A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

[danfeig]

Wow, so impressed with your build. If you ever give tours I'd make the trip up just to check it out

Thank you Chimone. I have been having a lot of fun with it.

I probably will let Michael at Simply Elegant Aquatics organize an open house for local reefers sometime in the fall. I don't expect to have the tank fully stocked for sometime now and I am sure that I will be making lots of changes and adjustments over the next few months.

I'll be sure to let you know when we organize one!

 

[danfeig]

Dan,

I can see how with your initial rock design that mounting things might be difficult with so much more vertical rock than horizontal. Perhaps you could get some shelf rock and mount that into the sides of the pillars to get more flat surfaces to mount corals and livestock too.

Dave

BigOldReef..... I was just about to write that as well. I love the towers but its hard to find proper locations for coral sometimes. i ran into that issue with my tank when I first did my initial rock design. Like BigOldReef said Dan, try adding some shelfs to your towers if its possible to help give you some surface area/extra landscaping

Thanks guys!

It has kind of happened by default. As I was transferring rock and corals from my old tank yesterday, I needed a place to put them and ended up putting them between the towers and in the back of the tank.

With a depth of 48" I am somewhat limited as to what I can put down there for now. In the back of the tank, I think I will be able to stack of lot of rock for my soft corals. I will probably have to make another trip into the tank when I make my next coral order. I am either going to have to purchase an underwater drill or become very good with glue/coral cement!

I am going to wait and see how my corals react to the Radions!

 

[BigOldReef]

Dan,

I'm wondering if you could pick up an air drill from Harbor Freight, open it up and degrease it, then relube it with petroleum jelly and safely drill in the tank.

Dave

 

[S14Swap240sx]

Dan,

I'm wondering if you could pick up an air drill from Harbor Freight, open it up and degrease it, then relube it with petroleum jelly and safely drill in the tank.

Dave

in a salt water application, i would most def question the reliability, also the potential risk. I think your best would be to get good with cement once things grow out it doesnt really leave any traces.

 

[lostmyz]

pictures dan! pictures of the fish room and corals we are all waiting patiently lol

 

[danfeig]

Dan,

I'm wondering if you could pick up an air drill from Harbor Freight, open it up and degrease it, then relube it with petroleum jelly and safely drill in the tank.

Dave

Hi Dave. I don't think there is any safe way to use a cordless drill underwater. I thought about buying a cheap one, wrapping it in plastic wrap and silicon and going to town one time before disposing it. It is not worth the risk though...

I have an old hand crank drill that I could probably get away with if I needed, but I don't think it will be necessary. I think that I can always work a few holes into the rocks with some small chisels that I have. I am going to try something else though.

I bought a few different sizes of acrylic dowels, rods and half-moon shapes. I also bought some nylon bolts. Depending on whether or not I can pry or manipulate the acrylic into some of the pours of the rock towers, I am going to make a few acrylic stands (small) that I can anchor (cement) some coral pieces onto. Like I said, they will be small, just a few inches and will abut the rock towers.

 

[BigOldReef]

Dan,

It's an air drill... Works off compressed air. No electricity. Air pressure spins the bit. Tool is only 35 dollars - http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-reversible-air-angle-drill-67474.html

I don't know if the mechanics would work under water. But with Harbor freight you could buy it and try it in a bucket of water. If it works then you would need to tear the drill down and get all the Chinese Diesel based lubricant out of it. If it doesn't work, Harbor Freight has a great return policy.

Just a creative thought

Dave

 

[danfeig]

pictures dan! pictures of the fish room and corals we are all waiting patiently lol

TONITE! I can't say how many pictures of corals I will have, but I definitely will shoot some pictures of the Fish Room.

I pretty much just through my corals from my existing tank into the new display. I haven't had the time to properly position and mount them. I feel like I now need a designer for the tank. LOL!

I am also getting my first "bloom" now that the Radion's are up and running.

 

[danfeig]

Fish Room Update

Fish Room Update

As promised, now that I have drained my old 150 gallon, I have been able to concentrate once again on my main display and on the fish room.

Per the numerous requests, I have taken a few pics so you guys could "see under the hood" - so to speak.

The two quarantine tanks...

