The subject of this aquarium keeps coming up in discussions here on Canreef so I thought I shoul dpost some pics and details to keep it local. There is an epically long build thread for this tank on RC but it's too big to find what you are looking for, so I hope this makes things easier.
The project started a year ago and water went in October 2010. We started adding corals in January 2011, and progress has been steady. The owner's name is Peter, and his user name is Nineball, named after his other hobby. I'm just the guy who put everything together, but if you have any questions I would be happy to fill you in.
Here is some of the info in point form to keep this less wordy and more "pictury".
- 1350 gallon L-shaped acrylic tank made by ATM. Not happy with the seam finishes or material used for the top.
- 250 gallon sump with live rock and 4 x 200µ filter bags.
- 50 gallon (undersized) refugium with Chaetomorpha and 4" of sand.
- 1000w titanium heater controlled by Profilux and Aqua medic controller. Undersized but only used for maintaining stability.
- 1 HP Aquanetics chiller, not plugged in, but plumbed.
- 2 x 40w Aqua UV sterilizer.
- 4 x Abyzz 420w DC pumps on closed loop with 16 x 1" eductor.
- 1 x Abyzz 420w DC pump as sump return. All 5 DC pumps are on one controller with wave sequences every 60-240 seconds with 10 second surge from 50% to 85%, varying with each pump. The total electrical draw is 500w with all 5 pumps running. There is no heat at the pump, or vibration or noise. The controller monitors and controls water level and heat shut off, electrical consumption monitoring, feeding mode, night mode via photo sensor and it moves water
The pumps are pressure rated and perform well pushing water through eductors, mechanical filter, UV and chiller. The cool wet end of the pump means that there is no calcification in the volute, stator, rotor, or titanium shaft. The pumps have a soft on & off and are 8 pole. Top RPM is 3300.
- The internal plumbing is covered with BASF Emaco S88ci marine cement and shaped to look like live rock.
- The flow is engineered to be circular flowing across the bottom of each end toward the middle "bend" in the tank where it is directed up at a 45˚ angle where it meets the sump return lines, the sent back across the surface of the tank.
- There are three sump return effluent ports and we have covered them in corals to make them eventually disappear.
- The undersized refugium has been compensated for with two 48"w x 60"h acrylic mangrove planters. The planters hold 20 mangrove trees routed in 3" of Miracle Mud and are illuminated by two 290w plasma lights by Straylight. There are 8 fine mist spray nozzles that are fed RO/DI water via a solenoid & dedicated pressure tank. The mangroves are misted automatically 6 times per day for one minute.
- The filtration room houses 3 x 150 gallon MARS holding tank systems that we use for QT and fragging (eventually).
- We also have a 130 gallon QT tank for bigger fish.
- There are two 220 gallon reservoirs, one for freshwater and one for premixed saltwater. We do a 100 gallon water change every week via pumps and a high volume float valve.
- The RO/DI system uses large sediment & dual carbon filters as well as a large DI cartridge. There is also a water softener and carbon filter for the whole house. The RO/DI has a wash-out system that monitors the TDS coming out of the RO & DI digitally and controls a solenoid to wash it when TDS creeps above 8, post RO. The water exiting the RO is usually 0 or 1, and always 0 exiting the DI. We have a RO/DI tap attached to the sink with a pressure tank for rinsing food and testing equipment etc.
- An HRV system keeps the air dry and fresh and helps reduce Co2 which would lower PH.
- The tank has two 17kw natural gas generators that are automatically tested every week.
- The house has 400 amp service and his utility bills look like mortgage payments
- There is an exhaust fan and duct that removes hot and humid air from above the display tank.
- The protein skimmer is an RK2 25PE with the venturi pump upgraded to a Blueline 70HD pressure pump and the feed pump upgraded to a variable speed DC pump. We added an Hayward actuator valve to automate the internal neck wash-down. The collection cup itself has a wash-down on a solenoid that uses tap water to keep the cup clean and drained. Both wash-down features are scheduled 8 times per day.
- A GHL Profilux controller controls most features. We have an expansion box, probe holder, MSM delivery, D.O. probe, ATO via optic sensor, and all of the other bells and whistles. We use a dedicated laptop to run it.
- Co2 is delivered to the Schuran Jetstream 11 via 20lb polished aluminum tank, and we have a spare.
- Ozone is provided by Clearwater CD10/AD ozonizer with 1.2gr/hr output, controlled by Profilux ORP. The unit has a built in heated desiccant regenerator.
- ATO is direct from RO/DI with no holding tank. Two optic sensors monitor water level, a solenoid (from autotopoff.com) controls water flow, and a secondary mechanical float switch from Kent acts as a last failsafe, well second last if you count the overflow drain in the sump
- The display tank is illuminated by 19 Orphek PR 156 and two 6' Aqua-Medic 4 x 250w HQI (2 x Aqualine Buschke 12,500k + 2 x Phoenix 14,000K) + 4 x 39w T5 ATI actinic. The two MHL fixtires are soon to be replaced by 6 more Orphek LEDs @ 120w each.
- The tank is grounded with two titanium probes and we have GFCI on everything.
- There are three large media reactors containing GFO, carbon & NP pellets.
- The floor and most of the walls are marble so it acts as a heat sink and it feels like you are working in a luxury hotel lobby and not a fishroom
- The MARS sytems have numerous upgrades including, sump, UV, pumps, plumbing, eductors with valves, LED lighting from Orphek, Deltek protein skimmer, Profilux control, calcium reactor, media reactor with GFO & carbon and 200µ filter bags.
