Finally Moved In with the In Wall Tank!

[artkwan]

Hi forum members - I don't post often, but I do check every once in a while, since this discussion forum is such a great resource.

After finishing our new ground up construction for our new office in Roseville, we finally opened our doors back up June 6th of this year. I have not had a chance to post pictures, since it has been such a whirlwind, trying to keep up with clients, yet still manage to put together the bits and pieces together, and still try to find time to check on the new tank that is planned to ultimately be a mixed reef.

Because we were working on a strict budget, and since this was a ground up build, I had to keep the fish room a certain size (6' X 5'), and much of the equipment acquired was used, with the exception of the Neptune Apex Aquacontroller.

The tank was started in my garage back in March to cycle and to prime the rock, utilizing rock that was new, and live rock from my 39 Gallon corner at the time. Ground coral substrate was used. Total 200G flowing at any given time.
Equipment:
120G Display tank
45G Sump
40G Refugium
2 X 150 Watt MH
DIY White and Blue strip LED Color supplementation
4 bulb T8 Super Bue
MP40wES X2, using only one at this time
In Sump Protein Skimmer (H&S 200-2xF2001) wit 2 Aquabee pumps
Quiet One 6000 Return for display
Quiet One 3000 Return for Refugium
Neptune Apex Aquacontroller with EB8 and EB4
LiterMeter III not set up yet
Phosban Reactor 550 running BRS GFO
Phosban Reactor 150 running BRS Carbon
Arctica Chiller ¼ HP
Extreme Typhoon III 150GPD 5 stage RO / DI


Here are some pics.

Thanks for looking and I would appreciate any comments, thoughts, and feedback!

 

[artkwan]

More pics...

 

[Tasler]

Looks amazing! Also like the equipment you used to keep it as low maintance as possible. Can't wait to see it filled up with some corals, please keep updated with pics of new additions!

 

[Saltwaternooby]

Drs office? Looks great!

 

[artkwan]

Looks amazing! Also like the equipment you used to keep it as low maintance as possible. Can't wait to see it filled up with some corals, please keep updated with pics of new additions!

Thanks Tasler, for the kind words. I am definitely a newbie and learning as I go. I understand one of the best way to get better in this hobby is to learn from your mistakes, yet this hobby can get fairly pricy, so I am unwilling to make the big ones, LOL. The only wish at this point, was that I had room and the budget to go bigger. Oh, well. There's a;ways a reason for everything!

 

[artkwan]

Drs office? Looks great!

Hi Anthony, yes, it is a dental office here in Roseville off of Blue Oaks Blvd.

Thanks for the kind words!

Art

 

[Tasler]

I was gonna say those offices look like the ones behind chevron off Blue Oak and Foothills. Very costly hobby so learn from others by reading the forums and talking to people at the LFS. Take your time on every purchase to get research in. Only thing is if you ask 10 different people you'll pretty much get 11 different opinions lol. Looks like you have all equipment your gonna need for a while. Only thing I don't remember reading is if you have an ATO or calcium reactor.

 

[artkwan]

I was gonna say those offices look like the ones behind chevron off Blue Oak and Foothills. Very costly hobby so learn from others by reading the forums and talking to people at the LFS. Take your time on every purchase to get research in. Only thing is if you ask 10 different people you'll pretty much get 11 different opinions lol. Looks like you have all equipment your gonna need for a while. Only thing I don't remember reading is if you have an ATO or calcium reactor.

Hi Tasler - You are absolutely right, we are in that plaza, actually, behind the optometrist. Yes, I understand. Everyone's got an opinion, but that's also such a great thing, thus the ability to learn from everyone based on everyone's unique experience! I have a LiterMetre III, so I am assuming that will be acting as my ATO, correct for dosing? No, at this point, I do not plan on a calcium reactor..... yet.

 

[artkwan]

More pics....

Went with a small vented fan in ceiling with waterproof ceiling tiles to deal with controlling humidity at a constant 30-31% with a temp at around 88-90 degrees....

The chiller (have yet to still add the DC powered fans) has been doing a great job so far keeping the temperature stable.

Also tried to think ahead and has floor sink and a second overflow drain in case of equipment failures and floods. You never know!

 

[iriejp1]

Lookin good! :thumbsup:

 

[mpoletti]

Looks great. Congrats on the special project.

 

[artkwan]

Thank you for all the kind words So much to learn in this hobby!

 

[Tasler]

Every time I drive by there I feel like poking my head in and seeing your tank lol. So next best thing is seeing it on here! Any new Livestock/corals?

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

ATO, dosing pumps, and a CaRx are three different things --

ATO - Auto top off - This replaces evaporated water and keeps the sump level constant.
Dosing Pumps - You can use these to add Mag, CA and Alk if you keep the mixtures ready to go. You can characterize consumption of these three things by testing over time and determine how much of your solutions need to be added to the tank in order to maintain Ca, Alk and Mag levels.
CaRx - Calcium Reactor - This uses CO2 to create acidic water in a reactor to dissolve a media that contains Ca/Alk/Mag. Somehow magically this keeps Alk/Ca/Mag fairly stable in the system and needs surprisingly little tuning. The setup is rather expensive but has a lower cost over time and lower maintenance than dosing pumps.

 

[artkwan]

Thanks for helping me with my terminology. You could call me lost in the head, hee hee. Well, still learning!

Yes, currently what i am using for my auto top off part of the system is just float valves from BRS, connected to the Typhoon III extreme RODI, and SO FAR.... working fine without any issues, and the float valve is situated in the sump portion of the system.

As far as dosing, have been busy at the office and have not made time yet to setup the dosing pumps with the Litremeter III. I did pick up the unit used, so there were no instructions that came with it.

I may get into using a calcium reactor in the future, but not in the immediate radar for now.

ATO, dosing pumps, and a CaRx are three different things --

ATO - Auto top off - This replaces evaporated water and keeps the sump level constant.
Dosing Pumps - You can use these to add Mag, CA and Alk if you keep the mixtures ready to go. You can characterize consumption of these three things by testing over time and determine how much of your solutions need to be added to the tank in order to maintain Ca, Alk and Mag levels.
CaRx - Calcium Reactor - This uses CO2 to create acidic water in a reactor to dissolve a media that contains Ca/Alk/Mag. Somehow magically this keeps Alk/Ca/Mag fairly stable in the system and needs surprisingly little tuning. The setup is rather expensive but has a lower cost over time and lower maintenance than dosing pumps.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

That's a really dangerous way to top off. If you restrain your top off chamber to, say, 10 gallons and it were all to flow into the aquarium system you could get away without losing anything. If your RODI were to constantly feed into your system it would flood and continue to dilute your water causing everything to die and flooding/water damage if not caught soon enough.

 

[artkwan]

Thank you for the feedback!

How would you recommend the ATO system to be setup then? Currently the way the system was setup, was that the display has a primary and secondary drain into a filter sock, then the water travels to the Protein Skimmer section in the left side of the sump. From there the water flows to the center section, which has just an area setup for frags in the future, and an area for the probes, etc. From the the water flows to the right side of the sump, which houses the return pumps to the refugium and display.

How can I improve the ATO design, while keeping costs manageable?

Art

That's a really dangerous way to top off. If you restrain your top off chamber to, say, 10 gallons and it were all to flow into the aquarium system you could get away without losing anything. If your RODI were to constantly feed into your system it would flood and continue to dilute your water causing everything to die and flooding/water damage if not caught soon enough.

 

[Paulca916]

Mystery double post

 

[Paulca916]

That's a really dangerous way to top off. If you restrain your top off chamber to, say, 10 gallons and it were all to flow into the aquarium system you could get away without losing anything. If your RODI were to constantly feed into your system it would flood and continue to dilute your water causing everything to die and flooding/water damage if not caught soon enough.

Very true Ron great point :thumbsup:
I would also recomend a smaller holding tank for your top off and fill it manually you can have a float valve in the holding tank then turn off RO/DI when full untill you need to refill holding tank this is much safer.

And being that it's in your office just make it a habit to make sure its full befor the weekend.
Even a 15 or 20 gallon tank should be fine depending on your amount of evaporation over the few days your not there.

Great project makes me want to go to the denist

 

[artkwan]

Ha Ha!

Tasler, (and everyone else) are always welcome to come by and check it out. I am sure I could learn a thing or two from everyone that would come by and critique the tank!

Coral - wise, thanks to SaltJohnswharf, I acquired a toadstool leather, (among other things) that has grown enormous, since I acquired it under a month ago. The base is huge, and its a good size and the polys are extending a good 2-3 cm long with bright green tips!

Art

Every time I drive by there I feel like poking my head in and seeing your tank lol. So next best thing is seeing it on here! Any new Livestock/corals?