New in the wall tank build

[richs01]

Hello All -

For those who have met me before, I've kept several reef tanks in the past and fortunately the time has now come for me to build the system I've always dreamed of. I've previously run a large setup (400 gallon) in my previous house, I am now in the lucky situation where I am designing and building a much larger setup in my current house.

Details are as follows:

Tank 7'w x 4'd x 2'6"h
Total system volume in the region of 550 gallons
Circulation system 2 x Sequence 15k's on closed loops, 1 x 15k for return from DSB sump
Tunze wavebox + extension in external enclosure 1 end of tank
2 x OM 4 ways on closed loops
3 x 400w 14k halides + 3 x double 54w T5's
Frag tank
Water change tank
Deltec 1004 skimmer
Deltec PF1001 calcium reactor
Aquatronica
Deltec Eco Cooler
TBA 200 - 300kg live rock

I will post photos shortly of the room plan, I'll post the tank design later when its finalised. Brief details are that we have a double length garage, the back of which was convertedd by the previous owners into a study. We ran it as a study for 2 years, but my wife got sick of my mess in there so we decided to move the study to upstairs! The room is now to be refitted as a family room/ guest bedroom, and I intend to remove the wall that backs onto the garage, build the tank in there and rebuild the wall incorporating the tank as a 'picture frame' look with access from the front and back. A new partition wall will be installed in the garage for fireproofing and insulation. Ventilation will be installed in the garage using 2 x wall vents.

The system is very large but accomodates what I would like to achieve in terms of depth of the tank from front to back. 4 feet allows me to massively aquascape the tank and fill it with SPS and LPS. I have concentrated significantly on the circulation design, hence the waveboxes and closed loops.

In terms of stocking, I have a draft list of the fish I would like to stock, but the tank will be a mixed reef as I used to run.

I'm starting the thread now to keep a record of progress. Currently the system is still in the design phase and I'm getting together all the pricing. I should be able to start the building work late May/ early June subject to work requirements.

I'll put photos of the room on later.

Cheers

Rich (Reading, Berkshire)

[zimreef]

Cool - another big tank build!

Sounds good - keep us updated

John

[richs01]

Subject to significant change!

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/FishTankidea1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/FishRoomMaster1.jpg

[jobr]

Sound superb, good luck with it.

edit, Now looks superb with those pics ;)

[abyss]

i concure,

this will be a nice system, keep us posted

regards

rupert

[Mode]

Great sketchup drawings! Hope it all goes to plan!!

Mode

[richs01]

Can anybody provide me any experience on the tunze waveboxes please? I am specifically interested in people running the main wavebox + extension in a tank of similar size to what I am planning here, and if anybody has done so in an external enclosure.

Cheers

Rich

[jobr]

Rich, have a look at silvereefs thread, Steves tank isn't as big but there is a video of the external mounted wavebox in action.

My new tank also has an external box but again nothing near the size you are planning.

Blowfish / abyss aka rupert is planning a big tanks (there is a thread running) and he is thinking of using 4 waveboxes if i recall correctly.

[Silverreef]

Hi Rich,

Go and have a look at the man across the roads 10 footer, if you ask him nicely he might give you a demo of the Wavebox in action, I'm afraid mines a bit small:o , but you are more than welcome to see it in action.

Ok we will get the little one/big one jokes out of the way now shall we:laugh: , don't want to spoil Richards thread:thumbsup: .


Regards

Steve

[SPS Hoover]

Richard would it be easier just to build a tunnel under road to Mr D's

Running costs would be cheaper

[simon garratt]

Hi Richard.

Only comment i would make re your desighn, would be to run as much of your pipework down the sides and under the tank (between the RSJ's) as you can. This will leave the back of the tank clear for you to work over.

If you have a load of pipes in the way, it will hamper you working on the tank, and you may get occasional leaks in joints where pipes are being pushed/leant on all the time.

Looking superb though and i look forward to the updates.

dont forget you can pop by mine at any time to like.




Regards

Si.

[Tony B]

Can anybody provide me any experience on the tunze waveboxes please? I am specifically interested in people running the main wavebox + extension in a tank of similar size to what I am planning here, and if anybody has done so in an external enclosure.

Cheers

Rich

Just had 4 fail on me, the last pair did not even last a week. Also every tunze stream that my friend sold (about a dozen) has been returned to the shop and the UK distributor can't be got hold of (prolly sick to the back teeth of every one calling and complaining!:laugh: ).

It looks like there might be a very bad batch that is doing the rounds.:annoyed:

[richs01]

Thanks very much for the response guys, and thanks all for your comments (Simon, taken a lot of what you said into account on the design - and thanks for the offer of seeing your setup, I probably will take you up on that very soon. The pipework is being redesigned anyway right now)

Steve - thanks, I've had a look at your thread and you've done pretty much exactly what I was thinking of - excellent!

And pipes under the road to Kevins house - now there is an idea! I'll hopefully get to see the wavebox in action over there very soon.

I'll post the updated design when its done....

Cheers

Rich

[Reefer Madness]

Plans look great Rich, i'm looking forward to seeing this one.

[richs01]

Just to give you an idea of what the room was like (note my little nano tank that, once emptied, was probably the start of the new grand design)...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0013.jpg

This is the wall where the tank is going (the door won't be there when I rebuild it with the tank in place)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0014.jpg

[richs01]

Rough idea of where the tank will be visible....

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Frame.jpg

[richs01]

Just an update -

Still waiting on finalising the tank design, but the RSJ's are here and the concrete pillars are going in tomorrow. Tank plumbing design finalised, as much as can be is going underneath or down the sides (thanks Simon).

Just to show you what a mess I've made... (note that the hole is higher than the actual tank will be, I'll be putting in an access panel above the tank to get in from the room side)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Roomview1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Garageview.jpg

[muzzy]

NICE, BRINGS BACK SOME MEMORIES :D

whats above the garage roof?
if its just the sky, have you thought about using day light as additional lighting?

[ekulfish22]

Nice looking tank design:)

[BASH]

HOLY MOLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:surprise:


That looks like it is going to be AMAZING!!!!

