The Display Tank and Canopy
The Display Tank and Canopy
This tank will be a peninsular tank measures 200cm long, 80cm wide and 70cm high, making it hold approximately 295 gallons. It is viewable from three sides, and has Sapphire® 15mm glass on all viewable sides with a 19mm regular glass on the based. Wanted to go rimless using a 19mm Sapphire® but can’t seem to get that here in China… ☹ even thou they advertise it’s available… :crazy1:
System Profile:
Tank Size: L: 200cm x W: 80cm x H 70cm (3-side view Low Iron Glass)
Sump Size: L: 102cm x W: 70cm x H 60cm (Custom)
Type of Reef: SPS Dominated tank with some fishes and LPS
System: Side Overflow with 200 pounds of base Reef rocks
Cabinet: Iron Metal Stand with Custom made 3-side View wooden Panel
The tank overflow is located on one end with sufficient space to hide, 2 x Tunze and 1 wavebox and a 1⁄4" piece of black acrylic laminated to the inside of the tank, which also incorporates the overflow's teeth and euro bracing that surrounds the tank’s perimeter. 8 x 1†holes are drilled in the euro-brace to be used for add flow, should it be required in the future.
I designed and will get a local contractor to construct the stand and canopy, as I’m not much a DYI type of guy. The stand is built from iron rods welded together so it is perfectly level in my apartment. On top of the stand are a layer of 15mm plywood and a layer of 3mm thick high-density rubber insulation.
Of particular concern to me during the canopy’s design was maintaining access to all areas of my tank and not having any obstructions or unsightly hardware (I do not have a center brace, only euro-bracing). While this was not easy to accommodate, I wanted to be able to move my corals all the way around the tank without removing my hand! I planned to accomplish this by the use of a stainless steel kitchen type door hinge and magnets to hold the panels open, thereby allowing unobstructed access to the tank. All wood surfaces were sealed with three coats of oil-based polyurethane.
Sump and Refugium:
I copy the tank design from someone in RC (can’t remember who) and made some modification to suite my needs accordingly. No refugium will be used in my new system as I will be running the ZEOvit style system
The sump is 102cm long, 70cm wide and 70cm high and has 4 baffles and incorporates a frag/ quarantine tank. The sump houses a 30cm x 70cm frag/ quarantine tank where new fishes or SPS frags can be first introduce before being place in the main tank. I planned to light the frag tank with a 60cm T5HO or an MH150w but have not decided yet which direction to go.
Water Quality and Filtration:
I am not one to check water parameters all that often due to my busy work schedule. The goal for me is to have an automated system with little daily maintenance as possible. I will be using my current 5-stage RO water filter. Biological filtration is provided by approximately 180lbs. of based dried reef rocks, which I plan to seed using some live rocks and ZEObak to seed. I also plan to add in approximately 2-3cm of aragonite in the display - just enough to facilitate aquascaping rather than provide any significant biological filtration.
Water Parameters:
It was a no-brainer for me to use the ZEOvit system to maintain my water parameter after seeing all those beautiful Zeovit tanks in RC and Zeovit forums. Will be using the ZEOVit system for this tank with ZEO Carbon and a Deltec PF 601S Series Fluidised Calcium Reactor powered by Aquabee pump to maintain my Calcium in my tank. Will also be using D-D Solenoid Valve and D-D CO2 Pin Wheel Regulator to avoid a CO2 disaster and AB Brand SP3000 Peristaltic Pump as water feed to the Calcium reactor.
Similarly, no UV or other phosphate removal medium is used. I have tried carbon and phosphate removal media in my existing system, but have decided not to go this direction for my new tank after seeing no visible indicators of improvement, apart from the used of ZEOCarbon as it’s recommended for the ZEOvit system.
For mechanical filtration I will utilize 100-micron nylon filter bags on both 1.5†overflow drainpipes, the 1†coral fragment tank’s overflow drainpipe and the 1†skimmer output pipe. I plan to change the 100-micron filter bags daily. The bags will be hand-washed/rinsed in warm water; no detergent or bleach is used during washing.
For skimmer, the choices are between an external BK250, ATI BM250 and Deltec AP 902 or 702 but after some reading in different forums, I decided to go with a Deltec - AP 702 skimmer instead. This is powered by 2 x Eheim 1260 series pumps and is rated for 1500L to 2000L system, so should be more than enough to removed all those organic waste from the amount of fishes I planned to keep in my new tank. I originally wanted to go with the Deltec AP902 series but the height of this skimmer is just too tall for my tank as everything has to fit under my stand. ☹
For my ZEOvit reactor, I decided to go with I~Aquatic's ZEOvit Reactor: IZ-818 (Up To 4L of ZEOVit) as from what I read; this is the best reactor out there that is jam-free. This reactor will be feed via a Eheim 1250 series pump rated at 1200l/h. There is also a section in my sump to place my ZEOCarbon and this should help keep water parameter in line.
I will also be using my existing GROTech III NG dosing pump (3 pumps) to help maintain my Mg and dKH parameters and maybe dosing of some of my ZEOvit daily supplements.
Lighting:
With the amount of choices today, this was the most difficult thing for me to decide. In my current tank, I’m using a Solarmax XBright Series 250w MH with T5HO with XM10K bulbs but was never really happy with the colors and light spread. It’s also very difficult for me to get replacement bulbs and T5 tubes here in China.
With the soaring electricity bills and limited access to imported MH bulbs and T5HO, I finally decided to go with the latest 72†I Series Solaris 20K LED Illumination System as there seem to be a lot of positive feedback on the I-series. Hopefully I won’t have to worry about changing light bulbs in the next 10 years and looking forward to a reduce in electricity bills.
My only concern is the spread of lights as my tank is 80cm wide but I was assure that it will not be a problem if I hang it 10cm above my tank….planned to build a movable lighting tracks to hang my Solaris so that I can have to option to move it left/ right or front/ back. This way, if I need some light focus on a certain area, I have the option to move my lightings as LED lightings are very précised and my concern is light spread.
I have not decided what lights to used for my frag tank…but it will be a year or two before I needed them anyway.
Circulation:
Circulation will be provided by an Sequence Reeflo Pump - Hammerhead (18,000L/h) whose output will be delivered back into the tank via two 1†penductor on the far end of the tank.
I estimate about 10,000 L/h is delivered back to the tank from the return pump. I might add on 2 Wavesea + in the future to my returns if this is not enough to give a random flow.
I was contemplating on using a close loop but in the end decided not to go this direction, as I want to reduce the risk of flooding from those add holes drilled. As in China, I have difficulty in getting good bulk heads (SCH80 series) I opt for 2 x Tunze Turbelle Stream 6201 and 1 x Tunze Wavebox 6212 hidden in my overflow instead. I spoke to Roger of Tunze and he says this should be more than enough flow and should create a 1.5†wave… ☺
I estimated my total flow should be about 50x turnover for the tank.
Controller:
With my goal of automation as much things as possible, I was doing a lot of reading on aquarium controllers….after much thoughts and comparison, I decided to go for want I think it’s the best out there at this moment - ProfiLux Plus II Professional Ex Plus, which included the below:
➢ 2 x 6 socket digital power bar
➢ 1 x ph/temp expansion card
➢ 1 x ph port
➢ 1 x ph electrode (for tank)
➢ 1 x ph electrode (for CR)
➢ 1 x temp port
➢ 1 x temp sensor
➢ 1 x ORP port
➢ 1 x ORP electrode
➢ 1 x Conductivity port
➢ 1 x Conductivity electrode (platinum)
➢ 3 x level control port
➢ 1 x level controls fastening kit
➢ 1 x mechanical float switch
➢ 1 x optical float sensor
➢ 1 x level sensor y-splitter
➢ 2 x tunze control cable
➢ 1 x tunze control y-splitter
➢ 1 x RS232 cable
➢ 1 x USB expansion card with USB cable
➢ 1 x calibration liquid set
I think I’m the 1st person in China using this controller so let’s see. Will feedback more once I start setting up the controller.
Chiller:
My current tank is using a local brand chiller - Hailea HL-1200CHB rated for up to 1500L tank, which comes with a build-in titanium chiller coil and a build-in heater. Been using for a year now in my current tank and I find it very reliable (been through outside temperature from 6 degree to 42 degree) and I don’t have to worry about adding additional heater in my sump area.
For my new system, I will also be utilizing the same chiller but a larger unit - Hailea HL-2000CHB, which is rated for tanks up to 3000L
Coral Pegging System:
I was most impress with RC’s Dave Jelley’s TOTM (May 2007) as he create an easy way to relocated SPS corals as well as fragging. For those of you in this hobby, we all know how difficult it is to try to glue or move those SPS corals under water and I think his method is very innovative.
This system incorporates drilling small holes into both the display tank's live rock and the base of the subject coral. Rigid tubing is then inserted into the hole in the subject coral and is then placed into the desired hole in the live rock. However, instead of using rigid tubing’s, I have will be using SPS frag plugs instead.
Aquascaping:
The idea is to create a natural as possible Aquascaping with overhangs and plenty of swimming space for my fishes. I have seen so many nice aquascaping here in RC and it’s difficult to decided what I like as I like them all….should I go minimalist, Bonsai type aquascaping or pillars with overhangs??
I finally decided to go with pillars with overhangs as I think this will met my objective of a natural reef for my SPS to grows and also allowed plenty of flow and space for my fishes…
With that, I will be using PVC tubes to create pillars. I will be using 90 percent dried based reef rocks to drill holes into them and aquascape them to my liking. Good thing is here in Fuzhou, I’m able to go to the LFS and choose the type of based rocks I like and need. One of the advantages of being a regular customer, I guess....
The adventure begins…….. :dance: :rolleye1:
Ed
