Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank) - split

[nineball]

Originally Posted by ragvette

Peter, great build

Still reading the entire thread.

How do you heat the setup? Sorry if I missed it in the thread if you mention it.

I have a single 1000W heater in the refugium. It very rarely switches on as the normal resting state of the water column is 26 C.

Peter

[Moonfroz]

WOW, WOW, WOW ... WOW Peter you are a TRUE MASTER!!!

I just finish to watch your video and I have no word to express the beauty of your tank. Your tank is truly amazing.

I'm also happy to see your Morish Idol swimming around and they look healthy. Do you feed them any special food such as sponge?

Best Regards!
Chris

[sfsuphysics]

Originally Posted by nineball

I have a single 1000W heater in the refugium. It very rarely switches on as the normal resting state of the water column is 26 C.

Peter

What do you mostly attribute to that? Do you make any effort to keep the ambient air that warm? Or is the fact it's in an enclosed fishroom allows the air to get to that temperature and stay there?

[allsps40]

It probably has more to do with the large size of the system and all the heat from the pumps that keeps the water at a consistent temp. I would think keeping it cool would be more of an issue than keeping it warm. But all the LEDs are helping there for sure.
Have any new pics and any updated pics of the fish room???

[nineball]

I'm about to watch a movie but I just wanted to say I will answer these questions tomorrow in the am if not before.

Peter

[chingchai]

Peter. Do you have any idea about this one?
http://orphek.com/led/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
Thanks.

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Moonfroz

WOW, WOW, WOW ... WOW Peter you are a TRUE MASTER!!!

I just finish to watch your video and I have no word to express the beauty of your tank. Your tank is truly amazing.

I'm also happy to see your Morish Idol swimming around and they look healthy. Do you feed them any special food such as sponge?

Best Regards!
Chris

Thank you Chris, hopefully our next video will be soon.......very very soon!!!!

The 2 Moorish Idols are getting along well but it was quite a journey getting more than one in the Display tank. I have had very good success in getting them to eat. I put them in isolation quarantine for 5 weeks before putting them in the tank. I start with a small amount of cyclopeeze to tickle the appetite followed by brine shrimp shortly after. Spirolina also works well in this early stage and then Mysis becomes a staple in their diet to prepare them for life in the display. Once in the display, they pretty well share the same diet as other fish in the tank and are always on the hunt for sponges on the rock......

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by sfsuphysics

What do you mostly attribute to that? Do you make any effort to keep the ambient air that warm? Or is the fact it's in an enclosed fishroom allows the air to get to that temperature and stay there?

Originally Posted by allsps40

It probably has more to do with the large size of the system and all the heat from the pumps that keeps the water at a consistent temp. I would think keeping it cool would be more of an issue than keeping it warm. But all the LEDs are helping there for sure.
Have any new pics and any updated pics of the fish room???

The fish room is both acoustically treated with a special insulation as well as 2 layers of moisture proof dry wall that is cladded on the fish room floor and walls in marble tiles (I got a good deal!!). This configuration combined with the dedicated HRV system seems to hold the temp at 26-27. There is a fair amount of surface exposure in the Hydroponic mangrove wall units, the sump and the refugium so I am assuming that the entire fish room acts as a stabilizer for the display tank. The Mars Bars also hold their temp very stable as well and there are 25 of those tanks as well as the 130 gal hospital tank.

I do have a dedicated air conditioner that is running 24hrs a day 12 months a year which is about to be modified with the addition of two special 9 inch vents which are both temp and humidity controlled to the outside. In Canada, we have the advantage of having too much cold air for free for six months of the year so I am going to take advantage of that and turn off the air conditioner that will only activate when needed in the summer.

The switch from Metal Halides to LED's was huge in reducing heat. I cannot talk about how effective that decision was without sounding like a salesman for Orphek but the decision itself was clearly a move to a best practice for this tank.

Another frequent subject in this area are the abyzz pumps. They do NOT add any heat to the system. They are quiet. They are hugely efficient. They are incredibly reliable. When I am in the fish room the only way I can convince myself that they are working is to reach down and touch them and feel an almost imperceptible vibration. I have said it before and repeat it again here. I do not know (apart from the upfront cost) why anyone would use anything else for a closed loop system. They have provided me with a design goal of achieving 'managed chaos' with respect to flow in the display tank which is a phenomenal achievement for a tank of this size and dimension.

You are right by the way. the coolest I can get the tank in its normal resting state is 25 C but I have seen 29 C when the HRV was acting up. I have a 1000 watt heater in the refugium but it very rarely ever switches on. It simply takes the possibility of extremes out of the equation.

Peter

ps. I expect we will have a video out shortly which is going to focus on our maintenance routines featuring the Brothers Grimm............So the fish room will get updated this way.....

[TimothyJ]

Great video and I look forward to many more and the knowledge they will bring.

[dave.m]

Also also, if I may point it out, there is a galvanized vent pipe over the main display and a large fan that sucks the air over the tank back into the fish room. The fan maintains a negative pressure over the DT so its temperature and humidity do not affect the house. This plus the separate, dedicated HVAC system keeps the DT and fishroom isolated and easier to maintain at a steady temperature and humidity level.

Walking into the fishroom is like entering a greenhouse. I think this has something to do with the success of the mangroves. It is quite tropical in there.

Dave.M

[nineball]

Originally Posted by chingchai

Peter. Do you have any idea about this one?
http://orphek.com/led/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
Thanks.

Hi Chingchai, its late.....you should be asleep by now. Oh I forgot, Andy told me that no one ever sleeps in Bangkok!!!!!

I have seen an earlier version of this light Chingchai and I was impressed with what I saw and these new lights are supposed to be better. I do have nine units of the new configuration with the addition of red and UV lights and so far I am pleased with the results. I have a total of 27 units over the display tank and eight units in the fish room. I am about to take the plasma lights that are over the mangroves and replace them with the 100 watt Orpheks. The Mangroves are doing extremely well (I have almost 200 trees) but If I can replace the plasmas with the Orphek pendants I will save electricity/heat and bulky size. I have observed through 3 separate tests over the refugium that I do NOT get any nuisance algae with the Orpheks that I do get with either the plasmas or other brands of LED's. We have done these experiments 3 times just to be sure it wasn't our imagination. My only complaint is that I don't want 35 controller boxes to program but there are not too many customers like me with so much coverage so there is not a lot of motivation by orphek to simplify my life.

My advice Chingchai, would be to do what I did in my tank. Take the left side of your tank and do it with the pendants and leave your current configuration on the right side. In six months you should be able to verify the impact on overall coral health and vitality. My tank is only 30 inches deep but I have been experimenting with sps on the bottom with great results. The pendants you are looking at are significantly stronger so it will require some experimenting to get the right coverage for your tank. I would be very careful in the beginning and run full coverage without any dimming or channel alteration for at least 9 or 10 hours. This will ensure maximum spectrum for the health of the coral. then for two hours before and after you can 'play' with the lights to get the best aesthetics that you enjoy without compromising on the health of the coral. My favourite 'scene' is 10% white with 100% blue, UV and red. Its amazing but not healthy all the time. Finally I give 100 % all blue (no white) with a final 10% just before the fish go to sleep.

Mr. Wilson may want to supplement what I have suggested if he gets a chance later today......but its a long weekend holiday here and there are not very many sober Canadians right now!!!!!

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Also also, if I may point it out, there is a galvanized vent pipe over the main display and a large fan that sucks the air over the tank back into the fish room. The fan maintains a negative pressure over the DT so its temperature and humidity do not affect the house. This plus the separate, dedicated HVAC system keeps the DT and fishroom isolated and easier to maintain at a steady temperature and humidity level.

Walking into the fishroom is like entering a greenhouse. I think this has something to do with the success of the mangroves. It is quite tropical in there.

Dave.M

I forgot about the fan Dave......good catch. It certainly has a major impact on cooling the entire system. John from DQI has just told me that he has found a new model that is totally silent.........I wonder if it possible to have a tank that is too quiet!!!

Peter

[nineball]

Originally Posted by TimothyJ

Great video and I look forward to many more and the knowledge they will bring.

Thank you Timothy, .......soon very very soon, I hope.

Peter

[sfsuphysics]

Interesting Peter, I guess when you up the ante with size things tend to work a bit differently. Tons more water (literally ) and there's that much more thermal mass to stabilize temperature.

My 200+g doesn't quite have that considering the basement it's in, so I do burn a lot of electricity just to keep it warm, and my halides are actually a beneficial source of heat during the day (heaters work that much less ). Oh well, when I get around to getting my 8' x 3' tank installed in wall, with insulation and all that good junk hopefully the electric bill will go down.

[nineball]

Originally Posted by sfsuphysics

Interesting Peter, I guess when you up the ante with size things tend to work a bit differently. Tons more water (literally ) and there's that much more thermal mass to stabilize temperature.

My 200+g doesn't quite have that considering the basement it's in, so I do burn a lot of electricity just to keep it warm, and my halides are actually a beneficial source of heat during the day (heaters work that much less ). Oh well, when I get around to getting my 8' x 3' tank installed in wall, with insulation and all that good junk hopefully the electric bill will go down.

You are kidding right Mike? Your avatar says San Francisco. SF has never seen snow or temps below 70F, right? Just open the window Mike and smell the ozone.............but if all you are doing is working up a backgrounder to justify your next tank to your wife then ........aaah yes I see. Yes Ms. Mike bigger is more cost effective.

OK that didn't work for me either....

Peter

[sfsuphysics]

Originally Posted by nineball

You are kidding right Mike? Your avatar says San Francisco. SF has never seen snow or temps below 70F, right? Just open the window Mike and smell the ozone.............but if all you are doing is working up a backgrounder to justify your next tank to your wife then ........aaah yes I see. Yes Ms. Mike bigger is more cost effective.

OK that didn't work for me either....

Peter

HAhahaha, never seen temps below 70F? More like temps above 70F... during the summer time we get a few nice days though If you're talking averages between 50-70F any day of the year, so yeah we have that aspect the temperature not changing much, not cold as in Canadian cold, but you have a room that's maybe 25' x 12' at 55°- 60°F with a 200G heater set to around 75°F you're going to burn through energy.

I'm sure if I just boxed up my tank with a tiny room I could save even more money... but I have the 8x3 tank in the garage already, it just needs some TLC to make it nice

[Azazael13]

Originally Posted by chingchai

Peter. Do you have any idea about this one?
http://orphek.com/led/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
Thanks.

I know that this was already answered, but I wanted to chime in also. I replaced some T5's and MH over my tank with DIF-100. Within 2 week I could see a difference in the corals. I have been very satisfied with this light. It also provides the perfect area of light for my 2' cube

[chingchai]

Peter. Thank you so much for your answer.

[Kipps]

The video really sums up this build - professional and best practices - the envy of us all....

[danfeig]

Peter:

At one point you were looking at a Dialyseas unit for your system. What did you decide? If you ended up purchasing one, can you please tell me your experience with it.

I was just about to pick one up for my new 1,400 gallon build and I am looking for as much information about the units as possible.

Thank you.

Dan

[Tmoriarty]

Very informative build with excellent corals/fish/tank health.

I had read quite a few pages back that there was a small issue with nuissance red algae in the mangrove tracks. Perhaps turning the plasmas down to 70-80% would help to reduce this issue while still maintaining good growth. What I have noticed with plasmas is that they shift exponentially to red after around 60% power. If you are seeing a lot of nuissance maybe a shift in spectrum by turning the plasmas down a bit would help?

Obviously what you guys have been doing works wonders just was thinking of ways to contribute constructively.

[ccuk]

hi Pete
i have just started doing acrylic tanks over the pond in the UK.
how do you find cleaning the acrylic , the visibility by far out seeds
glass but people worry it scratches a lot easier than glass , its not
widely used in the uk and iam trying to advise people that its the
why to go if considering a custom marine build ,,
you tank is a true inspiration to us all
kindest regards
stewart

[Tanu]

Any updates Peter and Shawn? Just came by Episode 1 you made, I'm really looking forward to watching the next episode!

Tanne

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by ccuk

hi Pete
i have just started doing acrylic tanks over the pond in the UK.
how do you find cleaning the acrylic , the visibility by far out seeds
glass but people worry it scratches a lot easier than glass , its not
widely used in the uk and iam trying to advise people that its the
why to go if considering a custom marine build ,,
you tank is a true inspiration to us all
kindest regards
stewart

Removing scratches is an art in itself, but a skill set that can be easily acquired. I use micro-mesh pads for interior scratches and a buffing wheel on a drill with jewellers ruby paste on the outside. Smaller micro-scratches on the outside are easily dispatched with Novus three step liquid polish.

http://www.novuspolish.com/
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...27&cat=1,42500
http://www.delviesplastics.com/mm5/m...ng_Accessories

Now with glass, you have no avenue to remove scratches, and they certainly do occur. The clarity improvement from starfire glass to acrylic is the same as standard glass to starfire. Acrylic is the best option for tanks over 36" tall and it affords the ability to create unique shapes and designs.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by Tanu

Any updates Peter and Shawn? Just came by Episode 1 you made, I'm really looking forward to watching the next episode!

Tanne

Peter and his videographer have finished two more videos that will be published shortly. One is about the maintenance involved while the other is a more widely appealing eye candy video. It's a lot more relaxing and entertaining than the stock fireplace video on your local cable channel