Mattsilvesters new 8x2x2 Tank build
 

Hi guys,

Well finally I am in a position to say that my new 8x2x2 is underway! I got the tank nearly 2 months ago, and since then it has been sitting on a base unit, while I have been waiting for the cabinet maker to come fit the tank.

So, here is it, with about 1/3 full of RO water. I am hoping it will be full of water by Tuesday morning, I can then add salt and hopefully I will have it full of LR and aquascaped by next weekend.

There are still a few finishing touches to be done - namely the kicker and pemlet, glass shelves, and two spot lights to be fitted in the cabinet either side of the tank, so the mrs. can display her "stuff"

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w.../cabinet07.jpg

There is still some plumbing to do, and the lights have to be fitted over head, as does the extract fan, but all in all there is only a couple of hours doing that, and the lights are necessary (or wanted) until it has fully cycled anyway.

All I gotta do now is decie what I want to put in it! LOL

It begins...................

Regards,

Matt

you can't have a teaser like that with no more info! we need more info and more pics! it looks great!

Wheres the water? :D

Hey your couch is backwards!

That looks nice! More pics plz.

I'll take more pics tomorrow evening - its 11pm here in Ireland! Gotta hit the sack!

Not much more to take pics of though at the moment...... only a sump and skimmer and pump..........

You got something awesome in the works !!!

Well it's about time :D

So what did you decide? Reef? Red Sea fish?

Awesome cabinetry, mattsilvester! Looks fantastic already. Do you have a fish room behind the cabinet or is the sump going below? :)

Hop!, That's what I was going to say, Don't turn your back on a beautiful tank:D

Hop - LOL!!! I'll try and get a full room shot later - I have a HDTV on the other wall at 90 degrees to the tank, and there is another couch facing the TV - which is "my chair" so I can view both TV and Tank from the one spot :-)

SDguy - still not sure abotu what its going to be...... It will definitely contain coral, just whether it is going to be coral dominated or fish dominated remians to be seen..... I'm getting some nice big chunks of live rock to aquascape, I know that.... I plan onf getting large chunks only - chunks about 10 to 20lbs per peice - and plenty of open space in between for fish to swim and corals to expand.

Drummereef - unfortunately no - no fish room, sump etc is beneath. I'll open all the doors later and take a pic. Bascially there are two 4' cabinets underneath - in the right hand cabinet there is a 44"x18"x15" sump, sub-divided to allow for deltec turbo 1060s skimmer, an 18"x18" refugium, and a 10"x18" pump chamber. In teh cabiet on the left, there will be a 36"x18"x18" tank for water cahnges - this will have an auto top off RO feed and a pump - so I can have 50gals of fresh salt mix ready to go all the time - it forms part of an automatic water change system. Basically, I shut off the overflow valves, and open a drain valve – then pump fresh water in, allowing “waste” water to overflow. In the left hand cupboard there is also space for a kalk stirrer and calcium reactor.

Up top, I have an extractor fan to help remove heat and moisture, and as a result boost the effects of evaporative cooling.

I’ll try and get some pics tonight.

Thanks for the interest folks.

Matt

Isn't that going to waste some of the new water too??

Yes, in theory, but not much. Even if I got instantaneous 100% mixing of new and old saltwater in the minute or two that it will take to change the water, then the most new water that gets wasted would be something like a gallon a gallon or two.....
For example:

Tank volume, allowing for displacement = 200 gals
Sump volume (assuming average depth of 10") = 30g gals

Total system volume 230gals.

10% water change = 23 gals.

But the sump will be isolated at this time, and will be allowed to backfill, so allow 10 gallons of system water to be isolated. Therefore I will be changing 23 gallons from a tank volume of say 190 gals. Thus the water changes represents approx 12%. Hence, assuming that we get instaneous 100% mixing of new and old water, then the maximum theoretical amount of "new" water wated is 12% of 23 gals which is 2.7 gals.

Now, I would hazzard a guess and say that in reality less than 50% of this "new" water will actually go down the drain, simply because it will tend to linger a one end of the tank until for a couple if minutes........ so I reckon, at the very most, that 2 gals would go down the drain for every 10% (of system volume) water change I do. Assuming I do a 10% water change every two weeks (i.e. 20% a month) then that represents a total "waste" of about 50 gallons of "new" water a year - which I reckon will cost about €20-30. For the ease of maintenance and fool proof simplicity (not to mention all the arguemnts that I wll avoid with the mrs about wet floors etc), that is a loss I can live with quite comfortably :-)

Regards,
Matt

I've seen some really nice big pieces of live rock, and I've seen some REALLY horrible, round bulder like pieces, when you get into the large sizes. Keep in mind you can always piece together smaller pieces with a drill and a few acrylic rods.

Looking really good so far, BTW!

Very valid points! Tank looks amazing by the way! :D

very nice!!. i can't wait to see this with a mermaid swimming in it. then the chouch will definitely be turned around!!!!

Well I have most of the gear connected now and running. I have the Mh lamps running, two tunze streams, I've got teh heaters and return pump going, and finally I have the skimmer running two.

So, I will be checking the s.g. and temperature this evening and then hopefully I will be going to get some LR on Tuesday evening.

I know a guy who imports live rock, so there is over a tonne of the stuff to choose from - so hopefully I will manage to get some nice large chunks. If they are just "round boulder like pieces" as SDguy says, then I will just go for smaller bits and stick them together, as you say.

I'll do some pics tonight of the sump and skimmer etc and some full tank shots with the lights on and water in.

Regards,

Matt

Looking good Matt, big nice setup

sweet chair

Ok guys,

Finally got some tank shots, as promised a million times.

Pic of sump & Skimmer etc. Sump is 44" long x 18" wide x 15" high. Skimmer = deltec turbo 1060s. Mid section has some "dead" live rock for the time being. This will eventually have a DSB and macro. Return pump is an ocean runner 6500.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...7-2737_IMG.jpg

Second Picture, just a closer pic of skimmer etc.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...7-2738_IMG.jpg

Third pic, arrangement of valves etc from overflows which allows me to operate the water change system as discussed previous. You can see them in previous pics because they are behind the skimmer - but thay arein fact easy to reach.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...7-2725_IMG.jpg

Finally, a full tank shot with the doors open, LR in place and sand. Sand is agramax sugar fine aragonite - with a bag of slightly more coarse stuff mixed in..... altogether about 110lbs.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...7-2739_IMG.jpg

The light isn't exactly even but it is not really that bad when viewed. But the corals will be located on the islands of rock, directly underneath the lamps. More lamps will be added in time.

Next update will have a pic of the tank, once cleared, and will show the auto-top off set up :-)

Cheers,

Matt

Looks great, Matt!

Everything seems very well planned out.

Hey - That is some of the best looking rock I have ever seen. Where did you get that quality stuff?

Tank looks great. Need some more shots of it all cleared up.... Get clicking.

Awesome setup again, Matt. What bulb and ballast are you using? :)

Nice job. Can't wait to see it filled with live stock

Thanks for the comments guys.

Drummer Reef - the units are simply called "aquabay" - not sure what the ballasts are?!?!? But the lamps are 250W and I think they are 10k bulbs. But they are old bulbs and ned replacing. I did a post on bulb selection - think I'm going to go for 10,000k.

BallaBooyeaH - yeah, its some nice rock alright - I'm going to get some close up snaps in a minute. I got all large chunks, not one of them under 20lbs. the guy actually had a really nice big piece of "fiji branch" - I should have got it actually.

Just took more pics - will post in a min.

Regards,

Matt