A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build
- Thread starter Dustin1300
- Start date
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
It was both. Plus the DA sander I used (probably used wrong) left half circles of which without the trained eye I couldn't see.
david00061
New member
:bounce2::bounce1::bounce3::bounce3::bounce1::bounce2:
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Thanks all. I quickly fell asleep last night after a long and busy weekend. The stress of moving the tank downstairs is out of the way now so I'm happy it's finally in place. Now I have garage back and wife can stop complaining she cannot park car in garage since it's now frosting over at night with winter coming.
Next things "To Do" before water happens:
- Repair all drywall and do last of repairs
- Rip out carpet in basement
- Paint basement
- Finish trim in basement
- Cabinet built and put in place (INDMAS member is going to help me on this one)
- Sub-Panel and all Electrical
- Re-enforce bottom parameter of tank
- Silicone around tank stand, bar top on platform, and bedliner around outside edge to clean up appearance and prevent water from making it under wood platform
- Aquascape
- Sand
- Figure out closed loop/PH
- Plumb in
- Water in and skim for a week before plumbing system all together!!!!!
^^^That is a lot of steps...
Next things "To Do" before water happens:
- Repair all drywall and do last of repairs
- Rip out carpet in basement
- Paint basement
- Finish trim in basement
- Cabinet built and put in place (INDMAS member is going to help me on this one)
- Sub-Panel and all Electrical
- Re-enforce bottom parameter of tank
- Silicone around tank stand, bar top on platform, and bedliner around outside edge to clean up appearance and prevent water from making it under wood platform
- Aquascape
- Sand
- Figure out closed loop/PH
- Plumb in
- Water in and skim for a week before plumbing system all together!!!!!
^^^That is a lot of steps...
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
With the depth of the tank (48") it gives me much better options for aquascaping. While it might be a PITA in regards to cleaning I think it opens up the options for the scaping.
That being said, I'd like to include a valley down the middle of the tank and then incorporate an arch of some sort on one side and a small tower on another. I've got some good notes I need to reference from MACNA but will be using MARCO rock and likely use some of Marc's sliced rock for a tower. Probably 400-500 pounds of rock and sand will likely be a mix of Tropic Eden's Mini-Flakes and Reef-Flakes.
If you've never seen the Oregon reef, it's one of the tanks that always stands out in my mind with a beautiful valley since he had a lot of depth in the tank. Too bad this tank has since crashed:sad1::sad1::sad1:
Oregon Reef
drummereef
Team RC
Nice!! I couldn't tell by the first pic but man that's a big tank. It puts it in perspective when you see 9 guys carrying it! Congrats Dustin! :thumbsup: Now the fun begins. :rollface:
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
At first I was leaning toward the Apollo fixture but recently have started to lean towards the Orphek Atlantik. After checking the light out at MACNA, comparing against other fixtures, and seeing Sanjay's results and having the Orphek pointed out as the highest Lumens/Watt out of any of the fixtures, it's a super nice fixture for large tanks where multiple fixtures are needed.
With 5 fixtures I'd have a total of 390 LEDs (936 Watts). If I went with 6 fixtures I'd end up with 468 LEDs (1,123 Watts) so I'm going to likely use 5-6. I'll try to get some Google Sketchup models drawn up showing coverage so I can get a better idea on the spread of these fixtures should I put tight optics (40 degrees) on them and mount close to the ceiling so I don't have light spill and can have the lights out of the way for maintenance without building a light rack and a system for moving them around. I might end up just building light rack, using the Atlantiks, and using a few full specturm T5s to add that extra pop and coloration in the coral/fish.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Brett, always helps to have a little bit of perspective. I'm really excited and can't wait to have water in it....Just know I have quite a few steps first!
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Should I upgrade to the new Beta of Apex FW or not???? I really liked the interface at MACNA and now that it's in the wild think I might go ahead and do it tonight. Am I stupid for jumping on the beta or should I wait?
Made2Rock
Member
I don't have a Apex but when it comes to software you are better off waiting till you see some feedback on this beta release. Remember Patience, nothing good happens fast.
Let someone else gamble with there system.
Joe
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
This is true, I've just been "patiently" awaiting this FW to be released as it seems so much slicker than the old interface. They are not re-inventing the wheel....Just really just changing the UI.
*I work for a software company:crazy1:
