A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system
- Thread starter danfeig
- Start date
bugs713
In-A-Gadda-Divita!
Beautiful!!
I love your rock columns! I thought mine was tall at 29".... How are you going to secure them in the tank? I built mine with PVC frame and did a lot of drilling and chiseling also; I used all Marco Key Largo rock.
Lighting has been a concern for me from the start, what have you decided for yours?
I am currently using 2 250 14k and 20k halides, but will be doing a 72 Cree LED DIY with one of the halides as supplement as I'm not sure I will get the par needed with LED alone, my 185 is 38" tall. I just hate the heat and energy needed for halides, but will see.
I will be following along as you are building my future tank
Check out my ongoing build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2139179
Best of luck and patience to you!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
I love your rock columns! I thought mine was tall at 29".... How are you going to secure them in the tank? I built mine with PVC frame and did a lot of drilling and chiseling also; I used all Marco Key Largo rock.
Lighting has been a concern for me from the start, what have you decided for yours?
I am currently using 2 250 14k and 20k halides, but will be doing a 72 Cree LED DIY with one of the halides as supplement as I'm not sure I will get the par needed with LED alone, my 185 is 38" tall. I just hate the heat and energy needed for halides, but will see.
I will be following along as you are building my future tank
Check out my ongoing build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2139179
Best of luck and patience to you!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Crazy_Beaver
New member
Cant wait to see some water in there....
laredo300c
New member
WOW, great tank, great sump, great team. Good install
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thank you rcharliesam. It is definitely coming along. I can't consider this a full on renovation. We have lived through 3 renovation and two add-ons in our old house and before we moved here, spent six months renovating.
I am glad that you are following along!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thank you for joining me shaggy and NEPTHEA. The finished build will take some time, but I am very happy. I am waiting for the dry waller to show up this morning so he can fill in all the holes and clean up the place!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Beautiful!!
I love your rock columns! I thought mine was tall at 29".... How are you going to secure them in the tank? I built mine with PVC frame and did a lot of drilling and chiseling also; I used all Marco Key Largo rock.
Lighting has been a concern for me from the start, what have you decided for yours?
I am currently using 2 250 14k and 20k halides, but will be doing a 72 Cree LED DIY with one of the halides as supplement as I'm not sure I will get the par needed with LED alone, my 185 is 38" tall. I just hate the heat and energy needed for halides, but will see.
I will be following along as you are building my future tank
Check out my ongoing build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2139179
Best of luck and patience to you!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Thank you Bugs713! First off, your avatar freaks out my wife! I have reviewed your thread before and a number of your postings in the Phoenix (FRAG) forum.
Welcome!
Apache Junction??? You aren't too far. I used to constantly go through there on my way to Canyon or Apache lakes.
As far as the rock columns, I didn't use any pvc or rods and don't feel that I will need to in the aquarium. They are heavy, balanced and secure! I had them sitting outside in the sun waiting for the concrete to fully cure and they withstood a major windstorm. The challenge that I foresee will be getting them into the tank itself.
I will address the lighting later today. Thank you for joining me!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Busy Day, more work completed
Busy Day, more work completed
It has been a busy day. The excitement continues.... Nothing like yesterday with the tank install, but a day filled with more planning and preparing.
The drywall guys came first thing this morning to begin filling all of the holes, taping and texturing. Unfortunately, this will be a few day process. I was hoping to have the drywall work completed today so that I could paint tomorrow before the tile workers show up. But no such luck. We did get all of the holes patched and the first round of texturing. Even with the 100 degree temperature outside, the drywall mud will take a while to dry.
The drywall guys will come back on Monday so they don't interfere with the tank plumbing that will be occurring tomorrow. I spent the better part of the afternoon and the Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware getting all of the pvc and pipe fittings.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day!
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
Busy Day, more work completed
It has been a busy day. The excitement continues.... Nothing like yesterday with the tank install, but a day filled with more planning and preparing.
The drywall guys came first thing this morning to begin filling all of the holes, taping and texturing. Unfortunately, this will be a few day process. I was hoping to have the drywall work completed today so that I could paint tomorrow before the tile workers show up. But no such luck. We did get all of the holes patched and the first round of texturing. Even with the 100 degree temperature outside, the drywall mud will take a while to dry.
The drywall guys will come back on Monday so they don't interfere with the tank plumbing that will be occurring tomorrow. I spent the better part of the afternoon and the Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware getting all of the pvc and pipe fittings.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day!
SaguaroSteve
Moved On
Absolutely awesome vision and build, good luck on your journey! +1 Subscribed!
danfeig
.Registered Member
I'd be happy to show you once it is all set up and established. As much as I am in a hurry, I will be taking things slowly once it comes to selecting livestock, quarantine and placement.
Thanks for following. Let me know when you come to town.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Ladybugs, Allsps40, Moore1811... thank you for your comments. I am glad that you are following my thread. Feel free to make suggestions and offer input. I am glad that you are here.
jarrett shark
New member
Nice!!!!!
I went back and forth trying different methods of clean my tank glass opposite the access side of the tank. Then a friend showed me a really simple device: http://www.algaefree.com/easy_blade.html
My wife was very pleased as she didnt have to stand there and spot while i stood on a ladder reaching with a scraper. I just go slow with it so I don't put scrapes on the glass...
danfeig
.Registered Member
Lighting - what to decide???
Lighting - what to decide???
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.
[/IMG]
Lighting - what to decide???
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.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thanks Ward1! I will look into those. I am hoping that by going with LED's, I am not going to have as much algae buildup on the glass. Obviously, I am going to have some big strong magnetic cleaners. Glad you are following along!
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