A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system
- Thread starter danfeig
- Start date
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thanks Moto_fish!
I am a diehard Cat's fan. Never miss a basketball game and one of these days we'll have a great football team. I graduated from the UofA in 1986.
I will let you know about the open house.
Bear Down!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thanks Ricardo! I am glad to have you joining the fun! Thank you for following!
Cheers!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Fish head and Shaggy. Thank you very much for the compliments. I am glad that you are here! All the input I have been receiving is very encouraging. I am excited to get this up and going!
danfeig
.Registered Member
BigOldReef - thanks for the comments about the filter socks. I had the same concerns when the sump was designed. Because I will be running the water level of the sump several inches below the top, it wasn't necessary to lower the filter socks. If they were to clog, they still have several inches of "breathing room." Additionally, I am plenty anal about cleanliness and will probably be changing out the socks too often. The heated pvc deal was pretty cool!
Thanks for following along!
Dan
danfeig
.Registered Member
V1...rotate - Thank you for following along!
I can't tell you why LED's produce less algae on the glass and I may have to suggest that my son test this hypothesis on his next science report that he does in school each year.
All of the posts that I have read on Reef Central and The Reef Tank suggest that with LED's their is less algae to clean on the glass. Is it true? Ask me in another month :spin3: I don't know if LED's produce a different wavelength that algae likes or what the reasoning is.
I am going to file this question away.
-Dan
sh8g8delik
New member
I will be filing this thread away for when i retire and hopefully saved appropriately to be able to have a build like this. This will be my blueprint, and instead of Arizona, it will be Hawaii. To live in a dream....
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thank you sh8g8delik! Hawaii is definitely beautiful but nothing replaces what I have here in the Desert! Thanks for following my tank build!
brettinteriors
New member
To the best of my knowledge it is against the law to own coral in Hawaii.
I think I know of why theres less algae!
less light spread before the water so less light on the glass.
Reason behind this statement is that I noticed I had been getting a ton of algae buildup on my front glass. Could not figure out why I was having to clean it every couple of days...cause? lights were tilted slightly back and shining on the front glass. So I assume as stated before that the tight pattern of light from leds can technically cause less algae IF they are aimed correctly:wildone:
less light spread before the water so less light on the glass.
Reason behind this statement is that I noticed I had been getting a ton of algae buildup on my front glass. Could not figure out why I was having to clean it every couple of days...cause? lights were tilted slightly back and shining on the front glass. So I assume as stated before that the tight pattern of light from leds can technically cause less algae IF they are aimed correctly:wildone:
Chromey316
New member
So just rent them, And put them back when your done.
BigOldReef
New member
Dan,
Having had my list of failures and mistakes.... while you can, consider having a lip added to the filter sock holder on 3 sides, so that if a sock was to clog because of food, kalk accident, coral spawning, clam spawning or you happen to go out of town, then the water is for sure directed only into the sump and not over the sides.
It's an easy fix for what has a big potential of making a mess and wreaking havoc on your system and your house.
Just my .02 cents.... Which in this economy isn't worth too much
Dave
Having had my list of failures and mistakes.... while you can, consider having a lip added to the filter sock holder on 3 sides, so that if a sock was to clog because of food, kalk accident, coral spawning, clam spawning or you happen to go out of town, then the water is for sure directed only into the sump and not over the sides.
It's an easy fix for what has a big potential of making a mess and wreaking havoc on your system and your house.
Just my .02 cents.... Which in this economy isn't worth too much
Dave
paja 55gl
New member
several of you have asked what am i going to do about lighting. Especially with a tank that is 48" deep. Lighting is one of the primary issues that i have spent considerable time investigating, questioning and comparing.
At first, there was no doubt in my mind that i was going to go with 400 watt metal halides. What other choices did i have with a tank this deep? Look at chingchai's and all of the other deep, deep tanks.
Then i started reading more about led's. All of the reef and aquarium magazines were reporting on them and there were numerous reports written by dr. Sanjay joshi that made a strong case for options to mh. It was clear to me that the waive of the future was heading towards led's.
I started weighing the pros & cons between mh, vho's, and led's. They were plentiful. Yes, my electric bills would be significantly higher with metal halides, but then there was the heat i would have to deal with; the additional fans and chillers. How about growth? How about color?
Cost certainly entered the equation but it was not the deciding factor. I really became impressed with a number of larger reef tanks that were using led's. They weren't necessarily as deep, but, the colors of their tanks and growth of their corals were very rich.
I started contacting all of the led companies along with the authors of the numerous lighting reports we have been seeing in the reef keeping and aquarium magazines. The question was asked, what would you recommend for a 48" reef aquarium?
