View Full Version : 1400gallon system with 1060gallon L-shaped DT
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 09:45 PM
Hi guys,
I have been bothering all of you guys alot with my 165 learning tank which is still a project in progress.
Though I have decided it is time to move on and start the actual project I wanted all along when I started this hobby.
The idea is to create a complete fishroom where everything will be transparent meaning I dont want to hide anything. When walking inside the room it will be designed as my little (maybe not as little) reef tank factory where every aspect of the reef is visible.
Every angle of the tank (with 2 sides acting like windows to the outside) , sump, fuge, skimmer, plumbing, etc etc... will be visible and can be admired.
This means that the entire built and every little detail should be set up pristine clean and presentable to not spoil the entire view.
Anyway enough about the idea and all about it.
The reason of me starting even the design faze here is that I would like this tank to become a little the pet project of all of you guys.
This tank will be built by all of you with me making the final decisions on how and what exact equipment to use.
Budget would not be a major issue but will have to be kept in mind so the idea would be to buy not the most expensive material but the best possible for the bucks.
The eventual start date of the building faze is for now set in year from now so we have all alot of time to work on the design which might be the most important faze of the entire project I think as good planning makes great results I hope we can all agree with that.
Other reason for the long period is me still working offshore so I am away from home for extended periods of time which I see as a period for me to organize it all even better so when home and starting the next faze things can move forward fairly quick.
Anyway enough talking now and I would like to invite you all to start with the very first release of the initial plan of the DT design.
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 09:54 PM
Ok here some details on the system
MAIN TANK
- L-shaped
- 300cm x 100cm x 100cm 118” x 39” x 39”
- 200cm x 100cm x 100cm 78” x 39” x 39”
- intake of 50x50 to take out the inside corner of the tank. (see drawing)
which would give a volume of 1063 US gallon or 4032Liters if my calculations are right?
SUMP
- 200cm x 60cm x 60cm 78” x 23” x 23”
- volume of 178 USgallon or 673Liters
REFUGIUM
- 200cm x 60cm x 60cm 78” x 23” x 23”
- same volume as sump
more details and tanks will be added as the project move along.
RBGreef
09/22/2010, 10:01 PM
I cant wait to see this completed! I am in the mind set of bigger is better. My 225 is now seeming awfully small.:bigeyes:
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 10:09 PM
First discussion point
WATERFLOW
how the original design stands
in the drawing:
- GREEN are 2 "Tunze 6215 waveboxes"
- YELLOW are 4 "Hydor Koralia 6 pumps(2200gph)" connected to a "Hydor Koralia wavemaker controller 4 system"
- RED are 2 Ecotech Vortech MP40wES pumps
- BLACK will be 1 1/2" PVC coming from 2 separate return pumps coming into the tank from the top with each separate out point split with split ball nozzles.
About the return pumps I am still undecided what pumps to use but I was looking in "BLUE ECO PUMPS" (http://www.aqua-forte.nl/scripts/BlueEcoPumps.html) (sorry dutch website but can be translated with google) These are the updated version of the "RED DEVIL TITANIUM" pump used by Chingchai (who is the sole inspiration for me starting this project and hope he will get very much involved into this project as this will be at his home court in Thailand)
- WHITE are the 4 2" drain holes 2 one each side drilled in the tank. Also this aspect of the tank (overflow) has not been decided on with several other design drawings made using other ideas of dealing with then overflow.
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 10:20 PM
OH yes I forgot to mention that the entire DT will be having a natural lighting setup using 7 14" solatubes.
Living here in Thailand does have his advantages.
anyway a small drawing to have an idea on the structure that will be built for the tank which now is just a piece of land in my garden covered with nothing lol.
Anyway so you guys have a little idea.
notice that the tank featured here has a different overflow sheme as the previous one posted so as mentioned we will come up with a final solution for that as suggestions come in.
The 2 other glass structures featured will be sliding glass doors. the large one to the outside in the garden and the far end smaller one will lead into the house.
the rest will be all wall and roof which have been left out on the drawing
bullitr
09/22/2010, 10:27 PM
Did you get the Ching Chai syndrome too! Lol
Thailand is now the reef capital of Asia !
Good luck with the build .
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 10:39 PM
Did you get the Ching Chai syndrome too! Lol
Thailand is now the reef capital of Asia !
Good luck with the build .
You can sure say that yes. I am sure allot of our wifes are damming mister Chingchai already hahaha.
Anyway thanks and hope you will get involved in the entire process as your advise will be well appreciated.
RickMartin
09/22/2010, 10:43 PM
Is this to be a reef? Most solar tube reef tanks require supplemental lighting. Check with some people who have used them and get their input. Not everyone has been happy with their results
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 11:17 PM
Is this to be a reef? Most solar tube reef tanks require supplemental lighting. Check with some people who have used them and get their input. Not everyone has been happy with their results
Solatubes will be supplemented with T5 and LED
Lighting design will be the next faze of the project
Last Version
09/22/2010, 11:18 PM
Halo dirk,
Nice to see you at here. :wildone:
dirk_brijs
09/22/2010, 11:23 PM
Halo dirk,
Nice to see you at here. :wildone:
Same here Paul as you can see I will be bothering you allot more in the coming year with this one 555
dirk_brijs
09/23/2010, 07:56 AM
ok first question what type of overflow?
first one the so called ultra quiet set up with emergency stand pipe.
second one just 2" holes drilled in the tank and let the return pump handle the flow.
or any other ideas?
dirk_brijs
09/23/2010, 06:06 PM
Is this to be a reef? Most solar tube reef tanks require supplemental lighting. Check with some people who have used them and get their input. Not everyone has been happy with their results
In the original design 7 Solatubes will be supported by 24 VHOT5 bulbs 24W 14000K
and 4 72" blue ecolamps LED's KR99M blue
More of the design to follow later.
dirk_brijs
09/25/2010, 05:51 AM
people?
Would like to get as many advice as possible guys so I can keep on my drawings.
Again reason for me to start posting here in this stage is for me to avoid making any mistakes due to not having thought of something or just because of something on the market I dont even know about.
I dont like the idea of me to start posting when I started building as most new tank threads do here and then most of us jump on them saying they should have used this pump or they should have done this like that? That would be too late for me guys. I believe with a 1400gallon system mistakes tend to get very very expensive just ask Mr Wilson and Nineball who had to re design certain aspects of their tank due to new ideas and or problems encountered.
So me involving you in my design stage is not me being a prank just me trying to be ready for the actual built so all of you can enjoy and feel like it has been all of you guys project with my money lol :bounce1::bounce1::bounce1:
dirk_brijs
09/25/2010, 05:52 AM
so please guys keep the advice and ideas coming for the first stage of the design water flow and overflow.
Thanks again for all your support.
Dirk and Noi
dahenley
09/25/2010, 08:10 PM
you say your using MP40's, which means this tank will be 3/4 right?
i am also going to ask, is it Acrylic or glass?
(i didnt see where you mentioned some of these things?)
bbart12
09/25/2010, 09:11 PM
I would do the surface skimming one every time.
I'd also look into the vortech mp 60
khaosinc
09/25/2010, 10:05 PM
I'm assuming at 39" tall, you are going to need more than 1" acrylic... I know from experience I have a heck of a time keeping the Korilla magnums on the tank 1" is about their limit, and mine still get pulled off my the sailfin on a regular basis.
I would also second a coast to coast style overflow. Would allow for easier access, and if you had a central drain point that was quite large, it would still be asthetically pleasing.
dirk_brijs
09/26/2010, 05:18 AM
you say your using MP40's, which means this tank will be 3/4 right?
i am also going to ask, is it Acrylic or glass?
(i didnt see where you mentioned some of these things?)
The tank will be glass.
dirk_brijs
09/26/2010, 05:45 AM
I'm assuming at 39" tall, you are going to need more than 1" acrylic... I know from experience I have a heck of a time keeping the Korilla magnums on the tank 1" is about their limit, and mine still get pulled off my the sailfin on a regular basis.
I would also second a coast to coast style overflow. Would allow for easier access, and if you had a central drain point that was quite large, it would still be asthetically pleasing.
The tank will be made with 20mm thick glass. (3/4" thick)
will be braced by several cross brasses and also braced inside a concrete stand as the tank will be sitting in a concrete stand. Also on the top as the tank will be built in outside walls one side of the tank will be braced by concrete rims.
Hope this makes sense?? as if I read it myself I get confused now??
dirk_brijs
09/29/2010, 10:45 PM
During a sleepless night caused by my current tank I was browsing through this forum looking at a thread named best tanks in the world and came across a real nice design so I wanted to incorporate it in my already maybe large enough tank??
So I ended up adding another 445gallon to it hahaha I am really getting crazy I think.
Anyway here the new drawings with the new idea included. Wonder if it even can be built??
khaosinc
09/30/2010, 02:09 AM
Just about anything "can" be built. I've seen the 'drop offs' in a couple of builds now and I think its a really neat idea. I'm not as familiar with glass construction but I think you would almost want to build the tank to the stand rather than the other way around due to silicone seams being somewhat less forgiving than acrylic. Though I suppose in most cases tanks this size are built on sight anyway.
dirk_brijs
09/30/2010, 06:02 AM
yes the idea would be to built the stand and frame and bring in the glass and add it sheet by sheet. Almost every seem will be covered by a steel liner.
Also on the top of the tank a steel frame will be built.
idea is very good,but go bit slowly and do research about the structural stability....looking forward for this built....:thumbsup:
dirk_brijs
09/30/2010, 11:32 AM
idea is very good,but go bit slowly and do research about the structural stability....looking forward for this built....:thumbsup:
auem thanks and yes going slowly would be the idea for sure.
Brought my plan to 3 different tank builders already for them to come up with comments so I can make sure no one is bullsh... me.
dirk_brijs
09/30/2010, 11:34 AM
first attempt on a closed loop for the new tank
These are only the closed loops more powerheads and waveboxes will be added later.
There will be 3 closed loop systems run by 3 Iwaki IK1145 pumps each good for 4500Lph (1200Gph)
red, white and blue.
Water will be pulled out through 1" pipes and brought back in the tank through 3/4" pipes.
Comments and improvements please.
bullitr
09/30/2010, 01:15 PM
Maybe you should look into a reeflo dart 3600 gph,barracuda or black fin.
dirk_brijs
09/30/2010, 07:44 PM
Maybe you should look into a reeflo dart 3600 gph,barracuda or black fin.
What would be the main reason to pick the reeflos over the Iwakis?
Noise, consumption, price, power??
Juggler
09/30/2010, 08:24 PM
Noise, consumption, price, power??
Yes
dirk_brijs
09/30/2010, 09:42 PM
Yes
Yes on all??
Looked though that the reeflos are more expensive then the Iwakis?
Or am I looking at the wrong places?
So what more do I get for the extra buck?
bullitr
09/30/2010, 09:45 PM
Yes to all
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 12:24 AM
well in that case I guess I will have to look into them no?
leslie hempel
10/01/2010, 04:50 AM
perhaps the version of the iwaki is not the same here in SA but reeflo definatley offers more water for the wattage compared to iwaki... other than the head pressure of the iwaki it would almost be more practical to go with an OR6500 or simular
awsome project
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 08:23 AM
perhaps the version of the iwaki is not the same here in SA but reeflo definatley offers more water for the wattage compared to iwaki... other than the head pressure of the iwaki it would almost be more practical to go with an OR6500 or simular
awsome project
Thank you.
Though I guess after having looked into the OR6500 I doubt this pump can be put in the same brackets as the 2 other pumps mentioned before.
The OR6500 has a maximum capacity of 6500Lph (1700Gph) with a Max head of 3.8m
while the Reeflo Blackfin (on which I think is my first choice now) has a max cap of 17000Lph (4500Gph) with a maxHead of 14m.
So not sure how the OR6500 got in this?
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 09:11 AM
added the wavemaking devices.
Will be adding 3 Tunze Turbelle 6305 controlled by a Tunze multicontroller 7095
2 Tunze Waveboxes 6215
Placed as in the design drawing.
For now the long side of the L might not have enough flow in it but this will be solved with the placement of the return in next design stage.
Any suggestions or improvements on placement are highly appreciated.
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 09:12 AM
for now for the closed loops the 3 Iwaki IK1145 pumps will be replaced by 3 Reeflo "Blackfin" pumps.
Or any other suggestions?
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 09:14 AM
am still undecided or in the dark which overflow system to use?
Need help with this one as I need to start drawing my return lines.
Option 1 the so called Ultra Quiet setup with built in overflow box.
Option 2 the Master ChingChai style overflow 2" overflow holes in the tank. Which I would prefer for better look reasons and as they used by the Master himself.
But are there other options?
Mangodude
10/01/2010, 11:02 AM
Hi, first off, amazing build thread! I like how you started this early rather than late.
The drop-off idea has always amazed me, how will you get flow from the bottom of the drop-off to the top? Would you put a pump of some sort in the sand bed?
Also, would you be using an artificial light for the drop-off? I am not sure how far down the natural light would go. Perhaps a 600w LED panel would work..
I noticed you were going to use a refugium, what would you be putting in there? (mangroves, cheato, gracillaria, caulerpa, etc.)
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 11:44 AM
Hi, first off, amazing build thread! I like how you started this early rather than late.
The drop-off idea has always amazed me, how will you get flow from the bottom of the drop-off to the top? Would you put a pump of some sort in the sand bed?
Also, would you be using an artificial light for the drop-off? I am not sure how far down the natural light would go. Perhaps a 600w LED panel would work..
I noticed you were going to use a refugium, what would you be putting in there? (mangroves, cheato, gracillaria, caulerpa, etc.)
Mangodude.
Thanks for the kind words.
As for your questions.
One of the closed loops is situated in the drop off with the out nozzles aiming upwards. Also one Tunze powerhead will be situated on the far end of the drop equal level to the beginning of the drop to push all detrius pushed up by the closed loop straight out of the drop of.
The lighting I will not add any additional lighting on top of the drop to create a dark and deep zone in the reef. Will be looking into corals from deeper waters needing much less lighting.
for the refugium I am actually drawing this set up right now. It will be a Sump/Fuge/ATS (algae scrubber) wall. Stay tuned and I will most likely be done designing it by tomorrow and post it here.
Mangodude
10/01/2010, 01:17 PM
Mangodude.
Thanks for the kind words.
As for your questions.
One of the closed loops is situated in the drop off with the out nozzles aiming upwards. Also one Tunze powerhead will be situated on the far end of the drop equal level to the beginning of the drop to push all detrius pushed up by the closed loop straight out of the drop of.
The lighting I will not add any additional lighting on top of the drop to create a dark and deep zone in the reef. Will be looking into corals from deeper waters needing much less lighting.
for the refugium I am actually drawing this set up right now. It will be a Sump/Fuge/ATS (algae scrubber) wall. Stay tuned and I will most likely be done designing it by tomorrow and post it here.
Thank you for the response,
A "dark-zone" with NPS corals would be really interesting! :D Will you be putting sand at the bottom of the drop-off or will you leave it bare? Leaving it bare might be better for getting the detrius up but I have no experience with bare-bottom tanks so I know nothing.
Looking forward to the refugium design!
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 01:53 PM
as requested its 3am here guess another night without sleep lol
will add more details and measurements later on on what is what
Mangodude
10/01/2010, 03:34 PM
as requested its 3am here guess another night without sleep lol
will add more details and measurements later on on what is what
Looks good as far as I can tell.. One thing, I would provide more room above the middle tank for ease of maitenance. I have about 4 inches between the top of my sump/refugium and the bottom of my tank and its a real pain.
Also, be sure to allow enough room to mount a light source. Led fixtures are usually pretty thin thankfully.
dirk_brijs
10/01/2010, 08:15 PM
Looks good as far as I can tell.. One thing, I would provide more room above the middle tank for ease of maitenance. I have about 4 inches between the top of my sump/refugium and the bottom of my tank and its a real pain.
Also, be sure to allow enough room to mount a light source. Led fixtures are usually pretty thin thankfully.
Yes looked into that too but due to total height now being 8.5' (260cm)I dont have that much space left.
Will have the design the room now with a ceiling height of 9.8' (300cm) which might be the limit.
Now I have 10" (25cm) space between the refugium tank and the scrubber set up tank which should be enough. The light on the Refugium will be mounted on a rail which can be pushed out of the setup. 10" should give me enough space to mount a setup with CFL bulbs which should be the idea I think.
dirk_brijs
10/02/2010, 08:49 AM
some more details on the Sump/ Fuge / ATS set up.
Overflows of the DT will all come into one chamber where the rest of the SFA system will be fed from. Drains from DT will go through a set of filter socks.
- Part will overflow into the return chamber straight.
- 3 Resun King 5 pumps (1550Gph) pumps will feed the 3 scrubber screens in the ATS.
- One Resun King 5 pump will feed the skimmer chamber holding a Reef Octopus OTP Orca 180int. Yes I know this skimmer is only rated for 2000Liters (550gallon) but I put my hope into the ATS system (thanks to the Master of ATS Mister SantaMonica) I have on top so the skimmer would be merely a pre-skim for the Refugium. So this will be a calculated risk I hope. If not seem to work I will hook up a larger skimmer.
- Both ATS and Refugium will drain into drain chamber to go through baffles ending up into return chamber.
- lighting of the refugium will be mounted on a rail system so it can be pushed out of the set up and will consist of 4 23W 6500K CFL bulbs which is not on the drawing though.
- For now the return chamber will be holding 2 "BLUE ECO 320" pumps ( http://www.aqua-forte.nl/scriptsE/Blue_eco_pumps_E.html )
More details on the master ATS setup in the next post
dirk_brijs
10/02/2010, 09:14 AM
More on the ATS set up
3 screens of 46.5" x 10" which gives 3 x 465sqI = 1395sqI of screen
each screen will be fed with a 6000Lph (1585Gph) pump
on the drawings you see the light set up pretty clear I guess with 2 stations of 7 T5 of 54W and the 2 outside light stations with 5 T5 of 54W each.
This giving a light capacity of 2 x 7 x 54W + 2 x 5 x 54W = 756W + 540W = 1296W Total light
again water will be fed through the sump and will drain through 2 2" drain pipes into the Refugium.
This setup was co designed with the re-inventor of the Algae scrubber system Mister SantaMonica.
crispin
10/07/2010, 09:46 AM
Hi dirk,
thats an awesum design for a tank and very similar to one i have been kicking around my drawing board for a while. I am planning (way in future and funds permitting) a very similar tank with slight changes to the direction of the l shape and placement of the drop off.
one aspect i did consider was a single overflow across the meeting of the long panes and angled across at 45 degrees. I then plan two wave boxes aimed at the overflow to diflect off against each other. that should give a chaotic and high flow aspect at the meeting of the two waves and efficient over flow. Plus it should be more asthetic than having two on a short pane as youve described.
just a thought though:)
Vlado4x4
07/06/2012, 02:22 PM
I need seriuos update !!
dirk_brijs
07/06/2012, 06:26 PM
last update is that plans had been changed and under construction here
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2106665
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