Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

Status
Not open for further replies.
nineball said:
I'll forgo the home theater and save 100 amps :love1:

Peter
Click to expand...

Trust me... when this tank is up and running you will forget you have a home theater. I spent allot of time researching and putting my Home Theater together and I find I sit infront of my tank more than the TV.... :spin3:
 
Bayliner said:
Trust me... when this tank is up and running you will forget you have a home theater. I spent allot of time researching and putting my Home Theater together and I find I sit infront of my tank more than the TV.... :spin3:
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean...and to think of what we could of done with the money saved on not going overboard with a home theater system that could be thrown at the tank instead!!! I honestly cant hear a real difference between 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound anyways :spin2:

a good hour or two are spent each evening staring at my tank... I can only imagine how much time is going to be spent gazing at yours nineball...

and on a side note, if I reach half the success you have obviously accomplished in my lifetime, I would be able to die a happy man. This thread continues to be motivating and inspirational. I'm dieing to see pics of it up and running!!! :beer:
 
Funny about the home theater - when I designed my in wall basement 240 display, I was left without enough wall space to properly locate a flat screen within view from the lounge... so my solution was to elect to use a projection setup with motorized screen in front of the tank in the event that we decide a movie is more interesting than the tank... I'm nearly finished with the reef - just need to do some Cherry trim work, install the mini-split A/C and then the projection setup will be finished. I suspect the tank will win more often that not. Even with only some live rock and a cleaner crew, it's amazing how much I catch my wife staring at the thing. :)

Keep those pics coming Peter. I don't mind the cars (of course would prefer to have them in my garage), but we need more shots of the setup!
 
are there any filtration picture updates?
(there is an average of 1 picture per 10 pages, and figured we could get an update on the filtration side.)


i left for a few days - a week, and there was like 20 pages of posts!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow. this thread doesnt mess around. (nineball, i know your getting some great information, but your eyes/head has to hurt at the end of the day from staring at the computer!!!)
 
nineball said:
The 17Kw Generac does not have sufficient muscle to run all the aquarium systems. None of the 3 electricians on site could rework the math to make it all fit. Even though the worst powerfail in recent memory was the four day formentioned blackout there are times each day where it all has to be on if we ever had a repeat. I would like if possible to have some coverage for the basics in the house as someone pointed out for the wife factor. I'll forgo the home theater and save 100 amps but my wife's hair dryer is non negotiable.
:love1:

Peter
Click to expand...

First of all, I go by the rule "Happy wife, happy life", so absolutely have power for everything that your wife needs, wants, or uses, at all times.

I was surprised at the original generator selection when I first read it, but it was several weeks since it had been purchased when I saw it, so I held my tongue. I agree with iluzhun about sizing the generator to supply the whole house, and not just the fish room. Two generators is twice the maintenance, and almost twice the square footage of a unit capable of supplying the whole house.

I just went through upgrading the generator and central UPS for my server room at work, going from a 35kW to 100kW generator. The footprint of the larger unit is only about 20% more than the old unit. We went with diesel on both units for two reasons, the first being completely independent of public utilities in case of emergency, and second being the significantly larger natural gas supply that would be necessary in a leased space.

The challenge with my project was finding electricians that were familiar with generator installation, sizing, etc.. I contacted 4 that were recommended by the construction manager for the property, along with 3 others. Out of these seven large commercial electricians, only two were really able to handle the project. This might be what is coming into play with your project--the electricians may be great in other things, but need some help with generators.

Your desire to isolate the fish room and main house power can still be achieved while protecting both with a single generator. Two transfer switches can control a single generator, as well as having a separate power feed from the generator for each panel. This requires moving into a commercial generator, but you are already into the price range of a commercial system by having two generators. Commercial systems also have far better engine controls for tight voltage output, more options on exercising the engine (frequency, with/without load, duration). You could also link it into your tank controller to shut off non-critical loads when on generator power. If you are running on generator power, you don't need tank lights. You need water and air circulation. Turning off your lights reduces the need for cooling too.

Which brings up some thing for your SOP's, make sure that you run your generator on load regularly so you know that the tank will continue to run properly on generator power. You don't want to find out when your utility power is out that your generator doesn't work.
 
nineball said:
iluzhun, I'm not sure what you mean by the natural gas supply. Its always available even with a complete loss of power. You may remember when the eastern half of North America went dark for four days in many places. We didn't lose natural gas. If the pipeline delivery system was compromised we would probably still have electrical power on the grid. But lets assume that we did lose both at the same time. I can still switch to LP if it made sense and it was necessary.

Also don't forget, I can always run an extension cord to the Bentley!!!!!!!:dance:

Peter
Click to expand...

peter you will have to forgive me as I live in the earthquake capital. California. In the event of a catastrophic event such as an earthquake you would likely lose natural gas. So I always plan for that event. To convert to LPG you will need a tank on site. A BBQ sized tank will not do. Also you need a second fuel setup or need to know how to retune. For me it is more trouble than it is worth. Just my $.02
 
rodsaw said:
First of all, I go by the rule "Happy wife, happy life", so absolutely have power for everything that your wife needs, wants, or uses, at all times.

I was surprised at the original generator selection when I first read it, but it was several weeks since it had been purchased when I saw it, so I held my tongue. I agree with iluzhun about sizing the generator to supply the whole house, and not just the fish room. Two generators is twice the maintenance, and almost twice the square footage of a unit capable of supplying the whole house.

I just went through upgrading the generator and central UPS for my server room at work, going from a 35kW to 100kW generator. The footprint of the larger unit is only about 20% more than the old unit. We went with diesel on both units for two reasons, the first being completely independent of public utilities in case of emergency, and second being the significantly larger natural gas supply that would be necessary in a leased space.

The challenge with my project was finding electricians that were familiar with generator installation, sizing, etc.. I contacted 4 that were recommended by the construction manager for the property, along with 3 others. Out of these seven large commercial electricians, only two were really able to handle the project. This might be what is coming into play with your project--the electricians may be great in other things, but need some help with generators.

Your desire to isolate the fish room and main house power can still be achieved while protecting both with a single generator. Two transfer switches can control a single generator, as well as having a separate power feed from the generator for each panel. This requires moving into a commercial generator, but you are already into the price range of a commercial system by having two generators. Commercial systems also have far better engine controls for tight voltage output, more options on exercising the engine (frequency, with/without load, duration). You could also link it into your tank controller to shut off non-critical loads when on generator power. If you are running on generator power, you don't need tank lights. You need water and air circulation. Turning off your lights reduces the need for cooling too.

Which brings up some thing for your SOP's, make sure that you run your generator on load regularly so you know that the tank will continue to run properly on generator power. You don't want to find out when your utility power is out that your generator doesn't work.
Click to expand...

I have to absolutely agree here. I could continue for weeks on this subject. I will not bore everyone by running the subject any further into the ground here. Peter if you or anyone else has questions or really wants to know more let me know.
 
Great I info on the backup generators. It's an area my knowledge is limited in but I did have a client who had zoning issues in Toronto with a large natural gas generator he was planning to use. He ended up going with a smaller unit. I believe the issue was some kind of bylaw pertaining to generator noise. It seems strange to me considering they are only used during power outages which are very infrequent in this area.

I know someone who installed a small windmill on his property in Burlington to help with his energy costs and of course save the planet. His neighbour took him to court over the noise it made and the judge ordered that he could not use it on weekends :) It made a marginally effective savings become an outright loss.
 
hey Peter ... a little of topic and wondering if you're into football (aka soccer) as we all know the World Cup in South Africa is fast approaching ... come June 11!! Not sure how big is your viewing area but I'm sure it'll be really Swweett :thumbsup: !!

I'm a Big fan of the Yellow Canary and Green jersey (Seleção) team ... :lol2:


Paul
 
Have you settled on a refugium plan yet? I checked out a bit of the cyrptic filtering and find it very interesting. We plan to use multiple tanks and include a mangrove mass planting as we saw here.
 
iluzhun said:
peter you will have to forgive me as I live in the earthquake capital. California. In the event of a catastrophic event such as an earthquake you would likely lose natural gas. So I always plan for that event. To convert to LPG you will need a tank on site. A BBQ sized tank will not do. Also you need a second fuel setup or need to know how to retune. For me it is more trouble than it is worth. Just my $.02
Click to expand...

Earthquakes are controlled by a local by law. No earthquakes before 9am or after four pm. Also no earthquake above 2.6 on the richter scale unless a special certificate is posted three weeks before the event.

:frog:

Peter
 
Briney Dave said:
Have you settled on a refugium plan yet? I checked out a bit of the cyrptic filtering and find it very interesting. We plan to use multiple tanks and include a mangrove mass planting as we saw here.
Click to expand...

I believe I am close to fixing the configuration for the sled. The 'sled' as I call it is a 14ft platform on which most of the filtration capacity sits. There is a hard date for the install in the next two weeks and I will be taking a bazillion pictures at that time. Right now the plumbing/electrical and HVAC 'stuff' is being finished with the dry wall and painting getting done this week, i hope. I'm also doing some tiling on the walls:cool:

Peter
 
nineball said:
Earthquakes are controlled by a local by law. No earthquakes before 9am or after four pm. Also no earthquake above 2.6 on the richter scale unless a special certificate is posted three weeks before the event. Peter
Click to expand...

I like that, I am in Florida and I think that I will need to bring up a similar restriction on hurricanes at the next county commissioners meeting. It's sad that I don't fear for my safety or the house, but the thought of all the fish just swimming away out to sea when if we get hit.
 
PauChi said:
hey Peter ... a little of topic and wondering if you're into football (aka soccer) as we all know the World Cup in South Africa is fast approaching ... come June 11!! Not sure how big is your viewing area but I'm sure it'll be really Swweett :thumbsup: !!

I'm a Big fan of the Yellow Canary and Green jersey (Seleção) team ... :lol2:


Paul
Click to expand...

Sorry Paul, all I know is that a soccer ball is round and a football...............is not!

Peter
 
salsipuedes said:
I know exactly what you mean...and to think of what we could of done with the money saved on not going overboard with a home theater system that could be thrown at the tank instead!!! I honestly cant hear a real difference between 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound anyways :spin2:

a good hour or two are spent each evening staring at my tank... I can only imagine how much time is going to be spent gazing at yours nineball...

and on a side note, if I reach half the success you have obviously accomplished in my lifetime, I would be able to die a happy man. This thread continues to be motivating and inspirational. I'm dieing to see pics of it up and running!!! :beer:
Click to expand...

Thank you for the great compliments salsipuedes. Actually, you need double my success to be totaly anxiety free.......... minus the cost for drugs!!!

Peter
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
Why do oversized protein skimmers not adequately remove protein from a tank?
Replies
12
Views
198
Paul B
Paul B
R
The Role of Magnesium Salts in Coral Reef Health and Restoration
Replies
0
Views
13
runfucamg
R
V
Feedback on this stocking list for 30g
Replies
0
Views
90
Varanis
V
Jyetman
Please help
Replies
9
Views
603
Jyetman
Jyetman
D
Help with new tank cycling
Replies
1
Views
38
wvned
wvned
Back
Top