A Golden Reef Tank (v2)

[[]V[]addog]

this build is insane..... insanly awesome. Mad koodos to your and yours for doing so much of this work yourself, and your attention to detail is just beyond!
It gives me new energy on my upcoming build.
you two amaze me.

 

[halmus]

this build is insane..... insanly awesome. Mad koodos to your and yours for doing so much of this work yourself, and your attention to detail is just beyond!

It gives me new energy on my upcoming build.

you two amaze me.

Thank you. The wife and I are spending more time just sitting at the tank eating supper or relaxing on the couch surrounded by our urban livestock (stinky dog and fuzzy cat). There's finally something worth watching in the tank.

I'm not sure when we'll finally be able to add coral. We still have some lingering problems with Spirulina in the fuge. We have some hair algea growth now which I guess is a good thing. Chaeto seems to be finally growing along with the red kelp and some red macros. Some of that is being choked out again by the Spirulina. So it's a balancing act. I don't want to see any of that migrate to the main display again but I also don't want to take aggressive action that might damage the progress we're making with getting hair algae and Chaeto growing. Theoretically, if the other algeas get a good foothold, the undesirable junk won't have the nutrients it needs. Somehow that Spirulina likes growing on top of the hair algae. Stubborn stuff.

I am starting ICP testing next Monday on everything to make sure there isn't something unexpected in the tank water.

Once all of that is worked out and stable, I'll feel comfortable turning all of the lights on in the display and adding coral. Right now, I'm only running the 4 Radions at about 40% T5's are turned off.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Wow this has got to be one of the best setuos I have seen. So well planned and set up. Following along for sure.

 

[chrisv]

Beautiful build! Very impressive.

 

[tkeracer619]

Looking forward to poking and prodding all of this over the weekend

I'll have Kalgra and BigBlueTang in tow.

 

[halmus]

Beautiful build! Very impressive.

Thank you. It's just a game of patience now before the inside of the tank really comes alive.

Wow this has got to be one of the best setuos I have seen. So well planned and set up. Following along for sure.

Thanks. It's slow progress. I'm working on a few upgrades in the back room now and I'm focusing on creating a good home for the fish before I make the next step.

With QT and refugium having fish in the back room, I don't want to stress the fish by turning on and off the lights at 04:30 in the morning when I get up. I've got 3 x 4 T5-HO fixtures for room lighting with 6K bulbs. It's pretty bright. So, I'm adding moon lighting to that room as a sort of night light. It will be enough to come and go without disturbing the fish.

I also need to assemble the Calcium Reactor so that it's ready to go to work once coral is added.

 

[halmus]

Looking forward to poking and prodding all of this over the weekend

I'll have Kalgra and BigBlueTang in tow.

Looking forward to meeting you all. My wife will be around so your fiancé won't be too bored with the aquarium nerds.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Looking forward to meeting you all. My wife will be around so your fiancé won't be too bored with the aquarium nerds.

Looking forward to seeing you too!

 

[tkeracer619]

For those wondering this is everything and more that you see here. The craftsmanship and attention to detail is second to none. Thanks again for having us over, it's a real treat to see this setup in person! It's certainly something to be proud of.

 

[halmus]

Here's a video I put together walking around the system.


https://youtu.be/9g7GCa_4SQg

 

[tripdad]

That fish room is a blast. Kind of like a submarine for fish nerds, awesome work.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

I may have missed it in the previous few pages of FishPorn, but did you DIY your sump and the white-trimmed frag/QT tanks? They look gorgeous with the white material -- acrylic? PVC?

 

[halmus]

I may have missed it in the previous few pages of FishPorn, but did you DIY your sump and the white-trimmed frag/QT tanks? They look gorgeous with the white material -- acrylic? PVC?

Thanks Blue. The sumps and many tanks are DIY. They all started off with 1/2" or sometimes 3/4" clear acrylic. Then, I reinforced the inside seams, added an additional layer to the bottoms for reinforcement, and skinned everything with 1/4" white acrylic. I overlapped seams every time so things have to break in multiple directions at once for anything catastrophic to happen (a sump bursting a seam). They're built like tanks and heavy as can be. But, I sleep well at night knowing that they won't fail.

The added benefit is that they look good. The white is attractive, gives it an industrial look, and covers up the ugly fact that I reinforced the seams inside.

I stand on top of the main sump every time I service the skimmer. That's how confident I am in the structural integrity of the sump.

That fish room is a blast. Kind of like a submarine for fish nerds, awesome work.

Thanks. It's still a work in progress. But the room makes working on the system really easy which means I'm more likely to keep up with the mundane tasks.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

A lot to unpack here so bear with me...

I started off the weekend prepping for the Radions to arrive. I only have one right now to build and design from. The rest are on order. I built a wood jig to create some acrylic mounts off of. I trimmed all of the mounts to fit that jig.

I made 8 mounts. 4 over the display and 2 each over 2 frag tanks. I'm only mounting lights over a single frag tank for now. It will be a while before I need either of the frag tanks. Obviously. But, it's easier to build the mounts now while I already have everything set up.

I mounted the brackets to 8020 rails and then mounted those rails to the hood.

The final picture is the back end. I'm using cable carrier drag chain 2" x 1" like you might on a CNC. All of the power and control cabling will run through that to protect them while the hood moves in and out.

This is when you needed my laser cutter... hehe, I'm glad I have time to sit and read some of the threads from the guys that have been commenting in my tank build. I wish I stumbled across it earlier in my design phase, I enjoyed a lot of what you have done. When we moved to Cheyenne, one thing I wanted was an un-finished basement like yours, from one wood worker to another, my hat's off!!

The automated hood is an awesome geek factor, I planned on making my light rack move out of the way for ease of maintenance, and even toyed with the idea to automate it, but didn't think along the lines of what you did. Did you go with an ardiono or is that another platform?

I toyed with the idea to make different lengths of 110v plugs, after seeing how yours have turned out, I think i'm all in. Outstanding!!

I added flip up doors on both sides and the front for quick access that doesn't require a lot of access into the tank.

What is the piano hinge made of? are you concerned with rusting? and is there any obstruction if you were to move the hood while the flip door is up? or do you have a micro switch in there to prevent the hood from sliding if the doors are open?

You have held nothing back when it comes to expense. I see that grainger was your main source of material. I might have to peruse their catalog for ideas... Thanks again for all the inspiration, I will be incorporating a lot of what I've seen here in my build.

 

[halmus]

A lot to unpack here so bear with me...

This is when you needed my laser cutter... hehe, I'm glad I have time to sit and read some of the threads from the guys that have been commenting in my tank build. I wish I stumbled across it earlier in my design phase, I enjoyed a lot of what you have done. When we moved to Cheyenne, one thing I wanted was an un-finished basement like yours, from one wood worker to another, my hat's off!!

The automated hood is an awesome geek factor, I planned on making my light rack move out of the way for ease of maintenance, and even toyed with the idea to automate it, but didn't think along the lines of what you did. Did you go with an ardiono or is that another platform?

I toyed with the idea to make different lengths of 110v plugs, after seeing how yours have turned out, I think i'm all in. Outstanding!!

What is the piano hinge made of? are you concerned with rusting? and is there any obstruction if you were to move the hood while the flip door is up? or do you have a micro switch in there to prevent the hood from sliding if the doors are open?

You have held nothing back when it comes to expense. I see that grainger was your main source of material. I might have to peruse their catalog for ideas... Thanks again for all the inspiration, I will be incorporating a lot of what I've seen here in my build.

First, thank you for all of the compliments.

I actually live down the road from Epilog lasers. I would love to have one and possibly will one day. Until then, it's labor intensive wood jigs and acrylic shavings.

I did go with Arduino. With all of the work I'm trying to get done here, it was the quickest and easiest solution. I'm looking at a few microprocessors for future automation solutions. As far as automation, it was some extra work obviously, but I had already settled on the rest of the sliding mechanism to get the hood out of the way so that I can go snorkeling as needed.

As far as the flip up doors, since the entire hood slides out over the end of the aquarium, there isn't any obstruction to worry about. It all slides out away from the wall. I did have to add limit sensors to the hood automation, but that doesn't affect the flip up doors. I went with piano hinges from HD. No fancy materials. I didn't even try to source aluminum or stainless. They're somewhat protected up inside the 8020 stock and acrylic panels. I also covered them with polyurethane as I finished the hood, so that's a little more protection. I'm sure over time they'll degrade but it's a relatively easy replacement.

Trimming all of the 110 cords to length did make for a really clean installation. I'm glad you like it. Feel free to steel as many ideas as you'd like. I've already been steeling ideas from threads over the years and adding my own flare. Yes, Grainger has been my friend. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

First, thank you for all of the compliments.

I actually live down the road from Epilog lasers. I would love to have one and possibly will one day. Until then, it's labor intensive wood jigs and acrylic shavings.

I did go with Arduino. With all of the work I'm trying to get done here, it was the quickest and easiest solution. I'm looking at a few microprocessors for future automation solutions. As far as automation, it was some extra work obviously, but I had already settled on the rest of the sliding mechanism to get the hood out of the way so that I can go snorkeling as needed.

As far as the flip up doors, since the entire hood slides out over the end of the aquarium, there isn't any obstruction to worry about. It all slides out away from the wall. I did have to add limit sensors to the hood automation, but that doesn't affect the flip up doors. I went with piano hinges from HD. No fancy materials. I didn't even try to source aluminum or stainless. They're somewhat protected up inside the 8020 stock and acrylic panels. I also covered them with polyurethane as I finished the hood, so that's a little more protection. I'm sure over time they'll degrade but it's a relatively easy replacement.

Trimming all of the 110 cords to length did make for a really clean installation. I'm glad you like it. Feel free to steel as many ideas as you'd like. I've already been steeling ideas from threads over the years and adding my own flare. Yes, Grainger has been my friend. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

I used an ardiuno to make various projects, I know enough to be dangerous. I read that the raspberry pi is more user friendly, I have one that I bought for the kids and they never got into it, so I'll take it. I was thinking to use it for an automatic waterchanging system. but that's a ways away, I want to try and make my own peristaltic pumps with the laser just to see if I can. Your automated hood really has inspired me. Thanks!!

 

[moga]

Really?

Man, you should run National aquarium department.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Really?

Man, you should run National aquarium department.

Agreed!!! His knowledge and attention to detail is second to none!!!

 

[halmus]

Thanks. Is the Denver aquarium hiring? I'll scrub their skimmers for a living. Heck, I'll wear a mermaid outfit. I doubt that would help increase aquarium attendance though.

I will try to get some updates posted in July.

It's slow progress getting the chemistry tweaked where it should be. I'm testing daily and adjusting the calc reactor parameters trying to get that system so that it maintains with little to no additional buffering on my part.

I changed salts because I suspect my former source was deficient in Ca and Alk and too high in Mg. I could always add buffers to my mixing tank before water changes but is the time and effort worth the savings? I want to mix a new batch of saltwater knowing it's ready to go in the tank after a day of mixing and coming up to temp.

I'm going to go back to Brightwell. That worked wonders on my last system. I'll give that six months and see how the coral reacts. It's hard to tell with all the variables. The tank turns 1 in Sep so it's still young and growing.

Thanks for following.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I'm going back over your thread, what's the purpose of that acrylic tube and what looks like a floating sphere???