I was very impressed with four different companies:
Reeftech
ecotech marine
orphek
ecoxotic cannon
each company offered many different benefits and all were confident that they could serve my needs. I was very close to pulling the plug with reeftech and their prometheus units. Bennytheblenny has been using them on his 36" deep tank and has been impressed. I liked their software controllability. They even offered to fly down to tucson to install. Orphek has been updating their lines of led fixtures. Nineball seems very happy with them on his "coral tank from canada" build thread. Ecoxotic's 100 watt cannon pendants are very, very powerful.
Who did i go with? I ended up choosing 12 units of ecotech marines xr30w's. Several reasons but they really stood out above all the rest. Most importantly, the company has been around for some time and stands behind their product. Their lights are upgradeable as technology changes. Wireless compatibility. The color spectrum that they offer is great! David00061 has been very pleased with his 12 units on his "mixed 500 gal. A.g.e. Build. 12 unit led radion lights" build thread and has documented some impressive growth.
Again, i recognize that i have a very deep tank. If i don't feel that i am getting enough light on the bottom of the tank or too low of par readings, it will be easy to add a couple of the 100 watt cannon pendants.
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dam....very nice
danfeig
.Registered Member
Dan,
Having had my list of failures and mistakes.... while you can, consider having a lip added to the filter sock holder on 3 sides, so that if a sock was to clog because of food, kalk accident, coral spawning, clam spawning or you happen to go out of town, then the water is for sure directed only into the sump and not over the sides.
It's an easy fix for what has a big potential of making a mess and wreaking havoc on your system and your house.
Just my .02 cents.... Which in this economy isn't worth too much
Dave
Dave:
Thank you for the advise. I will discuss the issue with Michael from Simply Elegant Aquatics. He designed the sump and has been handling all of the acrylic work.
What you suggest certainly makes a lot of sense. A lip or little wall directing any overflow into the sump certainly would be easy to fabricate.
Thank you for the suggestion!
Dan
danfeig
.Registered Member
Tuesday Update
Tuesday Update
Today has been the quietest day thus far since all the action began with the reef build.
More work was completed in the "fish room", mostly all cosmetic. The biggest item accomplished today was the tiling of the cantera stone surrounding the aquarium to match our stone fireplace, mantel and hearth. Once this was completed, we were able to finish vacuuming up all the drywall dust and returning our living room furniture.
The picture doesn't give the canter frame complete justice because it was taken at night and the stone is still a little wet.
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Here is another picture of the balance of the living room which is on the opposite wall of the aquarium. The stone matches perfectly!!!
[/IMG]
Wednesday we should be completing the balance of the drywall and painting in the fish room and we hope to begin filling the aquarium with RODI water on Thursday.
Tuesday Update
Today has been the quietest day thus far since all the action began with the reef build.
More work was completed in the "fish room", mostly all cosmetic. The biggest item accomplished today was the tiling of the cantera stone surrounding the aquarium to match our stone fireplace, mantel and hearth. Once this was completed, we were able to finish vacuuming up all the drywall dust and returning our living room furniture.
The picture doesn't give the canter frame complete justice because it was taken at night and the stone is still a little wet.
Here is another picture of the balance of the living room which is on the opposite wall of the aquarium. The stone matches perfectly!!!
Wednesday we should be completing the balance of the drywall and painting in the fish room and we hope to begin filling the aquarium with RODI water on Thursday.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Dan,
Having had my list of failures and mistakes.... while you can, consider having a lip added to the filter sock holder on 3 sides, so that if a sock was to clog because of food, kalk accident, coral spawning, clam spawning or you happen to go out of town, then the water is for sure directed only into the sump and not over the sides.
It's an easy fix for what has a big potential of making a mess and wreaking havoc on your system and your house.
Just my .02 cents.... Which in this economy isn't worth too much
Dave
Dave:
I heard back from Michael. He has always planned on installing a bracket system under the holes for the filter socks so that any overflow due to clogging would stay in the tank.
Glad you are watching my back.
Dan
danfeig
.Registered Member
dam....very nice
srusson & paja - thank you both for the comments and following along. Good to have you here!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Protein Skimmer
Protein Skimmer
I looked at the Protein Skimmers the same way I looked at the lights. I spent a lot of time reading the forums on the Large Reef Tank builds, sent a lot of emails out and asked a lot of questions.
There were several companies whose products were strongly considered:
Reef Dynamics (formerly Euro-Reef)
Bubble King
ATB
Reef Octopus
In the end one company seemed to stand out and that is what I decided to go with. Deltec's 3070 External.
The skimmer is a monster and I am anxious to see it in action.
[/IMG]
Protein Skimmer
I looked at the Protein Skimmers the same way I looked at the lights. I spent a lot of time reading the forums on the Large Reef Tank builds, sent a lot of emails out and asked a lot of questions.
There were several companies whose products were strongly considered:
Reef Dynamics (formerly Euro-Reef)
Bubble King
ATB
Reef Octopus
In the end one company seemed to stand out and that is what I decided to go with. Deltec's 3070 External.
The skimmer is a monster and I am anxious to see it in action.
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