Karim's 1500gal dream reef

[karimwassef]

I want to let you know, if it seems like I am mocking all the detailed research and hypothecating, I do it with a smile on my face.

On the other end of the keyboard is a fat bald guy in a bright Hawaiian shirt. I have a good sense of humor but it's quite sarcastic.

So if it seems like I am just dropping bombs on your ideas, please don't see it as me trying to be an evil *****.

I love seeing people come up with new ideas that makes our aquariums healthier and our live stock live longer happier lives.

Having been a tinkerer and gadget guy my whole life a good majority of my system is all self designed and built by me.

I've been building custom aquarium systems since 1989. From simple 180's up to commercial coral prop farms here in the states, to even Government run coral farms in Asia.

While this means I have seen lots of things, it means i have also seen lots of failures (many my own). In my experience all the notes and numbers don't necessarily work when you build the actual thing.

I congratulate you on your design models for proof of concept.

I am happy to help you with any of the experience or knowledge i have. I'm happy to give you my number to talk if you like. But I'm telling you now I'm going to laugh if you start citing all those numbers and statistics

Dave B

Absolutely. Ps me and let's start talking. I'm always glad to learn from the failures of others. It's cheaper... LOL!!

 

[karimwassef]

Dannyfish, When i first started dating my wife I took her to a wholesale and told her to pick what ever fish she wanted for the tank. She picked an Achilles tang.

When it was time to get married, it was my wife's idea to get married at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Now she's a full fledged Reef Groupie. She goes to the shows, she booked Macna, she doesn't mind people stopping by at least 2-3 days a week to pick up corals and talk fish.

And she is 100% supportive of us upgrading and adding more tanks in the house.

If you are a true reef addict, before you propose you gotta turn the woman upside down and look for webbed feet and gills behind the ears.

Dave B

Lol! You are blessed my friend! I didn't check and my wife hates the hobby, even though she loves me. She compares it to a second wife or a drug addiction and pushes me to seek help when I bring it up.

She thinks the fish and swaying corals are pretty, but she asks about paying for the kids' college education when $ comes up... which is why I'm such a frugal *** .. I want the ocean for $3.99 ... and I build everything I can myself... DIY ghetto rigs FTW!

 

[karimwassef]

If this is a hobby, what about spending time with the family? Just curious how you all are juggling your time around.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is this really my wife trolling??? Just kidding... she'd never open the browser to this site!

I have managed to hook my older one into the physics and chemistry of the hobby. So we do experiments together. She was holding the camera on the last surge vids (shake shake shake)

The younger one is more into the biology and animals. I am recruiting them both to my camp as fast as possible.

Mommy keeps pushing the "ewwww" factor and I show them how pretty the bristle worms really are.

We also go on vacations and do homework and play board games... but I like to augment their skills to help the tank designs whenever possible.

Wife is much harder to influence. Every moment spent in tank design counts as a demerit... so I try to do things she likes too. Is it balanced- probably not... but love overcomes unfairness and I do adore that woman. No one tell her I said that!!!

 

[vikinglord13]

Dannyfish, When i first started dating my wife I took her to a wholesale and told her to pick what ever fish she wanted for the tank. She picked an Achilles tang.

When it was time to get married, it was my wife's idea to get married at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Now she's a full fledged Reef Groupie. She goes to the shows, she booked Macna, she doesn't mind people stopping by at least 2-3 days a week to pick up corals and talk fish.

And she is 100% supportive of us upgrading and adding more tanks in the house.

If you are a true reef addict, before you propose you gotta turn the woman upside down and look for webbed feet and gills behind the ears.

Dave B

Haha I'm jealous. I suppose I'll have to look for prospective wives at AotP then! Haha, this is great.

 

[karimwassef]

Army of the Pharaohs?.. wrong site.

 

[karimwassef]

looking at a different backroom + sunroom structure:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/3_zpsi0pobc5u.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/3_zpsi0pobc5u.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 3_zpsi0pobc5u.jpg"/></a>

 

[jccaclimber]

I better understand your comment about half and half with the glass/metal. What angle does the sun come in from in the winter?

 

[karimwassef]

The sun come in southeast to southwest. As long as the glass covers south, east and west ... and I avoid shade from the houses, fences, trees and hills, it's all good.

 

[karimwassef]

The idea is to use a concrete slab and steel frame for the whole structure. Then use glass on the southern half and steel on the northern half.

 

[albano]

Really great planning, but... my personal experience with 'remote' tanks is that they can be quickly forgotten and ignored after it becomes 'work' to go all the way out there everyday to check on it...if the tank is not where you can enjoy it easily (with your family), it might be in the wrong place.

 

[karimwassef]

The sunroom is basically my equivalent of a man cave. It's not remote.

Also - there are no other options to fit a tank of this size. My wife is not into the hobby.

I'd compare this to other hobbies or interests in the garage... like vintage cars or woodworking or gardening. You don't enjoy them in your living room, but you still enjoy them.

 

[karimwassef]

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/2_zpskha7rrt5.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/2_zpskha7rrt5.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2_zpskha7rrt5.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

First real pictures:!!!

