7,000 litres Natural reef tank - Thailand

[sirichok]

21 inch solatube now extends to the cut hole in the skylight roof.

 

[sirichok]

Sunlight dome is now in place.

 

[jthao]

tagging along.... can't wait to see finished tank.

 

[sirichok]

Now the 21 inch tube cut through the hole in the skylight roof with 90 degree joint

 

[kolakao155]

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[Trainwreck618]

I am very curious about these solar tubes, can't wait to see this running.

 

[sirichok]

I am very curious about these solar tubes, can't wait to see this running.

I am anxious to see it running too . Normally in colder countries with lesser sunlight intensity , you will need about 3 -4 tubes for this tank 's dimension but looking at the light intensity in Thailand , my calculation seems to point to the direction that only one is needed . Lets see when it is running.

 

[sirichok]

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Thanks for subscribing.

 

[sirichok]

Any concepts or specifics that you can share around this artistic process would be thankfully received:beer:

I will try to create a diagram to explain but I am no good at graphics so it might take a little while.

 

[sirichok]

Full tanks shot of the nearly finished rock work. Metal halides and railings will be removed to make way for solatube.

 

[sirichok]

A loaded truck of !5,000 l of natural sea water is delivered for storage.

 

[ace_92101]

I really like the deep dimension of the tank. Nothing's better than natural seawater. Is the water filtered or straight from the ocean?

 

[sirichok]

I really like the deep dimension of the tank. Nothing's better than natural seawater. Is the water filtered or straight from the ocean?

Straight from the ocean but we chose the best part of gulf of Thailand which is renown for good quality sea water.

 

[sirichok]

First thin layer of substrate is small shells.

 

[dave.m]

Would you please explain the logic behind each of these steps? Why the shells as a first layer? Thx!

Dave.M

 

[sirichok]

Would you please explain the logic behind each of these steps? Why the shells as a first layer? Thx!

Dave.M

Dave , I am quite unorthodox and some of my techniques won't appear in any textbooks. Me and my friend even developed a special strain of microbes which is used to digest nutrients from water. The special microbe strain is extracted from mangroves roots and is seeded on rice bran. I will post you the picture tomorrow.
Back to sea shells , there is a special island where you can find plenty of these shells. Because these small shells are hollow and are suitable for seeding microbes and therefore create better gas exchange.

 

[dave.m]

When you mention gas exchange, I wonder if your method is intended to be the equivalent of creating a plenum under the substrate as used in the aquarium in Nice, France?

Dave.M

 

[sirichok]

When you mention gas exchange, I wonder if your method is intended to be the equivalent of creating a plenum under the substrate as used in the aquarium in Nice, France?

Dave.M

Completely different to Jaubert's plenum . In the natural reef tank we do have a part of our sump designated for this method . Jaubert's plenum used the theory of deoxygenated water in that 1 and1/2 inch plenum under 4 inch of substrate so that anaerobic microbes could get rid of nitrates . Sea shells re completely different to Jaubert's plenum , we are looking at a different strain of microbes .

 

[Reloadeddevil]

Great build

 

[dave.m]

I get the feeling this is all very TOP SECRET and that you're not really going to explain what you're up to.

Dave.M