BASH and W

[abyss]

blimey, you dont hang about:laugh:

well im glad yours is prgressing, mine wont be of the ground until next year

this is going to be an amazing system, one to be proud of

and it looks like alot of thought has gone into this

cant wait to see it as it progresses

regards

rupert

[richs01]

Thanks for all the comments guys :thumbsup:

Muzzy -

I'm just going to stick to the electric light for now :cool: - the roof would be north facing so I don't think there would be enough, but its worth considering...

I'm getting excited now!

[jobr]

Great start Rich, no hanging around there.

[muzzy]

Well If You Were To Consider Putting A Skylight In, You Wouldnt Want To Do It With The Tank In Place And Stocked, So You Better Think About It Now!

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy -

I'm going to go for the tried and tested route, mixture of halides and t5's above the tank.

I'm also getting a Deltec AP1004 rather than the 1003 (small difference in price comparitively for 25% more capacity), and Deltec PF1001 calcium reactor.

Just have to find room for them now :confused:

[muzzy]

Thanks Muzzy -

I'm going to go for the tried and tested route, mixture of halides and t5's above the tank.

I'm also getting a Deltec AP1004 rather than the 1003 (small difference in price comparitively for 25% more capacity), and Deltec PF1001 calcium reactor.

Just have to find room for them now :confused:

you have a whole garage to use, plenty of room ;)

[car1os]

4 foot deep OMG :applause: , cant wait to see the pics of the LR aquascaping have your snokel handy :D

[Taz_Devil]

Will be keeping a close eye on this one - keep the updates and pics coming rich - loved the sketchup drawings.....

[richs01]

Hello people -

Quick update - done a lot of work this weekend and had the electrician and bricklayer in. Also some 'discussion' going on with tank builders about access to the room :(

Anyway, glad you liked the sketchup drawings - not sticking to them exactly, but it was incredibly useful for assessing the scale of the design. Hence how I realises I could use a 4 foot depth tank.

A few photos of where we are at right now:



http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0112.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0110.jpg


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0118.jpg

[simon garratt]

Looking good there rich... keep up the good work..

Regards

si.

[simon garratt]

PS.....trust me your gonna need a bigger set of steps....;)

[abyss]

excellent progress

big big big steps

and very loooooong arms:laugh:

R

[car1os]

PS.....trust me your gonna need a bigger set of steps....;)

What you will need for this is a PADI certiicate :whistling: :D

[wozza]

freakin awsome man, cant wate for this one to be up!!!!

[richs01]

Already PADI advanced certified!

And yes, I have a big stepladder ready to go. Considered lots of options with raised platforms etc too. Also bear in mind that the room that the tank is viewed in has a raised floor, so I'll be able to access the front of the tank from there.

With scuba gear on...

[matt h]

looking good,defo looks like a climb in job to me...mind you,your about 9ft tall so that will help...

[richs01]

:laugh: LMAO

[richs01]

Well the base is down - broke my (rather old and crappy) drill making them, which of course meant I had to buy a nice shiny new one!

Dark and dingy hole in wall...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0110-1.jpg

Also been putting lots of thought into the lighting rig. Most of it is all sat on the shelf, as of yesterday, ready to go:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0113.jpg

I've come up with a pulley system rig that will be mounted from the ceiling in the room. 4 x sets of double T5's and 3 400w halides will be on the system. I'm trying to keep some costs down and running costs are a huge factor in this - not just in terms of financial costs but in terms of CO2 output from the electricity used. I'm therefore going for this setup as opposed to all halides above the tank. There is 28 sqft of surface area, I've got 1632w of light, so thats 58w per square foot - I deem this to be OK. I've also done a lot of scubadiving and you don't get anywhere near this amount of light for most corals!

Another sketchup drawing of the planned lighting rig...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/LightingRig1.jpg

Should hopefully be getting the tank in the next few weeks!

Hoorah!

Rich

[El CJ]

Cor! hehehe, I love these ones. Every now and then one of these pops up and suddenly the whole BB is scrutinising your every move,hungry for PICS PICS PICS! :thumbsup:

Nice job Rich. I think its about time someone started selling submersibles for some of these hole in the wall tanks. :rockon:

[littleimp]

With those lights beaming the outside of your garage is goon look like something out of a sci-fi movie!! (gaps round edge leeting light through)

[richs01]

Ah, thats one of the many reasons why there is a partition (fire retardant) wall going in between what is left of the garage and the 'tank room'.

Its going to be pretty cosy in there....

Cheers

[muzzy]

make sure you get some good ventillation going in there, fans bringing in fresh air and fans taking out the humid air.

My tank room has these running 24/7 and it still gets really hot in there, i have to keep the door open through to the garage all day and i run a chiller as well!

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy.

2 x fans on the wall directly where lighting will be, there are 2 x extractors on the other wall. I am also intending to put another fan on the wall higher up to circulate the air higher up in the room. I'll probably put all of these on timers so that they come on during the day and switch off at night. There will also be a vent through the door into the fish room to take cool air from the garage.

I'm also installing a Deltec Eco chiller which will vent out the wall, to keep the tank temperature down.

Worst case, if its a really really hot day, I can open the door and the garage door and let some air in there.

As far as heat goes, I'm just going to have to see how it goes. By the time water is in there, its going to be mid summer so it will be a good test.

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

i did that at first, had them on timers and on a coolstat so they switched off at night, i then woked out it was supressing my pH at night.
once i started running them 24/7 the pH shot up, that is until i installed a calcium reactor but thats another story!

but think about it - its at night time the pH in most tanks drop, if you then stop the airflow its going to increase the problem.

i just hope your bedroom isnt too near!

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy -

I think I'll just have to see how it goes on this. There will be a large Deltec calcium reactor going on as well which is going to drop the ph a little, but I'll probably switch this off at night. Like I say, I've got time to see how it goes and get everything right. I imagine heat is going to be my biggest issue but lets see how it goes!

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

Looks like I might have a date for the tank install! 2 weeks today, fingers crossed. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Anyway, been working on the room still. Ceiling in, some of the electrical work done. I've also got the Aquatronica so been playing with that...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0110-2.jpg

I've built the stand for the 'stack of tanks':

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0113-1.jpg

Electrics for lighting rig:


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0114.jpg

Some of the plumbing (these taps are HUGE!):

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0115.jpg

[Psycho_Eddie]

This remind me of watch muzzy's tank, this one looks to be even more impressive :D

On a Tank this size do you think you could have a whole family of green manderins?

