Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[Aquarist007]

Thank you both and you are right......there is a lot happening at the moment.

In some ways I think I am getting a crash (oops bad choice of words in this group!) course in how to cope when by all accounts and visual cues we are back at the beginning of this project. The fish room is virtually empty of equipment except for the mars bars. The equipment is spread all around the lower foyer which is making my wife so very very happy at the moment. There are a bunch of tile guys redoing parts of the fish room floor and blending the walls from the old room to the new expanded floor plan. Pictures will be soon............

Meanwhile, we have taken ALL the plumbing, in, over and under the tank apart and gone back to the basics taking into account all the concerns raised in this thread as well as flow experts who have listened to my long winded explanations as to what we are trying to accomplish. We have even re-examined the equipment in light of a new and improved flow architecture. We are changing a number of the pumps (5 of them to be exact) to Abyzz 400W brushless DC pumps with a proprietary controller capable of controlling up to eight pumps in a coordinated fashion. The open system has also been reconfigured to provide much better circulation in the display tank and better effectiveness in the various water quality processing coming off the sled.

We are starting to look at lighting with some real world tests in the empty tank to establish a performance baseline on a variety of lights and light configurations. I can tell you that we got some surprises that none of us expected. There will be a great deal more soon on this subject. We are beginning to bring in some decent technology to measure and quantify our results for everyone's benefit.

The reef crystal supply line has been set up to initialize the mars bars and display tank. We have also washed our aconite sand with a cement mixer and put it into the vats to season with our healthy live rock. We have put in a regulator to ensure that the feed to our two RO/DI units is at 75 deg F to maximize the efficiency of water production.

The Bros. Grimm have drafted up detailed sketches of the overall plan for the Display Tank aquascuplture representing the styles for the Four Grand Masters. The four styles are................ Cloud Mountain, Canyon, English Country Garden and Bonsai. I will be announcing the selected Grand Masters in two weeks.

We have decided to bite the bullet and initialize the system with the profilux 3 EX controller with all the bells and whistles. This will get us started and we will be adding additional equipment when circumstances dictate.

Due to the equipment changes in the fish room we will be reviewing the electrical layout and amending it accordingly. Hopefully my electrician will be available by satellite phone in his new three masted schooner on his round the world excursion now that he can afford it!!!!

We have submitted the drawings for the mangrove acrylic hydroponic miracle mud experimental farm to two suppliers and are waiting on the responses which we hope to get in the next couple of days.

Mr Wilson has informed me that the sac of spare parts is getting smaller which is a clear indicator of progress. I must say that working with Mr. Wilson has been a real benefit to my learning curve and that of the whole team. We are surrounded by computers linked to the web, manuals from an extensive warchest of experience, phone and email links to some of the best resources in the business and an array of equipment that I'm sure will take me a lifetime to feel comfortable with.

There will be food soon enough for the picture hounds out there. I'm holding out this time as I believe that the mess is familiar stuff to you all and its time we get to the meat of this project with finished products to be put on display. So pictures soon...........when we are ready to move on to the next phase.

Peter on behalf of the 'team'.

thanks for taking the time to keep us arm chair hobbyists informed Peter. I hope the build goes smoothly from this point onward :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[LamboAM]

I've been following this build with great interest for quite some time now.

Sounds like now you are getting to the business end!!

Best of luck and thanks for the effort you put into all of your posts.

 

[ksed]

Peter

You will like those Abyzz pumps, hope they will work out well for you.

Kevin

 

[PauChi]

Hey Peter,

It's been a while and going 'thru some unread posts ... I can't help but looking aghast at your (really your wife's ... :eek1 garden shots!!

Well kept and maintained healthy garden ... simply awesome!!

Paul

 

[Moser]

Thank you both and you are right......there is a lot happening at the moment.

We have even re-examined the equipment in light of a new and improved flow architecture. We are changing a number of the pumps (5 of them to be exact) to Abyzz 400W brushless DC pumps with a proprietary controller capable of controlling up to eight pumps in a coordinated fashion. The open system has also been reconfigured to provide much better circulati.

I'm glad I could convince you that this was the way to go.....

You should also now talk to Torsten about your unique scaping requirements as in my mind, the ONLY way you will achieve the desired look is a custom designed ceramic rock architechture that exactly mimics the shapes you want!. Torsten is a genius at it!!..... Then put all the live rock in a sump/vat with massive flow through it.

