1800 Gallon Reef .... Houston, Tx

[AQUA DAVE]

amazing build

the rock work around the return pipe scares me though in general ... with the added weight of rocks, all being carries to the bottom glass ...

quite amazing though, will be following along.

The rocks used on the arch and attached to the pipe are all less than a few pounds.... They are very porous, making them easy to string to the pipe. All of the larger rocks are directly placed on the bottom.

 

[AQUA DAVE]

Thanks for the compliments guys! Sorry for the outburst of posts but I have been super busy working on the aquarium.

I have plumbed in a feeding tube for the aquarium..

The owner wanted to have ease of feeding frozen food so I added this to the return line.

A lot of people have asked about feeding tubes so here is one example.

The vertical pipe in the middle is clear PVC with a Banjo fitting for adding the frozen food while the valves are closed on both ends of the feeding tube. The video below shows how easy it is to use the tube when feeding.

 

[AQUA DAVE]

There is a quarter inch thick rubber gasket inside the cap with the stainless fasteners. This keeps any air from entering the tube or water from leaking out. The steel fasteners are completely separate from any fitting that come in contact with the water and will not rust.

 

[AQUA DAVE]

Here is a better video Link

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/j-CbZv1AKlY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[SoLiD]

Very Well Done, David.

 

[Ojos22]

Can't wait to see how this one turns out. Can you show some more pics of how you have this plumbed? Any thoughts on what you are going to keep in the tank?

 

[AQUA DAVE]

Can't wait to see how this one turns out. Can you show some more pics of how you have this plumbed? Any thoughts on what you are going to keep in the tank?

are you asking about the feeding tube or general plumbing?

 

[Ojos22]

I saw the video of the feeding tube but not sure how it works. How do you create pressure to add the food? Are you putting frozen foods in there? Where does the food go?

 

[ravi197699]

beautiful tank

 

[AQUA DAVE]

Ok sorry for the confusion..... So in the picture below there is a valve on the main return line(first pipe on the left) and one valve on each side of the T fitting with the feeding tube.

If you want to feed the tank with frozen food or pellets, you can close the valves on each side of the T fitting and open the banjo fitting to drop in your food. Once the desired amount of food has been added you simply re-seal the banjo fitting and let the food thaw for a couple of minutes in the pipe.

When the food is ready to be fed, you close the main return line valve and open both of the feeding tube valves to flush the line with the food into the aquarium through the feeding pipe.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

wow, that's impressive :eek1::eek1:

 

[Briney Dave]

This build has tremendous potiential: thanks very much for taking time to share the build with us and insights such as the use of that feed tube.

subscribed!!
David

 

[Ojos22]

Wow, I would like to see this in action! I normally move my return lines and turn off my MP40's to feed. Can't wait to see more.

 

[currymuetze]

Without words - WOW.

One question though: If you let the frozen food melt in the saltwater, arent you afraid of hidden phosphats that quite often come with frozen food? Ive been told to wash the frozen food very carefully before adding to my tank.

However, the idea is quite interesting

 

[clevebill]

i found a old reef magazine from 2010 and that had article from vivid.there show tank was 800 gallons and had 4 1000watt and 5 400watt ushio 20ks.

 

[007Bond]

Not sure but I don't think your going to get a big spike in your P04 when you have a 1800 gal. tank.---Rick

 

[sean112280]

Great build!

 

[Ojos22]

You can always rinse your food with tap water and refreeze it with RO water.

 

[inigomontoya]

Don't know how I missed this awesome build! You need to talk with the owner about joining in on a local tank tour. Beautiful work and would love to get a sense of scale with this.

 

[rotts4u]

Here are some shots of when we completed the initial plumbing for the drain, return, and electrical cables.

This is the main tanks location before slab

here it is after the slab

Filter room before and after slab

Look for the Gray Schedule 80 plumbing and it will help you locate the 9 - 10 filter room.

There are two 2" Drains running to the main aquarium and one 1.5" return as well as one electrical pipe and one information cable pipe for USB to connect Apex to expandable modules

Is the soil there that bad? I have worked in the reinforced concrete area for years and its very rare to see that much rebar in a slab like that. WOW