[muzzy]

This remind me of watch muzzy's tank, this one looks to be even more impressive :D



do you want a punch in the head?!
:laugh:

seriously, looking good mate. i assume you are fitting 3 lighting contactors?

whats your plans for the sump stack? fuge, DSB and top up?

[richs01]

Hi Muzzy -

3 x Electronic ballasts fitted to one light contactor - I'm assured this is fine, it just means that all the halides will come on at once. In fact - just checked, it should do 4 x 400w halides starting up at once, so I am fine. I'll be able to bring the T5's on in 2 x groups of 2 so it will be a (reasonably) subtle sunrise in fish tank world :)

There will be 5 tanks in total - the main tank, a 5 foot sump tank directly under the main tank, and 3 further tanks on the stand I've built. These will consist of (from top to bottom) - a 45 gallon water change tank, a frag tank, and lastly a DSB. This will all be fed from the central weir on the back of the tank.

Top up - haven't actually decided yet, but I will probably either just use a spare salt bucket, or get a very small tank that can go somewhere. It doesn't need to be large, just fed from the RO unit and then pumped into the sump (controlled via Aquatronica).

Lots of other stuff to work on. I've just insulated the ceiling :laugh:

Also am not looking forward to the many days and nights that will no doubt be spent doing all the plumbing.... :eek:

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

why dont you put a refugium on top and gravity feed back to the tank?
DSB below, frag tank at bottom.

also consider a proper tank or large bin type thing for water changes and top up

i prefer to have all 3 halides come on separately for 2 reasons - 1 so i can turn one off an clean it rather than have to turn all 3 off. and i like a fade in and out effect with the lights coming on and off in order

but each to their own - keep the pics coming :)

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy -

The stack of tanks are gravity fed - essentially there are 2 x outlets from the weir, one goes straight to the sump, the second goes to the frag tank. The drain from the frag tank then drains into the dsb at the bottom and then into the sump. The top tank of the stack is a water change tank, this will clearly be empty unless I am making up water for a water change (maybe every 4 - 6 weeks).

I'm happy with the contactor setup. I actually had to feed a whole load of seperate mains cabling over to the top of the tank so I could switch things on and off - but the halides are all on at once, thats fine. The fact I have the 4 x T5 twin units means there will be quite a lot of light even when the halides are off.

I'll think about the topup tank. There is potentially room either in or on top of the sump to position something - literally maybe a 1 or 2 foot tank will do.

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

what i was getting at was gravity feeding the fuge back to the display tank so the critters dont get mashed in the return pump. thats why most people these days are setting up fuges above the tank or HOB fuges

[richs01]

Ah I see. I used to run a dsb on my old system at ground level and it actually worked really well. I just think the copepods take a little 'spin' (at 15000 lph) back to the main tank

:laugh:

[muzzy]

lol.
well when this is all set up and running id like to take a look at some point, im often on the M3 heading for surrey

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy -

No problem, I'll give you a shout when I finally get some water and something swimming in there... :p

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

This lot arrived today - Oceans Motions and the calcium reactor. Notice I put my phone on top of the calcium reactor to give it an idea of scale - its HUGE! :eek:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0111.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0112-1.jpg

[mikk1301]

to coin a phrase...."CHUFFING NORA!!!"looks superb would love to see it full and running:cool: :wub:

[richs01]

Oh so would I, so would I! Hopefully in about a month I should have a box of salty water with rock in it :)

[chrisj_]

That calcium reactor is HUGE! :D :D :D

[reefclown]

Just read this from end to end, absolutely cracking build:applause: .

Re the wave box, I've done a DIY version on a 6x4x2.5. Works very well, creates constant movement over polyps without the need for excessive circulation:thumbsup:

here's a litte vid that gives an idea of the effect you get

http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa77/reefclown/?action=view&current=wavebox.flv

would seriously recommend one. On the other hand, the ocean motions will do a serious job in themselves:whistling:

have fun

N

[gregg]

love the reactor im buying the shorter one

[fuzed]

The wave box does the job really welll, well worth adding as nav said, it works perfectly on his tank! :D

[Taz_Devil]

The PF1001 is a great choice Rich, hows things coming with the rest of the build now ?

[richs01]

Thanks for the comments guys - Reefclown I love the video, I've watched a few of DIY waveboxes and the Tunze ones and they all look amazing!

Firstly a quick update. As of tonight, I have the lighting rig up and the T5's on it, the halides will be put on once they are wired up with the correct fittings. Even with the T5's on though its a nice quantity of light above the tank! Been working on the electrics and Aquatronica. I've also got all the sequence pumps (which are enormous) and the RO unit to rig up.

The tanks are scheduled to arrive a week tomorrow, Saturday 14th. Very exciting.

So in terms of my circulation design - I have to say this is the one component of the whole design I put the most time and thought into this. I've had several reef tanks before and almost always I had issues with cyano or other circulation related problems - and just had to add pumps to compensate. A summary of what is going into the tank for circulation:

2 x closed loops. Each closed loop will be fed by a Sequence 15000lph pump, feeding into an Oceans Motions 4 way - therefore 8 tank outlets in total, 4 on the sides and 4 on the base.

1 x return from an undertank sump, again fed by a single Sequence 15000lph pump to two in tank outlets.

2 x Tunze waveboxes (1 main unit + extension) housed in an external enclosure with holes drilled through side of tank. If you count the max throughput of the enclosed Tunze 6200's, these two units alone churn 40000lph!

Thats a grand total of 85000lph for the whole system - theoretically - on a tank of maybe 2000 litres is about 40x turnover per hour, which I deem enough.

I'll post some photos over the weekend once the halides are up.

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

I've got the layout of the tank in my head - so I thought I would try to put it into a diagram. Was wondering if people had thoughts/ comments on this as its pretty open to change right now.

Diagram may be a little unclear, but essentially its mean to be a reef rockface, with 3 sections jutting towards the front of the tank. Bear in mind I have 4 foot front to back, so I really wanted to make use of this depth of view when looking into the tank.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/RockCoralLayout.jpg

[zimreef]

Looks like a few kgs of live rock are going to be needed!!

I have done a fair bit of reading and looking at aquascapes recently as was going to set up a large tank (for me) and wanted to put my finger on why some aquascapes work for me and some don't.

