At least your wife can't say your spending the childrens college fund or at least I hope that your employer wouldn't charge you full price to send your children there.

My only saving grace to get a 215 was good price from & wife said the atlantic blue tang needs a bigger tank. :lol: Didn't think showing up at home after macna with a 215 was a smart thing to do.

Sounds like a nice system. Looking forward to another trip up to see it & you. Let me know if I can be of any help; although I consider myself the student learning from you, one of the top reefers in the land.

The total height of the tank stand will be 30" if I go with this design. 24" of block + 6" of H beam.

Here is a picture showing some of my constraints. I would like to keep the 20" I currently have above the tank top edge to allow room for the Lumenarcs. So that means that the new tank which is 30" tall will reduce the space available for the stand to 34". may be I can find some 1/2 blocks which will let me add 4" more inches to make the new stand 34".

The lumenarcs are about 9 inches tall.. so I will only have about 10 inches between the top of the tank and the fixture. This will most likely limit the spread. Have to play around and see what I get.


http://www.personal.psu.edu/sbj4/aqu...k/backroom.gif

sanjay.

Your fishroom looks like Dr. Moreau's Lab.

I LOVE IT!

Ahhhh...to see Sanjay's fishroomin person will make you wonder how he fits all of that in the space he has available. Pretty amazing. Sanjay must really know how to pack a suitcase.
I really like the stand idea and may use it when I set up a bigger tank. I'm gonna wait and see how Sanjay's setup comes out to see what he did wrong and I will avoid those things :O.
Sanjay, when it comes time to set that tank up, if I am able, I will make a trip out there and help. Looking forward to how this comes out.

Sanjay, you can get 4" blocks.

I am watching closely as I want to see how your humidity problems are addressed. I saw the unit you intend to use and hope it all works out.

I am considering using my tank (448 gal) as a humidifier in the winter and using a exhaust fan to vent heat/humidity in the summer. The tank will be in my new basement.

Can't wait to see this thing go up!

what are you guys talking about? Look at all that spacious room in there. I mean, look at all that wall space between the skimmer and the pressure tank. :lol:

Place another I beam along the middle.
Your tank is likely to break from lack of support.
It should be easy enough.

I completely disagree. My tank is sitting on a similar stand for 8 years. It's 32" wide and is held by just two 4" H-beams. These beams are incredibly strong and typically used in home construction. Three 6" H-beams covering a 48" width is more than enough support to hold a 3-story house! Sanjay may want to add a block of wood between the H-beams for additional support, but he certainly doesn't need a 4th beam.

Greg

That fish room is crazy!

this is awesome sanjay :-) .
I'll have to come see it when i'm back in psu.
just curious, your skimmer is basically a copy of the HUB's skimmer isn't it? if that's the case, why not just upgrade the pump to something in the 1500 gph range ( i don't remember if yours has two towers or not , been a while since i've been to your house, but if it does, a gen x 1200 gph on each tower should do the trick) you could also modify it to be a recirculating skimmer with little more than a couple extra holes and bulkheads in the mixing box.

Whats the approximate cost of those H beams?

Sanjay,

You and I have the exact same height restrictions only my tank is 35" tall, the stand is 30" and the foam is about an inch. I have the same overhead clearance over the front 2 feet of the tank and will be using Luminarcs. BUT, I have decided to use them on the left and right sides, while installing a wider & shallower plate shaped reflector in the center. I am using 3 - 1000W MH 20K lamps.

The real trick is how to rig the lamps so they can be adjusted for height and horixontal position. With the limited clearance, It would be very tough to put in a movable hood, and I really don't want to hold the heat in either. Have you thought about attaching the Lumenarcs to a ball bearing track of some kind? I am thinking about some kind of track that can be fstened in the center with a bushing above so the track can rotate 360 deg. and the lamp can be moved on the track. That wold give considerable adjustment while conserving over head space.

As far as stand construction is concerned, why not just use 4 x 4's and plywood? Seems like the whole mess with blocks and beams is not worth the trouble, and a wooden stand would be easier to adjust for level right?

Blocks and beams are easy to level, just use steel shims if necessary.

This steel/concrete block stand is a far more elegant solution than its wooden equivalent; it also affords the extra space underneath and is much easier and quicker to construct. Structurally, it is fine unless you're planning some in-tank tsunamis or expect some major earthquake activity - these would cause some lateral loading thay may have to be compensated for. Build it and the fish will come (not literally, of course). Just my 2 pennies.

Edited for clarity.

Regarding stands made from 4x4's, I've personally seen three large aquariums crack and leak that were placed on stands constructed of 4x4's. Over time the wood tends to bend, shrink, and shift, especially in an environment of changing humidity. Pressure-treated 4x4's are equally bad. Warping wood has tremendous strength and even small changes in level can be disastrous to a large aquarium.

Greg

I considered a steel stand for my project but quickly dropped that idea when I began pricing custom steel stands. A steel stand constructed from 316SS, welded and powder-coated can cost as much as a new car. :)

Greg

Sorry Greg, I meant your stand by "steel stand" - I modified my posting accordingly. I'd rather have your stand design than a purely wooden or steel equivalent. Just my preference.

yeah, I see what you guys are saying and I suppose it would give better under-tank access which is a plus. Coming from an earthquake area, I always shy away from brick & mortar. It has a very good initial resistance to shock, but the probability of total failure is much higher.

In my application, I will be using the fish room for the equipment so under-the-stand space isn't really an issue. I certainly wouldn't build a wood stand out of un-seasoned wood either.

I have to build a variety of other "structures" in my fish room like pedastals for auxilary tanks etc. and I think they will all be made out of wood. I have a buddy that offered to weld up stuff, but that leaves me at his availability and then there is the whole rust thing. I don't really want to spend the dough on powder coats etc. I did get a couple of SS work tables at Costco that I think will be very useful.

I am coating everythinig with either West System resin or bilge paint, and let me tell you, bilge paint rocks!

jnarow

Think lamination. Instead of a 4x4 run a 2x6 with a 2X4 screwed and glued to it. Or microlam beam or whatever.

I like the steel Sanjay!

sorry for the confusion. my stand came with the tank and there is no way I am rebuilding that!

http://www.marinamarket.com/Reef%20P...Reef%20S11.jpg

Sanjay,
Do you plan to have the flow from your 2 closed loops blow across the bottom towards the front pane?
Thanks and appreciate you sharing,
Wrassta

That looks beefy!!!

Sure is, but it would be difficult to mess with equipment under it. Official update on my tank: With the rubber base board set and caulked, my fish room can now hold water. The tank is now in place and I am very stoked!

Ok.. now that the holidays are over.. its time to get back to the tank. After some discussions with Will at Aquarium Obsessed I have tweaked the design a bit. Here is what it going to look like.
Had to put a brace for the back wall, but I still wanted my external overflow box.. so the desgin will have 2 large cutouts in the back glass and leave enough room for attaching the brace. I also put in 2 extra 1" bulheads in the overflow box in case I wanted to feed a skimmer direclty via gravity or for any additional closed loop I may want to add later.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/sbj4/aqu...tank-assly.gif

sanjay.

nice design. very similar to mine which you can see some pics at the bottom of Page 10 of my thread.

I will be gravity feeding a skimmer from the center 1-1/2" BH and the 2 - 2" BHs will go into the supply side of the sump.

SANJAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How's it going???? Wow....that's going to be a very, very, very nice setup. If you need any help with ANYTHING, please don't hesitate to ask -

I'm getting ready to set up my 180 again - thought this was kinda funny as were both tracking the same dreams right now. Tank will be in same place, but I'm going to make the peninsula a full height wall (I think) with tank built-in. I'm contemplating going acrylic this time..not sure yet though

Anyway, I'll keep planning my "guppy" tank now...you go ahead and plan your "whale" tank.

Mack

what lights are YOU going to run?

What are the side-holes on the overflow for?

Very nice setup. Yeah, I second the side-holes also. What are those for?

he wrote in an earlier post that they were "back up" holes to use if he decided on a gravity fed skimmer, etc.

Well, not to split hairs, but that's not exactly what was written. Only that he put 2 extra holes (not "2 extra holes on the side").

Anyway, assuming you are correct that these are extra holes for the skimmer etc., "Why are they on the side?"

no clue why they are on the side. I would think that all should be on the bottom, but we are talking about Sanjay and he may know something I don't!:D

I think that he said that he put them on the side for use in a gravity fed skimmer in case he decided to go with one in the future. I guess for the added hight is why he had them showing on the side.

Part of the reasons for making the holes in the side -


1) Beacuse I have it in this configuration on my tank right now. I did this 10 years ago when I was using a 6 ft tall CC skimmer that I was gravity feeding and I needed the extra height so I could feed higher into the skimmer.

2) I am not a fan of drilling too many holes in single glass panes.

sanjay.

Hey Mack:

Yeah, I am excited about this tank. You should never have got rid of your 180 - I told you that you would be back in the hobby with a big tank. Its so hard to stay away. !!!

Good luck with your tank.. you know where to come for frags. Also, if you are interested in volunteering time for the Penn State tank let me know.

sanjay.

For the reflectors I will be running 3 Lumenarcs. As for lamps and ballast have not decieded yet other than still sticking to the 10K lamps. I have not used any actincs for over 7 years now and will keep it that way. I may go with Electronic Ballasts this time, want to test the hypothesis that electronic ballasts extend lamp life.

Just need to find a good deal on the ballasts :D

sanjay.

Good thinking on the side mounts for the skimmer feed. I wish I had thought of that, since I am having a height issue as well. The other side of that is how much water will pass through a side hole compared to a bottom hole. To get enough water moving through the skimmer, it may be neccessary to have the feed from the bottom.

I am going to take another look at mine and see if i can adjust it. Nothing is glued yet!

Don't forget to check out www.propertyroom.com for ballasts. Sometimes you can happen on a great deal. Generally the fuzz cuts the power cords so you have to re-wire them. I bought my ballasts through reefgeek. Good price and Sunlight drop shipped them direct. I was a bit wary of buying a used ballast.

Sanjay, the tank design is "very" nice, who is building the tank ?

I really like the stand as well. I was going to build with wood, but that open space is awesome.

Thanks for the details, nice job !

> Barry :)

The tank is going to be built by Will Sheer at Aquarium Obsessed. I will be sending him the deposit soon here as soon I get the final invoice and contract.

I was initially thinking of going with a 2" square tubular steel stand, but this will be probably be cheaper than the tube steel stand given that it will not require any welding.


sanjay.

I worked with Will at AO on my 600gal and he did a very nice job... GL with the tank, I am really looking forward to this project...

Been giving the light rack some thought and here are some initial ideas.



http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/.../lightrack.gif

The frame is going to be 1" angled aluminum.. right now the size the the same as the footprint of the tank 84X48". not sure if I should make it the whole 48". Its designed to give me some flexibility to be able to move the lights in the front to back dimension to allow for some flexibility in laying out the rockwork in a more creative manner.

The middle light is centered on the 84" dimension and the other 2 are centered 26" on either side of it.

I will try to hang it so it has some flexibility in being raised up and down, although I will not have a whole lot of headroom there. I may have to think of some creative way of moving it out of the way to get room to work on the tank.

sanjay.

Sanjay,

Are you guys low on help with the PSU tank??? Let me know how often you would need help...kids have me plastered with roles in their activities (scouting, sports, etc)....let me know I'll see what I can do.

Hey, about your light rack, how about placing the fixture rack on a "pocket door" sliding assembly. Basically a frame that has rollers on it. You could mount a stationary angle frame on structure (with a lip to keep the rollers from popping out), then you would have rollers attached to an additional frame above the top of the fixtures on the frame you show in post. Just have to consider ballast locations (maybe in joist space above, centered between max points of rack movement)?

Just a thought...

Mack

Sanjay, my light rack is just like what you are planning except that I joined the cross memebers supporting the lumenarcs so I could slide them side to side as well as front to back.

Just a thought...

sanjay, I have not started on my light rack yet, but that is the same idea I had in mind... I already picked up the angled aluminum I just have been busy with other things... I should be starting on it soon... My tank is 96x48 (with a 4" Starphire Eurobracing around it)... I was also debating on making the rack 96x48 or maybe something like 84x36... I am going to be using T5's along with my 4x MHs...

Hey Photon Man,
I think if you make the rack the entire width of the tank, it would really be in the way when trying to access the tank, especially given the width of your tank and your lack of height above the tank. With such a low ceiling, its not like you'll be able to raise the rack completely out of the way.
I would consider mounting each light on its own L shaped bracket that swivels and that can be slid up and down in a track, with the mounts on inside front wall. Or even mount the just the center light on the front interior wall of the tank, and the other lights on the interior side walls of the tank. These could be swiveled front and back as needed. If you leave your rockwork off the back wall, you won't need the lights to be moved towards the back wall, and if you do, they woud be in the way.
I think the rack in this case could be a major maintenance hindrance.
Joe

Sanjay,

First, I agree with Joe about making three smaller sections instead of one large frame. That's what I did recently when I re-did my lighting. You're never going to need access the entire tank at the same time, so why have the lights move in unison? It also helps to have some lighting still over the tank when you're working on a particular section.

As to the frame, instead of using aluminum, which will eventually corrode, think about using PVC or fiberglass angle-iron. I've used it in a number of construction projects and it's incredibly strong. The best part is that the PVC angle can be glued together with regular PVC cement.

Greg

Good points about the lights.. especially I am tight for space and moving the large frame out of the way would not be easy. I was concerned about this.

I am also thinking of having the 2 outer lights be angled into the tank, rather than pointing straight down.

I like the idea of PVC angle especially since it easy to glue, but what about heat if the reflector is sitting on the frame. Also, a good idea to decouple lights and make them individual.

Back to the drawing board... see what I can come up with.

thanks for the input.

sanjay.

How about trying to use a LCD wall mount with swiveling capabilites to mount each individual reflector. That would give me quite a bit of flexibility in positioning and orienting the light.

sanjay.

That's a good idea. I have been toying with the idea if mounting my track using a bushing or bearing so that I can swivel each lamp track independantly and give more range of motion. I am leaning toward using motorized tracks so that the lamps will slowly move maybe 1-1/2 to 2' across the 5' of tank front-to-back with a motor. Supposedly the Lumenarcs are good for 3' so a little movement would cover more tank and keep from fryng anything with the 1000W lamps. I definitely would go with individual tracks rather than a complete all-in-one structure. Acces to the tank will be much better. There's no reason to move all the lamps at one time to pick up a tool you drop or clean one corner.

I have thought about this a lot, and the only murky area for me is how to position my fans. If I was building a full size aluminum structure, then I could mount the fans in that. Since I am not, I have to figure out how to mount them and that brings in some variables like whether to hang them from the ceiling on something that will be adjustable for height, or should they be permanently mounted to blow across the top of the tank.

Also, although I see many reef setups with the ballasts mounted over the tank, keeping them cool will add to their efficiency, so I would like to have them in the path of the fans as well. Any thoughts on that?

If heat is a concern, most larger fixtures have dryer type ducts available to pull the heat away from the tank, some folks have this duct then lead to outside, and if nearby, it can split into the heating ducts of the house and you pick up the heat for heating your house.
Greg just redid his lights and continued this venting technique as its very efficient and truly helps keep the tank cooler.
Ballasts can have some heavier gauge wire and remotely positioned to keep them away from the water if you have some other place to store them.
Be careful with light/ rail movers. If they get stuck, and they do, they will cook those corals. There is probably a way to wire in a fail safe so that if the mover stops, it would shut off that light.
Joe