Building 1300-gallon Reef System (construction pictures)

[JohnPaulGross]

Alright. I am just going to start with some pictures of what my Dad, my brother and I did yesterday. The stand for my main tank was done being powder-coated and the stainless steel frames for my main tank and mangrove tank were done being welded yesterday so we borrowed a trailer and picked them up. I will get to the before/after and other details later, but here are the pictures of everything getting moved into place.

 

[worm5406]

OK... I will wait for the next post. Very nice so far.

The stands like that are so easy to deal with.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Quick link to old forum with some initial design plans, pictures, etc.

Quick link to old forum with some initial design plans, pictures, etc.

Hi. I am just merging a couple forums from when I was planning the system that I am currently building. I have a bunch more before and during photos that I will post tonight, just in case anyone is interested in seeing the basic plans and design phase of the project I have inserted a link to my original forum that was under my old username.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2293131

That forum also has most of the before photos for the project, my current 72 gallon bowfront was in front of the wall that has since been removed for the tank. I am going to explain the process, but I think it will be easier to post chronological photos with small descriptions and explain later.

Feel free to ask any questions about anything and I will do my best to explain what I am doing and why.

The 1300 gallon number is the volume of the combined system of tanks described below, other than the last two, all of the other tanks I am building.

Main Display Tank: 84" x 48" x 42"T 733 gallons
Mangrove Tank: 48" x 36" x 30"T 224 gallons
Freshwater Top-off: 12" x 24" x 24"T 30 gallons
Water Change Tank: 40" x 24" x 20"T 80 gallons
Skimmer Sump: 54" x 24" x 20"T 90 gallons
Pump Feed Tank: 36" x 12" x 18"T 33 gallons
Pump Sump Tank: 48" x 12" x 18"T 50 gallons
Refugium (Bowfront): 48" x 12-18" x 24"T 72 gallons

So according to my calculations, that would make the entire system about 1300 gallons. Hi. First of all I would like to say that I just got a new email and reefcentral username, so this is a new thread and new username, but I have been using reefcentral for years. To see the basic plans and design phase of the project I have inserted a link to my original forum that was under my old username.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2293131

That forum also has most of the before photos for the project, my current 72 gallon bowfront was in front of the wall that has since been removed for the tank. I am going to explain the process, but I think it will be easier to post chronological photos with small descriptions and explain later.

Feel free to ask any questions about anything and I will do my best to explain what I am doing and why.

The 1300 gallon number is the volume of the combined system of tanks described below, other than the last two, all of the other tanks I am building.

Main Display Tank: 84" x 48" x 42"T 733 gallons
Mangrove Tank: 48" x 36" x 30"T 224 gallons
Freshwater Top-off: 12" x 24" x 24"T 30 gallons
Water Change Tank: 40" x 24" x 20"T 80 gallons
Skimmer Sump: 54" x 24" x 20"T 90 gallons
Pump Feed Tank: 36" x 12" x 18"T 33 gallons
Pump Sump Tank: 48" x 12" x 18"T 50 gallons
Refugium (Bowfront): 48" x 12-18" x 24"T 72 gallons

So according to my calculations, that would make the entire system about 1300 gallons.

The stands are made out of 2" square tube steel with a 3/16" wall thickness. I cut and welded all three stands (the Closet Stand, Main Stand and Mangrove Stand) and then had them powder coated black to protect them from water.

The frames (Main tank and Mangrove tank) are made out of 1.25" x 1.25" x 1/8" thick 90 degree angle 316 Stainless steel. Due to the difficulty welding and the cost of material, I paid to have those frames welded professionally. The frames fit onto the steel stands and are highly corrosion-resistant. 3/8" thick tempered glass panels are going to be siliconed into the stainless frames so that both will be reinforced.

I really appreciate any posts, I am really excited about this project and I haven't really seen another tank like this. I will be happy to answer any questions and more pictures will be coming in the next hour or so.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Quick link to old forum with some initial design plans, pictures, etc.

Quick link to old forum with some initial design plans, pictures, etc.

Hi. I am just merging a couple forums from when I was planning the system that I am currently building. I have a bunch more before and during photos that I will post tonight, just in case anyone is interested in seeing the basic plans and design phase of the project I have inserted a link to my original forum that was under my old username.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2293131

That forum also has most of the before photos for the project, my current 72 gallon bowfront was in front of the wall that has since been removed for the tank. I am going to explain the process, but I think it will be easier to post chronological photos with small descriptions and explain later.

The 1300 gallon number is the volume of the combined system of tanks described below, other than the last two, all of the other tanks I am building.

Main Display Tank: 84" x 48" x 42"T 733 gallons
Mangrove Tank: 48" x 36" x 30"T 224 gallons
Freshwater Top-off: 12" x 24" x 24"T 30 gallons
Water Change Tank: 40" x 24" x 20"T 80 gallons
Skimmer Sump: 54" x 24" x 20"T 90 gallons
Pump Feed Tank: 36" x 12" x 18"T 33 gallons
Pump Sump Tank: 48" x 12" x 18"T 50 gallons
Refugium (Bowfront): 48" x 12-18" x 24"T 72 gallons

The stands are made out of 2" square tube steel with a 3/16" wall thickness. I cut and welded all three stands (the Closet Stand, Main Stand and Mangrove Stand) and then had them powder coated black to protect them from water.

The frames (Main tank and Mangrove tank) are made out of 1.25" x 1.25" x 1/8" thick 90 degree angle 316 Stainless steel. Due to the difficulty welding and the cost of material, I paid to have those frames welded professionally. The frames fit onto the steel stands and are highly corrosion-resistant. 3/8" thick tempered glass panels are going to be siliconed into the stainless frames so that both will be reinforced.

I really appreciate any posts, I am really excited about this project and I haven't really seen another tank like this. I will be happy to answer any questions and more pictures will be coming in the next hour or so.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Moving the 72-g bowfront

Moving the 72-g bowfront

So the first real obstacle in setting up this system was getting my current system out of the way. Right now I have the 72-gallon bowfront on a wooden stand with 2x 30-gallon sumps. Along with 90 lbs of live rock and 150 lbs of sand, it obviously is not that fun to move.

Last time I moved it my brother and I emptied everything into about 15x 5-gallon buckets and even with just the damp sand in the tank it was still a real ***** to move. So when I set it up this time I made a melamine tray, put the tray on a piece of carpet pad to protect the wood floor and put the tank on the pad.

What we decided to do was strap the system together on the tray as best we could and move the whole system at once. The pictures somewhat tell the story, but what we did is; remove the entire sliding glass door to the south of the tank, back our Suburban up as close to the opening as we could, put on the parking brake, attach a come-along to the rear towing bracket of the vehicle and in a half hour or so, we slowly drug the whole thing about 12 feet.

This might not seem particularly noteworthy, but I have had to move quite a few set-ups and had terrible experiences, so I was pleasantly surprised that this worked as well as it did.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Filling in some of the gaps

Filling in some of the gaps

First I have some links to check out some of the construction and a few to give an idea of my current tank.

I also added some more photos showing some of the process. We pulled up a click-down floor to get to the foundation slab and covered it with a rubber mat. Luckily the wall I was removing wasn't load-bearing so we just cut the 2x6 studs and the sheet-rock with a sawsall and then knocked it out with a hammer. The remaining studs and sheet-rock were belt sanded to shape and smooth them out. Finally the Closet stand which will hold the 72-bowfront refugium, 30-g fresh water top-off, 80-g water change tank and 90-g skimmer sump tank was placed in between the remaining studs till the back of the stand was flush with the inner edge of the remaining studs.

Moving the tank

http://youtu.be/tw2yhncVTmk

Moving the tank 2

http://youtu.be/xu7vU6UMqtA

Wall Comes Down!

http://youtu.be/_U_oKFKvyRQ

Peppermint Shrimp and Coral

http://youtu.be/2qO4G62wQO0

Sand Sifting Starfish

http://youtu.be/ROHE3VczjWQ

Rabbit Fish

http://youtu.be/DTwKS0-0Mjs


Ok. That will be it for now. I am working on this project daily and I am hoping to buy 800-900 lbs of live rock and 1500-2000 lbs of aragonite sugar-sized sand in the next couple months, but obviously I still have a lot of work to get there. I will post some more pictures tomorrow.

 

[rpjaws74]

wow!!

 

[dotcommer]

Looks like its going to be a great build thread. I am subscribing.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

I am in awe right about now. What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[metMichiel]

I'm curious about the result!

success

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Tank Dimensions

Tank Dimensions

I am in awe right about now. What are the dimensions of the tank?

So for the main tank, the stand is 4' x 7' x 3' tall (and about 450 lbs)

and the frame sitting on top of it is 4' x 7' x 3.5' tall (and about 80 lbs)

but when the glass is added it will add at least a few hundred pounds.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Quick question. I have been using Ultra Float Switches for a few years now and am intending to use several on my new system for level control. I have just noticed that they can, over time, have some issues that could cause problems.

They can seize up, either from biological growth or even salt build up, which can leave the top-off either always on or always off. The suction cups can fail for a variety of reasons and once the thing is in the tank, all bets are off.

So basically, these can be somewhat troublesome and one or two of them may not be that easy to access within the system; I would like to figure out a way to modify and/or protect the switch and the attachment so that they become less sketchy.

I have considered an anchored pvc shell with holes to shield and anchor it, but I am not in love with that idea as sponges or any other type of critter could easily colonize the tube and completely encase the switch apparatus. So I am looking for any solutions or suggestions to resolve this issue and if nothing else, I could use suggestions on a more reliable alternative. For example I know that there are sealed electromagnetic switchs, but my guess is that something that sophisticated is going to be ridiculously expensive and I think that with the right modifications, the Ultra switch should be usable.

Thank you for the help.

 

[dave.m]

If these are the type of float switches I think you mean (Ultralife?) then you're supposed to take them apart once a month and clean them to prevent the build-up that causes them to stick. I would not design anything where you cannot easily get at these and remove them as part of regular maintenance. The other problem that I have run into with this type is that they are usually only given about a two year lifespan. You may want to look to some other type of level sensing device.

Dave.M

 

[criticalencore]

The top off I use for my tank is an Avast Marine one and it uses a pressure switch instead of a float valve so there are no moving parts to fail. The new ones can be wired into an apex breakout box even. Maybe you could use something like that

 

[acabgd]

Do I understand correctly that the stainless frame will actually be within your glass, ie. in the water? Is that a good idea?

 

[JohnPaulGross]

Do I understand correctly that the stainless frame will actually be within your glass, ie. in the water? Is that a good idea?

Sorry, I think that might have been a bit confusing.

The glass panels will go inside the stainless frame.

First the bottom panel (84" x 48") will go in through the top at a diagonal and will then be rotated and siliconed down flat into the stainless tray. Then the front and back panels (84" x 42") will sit on top of the bottom and will be siliconed into the front and back of the frame. Finally, the two end panels (47.25" x 42") will go in-between the front and back panels, will also sit on the bottom panel and will be siliconed into the frame as well.

 

[JohnPaulGross]

The top off I use for my tank is an Avast Marine one and it uses a pressure switch instead of a float valve so there are no moving parts to fail. The new ones can be wired into an apex breakout box even. Maybe you could use something like that

I would be interested in checking those out.

Where is the best site to get them, or do I need to find a store?

 

[criticalencore]

They are sponsors so I'm going to assume its safe to post a link if not I guess they will remove but
http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Top-off-Kit
The float valve with it is for redundancy I guess. Mine doesn't have that.

 

[criticalencore]

What are your humidity plans? That's one thing I thought of but underestimated when I build my ~850ish gallon tank... also what are you planning to light it with? With it being that deep you will need something serious. I'm running LEDs now but I'm thinking about dropping in 4 solar tubes.... Ill definetly be tagging along

 

[muttley000]

Looks to be epic, I'm along for the ride.