1000 Gallon Build- Here we go- Lots of Pictures

[Socaltoaz]

I'm sure Jeff from life reef is a great guy and builds a great product but I have no interest in working with a one off individual. I've already had my bad experiences with one off individials. I'd rather stick with an established brand and company.

 

[Socaltoaz]

I just emailed Jeff, he is building skimmers this week, so if you are interested, I would email him ASAP, I think he only builds them intermittently, and only does the big ones as he needs them......no backstock.

Mark Parks and SouthWest Seas is doing my sumps as well as the tanks. A guy named Dominic has been building his stuff for 20 years. Dom has a great reputation here in the Valley, though you can't do direct to him.

Titan Aquatics (also local, though one of the largest builders in the country now) builds some pretty slick sumps. If you want something really cool, talk to Brian Harnish (owner) there, they are pretty innovative, I toured their facility. They also own a Skimmer company (drawing a blank on the company) that make some really nice high end skimmers.

I went with SW Seas, because on a project like this, I wanted a hands on expert to help me.....Mark Parks is fantastic

Ive been out of town and wanted to take my time and respond to this post. Ive had the opportunity to meet several "installers" and tank builders. When we started the process a few years ago- I reached out to several different fish guys and gals to try to plan out the plumbing and flow and filtration of my tank. My desire was to have the filtration in a separate room away from the living areas. Had we planned better, I could have had the fish room closer but it ended up being its own space in the garage.

What has been frustrating is in the beginning, trying to get someone to actually give me a specific outline, proposal for what needed to be done to set the tank up properly. How my pipes should I run under the slab? How many for drains? How many for returns? What kind of pump? What kind of filtration? etc etc.

It took consulting with, getting bids from numerous people before I arrived where I am. It seemed that every single person saw a big house we were building and dollar signs lit up their eyes and I started getting some ridiculous bids and proposals.

Finally Ive been able to dial in what I want and have learned a ton from the forums here and more importantly have found a local installer who seems reasonable with cost, trustworthy and hasn't tried to sell me stuff just based on my pocket book.

I want to be clear in that I have no problem spending the money. My budget for the build of the house is healthy - very healthy. But Im also not stupid and will not waste money for the sake of wasting money.

I haven't had a chance to speak to Mark from Southwest Seas, and had I run into him from the beginning, I might be working with him. But regardless, Im happy where I am now and tank is getting delivered in the middle of June and today they put primer on the whole house. Stone on the outside of the house is going in and we are making progress.

Ill post pictures next week when they make some significant progress.

 

[n8rad]

Save yourself all the headache
Skimmer = Bubble King
Pumps = Red Dragon 3 or Abyzz

I own all Royal Exclusive Products on my small 185 and wouldn't have any other company take care of my tank. You really owe it to yourself to go with the best to match a beast of a house and tank.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Thanks - the great Chingchai uses bubble kings.

And Ive followed Peter's thread from Canada and he uses abyzz pumps.

I had settled on a MRC Orca III but Bubblekings keep coming up as top choices. I need to look deeper into them and see the difference.

I do want nothing but the best equipment but as you can see from the previous posts, what is actually "best" is subjective to say the least.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Save yourself all the headache
Skimmer = Bubble King
Pumps = Red Dragon 3 or Abyzz

I own all Royal Exclusive Products on my small 185 and wouldn't have any other company take care of my tank. You really owe it to yourself to go with the best to match a beast of a house and tank.

So I've been spending some time on the Royal Exclusiv website. Pretty amazing stuff. As silly as this sounds- the theme of our home is red and I like the fact that that not only do they make great products but their colors match the rest of the home. This is sure to make the wife happy.

So for a 1000 gallon system- which Bubble King do you recommend? And do most people like to have the skimmer in the sump or outside of it? Im thinking a cleaner look is outside of the sump.

 

[dave.m]

You should follow the manufacturer's recommendations on skimmer size for your system. The thing with external skimmers is that when they overflow they do it all over the floor. When an in-sump skimmer overflows it tends to stay in the sump.

Dave.M

 

[CuzzA]

I agree with Dave. In fact if a piece of equipment can be in or above the sump, that's where I put it. While your homes drain design saves your home from a flood, it may not save livestock, other equipment, etc. Better to just eliminate the potential risk. In fact, there was recently a post in this forum where a brand new external skimmer sprung a leak and created a mess. The company told him to put epoxy on it. :/

That said, I don't believe Royal makes a skimmer anywhere in the range of your tank. At least not according to their own specs from a brief look at their website.

I'll mention it again as another option to seriously look at. If I recall correctly, ATB created the cone skimmer. So every other cone skimmer out there copied them, that should speaks volumes. The bottom line is this, you want a skimmer from a manufacturer who has taken the time to match the air and water input.

I've had many conversations with a local skimmer manufacturer in my area that used to build some of the best skimmers on the market. I don't want to call out any companies, but through our conversations I learned a lot about skimmers and who out there just slaps a cheap Chinese pump on some acrylic and who has actually spent months testing and figuring out what design produces the maximum efficiency. Ultimately, from my conversations with him, I'll eventually be replacing the Reef Octopus 5000 that I currently have for the 300 gallon (tank shipped today, woohoo) and going with an ATB. But they aren't cheap.

And not to start a debate, I'm certainly not implying that there aren't other quality skimmers manufacturers out there. Just do a search on here for the best skimmer and see what comes up and if the company offers a product that will work for your size system. Then narrow it down and call the company and ask questions. This is a big tank and a big investment.

I hope this helps. Looking forward to some more pics.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Leaks and drains are not a concern. Both the tank and the fish room are depressed 3 inches to control floods. So if the skimmer leaks, no big deal as the massive drain in the fish room will catch it all.

As far as size- bubble king makes skimmers up to 20,000 liters- much bigger than my tank. I have never heard of atb, not that means any thing- but I will check em out.

Also- with regards to cheap parts and cheap skimmers- just tell me who to avoid. ��. Private message is fine.

 

[CuzzA]

Yes, the house may be fine from an external leak, but what about the livestock? At least an internal leak would keep the water in the system and also protect other equipment from potential damage. Just something to think about, that's all.

The two largest skimmers I see from Royal is one up to 793 gallons (Too small) and the second is up to 5283 gallons (Way too big).

You may have mentioned it earlier, but do you know what your "total system volume" is going to be? You're going to definitely want to match the correct size skimmer to your system. Skimmers work exponentially better the dirtier the water is. If the skimmer is too small it will never keep up with the waste, if it's too big it won't produce skimmate until the water is dirty enough and at that point you'll be fighting nutrient issues. This is why I don't like recirculating skimmers. We want to be constantly skimming the dirty water coming from the tank, not recycling the same water in the skimmer until it's super clean.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Good point about the leaking. That makes more sense.

Total water volume will be roughly 1000 gallons. Final dimensions of the tank is 96 long, 48 deep, 40 high which equates to roughly 800 gallons. Add in a couple hundred gallons for the sump and the total volume is 1000 gallons.

Here are some photos from today:

Front Door



Here is the side door as you see it down the main hallway



A picture of the great room- shows the family room, where the tank will sit and the big glass sliding doors that can be fully opened for indoor outdoor living:



My wine cellar door. Perfectly matches the side door to the house. They are on opposite ends of the hallway:





All paint is scheduled to be finished next week. Cabinets and trim start June 1. Tank is scheduled to be delivered June 15th or so.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Royal Exclusiv 300 Internal DC RD3 - up to 4000 liters. Perfect for my size:
http://royalexclusiv.net/Skimmers/S...ble-King-Supermarin-300-RD3-Speedy::1459.html

 

[Socaltoaz]

Here is another. Not sure of the difference between the two. Need to spend some time on the net this weekend- up to 4000 liters
http://royalexclusiv.net/Skimmers/S...-int/Bubble-King-DeLuxe-400-internal::53.html

 

[CuzzA]

Good catch, I must have missed the 300. I was looking on their US site and I don't see the 400 on there. Looks like they put two pumps on the 400. Pretty big jump in price from the 300. I've heard nothing but good things about BK and especially the Red Dragon pumps. Same pump ATB uses. I don't have personal experience so hopefully others will chime in.

Houses is looking great. It's amazing how quick we build houses these days.

 

[rickztahone]

Amazing build. Following along.

 

[BillNye]

Speechless. Following.

 

[lilise]

Leaks and drains are not a concern. Both the tank and the fish room are depressed 3 inches to control floods. So if the skimmer leaks, no big deal as the massive drain in the fish room will catch it all.

As far as size- bubble king makes skimmers up to 20,000 liters- much bigger than my tank. I have never heard of atb, not that means any thing- but I will check em out.

Also- with regards to cheap parts and cheap skimmers- just tell me who to avoid. ��. Private message is fine.

Here is a comparaison between 3 of my skimmers. On right side you'll find the ATB, middle BBK 300 external, and an ATI 200 is on left.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Ok- I gotta ask- why 3 skimmers? And which one you like best?

 

[slief]

Just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and having you over! I am looking forward to seeing your build progress! This is going to be one hell of a system!

 

[Socaltoaz]

Scott- thanks for your great hospitality and a chance to check out your amazing reef. One of the best systems Ive ever seen!

 

[Socaltoaz]

I'm designing the sump. I'm planning on filter socks, carbon, gfo, uv. I'll try to get a schematic up later today. I've modified it from my previous post as we have eliminated the closed loop in the system.