Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[nineball]

Originally Posted by amore169

Wow there's no words to describe how beautiful this house and tank are going to be!!

Thanks amore, I really hope so.

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Claudio D

Hi

amazing build


regarding your chiller question

I would use for your size a CHiller barrel with 2 independent titanium coils with individual compressors unit, but only one "water" connection, you could run your compressors units out of your house , avoiding noise and heat, and run them compressors independently.

I personally have my 660 gal sistem In Venezuela, A very hot country with a 2 ton barrel.

Your main concern is maintenance of the compressor units, and your controler will use them alternatively, if there is a malfunction, you will have plenty of time to fix one unit while the other keeps the load

tha is my opinion for such a beautifull set up

regards and thanks for inspiring us


you may check tis link http://www.swwilson.com/cooling_system, I bought mine from them and I think they could custom build a double coil unit

Claudio

Caracas Venezuela

Claudio, excellent resource for this question. Thank you very much. If I keep learning at this rate my head is going to burst!!!!! Thanks also for your support.

Peter

[delphinus]

Heh, I'm in software too and something of a fast typer (I would have liked to believe anyhow). Dang it, so THAT's where I've gone wrong!! Ok, from now on, only SLOW typing for me. Well, after this post. I've got a question for you, please and thank you, Peter:

Is the rim lighting on a switch like the room lighting, or a timer, or do you plan to keep it on 24x7?

Many thanks. Cheers!

[nineball]

Originally Posted by JonnyD91

Peter is the tank on your main living area. I got thrown off by the kitchen in that room. I was under the assumption that its was in the basement, due to the staircase going up 2 levels.

The design goal for the entire project was to eliminate the sense of 'basement' as we know it. I had one advantage going into this and it was that the basement, before we started was a walk out.

The 'kitchen' is really a bar. Its for entertaining the aquarium guests!!!! My intention is to house some photography equipment with the correct lenses so that a guest can take their own pictures and even print some with the carefully disguised photo printer(didn't see it did ya) to take with them as a memento. There's nothing worse than running into something like this and all you have is a camera phone........so I fixed that!

Peter

[JonnyD91]

Originally Posted by nineball

The design goal for the entire project was to eliminate the sense of 'basement' as we know it. I had one advantage going into this and it was that the basement, before we started was a walk out.

The 'kitchen' is really a bar. Its for entertaining the aquarium guests!!!! My intention is to house some photography equipment with the correct lenses so that a guest can take their own pictures and even print some with the carefully disguised photo printer(didn't see it did ya) to take with them as a memento. There's nothing worse than running into something like this and all you have is a camera phone........so I fixed that!

Peter

so then you must have something up your sleeve for realtime video feeds too

[ezcompany]

Originally Posted by chingchai

Anybody knows how to vote
" Thread of the month " ???

It is already in consideration

[plyr58]

FWIW, I have some experience in dealing with chillers in large aquariums (>400 gallons). Over the years we have tried several configurations of redundancy in the chiller department for large tanks with intense lighting. The Following were our discoveries:

1. Dual in-line chillers w/ one strictly as a pass through backup.

The problem we ran into in this configuration was accumulation of gunk within the chiller. Over time, some amount of debris built up inside of the chiller andf then we we ran it once every other month or so to ensure its operation in the case of an emergency, the chiller was less effective because of the build up. We eventually abandoned this configuration.

2. Dual chillers running at 50% capacity

The problem here was the increased level of power consumption and maintenance. Two chillers are twice as much to maintain. One more than one occasion we had both chillers fail roughly at the same time, thus defeating the redundancy principle. These types of failures seem to happen at 3AM too, which meant my cell phone was going crazy with controller updates in the middle of the night.

The final solution we settled on was to have a second chiller essentially in standby. We place one chiller inline, with a second identical chiller nearby fed by a mag drive pump placed in the sump. This chiller and pump would only be turned on by the controller in an emergency situation. The controller would alert us of the temperature condition and the activation of the second chiller and we would then go over and swap out the inline chiller with the backup. We would service/ replace the failing chiller and then reinstall it in the backup configuration. Granted, adding a submersible pump to an aquarium adds heat to water you are trying to cool, but the solution was simple and it worked as a stop gap until we could address the situation.

[timdam]

builds like these are why i would never post a pic of my tank up here. i would be ashamed of my measely tank.

beautiful house!

[nineball]

Originally Posted by delphinus

Heh, I'm in software too and something of a fast typer (I would have liked to believe anyhow). Dang it, so THAT's where I've gone wrong!! Ok, from now on, only SLOW typing for me. Well, after this post. I've got a question for you, please and thank you, Peter:

Is the rim lighting on a switch like the room lighting, or a timer, or do you plan to keep it on 24x7?

Many thanks. Cheers!

Yeah, its the slowest that.......never mind.

The lighting system which is the Phillips high intensity LED is an extremely high end system that has an intelligent controller that talks to intelligent hubs via Ethernet. The wall switch is controlled by POE and has buttons for eight user selectable programs. The system can be controlled by a variety of intelligent devices including a PC or as in my case the lutron radio RA II system so that the various lighting programs will sync to the activity in the room. One clear design goal was to be able to create the colour frequency and intensity of the coral sea on a 24hr basis. I want my coral to feel at home!!!!

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by JonnyD91

so then you must have something up your sleeve for realtime video feeds too

See I'm right, once your attitude is adjusted in the right direction the process is driven by inevitable discovery. Yes there will be two HD web cams, I'm just waiting for James Cameron to get back to me on the state of 3D technology for this purpose. I want everyone here to be able to project this into their living rooms and totally share the enjoyment with me.

Peter

[crvz]

Originally Posted by nineball

In many respects it looks better esthetically than the space station.

Having been involved with its development and implementation for years, I can assure you there is nothing aesthetical about the space station.

Originally Posted by nineball

Yes there will be two HD web cams, I'm just waiting for James Cameron to get back to me on the state of 3D technology for this purpose. I want everyone here to be able to project this into their living rooms and totally share the enjoyment with me.

Sounds like a treat, to be sure. Thanks for sharing all this with us, it's benchmarks like these that truly push the advancement of the hobby.

[iluzhun]

Originally Posted by nineball

I have a number of chillers but so far only one dedicated to the main display tank. Without starting a debate if possible and as I begin to plan around various single points of failure..........

How should I place the second chiller:

On the shelf as a ready spare?

In line with the spare passively standing on standby?

Run the two of them together at 50% all the time?

Run the two of them together at 100%?

Before anyone asks brand names etc. I am very interested in the rational for the positioning before we get into discussions about which brands are best. We'll get there but lets deal with the science first. I'm sort of hoping the answer is logical and endorsed as an obvious best practice by most in this community.................but that isn't gonna happen is it?

Peter

Being as I work in a hospital as an engineer and have faced the same questions I feel I may be able to help here. I would recomend having 2 chillers both capable of cooling the entire system individually running at apx 80-85%, with 2 pumps. I would always have 1 set at apx 2 degrees higher than the one online (this could be done through your controler). That would facilitate 2 things. First you would have completely automatic redundancy. and allow you to run your chillers at a reasonable efficiency as chillers like to run loaded. I would switch the lead chiller once a month. This would ensure even run time and allow you to make sure both systems work.

[Penguintheory]

You have an amazing house and aquarium I will be following this build for sure!

[Posidion]

Originally Posted by plyr58

The final solution we settled on was to have a second chiller essentially in standby. We place one chiller inline, with a second identical chiller nearby fed by a mag drive pump placed in the sump. This chiller and pump would only be turned on by the controller in an emergency situation. The controller would alert us of the temperature condition and the activation of the second chiller and we would then go over and swap out the inline chiller with the backup. We would service/ replace the failing chiller and then reinstall it in the backup configuration. Granted, adding a submersible pump to an aquarium adds heat to water you are trying to cool, but the solution was simple and it worked as a stop gap until we could address the situation.

this one has my vote, it seems to be the best solution as chillers do not like to run idle or at low rates effiency curves definatly dont follow the work smarter not harder philosiphy. they simply are work horses.

[Givatcho]

Why not run your intake ro water through a refugium so that it will cool your tank and increase the water temp of your ro to a closer temp of around 70 degrees so that you maximize your ro membranes? This would help to not utilize your chillers as much.

[J.P.Reef]

WOW i've never seem so many posts in such a short time. Amazing build. Tagging along

[nineball]

Originally Posted by ezcompany

It is already in consideration

Way, waaaaaaay too early guys but thanks. Again, not false modesty its just at this stage far too many folks are going to think this is all about money and its not. Only time and patience will give me a chance to make that point with any integrity.

Fact is, I'm just coming to terms with the understanding that this tank really does belong to everyone here. No CRVZ this does not mean you can move in, unless you are a tall blond female who believes deep down that Tiger is a good person. By the time the dust settles on this project there will be a number of attributes that have come from members on this forum partly because I'm a good student and mostly that there are a disproportionate number of excellent coaches on this thread.

But thanks guys........

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by timdam

builds like these are why i would never post a pic of my tank up here. i would be ashamed of my measely tank.

beautiful house!

Tim, If its a small tank that's poorly managed then you might have a point but if its a small tank that has been managed with good practices and intentions then its criminal not to share!!!!!!

Thanks for the support......

Peter

[davidchmaus]

Originally Posted by nineball

Way, waaaaaaay too early guys but thanks. Again, not false modesty its just at this stage far too many folks are going to think this is all about money and its not. Only time and patience will give me a chance to make that point with any integrity.

Fact is, I'm just coming to terms with the understanding that this tank really does belong to everyone here. No CRVZ this does not mean you can move in, unless you are a tall blond female who believes deep down that Tiger is a good person. By the time the dust settles on this project there will be a number of attributes that have come from members on this forum partly because I'm a good student and mostly that there are a disproportionate number of excellent coaches on this thread.

But thanks guys........

Peter

Speaking of Tiger. I am soooo fired up that he is playing the Masters and I think deep down he is a good guy.

[nineball]

Originally Posted by iluzhun

Being as I work in a hospital as an engineer and have faced the same questions I feel I may be able to help here. I would recomend having 2 chillers both capable of cooling the entire system individually running at apx 80-85%, with 2 pumps. I would always have 1 set at apx 2 degrees higher than the one online (this could be done through your controler). That would facilitate 2 things. First you would have completely automatic redundancy. and allow you to run your chillers at a reasonable efficiency as chillers like to run loaded. I would switch the lead chiller once a month. This would ensure even run time and allow you to make sure both systems work.

Thanks iluzhun, I can't bekieve the excellent quality of advice I have been getting...........This is an option that just might be considered as the physical layout of my fish room is materializing.

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by plyr58

FWIW, I have some experience in dealing with chillers in large aquariums (>400 gallons). Over the years we have tried several configurations of redundancy in the chiller department for large tanks with intense lighting. The Following were our discoveries:

1. Dual in-line chillers w/ one strictly as a pass through backup.

The problem we ran into in this configuration was accumulation of gunk within the chiller. Over time, some amount of debris built up inside of the chiller andf then we we ran it once every other month or so to ensure its operation in the case of an emergency, the chiller was less effective because of the build up. We eventually abandoned this configuration.

2. Dual chillers running at 50% capacity

The problem here was the increased level of power consumption and maintenance. Two chillers are twice as much to maintain. One more than one occasion we had both chillers fail roughly at the same time, thus defeating the redundancy principle. These types of failures seem to happen at 3AM too, which meant my cell phone was going crazy with controller updates in the middle of the night.

The final solution we settled on was to have a second chiller essentially in standby. We place one chiller inline, with a second identical chiller nearby fed by a mag drive pump placed in the sump. This chiller and pump would only be turned on by the controller in an emergency situation. The controller would alert us of the temperature condition and the activation of the second chiller and we would then go over and swap out the inline chiller with the backup. We would service/ replace the failing chiller and then reinstall it in the backup configuration. Granted, adding a submersible pump to an aquarium adds heat to water you are trying to cool, but the solution was simple and it worked as a stop gap until we could address the situation.

Again, this is great stuff. You also raise a good point that has increasingly become a topic of conversation around here.........and that, believe it or not is about GUNK. How much of an issue is it for the drains......and is it an issue that is easily identified in an open system, if so where? What do I do to minimize it and can it actually be avoided?

Thanks for taking the time, its hugely valuable.

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Penguintheory

You have an amazing house and aquarium I will be following this build for sure!

Thanks Penguintheory (you guys need shorter handles), welcome to our commmunity.

Peter

[erics3000]

I also deal with medical equipment. Iluzhun has given you great advice. The fact that you have both online and switch the master back and forth every month or so, is really the best solution. If you have a NEW one sitting on the shelf it is not really tested. NEW= Never Ever Worked. How long will it take you to connect and install. In the medical field with equipment that is run hard long hours of the day there really is no other solution. With equipment going down for clinics hospitals or whatever hours can mean tens of thousands of dollars.

Evan if it both are installed wired and plumbed with valves you can always switch some valves and depending on your controller. As long as this happens when some one is around if your not. You might also want to someone you can trust who is familar with your system to watch things while you are away.

Do you have a link to your media room build???hahhah

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Givatcho

Why not run your intake ro water through a refugium so that it will cool your tank and increase the water temp of your ro to a closer temp of around 70 degrees so that you maximize your ro membranes? This would help to not utilize your chillers as much.

Actually Givatcho that advice came up earlier and I had a discussion with John on how we might do this. I think it makes a ton of sense on every level. So if we keep this between me and you and don't tell anybody else, you can claim credit for this one.......unless the original poster is still lurking around.

But your initiative is exactly how we make a better overall result. Thanks.

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Jim Pereira

WOW i've never seem so many posts in such a short time. Amazing build. Tagging along

Me neither, I'm exhausted. I feel like I'm at the two finger Olympics and at this rate I'm never getting in the medal lineup for sure.

Peter