percisely why I wanted a system that was flexible. I figure once I start stacking the rock it will become clear.

I find the peg idea to be really intriguing. My only concern might be that once you put the substrate in (your plan if I read your build right) the sand will fill in the peg holes. Subsequently, I would think that this fill-in would make it really difficult to move the aquascaped pegs after-the-fact (as the sand would presumably fill in the holes). Have you given any thought to this?

Other than that little problem, I think this is a wicked idea for aquariums. It keeps the rock stable and protects the bottom from scratches. So long as algae and things cant slip underneath I could see people implementing this into their builds.

You are right about the substrate. Once the sand goes in, the whole peg system becomes fixed. I figure I will have to vacuum out the holes as I am working with the rock to get rid of any lose particles that break off. In any event, I will take the time necessary to get it right the first time.

- Brad

TheMikey

10-13-2010, 04:03 PM

Once the sand goes in, the whole peg system becomes fixed. I figure I will have to vacuum out the holes as I am working with the rock to get rid of any lose particles that break off. In any event, I will take the time necessary to get it right the first time.

With that in mind though, you might only have a few pegs drilled into even the largest of your rocks. You seem to have enough pegs drilled in that, even with only a few minutes of substrate vacuuming (depending on the depth of your sand bed), you should have enough sand off to adjust your rocks. It might not be as tedious as suggested, but we'll have to see.

Looking forward to the rest of the updates!

andestang

10-13-2010, 07:05 PM

abcha0s

10-14-2010, 02:45 PM

Things are looking really good so far Brad ! I like the the two return pumps mostly if one should fail you still have one for some sort of flow. Also if I was to buy rock again I would most definitely use dry, I bought a piece of live rock awhile back and is now causing much grief which I'll explain on another post. Look forward to the aquascaping. Keep up the good work :)

Thanks Mike. Redundancy was important to me because I once had a return pump fail while I was away on vacation. Not a lot of fun. However, I really like the Eheim pumps and the only way I could get the flow I wanted was to use two of them. It also allows me to service one pump without having to issolate the sump. There's really lots of benefits.

lastlight

10-14-2010, 03:43 PM

I'd never had a 1262 before and found the 3/8" fittings on the smaller models frustrating. Another great thing about those pumps is you can use standard 3/4" threaded adapters from the hardware store.

chris88

10-14-2010, 10:10 PM

I always use a mix of live and dry rock, but it think having a good amount of live rock is needed to seed the tank.

abcha0s

10-15-2010, 01:59 PM

I always use a mix of live and dry rock, but it think having a good amount of live rock is needed to seed the tank.

You raise a good question. How much live rock do you need to seed dry rock and what rock to buy?

It would defeat the purpose to buy live rock for seeding and then to introduce unwanted hitch hikers to the tank (bubble algea, aptasia, etc.)

I wonder if anyone with a clean tank would be willing to put some of my dry rock into their tank to seed it? Even smallish pieces should work?

TheMikey

10-15-2010, 03:07 PM

It would probably be easier to buy a small piece of LR from a clean established tank to seed your new rock.

Rbacchiega

10-15-2010, 03:51 PM

we currently have about 60lbs dry rock in the display tank of our 75....and 3 lbs cured live rock from an established tank. It seems to be doing the trick...I threw in some scallop and saw an ammonia spike, but levels have gone back to normal. I imagine as long as you slowly add bio load to the tank, a minimal ammount of actual "live" rock would be needed. When I ordered from Marco rocks, they said all that was needed to seed the rockwork was a cup of establish sand or a few lbs of good rock from a fellow reefer etc.

abcha0s

01-05-2011, 07:43 PM

So, I've made some significant progress on the tank. Everything got put on hold while we were doing some renovations in the basement, but I'm back on track. I've added a lot of new content with lots of pictures. Pretty much everything after post 18 is new.

Details (Black, Floor, HRV, Screen Top).......Post 17 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534776&postcount=17)
Tank Leveling.................................Post 18 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534777&postcount=18)
Water Prep and Salt Mixing....................Post 19 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534778&postcount=19)

Aquascaping - Part II of III..................Post 22 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=534781&postcount=22)
- Building the aquascape

I'm hoping to have saltwater in this tank by sometime next week. There is no urgency on transferring live stock, so I will take my time cycling the tank and getting all of the equipment operational.

I am for sure buying LED lights. The leading contenders are Pacific Sun, ReefTech LED and Vertex. If you haven't seen my LED thread, take a look at some of the things that are going on here (Next Generation LED Lighting (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=71300)).

Thanks!

abcha0s

01-06-2011, 05:18 AM

The tank is filling with ro/di as of 9pm tonight. At a rate of 100gpd, it should be full by Sunday afternoon.

lobsterboy

01-06-2011, 05:37 AM

The tank is filling with ro/di as of 9pm tonight. At a rate of 100gpd, it should be full by Sunday afternoon.

very nice Brad, any hints on the aquascape ?

abcha0s

01-06-2011, 05:43 AM

Thanks John. There are pics of the aquascape here.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=66389&page=3

lobsterboy

01-06-2011, 05:52 AM

very interesting with the pegs, and the rocks look great.

cant wait to see water and live stock in this beast.

abcha0s

01-12-2011, 10:47 PM

I've made some progress...

* Added two buckets of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals - This raised the SG to 1.024 - I had expected to need more salt, but I guess I'm not complaining.
* Tunze Wavebox is working - I am getting a 1.25" wave - Not sure if that is good? - The wavebox is noisy! - Everything seems to suggest that it will quiet down at around the 2 - 3 week mark. I sure hope so.
* Skimmer is online - This is the Tunze Master DOC 9440 - It's rated at over 1000G for a FOWLR - Closer to 400G for a heavily stocked SPS reef. First impressions are good, but it's a quirky skimmer. I will have to keep my eye on it.
* Plumbed in two vertex UF-20 reactors for bio-pellets. I have 2L of pellets soaking in RO/DI now and I will add them to the first reactor tomorrow. I will add another 2L to the second reactor in a couple of weeks. I'm using a 50/50 mix of Vertex and NPX.
* I've got the sand in transit now - should be here soon.

I'm generally feeling good about my progress. I'm at the point where little things take a really long time to get done. There's still lots to do...

Delphinus

01-12-2011, 11:31 PM

I just took the time to re-read this from the start, it's a bit of mind blowing experience the way you have this thread set up. :lol:

Anyhow, just wanted to say:
1) Everything looks stellar, nice work so far!

2) Be careful about how you've drained your laundry tank. Since I gather you're not requiring permits (since it looks like this is getting installed in an already developed area of the house), this may be less of a concern for you than it was for me - but technically it is now against code to have a sink indirectly drain into a floor drain like that. I did for my tank room exactly as you've done and I failed the plumbing inspection. I had no drain line I could tie into on the wall so I had to jackhammer the concrete, cut the pipe for the floor drain and tie into that, and then pour new concrete down. And that was the easy part (!!) because the sink drain itself has to be vented so I had to run a line up into the ceiling and route that to the nearest drain vent up to the roof, and T into that. Well, maybe that wasn't harder than the jackhammering but it still took some creative head scratching trying to figure out how to vent that sink.

3) Lee Valley is awesome. I like the sink brackets instead of legs idea. I actually have to replace my sink as it developed a crack and now leaks onto the floor, so I might just go with the brackets for the replacement sink. I'm glad I didn't replace it out yet before catching up on your thread! So: thanks for the idea. :cool:

Skimmerking

01-13-2011, 12:08 AM

Wow what a weird thread. whats with all the pop up pages to show pictures.. the attention to detail is amazing thou.

kien

01-13-2011, 02:12 AM

That is a massive update, coming along nicely! However, no pictures?!? Booooooooooooooo!!!

abcha0s

01-13-2011, 05:27 AM

@John - I took some tips from your aquascaping. I would have tended to put as much rock as I could fit in the tank. After seeing your tank, I used way less and really like the result.

@Tony - Thanks for the comments. I'm probably about a month behind your build. At the point where it's getting exciting.

I really had no idea about the laundy tank and building code. Ignorance is bliss. I guess at some point I will have to get around to fixing that. I don't think tearing up the concrete is an option, but the main drain may be reachable. Not a high priority, but something to do in the spring. I appreciate the tip.

@Skimmer_King - What pop up pages? - Just Kidding.

Two thoughts...

1) Most of the images in the thread are compressed for two reasons. Firstly to keep the page load times quick and secondly because the images are served from my Shaw connection and I don't want to overload it too much. I figure if an image is interesting, clicking for a high res version is reasonable.

2) If you were referring to the odd layout of the thread, well it seemed like a good idea at the time. In hind sight, it might have been more trouble than it was worth. I was really trying to set up the thread so that all of the content was in the first couple of pages. It can be frustrating trying to find things burried in some of the huge build threads here. In any event, it's too late to change it now.

Nice cabinets BTW - I plan on building pannels for my stand and using magnets to hold them in place.

@Kien - Thanks for the encouragement. I'll see what I can come up with for some new pics.

abcha0s

01-13-2011, 05:56 AM

It would be great if the Apex had the granularity to control the wavebox directly, but it seems impossible to fine tune the wavebox using only the apex. The benifit is really to link the wavebox with the programmed feed cycles and night mode.

There's a trick to make this work.

I used the wavebox controller (6091) to set the wave and used the Apex controller to enable/disable the 6091 wave function.

The wiring diagram looks like this:

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tunze/tunze.gif

The Y adapter isn't strictly necessary but it makes things much easier because it serves as a gender changer for the cables. Both the wavebox controller (6091) and Apex have male ends whereas the Y adapter is female.

The second wavebox isn't necessary either. However, if two waveboxes are deployed in this configuration, they have to be on the same end of the tank running in synchronous mode.

The jumper in the 6091 controller needs to be set to slave mode to enable control from the Apex.

I haven't spent a lot of time experimenting with diffent voltages, but in the simpliest of terms:

10V from Apex = 6091 stops creating a wave. The pump shuts off.
0V from Apex = 6091 opperates in wave mode.

This seems counter intuitive, but it does make sense on one front. If the 6091 controller is disconnected from the Apex it opperates independantly and generates a wave. Therefore, it is not dependant on the Apex for opperation, rather it is dependant on the Apex to know when to shut off.

I plan on doing some more experimentation with this configuration, but for now I can confirm that it works.

This configuration is documented here:
• Tunze Wavebox (6215) and Powerheads.........Post 28 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=534788&postcount=28)

wickedfrags

01-13-2011, 03:39 PM

Outstanding build thread, and a well thought out build.

Question - I did not notice the tank drilled for a closed-loop system. With tank this size how did you decide this was not for you?

abcha0s

01-13-2011, 06:18 PM

Outstanding build thread, and a well thought out build.

Question - I did not notice the tank drilled for a closed-loop system. With tank this size how did you decide this was not for you?

Hey - Thanks for note. That's a good question!

I ran a closed loop on my current tank (90G). It was based on two seperate loops (left and right) using an Oceans Motion Super Squirt 4-way on each loop. Each loop was driven by a Poseidon PS4 pump. The flow patterns were very dynamic and the system was silent. Overall, it worked perfectly but last spring I pulled it out and replaced it with Tunze powerheads.

There was really only one thing that I liked about the closed loop when compared to powerheads. When viewing the tank through the front pannel, it was barely visible. Aesthetically a closed loop wins every time, but that seems to be where the benefits end.

I pulled the closed loop out of my 90G for a couple of reasons. The first being the heat generated by the two Poseidon pumps. The second being the electrical consumption and the third being the maintenance of the pumps.

Here's the math that I worked through.

Closed Loop - 160W Power per pump - 1,200Gph per pump - Add 2-3 degrees F of heat to tank - silent
Powerheads - Max 48W per Tunze 6205 - 1,320 to 5,811 USgal./h - Doesn't add any noticable heat - silent

The 6205s are way to powerful for my 90G. I run them alternating at 30% power - I really bought them for this tank (300G).

The point is, a closed loop costs more money than powerheads, is either louder or adds heat (trade off for water cooled pumps), and can't match the flow rates.

Granted there are some cool things that you can do with a closed loop which aren't possible with powerheads, but the reverse is also true. Consider the various modes that a Vortex pump can opperate in.

I also like the fact that I can move the powerheads as the tank matures and corals grow. I can ramp up and down between 30% and 100% power. Cleaning is as easy as a vinigar soak.

All of these things were weighing on me when I envisioned this tank. When Steve Weast said that he wouldn't build a closed loop into his next tank because of the complexities and maintenance requirements, the decision seemed altogether obvious.

In my opinion, simple is always better. Although I completely agree that they are ugly, there's nothing simpler than a powerhead.

wickedfrags

01-14-2011, 12:47 PM

Well thought out.

For me both a closed loop system with powerheads make sense (then again I gave up on energy efficiency). I like the closed loop as it is essentially failsafe, requires little to no maintenance, is hidden, and can provide random "general" tank circulation. Powerheads are always required later on as the tank matures and as flow requirements increase. Nice to see powerheads getting smaller and moving more water.

Look forward to more updates.

lastlight

01-14-2011, 02:33 PM

When Steve Weast said that he wouldn't build a closed loop into his next tank because of the complexities and maintenance requirements, the decision seemed altogether obvious.

Did I miss something? I didn't know he had started on his new tank? Where is the build located?

abcha0s

01-14-2011, 03:41 PM

Did I miss something? I didn't know he had started on his new tank? Where is the build located?