Being extremely critical and obviously can't tell the exact elevations from your diagram but looks a little too symmetrical to my eye. Any tank with something that attracts your eye that is almost bang in the centre (such as your central section) looks a little unnatural.

Don't know if you've done any serious photography or not, but if you have you'll be familiar with the "rule of thirds". The theory is that an image sits easiest where the subject is positioned a third into the picture looking into the picture. Any focus/structure in a tank should also follow that rule so that your eye is led into the tank and not away from it, or in a tank with equal "right and left halves" each half is fighting for attention - where the ratio is split 1/3 to 2/3 then your eye is naturally attracted to the 2/3 area, but doesn't ignore the 1/3 area.

Having looked at a number of large tanks, there are those that look average to nice and those that are outstanding and simply take your breath away. IMO the difference is definitely the attention given to the basic structure of the aquascaping. Again drawing a photographic comparison the term "negative space" is used. That is where empty areas in the photograph frame and emphasize those areas that are "populated". That is why (to me anyway) aquascapes designed around islands or bommies look so awesome, or where a clear channel to the back of the tank frames what is on either side of that channel.

Of course I could be talking a complete load of tosh but you asked for my opinion and there - you have it! ;) :)

John

[abyss]

i think this has got a lot of promise and cant wait to see it progress

my only bit of critiscism, would be to bring the rock away from the back of the tank

give a bit of room round there, you will get a better sense of depth

regards

rupert

[jaggy]

THIS IS GOING TO BE SUPERB! cant wait for more updates!

[richs01]

OK I'll give some more thought to the rockwork :)

I do actually remember seeing several tanks which were 4 feet front to back with 'pinnacles' in - and I agree its will look much more natural. OK I'll keep looking at tank pictures :whistling:

[richs01]

OK, since last posting an update, I have been busy (and am very knackered):

1. Lighting rig up. Welders made a mistake with the dimensions so I've got to lower all the T5's slightly, but it works. Its all on pulleys and I am actually very pleased with it. It remains to be seen if the 3 x 400w halides are sufficient (once I get them wired in and powered on) but we'll see.
2. Almost all the electrics are now in - probably something like 40 odd plugs now available around the room. They will soon go though!
3. Skimmer is here. Pictured below.
4. Put almost all plumbing in ready for the 'wifes tank'. I've got an Aquamedic Chromis going in the hallway that is to be fed off the sump in the main tank.
5. RO system is almost ready to go, just need to get mains water to the garage (easily done along the side of the house) and waste water out.

Beginning to get some very interesting looks from the neighbours... :p

Cheers

Rich





http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0115-1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0116.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0117.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0118-1.jpg


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0119.jpg

:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

[abyss]

rich

its coming along good to see someone else who loves there skimmer, very nice and i like the lighting rig

so whens the glass coming?

rupert

[richs01]

Thanks Rupert -

Glass arrives Saturday (14th). Current plan is that once the glass is in place, I'm going to start filling everything but the main tank and sump with RO - clearly the RO production is going to take a while so I am keen to get this started. Once the silicone on the main tank has cured (about 2 weeks) I'll fill it with tapwater (assuming plumbing complete by then) and test it for a couple of days for leaks on the closed loops + return. If all OK, I'll empty it and then start filling it with RO.

I'm probably going to have a think about filling something temporary with RO while the silicone is curing too, to save some time later.

Just tested the RO unit out and all working!

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

OK, drawn up another aquascape diagram - took into account a lot of what John said (thanks - and yes I do a lot of photography but didn't actually think about the rule of thirds on this!). Need to bear in mind the layout of the closed loop outlets and inlets, but this design would work (I think). Also quite confident that the waveboxes will preyy much eradicate any 'dead spots' in there :D . Essentially its two peaks with a dip in the middle. Which actually will look like, erm, a pair of ladies things. So you get the idea!

Anyway, any more comments welcome!

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/RockCoralLayoutMark2.jpg

[markey]

how did i miss this one

looking really impressive rich ,cant wait for more pics :thumbsup:

[Kevin Douglas]

Looking good Richard even since I saw it last. (I have an advantage here as I live opposite Rich01) I can help you out with RO water when you need it.
I will keep the 14th clear so that I can have a nose at the tank being built.

Regards

[richs01]

Thanks Kevin -

Much appreciated :) I'll be needing a LOT of RO water! I am reliably informed its going to take about 2 weeks for the silicone to cure before I can put any water in it.

Shall we just run some RO pipe across the road? :p

Cheers

Rich

[Tristan]

Really nice project mate!

Looking forward to seeing it full! :)

[richs01]

So would I :thumbsup:

Just need to find somebody who has invented 'magic automatic plumbing constructor' and 'quick drying 1 hour silicone'.

Oh and somebody who can produce 600 gallons of RO in, say, an hour?

Then it will be ready for fish on Sunday.

:dance:

That was a JOKE, for anybody that might get upset....

:wave:

[richs01]

Well having got all ready for today and the tank to be delivered (even my Aquatronica was telling me the tank was coming), we had a slight delay - everything now coming tuesday afternoon.

I'll post pics when its all in - then the mammoth plumbing operation begins.

Cheers

Rich

[aitch]

I shall be looking forward to seeing the progress of this installation

What sort of budget you working to on this one?

Looks very impressive up to now!

[richs01]

I couldn't possibly divulge the budget. Needless to say I set a number before I started and - guess what - I've exceeded it.

I'll be trying, as much as I can, to stock SPS with frags and farmed corals to reduce both mine and environmental costs though :cool:

[simon garratt]

looking good rich..

one bit of advice id give and im sure both Kev and Si C would agree..

bin the zooanthids.....

SPS and these guys just dont mix over the long term, and once in a big tank, they are a bitch to deal with as they spread.

I you just 'have' to have them, keep them to a small bommie that has no connections to your main rock structure.


regards

Si.

[richs01]

Thanks Si -

Didn't know that one but I just saw some of the diverse zoo availability now and thought it might be nice to have a few - I'll keep them out of the main tank then.

There is a smaller (Aquamedic Chromis) tank going in our hallway, its going to have whatever lighting I can put in it in a custom fit hood, so thats probably a good place to put zoo's into then, as they can't spread too much :)

2 more days to go before I get some glass - hoorah!

Cheers

Rich

[markey]

certainly looked impressive yesterday rich

bet ya cant wait for the glass ,

we could of walked kevins across the road :laugh:

[richs01]

Thanks Mark -

Glad you like it - will be even better when its actually got some glass in there! Dread to think what the electricity board will think when my tank is running and Kevins new system is up and running. No doubt the road will be warm from the power cable coming into the street!

Cheers

Rich

[wave ace]

I would notify the police the may think that you are growing some plants in there :laugh:

[richs01]

The funny thing is the lighting reflectors are designed for exactly that :o

[richs01]

I have a house full of fish tanks. 4 men turned up, a lorry, lots of effort to get it all in. 2 holes were slightly out (re drilled stand). The tank isn't quite in its final resting place as it was easier to assemble it off the back of the stand. It will be pushed into place on Sunday.

Pictures to whet your appetite...

Skimmer in sump

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0115-2.jpg

Tank viewed from garage (the filter tanks stand is temporarily behind it out of the rain, that isn't where its staying):

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0116-1.jpg



http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0117-1.jpg

View from the room right now:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0118-2.jpg

Note the can of coke for size reference!:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0119-1.jpg

[muzzy]

very nice
any chance of seeing a shot of the moving light fixture, how its fixed above?

looks like some of the holes were drilled in the wrong places?

[richs01]

Muzzy -

As per my post above :) two holes were out. I re drilled the holes in the stand to accomodate the slight 'movement' of the holes :laugh:

Lighting rig - I'll get a wider shot when I can. Basically its on 4 x 'easy roller' pulleys that are suspended from the ceiling by chains. It works reasonably well, I'll see how I get on with it, but it means I can lift the whole rig up easily when I need access to the tank.

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

ahh, sorry i missed that :o

as for the lighting, i originally thought you were putting it on some kind of moving gear that slid it back and forth, not sure why i thought this, but ive seen it done to great effect by some others.

i guess you are lucky that the ceiling is so high above the tank to be able to simply winch it up and down, this will aid with acclimatising the tank when you change bulbs as well so as not to shock them.

what skimmer is is, AP904? looks a beast

[kissypoos]

looking sweet.

bet u cant wait to fill it lol

[richs01]

Its an AP1004 - its pretty big, yes. I used to run an AP703 and loved it, this is a much bigger version!

And yep - lighting works pretty well - I can acclimatise corals when new bulbs in really easily.

And I can't wait to get it wet - just thinking about how to do the rockwork prior to filling it with RO (i.e dried rock thats going in prior to live rock) - going to get creative I think :D

Cheers

Rich

[matt h]

nice to see some glass i bet...
looks great...not long before we see those om in action..

[disco_dave]

Excellent Rich, your really doing a good job and well thought out. Great to see it all taking shape, cant wait to see the finished tank....keep posted the pics :thumbsup:

[mikk1301]

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0119.jpg

is it just me or is anyone else getting some "wrong" feelings?:o

[KeithM]

Hi Rich, great build. Who did you get to build your tank? and did you use starphire (or similar) glass for the whole tank?

[richs01]

Mikk1301 - I have no idea what you mean?

Keith Man - The tank was built by Seashells. Hope thats OK to use a non sponsor name on here, if its a problem then I'll remove it. The front panel is Optiwhite, I saw no reason to have it on any other panels as you won't look through them :D

Fired up the halides tonight. The garage was glowing :cool:

Cheers

Rich

[kissypoos]

want pics of glowing garage!!!

lets hope the local plod dont think u growing any plant lol

[richs01]

Ok this is where we are tonight. Don't ask me how I did it but I managed to move half a ton of fish tank without any assistance (lets just say it took me a long time!).

Not sure what my camera was doing but it looks a LOT brighter than this when you are looking at it. This is with all the lighting on...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0110-3.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0111-1.jpg

[zimreef]

Are you going to be doing anything to cover/disguise the weir at the back?

John

[richs01]

Hi John -

I've got a few ideas on that but clearly if I don't do anything, there is going to be two whopping great durso's showing through to the rest of the tank :(

Option 1: Aquascape so its not showing.

Option 2: Put some blue perspex in there that (roughly) matches the colour of the back of the tank.

I suspect I'll choose the aquascaping option, but I need to see how I can do that first. Its funny how you plan something, put the weir outside the tank, then realise that the fact its outside means you see it - whereas an in tank weir could at least be covered in blue perspex!

Cheers

Rich

[kissypoos]

looking sweet. how many gallons?

[muzzy]

what i would do is get the blue perspex and then go to a diy store and get an exact match paint made on their scanning system, and then even if some of it still shows after your aquascaping, it wont be that noticeable being the same colour

[richs01]

Its going to be about 550 gallons total (ish). Main tank 410 gallons.

Muzzy - The tank is painted, so I would have to get perspex to match the colour of the back of the tank. I'll look into whats available and see if anybody does something similiar - might not be an exact match but it may be close enough. Aquascaping will then cover the rest.

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

sorry yeah how stoopid of me!

well its easy enough to scrape the paint off

[richs01]

Nooooo!

Only just put the paint on. Favourite idea is to put a blue plastic partition in there with a comb on top.

Bear in mind the aquascaping will cover a lot of this anyway.

Cheers

Rich

[matt h]

blimey your not hanging around,looks great,cant see you being able to see those fittings[weir]once rocks in,better get back out to mine as im slacking by the looks of it..

[richs01]

Well, after 2 12 hour days at the weekend and some help from my wall fitter today, its looking almost finished now :D

Tank frame installed, I need to do a little tweaking of the access panel above but its looking good:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0110-4.jpg

The tanks current sole inhabitant:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0112-2.jpg

View into the garage with new wall in

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0113-2.jpg

Into the room

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0114-1.jpg

Some of the equipment in the room

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0116-2.jpg

Calcium and rowa reactors

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0117-2.jpg

Plumbing under tank (need to put more support in for Oceans motions, but the plumbing is almost complete)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0118-3.jpg

And lastly, the stack of tanks (top water change, middle frag tank, bottom dsb)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0119-2.jpg

First fill with tapwater of main system later next week. Then start to fill with RO :wub:

Hooray!

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

you've been working hard!
looking good

regading your fire door, when i was getting my building regs signed off the inspector made me fit a self closer on the door before he would sign it off, just something to think about before finalising the regs - assuming you are using building regs for this?!

[mikk1301]

Mikk1301 - I have no idea what you mean?

im thinking skimmer porn:o

[richs01]

Muzzy -

All I did was phone the insurance company and tell them what I was doing, and also got the wall built with fire retardant plasterboard - thats as much as I have done.

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

im thinking skimmer porn:o

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[muzzy]

Muzzy -

All I did was phone the insurance company and tell them what I was doing, and also got the wall built with fire retardant plasterboard - thats as much as I have done.

Cheers

Rich

i see

if you sell the house i expect you would fill the hole back in so wouldnt be an issue, but if you were to sell the house with the tank in place then you may have some problems with solicitors wanting to know where the building regs are for this.

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy for your concern.

I always envisaged that I would never sell the house with the tank in. Everything has been done, as much as it can be, so that it can be removed at a later date if we need to. I've literally left the structure in the wall so that a door can be put back in and the wall filled in. The hardest bit would be to get the tank out :laugh:

So my only concern was the insurance, to be honest, and I had that confirmed as OK.

Cheers

Rich

[abyss]

excellent progress rich

youve got to be well happy with that, realy clean, tidy and crisp, bet you cant wait to get some water in now and fire up the skimmer and get aquascapeing

regards

rupert

[richs01]

Thanks Rupert -

Yeah the aquascaping starts late next week. Once I've done a tapwater test on the system for leaks and drained it down again, I'll be putting in reef bones, filling with RO and salt, then putting the rest of the LR in there.

If all goes to plan, it should be up and fully running in a few weeks time :)

Just need to have a think about how creative I can be with the reef bones :cool:

Cheers

Rich

[disco_dave]

Rich, looks excellent, well thought out and I'm sure will be amazing when filled with water and up and running. Appreciate you taking the time to keep us all filled in on your progress! :D

[abyss]

rich

im sure youll have no probs aquascaping

and 2 minds are better than one, pop over and give kev a knock and work as a team

keep the progress reports coming

excellent thread:thumbsup:

regards

rupert

[Will]

if it were me i would put the water in get it salted nad mixed, then drain out a 1000 litres into kevs big white tub and get in to do the rock work

[JOHN & CAM]

This is a really well thought out system and i cant wait to see the result of your aquascapnig and stocking:thumbsup:

[richs01]

Just a very quick update..

Well I started to test the closed loops (decided not to do tapwater test, just fill the loops and see what leaks). Pretty much, well, erm, EVERYTHING leaked. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

One whole pot of solvent, and most of them have gone. Oceans Motions removed and re sealed with silicone, waiting for these to dry. Nightmare!

Tank is now filling with RO. I reckon its doing about 2 inches a day :cool:

I reckon I'll have it full of fish by saturday!

(That last sentence was a joke..)

:wave:

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Thats looks wicked.

But jez its looks complicated im getting puzzled on my little cube with the plumbing!!

S

[richs01]

Quick update -

Tank has been running for the best part of 2 weeks now with saltwater in. Fortunately Kevin across the road was very kind and produced a lot of RO for me (lots of carrying containers across the road) so I've been running the system salted for nearly 2 weeks and the rock has been in there for about a week and a half.

Problems so far..

1. One of the waveboxes literally blew up after 2 days. Common problem as discovered as per this forum. Should get replacement today.
2. Algae buildup started at the weekend. I've compensated by only having the halides on (nothing else) for 2 hours in the evening.

Water parameters are good, nitrate 5ppm or less, calcium 420 dkh 11, phosphate 0.03ppm. Looking good.

Just waiting on some adjustable flow nozzles for the closed loops and the remaining rock (reefbones) + sand, then the system is more or less complete apart from the chiller.

The thing I find the most amazing is the temperature of the system. I deliberately tried the system on a hot day with all the lights on and the temperature rose from 26C to 28C. On my old system that would have been 32C without a chiller. Amazing how much energy such a big volume of water needs to get heated up!

Current livestock - one hermit crab. He appeared off the live rock I bought. He is doing very well and probably wondering when all his new mates are going to appear...

Just want to get some fish in there now. May have to get some plastic ones to keep me happy for now!

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

you wanna get some good algae munchers in there ASAP before the algae takes hold. look at wurgles new tank build, looks like a kelp forest!
id get a tang or two in there as well as shed loads of snails and more hermits, prevention is better than cure, and trying to cure a tank full of rapidly growing algae is pretty disheartening.

lets see some more piccies

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy -

I'm contemplating right now what to do in terms of fish, but my problem right now is that I am waiting for a shipment of reefbones to come in and I didn't want to be adding it while there are fish in the tank. Probably not an issue though in a tank that big!

I'm also about to order cleanup crew. I am now totally broke though!

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

well, may be worth leaving the lights off altogether then unless theres anything growing on the rocks that you want to keep?
is your other tank still running?

[richs01]

Hi Muzzy -

Lights are only on for 2 hours a day and its killed off a lot of the algae, but clearly I want to start increasing this light period.

Other tank?? I was setting up an AM Chromis from scratch, but the wife didn't like it so its gone on Ebay (and sold for less than I paid for it!)

No other tank.. The LR came from an established tank though, so I am not entirely worried about cycling.

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

sorry thought you were upgrading.

it wont do the rock any harm being unlit while there's no coral in there, but any coraline will start to die off.

[richs01]

Thanks Muzzy.

I'm going to gradually increase the lighting over time so that I minimise the algae build up, but at the moment its under control. Hopefully by the end of next week there will be the remaining rock and sand in there and I can start to put some livestock in (cleanup crew first)

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

Well -

Another update. The furniture has gone in - although several bits of it are going to be replaced :annoyed:

Also today I received 4 very large boxes of very, very nice quality dried rock. Pressure washed and now in the tank :p there was actually too much of it :whistling: so there are a few bits in the sump. It all adds to the filter system though :thumbsup:

Got a few pics tonight. The water is still a little cloudy as I put another 4 bags of sand in there earlier. Tank is running very well though, usual algae bloom but keeping it in control by reducing light period and also the 100 turbos and 100 hermits I added :applause: Also there are now 37 chromis residing in the tank. They look fantastic when they come up to eat!

Hope you like the pics :dance:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0157.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0154.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0159.jpg

[muzzy]

very classy. looks ace :)

got any pics from the back?

[richs01]

I'll get some tomorrow :D

At the moment the tank room is a bit of a mess. A few things needing sorting. There is a Deltec Eco Chiller mounted up on the wall but not plumbed in yet, a temporary cover on one of the closed loop pumps due to salt creep, and several buckets of salt piled up. But its all running :cool:

At the moment, just trying to avoid too much of the algal bloom symptoms by only running the lights for 3 - 4 hours per day. I'll probably leave it like that for now until we get back from holiday in a couple of weeks, then start turning it up an hour each week.

Aiming to start introducing corals mid september when we are back. The tank will then be 6 weeks + old so I am happy that the water is totally settled by then.

Cheers

Rich

[fireproofcujo]

wow i could quite easily sit in front of that tank all night :worship:

[Reef bloke]

How the hell did i miss this Rich!Su bloody perb!.Loving the whole system so well thought out!
My old Angel will be living in luxury! Please invite us around for a look when done.
Sitting here feeling very inadequate now with my little system.Pleasure to meet you today,ill be following this thread.
All the best tony.

[richs01]

Well, we are back from our little trip to Cornwall (lovely weather!) and I thought I'd post an update. Before the photos:

1. Majestic Angel added (very pretty, looking a little pale due to stress I believe but feeding well - thanks Tony!)
2. Several frags added - blue acro, blue tipped white acro, monti's
3. Large orange monti added
4. 1 crocea and 1 derasa clam added
5. Weirs now fixed and running pretty smooth
6. First water change done - went well
7. Chiller pipework yet to be done - this is the last major job that needs doing.

Anyway, pictures (sorry if some are a little grainy, I'd set the camera slightly wrong)...

Main tank shot (notice can of beer for reference *hic!*)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/tank.jpg

Very lovely Majestic

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Majestic.jpg

Monti

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/monti.jpg


Hammer Euphillia

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/hammer.jpg

Frogspawn

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/frogspawn.jpg

One of the many Chromis

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Chromis.jpg

Urchin

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/urchin.jpg

[Reef bloke]

Ah there he is! Im missin him,bit odd missing a fish but there ya go.
The system is looking very good and starting to settle,so pleased he went to you Rich.
Tony

[richs01]

Thanks Tony -

He'll be very well looked after - very very very pleased with him..

Just going to aspire to make my tank as fantastic as yours is and I'll be very happy indeed!

Thanks again

Rich

[Reef bloke]

I'm sure it will far exceed mine,its a superb set up.

[minimal]

looking loverly, keep it up . . .

[jimblonduk]

WOW, that is amazing !!! I could sit in there all night with maybe some of that 'sounds of the sea' music playing softly in the background.

Well done Rich, a credit to you

Gary :)

[Halfsleeve]

Very nice.

[Paul_uk74]

Great build.

Any more thoughts on how you will be covering the back glass?

Thats the only thing spoiling its look right now.

Just out of interest. What was the total cost for your project if you dont mind sharing?

Regards

[Ross1]

Awesome! Love all the chromis. Looks natural with so many chromis.

[richs01]

Hi Paul -

I'm not covering the back glass :)

The whole idea with the aquascaping was to use the depth of the tank to make it look like a big area of rock in the middle of the tank. I really wanted to avoid piling rock up to the back of the tank and make the 4 feet of front to back depth look good. So I'm not covering the back.

It looks good and you really don't notice the weir at the back. Will look even better once the rock colours up :D

And system cost - I don't have a total number but with all equipment and build + rock (excluding any fish + coral) around the £14k mark I guess.

Rich

[disco_dave]

look's very well m8

[simon garratt]

Thats looking superb rich.:applause:

love the rockwork layout. It will be nice to see this one grow out over time..


regards

Si.

PS: i take it youve booked your meeting for next year then....;)

[the dogs]

What a tank,you must be well proud.

[jobr]

Superb, will be stunning in time.

[bigbok]

yes agree good idea with the rock lovely touch

[richs01]

Thanks for the comments guys :D

Si - Kevin has already asked about a meeting at mine at some point.

The system is being populated, as much as I can, with frags. I'm feeling I'll be much more rewarded if I grow the corals myself from frags on such a large system, and I can then have many more types of corals as I grow them myself. I've already put around 10 frags in there, as well as a few larger pieces.

Today most of the fish I had reserved have gone in -

1 x Sailfin tang
1 x Large Regal tang
1 x Orange Shoulder tang
5 x Yellow tangs
2 x Maroon clowns
And a few more Chromis

The chromis actually look very cool. They shoal around the top of the 'reef' while the tangs cruise underneath. Its very much like I have seen when diving, which is the effect I wanted :cool:

Very, very pleased with it now - algae blooms mostly over (controlled using shorter lighting periods while cycling and immediate use of phosphate remover when I started the system) as well as the fact that I've been cleaning the skimmer out every few days - and it takes a LOT of crud out of the system.

[any_lower]

good luck mate!.

[MaidstoneMarine]

Wow.... this is looking fantastic. The build looks to be of supreme quality - you've gotta be over the moon with it. Love the rockwork.

[richs01]

Well I've just finished what I was working on so I thought I'd take a few pics of the tank as it is today. Had some requests to show the equipment room so these are included as well...

Firstly the tank as it is today...

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0356.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0300.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0301.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0303.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0327.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0332.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0337.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0354.jpg

[richs01]

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0359.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0360.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0361.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0362.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0363.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0365.jpg

[Johnymajors]

Very nice :applause: Love the huge shoal of chromis

That is going to be a stunner once its fully matured

Keep the pics coming

[richs01]

Thats going to take a while - I reckon give it 6 months once the corraline starts growing across everything and it will look like a proper reef.

And its hilarious feeding them. The chromis almost eat your hand off...

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

That looks pretty fantastic.
Although watch out for flame throwers about your fast dense stocking ;)

[richs01]

Yes I am prepared for that...

In my defense, half the LR came from an established system and my filter system is more than up to the job of coping with the waste...

Cheers

Rich

[muzzy]

you dont have to convince me mate, im the king of high nitrates :D

[MaidstoneMarine]

Absolutely awesome! We'll be down soon :D

How big is the orange shoulder tang? It looks like it's starting to get the adult colouration. (wish mine would - I think they're much nicer that way!)

[richs01]

Hi Chris -

Thats odd. I thought that WAS the adult colouration? As in they are yellow when juvenile and they go grey when old.


Is it the other way round then?

[disco_dave]

great build & a great veiw:thumbsup:

[simon garratt]

Hi Rich.

Your gonna hate me i know but im gonna say this to save you 'alot' of grief..

Those two sequences youve got..... You need to have a run of at least 12" before the first bend on the inlet side...

Running them that way with a bend strait on the inlet, your working the pump twice as hard as it should becouse its sucking against the vortex caused by the elbow...consequently your barings and seals will ware out extremely quickly.

If i were you, id sort this out now rather than later..

system as a whole though is looking superb..

Love the adult colouration on the Orange shoulder.

Regards

si.

[Jon B]

WOW, stunning mate :worship:

Rgds
Jon

[MaidstoneMarine]

I'd say it's the start of adult colouration but it's not complete. They go the must stunning colours of grey (if you can say grey is a stunning colour!) The contrasts of the two greys and the orange should make for quite a spectactular fish (at least in my opinion). Can't wait for mine to turn like that. Its still got the yellows at 6''.

[Osprey]

:shocking: wow great work :thumbsup: got some nice bits of kit there
great build:applause:

[sharktale]

:thumbsup: top build you have there,cant wait to see it further down the line,when it starts to mature:thumbsup: .keep us posted:)

[richs01]

Si -

You have PM ref the sequences....

Cheers

Rich

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Look gorgeous that tank, it really does look huge in the latest pics

Si

[richs01]

Well I thought its finally time for an update. The system has been running pretty well - lost a couple of monti's due to leaving my calcium reactor unplugged - but mostly everything is doing and growing well.

Had a little shopping trip yesterday so I thought it would be good to post an update...

Cheers

Rich

[richs01]

Firstly a video of the system...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGuF0HeJciE

[richs01]

Now some pics of the system this afternoon..

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Tank-1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/LPS1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Acro1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Acro4.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Acro3.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Acro2.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/Polyps1.jpg[/QUOTE]

[Lukechromis]

TAMK LOOKS GREAT.:thumbsup:

[muzzy]

very nice.
how many yellow tangs!?

[richs01]

Hi Muzzy -

There is 6 - my favourite fish actually!

My old tank in my old house had 8 - I really love a shoal of yellow tangs, looks stunning. They all follow each other around, and actually don't seem anything like as territorial as they are when they are on their own.

Guessing that the orange shoulder tang is the 'king of the tank'. I have never seen a fish eat and poo so much...

Cheers

Rich

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

any updates for this year?

S

[bristol_rich]

Your tank looks fantastic, a great thread all the way through and great attention to detail thanks for sharing:thumbsup:

[arata]

gud stuff and gud vid!!!!

[AhmedLFC]

awesome build, awesome tank. congrats very nice indeed

[richs01]

I thought it was time for an update - tank has been running very well indeed. Had a few losses (a clam seems to have got stung by something and I had a few probs with fluctuating alkalinity which caused 2 x SPS to die). Other than that, tank running very well. Good growth showing now, corraline growing rapidly. Nitrates virtually nil, all other levels are good.

Recent purchases..

Lipstick Tang
Coperband Butterfly
Gold Rim Tang
Pair of Blue Cheek Triggers
Several montipora's
Several millepora's

See what you think!

:thumbsup:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0579.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0582.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0592.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0528.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0573.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0512.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0515.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0510.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0476.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa151/richs01/DSC_0470.jpg

[muzzy]

coming along great.
good luck with the CB, mine died after 2 months :(

[Reef bloke]

Looking superb for such a young tank,hows the majestic doin?

[jobr]

Lovely looking tank

[Stephen G]

:wub:gorgeous tank love ur fish and corals
do ur chromis not fight?

[Phishy]

Really nice tank!

[richs01]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Muzzy - the CB is from another persons tank and was well established so I remain hopeful. I've had one before that lasted for a long time.

And Tony - the Majestic is doing very well thanks, eats like a horse and king of the tank!

Cheers

Rich

[AhmedLFC]

Great looking tank mate, love the depth very nice indeed.

[Cam]

Just like to say thanks to Rich for showing me his tank last weekend. Its looking great and given a year to grow in it is going to be stunning. Well worth all the effort that has obviously go in to this setup. Ilook forward to seeing it again one day.

Cheers,

Cam.

[zimreef]

We obviously need to have an update! :rolleyes:

I saw it in the flesh in the very early stages - of the build - sounds as though it's living up to its potential so far at least!

C'mon rich - need some pics! :D

John

[martek man]

hi any updates :thumbsup:

[dmb]

love it love it wish i had a garage and a spare wedge of cash

[Mo.]

updates please.....

[richs01]

Hi Everybody -

Well I've had enough 'prompts' to put an update on here :D

Firstly let me say that I'll put some new pictures on here when I get the chance. My tank has been low down on the priority list for the last 6 months or so as we now have a 4 month old daughter :laugh:

I've finally spent some time over the last few weeks getting it back up to shape, and looking at my water chemistry. My corals have noticably been suffering in the last few months, I believe due to lower levels of magnesium and the wrong Ca/ dkh balance. All other levels are fine. I'm running a Kalk stirrer now as well as the calcium reactor to boost things up, and adding a Magnesium additive. I also have the unenviable task of replacing all the bulbs next week, which should lighten several hundred pounds from my bank account!

Livestock changes- only very recently. Today I've added some LPS (Favia, Duncan, Octo), some zooanthids and some ricordia. I have on order a large number of maricultured SPS to add to the tank as well.

Like I say I'll put some photos online in the next few days. Coral growth isn't great, because of the water chemistry, but I am pleased to say that our little girl is now affording us a little more time so I'm able to get things back on track again.

Thanks for those who maintained an interest in my system!

Cheers

Richard

[Mo.]

:confused:

[KRUSTY THE CLOWNfish]

Just gone through the whole thread, very impressive :thumbsup: I love the shoal of chromis and tangs, think I may have to pick up some chromis soon :D

Any updates?