A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

[david00061]

I made a water on floor sensor. I can add as many as I want. If water detected all my pumps shut off. And emails me.
here is link where I found the instuctions

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1958259

[TITO GONZALEZ]

it is a big tank. How many kg of rock live you can put there?

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by EdGriffin

Hi danfeig,
Congrats on the build. I have two Wireless IP (Pan/Tilt) cam's on my tank and fish room and they work great. Super easy to setup and they have been running for several months. I tried sending you a PM with a ton of details about the cameras and how they are setup but since this is my first post the system says I cannot send you a PM until I have 10 posts.....9 more to go

If you want, send me a PM and I will see if the system will let me reply to your message.

Hi Ed.

Thank you very much. I am very interested in hearing more about the cameras. I sent you a PM!

- Dan

[brettinteriors]

My cousin professionally sets up remote viewable camera systems. we have been playing with the idea of a in tank camera. If you need his number, let me know.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Okiemike]

Dan - You have an awesome build going on there in the desert, I have been tagging along for a while. You have me excited about my own upcoming build. I currently have a custom 170g I will be picking up next month in the Dallas area. Congrats on the tank and keep the updates coming.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by brettinteriors

I just hooked up my rke tonight. I think I will order some flood sensors as well. Glad it wasn't anything major. I had a tank crack at my store 3 months ago and decided it was time to add the protection of the rke. Just a matter of time until something fails.


Sent from my alien robot via triplanorum

Great call!

I really like the flood sensor that David installed referenced in the post after yours!

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by david00061

I made a water on floor sensor. I can add as many as I want. If water detected all my pumps shut off. And emails me.
here is link where I found the instuctions

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1958259

David, your leak detector system looks great!

Do you mind if I copy your hard work? It will be easy to hook this up to my ReefKeeper.

- Dan

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by TITO GONZALEZ

it is a big tank. How many kg of rock live you can put there?

Tito:

Right now I have 400lbs. of live Tukani Rock currently housed in my 90 gallon "rock" tank. In the main display, the towers are made from approximately 300lbs. of dry Pukani Rock from Bulk Reef Supply.

I will be adding another 150lbs of live rock from my existing tank. Additionally, I may order another 50lbs. of dry Pukani Rock to hide the lock line in the display tank. I will be doing this only if I can't create something with my existing live rock.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by Okiemike

Dan - You have an awesome build going on there in the desert, I have been tagging along for a while. You have me excited about my own upcoming build. I currently have a custom 170g I will be picking up next month in the Dallas area. Congrats on the tank and keep the updates coming.

Thanks Okiemike!

It has been a fun process and I am sure you will enjoy your upcoming build.

Start a build thread so we can all follow along. You'll find tons of tons of people willing and wanting to help. You can learn a lot from others mistakes too!

Thanks for your comments and for tagging along!

Dan

[danfeig]

Okay... one of the things that I have been able to do while on vacation, has been to consider my fish "wish list."

It is quite extensive and consists mostly of tangs.

First off, let me say that I will not be introducing all of the fish at once and a number of the fish are already in my existing 150 gallon mixed reef. I am sure things will change too. I am a pretty impulsive buyer and sometimes I will go to a LFS and fall in love...The list might also shrink. As much as I can, I will be introducing pairs of fish. Not necessarily mated pairs, but at least two of the species.

Let's talk about the Tangs for a minute. Yes, I realize that many of the species feel threatened by or become aggressive with other tangs of the same species or of similar sizes and shapes. Achilles vs. Sohal, etc.

I have had success in the past when introducing pairs at the same time and of similar size. I believe that the tank is large enough for paris, and that there will be plenty of hiding places. My plan is to acquire small to medium sized tangs, 2"-3", and after ample QT where all are eating well, they will be introduced together to the main display. Aggressive pairs will be introduced together.

The following is my first attempt:

2 Naso Tangs (Naso Lituratus)
2 Atlantic Blue Tangs (Acanthurus Coeruleus)
2 Clown Tangs (Acanthurus Lineatus)
2 Purple Tangs (Zebrasoma xanthurus)
2 Vlamingii Tangs (Naso Vlamingi)
2 Unicorn Tangs (Naso unicornis)
2 Sohal Tangs (Acanthurus sohal)
2 Mustard Tangs (Acanthurus Guttatus)
2 Tennenti Tangs (Acanthurus Tennenti)
2 Sailfin Desjardni Tangs (Zebrasoma Desjardinii)
2 Chevron Tangs (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis)
2 Convict Tangs (Acanthurus triostegus)
2 Blue Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus)
2 Powder Blue Tangs (Acanthurus Leucosternon)
5 Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma flavescens)
2 Orange Shoulder Tangs (Acanthurus Olivaceus)
2 Achilles Tangs (Acanthurus achilles)
2 Black Tangs (Zebrasoma Rostratum)

5 Bartletts Fairy Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum)
7 Disbar Anthias (Pseudanthias disbar)
5 Evansi Anthias (Microlabrichthys evansi)
7 Banggai Cardinal Fish (Pterapogon Kauderni)
3 Pajama Cardinal Fish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)
2 Green Mandarin Goby's (Pterosynchiropus splendidus)
2 Red Mandarin Goby's (Pterosychiropus splendidus Sp.)
2 Diamond Watchman Goby's (Valenciennea puellaris)
2 Red Scooter Dragonet Blenny's (Synchiropus stellatus)
2 Starry Blenny's (Salarias ramosus)
7 Firefish Goby's (Nemateleotris magnifica)
4 Clown Goby's (Gobiodon okinawae)
2 Geometric Flame Hawkfish (Plectranthias species)
2 Filamented Flasher Wrasses (Paracheilinus filamentosus)
2 Six Line Wrasses (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
2 Melanarus Wrasses
2 McCosker's Flasher Wrasses (Paracheilinus mccoskeri)
7 Blue/Green Chromis (Chromis viridian)
2 Black & White Ocellaris Clown Fish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

I look forward to hearing any comments, thoughts and suggestions that you might have.

[BigOldReef]

Well you beat my list of 15 tangs, and the only large tang I have is the Achilles.

Sohal and Clowns.... That just sounds like Battle Royale to me. They are both such very aggressive species. In my experience the Sohal is more accepting to other tangs. Where pretty much every Clown I've ever dealt with has gone after every tang of equal or smaller size.

For the Naso's if you don't have them already I would wait and try to get a pair from the Red Sea. They are Blonds and have really great color.

For the Chevron's I've had good experience in keeping them in a Trio.

For the Blue Tangs, if you don't have them already, be patient and get the yellow belly version. Also a species I would consider getting 3 instead of 2.

I don't see any angels on your list... There are several very cool Centropyge species.

And how about a cluster of Royal Grammas and Yellow assessors to hang out on the undersides of your great rock towers ?

You skipped the pseudochromis family -- Frimandi and Springeri are both striking fish. I have 2 of each. The Springeri are tank raised and not paired up. The Frimandi I got a wild caught pair this week, and they are definitely paired up. These are cool fish cause they move in and out of all the rock work.

Leopard Wrasses ?

I used to love collecting the clown gobies. But then they did too well in my tank and when they pair up they start shredding the tissue off the sps colonies to make themselves a nice home to spawn in. After that happened to some of my favorite colonies I stopped collecting the clown gobies.

[TheFishTeen]

Holy! Thats a lot of fish.

My thoughts:

Powder Blue + Achilles + Clown = Lots of roughhousing. I know your tank is very very big but still, these guys are insane. The 800G tank at Vivid Aquariums has a powder blue and he thinks he's boss. Don't underestimate these guys. Same with the clowns.

Like BigOldReef said, 3 is better than 2, but that might mean for you less variety more and more quantity. In other words instead of bumping up an extra tang for every species, cut back on how many of each kind and do less variance in fish types, but more of what you do choose.

Now about the smaller fish, I like the list. I was surprised you only put one pair of clowns on the list. You could easily get away with more.

[thor109]

I've been watching your build ever since you ordered rock. I love the towers you built. I personally think you are going to need a bunch more rock to provide sleeping areas for that many fish. I put a lot of my fish in my 240 ga tank with good success but they all have a place to call home. Once tangs get up to 8 inches that would be a busy tank. After running my 240 and my 75 for a few months I have decided If I ever go bigger its going to be at least 5k ga and if I could afford 5k I'm sure I would be building a 50,000 ga one.

[BOBJONES]

thats a crazy looking tank i love it

[havoc79]

wow that is alot of tangs!!! what about a bluedot jawfish, blackcap basslet,mystery wrasse,golden rhomboidalis wrasse, +1 on the naso thing i like the blondes alot more but you have an awesome list of fish kind of jealous lol

[acabgd]

Originally Posted by danfeig

The cost of the A/C unit really surprised me.

Initially I was quoted $2,900 installed. The fish room is only +/- 250 sq. ft. After discussions with my a/c contractors, we found a solution. We had the same a/c unit bought down in Puerto Penasco, Mexico (Rocky Point) and I ended up saving $1,400!!! Rocky Point is a four and a half hour drive from Tucson and we always seem to have friends going back and forth.

It is the same identical unit, however, the temperature setting is in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Big deal. And the instruction manual is in Spanish vs. English. I am sure that i will be able to download the manual in English. Apparently in Mexico, there are no tariffs on shipments from Japan.

Don't wanna bash you in any way, but I would never entrust thousands of dollars of livestock to el cheapo a/c.

I really don't know Mexican a/c units, but from what specs I could find online this is a cheap on/off system with 12000 BTU, using the outdated (and supposedly phased out) R22 gas.

I really don't know what units you have over there in the States, but over here in Europe only Toshiba, Daikin, Mitsubishi Heavy or Electric and evtl. Fujitsu inverters with R410 gas would come into consideration, especially because of all the heat and humidity placing the higher demand on the unit.

The physical placement is also crucial, you don't want the a/c blowing directly into your tanks or sump as the evaporation would be enormous and you would probably want to move the unit somewhere on the side, in the corner, as this would not affect the cooling effect within a closed room.

I'm also surprised by the prices you quoted, as a high-end Japanese a/c units in Europe cost around 1000-1200 euros, or up to 1500 US$.

I hope you have checked beforehand the real quality and specs of this unit and sorry if my info is completely wrong.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by BigOldReef

Well you beat my list of 15 tangs, and the only large tang I have is the Achilles.

Sohal and Clowns.... That just sounds like Battle Royale to me. They are both such very aggressive species. In my experience the Sohal is more accepting to other tangs. Where pretty much every Clown I've ever dealt with has gone after every tang of equal or smaller size.

For the Naso's if you don't have them already I would wait and try to get a pair from the Red Sea. They are Blonds and have really great color.

For the Chevron's I've had good experience in keeping them in a Trio.

For the Blue Tangs, if you don't have them already, be patient and get the yellow belly version. Also a species I would consider getting 3 instead of 2.

I don't see any angels on your list... There are several very cool Centropyge species.

And how about a cluster of Royal Grammas and Yellow assessors to hang out on the undersides of your great rock towers ?

You skipped the pseudochromis family -- Frimandi and Springeri are both striking fish. I have 2 of each. The Springeri are tank raised and not paired up. The Frimandi I got a wild caught pair this week, and they are definitely paired up. These are cool fish cause they move in and out of all the rock work.

Leopard Wrasses ?

I used to love collecting the clown gobies. But then they did too well in my tank and when they pair up they start shredding the tissue off the sps colonies to make themselves a nice home to spawn in. After that happened to some of my favorite colonies I stopped collecting the clown gobies.

Hi Dave!

I have never had problems with my Clown Tang. It was never paired but in my tank at the same time I had it with an achilies, powder blues, purples... I feed a lot and that could help. It worth a try... Didn't Noah take things in twosies???

I definitely will go with the Blond Naso's...

I have had a pair of blue tangs for the last 18 months or so. Hardy as can be. Can't give them up.

I had such a difficult time with Angel's and my corals. I can't wait to give my Bicolor away when I takedown the tank in my bedroom. Don't get me wrong, he is a beautiful fish! He just loves my brains and elegance corals too much. If I could have caught him, he would have been gone two years ago. Similar experiences with my Emperor Angel.

Frimadi's are beautiful! I am sure I will be picking up a lot of smaller fish as I go. Assesor's or gramma's...

I have seen a lot of different names for the Leopard Wrasse. Another is the Black Spotted Wrasse... They are beautiful!

I received an update this morning. The Melanurus Wrasse's both seem to be doing okay. It appears that I am down to four of the Blue/Green Chromis - although I wouldn't be surprised if a couple are in the overflow or down in the sump.

Hope that you have a good week in court. Thanks for the comments, thoughts and help.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by TheFishTeen

Holy! Thats a lot of fish.

My thoughts:

Powder Blue + Achilles + Clown = Lots of roughhousing. I know your tank is very very big but still, these guys are insane. The 800G tank at Vivid Aquariums has a powder blue and he thinks he's boss. Don't underestimate these guys. Same with the clowns.

Like BigOldReef said, 3 is better than 2, but that might mean for you less variety more and more quantity. In other words instead of bumping up an extra tang for every species, cut back on how many of each kind and do less variance in fish types, but more of what you do choose.

Now about the smaller fish, I like the list. I was surprised you only put one pair of clowns on the list. You could easily get away with more.

Kovy:

I truly appreciate your thoughts and comments.

For over a year, perhaps 18 months, I had 2 Achilles, 2 Powder Blues, 2 Blue Tangs,1 Clown, 1 yellow and 2 Purple tangs together. I acquired them all as "small" tangs, although larger than juvenile.

I first had the yellow tang and then added the two Blue Tangs and 2 Powder Blues. The following week I added the Achilles, Clown and Purple Tang. They all got along "swimmingly." When I first added the Achilles, my Yellow Tangs fins stood erect and it showed it's dominance. After 2 days of feeding (a lot) and putting out dry seaweed (twice daily), they all got along very well.

You might wonder what happened... I foolishly put into the tank a Yellow Eye Kole Tang that I bought at a LFS, after he indicated he had it in QT with copper for 4 weeks. It brought to the tank a severe case of Ich. Ten days later I lost one of the Achilles, Clown, 1 Purple Tang and the Kole. It was after that sad turn of events that I purchased my UV and began a strict QT.

As long as I can find small pairs and can get them fattened up in the QT, I will cautiously introduce them together. The downside... if they don't get along, I have a great LFS that I can bring one of the species back to and they will find a good home for them.

With regards to the Clowns... I have been strongly considering a pair of Picasso Clowns..

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by thor109

I've been watching your build ever since you ordered rock. I love the towers you built. I personally think you are going to need a bunch more rock to provide sleeping areas for that many fish. I put a lot of my fish in my 240 ga tank with good success but they all have a place to call home. Once tangs get up to 8 inches that would be a busy tank. After running my 240 and my 75 for a few months I have decided If I ever go bigger its going to be at least 5k ga and if I could afford 5k I'm sure I would be building a 50,000 ga one.

Welcome Thor109!

Thanks for following along. I definitely will be adding more rock with lots of holes and hiding places. I am going to drill/chisel some large holes into some of my live rock that I will be using to hide some of the lock line on the bottom of the tank. I am also going to place a few larger pieces on the bottom towards the rear of the tank.

I am starting off with tangs that are going to be 2"-3". It will be nice if they get that large! I then will have to talk my wife into a larger tank! I can go out another 52 inches and have the tank be viewable from 3 sides!!!!!

Glad you are here!!!

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by BOBJONES

thats a crazy looking tank i love it

Thanks BOBJONES, glad to have you here!

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by havoc79

wow that is alot of tangs!!! what about a bluedot jawfish, blackcap basslet,mystery wrasse,golden rhomboidalis wrasse, +1 on the naso thing i like the blondes alot more but you have an awesome list of fish kind of jealous lol

Thanks Havoc79!

It is a lot of tangs but I am going to give it a try. I am going to purchase small ones. Worse case, I end up with one of each species or 3 of some... Tangs are just my favorite fish!!! I will probably throw in some more wrasses.

I will be going with the blonde Naso's.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by acabgd

Don't wanna bash you in any way, but I would never entrust thousands of dollars of livestock to el cheapo a/c.

I really don't know Mexican a/c units, but from what specs I could find online this is a cheap on/off system with 12000 BTU, using the outdated (and supposedly phased out) R22 gas.

I really don't know what units you have over there in the States, but over here in Europe only Toshiba, Daikin, Mitsubishi Heavy or Electric and evtl. Fujitsu inverters with R410 gas would come into consideration, especially because of all the heat and humidity placing the higher demand on the unit.

The physical placement is also crucial, you don't want the a/c blowing directly into your tanks or sump as the evaporation would be enormous and you would probably want to move the unit somewhere on the side, in the corner, as this would not affect the cooling effect within a closed room.

I'm also surprised by the prices you quoted, as a high-end Japanese a/c units in Europe cost around 1000-1200 euros, or up to 1500 US$.

I hope you have checked beforehand the real quality and specs of this unit and sorry if my info is completely wrong.

Thanks acabgd!

I believe the Mirage units are made by either Samsung or Mitsubishi. Not sure which one. While traveling here in Israel for the past 10 days, I have seen several of the exact same units just with a different brand. Same LED screen, same remotes...

I am real comfortable with my a/c contractor and the warranty that he provides me. He has been handling the a/c units in my shopping centers for years. He has more to lose than I do.

In any event, while the function of the a/c unit is to cool the fish room, it's main function is to help with the humidity in the room. I am not worried if the unit was to break or have issues, it will not cause damage to my system.

I have four other a/c units cooling & heating my house. We keep our house at a constant temperature of 77 degrees year round. If my mini split was to fail, it would just get awfully humid in the room!

[acabgd]

Originally Posted by danfeig

Thanks acabgd!

I believe the Mirage units are made by either Samsung or Mitsubishi.

Thanks for the detailed reply - I was not aware of that, as I've said, not familiar with this brand at all. Didn't realize you also keep the house at a constant temp, this of course changes things. Great to hear you've got all the bases covered.

Hope you're enjoying your holidays - can't wait for new major updates!

[aquaph8]

Hi Dan, better late than never, I just found your build. The tank looks great man.

[danfeig]

Originally Posted by numnoos

i want one

Numnoos - they are fun to build.

Join the fun!