:dance:

Mo

 

[Reefski's]

i think it is great that the live rock has a long time to cure. i think it is time to start feeding it.

do you have a PAR meter yet?

 

[mikebpeters]

Peter - I am very impressed at your willingness to put aside so much effort and do it right, right now, before you truly commit. Well done!

I am in the midst of building a 265 that is child's play in comparison, but I have learned a tremendous amount by following your trials and tribulations.

You going to MACNA this fall?

 

[mr.wilson]

Sorry to anyone who has asked me questions over the last few days. I've been tied up with the reality of Peter's tank and need to revisit the voyeur side of things soon. I'll post some updates tomorrow and over the weekend.

 

[canyousee]

test kit

test kit

Awhile ago you were asking about brands of test kits I have tried too many but finally settled on Salifert for all my tests. I get enough tank water, ounce a month to send some to aquariumwatertesting.com to check my results against a lab, a little expensive ( for me) but the peace of mind knowing my results are accurate makes it were it. Keep up the inspirational build.:bounce2:

 

[Moser]

Elos has a nice line of slick products, but their aquarium controller lacks many of the features that Profilux has. I don't believe it has a Blackberry/Iphone feature. That's a big one in the toy box. GHL (Profilux) has been persistent in adding new features over the past few years. This is a weak spot with some other venders who build it and hit a plateau. The only things I'm not crazy about are the poorly written/translated instructions and the small screen and confusing buttons. It's a lot easier when you have it plugged into a PC.

Agree with all of those comments, but I would expect that Peter could source a touch screen tablet laptop to use exclusively with the Profilux and stick to the PC software, which makes the Profilux very easy to set up and use. There was also talk of a Profiview 3 touch screen remote screen at some stage.....

Mo

 

[nineball]

Agree with all of those comments, but I would expect that Peter could source a touch screen tablet laptop to use exclusively with the Profilux and stick to the PC software, which makes the Profilux very easy to set up and use. There was also talk of a Profiview 3 touch screen remote screen at some stage.....

Mo

Mo, I agree and yes you are right, I plan on devoting one of my many touch panel devices to the administration of the fish room and display tank......

I would be surprised however if the company that makes profilux would be silly enough to attempt the high development cost of going with a proprietary touch pad when apple and HP offer the platform with class and depth. There are enough competent developers out there to do it in a week.........

Peter

 

[nineball]

Awhile ago you were asking about brands of test kits I have tried too many but finally settled on Salifert for all my tests. I get enough tank water, ounce a month to send some to aquariumwatertesting.com to check my results against a lab, a little expensive ( for me) but the peace of mind knowing my results are accurate makes it were it. Keep up the inspirational build.:bounce2:

Thank you canyousee for your support and encouragement. I hadn't thought of the lab testing facility until you brought it up here. Good point I hope something similar is available in Canada............

Thanks again,

Peter

 

[nineball]

Peter - I am very impressed at your willingness to put aside so much effort and do it right, right now, before you truly commit. Well done!

I am in the midst of building a 265 that is child's play in comparison, but I have learned a tremendous amount by following your trials and tribulations.

You going to MACNA this fall?

Thanks Mike, I am going to MACNA. I'm registered, suite booked and am just about ready to book my flight! Remember Mike, this build isn't so much about size or money as much as it is about establishing best practices. This makes as much sense for a hundred gallons as it does for one thousand. Never apologize for size...........at least not in this thread!!

Peter

 

[nineball]

i think it is great that the live rock has a long time to cure. i think it is time to start feeding it.

do you have a PAR meter yet?

Agreed and Mr. Wilson has made the same observation. We are hoping to put the rock in the display tank next week and feeding is definately on the agenda.

We have a LUX meter and the par meter has been ordered for next week.

Peter

 

[Luckylouse]

Thank you both and you are right......there is a lot happening at the moment.

In some ways I think I am getting a crash (oops bad choice of words in this group!) course in how to cope when by all accounts and visual cues we are back at the beginning of this project. The fish room is virtually empty of equipment except for the mars bars. The equipment is spread all around the lower foyer which is making my wife so very very happy at the moment. There are a bunch of tile guys redoing parts of the fish room floor and blending the walls from the old room to the new expanded floor plan. Pictures will be soon............

Meanwhile, we have taken ALL the plumbing, in, over and under the tank apart and gone back to the basics taking into account all the concerns raised in this thread as well as flow experts who have listened to my long winded explanations as to what we are trying to accomplish. We have even re-examined the equipment in light of a new and improved flow architecture. We are changing a number of the pumps (5 of them to be exact) to Abyzz 400W brushless DC pumps with a proprietary controller capable of controlling up to eight pumps in a coordinated fashion. The open system has also been reconfigured to provide much better circulation in the display tank and better effectiveness in the various water quality processing coming off the sled.

We are starting to look at lighting with some real world tests in the empty tank to establish a performance baseline on a variety of lights and light configurations. I can tell you that we got some surprises that none of us expected. There will be a great deal more soon on this subject. We are beginning to bring in some decent technology to measure and quantify our results for everyone's benefit.

The reef crystal supply line has been set up to initialize the mars bars and display tank. We have also washed our aconite sand with a cement mixer and put it into the vats to season with our healthy live rock. We have put in a regulator to ensure that the feed to our two RO/DI units is at 75 deg F to maximize the efficiency of water production.

The Bros. Grimm have drafted up detailed sketches of the overall plan for the Display Tank aquascuplture representing the styles for the Four Grand Masters. The four styles are................ Cloud Mountain, Canyon, English Country Garden and Bonsai. I will be announcing the selected Grand Masters in two weeks.

We have decided to bite the bullet and initialize the system with the profilux 3 EX controller with all the bells and whistles. This will get us started and we will be adding additional equipment when circumstances dictate.

Due to the equipment changes in the fish room we will be reviewing the electrical layout and amending it accordingly. Hopefully my electrician will be available by satellite phone in his new three masted schooner on his round the world excursion now that he can afford it!!!!

We have submitted the drawings for the mangrove acrylic hydroponic miracle mud experimental farm to two suppliers and are waiting on the responses which we hope to get in the next couple of days.

Mr Wilson has informed me that the sac of spare parts is getting smaller which is a clear indicator of progress. I must say that working with Mr. Wilson has been a real benefit to my learning curve and that of the whole team. We are surrounded by computers linked to the web, manuals from an extensive warchest of experience, phone and email links to some of the best resources in the business and an array of equipment that I'm sure will take me a lifetime to feel comfortable with.

There will be food soon enough for the picture hounds out there. I'm holding out this time as I believe that the mess is familiar stuff to you all and its time we get to the meat of this project with finished products to be put on display. So pictures soon...........when we are ready to move on to the next phase.

Peter on behalf of the 'team'.

Good choice on the P3... It's a must IMO.

 

[nineball]

I'm glad I could convince you that this was the way to go.....

You should also now talk to Torsten about your unique scaping requirements as in my mind, the ONLY way you will achieve the desired look is a custom designed ceramic rock architechture that exactly mimics the shapes you want!. Torsten is a genius at it!!..... Then put all the live rock in a sump/vat with massive flow through it.

:dance:

Mo

The pumps will make a real difference we believe.......Thanks. The aquascape will make use of the live rock I aquired even though I agree that the task would be far easier with the ceramic base.

Peter

 

[nineball]

I've been following this build with great interest for quite some time now.

Sounds like now you are getting to the business end!!

Best of luck and thanks for the effort you put into all of your posts.

Thank you Lambo and yes we are finally getting traction. I'm looking forward to shopping for coral!!

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

Mo, I agree and yes you are right, I plan on devoting one of my many touch panel devices to the administration of the fish room and display tank......

I would be surprised however if the company that makes profilux would be silly enough to attempt the high development cost of going with a proprietary touch pad when apple and HP offer the platform with class and depth. There are enough competent developers out there to do it in a week.........

Peter

Yes, the Profilux controller is a bit of a challenge to navigate without going through a PC. It works like the early digital watches, multiple clicks of a few buttons and a tiny screen.

 

[Moser]

Mo, I agree and yes you are right, I plan on devoting one of my many touch panel devices to the administration of the fish room and display tank......

I would be surprised however if the company that makes profilux would be silly enough to attempt the high development cost of going with a proprietary touch pad when apple and HP offer the platform with class and depth. There are enough competent developers out there to do it in a week.........

Peter

Peter,

Are you having yours custom programmed?.
I'm sure there would me many of us out there who would be interested in a custom aftermarket interface such as an Apple screen to drive the Profilux if you were thinking of a limited run of units!
:spin1:

Mo

 

[Bigez]

Awefully quiet around these parts... Any updates, or dare I ask pictures?! :bounce1: