A ~19,000 Gallon Aquarium

[nahham]

Marine Environment Research Center Trip

Marine Environment Research Center Trip

Hello everyone,

I had a great time today at the marine environment research center. They actually had to tell me to leave so that they could close the place down. I'm always amazed how helpful everyone there is. I've taken a practical course in breeding snappers some time ago, and it is nearly that time of year again. It turns out that they are doing a lot of research with corals as well. Speaking of which, I have a couple of surprises coming up in the next couple of months that I'm really excited about.

As for water quality, they are willing to test the water and also get me in contact with more specialized labs that they deal with for more extensive water testing if required. The minor mistake in the water well should be rectified in two days and I'll take a sample to be tested and see how everything goes.

A couple of photos from my trip:

This is where they keep the small fish that I eventually got some of. They use fresh sea water that comes though mangrove forests and the waste water also goes through mangroves as well to help control the bio-load.

Here is where they keep the "fish mothers" (is that correct naming?) and collect the eggs in the mating season and the process starts. They end up releasing more than 250,000 fish in the wild after which they distribute fish to people who requested it (like me)

This is the type of fish I had in my fish farm. The fish mothers are around 1.8 kgs.

Those are snappers they reproduce here. Locally we call it Hamour, and the biggest they have is around 18 kgs. Scary looking fish especially when they pop up their head out of the water to look at you. :eek1:

Here is the pump they use for the commercial section of the center. This provides for 6 large tanks for breading sea bream.

Can anyone decipher this?

Here is a video of the sea bream, it is not as crowded at it seems in the video, they just think it is feeding time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYV_wf9SwUQ

There is more photos, but you'll have to wait for my reef addict's article for those.

All in all, very nice and enjoyable trip. I'm getting mangroves as well, 150 or so of them .

 

[nahham]

Where are the rest of the pix? I'm excited.

Thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you like my tank. Opening hours are from 10:00am - 10:00pm and we don't allow children under the age of 5, they tend to jump into the tank

*gets jealous from your build and runs to daddy* can i have your credit card

No need to be jealous, I've always treated this as a community build and tried to incorporate any suggestions I get here and elsewhere. Some I got early on, some I cried about because it came late and I couldn't fully incorporate (pointing towards mr.wilson) .

 

[KarlBob]

Wow. When dolphins or whales hold their heads above the surface to look around, it's called spyhopping. According to Wikipedia, some sharks also spyhop, but I've never heard of spyhopping snappers!

I can make out a few things on the label, but not many. Some European countries reverse the American use of commas and periods in writing numbers, so I would read "4,82 kW" as 4.82 kW, or 4,820 Watts. I'm assuming V means Volts and A means Amps, but I don't know what to make of the two symbols being used on the Volts lines. SN is almost certainly Serial Number, Hz is Hertz, and rpm is "revolutions per minute". Maybe my fumbling will convince an electrical engineer to join the thread and give you a much better explanation.

 

[nahham]

Wow. When dolphins or whales hold their heads above the surface to look around, it's called spyhopping. According to Wikipedia, some sharks also spyhop, but I've never heard of spyhopping snappers!

I can make out a few things on the label, but not many. Some European countries reverse the American use of commas and periods in writing numbers, so I would read "4,82 kW" as 4.82 kW, or 4,820 Watts. I'm assuming V means Volts and A means Amps, but I don't know what to make of the two symbols being used on the Volts lines. SN is almost certainly Serial Number, Hz is Hertz, and rpm is "revolutions per minute". Maybe my fumbling will convince an electrical engineer to join the thread and give you a much better explanation.

Thanks for that KarlBob aka 'honorary owner' ,

All the info doesn't really tell me what I'm after: How much GPH per hour . I don't bother with how much electricity it uses, I should but I don't . My big pumps which are comparable have it easily printed on the plate, in liters per minute: 2650 l/m. Doing the math that's around 42,000 GPH (I love my big pumps).

Shouldn't stuff printed on plates be standardized, like food labels or something. I like standards, it makes the world a simpler place, kinda

BTW the snapper looked scary with the head out of the water. It felt like it was saying "what?? what?? you're looking at me??"

 

[NeverlosT]

Nahham,
Terrific job so far. It will surely be something beautiful for you and your neighbors to enjoy for many years to come! How nice to have a NSW source right beside the tank... I wish I could just pump ocean water in!
Have you considered temperature control any further? Fish may be able to handle higher temps but it could harm any coral you may keep.

I wish you the best of luck and thank you for sharing your passion with us!

 

[KarlBob]

Thanks for that KarlBob aka 'honorary owner' ,

All the info doesn't really tell me what I'm after: How much GPH per hour . I don't bother with how much electricity it uses, I should but I don't . My big pumps which are comparable have it easily printed on the plate, in liters per minute: 2650 l/m. Doing the math that's around 42,000 GPH (I love my big pumps).

Nope, I don't see anything on that label saying volume/time. Not gallons/hour, liters/minute, or anthing else.

Shouldn't stuff printed on plates be standardized, like food labels or something. I like standards, it makes the world a simpler place, kinda

I agree. Standards definitely help. I've seen charts on the boxes or instruction manuals for some pumps, plotting the gallons/hour vs. feet of head. Maybe there was a chart like that associated with the pump at one time, but not printed on it.

BTW the snapper looked scary with the head out of the water. It felt like it was saying "what?? what?? you're looking at me??"

I believe you. It would spook me, too. What if that snapper was a lookout, and all of the others were busy with some evil project until the lookout spotted you coming toward them?

Edit: I looked up Motori Bonora online. It looks like they might have only built the motor, which someone else later added to a pump. Here is their Web page.

 

[nahham]

Nahham,
Terrific job so far. It will surely be something beautiful for you and your neighbors to enjoy for many years to come! How nice to have a NSW source right beside the tank... I wish I could just pump ocean water in!
Have you considered temperature control any further? Fish may be able to handle higher temps but it could harm any coral you may keep.

I wish you the best of luck and thank you for sharing your passion with us!

Thank you for your kind words and compliments. It is a great pleasure going through this; I learned so much and still am learning.

The temperature issue is something we were just talking about with the coral expert in the marine environment research center. He has a PhD something to do with corals (how great is that) and he offered to come by and look at everything. I'm hoping I can start running water in the upcoming week or the week after that and then catch some fish and throw them in there (another benefit of being by the sea) until I can sort the rest out. I'm dying to have water in the tank.

Please do hang around, the later updates should be more exciting that the previous ones. Drinks (non-alcoholic) are at the far corner to your right, and the buffet is free

 

[nahham]

What if that snapper was a lookout, and all of the others were busy with some evil project until the lookout spotted you coming toward them?

LOL .. I definitely agree with the last part, especially that it is mating season

 

[driftin]

Thanks for that KarlBob aka 'honorary owner' ,

All the info doesn't really tell me what I'm after: How much GPH per hour . I don't bother with how much electricity it uses, I should but I don't . My big pumps which are comparable have it easily printed on the plate, in liters per minute: 2650 l/m. Doing the math that's around 42,000 GPH (I love my big pumps).

Shouldn't stuff printed on plates be standardized, like food labels or something. I like standards, it makes the world a simpler place, kinda

The motor nameplate is more less standard. I was actually surpised how much I could make out on it, considering it's an Italian motor in the Middle East. But the info you're looking for would be stamped on the pump housing, if it's there at all. The research center probably has a submittal with all the flow information, if you're looking for it.

 

[gacon711]

wow, awesome project

 

[nahham]

The motor nameplate is more less standard. I was actually surpised how much I could make out on it, considering it's an Italian motor in the Middle East. But the info you're looking for would be stamped on the pump housing, if it's there at all. The research center probably has a submittal with all the flow information, if you're looking for it.

I think it has to do with it being 2-phase. My pumps are 1-phase and the information is a bit different on the plate:

 

[nahham]

wow, awesome project

Thank you and thanks for stopping by..

 

[nahham]

Snapper vs Grouper

Snapper vs Grouper

Someone pointed out that the fish with its head popping out of the water is actually a grouper and not a snapper. Sorry about that; it seems I got my fish mixed up . Whenever you read snapper here I probably mean grouper..

 

[gear*guru]

Incredible. Have been watching since the beginning - will continue to follow. Can't wait for more pictures:spin1:

 

[imarkspeed]

Someone pointed out that the fish with its head popping out of the water is actually a grouper and not a snapper. Sorry about that; it seems I got my fish mixed up . Whenever you read snapper here I probably mean grouper..

hahahaha i was thinking of saying that . that grouper looks cool .

 

[nahham]

Incredible. Have been watching since the beginning - will continue to follow. Can't wait for more pictures:spin1:

I'm glad you are enjoying your time at the fun thread

Wait until I actually have something in there, right now it is like a big studio apartment with no roof.

 

[C63AMG]

I think it has to do with it being 2-phase. My pumps are 1-phase and the information is a bit different on the plate:

The research center electric motor label is just that, the label for an electric motor (converted from kW, it's a 7-1/2 Hp motor). To know the flow rate, you will need the pump curve for the appropriate rpm.

Your pump label is a pump-motor assembly label from the pump manufacturer. That's why there is flow information there. Even so, that flow rate is probably at a pump-head that's lower than your application and you probably get less than the rated flow.

It's an engineering thing...

Tim

 

[C63AMG]

I just found your pump on the internet and you can find the pump curve here:
http://www.saerelettropompe.com/pict/product_pdf/Saer_BP-CMK.pdf

Some additional information:
The 2850 1/min is revolutions per minute, not liters per minute
For your model BP-7/B, use the "B" impeller curve
peak efficiency occurs at 45 feet head and about 200 gpm (or 12,000 gph)
Your head pressure should be less; at 25 ft-hd, about 280 gpm (16,800 gph)

You better check the materials of the pump body and impeller. By what I see, all water-contacting portions of your pump are cast iron. I don't know how that will last with sea water nor do I know about the impact to your livestock.

Tim

 

[nahham]

It's an engineering thing...

That's all what I've read . In all seriousness though, thanks for the info

I just found your pump on the internet and you can find the pump curve here:
http://www.saerelettropompe.com/pict/product_pdf/Saer_BP-CMK.pdf

Some additional information:
The 2850 1/min is revolutions per minute, not liters per minute
For your model BP-7/B, use the "B" impeller curve
peak efficiency occurs at 45 feet head and about 200 gpm (or 12,000 gph)
Your head pressure should be less; at 25 ft-hd, about 280 gpm (16,800 gph)

That is too little. Will have to look for bigger pumps..

You better check the materials of the pump body and impeller. By what I see, all water-contacting portions of your pump are cast iron. I don't know how that will last with sea water nor do I know about the impact to your livestock.

Tim

I did not know that.. Thank you very much for correcting me. So the Q = m3/h 63 is actually the volume. Can you stick around a bit more? In the coming couple of days I'll post a couple of pumps I am thinking of using, want to know what you think.

Appreciated..

 

[C63AMG]

Can you stick around a bit more? In the coming couple of days I'll post a couple of pumps I am thinking of using, want to know what you think.

Appreciated..

I've been checking back for more pictures! and thought a mechanical engineer could help you with the pump thing.
I'll be looking for your additional pump selections.