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I have a bunch of anthias, a few chromis and a few clowns in the bottom tank that will be placed into my main display this Sunday. I wanted to fatten them up a little and make sure they were eating.

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In the top tank I have two Clown Tangs and two Powder Brown Tangs. They seem to be getting along pretty well. One of the Clown Tangs is a little more aggressive than the other. Mostly to a smaller Powder Brown. All seem to be eating pretty well.

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The skimmer, my Deltec 3070 External is doing awesome. I am also using one of the Avast Marine Swabbie's (self cleaning heads) which is certainly helping keep things clean.

I just hooked up the ozone this week. I am waiting on a new ORP probe before running on anything but the minimum setting. Both the ozone and my drain water from my RO system are going through my skimmer.

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And a shot of the Red Sea Ozonizer...

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My refugium is doing well. I am running the lights at night when the display goes into sleep mode. The chaeto is starting to take off...

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Finally, a few other shots of the Fish Room with storage, the water tank and my sump.

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My fish room will be changing slightly this weekend. I will be adding my 150 gallon tank to the Southern wall where my storage shelves are. I am having a new stand made that should be ready on Friday. I haven't quite decided how I am going to utilize the tank. A mixing tank? More rock? More rock and a frag tank? I don't want to turn it into a softy or other display tank. My wife is already wanting me to spend less time in the fish room and more time in the living room enjoying the tank.

I just realized I didn't shoot any pictures of my Fluval Canister that I am running the Carbon in, nor did I shoot any pics of my GFO reactor. I will try to do that this week still.

Friday, my Fluidized Sand Filter and my UV Sterilizers are finally being installed. I also need to move my ReefKeeper into the fish room now that my 150 is taken down.

I still have a few other projects for the fish room too. I need to buy some 5 gallon tanks for dosing calcium, Alk and Mag. I am going to purchasing solution already made up in bulk for a while. I am also going to purchase a small refrigerator and will run a line into it from the tank (and back out) so I can auto feed throughout the day.

 

[sh8g8delik]

Small refrigerator to auto feed? I gotta see this. This system basically runs itself!

 

[BigOldReef]

Great update photos... Thanks for remembering your fans

All those fish in QT look so small...

Still looking forward to pics of the display tank since you added all the corals..... Please

Dave

 

[lostmyz]

Looks awesome! Love the autofeed ides

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[SPotter]

Hey Dan,
great thread and amazing attention to detail. Can you share with me how you plan on plumbing in your UV's? I just ordered the emperor 80w unit and trying to decide how I want to incorporate it into my system.

 

[techreef]

Thanks for the fishroom pics Dan.

Would you please explain to me why your RODI waste water is running through your skimmer? What does that accomplish? Does it just help flush out your skimmer cup? Thanks.

 

[Chimone]

Living in the desert, did you ever consider using the sun for your lighting? Sun Domes or something along those lines instead of artificial.

 

[Below Radar]

Great pics!! Your DT is great but I have to say, I like the fishroom just as much!! Everything you need AND room to work. Great job...keep it up!

 

[danfeig]

Small refrigerator to auto feed? I gotta see this. This system basically runs itself!

I should have it up and running this weekend.

Essentially, I will running a pipe from the sump through the refrigerator and it will drop back into the sump by my intake. I will be installing a few dosing pumps in the refrigerator that will dose different Reef Nutrition products: Tigger Pods, Mysis Feast, etc.

 

[danfeig]

Great update photos... Thanks for remembering your fans

All those fish in QT look so small...

Still looking forward to pics of the display tank since you added all the corals..... Please

Dave

All of the Tangs that I have ordered are 2 - 3 inches. I have found that it is easier to pair them or for them to get used to one another when they are young and small.

I will post a few tank shots tomorrow!

 

[danfeig]

Looks awesome! Love the autofeed ides

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Thanks lostmyz! Stay tuned for more!!!!

 

[sh8g8delik]

I should have it up and running this weekend.

Essentially, I will running a pipe from the sump through the refrigerator and it will drop back into the sump by my intake. I will be installing a few dosing pumps in the refrigerator that will dose different Reef Nutrition products: Tigger Pods, Mysis Feast, etc.

I never really thought about doing that! Thanks for the great idea for my next build!!:thumbsup: