Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[nineball]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Peter is still on the road after MACNA, but I believe this is the DQI that he referred to.

Dave.M

Originally Posted by marathonman

Nineball
Can you provide the contact person and phone number for DQI?

Thanks Dave, you are right. The fellow who was intimate with my build was Jonathan. He was the architect.

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by ti-christ

Hello Peter,

Peter, your tank is amazing, gorgeous, awesome, ... I can not believe that your tank is full of live so fast!!! It looks like a mature tank but you just started to put corals and fishes. I cannot imagine your tank in 3-5 years!!! And it's true, you have reproduced an underwater paradise for these animals.

And thank you so much to share your experience with the community. You and Mr. Wilson are very generous to spend so much time to document everything regarding your man-made Eco-System. (not just a tank anymore).

You website was a wonderful idea!!! Very nice, I already selected few pictures to use as background picture on my PC desktop at work!!! And your best practices FAQ, just wow!

Congratulation!
Christian from Quebec

Merci Beaucoup Christian!! You are right!! Even I want to see my tank in 3 to 5 years. I am very pleased with the progress and I plan to continue the build for the next two years with as much passion and search for best practices as the first two years. Thank you very much for your kind words.

Peter

[chingchai]

Hi Peter,

Did you have a good time with Andy?

Cheers,

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by ti-christ

Hello Peter / Mr. Wilson,

Dear gentleman, could you elaborate regarding the use of lanthanum chloride? It's the first time that I'm seeing this product, so I'm interested to learn about it. Is it expensive? Is it difficult to use? Good / Bads? etc...

I'm using GFO to export Phosphate from my system but I can not to lower than 0.1-0.2 ppm even if I have reduce the feeding dramatically. And the use of GFO is quite expensive on the long run!

Thank you for sharing!!!
Christian

Lanthanum chloride is a common phosphor remover used in the pool keeping industry. It was adopted by public aquariums in the last 6 years or so, and has slowly made into some large reef aquariums. The results and opinions are mixed. It is a cost effective method of lowering phosphates immediately, but the cost is going up as it is one of the resources China is hoarding/manipulating.

Many of the people who have used it have has second thoughts and some feel it binds with clam shells and other calcareous media. Other chemical experts feel it isn't a stable/safe practice and some believe it killed off some of their corals. Sometimes the "cure" is more potent than the "disease". A little bit of phosphate will slow coral growth and perhaps diminish coral pigmentation, and sure, you get more algae on the glass, but it won't wipe out your tank.

When you dose it, it creates sediment so you need to use filter socks, a protein skimmer or some sort of settling chamber to collect the milky sediment. Delicate reef tanks are not an easy place to achieve this, but large public aquaria with limited coral stocks are ideal as they cannot afford to use a ton of GFO.

One of my strongest skills in reef keeping is my ability to step back and realize I don't know enough about a particular process or methodology. The jury is still out on Lanthanum chloride and by not using it, it's one potential disaster I am averting

[nineball]

Originally Posted by chingchai

Hi Peter,

Did you have a good time with Andy?

Cheers,

Hi Chingchai,
Yes I really enjoyed my visit with Andy and Gabriela. You know Andy.....we left when Des Moines ran out of food!!!! I had a lot of quality time with him and we scoured the conference for worthwhile stuff. One thing he found was a 1.5 meter grabber for his tank. He bought two of them. He told me in private that your tank is spectacular in person.....better than the pictures. He told me that we will see it together next year. We agreed that I should join both of you in Germany for the InterZoo in May. I am going to look forward to sharing a glass of wine with the three of us in the same room.

Andy and Gabriela made the trip worth while........

Peter

[Floyd R Turbo]

Hey nineball, Bud Carlson from GIRS, I met you briefly on Sunday next to the MarineGeek booth, great meeting you. Mr. Wilson I wanted to talk to you a bit too but you were tied up and then couldn't find either of you 5 minutes later. Maybe next year!

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

Hey nineball, Bud Carlson from GIRS, I met you briefly on Sunday next to the MarineGeek booth, great meeting you. Mr. Wilson I wanted to talk to you a bit too but you were tied up and then couldn't find either of you 5 minutes later. Maybe next year!

Hey Bud, sorry you missed Mr. Wilson. He has a bad habit of disappearing like that. I'm sure we will cross paths again and next time bring a big heavy rope!!!! Great to finally meet you......

Peter

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by nineball

Hey Bud, sorry you missed Mr. Wilson. He has a bad habit of disappearing like that. I'm sure we will cross paths again and next time bring a big heavy rope!!!! Great to finally meet you......

Peter

Okay... there were a few women there

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Okay... there were a few women there

Including Mrs. Wilson

[chingchai]

Originally Posted by nineball

Hi Chingchai,
Yes I really enjoyed my visit with Andy and Gabriela. You know Andy.....we left when Des Moines ran out of food!!!! I had a lot of quality time with him and we scoured the conference for worthwhile stuff. One thing he found was a 1.5 meter grabber for his tank. He bought two of them. He told me in private that your tank is spectacular in person.....better than the pictures. He told me that we will see it together next year. We agreed that I should join both of you in Germany for the InterZoo in May. I am going to look forward to sharing a glass of wine with the three of us in the same room.

Andy and Gabriela made the trip worth while........

Peter

Peter. That is great to hear.
Don't believe him too much. My tank is just so-so.
InterZoo. That is interesting.
Look forward to drinking wine with you and Andy.

[ENTMogul]

Peter,
It was great meeting you at MACNA. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation about all of our crazy hobbies

I PMd you my details.

Cheers,
AJ

[fla2341]

Peter and Mr. Wilson, Did you see any new innovative and promising equipment at the show? (other then the grabber Andy got) Attend any good conferences with new information?

[Briney Dave]

I was not blown away by anything special, lots of tweaked items such as LEDs and a few more control-able AC powered pumps than I have noticed in the past. I was going to ask Shawn that same question of what grabbed his attention

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by Briney Dave

I was not blown away by anything special, lots of tweaked items such as LEDs and a few more control-able AC powered pumps than I have noticed in the past. I was going to ask Shawn that same question of what grabbed his attention

The bloggers do a pretty good job of summing up the new products featured at the show. Even if you go to MACNA, you should follow the blogs to see what to look for or what you have missed. RC blocks most of the blog names so you will have to do some Google searches.

The Ecotech booth was one of the busiest. The Vortech-driven wave tank, RGB light show, and sparkles in the water is fun to watch. Some of the other shiny things were the Vertex controller and dosing pump, the new AI Phoenix LED, Portal magnet/magnifying glassand the ORA booths zero edge tanks filled with aquacultured fish.

Some of the equally interesting, yet less shiny products were the Blue Life filter media, and faux reef rock from Fish Heads.

[Briney Dave]

I will have to go looking for those; honestly I don't think I have ever visted a blog, though know the basics of how they work.

[TYSDADI]

Hi Peter, gang
Any updates as far as the tank goes? I feel like I am going through withdrawal!

[captngreg]

Peter

I finally did it! I can’t believe I read the whole thing!

I’m not sure if I should curse you or thank you.

I have a 180 reef for 4 years now & have been able to avoid the inevitable urge to upgrade by realizing the fact that I did not have a source for many of the upgrades I wanted or the knowledge. Unfortunately your forum has taken the crutch away! I have now started ordering equipment for the new 500 gallon!

Let me see if I got this right

(List everything you want in your new build minus you limitations such as it space, location, availability & or budget.) multiply (by best practice) divide by ( the time you can devote to the project) and factor in as much knowledge and support you can muster and you should be half way there.

Thanks, my wallet is a lot lighter and I no longer have to worry about what I will do with my spare time.


Mr. Wilson

You posted “I use white teflon tape on threads, but I prefer glued socket fittings (less chance of failure and shifting)”

Like Peter I’m always trying new things. I use threaded connections everywhere, much easier to modify. Try using Teflon ® Thread Sealants it can be purchased at aquaticEco. It seals threads much better than the tape, and you can unscrew the pipe at a later date.


PS; Where do you keep 50 some Orphek power supplies they are huge! Pic? I just ordered one to take a first hand look, will need at least 6 possibly 8, for my build.

Thanks to the whole nineball team, I Think

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by TYSDADI

Hi Peter, gang
Any updates as far as the tank goes? I feel like I am going through withdrawal!

We let it get quiet just to flush out the lurkers

A month ago the calcium level in the display tank started to climb and the alkalinity started to drop. Magnesium stayed at 1300 where I was keeping it, but I no longer needed to add it weekly as I was doing over the first 10 months. I was doing major water changes (10%+ per week) but the calcium would not fall.

As usual, I assumed it must have been something I did... that's where my wife usually starts as well After a month, the salt mix started to look suspicious, darting its eyes back and forth every time I looked at the stack of boxes We tested the salt in the 200 gallon mixing container (1.026 sg @ 80˚F). We got the following readings...

Calcium = 500
Magnesium = 1500
Alkalinity = 11 DKH

On the box, it advertised...

Calcium = 455
Magnesium = 1350

These numbers are not guaranteed and are expected to fluctuate, but I don't understand why we were consistently getting 380-400 ppm calcium in the display and I was dosing calcium chloride weekly. If anything, our calcium should have a tendency to drop now that the corals and coraline algae are growing significantly.

Our solution is to switch to (regular) Instant Ocean salt as it is closer to that of NSW, without the added Ca, Mg & Alk. I would rather add these under controlled circumstances, rather than relying on the acceptable swings of the salt manufacturer. This way we can gear the salt to our needs rather than perceived needs.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by captngreg

Peter

I finally did it! I can’t believe I read the whole thing!

I’m not sure if I should curse you or thank you.

I have a 180 reef for 4 years now & have been able to avoid the inevitable urge to upgrade by realizing the fact that I did not have a source for many of the upgrades I wanted or the knowledge. Unfortunately your forum has taken the crutch away! I have now started ordering equipment for the new 500 gallon!

Let me see if I got this right

(List everything you want in your new build minus you limitations such as it space, location, availability & or budget.) multiply (by best practice) divide by ( the time you can devote to the project) and factor in as much knowledge and support you can muster and you should be half way there.

Thanks, my wallet is a lot lighter and I no longer have to worry about what I will do with my spare time.


Mr. Wilson

You posted “I use white teflon tape on threads, but I prefer glued socket fittings (less chance of failure and shifting)”

Like Peter I’m always trying new things. I use threaded connections everywhere, much easier to modify. Try using Teflon ® Thread Sealants it can be purchased at aquaticEco. It seals threads much better than the tape, and you can unscrew the pipe at a later date.


PS; Where do you keep 50 some Orphek power supplies they are huge! Pic? I just ordered one to take a first hand look, will need at least 6 possibly 8, for my build.

Thanks to the whole nineball team, I Think

Don't worry threaded parts are my second favourite

[dave.m]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

The bloggers do a pretty good job of summing up the new products featured at the show. Even if you go to MACNA, you should follow the blogs to see what to look for or what you have missed. RC blocks most of the blog names so you will have to do some Google searches.

Mr.Wilson's favourite blog sites have been added to a Links page on Peter's web site.

Dave.M

[BlueDartReefer]

Originally Posted by nineball

Thank you very much. The arch is very much Chingchai's design. It's not that others haven't experimented with the concept but Chingchai's dominant positioning of the arch with the foresight to allow the coral to outgrow it to the point where the actual rock disappears makes it truly unique. The recognition of the importance and significance of the equipment room as part of the display experience also belongs to Chingchai. If you haven't taken the time yet to work through his build from the beginning .....I highly recommend it. It's a fascinating read and extremely inspirational. I would not have undertaken my build had I not read his thread.

Thanks for the support....you should post a pic or two for our enjoyment.

Peter

I've been playing around with trying to post pics- I guess thumbnails are a start. First picture is about a month old- we have recently changed out the 20K MH's to match the center 14K MH but I don't have that picture handy. Yes, I am old school. I continue to research LED lighting and will probably make the switch in a couple of years. Second is a current actinic shot.
-Thank you for your interest.

[Padrino]

Peter/Shawn,
It was a pleasure meeting you at MACNA, I had a great time and glad I bumped in to you.
I look forward to next year in Dallas!
Cheers
Rob

[Scej12]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

We let it get quiet just to flush out the lurkers

A month ago the calcium level in the display tank started to climb and the alkalinity started to drop. Magnesium stayed at 1300 where I was keeping it, but I no longer needed to add it weekly as I was doing over the first 10 months. I was doing major water changes (10%+ per week) but the calcium would not fall.

As usual, I assumed it must have been something I did... that's where my wife usually starts as well After a month, the salt mix started to look suspicious, darting its eyes back and forth every time I looked at the stack of boxes We tested the salt in the 200 gallon mixing container (1.026 sg @ 80˚F). We got the following readings...

Calcium = 500
Magnesium = 1500
Alkalinity = 11 DKH

On the box, it advertised...

Calcium = 455
Magnesium = 1350

These numbers are not guaranteed and are expected to fluctuate, but I don't understand why we were consistently getting 380-400 ppm calcium in the display and I was dosing calcium chloride weekly. If anything, our calcium should have a tendency to drop now that the corals and coraline algae are growing significantly.

Our solution is to switch to (regular) Instant Ocean salt as it is closer to that of NSW, without the added Ca, Mg & Alk. I would rather add these under controlled circumstances, rather than relying on the acceptable swings of the salt manufacturer. This way we can gear the salt to our needs rather than perceived needs.

Hey Shawn - check your pH as well. The last time I had issues with Ca climbing above 500 it was due to my pH dropping down to 7.8 - 7.9. At this level, the corals cannot calcify, and actually begin to give back (dissolve) calcium. This could perhaps also explain the rise of the other consumable trace elements (no longer being consumed). In my case, the low pH resulted from solid form carbon dosing - i.e. using biopellets.

All of the info out there talking about the mechanics of carbon dosing basically state that we supply the C; and the bacteria takes the N & P from NO3/PO4 respectively... as all life forms (except for that arsenic bacteria) need these nutrients to build tissue/DNA.... however for some reason everyone seems to forget that these bacteria (and all life for that matter) also use as much (and very likely more) O as C... and it seems to be evident that they respire CO2 (like any other type of fauna & night flora); thereby dropping your pH in the absence of adequate countermeasures...!

However, I still swear by the use of biopellets as I was able to drop a 500 gal system NO3 level from 100ppm to 0ppm; though I now know that pH is definitely affected. You need good CO2 relief to avoid the ill effects of this transaction.

Regards,

SJ

[msr224]

Originally Posted by BlueDartReefer

I've been playing around with trying to post pics- I guess thumbnails are a start. First picture is about a month old- we have recently changed out the 20K MH's to match the center 14K MH but I don't have that picture handy. Yes, I am old school. I continue to research LED lighting and will probably make the switch in a couple of years. Second is a current actinic shot.
-Thank you for your interest.

Bluedart....

Very nice arch. I wish I had more room in my tank to do that. Keep it up!!!

[Scej12]

Originally Posted by BlueDartReefer

I've been playing around with trying to post pics- I guess thumbnails are a start. First picture is about a month old- we have recently changed out the 20K MH's to match the center 14K MH but I don't have that picture handy. Yes, I am old school. I continue to research LED lighting and will probably make the switch in a couple of years. Second is a current actinic shot.
-Thank you for your interest.

I had similar challenges trying to figure out the posting thing here, but eventually realized that you have to work with a separate hosting site to have the photos show up in the body of your post. I eventually signed up for a photobucket account, but there are apparently several other online album sites that will work....

SJ