Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[mr.wilson]

One last question......

What size masonry bit do I need for the live rock and how deep does the impression need to be? Also, where do I get acrylic rods?

Peter

http://www.piedmontplastics.com/

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter,
I used some plastic/fiberglass threaded rod to make some of my structures, mine was about 1/2in dia. and it came in 4ft sections. The glue sticks very well to the threads and is semi-flexible to a point, unlike acrylic rod that tends to break if flexed too much.
The eplastics website has some stock that is .625". dia. fiberglass rod that should work for you.

Others have reported good results with fiberglass rods. They are much stronger than acrylic and readily available as driveway markers/flags form hardware stores and farm supply stores.

 

[nineball]

Others have reported good results with fiberglass rods. They are much stronger than acrylic and readily available as driveway markers/flags form hardware stores and farm supply stores.

Thank you Mr. Wilson, the reason I asked about the size of the masonry bit was to pre drill possible placement positions on the live rock. How deep should I drill and I assume from earlier comments the diameter should be a half inch?

Peter

 

[nineball]

1/4" will work for smaller corals and frags, Normally 1/2" to 3/4" length of acrylic rod sticking out from your coral is sufficient. If you are pegging a larger colony i would probably go with a 1/2" acrylic rod.

Rob

Rob, my intention with the rods was to use them for design material for joining the live rock, if necessary, not for holding frags. I hope to use the same or similar compound that Chingchai used in his aquascaping project.

I asked about the drill bit size for preparing the rock to hold coral frags etc.
. It was suggested a looong time ago that I should drill the holes as I aquascaped and not after!

Having said that, Chingchai has suggested that proper selection and placement of high quality rock would probably go a long way in having natural crevaces and joins to hold the colonies securely to the rock. It certainly has worked well for him.

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

Thank you Mr. Wilson, the reason I asked about the size of the masonry bit was to pre drill possible placement positions on the live rock. How deep should I drill and I assume from earlier comments the diameter should be a half inch?

Peter

For coral pieces 1/4" max, 2" deep. Buy the rods first and match the rods accordingly. Don't use a hammer drill as it will shatter the rock. Drill into a solid part so it has a firm base that won't fall apart. This video will help. http://reefontherocks.web.officelive.com/videos.aspx

Bigger 1" + holes are good for running PVC pipe with fittings (45s, 90s, tees) for holding heavy reef structures. You can use a diamond hole saw designed for glass drilling to make these big holes. They are remarkably easy to drill.

 

[nineball]

Wow just went thru this thread over the last 2 days and impressed by your patience the most, car collection secondly and lastly your taste in materials both tank and home.Most likely the longest thread in RC history with no rock in the tank yet
Keep up the good work

Downset, thank you very much for your generas praise. I have been learning a lot from this comunity over the last few months. Apart from having a strong desire to get things right I hope to achieve a quality result using best practices! I am learning that best practices in this hobby do not have a strong consensus and it will be a significant accomplishment if we can agree on a small set of principles that will help guide other folks on this perilous journey. We will NOT eliminate the risks or flatten the evolutionary curve associated with caring for a coral reef but we just might agree on a foundation of principles and practices that will increase the odds for success.

Peter

 

[swissgaurd]

peter
theres a place in brampton that sells acrilic and fiberglass.they also sell rods any thickness and length you wish.
there on wilkinson road .
main intersection is tomken and steels
i think there called the plastic store.
i deal with them for work but they do walk ins as well
size of rod governs the size of the bit
ill be in that area this weekend
ill get a number for ya

vic

 

[downset]

Well said,One of the best things about keeping a reef is there is no right or wrong anwsers.I think as long as you have light flow and basic chemistry down it doesnt really matter how you get there,Guy "A" can buy the best stuff on the market and Guy "B" can make everything in his garage and you both can still grow a coral that guy "C" must have.

I have/had tanks with the most expensive gagets latests fads and I have had tanks with only cheapo hang on the back CPR skimmers and I cant even tell you what works better it all depends on what coarls you end up liking most
I tend to bounce back and forth from LPS to SPS and they dont like the things so again its all about finding the right balance and thats what makes this hobby never get old the pursuit of perfection...

 

[mr.wilson]

peter
theres a place in brampton that sells acrilic and fiberglass.they also sell rods any thickness and length you wish.
there on wilkinson road .
main intersection is tomken and steels
i think there called the plastic store.
i deal with them for work but they do walk ins as well
size of rod governs the size of the bit
ill be in that area this weekend
ill get a number for ya

vic

The Brampton location is gone. They used to be called Warehoused Plastics, then the Plastic Store, now it's Piedmont Plastics as they bought them out. I linked them a few posts ago.

 

[Padrino]

Rob, my intention with the rods was to use them for design material for joining the live rock, if necessary, not for holding frags. I hope to use the same or similar compound that Chingchai used in his aquascaping project.

I asked about the drill bit size for preparing the rock to hold coral frags etc.
. It was suggested a looong time ago that I should drill the holes as I aquascaped and not after!

Having said that, Chingchai has suggested that proper selection and placement of high quality rock would probably go a long way in having natural crevaces and joins to hold the colonies securely to the rock. It certainly has worked well for him.

Peter

LOL yes I did suggest the pegging method back at the beginning of the thread. you have a good memory. I used a two part epoxy in my tank, I can tell you as well as many others that if you knock or bump that coral, it will come loose. That's why i suggest pegging its easier to move coral around and less of a headache if you bump a coral. You will find that you will be moving coral often into areas with less or more light /flow.

 

[mr.wilson]

LOL yes I did suggest the pegging method back at the beginning of the thread. you have a good memory. I used a two part epoxy in my tank, I can tell you as well as many others that if you knock or bump that coral, it will come loose. That's why i suggest pegging its easier to move coral around and less of a headache if you bump a coral. You will find that you will be moving coral often into areas with less or more light /flow.

I've never had success with putty epoxy for bonding rock or corals. It's hard to work with, a slow process, and not cost effective. Some people are happy with it, but clearly they are in the minority.

 

[ksed]

Here is another location for acrylic rods
http://www.plasticworld.ca/

 

[guitar510]

Well...I've spent the last four days reading the entire progress of this amazing thread! I must say this is equally as entertaining as chingchai's, but in a completely different way. Although I'm finally caught-up, it's bittersweet...now is I have to follow the build in real time which means waiting with the rest of you. Looking forward to the progress. Canada continues to represent - sjreefer's cold water tank is perhaps the most inspirational tank I've seen! I hope your vision for the islands turns out as you wish...don't think there's anyway to create a cold water island???

 

[dave.m]

I have to follow the build in real time which means waiting with the rest of you

It's like waiting for the next Harry Potter movie to come out. :strange:

Dave.M

 

[nineball]

Well...I've spent the last four days reading the entire progress of this amazing thread! I must say this is equally as entertaining as chingchai's, but in a completely different way. Although I'm finally caught-up, it's bittersweet...now is I have to follow the build in real time which means waiting with the rest of you. Looking forward to the progress. Canada continues to represent - sjreefer's cold water tank is perhaps the most inspirational tank I've seen! I hope your vision for the islands turns out as you wish...don't think there's anyway to create a cold water island???

Guitar, thank you for taking the time to Wade through this thread. I took an hour to skim through the cold water thread. I don't think I could imagine a marine environment more Canadian if I tried. Part of my youth was spent growing up in Halifax, Annapolis Royal, Saint John New Brunswick so I qualify for at least a partial maritime citizenship. I know first hand just how cold that water can get. You are right however, it would be impossible to accommodate this style in my tank especially with a target temp around 80 degrees. I do plan to bring the styles of the four Grand Masters as initially contemplated even though it will mean stretching out an already marathon build. I have talked with my four helpers and got an enthusiastic response when I suggested that we try and produce a quality result along the lines of Chingchai's effort. We are constructing a sort of luggage frame like in the airports where you have to put you baggage through to see if it will fit in the overhead. This frame is the size a maximum piece or assembly of live rock will fit through the opening in the canopy over the tank. We have done this so that we can attempt to preassemble the aqua sculpture prior to putting it in the tank. We have a four hundred gallon large vat that we can get into to keep all the rock submerged in three feet of water.......our live rock will stay live and never be exposed to the air for more than a few seconds. Once we have the island formation designed we will transport it in sections to the display tank either directly or through the elevator. A couple of design limitations will be to hold the body of rock no closer than eight inches from the acrylic sides of the display tank. That gives us a twenty inch corridor for the twenty four feet to work with. So we will build each formation in the garage, approve it with a consensus then transport the result to the tank. One of the other dynamics that we have to work with will be that these formations will be two sided in the sense that the display tank can be seen from both sides. I have a plan to ensure that there are private spaces for the fish and wildlife to hide and will try and make the nighttime viewing as interesting as the daytime from both sides. If I can do it right I will have almost fifty feet of interesting reef seascape to work with. This has in my mind always been a separate chapter in this lengthy journey that will follow the fish room saga. I have just found out that the second chiller is in transit and won't be here before Tuesday. However, the delay has given us time to run the extra mile and complete some finishing touches on the fish room itself. The preliminary indications are that I have been successful in meeting the objectives of isolating the sound in the fish room from the display tank. Also tests indicate that there is NO environmental leaks in temperature or humidity into the display tank or main house.

I will take some pictures of the empty fish room before the equipment goes back in next week.

Sorry this appears to be dragging on folks but hopefully the results will be worth it.

Also welcome to the group..........

Peter

 

[Salt_in_MyBlood]

Just read the whole thread..... before i reply I need to poke my eyes back into my head...

Great build Peter, excellent job on getting as much information as you can before starting, as well as taking your time and setting it up right. Even though you will still want to change things no matter how well thought out it is when you set it up. I am upgrading to a system the same as you..... no, wait, forgot the decimal..... mine will only be 135. One aspect of thought i have been using in my planning is implementingthings to make it easy to change if i want or need to. I am also trying to do some things to help reduce wasted water as well as energy. One example is using the water change water from the reef tank to replenish water in a 90 gal predator/puffer tank and use water from it to flush the toilet in the basement. Also the 'waste water' from the RO unit will go into a large container to be used for the washing machine as well as water the gardens around the house. A few more ideas but need to think them through more and maybe try before posting here.

I doubt i will be able to do a full thread on my setup as my girlfriend and I are buying a house which will require the first floor and basement to be completely renovated and a few changes to the second floor. All this while planning to setup the 135 penisula reef and 90 puffer tank with an eel or two. I am a big diy'er, so i am building my own protein skimmer(which i just made the cone for) as well as an ocean motion device for the return. I will post pics of each once they are done but like i said will not have the time to do a wonderful thread like this. Having lost my right hand in an accident two years ago and still getting used to doing what i used to in a new way, doing all the renos myself and setting up the tanks.... i will have my hand full.

Hope that was not too long winded and made sense, not just keyboard diarrhea.

To add a few comments to the last few questions i came across:

There is still a warehoused plastic in scarborough, they are great. Got alot of stuff there for my projects. Here is their addy and number: 90 Venture Drive, Scarborough, 416-281-1293
A great place to order hard to find and strange plumbing fittings is http://flexpvc.com/ They also have flow charts for different pipe size.

Mr Wilson: Great source of info, thank you. Also to help you for once, a great user friendly 3D program that allows you to shade things as well as just about anything else to make it life like is Google Sketchup. I am sure you have seen some of it's abilities in other threads. You can download a trial version as well as use the 7 version for free. The pro has a few more features, which if you think you may want, let me know and i can get you the 'free pass' (don't tell google)

Thank you to everyone for the added info, always usefull to hear someone else's thoughts on things, no matter how obscure they seem.

Again, Thank you Peter for starting and maintaining a great thread. It is a truly awesome build and has been a great source of info. Cheers to you and Save me a ticket for the viewing once it is done.

I am by no means an expert at any of this but i love to learn and have become quite adept at finding anything and everything on the web. So feel free to ask anything or maybe source something out.

Cheers to all.... :beer:

 

[mr.wilson]

You should have a bypass line on all of the equipment such as the chiller so it can be taken offline for service without affecting the operation of the aquarium. There should also be a true union shut off valve on each bulkhead of the display tank. This way you can fill & run the tank independent of the plumbing and filtration devices and if your plumbing springs a leak it can be repaired without draining the tank or capping the internal plumbing.

I'm sure you will have more than 50 hiding spaces for fish. They can thread themselves through a needle and rock has unlimited void spaces for them to fight over. Your 50 hiding spaces for 50 feet of rock (one spot per foot) formula may need to be amended accordingly

 

[mr.wilson]

Mr Wilson: Great source of info, thank you. Also to help you for once, a great user friendly 3D program that allows you to shade things as well as just about anything else to make it life like is Google Sketchup. I am sure you have seen some of it's abilities in other threads. You can download a trial version as well as use the 7 version for free. The pro has a few more features, which if you think you may want, let me know and i can get you the 'free pass' (don't tell google)

I have sketchup but haven't put a concentrated effort into learning how to use it yet. I'm still debating whether to invest my time in sketchup or a bit more time and learn autocad. I don't want to have to learn both. Autocad has a lot more features and it's the industry standard, but I like the idea of sketchup being more user friendly and quick to learn. I hear Google isn't putting many resources into upgrading the software, but even as it stands the finished drawings are pretty impressive especially ones that have been rendered in another software. I'll probably meet you under a bridge in an industrial area for that pass code. Don't worry, I'm not talking to Google anymore Thanks.

 

[kmbaczynski]

I have sketchup but haven't put a concentrated effort into learning how to use it yet. I'm still debating whether to invest my time in sketchup or a bit more time and learn autocad. I don't want to have to learn both. Autocad has a lot more features and it's the industry standard, but I like the idea of sketchup being more user friendly and quick to learn. I hear Google isn't putting many resources into upgrading the software, but even as it stands the finished drawings are pretty impressive especially ones that have been rendered in another software. I'll probably meet you under a bridge in an industrial area for that pass code. Don't worry, I'm not talking to Google anymore Thanks.

I'd say go with AutoCAD. It didn't take that long to learn, especially to get the basics down.

I took several CAD/architecture classes in high school.

 

[mr.wilson]

I'd say go with AutoCAD. It didn't take that long to learn, especially to get the basics down.

I took several CAD/architecture classes in high school.

The "It didn't take that long to learn" was encouraging, then you lost me with "several CAD/architecture classes".