Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[mr.wilson]

Mangrove walls look good, im curious as to how air roots would get down to the next one. Also how does this drain? into the sump and then the pods would hit the display through the return?

Pods wold have a hard time making it to the display tank from the mangrove walls, as they have to go through the protein skimmer and a filter sock post skimmer. They may also get sucked into the media filters. BTW the NP pellet reactor is literally jumping with pods. I took it apart and had it offline for a week during the sump change, and it repopulated quickly, so they like the carbon source or more likely the bacteria that goes along with it.

Both walls are fed independently at the top and work as a raceway system (back and forth to the next level down). They share a common drain into the sump.

We will raise and lower the mangroves and trim them like bonsai to manipulate root growth. The roots will raise the plants and look for additional real estate. This is basically a hydroponic system. We have considered running it on a DC pump so we can have it surge on and off to raise and lower the water level in the troughs in an ebb and flow pattern. We may pursue this option later.

 

[dave.m]

We have considered running it on a DC pump so we can have it surge on and off to raise and lower the water level in the troughs in an ebb and flow pattern. We may pursue this option later.

Do you know if this is actually beneficial to the mangroves' growth? If not, I would think less complexity might be better.

Dave.M

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter summed up the electrical system well. For anyone who missed it, or forgot, we have two 17,000 KW natural gas generators.

At some point in the near future I need to take on the daunting task of linking the control box to the power bars for the Profilux.

 

[mr.wilson]

Do you know if this is actually beneficial to the mangroves' growth? If not, I would think less complexity might be better.

Dave.M

Yes it is. Mangroves live in an area where the water level constantly changes with the tide and season, thus the intricate root system.

 

[mr.wilson]

Mr. W

i see you put a DC motor on the feed for the RK2

Is that DC pump "Pressure Rated" or is it just feeding in the chamber? (i know RK2 uses a big mazzi injector and wasnt sure if you were getting a good foam head if you were using the DC for that)

also, have you looked into using an abyzz or needle wheel pump on the RK2 or are yall still going to keep the Mazzi?

thanks.
(if yall arnt sure, and if your still debating on what your doing, thats cool too.)
also, yoru skimmate is "red" looking. is that from the GFO or is it really brown and the camera distorted the colors some)
thanks

No, the DC feed pump for the skimmer is a 250 watt model with just 15' of head so it isn't pressure rated. The Pump for the venturi is a low pressure model that came with the skimmer. We intend to switch it to a pressure rated Blueline 70 or 100 soon.

The Abyzz needle wheel won't work on a tall skimmer due to the head pressure.

 

[Hookup]

Pods wold have a hard time making it to the display tank from the mangrove walls, as they have to go through the protein skimmer and a filter sock post skimmer. They may also get sucked into the media filters. BTW the NP pellet reactor is literally jumping with pods. I took it apart and had it offline for a week during the sump change, and it repopulated quickly, so they like the carbon source or more likely the bacteria that goes along with it.

Both walls are fed independently at the top and work as a raceway system (back and forth to the next level down). They share a common drain into the sump.

We will raise and lower the mangroves and trim them like bonsai to manipulate root growth. The roots will raise the plants and look for additional real estate. This is basically a hydroponic system. We have considered running it on a DC pump so we can have it surge on and off to raise and lower the water level in the troughs in an ebb and flow pattern. We may pursue this option later.

What kind of NP reactor and pellets are you using? I'm sorry I missed that post... Things happen fast and furious around here.. hehe.

 

[klipprand]

Thank you so much for the updated pictures of the tank - and very importantly the equipment room with the new sump. I have been following along this whole time and really thrive on pictures

 

[dave.m]

Mangroves live in an area where the water level constantly changes with the tide and season, thus the intricate root system.

Sorry, I guess I didn't word that well. I know that some mangroves are salt-water tolerant and exposed to tidal action, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they thrive in those conditions. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of getting them stable in your current regime, and then testing the tidal effects later on, separately. That way you could prove that the tidal effect by itself is/isn't beneficial for growing mangroves.

Dave.M

 

[ransomed4ever]

You are right. The electrical design is fairly sophisticated. I'm not sure I can give a proper description of all the facilities but I can tell you what my objectives were when all this was being built.

Safety first. Every line in the room goes back to electrical panels that have a GFI on every circuit at the panel.

easy access.....I wanted to be able to walk into the room and without having to find which plug goes where, turn off any piece of equipment independent of any other piece of equipment.

There is a waterbug (flood monitor) that is monitored 24hrs directly under the panel. If I do not answer the alarm company within two minutes of the call back then the alarm company cuts the water to the house. The cut off switch is being installed this week.

I wanted to be able to stand at the door or the fish room window and get a visual confirmation that the electrical systems were operating within spec. Hence the lights on each circuit. Red ..the circuit is live but not being used. Green ..the circuit is live and being used. No light .. there is a fault on the line.

We are still remapping the system as there have been a significant number of changes from the original equipment configuration prior to Mr. Wilsons arrival. Once we are complete I will be posting an updated systems map for both the wiring infrastructure as well as an equipment list.

Peter

Definately sounds like a best practice to me. can't wait to see the lists and maps once their done. I get just as much, if not more, enjoyment from the behind the scenes aspects of tanks (mine and others) as I do from the display side.

 

[mkbtank]

Can't wait to see your acan pics. I'm an acanoholic

Me too!

 

[tdool]

its going to be a full time job doing all the daily maintenance on this tank.

Looks great guys, I think you have put most large public aquariums to shame with your system setup and quality of workmanship.

 

[Reefski's]

what are you feeding the azooxanthella corals? is that a flame scallop i see in one of the photos? what are you feeding it and the blue sponge?

Carl

 

[nineball]

its going to be a full time job doing all the daily maintenance on this tank.

Looks great guys, I think you have put most large public aquariums to shame with your system setup and quality of workmanship.

Thank you very much for the kind words of encouragement. I note you said "going to be...." I think the phrase should be "it is a full time job".

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

What kind of NP reactor and pellets are you using? I'm sorry I missed that post... Things happen fast and furious around here.. hehe.

I bought some NP Biopellets from Champion lighting but they were low on stock so I only got half of what I needed. I ordered more today, but they have discontinued them (something Champion rarely does), so I ordered Brightwell Aquatics instead.

 

[mr.wilson]

Sorry, I guess I didn't word that well. I know that some mangroves are salt-water tolerant and exposed to tidal action, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they thrive in those conditions. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of getting them stable in your current regime, and then testing the tidal effects later on, separately. That way you could prove that the tidal effect by itself is/isn't beneficial for growing mangroves.

Dave.M

We are in no hurry to change anything, as I stated earlier...

"We have considered running it on a DC pump so we can have it surge on and off to raise and lower the water level in the troughs in an ebb and flow pattern. We may pursue this option later."

 

[mr.wilson]

Me too!

We are working with "normal/natural looking" lighting so you won't see the fluorescence that you see in your LFS. Thus far we have not purchased any high priced corals. Just about everything has been under $50 retail.

We may pick up a few high end items, but it's more fun hunting for treasure and diamonds in the rough at the LFS. We just ordered some more fish and inverts from Sea Dwelling Creatures in LA today. The order arrives on wednesday... stay tuned.

 

[mr.wilson]

what are you feeding the azooxanthella corals? is that a flame scallop i see in one of the photos? what are you feeding it and the blue sponge?

Carl

We have been experimenting with a mix of freeze dried and frozen foods and have had wonderful results thus far. The balance between water quality and nutrition is tough. We have had a slight increase in algae growth on the glass/acrylic, but it still only needs cleaning twice a week.

Argent freeze dried Cyclop-eeze tends to float, so we have discontinued its use in the interest of keeping the filter bags from plugging daily, but we are still using frozen Cyclop-eeze. We are happy with non-hatching, decapsulated artemia nauplii though. They stay in suspension for days.

The two Flame scallops have been fully extended for about three months now. They like diatoms, but we don't have any in our system. The blue sponge is photosynthetic, but the other 6 orange and red sponges are not. The only bacteria we are adding is indirectly from the NP Biopellets.

Our flow system doesn't let anything settle. On the downside, the tank looks like a snow globe, but the fish and corals don't seem to mind To clarify, we are not target feeding anything at this point in time.

 

[nineball]

Mr. Wilson, did you get a chance to modify our fish order for steve's stuff??

Peter

 

[mr.wilson]

Mr. Wilson, did you get a chance to modify our fish order for steve's stuff??

Peter

Done

 

[Hookup]

I bought some NP Biopellets from Champion lighting but they were low on stock so I only got half of what I needed. I ordered more today, but they have discontinued them (something Champion rarely does), so I ordered Brightwell Aquatics instead.

Is this mainly an experiment or have you been running them before? I'm nervous as zeovit and untralith systems have success stories... And the pellets have mixed reviews. I'd like to be using them... But want an expert such as yourself to provide some real world experience first.