Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[dainiusiva]

I have recently found out about a company called EcoDeco. They have a natural filtration technology that is used by public aquariums worldwide.

Its called Dynamic Mineral Control (DyMiCo). It works on a basis that a natural ecosystem can filter itself efficiently. Dymico itself is a sand bed filter,but that is the most information that i was able to find.

Oh, ive also found their patent explaining the technology, too bad it is in Dutch, so i was not able to make anything out of it (the pictures dont explain a thing).

Has anyone ever heard of it?

 

[MabuyaQ]

I for sure have as a Dutchy and am very interested in this system. This is their official site http://www.ecodeco.nl/index.htm. I know that currently a commercial coral breeder is being founded in the Netherlands that is also going to use this system. They are also working on a smaller system that could be used for private aquariums.

 

[dainiusiva]

yes,i know,actually ive found out about them from an article about that coral nursery already have sent them e-mail.could you translate the patent for us? of course if that in no way breaks the law. it would be interesting to know how it works,because the info on the site is very very miniscule

 

[3seconds2live]

I wish I had the time to start new threads. When I do, I will set up an experimental tank to use as a model. Too often we get sucked into doing things a certain way simply because "that's how it's done".

Having said that, there is usually a reason why people do it that way Just make sure your reasons apply.

As much as I don't like pumps and parts in the tank, I also don't like the liability and cost of making a swiss cheese tank with holes in every panel. You can knock $1000 off of the cost of a tank by eliminating most of the holes (no need for tempering and thicker glass etc.). Losing a few bulkheads and valves by going up over the top trim has its benefits, as long as you can get creative to hide them.

Closed loop pumps do not need to be located below the tank, and they do not need to have any bulkheads. You can easily prime the system with a powerhead and never have to do it again. Everything starts up automatically when you switch the pump on and off. Spray foam, epoxy, and cement can make any internal plumbing invisible.

Remember to reinvest the savings in other areas or you will have a false economy. I'm also a big fan of adding extra system volume with 55 gallon drums. You can run these under pressure or as header tanks, or daisy chained to a sump. They can be used for water volume or as sand beds, live rock or eggcrate benthic/cryptic zones, or as chemical media filters.

I just cought up on the tread and noticed this. Anything posted here is always an interesting read and I learn more and more as the thread moves along. I have been running my tank for a very short time just short of a year. Its a 75 gallon with a small 10 gallon sump. I am by no means knowledgable about nutrient this and and protein that. I purchased a protein skimmer a super reef octo and got it in the mail a few months back. I assembled it in my kitchen taking my time to ensure i had done it correctly and when walking up the stairs my dogs (2 yellow labs) bolted down them to greet whoever rang the door bell. As you would guess 2 95 pound dogs tripped me and shattered my new couple hundred dollar protein skimmer. I've could not afford a new one so i've been running my tank with nothing other than weekly water changes of 10-15% activated carbon and a hope and a prayer that no other unfortunate issue befalls my tank and inhabitants. I have great polyp extension on my zoas and sps and no algae growth. As I stated before while I find this thread amazing in every aspect in its goal to attain ocean like perfection I love that even though i dont have the extended knowledge of mr wilson or many others here or the finances of peter (jealous of your house its amazing) i can still enjoy this hobby and provide a comfortable environment for my tank inhabitants. Keep up the amazing build peter even though its not my tank or house because of your (and the teams) kindness you have blessed this whole community with new knowledge and understanding.

 

[dave.m]

could you translate the patent for us?

Could you post the link for the patent? Have you tried dumping the info into an on-line translator like Dictionary.Com? The EcoDeco.nl site does not include nearly enough information to tell what it is they're selling, and there are hints on the site that there may be stocking limitations and special feeding regimes required. Without a clear understanding of what their system entails it is impossible to guess at what they really mean.

Dave.M

 

[Elliott]

Successful tanks that I have observed always were the product of conscientious husbandry. Deliberate nutrient export via water changes, protein skimming, carbon, chaeto, etc. While alternate methodologies are interesting and lead to innovation, let's not get away from what has already proven to work by the meriad of long term successes observed in this forum alone.

I think even suggesting that water changes are somehow a detriment is heading in the wrong direction all together, and I would read the information in that article with nothing more than a passing interest. The author himself admits to too much focus on metal accumulation leaving other measured factors incomplete.

I agree, one cannot argue with success, at least we know what works! However just look at how many tank of the month systems have not stood the test of time. Could heavy metal toxicity be one of the culprits?

Feldman's article documents the accumulation of toxic heavy metals over time and suggests that salt mix is the source. He also describes a method to export these metals, carbon.

I hope this is not interpreted as water changes are bad. Water changes have proven to be one of the most effective waste export means we have. However, along with water changes, using carbon to bind heavy metals that accumulate in our tanks from salt mixes may prevent heavy metal toxicity.

 

[chingchai]

Peter. How is your tank doing?
We all would love to see the updated pics of your tank, equipments, sump and whatever.
Thanks.

 

[swissgaurd]

shawn or anyone else

i was just spreard by a longspine black seaurchin,i dont think i was stung,as i only felt the pain.
the skin was penetrated as there was blood,so i squueazed more blood,i then put my hand under running hot water till i could not take it anymore.
then washed my hands under dish soap.then poured rubbing alcohol on the wound,its not bleeding but throbbing,i do blieve the stingers are not the spines.
i have done this procedure for anenome stings,but not sure of sea urchin

thanks

vic

 

[Elliott]

shawn or anyone else

i was just spreard by a longspine black seaurchin,i dont think i was stung,as i only felt the pain.
the skin was penetrated as there was blood,so i squueazed more blood,i then put my hand under running hot water till i could not take it anymore.
then washed my hands under dish soap.then poured rubbing alcohol on the wound,its not bleeding but throbbing,i do blieve the stingers are not the spines.
i have done this procedure for anenome stings,but not sure of sea urchin

thanks

vic

acidic solutions dissolve the spines and neutralize the toxin, soak in comfortably hot acetic acid (vinegar)

 

[swissgaurd]

vinegar
thanks elliot,i forgot that one,i use that for bee stings as well

vic

 

[Elliott]

vinegar
thanks elliot,i forgot that one,i use that for bee stings as well

vic

no problem, if you're at the beach and this happens urine also works

 

[swissgaurd]

my finger is in a glass with vinegar,i can feel the pain subsiding.
lol i thought about the urine,thought that was for jellyfish and i just went before getting nailed.
theres a free urchin up for grabs as its getting a little big.

vic

 

[Hookup]

....

guy 1: so why are you soaking your finger in a jar of apple juice?
guy 2: it's not apple juice it's urine.
guy 1: um...
guy 2: yeah, someone on the internet said to do it
guy 1: ....backs away slowly

lol...

I know it's the right thing to do...

and Vinegar > Urine for obvious reasons..

It's just that little skit ran thru my mind when I read these last posts...

thanks for the chuckles.

 

[dainiusiva]

Could you post the link for the patent? Have you tried dumping the info into an on-line translator like Dictionary.Com? The EcoDeco.nl site does not include nearly enough information to tell what it is they're selling, and there are hints on the site that there may be stocking limitations and special feeding regimes required. Without a clear understanding of what their system entails it is impossible to guess at what they really mean.

Dave.M

http://epatras.economie.fgov.be/rechNo.jsp?num=1365644&ts=off&l=en

choose to download .pdf version, because text version, while is available for auto translating, makes little sense. Also .pdf has pictures to explain things further

 

[nineball]

my finger is in a glass with vinegar,i can feel the pain subsiding.
lol i thought about the urine,thought that was for jellyfish and i just went before getting nailed.
theres a free urchin up for grabs as its getting a little big.

vic

Geese Vic, petting your sea urchin......well I never!!! We can't afford the loss Vic, no more stupid pet tricks, ok?

Peter

 

[swissgaurd]

lmao peter
thats good

by the way have you been testing the tank lately.it seems lately alot of people havent really been testing for ammonia and nitrite,im sure your tank has cycled,but i think its kinda cool to watch a new tank go through its nitrafication process.
Was there any talk of salt quality at macna

vic

 

[nineball]

Peter. How is your tank doing?
We all would love to see the updated pics of your tank, equipments, sump and whatever.
Thanks.

ChingChai, I am waiting on Mr. Wilson's progress on the filtration system before I do the next update. We are waiting for the new and improved sump which I hope we see this week. We are going to put an animal cleaning crew into the main display tank to help control the algae growth. All off the parameters we have tested for so far appear good. The Bros Grimm are making some refinements to the rock sculptures......nothing major but subtle improvements that they want to see.

I am also in the middle of my home theater refresh so it is kind of challenging to go back and forth between the demands for both at the same time.

We have a number of lighting configurations over the tank at the moment and have not arrived at a final solution yet. We have plasma, LED, 150 HID, 250 HID and 400 HID. The plasma is waaaay too yellow for my taste. Apparently you can dim them with a controller to add more blue but we highly suspect the PAR values to drop too much. I bought three which we will use in the fish room for the plant growth in the Mangrove wall units and possibly the cheto in the refugium. The LED is the noisiest lighting fixture with the sound of crickets. The colour of the light is good but it has a very small footprint and the PAR looks like it will be too low for the coral. I like the HID 250 and we have yet to give it a disciplined measurement with the PAR meter. The lights are 20K which is very blue and we suspect limits the PAR value as well. We are thinking of getting 14K bulbs to see the difference. The 150 HID's I had from the beginning are 10K white lights and by all accounts looks favourable for PAR but the colour is very white. The 400 HID is white but looks slightly yellow and it doesn't have actinics like the other cases do.


This is going to be a very demanding decision to make. :reading::reading::reading:

Peter

 

[nineball]

lmao peter
thats good

by the way have you been testing the tank lately.it seems lately allot of people haven't really been testing for ammonia and nitrite,I'm sure your tank has cycled,but i think its kinda cool to watch a new tank go through its nitrafication process.
Was there any talk of salt quality at macna

vic

Yes we have tested for both and it is excellent.

I had a very interesting discussion about salt with my new Israeli friend Ron Harel at dinner on the last night. As everyone here already knows this subject involves heavy chemistry which I suspect I am going to be studying in the near future. Also this is a VERY competitive space and it will be very difficult to pick a winner cleanly I fear.

Peter

 

[Jimbo7]

lol i just realized it will take you an entire salt bucket to do a 10% water change. Really brings the scale of this build into focus.

 

[mr.wilson]

Yes vinegar and hot water are the trick. I assume it's a diadema (long spine) urchin as they are the most toxic of the aquarium urchins.

You're lucky it was your finger