Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[heisenberg]

"VISION
peter i really think after all of your hard work, and all of the information in this thread that you should incorporate a section of your own design as well,

I agree!

 

[BlakR]

: celeb3 :: bounce1 :: D

 

[stevek480]

Thanks Brian, I have my 'IT' team working on the best solution for delivering HD streams to a selected audience. With a project like this HD is the only way to go even though Chingchai wants me to put 3D cameras in the fish room........I think it will be a while before we are ready for that.

Peter

I think a dedicated server with your own website is in order!

 

[canyousee]

Agree, if I were to bring frags and a few Blu-rays would I be pushing your hospitality to see/hear to of my main hobbies at there pinnacle?:eek1:

 

[stevek480]

I think a dedicated server with your own website is in order!

Actually now that I think about it, you may need your own server farm with all the hits you'll be getting from this community alone. Got room for a server rack in your fish room??

 

[heisenberg]

Oh man, data center and fish room are two things that should never occupy the same place. Trust me.

 

[nineball]

Actually now that I think about it, you may need your own server farm with all the hits you'll be getting from this community alone. Got room for a server rack in your fish room??

Another one????I already have 29 terabytes in the media equipment room. I guess if you think its necessary I can get another fish room specific server farm for the fish room. Then I'm probably going to have to do a research project on just how much wifi radiation salt water snails can take without loosing productivity.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Agree, if I were to bring frags and a few Blu-rays would I be pushing your hospitality to see/hear to of my main hobbies at there pinnacle?:eek1:

I don't know about you but I will probably be watching the fish tank on my 14 ft perforated curved screen in 2.40 aspect ratio. Thats best of both worlds I think.

Peter

 

[canyousee]

Sweet, your the man you lead and I'll follow.

 

[venom550pm]

It amazes me how many hobbies we all have in common. Reef tanks, A/V, vino, cars. But most of us is on a much smaller scale. I used to want to live vicariously through my single friends, but now, it's you Peter! I'm growing some frags for ya!

Also, any updates on the lighting I'm really interested in what you guys are thinking.

 

[stone.david]

Ok, let's examine the facts here. Since you are only 24 life should already be a nightmare for you so using the algorithm for budgeting it would be double your nightmare which would be 48 and since you would only be half way there that would be ninety six years plus 1 year or ninety seven years before the tank will be done. Since you are already 24 years old then I have 73 years to complete the build. Assuming you continue to live in New Zealand and the benefits of medical science grow at the same rate as they have been in southern California then you will likely live until 105 years of age without any heroic measures required to get you there. I think I can say with confidence now that i will have sand in the tank before you die so don't give up hope!!!

Peter

OK ill hang on in there, how about teasing me with a pic... you know to numb the pain

 

[CJ2010]

Peter plantation acres is a small horse community in south Florida beautiful and quiet. We have our mansions we have our ranches and we have our normal sized hours. Just a real nice neighborhood in board county Florida. Thanks for the response. I can't believe you answer to every post. It's amazing.

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter,
I had to :lolspin: at that comment....I will be using the Thorite and fiberglass rod to bond my rocks but they have been dry and and in storage for a few years. Love the information that you guys are discussing!!!!

Will hopefully catch up with you and your crew at MACNA.

My aquascaping method of choice is similar to yours. I use a stock PVC plate on the bottom with 1/2" male adapters threaded into it, placed strategically across the plate. I drill 1" dia. core holes in the rock for a 1/2" PVC pipe to use as a back bone through most of the rocks (the pipe goes through the centre of each drilled rock like a large scale version of the smaller rod method). 45˚ and 90˚ elbows and the odd tee are used to create some shape to the structure. I find pressure fitting is sufficient (no gluing) for stability and flexibility in making slight changes as I build.

Once all of the rocks are in place, I cement the key joints with portland-based cement to assure nothing can shift and to hide any PVC that may be showing. The cement joints look like rock, coral or sponge and quickly cover over in coraline algae.

Thorite is now called Emaco 400. I'm trying a new (to me) type of cement with Peter's internal PVC pipes. It's called Emaco S88ci, originally suggested to me by Ksed here on RC. It's a marine cement designed for exposure to corrosive salt water so it is sulphide and chloride resistant. The advantages it offers are not only a longer life but it is also certified for potable drinking water. Emaco 400 (Thorite) has proven to be safe in marine tanks, however it is not certified for potable drinking water applications. I am also using BASF Acryl 60 bonding agent (fancy watered down white glue) to add bonding strength, flexibility, and durability.

The benefit of Emaco 400 is its fast curing time. The Emaco S88ci marine cement has a work time of 45 minutes and an early bonding strength so I am hoping it can also be used in rock bonding with a tank fill 6-24 hours later. For Peter's project I am limiting its use to plastic pipes that can cure and stabilize PH out of the tank in a timely fashion. I will report my results including PH shifts and calcium leaching.

Jamie and the crew intend to drill some rods into areas where it is required, but we aren't quite there yet. The two-part epoxy putty for bonding the rocks will be in this week

 

[mr.wilson]

Hi Peter, we need picturesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.
BTW. where did you get the pump "Abyzz 420 eco" anywhere in US. thanks

Best regard,

Sammy

We were able to get the Abyzz pumps direct from Germany but they are not available locally yet. They are very thorough in making sure the product is ready for the North American market before releasing it in large numbers. Of course, at $2,000.00 each the numbers are not that large. It isn't the kind of thing you will be seeing group buys of Eventually the price will come down but not for a few years as they have been on the market since 2006 in Europe.

I will forward the specs and pics as I get them. At this point I only have the spec sheet for the 200 watt version. https://files.me.com/mr.wilson1/wtdtsu

 

[mr.wilson]

I would not bother to get the WLAN feature for the Profilux 3 at the moment.

All of the new web management features use the web server of the standard LAN interface (cabled). The WLAN is only useful to manage the device from the Profilux control software, it cannot be used for iPhone/iPAD management for the P3 web site.

I have a P3 Ex with a WLAN card that I had from my PII upgrade, and the WLAN card is basically useless. The P3 it's self is great, the control is excellent as is the ability to monitor it from an iPhone or iPAD.

I have been told that there will be an upgrade for the WLAN module (not sure if this is replacement hardware or firmware), but until then, dont bother with the WLAN interface.

Great info. I've set-up and used a handful of these units but have stuck to the basic functions thus far. I'm having problems getting in contact with Aqua-Digital to purchase the controller. Maybe he's on vacation.

 

[ebonline]

My aquascaping method of choice is similar to yours. I use a stock PVC plate on the bottom with 1/2" male adapters threaded into it, placed strategically across the plate. I drill 1" dia. core holes in the rock for a 1/2" PVC pipe to use as a back bone through most of the rocks (the pipe goes through the centre of each drilled rock like a large scale version of the smaller rod method). 45˚ and 90˚ elbows and the odd tee are used to create some shape to the structure. I find pressure fitting is sufficient (no gluing) for stability and flexibility in making slight changes as I build.

Once all of the rocks are in place, I cement the key joints with portland-based cement to assure nothing can shift and to hide any PVC that may be showing. The cement joints look like rock, coral or sponge and quickly cover over in coraline algae.

Thorite is now called Emaco 400. I'm trying a new (to me) type of cement with Peter's internal PVC pipes. It's called Emaco S88ci, originally suggested to me by Ksed here on RC. It's a marine cement designed for exposure to corrosive salt water so it is sulphide and chloride resistant. The advantages it offers are not only a longer life but it is also certified for potable drinking water. Emaco 400 (Thorite) has proven to be safe in marine tanks, however it is not certified for potable drinking water applications. I am also using BASF Acryl 60 bonding agent (fancy watered down white glue) to add bonding strength, flexibility, and durability.

The benefit of Emaco 400 is its fast curing time. The Emaco S88ci marine cement has a work time of 45 minutes and an early bonding strength so I am hoping it can also be used in rock bonding with a tank fill 6-24 hours later. For Peter's project I am limiting its use to plastic pipes that can cure and stabilize PH out of the tank in a timely fashion. I will report my results including PH shifts and calcium leaching.

Jamie and the crew intend to drill some rods into areas where it is required, but we aren't quite there yet. The two-part epoxy putty for bonding the rocks will be in this week

Mr. Wilson,
Keep the group informed on how the Emaco S88ci with the Acryl 60 bonding agent goes because I like the fact that it has a longer working time than the Thorite (Emaco 400) has and can possibly last a lot longer in salt water applications. I just have a small container of the Emaco 400 and was going to do some experimenting to see if it was going to be worth while for my use. It will be a few months before I am ready to build my rock structure so will keep up with Peter's tank progress in the meantime.

Thanks

 

[mr.wilson]

I thought the point of a DSB was to have an anoxic zone. Isn't that what the "D" is for?

Can you explain the perforated pipes? Are they used as normal drains, or are they just holes in the sand?

The tubes themselves are simply a perforated pipe with an end cap at the bottom to keep sand out. They are completely independent of the drain system which consists of a siphon and gravity (Durso) drain drawing water from the top 6" of the overflow box. The siphon line runs down through the bottom of the tank and does not hook over the top of the tank like a traditional siphon drain.

The 1.5" siphon is controlled by a ball valve to draw out 90% of the water we need to drain. The remaining 10% is made up with a 2" gravity drain. The siphon can fall behind in demand and the 2" gravity drain will make up the difference. This way slight variations in siphon speed will not affect the draining process. If we relied 100% on the siphon drain it may over-siphon and lose prime, causing a toilet flush noise as it goes in and out of siphon. By under utilizing the siphon and allowing the water in the overflow box to climb a few inches to the Durso gravity drain, we can only have variation in the Durso's rate. If the siphon drains clog, the 2" Durso's are more than enough to drain our demand in the case of an emergency, even if they don't kick into siphon themselves. Remember, a siphon can move exponentially more water than a gravity (aspirated) drain. A siphon uses surface tension to actively pull water down the pipe with no space occupied by air.

Denitrifying bacteria can be anaerobic or aerobic. The series business gets done in the first 1" of sand, not necessarily due to oxygen saturation, but more because of water exposure/turnover.

We are aiming for hypoxic (low oxygen level), not anoxic (very low oxygen level) for our overflow deep sand bed (ODSB). Our ODSB will be about 24" deep so we want to assure that we are using more than the first few inches for denitrification.

Canister style denitrifying filters use a slow drip feed pump and a second recirculation pump to assure water moves freely throughout the bioballs, carbon media, or sulphur beads & calcium carbonate media. Our ODSB is a passive system that hopefully bridges the gap between the efficacy of a recirculating canister and a static bucket of sand with water slowly running across the surface (Calfo bucket).

The tube we are using will only allow a slow exchange of water. There are no pipes directing flow down it and no water being actively pulled up it. We will use a dissolved oxygen (DO) probe to keep track of what the DO is in the various levels of the tube and surrounding sand. Obviously the farther you travel from the tube, the lower the dissolved oxygen. This may not be entirely true if we actively pull water out of the tube as water will fill the void by moving down through the sand from the top (like an under gravel filter for those who are old enough to remember them).

We can also take samples from within the tube to see if we have a lower nitrate of phosphate level at deeper depths in the ODSB. If we can prove that the sand bed is working, then the next step is to prove that it can work better. As long as we can maintain zero nitrates within the ODSB we will continue to push it harder by feeding more water through it. Once we see nitrate in the ODSB we can back off our water feed/exchange rate as we will know what the denitrification limitations are.

The feed tube can be capped with the DO probe left inside to test "normal" DO levels. The tube may not add any oxygen on its own, without a heat source to lift water or a dosing pump drawing water out from the bottom. Water takes the path of least resistance so it will naturally be drawn to the siphon & gravity Durso drains.

The other issue we hope to explore is the addition of a carbon source. Most people who add a carbon source (vodka, lactose, glucose, ascorbic acid etc.) do so in large volumes because they are not directly feeding a denitrifying filter. While there is some value in feeding carbon to microbes on the surface of coral tissue, most of the demand for carbon is within a DSB or denitrifying filter of some sort. We hope to eliminate nuisance algae and protein skimming issues by directly feeding the denitrifiers with our feeding tubes.

Once again, thank you to Peter for providing the "lab facilities" with full bar and entertainment system to carry out these experiments. It's like working for NASA & NASCAR at the same time

 

[mr.wilson]

ppps: Mr Wilson, if you ever do write a book, and i sincerely hope you do, i'll definitely buy it.

Just don't read it all in one sitting like you did with this thread. It takes a year to write a book

 

[mr.wilson]

Since noone has responded in 24 hours (a rarity for this thread), allow me to add a little meat to the above bones. :lol2:

The oxygenated portion of a DSB (usually the top 2 inches or so), or the entire portion of a shallow sand bed, has bacteria which convert waste to ammonia, then to nitrite, then to nitrate. If nothing else is done the nitrate builds up, and eventually becomes toxic to the fish. Fortunately it takes a great deal of nitrates before this happens, but it will get there. With the DSB, the deeper, anoxic layer harbors bacteria that convert the nitrates to nitrogen gas, which then harmlessly bubbles out of the water.

If you oxygenate the entire DSB, such as through the perforated pipes, for example, you end up with a glorified undergravel filter, which was what everyone was trying to avoid in the first place by putting in the DSB.

I strongly suspect that Peter and Mr. Wilson already know all this (as evidenced by the early removal of bioballs (a.k.a. nitrate factory) which accomplish the same purpose as an oxygenated sandbed, albeit with less surface area), which begs the question as to what other purpose is being accomplished. I, for one, am curious to know.

I was hoping no one noticed I wasn't around for the last week

Denitrifiers also convert nitrate back into nitrite in a process called kickback BTW. Each layer of sand consumes oxygen so the deeper you go the more anaerobic it gets. The key is to find the right amount of oxygen or lack there of without losing water turnover. Our overflows will have one 2" dia. tube in each. Time will tell how it works out.

 

[mr.wilson]

The best part about this is that most people wait until after things are up and running and then decide to make a bunch of changes. There will always be things you wish you had done differently, but with the way you have opened up the floor for input from everyone on the whole build process, and more importantly taken that advice, I have a feeling you will be much better positioned for success and you will be much happier overall once the tank is stocked. It's much easier, and cheaper for that matter, to make the changes up front rather than when the tank is running and stocked. Can't wait to see updated pics of everything - especially the aquascaping :beer:

I fully agree. People overlook the hidden cost in dead livestock and replaced & upgraded equipment. This is clearly the area where people have regrets that Peter doesn't and will not have. It's not uncommon to invest $20,000.00 in an aquarium that you could go out and buy for $5,000.00 once you complete the learning curve.

Peter has a big bang for the buck. It's a lot of bucks, but a hell of a bang