The Fish Room 500

[pch90265]

Well folks, I've made it to the half-way point of the Fish Room 500... (ie, the race to renevate my office for my 525G tank so I can order it from the fabricator before my wife spends my commission on something else around the house!!!)

Over the last four weeks my 18 x 12 office has been gutted, reinforced, and the drywall is now nearly complete. Since it is no longer just joists and studs I thought I'd show a couple of quick pics. Click on them for the bigger version.

Here's the circa 1940's building exterior, complete with unfinished scratch coat:

<A HREF="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/office_inprogress1_02132004.jpg"><IMG SRC="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/office_inprogress1_02132004_low.jpg" border="0"></A>

And, here's the stand for my 525G. It's still in progress -- some joints to level and flesh out -- but will be done in the next week or so. It's 4x6 top and bottom, 2-2x6 per post (eight posts,) and eight 2x6 joists spanning the width under 3/4" ply:

<A HREF="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/stand_inprogress2_02132004.jpg"><IMG SRC="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/stand_inprogress2_02132004_low.jpg" border="0"></A>

Look forward to any suggestions/critique!

--Sean--

[Twize]

Pch90265
That is looking really good, excited to see this unfold:thumbsup:

[mobius9oo]

Sounds like an interesting project. Do you know what kind of equipment you will be using. What about stocking the tank? Any ideas yet? Looks nice, do you happen to be doing any of the work yourself?

[pch90265]

Mobius -- Yes, I have a great idea about the equipment... you can look at my "plumbing thread" here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=311753

As far as the work goes... YES!!! My wife and I have been doing most of the work together. She's into it, which is WAY cool. The only thing I haven't tackled myself is the drywall. I figured it would be cool to do, but the wife insisted we have a contractor do it.

I plan to "ghetto 'fuge" the stock tanks -- ie, install four 150 G Rubbermaid tubs and plumb them into the acrylic sump I'm having built by the same guy who is doing my tank... I found a place that will ship up to ten tubs by motor freight for $65 shipping:(http://www.rubbermaidproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=rubbermaidproducts&Category_Code=Farm+Tough%99+Stock+Tanks)

--Sean--

[lakersfan0014]

Looks awesome just wondering who is building your tank for you? I think if I had a office like that nothing would ever get done, I'd be staring at the tank all the time.

[pch90265]

L8KRSfan...

I'm using Envision Acrylics --

http://www.envisionacrylics.com

-- they built Steve Weasts amazing tank, and do a tremendous amount of work for Public Aquariums. If they're good enough to build all of the Jellyfish tanks for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I figure they can build my 525!

I won't mention the price, because every quote is custom, but they were WAAAAY better than any of the other quotes I got. I was also really impressed by the way they ship -- they shrink wrap the tank, spray foam over it, and then build a custom crate around the tank/foam. I don't know any other manufacturer that comes close to that kind of care for a shipment...

--Sean--

[pch90265]

Well, I'm a little behind in posting progress, but that's because I've been busy on the room (oh, and with work, paying for the tank... ;) )

Here's the latest. Last weekend I had my brother-in-law's help laying the foundation for the pump shed. He's a Cal Trans Civil Engineer, and has a MS in Structural Engineering, so this puppy came out DEAD-LEVEL. I couldn't believe it. Note the nice 6" drain built into the center of it. I wasn't about to build a fish room with no floor drain...

<IMG SRC="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/shed_foundation_02172004_low.jpg">

Here's a decent shot of the foundation relative the office that the tank is going in. As I've mentioned elsewhere, this is a detached building that receives no shade above the roof line, so it will have a nice phat 5' x 8' gabled skylight in the next month or so that will shine directly into the tank.

<IMG SRC="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/shed_and_office_02172004_low.jpg">

You can see a vent left in the side of the office's foundation if you squint hard and look in the shade under the wider window... That's how I'm going to run all of the piping from the shed to the tank. There's a nice 2' x 3' access hole in the foundation right around the corner, so no worries getting under there to hang/plumb all of the fittings.

With the drains coming out at a 1:12 slope I will have roughly five vertical feet from floor to drain where the pipes enter the shed. I'm going to split the 3" return and feed two 150 G Rubbermaid "ghetto fuges," one on either side of the room.

I can't wait to post pics when the stucco is on the building and the shed is in place, it should look awesome!

--Sean--

[Strandedthinker]

taggin on this

[Sardaukar]

Ya I want to follow this one to completion :)

[shaw]

tagging along on this one, good luck
shawn

[SPC]

Looking good Sean!

I'm curious, did your brother in law design the stand?
Steve

[pch90265]

All -- thanks for the tags! More to come...

Steve -- Nope, I designed the stand... and he gave it two thumbs way up!!! Man, that was a relief. We've had several "Beer'o'clock" conversations about lateral sheer, vertical sheer, earthquake safety, etc before, during, and since the build.

To finish out the stand I just need to tie the headers to the posts, and secure the plywood deck. After that I still have to get under the office and pour four 12" diameter footers for the additional piers I am putting under the floor. I could get away with two, but I'm a fan of overkill when it comes to my structures holding...

--Sean--

[fishsoldseprtly]

looks good

[pch90265]

Well, rain has forced me to run the Fish Room 500 under a yellow flag the last few days, so I took the time to update my "flow chart" for the system. Here she is:

<IMG SRC="http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/578/17595flowchart.jpg">

I've decided on a number of things over the past few weeks...

1) I'm going to reduce the surge tanks from 2 @ 25G and 1 @ 50G to one tank that's 80 gallons. That will reduce the number of potential "slop overs" from the surge system that may have been caused by all three surges firing at once! It will also make one heck of a surge!!! -- sidenote: yes, I'm leaving room at the top of the tank for that kind of change in running depth, and the sump will be PLENTY big for it too...

2) Reducing the number of surge tanks lets me use my three electric ball-valves differently... I will use my 2" to control the open/close of the surge drain, and the other two to control the surge tank inlets. With that arrangement I can close one 1" port to decrease the frequency of the surge for morning/evening action, and can shut off the surge completely at night. This will let me use one big pump for the whole system...

3) I'm going to flip over to ONE Sequence Power Series 7400GPH pump for the system return (labled "Magnum" in the image, forgot to change that, oops.) I think that's plenty of flow, and reduces the number of parts that could potentially fail.

4) I'll plumb my MD100 off of "wye" connectors on the inlet/outlet pipes for the Sequence. If the Sequence ever fails all I'll need to do is open two ball valves and let the MD100 rip. That should be a decent backup...

5) I'm going to use one of the eight-way rotating devices from Paul, aka "Golf Nut". Man, they are cool. If you haven't seen them, search for a thread by H20ENG with the title "New wavemaker" -- it's a totally insane little unit that I can't wait to plumb in to my system.

6) Since ~6500 GPH will come out of the pump, I'm going to split the rather large drain line (2 x 3", or 1 x 4", haven't decided yet...) three ways. Two outlets will drain into Rubbermaid Ghetto Fuges (aka, 150G Rubbermaid "Farm Tough" Stock Tanks) and the other will spill straight back into the sump.

Hmmm... I'm sure I've thought of more changes, but I'll have to put fingers to keys again later when I remember them.

As always, feedback welcome and appreciated!!!

--Sean--

[MERCEDES]

Tagging along, we will be upgrading to about the same size later this summer. Thank you for all of the great pics and diagrams this really helps.:D

[gwrulzmylife]

Curious to what this type of set-up is running. I know my "small" 200 gallon set up has hit the 5k mark, but I paid too much for the tank... you have to shop around!

Looking super though!

[pch90265]

gw... are you into Warhammer? Fantasy or 40K??? i've been painting GW units for about 15 years!!!

as for cost... hmmm, good question...

Stucco/drywall/windows/doors to revamp the office -- $3000
Foundation for the shed -- $100
12' x 8' Shed from Lowes -- ???? (under $2000)
8' x 5' Skylight for over the tank -- ???? (not to exceed $2500)
525G tank + 180G sump -- approx $5000 (including delivery charges AND delivery insurance)
Sequence Power Series pump -- $475
3 x 150 G Ghetto Fuge -- $455 (including shipping)
8-way outlet from Paul -- $379
Misc -- under $2500... Most of the other stuff I own already, and am salvaging from existing systems, BUT need a heater, another chiller, gate valves, tee's, etc.

TOTAL... Priceless!!!!!!

--sean--

[Zephrant]

Don't forget another set of unions/ball valves around the "magnum" pump. When it fails, you want to be able to remove it from service while the other one is running.

Zeph

[DerekW]

Zeph, I take it you don't like the magnum?

[sunrider]

i think i'll tag along and keep an eye on progress here to, i want to eventually get a larger tank and like to get ideas....

and pch....your recent price post sounds like a mastercard commercial....cute (even if it might not have been intentional)

[Zephrant]

Originally posted by dick182
Zeph, I take it you don't like the magnum?

Ummm... Didn't mean to comment on it I guess, I have no experience with it. I put it in quotes because earlier he had said that it was really a Sequence, and was miss-labeled on the drawing. :)

I just wanted to make sure he had considered ball-valves/unions on both sides of every pump.

Zeph

[DerekW]

Got it :)

[Perez14]

Originally posted by pch90265
gw... are you into Warhammer? Fantasy or 40K??? i've been painting GW units for about 15 years!!!



I've played both for about 5-6 years.

[H20ENG]

Sean,
A thought about about shutting the flow to the head tank with a motorized valve. If you wanted to use the valve somewhere else, you could just let the flow go over the safety standpipe.
Tie the 2" valves' relay to the light timer so the surge shuts down at night.
On our big tidepool system where I had the dual head tanks with 4" valves, we just shut it down at night. The flow just crested the standpipes all night. Then when you turn on the floats in the AM, its one helluva surge!
BTW, Good choice with James (aka Acrylics here on RC) building your tank.

[Mexican Hermit]

Nice work!

[aquajohn]

tag

[antpal01]

pch90265
Can you give all of us who are drooling out here an update????

[pch90265]

Anthony,

Wow, perfect timing! I was just about to post an update!!!

Sorry for the long gap folks, but I've been out of town all but three of the last twenty or so calendar days... The good news is, part of that time I was in the Bahamas at the Atlantis Resort. The wife is now convinced that we need to add a 2000+ Gal pond to the project!!!

So, here's where things are:
1) Drywall is done, primer is drying, and I will be painting the room today.
2) Tank is on order and work commences tomorrow (Monday, 3/29) up at Envision Acrylics on the tank and the sump!!!
3) The tank and sump should ship mid-April. So, with around four weeks to go I have to get the pump shed ordered from Lowes, make a run to Grainger to get a new relay for the surge (it's wired -- thanks to Chris, H2OENG, and T_Sandman -- but the relay was a dud...), cut a hole in the roof for the skylight, order the 8-way motorized valve from Paul (Golfnut) for the returns, and, the biggest time sink, I have to dig a REALLY big hole for the pond.

Anyone out there now of SoCal reefers with a pond? References wanted...

--Sean--

[pch90265]

Here's a top-down depiction of the tank's layout. The overflow will be 36" x 14" with 3" teeth to handle the flow on this pup. There will be an 8-way Valve under the tank feeding the returns. If you aren't following the 8-way Valve thread, check it out at the link below. Once you've viewed that, the eight 1" bulkheads I am having James put in the bottom of my new baby will make sense...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=2664354

The two three-inch bulkheads will be for the drains, and the two "flat" bulkhead icons on the pic represent the surge return that will be plumbed to pass straight through the overflow box. James was gracious enough to offer to plumb this at the factory before the box is put in place to save a LOT of work... just one more reason I would already recommend, hands down, to work with Envision for any project you might have coming up. Those funky brown blocks at the top of the diagram represent the studs in the wall the tank will be sitting against.

<IMG SRC="http://www.inverttanks.com/newtank/images/bracespacing.jpg" border="0'>

I plan to totally randomize which of the eight bulkheads is connected to which outlet on the 8-way. I'll also add eight of Paul's "Revolution" returns. Between this and the surge there should be EXCELLENT flow through the display.

--Sean--

[Travis]

This is gonna be one AWESOME setup. James is building my tank too. It has been great working with him. He doesn't skimp on anything.

[Jow13]

I agree this going to be great. Isn't the Atlantis the best place on earth. I mean you can't turn around without seeing a shark or ray, it is awesome. I bet you had a blast. i was there almost a year ago and want to go back very badly.

[wyang76]

im going to need to follow this thread closely..... simply awesome... so how much for admissions? lol..

[pch90265]

haven't figured out the charge yet... we're thinking $100/bus of elementary school kids. ;)

[pch90265]

Here's the first of a few pics direct from the factory [thank you James!!!!!!!!!]...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595overflow_clamped_03312004_low.jpg

FYI -- this over flow is 36" wide x 14" deep x 30" tall. The teeth are 3" to accomodate 7000GPH, 2K/GPH of which will be in the form of SURGE.

--Sean--

[pch90265]

Here's the money shot of this batch!!! I have to say I admire the attention to detail... like using a jack to brace the center of the span precisely where it should be. [Hope that isn't a trade secret James, but it's a beautiful touch.]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595foursidedbeastie_03312004_low.jpg

[gwrulzmylife]

wow, I wondered how they did my tank!

custom tanks are the best, since you can say, yeah, there's not another like this one, I ordered it 1/8 inch short just to make sure! LOL. Thanks for the pictures!

[gwrulzmylife]

wow, I wondered how they did my tank!

custom tanks are the best, since you can say, yeah, there's not another like this one, I ordered it 1/8 inch short just to make sure! LOL. Thanks for the pictures!

[Vapor]

Tagging

[pch90265]

Here's one of a few I'll post today when I have some time...


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595movingalong_04022004_low.jpg


Certainly lends a sense of scale to the tank.

--Sean--

[steve68]

Yes it does :beer:

[Travis]

Sweet, more pics please. James will be building my tank around the middle of this month.

[pch90265]

Travis (and all,)

My laptop crashed today, so more pics will have to wait until the handy-dandy PC repair guy at work scrapes my data off the virtual floor...

I've got a couple of SWEET pics of the top bracing that have convinced me never to order another brand of tank, ever!!! [note to spouse: not that I'm already thinking of another tank honey . . . ]

More to come...

--SM--

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

i like the won pro titanium heater digital heaters 350 watts would do if the room was heated !

[pch90265]

I've been following a couple of threads on top braces on tanks lately, and have to say I am thrilled by the quality of the brace that is going to gird the beast.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595topbrace_2_2004_low.jpg

--SM--

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

wow this is cool !!

[Carl_in_Florida]

tag, I'm in

[DerekW]

That looks good, I like the large radius corners, it will help stop it from cracking. (Anyone remember John Rice? What ever happened to him?)

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

the more the merrier !

[hmoore]

I looked at your drawing and didn't see where the make shift bed will go. It would be hard to get me away from that thing. :)

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

wait till i send the picture in of my bed !

[jerseyreefer]

Beautiful job thus far. Hehehehe, I get a kick out of that overflow, it's bigger than some tanks. Good luck with everything.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

very nice birds !!

[pch90265]

This batch promises to be the last of the pics before the new tank ships... and they are beautiful [what poppa doesn't think that of his baby though!]

Here's the sump for the new system... It's 60" long x 24" wide x 32" tall. That's roughly 175 Gallons interior volume. She's fabricated of 3/4" acrylic, and has 6 x 1 1/2" bulkhead fittings (three on each short end.) Oh, no baffles, by the way. I'm a believer in throwing filter socks/floss in the path of my drains. Crazy, I know, but with a 50 Gal surge in the works I think bubbles from the sump are the least of my worries...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595sump_04092004_low.jpg

[pch90265]

... I just can't wait to peel the wrapper off this present...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595wideview_04092004_low.jpg

[pch90265]

Here's a shot from the "foot" of the tank toward the overflow.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595longview_04092004_low.jpg

[pch90265]

One of the places I think James @ Envision shined in this project was in collaborating with me on my hair-brained ideas. While he certainly won't be to blame if they don't work, I will give him all the props if they do!!!

Here's a case in point... The surge will flow THROUGH the overflow. By plumbing it this way we 1) added structural integrity to the overflow itself in the form of a large reinforcing member, and 2) allow 100% of the 2" surge return to enter the tank almost dead on-center. If you look at the pic above you can see where the surge will exit into the tank...

The holes in the bottom are where I'll be plumbing 2 - 3" durso standpipes...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595flowthrough_04092004_low.jpg

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

go ahead peeeel the paper off and take some pictures of the dog watchin !!

[pch90265]

Well, the beast is finally on the road. It was picked up yesterday from Envision by GI Trucking, and is making its way down to SoCal... I should have it by next Friday (well, it should be here Tues/Wed, but I'll be in Wash D.C. earning money to support the beast...)

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595pack_er_up_04122004_low.JPG

--Sean--

PS -- SOMEthinsFISHY, please stop peeing on my thread. If you want to run up your post count, please continue to do it elsewhere.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

OK good bye brat !

[Zephrant]

The tank looks great- Let us know how the shipping went too. I like the custom crate they made for it too. That takes a lot of effort.

Zeph

[pch90265]

Arrrgggghhhh!!! My tank was supposed to be here today, but the shipping company misdirected it to City of Industry... oh well, it will be in town tomorrow, well ahead of the 4/22 date that James at Envision promised.

Since I'll be out of town and unable to receive the tank/post pics, I thought I'd throw a pic in of the hole my wife was kind enough to let me put in the ceiling!!!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17595mini-bigenough.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17595mini-bigenough__1_.JPG

The horizontal beams you see in the pictures are the rough framing for the hood. I'm going to hang a 84" wide x 18" tall door on either side that will open up, garage door style. The inside of the hood will be covered with silver Mylar. Should be nice and bright in there!!!

--Sean--

[Forestal]

Looking fantastic. I eagerly await more picture of your whole setup. Great job of planning :)

[invincible569]

nice!!

[DerekW]

Ummm, maybe I missed something, but why the hole in the ceiling, and i assume roof(?)? To get the tank in?

[pch90265]

Hey Derek,

Hole in roof = substitue for 3000W of MH lighting...

I'm going to put a 4' x 8' gabled ridge skylight where the roof used to be. I am *hoping* that I can get away with 1000W of MH as supplemental lighting on this tank... 4 x 250W 20,000K DE's. I'm going to be DIY'ing the skylight out of polycarbonate sheets, as that seems to be the material that is most transmissive of "solar energy" (ie, PAR wavelengths) instead of "visible spectrum." (polycarb vs. glass vs. acrylic, that is)

Living in So Cal this seems feasible, but time will tell. It will make a great science project regardless!!!

The tank is going to come in through the French Doors my wife insisted we put in... :)

--Sean--

[Dmoney]

just tagging along! this project looks really good so far and well thought out Sean. Must be nice to have the vision and the finances to back it up. hehe

[Travis]

How do you plan to mount the pendants in order to block as little sunlight as possible?

[pch90265]

hi travis,

great question... i don't know if this is going to work, but here's my thinking:

since the inside of the hood is going to have reflective mylar to *hopefully* direct as much light into the tank as possible (think big "light chimney," or "sola tube") i am going to put reflective coating on the top/sides of the pendant's too. on top of that, rather than having the pendants parallel to the long sides of the tank, i'm thinking of suspending them on cables. the cables would be fastened to an eye hook on the inside corners of the hood, so the pendants would hang in an "X" pattern. one pendant in the middle of each "arm" of the "X."

my thought is that offsetting the pendants from being parallel to the hood will cause lots of reflection. with a slight slope of the mylar surface inward *toward* the tank, i'm hoping that the diffuse light the reflective surface casts will "soften," if not eliminate, the "dead spot."

sorry if that doesn't make any sense... been a looooooong day.

oh, one more thought... 4-6 hours a day the lights are going to be ON. that should eliminate the "dead spot" too . . .

cheers,
sean

[Travis]

A little confusing but I think a catch your drift.:)

A thought I had was maybe attach the pendants to the front side of the canopy and angle them so they give a nice spread over the tank. With the lights being attached to the front of the canopy they will block less sunlight. Also, the little sunlight that does get blocked will only be the the light which would have hit the front of the sandbed where there will most likely be fewer, if any, corals anyways.

Regardless, wrapping the pendants in some reflective material should help a lot.

[pch90265]

Well then, it's HERE!!!!!!!!!

Check out this pic for scale.

Big crate = the Beast
Little crate = the Sump

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/17595mini-x5_vs_xTank.jpg

[pch90265]

Well, it will be another 18 hours or so before the crew gets here to help me move the beast into place, but I had to post one more pic of my new baby...

The bulkheads on top are for the drains. The measure 14" across when sitting side-by-side as shown.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mini-thebeast_incrate.jpg

[DrHarryLopez]

Very Cool!!

[dacoolguychris]

looks great... hey are you renting out space in the tank?.. i need somewhere too live for a couple of month.. i promis i won't be too messy.. and not loud.. and i won't take up that much space really.. that way you can rent out the other half to anybody else that's interested.. haha.. jk.. looks great.. looks big.. looks expensive.. but i can't wait to see what it ends up looking like..

good luck :)
-Chris

[warlockgp]

:inlove: :inlove: :inlove:

It's so beautiful

[David P]

Simply WOW!

If you want some info on larger koi ponds, send me a PM

[Travis]

Congrats. Must be an EXCITING day for ya. Can't wait to see the tank moved in to its home. Take lots of pics of the move for us.

[BRC2]

Sean,

Lookin' Good! Can't wait to see the "Beast" moved in and in place! Thanks to you and "griss" for posting your tanks and experiences with James @ Envision. I have already spoken with James regarding my next tank...can't wait to get started. He was very helpful and informative even though we only discussed generalities. Thanks again.

Brian

[made_one]

keep us posted with lots of pics

[jun41]

Wow.

[OUinLA]

when are you going to have us all over. I say next frag swap is in your tank :)

[psycho_clown]

I really can't wait to see this monster all set-up and running looks like it's going to be great. keep them pics comming

[pch90265]

Well, I thought this day would never come... the Beast has landed!!! I'd love to post dozens of pics of the move, but my wife was up in Nor Cal, and all hands were on the tank, not the camera. There were eight of us, and we could have used two more guys on the job. We moved the tank 200+ feet across my property from the driveway to the office.

Here it is, at last in its new home!!!!!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mini-wideshot.jpg



Of course, have to have a "Proud Poppa" shot too . . .

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/509/17595mini-proudpoppa.jpg

You can see the eight holes in the bottom that I had James drill for the returns from the 8-way Valve I plan to order from oceansmotions. Until the work on the hood/stand is complete I'm going to leave the paper on the acrylic. I don't want to risk a stray nail or something marring the surface.

Oh, and that's drywall top coat on my pants, to proactively address all you deviants who are tempted to comment . . . ;)

Madison, open house will probably be early June. I'll definitely open it up to anybody from RC that wants to drop by.

Cheers!
--Sean--

[cali_reef]

You better take that hammer out of the wall behind you before it falls into your NEW tank.

NEXT SOCAL FRAG SWAP at YOUR PLACE :rollface:

[Casie]

Amazing!

[warlockgp]

Originally posted by pch90265
Oh, and that's drywall top coat on my pants, to proactively address all you deviants who are tempted to comment . . . ;)

Cheers!
--Sean--

You were that excited about the "beast"...........

I know i would have been. So got the stocking planned out yet?

Sorry if it has been asked already.

[Casie]

Hey Psycho_Clown I'm in Elm Grove, about 15 mins from BAFB. Hows your new tank coming along? PM me if you wanna talk frags/tanks.

[Forestal]

Looking incredible. I'm anxiously following your progress. I am also interested in how the plumbing looks, looking at how to plumb my 390.

[Travis]

Looks great!!!!!!!!!! I didn't realize you were going to be using an 8-way. The oceansmotions wave makers are very nice and really make some good random currents.

[pch90265]

What a difference two days make...

** Rebar pins have been epoxied in to the foundation under the office, concrete forms are in place, first 2" of concrete is setting... couple more days and a plane can land on the floor of my office, or a large tank can be filled without falling through the floor!
** Prefab shed from Lowe's in now on order;
** 2 x 150G Ghetto Fuges (Rubbermaid Farm Tough Stock Tanks) are on order;
** 60G surge tank is on order;
** 50G Ghetto Quarantine Tank is on order;
** 225G Polyethylene "mixing tank" (for storing NSW deliveries from Catalina Water Co)
** 8-way Motorized Valve from Oceansmotions is on order...

Man, the UPS guy is going to be a busy bee the next few weeks. Funny thing is, this doesn't even touch any of my plumbing requirements!!!

I'll keep you all posted with progress.

--Sean--

[pch90265]

oops, double . . . :strooper:

[oreocookie713]

SWEET!!! how much $$$ is NSW from catalina? and how many gallon u plan to use

[pch90265]

I plan to go 100% NSW... 1500 Gal first fill... 400G per month for water changes.

The first fill will be relatively inexpensive, the monthly water changes will run around $145.

Do the math... that's still cheaper than Instant Ocean @ $20/50G-bag. And, saves me a grip of RO/DI membranes. I'll still use RO for top-off, but not for water changes.

--SM--

[jmuscat2]

tagging

[SERVO]

Just curious if you are going to add or have plans for any fan ventilation to control the humidity?

how do you guys tag a post. The little boxes to the right in the vb code read Close current tag???

[Travis]

how do you guys tag a post. The little boxes to the right in the vb code read Close current tag???

At the bottom of the page you are on when you are reading the posts there is a link that says "subscribe to this thread". Just click on it and you will be subscribed.

[pch90265]

Servo,

If you look at the picture of the tank, you'll see a little daylight in the wall, just above the tank. I'm going to have a 10" commercial exhaust fan sucking on two 8" ports. The two exhaust vents will sit between the studs, just above the lip of the tank. Should pull about 1000CFM, if I remember the spec correctly.

I'm also going to drop a "mini-split" A/C in the room. The condenser will sit outside, and the blower is a 10" h x 30" wide x 7" deep unit that I am going to place in the short-side of the hood, facing into the room.

I'll take pics as the hood shapes up over the next week or two.

--Sean--

[Travis]

So will you be using the A/C to keep the tank cool, or will you also be running a chiller?

[pch90265]

I'm hoping the A/C will run as little as possible. Just to keep the room moderate on the occassional 120 deg days we get up here...

I'll definitely be running a chiller. I'm ordering a 1-1/2 HP AquaLogic Heat Pump... think of it as a bi-directional temperature control. It can pump heat from the condenser into the heat exchanger, or pull heat from the exchanger into the condenser. So, it solves both my heating and cooling requirements in one box!!!

--SM--

[JasonTK]

Coming along nicely... I'm going to post and subscribe this time so I can keep up with the progress.

[Gujustud]

First off, great job, sweet works on the pictures, and planning.

However, one thing really got under my skin, and maybe you can answer that question for me.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mini-wideshot.jpg

The reason for the big overflow, from my understanding, is because of the surge.

But any reason why you didn't build a external overflow? From that picture above, it looks like that overflow takes up about a 1/8th of the tank itself.

Sure making it external would not allow the 2 side walls of the overflow, however making the teeth slightly longer could compensate for that.

Anyhoo i'm rambling... again, just something that I thought of. Thanks! And keep up the good work!

[reefnewbee]

Very Sweet work! Quite an inspiration...

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

this is an awesome thread !

[therealacarolla]

awesome work!

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

I agree !

[pch90265]

Well, I had to jet to AZ for a family emergency over the weekend, so I took yesterday and today off to work on the project. Unfortunately, it was 110 deg here yesterday, and is already 105 as I am typing this. So, not a lot is getting done on the system.

This morning I did rise early, however, do get the piers poured for the reinforcement of the floor. In the shot below you can see two of the four rebar "pins" I drilled 6" into the foundation of the office. Four pins have been set in construction epoxy for each of the four piers that I am pouring.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mini-pouring_piers_1.jpg

This second shot clearly shows three of the four pier locations. Notice the "QuikTubes" by QuikCrete. Nice, easily cut pier-forms. Great for decks, patios, oh, and for reinforcing the floor under exceptionally heavy objects -- like a reef tank.

The tank runs parallel to the 2x6 floor joists. There is a nice set of piers that were poured in the early 90s that you can see in the picture anchored to a 4x6 and 4x4 posts. The span between the end of the joists and the 4x6 is five feet. My brother-in-law [structural engineer] told me to reduce the span, add more joists, or both. So, I'm putting a set of piers and a 4x6 beam 30" from the wall, and another 30" from the existing beam. That will give me the foundation and three beams (six piers) for support. I'm torn about doubling up on the floor joists. It's a PITA to get under the office in the first place, and trying to get another 2x6 between the existing joists that are 13" O.C. might be nigh unto impossible.

I've poured the first 3" into each of the four forms. That has to set up nicely before I can put the post-ties in the remaining 9" of cement. I'll probably get that poured this evening, or first thing Thursday morning.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mini-pouring_piers_4.jpg


Other stuff...

*** The Polyethylene surge tank arrived to day
*** The Polycarbonate panels for the skylight arrived today
*** 48" quad-beckett skimmer from MRC is now on order
*** All remaining dry-goods now on order
*** Lowe's expected to install the "Fish Room" (aka, Tack Room Modular Shed) NLT 5/18.
*** I'm finish my PADI Open Water Cert at the end of this month!!!! [no, not so I can dive into my reef tank . . . ;) ]

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

whjat you have there is fine most people would not even have done that i see it all the time !!

[Travis]

Looking great. I've always been a fan of overenginnering when it comes to reef tank projects. BTW, what MRC model skimmer did you order?

[pch90265]

Hey Travis,

Thanks for the encouragement! When you're snaking around in the crawlspace under a building in 100+ deg heat it's easy to loose objectivity as to whether, or not, your efforts are necessary for the project... or pure insanity.

I ordered a "MR-C8448." It's a four-Beckett model that I am going to run with two Iwaki MD-70's. Andy is making a manifold special for me so I can run that way... should be great for maintainence -- I can take either pump off-line without bringing the skimmer to a halt. And, it should still service my system as I eventually bring more volume on-line.

--Sean--

[steve68]

SWEET !!!!!!
cant wait to see that monster in action.
MR has great products & andy has awesome
customer service....
i run an iwaki 70 md on a single beckett MR-2 & it rocks

[H20ENG]

Sean,
Hows the plumbing going? Still sniffing glue?:D

[120bamaguy]

What a fun looking project. One day I hope my tanks will grow up to be like yours:beer:
:hammer:

[pch90265]

Ooops, accidentally posted this as a new thread a sec ago... hopefully I can delete...


Well, the month of May was pretty much wasted as far as progress on the tank goes.... but, June is looking much brighter. My time was not a complete loss though -- I got my PADI Open Water Diver Certification knocked over in two weekends, so I can now "swim with the fishes" anytime I can find a buddy to go take a dip with...

I've made some progress over the weekend...

The Skylight is now framed!!! I'll be putting the panels on Friday/Saturday. That will let me get moving on the surge tank.

Here's the roof shot:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595skylight_gables_06022004.jpg

And, here it is from bellow:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595skylight_gables_below_06022004.jpg

[pch90265]

So, the Lowe's Shed finally arrived on Friday, 5/28, two weeks late. I guess I can't begrudge them that, since I was out diving the weekends before anyway.

My dry-goods order will be here on 6/4, thankfully, so I can start sniffing glue, as Chirs implied. ;) I'm really stoked to be ready to make some significant progress.

At this point I'm only waiting on ... hmm, lets see:

1) the Heat Pump from AquaLogic
2) a new relay for the surge system from Grainger
3) my boss to approve some time off so I can plumb the system
4) the electrician to run all the 220VAC circuits to the sump area (scheduled for 6/14)

I think I should be ready for the first fill on/around 6/12. I really can't wait.

Here is the new shed and the 180G sump:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595shed_front_2_06022004.jpg

Cheers!!!
--Sean--

[justgettinstarted]

how exactly are you gonna keep the surge from blowing bubbles into your tank???

I have some idead i have been thinking about but have not tried out any of them... more or less a theoretical exercise which i like to do on ocassion! HAHA

[JeromeBaker]

I need some more pics. Awesome thread.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

PCH that is an awesome project thanks for sharing and keep us informed
a 180 gal sump some minnow tank !!

[pch90265]

All, thanks for the complements... if the system actually fills without leaking I'll feel worthy of about 10% of them.

"justgettingstarted"... i'm planning to follow the set-up advise of H2OENG and Greg65 on the surge system. In brief -- the surge inlet will never be open to the air. I am going to gravity drain a small sump that will be above the tank. The drain at the bottom will be stopped up by an electrically actuated ball valve. The valve will be wired to a timed relay, so when the surge tank fills a float switch will open the valve. The timer will be set so that the valve closes before the sump closes completely. The sump [surge tank] is 70 Gal capacity, so I figure I can have a surge of 50 Gal with 10 Gal of "oops" room a the top, and 10 Gal [+/-] still in the bottom after each "flush."

Like I said, Greg65 has had this working for a while, and has no major problem with bubbles.

However, in the likely event that I get bubbles, I'm really not going to stress it. If you've ever been surfing/diving/etc you'll notice the ocean seems to have lots of bubbles... I don't mind, and I don't think the fish/coral will either.

Cheers,
Sean

[OUinLA]

Looking good Sean. If you ever need an extra set of hands to help mess things up, let me know.

[justgettinstarted]

ok cool! i have been trying to think of a way that avoids the actuated ball valve... and also avoids bubbles... but as of yet i have not come up with a solution... but i am still thinkin about it!

[pch90265]

Hey Madision,

Thanks for the offer... I might just take you up on it!!!

--Sean--

[Strandedthinker]

pch I have read somewhere that says fish live in an oxygen righ environment, so it shouldnt pose that much problems :D

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

i will try that frag address and let u know !

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

i will try that frag address and let u know !

[qwuintus]

P I C T U R E S !

[UGP]

BUMP_ would love to see more pics

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

trying 4 a picture !

[Julio]

only got half of it

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

ONE day i will get the hang of it !:rollface:

[pch90265]

OK, I made some progress this past weekend.

All my drygoods arrived, so I've lined everything up and have a list to run to the plumbing warehouse today.

I got the top panels cut and attached to the skylight frame. I'm stoked to see it coming together. It looks killer from the top, all nice white vinyl...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595skylight_below_withpanels_06062004_2_low.jpg

Stay tuned . . .

[Knyght]

Looks like you have a sweet concept going there. Tagging along.
Best of luck to you.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

GOOD pch !!

[pch90265]

Not that you can tell from this picture, but the June Gloom here on the So Cal Coast has set in big time this morning... It's only about 55 deg, which makes it tough to get motivated to go crawl under the office and finish shoring up the foundation.

Here's a quick pic of the AquaLogic Heat Pump that arrived yesterday!!! The ghetto fuges next to it are 3' long x 2' tall (28" tall stacked like that...) for size comparison. Check out the size of that heat exchanger below -- I am blown away at the 9" PVC cylinder AquaLogic used!!! It's going to take four people to move the dang thing, but it should be MORE than adaquate for the system at 1 1/2 HP . . .

More soon!!!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595heatpump_arrival_1_06112004_low.jpg

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

it IS A GOOD THING I LIVE IN THE COOLER STATE !

[willra]

Any updates?

[OUinLA]

That thing is a beast!!!

[pch90265]

Yes, yes... updates coming VERY soon [hopefully this afternoon.]

First fill coming up on . . . well, SOON.

--SM--

[asmodeus]

FOr the sky lights why not go with the glass instead of vinyl of the color white, Wont that block of the light you need of you still going to havethe MH for the lighting.


Curious

mike

[pch90265]

Haven't had time today to take more pics... but, here is some week old stuff...

Got slabs poured for the mix-up tank (225 Gal P.E.) and for the Heat Pump. It's nice that they now have homes and aren't living in my driveway.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595chiller_mixup_06162004.jpg

Here's a shot of the "extension" that I framed on to the side of the office for the surge tank. The big hole in the wall is on the back side of the tank. The hole is about 10" taller than the tank, so I can put ducts there that I am attaching to an exhaust fan. If you squint you can see a piece of 1 1/2" spaflex snaking around on the floor of the extension -- that will feed the surge tank. The surge tank itself will sit where the small piece of ply about 1/2 way up the picture is right now. I'm going to put a large piece of ply there to accomodate the 70G P.E. surge bucket.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595extension_06162004.jpg

And, most importantly, the whole office now has a beautiful coat of stucco. I'm sleeping easier not fearing a sudden -- complete freak for summer in So Cal -- rain storm.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595ahhh_stucco_06162004.jpg

Sorry it's not more exciting this update... I have been in a world of hurt because of UPS. But, all of my shipping issues have been remedied at this point -- as an aside Andy at MyReefCreations is AWESOME to work with. He's been a champ in helping me deal with UPS!!!

In a couple of days I'll have pics of the 8-way from GolfNut (which is now working), the return plumbing, the skimmer plumbing, and I'll hopefully be starting a fresh-water fill this weekend!!!

Thanks for everyones' support!!!!!

Cheers,
Sean

[Strandedthinker]

This is a masterpiece in formation

[Chip Douglas]

Originally posted by Strandedthinker
This is a masterpiece in formation

quoted for truth :D

[Strandedthinker]

Id also like to add something. This thread is quite old, and Im nopt sure how old, but old :p. Anyway, it seems you have displayed the <B>most important</b> virtues of reefing, patience and research.

[Forestal]

Sean, have been silently following a while and am very impressed. My wife won't let me do anything as radical unfortunately, but i do have my basement.
Where and how much (if you don't mind me asking) for the mixing tank. Something like that would be very handy, and more convenient than the 96 gallon garbage cans and a powerhead/stirring stick :)

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to seeing your progress.

[H20ENG]

Sean,
Looking good!
A thought about your PE surge tank. Check the specs on it, as some will say not for free standing applications. What this means is it will bow considerably when filled with water (speaking from experience!;) ). You can just wrap it with some strapping material, or build a plywood enclosure to support the sides.
Chris

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

very good pch !!

[reeftechie]

Looks great bro, damn nice :D

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

i need a newer picture though !

[Chip Douglas]

bump for the new pics that are coming soon (we all hope :D)

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

good bump Chip !!

[pch90265]

Well, the "moment of Truth" final arrived yesterday . . . around 2:00 PM I started my first freshwater fill of the system! Keep in mind, there are still some ancillary things that need finishing -- the plumbing of the skimmer, the plumbing of the chiller, the plumbing of the surge tank, etc -- BUT, the main return and drain lines are done, the six bulkheads feeding the "life support" out of the sump all have ball-valves plumbed to them, and I just could sit and stare at an empty tank any longer without going nuts!!!

Here's the obligatory hose shot... sorry, but I had to...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595firstfill_sideview_07112004.jpg

It took about an hour for the tank to fill -- not bad for 560 Gallons, IMO. As it gradually spilled over the overflow for the first time, the drain got its first trial run...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595drain_inaction_07112004.jpg

Yes, that's ABS. I've done a ton of reading here on RC on the pros/cons of ABS. Mr. Chemistry, Randy Holmes-Farley, didn't puke on using it, so I'm running with that... Besides, with the amount of GAC I'm planning to keep moving through the system, I really didn't think that spending 8-10X the cost on 3" PVC was wise.

The drain checked out OK. The return lines checked out OK fully-flooded, so I spun up my 1HP Sweetwater (Baldor) Pump and here's the flow that resulted . . .

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595waterfall_07112004.jpg

As soon as I finish this post I'm running to the local plumbing store -- I need a pair of 3" male adaptors to set my Dursos in place...

[pch90265]

What does 6000 GPH look like?!? Well, I haven't finished the surge tank, so we can't check that out. I haven't put in any elbows or tees or anything else to divert the flow...

So, this is what 6000 GPH looks like at the surface of the tank right now!!!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595disturbed_07112004.jpg

That's coming out of the eight-way valve from OceansMotions that I installed as seen below. It may look a bit messy, but there is method to my madness. I had James at Envision put eight holes in the bottom of my tank especially for this purpose (earlier in the thread there is a pic where you can see the eight holes pretty clearly.) One bulkhead per hole, one outlet on the eight-way per bulkhead... and, each outlet plumbed so that they "fire" in different areas of the tank with each successive port. In other words, just because the motion of the drum in the valve is circular, doesn't mean I wanted a circular pattern of outlets discharging into the tank.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595hydra_sideview_07112004.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595hydra_underneath_07112004.jpg

Here's a composite of each of the ports going off -- notice how the surface of the water is disturbed in different areas of the tank with each port.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595eight_way_composite_07112004.jpg

[slave-of-rock]

ive been thinkin about makin a fish room like you have with a 425, ive changed my mind :), that is ALOT of work you have been doin to that tank/room/shed, kudos to you for all th work you put in for fish, me and my dad were wonderin' if you plan on selling fish with all this stuff you have, or if you just have the tank cause you love your fish :)

[DerekW]

So the bulkheads are in the bottom of the tank, right now just pointing straight up. How do you plan on directing the current? PVC risers and 45's or 90's to direct the flow?
In the pic below it looks like at least 4 of the outputs could be hid within the rock work, but what about the 4 corner ones?

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/509/17595mini-proudpoppa.jpg

[pch90265]

Hey Derek,

You're right on... I'm planning to use PVC risers to get above the sand bed, 45's to give a little angle, and then I was planning to make a little custom "fan" for the flow. I'm going to take a PVC "tee," plug both ends, and then carve out a slot from one plug to the other. I'd use a nice loc-line fan, but I haven't seen them in 1" . . .

And, yes, I do plan to hide as many as I can behind the rock work. I'm not really worried about a couple of them being exposed.

--SM--

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

Looks like the real ocean alright !!

[David P]

I installed my oceans motion much the same way you did, a 1.5" port in each bottom corner. I put 45s in the front and 90s in the back. I did some trimming to make the fittings lower profile so theyre not quite so ugly. The other thing I did on the 90s was stick half of the fitting in a pot of boiling water for about 45 sec so the pvc got fairly soft and just squished the fitting with my hands so it became a nice oval. Just thought you may like the idea...

[pch90265]

Thanks for the tip on the fittings David!!! That sounds like it will save me a ton of hassel.

--SM--

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

see david 2 the rescue that is so nice !

[gumbybc]

To make my own fans, I first heated up a piece of pipe, or a 45, then shoved it down on a glass bottle to widen the opening, then flattened it out with a pair of pliers to give a nice wide fan. Took some finicking with, but I got it down pat pretty soon.

[Tunjee]

NICE!!

[joe_himself]

Simply amazing,

[mobius9oo]

Very nice, can't wait to watch the progress on this one.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

HELLO and wel;come JOE-himself !!

[leonet]

Any development of the beast...?

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

hello and welcome Leonet from Japan !!

[order_of_the_spam]

well, don't tell anybody from Montana that I said this, but I would actually want to go to CA to see your tank, way cool

[mattydub]

Originally posted by pch90265
Hey Derek,

You're right on... I'm planning to use PVC risers to get above the sand bed, 45's to give a little angle, and then I was planning to make a little custom "fan" for the flow. I'm going to take a PVC "tee," plug both ends, and then carve out a slot from one plug to the other. I'd use a nice loc-line fan, but I haven't seen them in 1" . . .

And, yes, I do plan to hide as many as I can behind the rock work. I'm not really worried about a couple of them being exposed.

--SM--

over 6000 GPH and you're going to have a sand bed? HUH? What about the BB craze?

[pch90265]

LOL . . . I'm not huge on the BB thing, nor am I huge on philosophical debates. I *LIKE* sand, its appearance appeals to me, and that's enough for me to put in a sand bed.

I think that with the returns pushing circulation up into the tank, instead of down from the bracing, that the sand bed should be just fine with 6000 GPH. My only concern is the effect of the surge, once its running...

SPEAKING of running, my Catalina Water Co fill arrives today!!! Hope to have the tank fully functional this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll shoot picks L8R.

By the way a HUGE "Thank You" to Gumby. I made my PVC fans this morning, and it worked like a charm. Heated water to boiling, put the the 45 on the end of a long piece of PVC (to make sure it held its form at the bottom), dropped it in for 45 sec and formed the warm end with pliers! When I had the approximate shape I wanted I ran the fitting under cold water (with the pliers still holding the shape) and it cooled as formed. I reheated one to see what happened, and it went right back to round!!! Pretty cool trick. Nice little fans are now poking up from the belly of the Beast.

More soon...

--SM--

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

hello pch we have missed ya !

[pch90265]

Wow, last week was tough for making progress on the system. It was the end of my company's fiscal year, I had a $1.7Mil on the table, and I was supposed to get my first delivery of NSW!!! Well, the deal came through, but the water drop didn't.

When I asked for the SMALLEST truck available, I expected (and was told 2 months ago I would see on-site) a small propane-delivery type truck. Instead, Catalina showed up with a 30+ ft trailer on a big rig here in the windy roads of Topanga Canyon... Big Rig and a driveway that has a 10% grade don't mix!!! So, no NSW for my system . . . at least not until I can plumb a curb-side delivery pipe... ;)

So, by Saturday I was filled and dropping in LR/LS. Right now the tank has approx #360 LR (86 new Pukani + 90 4 mo old + 180 6 mo old Fiji) and #300 LS and it looks EMPTY!!! LOL. I'll post pics in just a sec.

Here's what's finished -- the skimmer, my 8-way return, the sump, and the Heat Pump.

Here's what's not -- the supplemental lights, the mylar reflectors, and my Quarantine Tank.

The reflectors, lighting and frame for the hood should be up and chugging by week's end. The QT will probably come together on Friday. So, on Saturday I *HOPE* to move my Acros and some LR into QT, and the rest of my Livestock into the tank!!!

Fingers crossed...

--Sean--

[pch90265]

Here are the first pics of the tank with ROUGH aquascaping...
Please feel free to critique, but keep in mind there is still about #175 LR and #100 LS in my current system that has yet to migrate up into this tank. I am going for a bommie at the front with a horse-shoe shape; a bommie at the back that echos the front shape, but is more open; and a canyon diagonally from back-left to front-right of the tank between them.

Here's the "East Side" at noon today -- the gestural shape of the canyon is pretty evident:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595eastside_1200_080304_low.jpg

Here's the "West Side" at 1:30:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595westside_1330_080304_low.jpg

Now then, here are two of the "South End" -- the first is at 10:30 AM, the second is at 1:30 PM. I've put two pics here because I am fascinated by the movement of light in the tank as the sun traverses through the sky. I'm really interested in how this is changed by the reflectors once I have them in place...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595longshot_1_080304_low.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595longshot_1330_080304_low.jpg

Keep in mind -- these images are Natural Sunlight ONLY. No artificial light in the room at all right now... Here are some fun stats for you from my Apogee PAR meter:

** At 1:30 the "dim" areas of the tank were reading around 150 PAR at the 18" depth in the tank (comparable to 2 x 24" VHOs nearer the surface in my 150G).
** At 1:30 the "bright" areas of the tank were reading 1000-1400 PAR at 18" depth in the tank (my dual 400W MHs crank 900 PAR at 6" in my 150G)
** At the surface, I am getting readings of 1700-2000 PAR under the glitter lines (2000 being FULL STRENGTH Sunlight)

Cheers!!!
--Sean--

[H20ENG]

LOVE that sunlight!!!!

[aquajohn]

WOW! Would it be possible to see the sump and skimmer? John

[OUinLA]

Nice stuff. I forget what your exact lighting plans are but i think you will still see a lot of the sun and it's travel after you add reflectors. Just don't cover it all up with MH :)

[OUinLA]

Nice stuff. I forget what your exact lighting plans are but i think you will still see a lot of the sun and it's travel after you add reflectors. Just don't cover it all up with MH :)

[Holyreefer]

pch90265,
I know that the sunlight is something natural for saltwater inhabits, but wouldn't that sunlight kind of an issue, as far as blooms of algae?

[pch90265]

Aquajohn -- Here's a really BAD composite of the Fish Room... Sump/Skimmer/pumps.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595sump_skimmer_comp_08042004.jpg

This close-up of the MR-C8448 Skimmer from MyReefCreations shows just how powerful this bad boy is... this is only three days of scum!!!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595MRC_Skimmer_08042004_low.jpg

And, one more setup picture... the first four of six (three shown) mylar reflectors are up . . .

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mylar_panels_3_08042004_low.jpg

Check out how much they changed the light in the tank -- these are taken within ten minutes of each other, the one on the left on 8/3 with no reflectors; the one on the right on 8/4 with three reflectors. Notice how much my crummy camera had to shift it's exposure (as evidenced by contrast) to make up for the additional light. I have to say, pictures don't do it justice.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595beforeandafter_1506_0803_and_1510_0804_2004-med.jpg

More to come!!!

--Sean--

[aquajohn]

WOW!!!!:eek1: :eek1: thanks Sean, Your concept is really cool. I'm very impressed with your lighting system! Keep up the good work. John

[cwbroden]

That is coming along just great. Can't wait to see how it goes over the next few months. :)

[qwuintus]

I checked in late.. so is sunlight your only form of light?

[sfsuphysics]

Yah my tank gets the sun as its setting around 6pm for an hour or so every day.. well when there's sun in San Francisco, and it makes ripple lines that are so awesome that those made by MH bulbs are literally non-existant in comparison. Also makes a nice colored pattern, not quite rainbow, but you can definately see various spectrums. Unfortunately I'm moving my tank to a less lighted room, although have been toying with the idea of cutting a hole for those tubular skylight things, although that won't give the glitter effect.

[pch90265]

Hi Qunitus -- All of the pictures you are seeing are natural light only at this point. I'll be hanging the halides tonight.

--SM--

[Mrbeachbum2]

wow, well planned!

[mobius9oo]

This is awesome, I check up on this thread everyday....hoping for more pictures and progress....PCH, incredible job I must say.

[IMPERATORFAN]

Incredibly ambitious! Love the skylight concept.

I knew I should have followed in my fathers footsteps and become a sales schmuck!

Keep us posted.
Scot

[qwuintus]

pics!! ;D

[Frisco]

sweet setup

[Reddhaus]

Very amazing, I must say. Keep those pics rolling in.

[gumbybc]

so, have you had any problems yet with your returns and closed loops kicking up sand??

[pch90265]

Well, spent my birthday Saturday moving rock and acclimating coral. As it was my birthday, I did NOTHING in the way of aquascaping the rock that had been moved, and I placed the coral in the tank pretty willie-nillie... but, here are a couple of pics anyway!!!

In a couple of days I'll spend the time to aquascape this the way I want it. There are four or five large rocks living in my sump that will get incorporated some how, just not sure where yet . . . stay tuned!

--SM--

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595eastside_1200_081004_low.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595eastside_2_1200_081004_low.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595squarespot_08102004.jpg

[willra]

Wow, the natural sunlight on that second full tank shot looks cool. Its hard to see, but have you added the halides yet?

Will

[qwuintus]

awesomE!!

[reeftechie]

that is an awfully big tank for the one little fish ;)... Great looking tank bro, and that skimmer is very nice as well.

[crazyfingersmike]

Why would you need metal halides when you've got natural sunlight?

[jmt]

Color and supplementation. You don;t have much sunlight on a cloudy day :).

SM: Amazing job.

[Reddhaus]

Yes I am very interested in seeing some pics with the sunlight and MH bulbs running at the same time.

More pics please!?! :)

[crazyfingersmike]

I think it would be interesting to see how a reef tank could work with natural sunlight alone. I mean, the ocean does, right? ;)

[H_Bomb]

Been reading this thread all morning. Great stuff! I'm in the process of designing something quite similar to what you're doing. I'm in Miami Florida and we get "a lot" of sun here. I will eventually start a thread as I get closer to the addition on the house. The system I'm planing will be somewhere between 1400-1600 gallons. I will definitely tag along and learn more than a few things from your experiences;) I'm really interested in seeing how your corals respond with the sunlight. Good luck!

[reeftechie]

H_Bomb,

I think your a bit impatient lol.. enter 4 times? RC is slow lol, take it easy on the trigger finger ;)

[Jamesurq]

what was that? Not sure I got it.

[Scleractinian]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
what was that? Not sure I got it.

The last poster on the previous page quadra-posted.


How's the mylar holding up? I tried some a couple of years ago, but it tore easily and corroded in the salt spray.

[TheCoralNabber]

Very nice, I must say. I'd love to do something to that scale or bigger one day in the future. Must buy a house first though. But I'm happy with my new 75, atleast for now. Still have alot of room left in her. A clean canvas to start experimenting with. Ohh and I agree with you about your comment at SOMEthinsFISHY. Its been just annoying to have to read through his useless comments to get to the good stuff. Nice job, and I look forward to more progress.

Dan

[Zephrant]

No worries all- Sometimes the web burps- I took out the extras.

Zeph

[order_of_the_spam]

future tank of the month?

[minfinger]

Very impressive. I like the sky light!

Updates?

[reeftechie]

any new pics bro? been a while. :D

[bulldogfish]

MORE PICTURES PLZz!

[willra]

ditto

[downset]

wheres da pics?

[scarlato1]

Any updates on this project?

[Dan D]

Beautiful tank! I wouldn't be able to work if i had one like that in my office.I'm probaly going to upgrade my take to a 220G. and my accountant will probably have a bird! She can't believe how expensive these are to set up. She writes them off as office furniture for now. If I try and put in a beauty like your's she'd probably croak.

[TheCoralNabber]

Originally posted by Dan D
She writes them off as office furniture for now.

Man.....I need my own business, cause that's just awsome!!!

[Mike_The_Reefer]

bump i wanna see some pics!

[Litekeeper]

No new pictures have been posted lately because of the arrival of Elise Nicole on 30 Sep 2004 @0304. She was born 7lbs 7oz, 21.5 inches.

Congratulations son!

Dad

[Forestal]

congrats

[OUinLA]

Well let's see pics of Elise:) Congrats Sean and family

[Acrylics]

Thanx Mr M.,

Congrats Sean, I knew this is why you haven't been around in a spell and it's been killing me not to say anything :)
BTW, Sean's parts are on the way.

James

[Litekeeper]

OUinLA

My membership in this forum won't allow me to post the pictures I currently have...all exceed the 50K limit. Hopefully Sean will post some soon.

Sean's Dad

[meijino]

Congrats on your new baby we also had a duaghter born on 30 Sep 2004 @0825 6lbs 6oz, 18inches so your duaghter is 5 hrs older than mine.

[Harleyguy]

Let’s see some pictures of the baby by the tank. Congratulation

[hk]

More pictures please.

[pch90265]

All,

Thank you for your undying patience with the SIGNIFICANT gap since my last contributions to this thread.

As I mentioned a while back, I committed to my wife that I would get this tank up and running in early August so I could spend the last two month of her pregnancy focused on -- you guessed it -- HER.

I'm absolutely proud to report that I succeeded in meeting that timeline, and am now the parent of a healthy, happy baby girl -- Elise Nicole. She was born at 3:03 AM on 9/30. 7# 7 oz. 20 1/2" long... Here's a picture of our future Dive Instructor at about a week old. . . :)

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/509/17595future_diver.jpg

So, with the baby creeping up on a month, I was able to sneek in some time during the rains week before last to get my four 250W DE pendants hung. Man, they are beautiful. They have given a killer amount of POP to all of the acros in the tank. Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice put to hang the pendants because rain was coming and I had to cover the skylight (umm, yeah, some matter of taring the roof around the flashing still needs tending to . . .)

Here's a shot of the tank, after the rains had stopped, with just the MH running. I am running a 10000K and a 20000K over each half of the tank. Not a lot of wattage, I know, but it is for spectrum, not intensity... at least in this iteration of my science experiment.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mhonly_10302004.jpg

This shot is taken with exactly the same exposure settings on my camera as the previous shot. Obviously, the cover over the skylight has come off!!! It is just unreal how much light my reflectors are bouncing down into the tank... and, as predicted, the reflectors have virtually eliminated any "dead spots" from the pendants hanging over the tank.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595mh_and_nsl_10302004.jpg

Sorry this is just a quick tease... I'll give a more detailed report on my science project [err, tank] in the next few days.

Thanks again for all the support everyone.

Cheers!!!
--Sean--

[gumbybc]

lookin good. and congratulations on the baby girl, she is beautiful!

[hdtvguy]

Very nice! Love the idea of the natural sunlight with MH lighting. Very good work:)

[Travis]

Congrats on the new baby and welcome back!

[nbd13]

what are the demensions of the tank again?

Beautiful setup!

thanks!

Nick

[gatanalgona]

Beautiful baby! All the best to you, your wife and baby!
Thanks for taking the time to up date us on the baby and the tank!

All the best to you.

[Carl_in_Florida]

Congratulations! For me it is funny how important my tank is yet it means NOTHING when compared to my kids. Nothing better than being a father.

Carl

[Harleyguy]

Very pretty girl... Congratulations!!!

I am amazed by the difference in the with and without sunlight pictures. Everything looks sooooo real with natural light. I really envy you.

[MERCEDES]

Beautiful baby girl and tank!:D I wish we received enough sunlight up here in the north to try to use natural sunlight.

[rock455]

Congrats!!! on both

[Fliger]

Priortity number 1 is beautiful! Is she certified yet? ;-) I'm sure you'll have her in swimming lessons soon? One of my closest friends owns the Daland Swim School out in Simi Valley. Their daughter could swim across the pool at the age of one. Practically a fish (so is my two year old). Very important to get them wet early. LMK if you want info on them.

Priority number 2 looks great, too. Can't wait to see more pictures. Man - but take the advice of a new father - just block a month and GET THE TANK DONE. Bit & piece projects don't work, they never get done.

Gotta run, my priority number 1 is calling ...

[nodoubt471]

this thread is fantastic, ive learned so much reading through it!!! i absolutly love the idea of using the natural sunlight, your tank really looks amazing with it, it is so natural looking. also, whats the story with the surge tank, or did i miss the discussion on buliding that??

cant wait to see more... and congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!

[bulldogfish]

Congradulations on the baby! And welcome back.

[celliott]

New Baby and a New Tank this year? It is going to be hard to top this year in '05!

Lots of luck!

cde

[SR HELLBOY]

Congrats on your new addition, and good luck w/ the rest of your project!!!

[Simms142]

Its funny in a way that people suplement halides with VHO's or some other flourescent. Your supplement is halides...very nice. Congrats on the kid.

Nice tank BTW

[Blue Eyed Devil]

I just read 16 pages of this thread, man this is amazing. Congrats on your new bundle of joy, they are the best in this life. When can we get an update on that beast of a tank?

[z_rivers]

there is only 10 pages

[lovetoreef]

oops, aaron has you there!

[Zephrant]

You are all correct- The number of posts shown per page is changeable in your profile.

Zeph

[Blue Eyed Devil]

The bottom of my page 16.

[z_rivers]

sorry i wasnt trying to be ignorant just wondering where you got 16. thats my fault =)

[CPT. MURPHY]

congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pch90265]

Well, I'm making slow but steady progress. The skylight is now sealed, and my wife is much happier with me for that. The weekend saw major progress on the tank. We spent twleve hours working on the stand and canopy, and we're almost home on that part of the project. This shot is early morning light (8:00 AM,) so not much is coming in through the skylight, but it still looks killer up close.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/508/17595tank_with_skin_11222004.jpg

I've got the doors hung on the side facing the french doors, and one set of handles it squared away. The other handles will go up today, and the other set of doors will probably get popped on next weekend (we're out of town for a couple of days for Turkey Day.) For price/performance I chose birch ply for my surfaces. I'm going to install trim in a couple of weeks, so all of the corners/edges will look nicely finished.

A huge thanks goes out to James at Envision Acrylics... your new scrapers rock my friend. Speaking of which . . . I'll take more pics of the tank, the baby with the tank, etc after I clean the tank next. I had it on my schedule for today, but the wife has other plans for my afternoon...

I'm looking at 12/1 for a major livestock run, so I'd imagine a large batch of pics will follow thereafter.

Thanks all for your support and salutations!!!

--Sean--

[JeffCo]

Nice work on the stand & Canopy! Did you use 1/2" or 3/4" plywood?

[bulldogfish]

Hey! Hows the progress on this tank coming along? Could we get some updated pics please.

[elephen]

amazing how natural sunlight looks

[pch90265]

OK, the livestock run got postponed until Tuesday... work called, and since that's what pays the bills, I answered.

I'll post pics with all the new goods in there.

--Sean--

[robertothegreat]

man.. this is amazing!

[bulldogfish]

Sean

Its been a week. Everything ok? How bout some pictures again.