Here's the land... from the far fence edge to the left to the jump in the fence height on the right. There's a retaining wall for the higher land the neighbor (actually a fire station) is at.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/EE82EA69-2ED5-47A3-B601-BD6ABA253856_zpsf1iggn0y.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/EE82EA69-2ED5-47A3-B601-BD6ABA253856_zpsf1iggn0y.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo EE82EA69-2ED5-47A3-B601-BD6ABA253856_zpsf1iggn0y.jpg"></a>

Here's the land on the opposite side (hill, wall, fence, trees):

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/079CB8B6-8D3E-47C2-B06B-D34E25668243_zps4myceky3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/079CB8B6-8D3E-47C2-B06B-D34E25668243_zps4myceky3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 079CB8B6-8D3E-47C2-B06B-D34E25668243_zps4myceky3.jpg"></a>

The fence sits on a retaining wall starting at the property:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/8FC9EBC5-9608-49F9-ADF8-DEAB9AF6B3ED_zpszfvaomqk.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/8FC9EBC5-9608-49F9-ADF8-DEAB9AF6B3ED_zpszfvaomqk.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8FC9EBC5-9608-49F9-ADF8-DEAB9AF6B3ED_zpszfvaomqk.jpg"></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/D551A0B1-9639-45A2-B55E-24B9E48972BF_zpsggpuannf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/D551A0B1-9639-45A2-B55E-24B9E48972BF_zpsggpuannf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D551A0B1-9639-45A2-B55E-24B9E48972BF_zpsggpuannf.jpg"></a>

 

[vikinglord13]

Looks like a nice plot. i like that juniper.

 

[karimwassef]

I can barely see it from my side.. tall fence. but that's ok - I like sunshine more.

here's where the sunroom and backroom are at:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/0_zpsuyblpyvo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/0_zpsuyblpyvo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0_zpsuyblpyvo.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/1_zpsybteiv92.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/1_zpsybteiv92.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1_zpsybteiv92.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/2_zpswidwgawh.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/2_zpswidwgawh.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2_zpswidwgawh.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/3_zpsqqm6yyli.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/3_zpsqqm6yyli.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 3_zpsqqm6yyli.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/4_zpsmc1hulpw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/4_zpsmc1hulpw.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4_zpsmc1hulpw.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/5_zpsd5hv5qrq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/5_zpsd5hv5qrq.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 5_zpsd5hv5qrq.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/6_zps0hdxcuan.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/6_zps0hdxcuan.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 6_zps0hdxcuan.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

After much redesign - I've gotten the heavy zone in the slab down to 200 sqft with loading less than 550lb/ft2.

I've also shrunk the space to 1000 sqft total - 40'x25' and 12' high.

Frankly, the detached space is eating up my budget with a vengeance. First quote for the slab was $20,000... and the sunroom was $45,000...

I'm still determined to get this all to fit under $50,000.. so a lot more DIY

 

[karimwassef]

And here are the new design images:

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/0_zpsgujxusn8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/0_zpsgujxusn8.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0_zpsgujxusn8.jpg"/></a>

I added an external 12' x 20' scrubber in a separate greenhouse.

I also added a skylight into the back room to light the raise reservoir scrubber.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/2_zps55bwhfbb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/2_zps55bwhfbb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2_zps55bwhfbb.jpg"/></a>

Here's the redesigned slab with the deeper 12" thick section in the middle.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/1_zpsxgxrxvbw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/1_zpsxgxrxvbw.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1_zpsxgxrxvbw.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/3_zpsecfsrhdi.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/3_zpsecfsrhdi.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 3_zpsecfsrhdi.jpg"/></a>

The two heat exchange loops (large for air and small for water) are buried but offset from the slab.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/4_zpsazqz5cpa.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/4_zpsazqz5cpa.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4_zpsazqz5cpa.jpg"/></a>

I went with wood frame for the heavy loads.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/5_zpsdcvkcxti.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/5_zpsdcvkcxti.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 5_zpsdcvkcxti.jpg"/></a>

I combined the surge scrubber with the top vacuum chambers. This made them very large and heavy. The glass frame originally supporting the scrubber was inadequate to brace and distribute the load onto the plywood floor. So I'm using cinderblocks in the tank water to support the center plates of glass and the weight of the expanded surge-scrubber.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/6_zpsirsgc1rk.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/6_zpsirsgc1rk.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 6_zpsirsgc1rk.jpg"/></a>

Here's the connectivity between the sump and the raised reservoir and the returns in the display tank.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/7_zps87aczrhs.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/7_zps87aczrhs.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7_zps87aczrhs.jpg"/></a>

and here's the loading on the slab

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/8_zpsqzl3hfem.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/8_zpsqzl3hfem.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8_zpsqzl3hfem.jpg"/></a>

 

[karimwassef]

At this point - it's all about containing it all in the budget...

 

[karimwassef]

I actually think the cinderblock structures will make excellent homes too...

 

[McPuff]

I actually think the cinderblock structures will make excellent homes too...

Yes, they will. I have used cinderblocks before with no ill effects... but you will get lots of people saying not to do it. Perhaps you can acid etch them first? Not sure if that would help.