Hi Brett - No you didn't miss anything. I wondered if someone was going to call me on that. Maybe I should have left out the name dropping.

Anyway...

From Melev's Podcast "Reefcast 29b" - 12/29/08
Interview with Steve Weast
Time - 35m50s

"On my next system, there’s no way that I’m going to drill the bottom of the tank because I want that 100% fail safe that it’s impossible because there are no holes. I think I can achieve the same thing that my closed loop - and maybe surpass it - by through waveboxes and powerheads whether their Tunzes or something else under the rockwork but that are still accessible that I can pull them out and unclog them or clean them and put them right back in – just like my last tank was – those 4 Tunzes were perfectly accessible." - Steve Weast

(it's a conversation - I tried to transcribe it word for word)

Of course you have to consider the overall context of his comments and there's no way that I'm typing out any more than that. After listening to the interview a second time, I think I missed his point somewhat. It seems that Steve was more concerned about the safety considerations with his closed loop as opposed to "complexities" as I suggested. Although he does talk about pump maintenance which was a big part of my decision not to use a closed loop.

However, he is pretty clear about not wanting another closed loop and considering the one that he did have was awesome, I think his comments are a valid reference to my point of view.

I haven't heard anything about a "next tank". He does suggest in his comment that their might be a next tank, but some of his other comments also suggest that he really wanted to get out of the hobby completely.

I have to admit, that when I first read about his tank, it was very inspiring. His aquascaping influenced the tank that I am currently setting up.

- Brad

abcha0s

02-05-2011, 07:16 PM

Whenever you think of heat in a reef tank, you immediately think of chillers and evaporative cooling. Well, at least that's the first thing that came to my mind. Heating a tank is just an after thought for the occasional cold night.

I am having a real problem with heating my tank. Without the lights on, the ambient water temperature is around 65F. That's with all of the pumps and power heads running. That's not even close to 78F.

I'm going to be lighting this tank with LEDs. There's very little radiant heat from these lights.

I've done tons of research on LED lighting and everyone points out that without MH lighting, you don't need a chiller. This equates to cost savings in both capital and operational expenses. Well, not if you consume huge amounts energy heating the tank?

I have 4 Marineland Visitherm 300W heaters hooked up right now and the tank is really struggling to approach 78F. That's 1200W of heating! Do I need more?

I'm well aware of the problems with heaters including stuck on, stuck off, exploding, etc. I have the 4 heaters connected to my Apex. In the future I may split this load across 2 Apex controllers (2 on each). I'm reasonably confident in this approach and should be able to catch a disaster before it happens.

I've also noted that the sump temp is generally cooler than the display tank. I haven't yet measured the exact variation, but it seems consistent.

I'm currently heating the return section of the sump and measuring the temp in the chamber right before the return section. Therefore, heated water has to circulate through the tank and back to the sump before the temperature sensor is able to detect a change. This seemed like a good idea as it ensure that the heated water fully mixes before the temperature measurement is taken, but I am less sure of this now.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/heat/heating.gif

I'm also considering insulating the sump, but I'm really not sure how much that would help?

Does anyone have any experience or advice in keeping tanks warm? - Is there a better approach to this? - Are titanium heaters really more efficient (I've heard of higher than average failure rates, but possibly better performance)?

I appreciate the feedback...

- Brad

phi delt reefer

02-05-2011, 07:19 PM

Lampshade

02-05-2011, 09:47 PM

Delphinus

02-05-2011, 10:03 PM

hillegom

02-05-2011, 10:40 PM

I just read this entire thread. Great build and well thought out.

globaldesigns

02-05-2011, 11:48 PM

Very impressive build and I must say one of the best organized build threads out there.

It is like you write manuals/books for a living, well done.

abcha0s

02-06-2011, 01:25 AM

have verified that all four heaters work? I would put each one in a 5 gallon bucket of water and test them

also the apex and other controllers sometimes have outlets that only work for certain things (relayed outlets or something) You may want to make sure the apex is actually able to power the heater on each of the outlets you're using.

Hey Phi Delt

I haven't done the bucket test, but your right to an extent. One of the things that seems to be happening is that the heaters are turning on and off. I think this is in part due to their close proximity to each other. I have their thermostat set at 81F (or close) and the Apex set at 78F, but even at 81F they are cycling. I think the radiant heat from the neighboring heaters is causing this. I thought that the water turbulence would be sufficient in the small sump chamber to avoid this, but perhaps not. I will move them further apart or set their thermostats higher.

The Apex Energy Bar 8 (EB8) is rated at:

8 independently controllable 120V Outlets (Max 5 Amps, total current must be less than 15 Amps)

300W/110V = 2.72Amps - So I'm safe.

For a 500W Heater - 500W/110V = 4.55Amps - Getting close to the upper limit.

For a 1000W Heater - 1000W/110V = 9 Amps - I would need the EB4

abcha0s

02-06-2011, 01:29 AM

You can't count 100% of heater use as a "loss" technically, any "lost" heat is going into your house, which you are also paying to heat. The only lost heat would be days that your house is hotter than your tank. It is inefficient heating, but unless you have a nice heat pump(by the look of your HRV you might) it isn't too bad.

Not to mention the 9 month of calgary winter....

Nice build though, I've been watching for awhile, looks great and good detail.

Hey Lampshade

I've seen this effect first hand. The first winter that my 90G tank was running, our gas usage was roughly half of what it had been the previous year. That's with the MH lighting, but the point is the same. The heat from the tank, does heat the house.

Unfortunately, a heat pump might have to wait 10 or 20 years :smile:

abcha0s

02-06-2011, 01:42 AM

How much turnover do you have in your sump compared to tank volume? I've always heard the general rule of thumb that you need around 5 to 7 times volume turnover through the sump to keep heaters down there. I'm sure you have this or knew it already but it bears asking.

What's the ambient temperature in your house? All things being equal your tank should equalize to that after some time and you would only need to heat your tank the incremental difference. Ie., house at 21c the heaters need only raise it 5c to get to 26c (sorry I don't think in terms of F for temperature. The very first dive I ever did was at the Great Barrier Reef, the water temp there was 26c, and that's what stuck in my head mentally ever since). If you run your house at say a chillier 18c the heaters need only bump it 8c to get to 26c. That's not a lot.

So I'm thinking that either the heaters aren't outputting what you think, or there is loss of heat to somewhere (the floor? is the sump sitting directly on concrete or is there foam under the glass?)

If all 4 heaters were on that should be the full 1200w which seems ample to me. By contrast, my 280g, I use one 1000W titanium heater on a Ranco controller, the RO/DI was a frigid 8c filling up, and the heater brought it to 26c within 24 hours (not sure exactly how many hours it took, I just checked the next day and it was 26c). It's been steady ever since. So I think your 1200W should be doing the trick, there is something more going on here that we haven't put our finger on methinks.

Thanks for the feedback Tony

I have almost exactly 4X turnover through the sump (300G total water volume - 1200Gph measured return). I had never heard the 5-7X guideline before, but it is interesting though. I'm sure it has to do with the rate of mixing and the temperature variance between the display and the sump. More turnover would reduce this variance, but heating the water in the sump to a higher temp should also counter this effect.

Ambient house temp is ~20C. 78F converts to 25.6C, so our targets are similar enough. The heaters have to provide ~6C of additional heat.

We have our furnace thermostat set to lower the temp during the day while we are at work and at night while we are sleeping. I think I will have to consider the effectiveness of this strategy.

I'm interested in the titanium heaters. I've read that they are more efficient watt for watt than traditional glass heaters. By the sounds of it, they may be considerably more efficient. I'm not getting anywhere near that much heating power from my heaters. They aren't exactly expensive either, so I will probably cut my losses and go in that direction.

As you suggested, it's likely a combination of factors. I'm still working out the bugs but I'm getting really close to adding the first fish!

abcha0s

02-06-2011, 01:44 AM

I just read this entire thread. Great build and well thought out.

Very impressive build and I must say one of the best organized build threads out there.

It is like you write manuals/books for a living, well done.

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the encouragement. It keeps me motivated.

phi delt reefer

02-06-2011, 03:26 AM

Hey Phi Delt

I haven't done the bucket test, but your right to an extent. One of the things that seems to be happening is that the heaters are turning on and off. I think this is in part due to their close proximity to each other. I have their thermostat set at 81F (or close) and the Apex set at 78F, but even at 81F they are cycling. I think the radiant heat from the neighboring heaters is causing this. I thought that the water turbulence would be sufficient in the small sump chamber to avoid this, but perhaps not. I will move them further apart or set their thermostats higher.

The Apex Energy Bar 8 (EB8) is rated at:

8 independently controllable 120V Outlets (Max 5 Amps, total current must be less than 15 Amps)

300W/110V = 2.72Amps - So I'm safe.

For a 500W Heater - 500W/110V = 4.55Amps - Getting close to the upper limit.

For a 1000W Heater - 1000W/110V = 9 Amps - I would need the EB4

couple tests to see if what you are thinking is happening.

Get a normal mercury thermometer and test the water by your heat probes current placement (ie. verify the probe is accurate)

measure the temp in the hot spots you think you may have in your tank (ie. between the thermometers.

This equation will help you determine how many watts of heat you need for your system for what length of time.

equation has the following variables included

specific gravity of sea water is 1025 kg/m3
your total system volume is 300 gallons
specific gravity of sea water is 3850 J/Kg*C

Watts = 4481361.50 x (change in TEMP[Celsius]/change in TIME[seconds])

obviously you need to sub in two variables to figure out the third.

so here are some 'measurements'

given Tony's example and your data if you wanted to raise the temp of you water 6 degrees C in 24 hours you would only 311 watts from your heaters.
if you used all 1200 watts of heaters to raise your system volume 6 degrees it would only take 5.802 hours.

figuring out how much heat is needed to maintain a temp would require heat loss knowledge :confused: Maybe when you get your system to ideal temp turn off the heaters and see how long it takes for the temp to drop exactly 1 degree Celsius (possibly use the data logger in the APEX?)

andestang

02-06-2011, 04:55 AM

So skimmed through to update myself again and things are coming along very nicely Brad !Great work.

abcha0s

02-07-2011, 08:32 PM

Thanks Everyone!

I think my main problem with heat comes down to faulty heaters. In addition, I think there may be some efficiency to be found by switching to titanium heaters.

Two of the heaters are having issues with their thermostats (they are all brand new). I have replaced one for now and will replace all of them sometime soon.

I did take temperature readings throughout the tank to look for hot spots. I anticipated finding them, but in reality the water temperature is fairly constant throughout the system. When the heaters are on, the temperature in the return chamber of the sump can rise about .4F, but overall that seems inconsequential and it stabilizes within seconds of turning the heaters off.

I'll likely pick up 3x 500W titanium heaters the first chance I get.

I do find it somewhat ironic that I expected to save energy by going with LED lighting. It looks like the cost savings in PAR per watt, will be offset by the cost of heating the tank. It will probably still be a little cheaper, but not by much.

Anyways, it was an interesting topic to research. I'd never really given much thought to it in the past.

- Brad

tang daddy

02-07-2011, 10:30 PM

Didn't have time to read your whole build thread but titanium heaters are definitely the way to go! After a malfunction with a stealth heater that caught on fire, and hearing stories of glass heaters breaking, for the same price titanium heaters are 10 times more reliable, also they need a controller to run them which is an extra fail safe. I currently run mine through the chiller so its either heat, nothing or cool as oppose to before when it would heat and cool at the same time. And IMO it is energy efficient as I hardly ever see it on now that my chiller runs it and the temp swings 1 degree when the lights are on from 78f to 79! Get it you won't be disappointed!

abcha0s

02-11-2011, 05:07 AM

I've been busy trying to work through some of the bugs in my system. I've made some progress and had some setbacks.

One of my heaters exploded this morning. I hadn't intended to ever use this heater as I knew the risk of explosion was there, but I figured the risk was small and there's no livestock in my tank yet.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=590231#post590231

Ironically, I had already ordered titanium heaters from BRS to replace the Marineland heaters that I am using now. I really should have done a little more research and just bought the right ones first.

My tank went through a massive bacteria bloom from the biopellets. I thought it would be a good idea to run these while the tank cycled, but in hind sight I think this was a mistake.

One interesting thing is that the initial bloom occurred with the tank at around 20C. After heating the tank to 26C, I went through another massive bacteria bloom. In total, I've gone through about 3 inches of the pellets.

Oh the mistakes. One day, I'll know these things.

I bought a 200G loaf tank for saltwater storage. I'm pretty happy with this as it will allow me to do big water changes if needed (like now). It will also be the primary storage for my continuous water change system. I should only have to top it up once a month and could let it run for up to 6 weeks if need be.

I have received my SpectraPure LiterMeter III pumps for the water change project. These were the best peristaltic pumps that I could afford and that are available to hobbyists.

I moved one of my two Tunze Ozmolators from my 90G to my new tank only to discover that the pump had seized. I can't say for sure when it failed but I remember testing it within the past couple of weeks. I've replaced the pump and set it up on the new tank, but it does show the need for redundancy.

I have an old 110W light over the tank now just so that I have something to look at. I should have some real lights within the next couple of weeks.

All of the parameters seem to be stable.

lastlight

02-11-2011, 05:39 AM

What are the dimensions of your load tank? Where did you get it?

The place I've been looking at has a really ltd selection of loaf tanks so I'm leaning towards a cylinder.

abcha0s

02-11-2011, 01:13 PM

What are the dimensions of your load tank? Where did you get it?

The place I've been looking at has a really ltd selection of loaf tanks so I'm leaning towards a cylinder.

Hi Brett

The dimensions are 58"Lx29"Wx37"H. It was made by paddleplastics - www.paddleplastics.com

I picked it up in Crossfield from Promould: 403-946-9920

I looked at a similar tank from Calgary Plastics (aka Richards Packaging). They didn't have any in stock and wanted over $100 to have it brought in. They quoted something like $550. I paid $400 from Promould.

The tank comes with a mainway and a bulkhead that was installed at the time of purchase. I had them put the mainway on, but put the bulkheads on myself. I installed the bulkheads on the bottom of the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/loaftank/loaftank1.jpg

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/loaftank/loaftank3.jpg

abcha0s

02-18-2011, 10:41 PM

Some pictures of the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_feb-2011/tn_tank-feb18_11-03.jpg

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_feb-2011/tn_tank-feb18_11-01.jpg

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_feb-2011/tn_tank-feb18_11-05.jpg

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/tank_feb-2011/tn_tank-feb18_11-06.jpg

Note: I hate dry rock; although it does have it's advantages (cost, no pests, easy to work with). The egg crate basket has Cheato in it. I'm hoping to get some micro life going on in the display (this is the first of many things that I will try).. I've also ordered some detritivores and established live sand online.

If anyone can spare a small piece of established live rock from a pest free tank, I would be very happy to pay top dollar for it. Please let me know...

The light is temporary. It's from an old tank and has been in storage for years. I'm glad I kept it.

abcha0s

03-13-2011, 04:13 AM

Just a brief update for now:

I've had my continuous water change running for the past 3 weeks or so. I'm really happy with how stable it's been. If your interested, I documented it in post 20 of this thread. If you saw my original plans, you will be pleased to know that in the end I scraped the whole loop thing and just went with a basic setup. There are a few tricks to getting it balanced though.

I've ordered a Probe Expansion Module and a Salinity probe for my Apex to monitor salinity in the tank. I have no plans to use this for control - just monitoring and alerting. I haven't had good luck with these probes in the past, but I will try one more time. Hopefully it works out better this time.

I've added two MP60s to the tank. Wow these are awesome pumps. I haven't played with all of the different modes yet. I also have the Apex WXM on order.

I've been playing a lot with the flow in the tank recently. It's not easy to get it perfect. It seems that the powerheads either kick up sand or cause problems with surface skimming. I think I have everything figured out.

I still don't have any real lights on the tank. I'm told that I should have some really nice LEDs within the next week or two. Patience is a virtue.

Things have generally been stable. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to seed the dry rock in the tank. I do have some ideas but nothing confirmed yet.

Also if your interested - I posted some pictures of my 90G tank here:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=73619

I don't really plan to do much more with this tank. I'll probably take a few more pictures before it gets shut down. I just thought it would be fun to share how it looks now.

- Brad

Delphinus

03-13-2011, 07:25 AM

abcha0s

03-13-2011, 04:51 PM

(Flow should get better over time as the sand starts to get a biological film over the grains.)

Wow that is quite the writeup for water changes. :) Neat ideas!

I suppose an alternative to flow meters on the peristaltic pumps you could install high and low level sensors in the sump? If one of the pumps failed, blocked or otherwise became out of calibration it probably wouldn't take long for the sump level to rise or fall so a few float sensors in there might be a simple approach ?

Thanks Tony!

The challenge with level sensors is evaporation and ATO. It would work if the pump taking water from the tank failed. I think the rate of water change would exceed evaporation and the water level in the tank would slowly rise. However, if the pump adding new water to the tank failed, the ATO would keep the water level constant.

My current plan is to observe the system using a salinity probe. If either pump fails, the salinity should drift. If the calibration of the pumps is not perfect, the salinity should drift. I have no plans to use the salinity probe for control, but it should provide a good indication of the CWC operation. I may use it to automatically shut the whole system off if something doesn't look right, but the rate of change should be small enough that I can manually react long before a real problem arises.

My only concern with the Salinity probe is getting a stable reading. When I tried this on my 90G tank, I was never successful in getting an accurate and stable reading. If the probe drifts on it's own, it won't tell me anything about the operation of the CWC. The initial calibration doesn't have to be exact, but the measurement will need to be 100% stable. I'm hoping that I can find a way to achieve this with the newer hardware and a better understanding of how the probe works. We shall see soon enough :smile:

The system is working well for me now, but there's probably some minor improvements still to be made.

abcha0s

03-29-2011, 06:13 PM

March FTS

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/fts/fts-march2011-small.jpg

I have a light! - Vertex Illumina 260 - SR 1800.
I've had 4 independant 15A circuits run to the control room behind my tank. Each of these circuits is protected by a GFCI outlet. Critical equipment is split across independant circuits so that if a GFCI outlet trips it will not cause a tank crash.
I have the salinity probe working. It's certainally more stable than the one I had with my AC3, but still tends to wander. The error margin seems to be about +/- 0.3 ppt. That's probably good enough for an early warning system on my CWC.
I have the Apex controlling the VorTech pumps. I really dislike programming the VorTech's using the EcoSmart Controller colour system. For such advanced pumps you would think they could include a simple LCD display and menu? - Anyway, I created a set of virtual outlets on the Apex which map to VorTech pump profiles. I can switch between pump profiles by activating the virtual switches. This works great for testing the various modes. Default control moves through various profiles based on time-of-day.
I've been working on getting my autofeeders working. You can see them in the FTS above. More on this later.
I've started building the panneling for the stand. This has proven to be a long and drawn out process as I can't seem to find the motivation to complete this project. At least it's in progress.
I've replumbed my bio-pellet reactors. I had the two reactors in series but found the pump to be way to powerful. They are now in parallel and I've added a tee for the carbon and phosphate reactors (not online yet). I am much happier with the new configuration.
I've started setting up the Vertex RX6-Duo Calcium Reactor.

The tank has been stable!

cale262

03-29-2011, 07:24 PM

Looks gerate...Any detail pics of the mounting apparatus?

Greenmaster

03-29-2011, 09:46 PM

Looks sweet.

abcha0s

03-29-2011, 10:41 PM

Looks gerate...Any detail pics of the mounting apparatus?

Hey Cale

Thanks for the props. The light is currently suspended from a light rack that was built as a feature of the stand. I have to admit that this has been very useful, but ultimately I don't think it will be my final solution. One problem is the rails are positioned at the outer edge of the tank whereas the mount point for the Vertex is about 10 inches inside. What this light rack does is buy me time while I figure out how to suspend the light from the ceiling.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/lightrack/tn_lightrack1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/lightrack/lightrack1.jpg) . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/lightrack/tn_lightrack3.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/lightrack/lightrack3.jpg)

I wanted the ability to slide the light out of the way, so I hung the lights from a short section of acrylic tubing. I used a couple of felt guard sticky things that protect floors from furniture to allow it to slide. Again, not perfect, but it serves the purpose.

abcha0s

03-29-2011, 10:42 PM

Looks sweet.

Thanks Greenmaster. Can't wait to see your tank take off. You've really shown your ability to be patient these last couple of months. Good job!

Rus

03-29-2011, 10:59 PM

lastlight

03-30-2011, 12:05 AM

That's a clever way to slide your light! I think I just sorted out how I'm going to allow my pendants to individually slide within my canopy thank-you =)

abcha0s

03-30-2011, 01:35 AM

I will be very interested to see what you think of the lighting , and how it works out for you . I was looking at these as a possible option one day for me as well.

Everything looks well done so far . Great job.

Thanks Rus. To be completely honest, I am not 100% convinced these lights are going to work for me. I've done my homework though and I am about 99% sure they will be awesome. Either way, the lightning effects are cool.

I have a long journey ahead of me before my tank looks anything like yours. I'm having fun so far. BTW - I changed my mind about the Dispars. I going with Bartlett's.

That's a clever way to slide your light! I think I just sorted out how I'm going to allow my pendants to individually slide within my canopy thank-you =)

Hey Bret - Funny you should say that. I'm taking my ideas from your earlier builds. Once the build settles down, I'm going to be in the market for some linear actuators. :smile:

OscarMeyer

04-04-2011, 07:03 AM

Brad tank looking awesome!

glad to see your gonna stick with the Illumina, i know your gonna end up loving it in the end!

I'm going to be tagging along!

The Codfather

04-04-2011, 02:35 PM

Brad,
Tank is coming along nicely. Just through your thread and I am thinking of running a deep sand bed myself. I will be lifting my rock work as well, never thought of that before, good idea. You will have to keep us informed on your lighting route, like yourself, I am not completely confident on the LED fixtures. Alot are showing up on the market, and I have not seen a lot of tank have complete success....yet. There are a few on RC that are claiming to have great outcomes, so who knows, I am still a couple months off committing to one or the other, but I do have something in mind. At any rate, tank looks good.

reefwars

04-04-2011, 02:44 PM

little late but awesome tank loving it, following on from here:):)

abcha0s

04-05-2011, 04:28 PM

So, today I learned a few things. For the first time I truely understand why many people don't like sand beds. I've just spent about 4+ hours cleaning mine and it was no fun at all.

Over the last couple of months, I have been constantly fighting with what I would describe as a massive bacterial bloom in my tank. At times it takes the form of long stringy things that hang off the rocks. It comes and goes in the water column but seems to have persisted as a film on the rocks and in the sand. I knew it was in the sand bed, but I figured it would break down over time and perhaps it would have, but after what I just cleaned out it might have taken years?!

I started noticing areas in the sand bed that looked like a thick crust that had shifted and broken apart. Kind of like snow when a crust forms on top and then water melts the bottom and it eventually cracks. I figured it was only in a few places and still hoped it would start breaking up on its own. Oh to be so naive.

Last night I decided to siphon out a section that was particularly bad and in the process discovered that the entire sand bed was encrusted about ¼” thick – held together by a bacterial sludge.

Many buckets and a few spills later I had siphoned off the top layer of the entire sand bed. Rinsed thoroughly in tap water, then ro/di, then saltwater and back in the tank. Mixed the clean sand with the old sand and tried to stir up the areas where I wasn’t able to siphon. The tank went white with floating bacteria that I hadn’t been able to get at. Wow.

The other thing I learned, or rather concluded is that it’s probably not a good idea to run biopellets right from the get go. It just complicates things too much and it takes a long time for the bacteria to find their balance. There’s likely some competition between the biopellet bacteria and the live rock bacteria and that isn’t really a good thing. Also because there isn’t much to skim out of the tank, the skimmer is having a hard time processing all of the bacteria and skimming super wet. I keep thinking that I’m winning the battle and then realize that I’m not even close.

- Brad

abcha0s

04-05-2011, 04:52 PM

Brad tank looking awesome!

glad to see your gonna stick with the Illumina, i know your gonna end up loving it in the end!

I'm going to be tagging along!
Hey Todd - Thanks for the note. I'm really encouraged by your success with these lights. Your pictures are amazing. It's way too early for me to really have much of an opinion as my tank is doing all kinds of strange things. As you know, I'm not completely convinced that this light is going to do what I want it too, but I am in the camp that believes in LED technology and I am cautiously optimistic. No question that the Illumina is an engineering marvel. If it works it will change the hobby.

Brad,
Tank is coming along nicely. Just through your thread and I am thinking of running a deep sand bed myself. I will be lifting my rock work as well, never thought of that before, good idea. You will have to keep us informed on your lighting route, like yourself, I am not completely confident on the LED fixtures. Alot are showing up on the market, and I have not seen a lot of tank have complete success....yet. There are a few on RC that are claiming to have great outcomes, so who knows, I am still a couple months off committing to one or the other, but I do have something in mind. At any rate, tank looks good.
Hi Bob - I had good success with my DSB in my 90G tank. I've had less success with my Shallow Sand Bed in my new tank. I think the trick is to get it heavily populated with sand sifting critters; although this is somewhat easier said than done. As far as lifting the rock goes, that has worked really well for me. If you haven't seen how I did this on my 90G tank, there's some pictures here (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=73619).

I really want the LED lighting to be a winner. I will keep you updated.

little late but awesome tank loving it, following on from here:):)
Thanks Denny - I really like the video you posted of the glass cutting. I was surprised by the low salinity of seawater where you are.

lastlight

04-05-2011, 10:05 PM

Sorry to hear about the hassles. I love the look of my sandbed but yeah it can be a hassle at the same time. I'd get a sand-sifting fish to help you out. My sand was also forming solid layers (but fused with what may have been cyano) which quickly disappeared with my goby always sifting.

Interesting idea about the pellets too. Maybe you should suspend their operation until the tank has a decent bioload. Your skimmer definitely looked severely under-worked when I saw it.

Kalifornia

04-05-2011, 11:04 PM

Beautiful absolutly prefect

May ask what was the cost of the stand as I am planning a 180 DD build inwall and just want to get an idea of the cost to go to a steel stand such as yours

Thanks

Looking forward to the progress

Delphinus

04-05-2011, 11:15 PM

All throughout the planning stages on my current tank I was convinced I would stay BB for it. I've run smaller tanks BB and it was always amazing to me how much vaccuuming was required every week to keep them BB. Sandbeds hide this aspect which is both good and bad: it may look good but what lurks beneath?

In the end I chickened out and put sand in at the last minute. Two reasons, actually maybe three: 1) The rockwork that I built for myself has various supporting structures (combo of of acrylic and PVC on different pieces of it) and sand does a nice job of hiding that - otherwise I would have had to use rubble and I'm not a huge fan of rubble piles. 2) The silicone on the bottom edges is supremely thick and it was distracting to look at so sand hides that. And then 3) I have some fish that prefer to bury in sand at night and I thought it would be a kinder thing to offer them that.

I have to say that I still prefer the look of a shallow sand bed even with all the aggravation it causes. Sand storms, bacterial clumping etc.etc. I have a cleanup crew including sand dollars, conchs and nassarius and for the most part they keep up. I also put some moon snails in there but in hindsight this was a questionable move. They do an *incredible* job of turning sand over, but they are predatory. Nice newby level mistake on my part: buy first, research later. Oops. It's too bad, they are really neat snails. Look exactly like the apple sized moon snails you can find on on the BC coast but at 1" in size (and pure white in colour).

So I like the look, but I TOTALLY understand why some choose not to.

albert_dao

04-05-2011, 11:33 PM

Thought I'd toss this out there:

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22732

♥

abcha0s

04-07-2011, 08:33 PM

Sorry for the delayed responses.

Sorry to hear about the hassles. I love the look of my sandbed but yeah it can be a hassle at the same time. I'd get a sand-sifting fish to help you out. My sand was also forming solid layers (but fused with what may have been cyano) which quickly disappeared with my goby always sifting.

Interesting idea about the pellets too. Maybe you should suspend their operation until the tank has a decent bioload. Your skimmer definitely looked severely under-worked when I saw it.

My stocking plans include a couple of sand sifting gobies, but I have been hesitant to put them in the tank before it matures a little. Other than bacteria, theres probably not much in the sand bed for them to eat. I'll have to consider whether I can keep them fed with pellet food?

Turning the biopellet reactors off may or may not be a good idea, if I ever plan to start them up again. I'm not ready to give up yet. I'd really like to get things balanced and have the biopellets work for me. If I take them offline now, then I will have to go through this whole ordeal again at some point in the future. I'd rather just figure it out now. I guess I'm stubborn that way.

Beautiful absolutly prefect

May ask what was the cost of the stand as I am planning a 180 DD build inwall and just want to get an idea of the cost to go to a steel stand such as yours

Thanks

Looking forward to the progress

Thanks for the compliment :) - I tried to PM you but got an error. Anyway, I paid way to much for my stand because I didn't like the first version and sent it back to a different welder for modifications. In hind sight, this was a mistake and I should have just left well enough alone.

I do really like my stand and would recommend to anyone to build a metal stand. Just make sure the welder understands the importance of having it perfectly square, level and planar. Also, consider how you will brace the stand against sheering.

If you have the ability to transport the stand yourself, I would take it for powder coating yourself. The first go around I paid the welder $250+ to do this for me. The second go around I took it to the power coater myself and it cost me something like $100.

For a 180 DD your probably looking at around $400 - $500 all inclusive, but it could be less. I wouldn't expect it to be more.

There's a link in my post about the stand to a thread on RC. I found that to be a very useful thread.

Thought I'd toss this out there:

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22732

♥

Thanks Albert!! - That's really amazing. I will talk to a friend of mine and see if he has this for sale.

I'll have to do a little reseach to see how it interacts with biopellets. My concern is that it will interfere with the biopellet process. If it works by breaking down protien then the bacteria should not be directly affected but I want to understand that process a little better before going down that route.

In the thread, the OP wants to rid his tank of bacteria. I want the bacteria, I just want it to stay in the biopellet reactors.

If I do try this, I will let you know how it works.

abcha0s

04-07-2011, 08:51 PM

lastlight

04-07-2011, 08:59 PM

My diamond watchman goby is a model citizen for what it's worth. Doesn't even leave the sandbed while spitting it out and he also eats everything else I feed the tank. One of the best livestock choices I've made as my sand did a 180 since the addition.

abcha0s

04-15-2011, 05:22 AM

So I've been busy working on the tank. I think I have some interesting updates.

I have really been struggling with the never ending bacteria bloom that has been plaguing my tank. Today I did what I promised myself I wouldn't do and took both biopellet reactors offline :sad:. New tanks are all about finding a bacterial balance and I believe that the bacteria that had colonized the biopellets were somehow preventing the tank from reaching an equilibrium. I also think that having started with Dry Rock for most of the tank was detrimental to the overall success of bringing the tank online with the biopellets running. If I had started off with a healthy and diverse bacteria colony from good live rock, it might have played out differently. I do plan to try again with the biopellets, but I will wait until the tank matures a bit.
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I took Brett's advice and picked up a pair of Diamond Watchman Gobies. To be fair, this was not the first time I had considered these fish. I had one in my 90G before I added the screen top and he jumped out (I'm still mad at the Calgary LFS for assuring me it was a good beginner fish). This pair is doing great in the 300G.
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I took Albert's advice and I started looking into Zeovit. I talked to Dave at Concept Aquariums about this and he had the product in stock! - Dave used it on his home tank with similar results to the thread posted by Albert. I bought a bottle of Bio-Mate from Dave and will be testing this on my tank.
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The BIG news - Jeff and Renee at J&L Aquatics hooked me up big time! I don't know if they were doing me a personal favor or if they do this for all of their customers (my guess is the later), but they really came through on this one.

I picked up a harem of 12 Bartlett's Anthias. 1 Male and 11 Females - and they are awesome! Getting that many females in a single order is basically unheard of and no one else (probably in north america) could have done this for me. All but one were eating on the first day. I've had them a little over a week now and they all love pellets.

My next post will have lots of pictures of these fish.

Pictures in my next post...

fishytime

04-15-2011, 05:31 AM

sweet!......a harem!.......I wish I had a harem.............of anthias.....ya, anthias

abcha0s

04-15-2011, 06:26 AM

I picked up the fish at the Air Canada Cargo depot at around 9:30am on Saturday. After a quick inspection I could see that the fish were swimming in their bags and the water was warm. J&L packed them perfectly.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias001.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias002.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias003.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias004.jpg

Acclimating 12 fish at once is not an easy task.

I setup a containment tank for the Anthias. I would have liked to do a full QT, but logistically this would have been difficult. With the intent of getting these Anthias to eat (4 or 5 times a day), it would have been difficult to keep the water stable in an isolated system. At least in the containment tank I could observe the fish and clean up any leftover food after each feeding.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias005.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias006.jpg

After releasing the fish into the containment tank, they schooled as a tight group in one corner. This was encouraging as no single fish went off on it's own. After about half an hour, they started exploring the tank.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias007.jpg . http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias008.jpg

For the past week, I've been feeding a variety of food including Frozen Cyclop-eeze, Reef Nutrition Arcti-Pods and New Life Spectrum Pellets. My focus has been on the pellets as that is how I plan to keep them feed in the main tank.

Today they were moved to the main tank. There were a number of considerations here, but Anthias really need more space than a 30G holding tank. In order for them to feel at home, they need the rocks and the current.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/anthias/tn_anthias009.jpg

You can see the two gobies on the left.

There are some interesting threads on RC that talk about female Batlett's changing into males (more frequently than in some other Anthia species). In the wild, there seems to be more males than females which is unusual for an Anthia species. In captivity, many people observe some or all of their females changing into males after which they occasionally fight until there is only one left. These considerations were not lost on me when making this purchase. I am hopeful that the ratio of males to females in my tank will remain in favor of the females. Having said that, I do expect at least one or two of the now females to change into males. It is entirely possible that this process started before introducing the fish to my tank and that it is now irreversible.

I do believe that my tank is big enough to support at least 2 or 3 males. Assuming no losses, this would result in a 1 - 3 ratio of males to females.

There are reasons why I believe I can achieve long term success with this group of fish, but I can really only hope I am right. No question they are a delicate species. Time will tell.

The other concern I have right now is in regards to flukes. There is absolutely no sign of any disease or stress, but I'm not sure that I could identify flukes if I were looking right at them? - I am considering treating the tank with PraziPro as a preventative measure. This would be the one advantage of starting with Dry Rock - there is nothing to kill. I haven't made this decision yet, but once the tank starts to mature, it will become difficult if not impossible to treat for flukes. While it would be purely preventative, I do have a rare window of opportunity. My research suggests that there is no residual effects from PraziPro that would impact the reef long term.

lastlight

04-15-2011, 07:07 AM

Ohhh those look purdy! Next month when I've got time to breath I'll need to swing by again not to mention have you over. You'll love the watchmen gobies and you have a net on the tank this time as well.

Just noticed the clamp for each bag! You really do have every supply imaginable tucked away down there!

bryceschutte

05-11-2011, 02:12 AM

Your tank is coming along very well. WHen are you getting the rest of the fish and corals in there? That Cheato I got from you is growing like crazy! Thank you!!

abcha0s

06-08-2011, 08:03 PM

Slowly but surely...

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-1.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-1.JPG)

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-2.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-2.JPG)

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-3.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-3.JPG) << My Favorite

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-4.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-4.JPG)

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-5.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-5.JPG)

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-6.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-6.JPG)

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http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/ca_abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-7.jpg (http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-june/abcha0s-300g-june2011-5-7.JPG)

Anthia Update: I started with 11 female and 1 male. After a week or two, one of the females became the second male. I suspect that the transition may have begun before I even received these fish. I now have 2 males and 10 females. I have seen the males fighting, but only very rarely. For the most part, they seem to get along just fine. I will occasionally see the two males swimming side by side. The Anthias don't really school as a group anymore, but I didn't expect them to. They do school in smaller groups which is still pretty spectacular.

riceboy

06-08-2011, 08:59 PM

DAMN your tank is looking amazing i'm gonna have to hurry up and get a house so i can upgrade to a monster like yours lol

Delphinus

06-08-2011, 10:03 PM

Looks fantastic Brad!

reefermadness

06-09-2011, 01:42 AM

nice progress.....like the aquascape.

abcha0s

06-10-2011, 06:20 AM

Thanks Victor - You live close to me. Come see the tank some time.

Thanks Tony - Any updates on your build?

Thanks Darryl - Congrats on winning TOTM. I have the same vision of a mature SPS reef. I'd say that I'm a couple of years away from realizing it. Good job with your setup.

I really do appreciate the feedback. I don't always post as much as I probably should but I am still following most of the other great builds on Canreef. Thanks again.

lastlight

08-10-2011, 09:00 PM

Any updates Brad? Colours look to be doing really well in your last round of pics (which I somehow missed).

abcha0s

08-11-2011, 05:33 AM

I've been fighting my share of demons. I learned (thanks Brett) that I had Red Bugs, treated with Interceptor and believe that I have been bug free since. I didn't seem to lose anything else. My pod population didn't even really take a hit which worries me somewhat, but I'll take it.

I've recently lost a couple corals. I can't yet pinpoint what the cause may have been. The tank seems to have restabalized, so hopefully the worst is over. I did notice that my phosphate levels were high, so I brought that down. I also replaced my carbon, but other than that I haven't really changed anything. All other water parameters are in check.

The best theory that I have is that it was related to lighting. I did allow a fair bit of particulate matter to build up while I was away for a couple of weeks. Perhaps when I cleaned up the water quality the extra light penetration bleached the corals. Just a theory.

I've started to get some algae on the sand. This is really the first nuisance algae that has shown up in the display tank. There's a fair bit of algae in the sump, but it hasn't been a problem before now. I'm not exactly sure what kind of algae this is?

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_aug2011_02.JPG

The rock is really starting to mature. I started off with about 250 pounds of base rock and less than 50 pounds of live rock. You can still pick out the original live rock, but the base rock blends in very nicely. Coraline growth has been excellent. You only have to go back about 8 posts to see how much the colour has changed.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_aug2011_05.JPG

I finished stocking the tank with fish. Just for fun, here's what I have.

False Perc Clown (mated pair)
Mandarin Dragonette (1 male, 1 female)
Indigo Dottyback (2)
Royal Dottyback
Firefish (2)
Orange Diamond Goby (2)
Yellow Tang, Purple Tang, Powder Blue Tang, Sailfin Tang, Hippo Tang
Solar Wrasse
Flame Wrasses (mated pair)
Rhomboid Wrasse (3 male, 1 female)
Bartlette Anthias (3 male, 9 female)
Metallic Foxface

Here's a full tank shot for August.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_aug2011_03.JPG

I suck at taking pictures, so when I get a good one it's rather exciting (for me at least). Here's one of my Mandarin Dragonetts.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_aug2011_04.JPG

.. and one of my wrasses

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_aug2011_06.JPG

I really enjoy watching the fish as the sun sets. With the Vertex Illumina lighting, it's a gradual shift from left to right as opposed to a dimming of the entire lighting system. The fish really do behave differently during this time. Here's a sequence that I took this evening.

9:00pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_1.JPG

9:15pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_2.JPG

9:25pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_3.JPG

9:35pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_4.JPG

9:45pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_6.JPG

9:50pm
http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/2011-aug/ca_dusk_7.JPG

Check out the Anthias schooling in the last two pics (9:45 & 9:50). They do this every night as the lights dim. 30 seconds after the last light fades, they are completely gone - hiding in the rocks.

Most of my automated systems are working well. I don't spend a lot of time maintaining the tank any more. There are still lots of little projects, like paneling for the stand, but at the moment I am just enjoying the tank. The projects can all wait. I've been building for years now and it's nice that this isn't such a high priority any more.

- Brad