Los' 360 reef CAD plans and setup

[Dudester]

The rhythm of those words matches that of the song Ice, Ice Baby, which was your previous avatar. I thought you had written it especially for that avatar, but I probably just hadn't noticed it before. I think it's a great reminder, and a great message to all. Now go back to ignoring me.

 

[tbone28]

lol, i gotcha now. It was just coincidence

 

[Los]

Thanks, Concrete. I'm really torn between the Profilux and the Aquacontroller III. Both are real nice.

The skimmer is a Bubble King 300 Internal, but it wont be here for another 3-4 weeks. Los

 

[Ed Reef]

Both controllers works almost the same, except if you are using Tunze pumps then I think IMHO you should go for the Profilux....

Great choice of skimmer...look like u're in Terry's club

 

[tonyespinoza]

anyone know if the profilux can schedule Tunze "feed mode" for when your automatic feeder runs?

 

[Los]

I think both controllers will handle Tunzes, but at least with the AQ3, you need a breakout box. I'm not sure about the Profilux.
Today, after a water change on Sunday, I found an egg mass measuring approx. 3" x 1" spread out like a strand of spaghetti in a rough zig-zag pattern. This was in my 90. The egg mass is about 18" from the bottom and right in the corner. The main coral underneath there is a soft colt / leather (not sure which). Each egg (and I'm assuming these are eggs) are about 1mm each and they move and shift as the current washes by them. Here are the pics:

Here's a close up:

What do you think these are? I've learned over time that it's best to ID any eggs before they hatch <grin>.

Los

 

[Ed Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12377268#post12377268 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tonyespinoza
anyone know if the profilux can schedule Tunze "feed mode" for when your automatic feeder runs?

There is a 'feed mode' in Profilux where u can program which pumps to off/ on/ slow down, etc.

Hope that helps...

 

[Dudester]

They look like cerith snail eggs to me. There's a new cluster of them in my tank almost daily.

 

[Los]

Whew. Thank YOU, Dudester. This is why I love RC.

 

[Los]

I confirmed that the eggs were from the cerith snails. I had 3 more lay eggs today and I saw them doing it.

We started putting the hole in the wall today, since the tank should arrive next week. Here's a picture of the hallway, where the tank will be visible as if it was in a picture frame:

Here's a picture of the other side of the wall, which is in the process of coming down:

I need to find a forklift with fork extensions, since the tank, stand, sump, and packaging is going to be 2,000+ lbs.

There are some really high end lights available for sale: 400 Watt MH Sfiligoi Infinity XR6 Pendants with ICE Cap external ballast. Does anybody know if these are really that good? I was heading in the direction of 400 watt SE bulbs in LumenArc IIIs driven by Icecaps or other electronic ballasts and then supplemented with some T5 actinic. These pendants have the benefit of having the actinic supplementation built in and they come in a nice, tidy package. What I don't know is how well the Sfligois compare to the LAIIIs. Any advice?
Los

 

[Los]

The wall is down! There's no turning back now. Here's a picture of where the tank will go:

Those are my babies, btw: Calvin and Hayleigh.

It's a bit late, but in response to Nick's question about pics of the 90, which will become my quarantine tank, here goes:

I've seen a really remarkable difference in the tank since I started using a calcium reactor and periodically dosing kalk. My corals have reacted very well to this. I've only tested my parameters once since I've had the tank (yeah, I know...) so I can't really say how short I was of calcium, but I'm pretty sure that was a problem.

I also just bought 4 x Sfiligoi 400w Pendents and a PM Kalk Stirrer from Kaiden. I haven't seen them in person, but I took Nick's advice on these fixtures. From what Nick said, they should be very good at covering the 36" of width.
Cheers,
Los

 

[Los]

While waiting for the tank, I decided to start building the rock frames. I've been really impressed with some of the pillar based aquascaping I've seen online. My personal favorite, if you have the time, is on www.reefvideos.com. Go to the first video, which is a tour of Carl's 150 gallon. Wow. These designs were built using frames upon which live rock, which was drilled so that a rod can slip through it, rests.

I think I'm going with this design, so I bought the parts to build what I thought would be a great frame. Unfortunately, I've run into a problem that has the potential to trash the design. See if you can pick it out before I get to the end. First the pics:

Here are the parts for the frame:

When cut, the pieces should go together like this:

The pillars are made out of driveway reflector rods from Home Depot. They are called "Hillman Sign Center" UPC #4589931865. They are about 4' long and 3/8" in diameter. They are made out of fiberglass, I believe.

The following fitting was NIBCO #4703 size 1/2". It is used to transition from the 1/2" CPVC to the threaded side of the John Guest fitting. There's a rubber gasket inside which I easily pulled out and discarded:

Screwing into that is the 1/2" threaded end of the John Guest 3/8" fitting (Quick Connect Male Adapter 3/8" OD x 1/2MIP #PL-3027):

The pieces fit together GREAT and the fiberglass rods, after I cut the reflectors off, fit in very snug into the John Guest fittings and they don't come out unless you depress them. It couldn't work better.

This is how they fit together:

It looks like this right before the rods go in:

This is the finished frame:

To make 4 more, here are all the parts:

I didn't list them, but I also needed 3 "T"s (CPVC 1/2" #CP4711) and 4 elbows (CPVC 90 Elbow 1/2" #CP4707) per frame along with 4 feet of 1/2" CPVC (#12005) and one reflector rod with the reflector chopped off. All of this was from Home Depot.

Did you find the problem?

Everything fit perfectly and it was really easy to put together. Having the rods lock into the John Guest fittings was really nice and it was the only way I could think of getting them to fit in really securely. Only after I finished did it cross my mind, however, that there's a small amount of metal inside the John Guest fittings. These are identical, albeit a bit bigger, to the ones used commonly on 1/4" Reverse Osmosis fittings. Do you guys think that small amount of metal is enough to cause problems? I suppose I could put some silicone sealant around it, but it's pretty tight as-is. I don't know how much metal is inside, but it looks just like a really tiny amount. The color of the metal is silver and I don't know what it is made of.

In a 360 gallon reef is this something not to worry about or should I ditch the design? If I do that, I'll instead use the 1/2" CPVC for the rod portion of the rock frame and thereby avoid the John Guest fittings, the fiberglass rods, and the CPVC adapters entirely. The downside to that is I'll have to then drill much bigger holes in the rocks and the rods wont be as firm either.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Los

 

[spazz]

there wont be a problem withthe 4 pieces of metal that are the gripping teeth on the JG fitting. they are stailess steel and may rust a little bit wont wont botther the tank at all. people use GFO (granular ferric oxide) otherwise known as rust. it work well for removing phosphates in your tank but it is basicly still rust. so the litle bit of metal and rust you will get from that metal wont be anything to worry about.

 

[Bax]

That's a great catch and good question about the metal Los.

I am guessing here, but as long as it is NOT copper, I would think a small amount would not be disastrous. It is likely stainless since it is usually used as a wet fitting. I'd seal it with silicone to be safe anyway, but it is a small amount. These JG valves are used on all sorts of equipment that runs SW. And back in the day, didn't SW keepers toss nails in their tanks to replenish iron? .... Not that I would recomend that!

 

[Los]

Spazz and Bax, thank you very much. I'm going to move forward with the rest of the pillars.

I bought my pumps today. I ordered them from Paul at Oceans Motions. If you need to order Sequence Reeflo pumps, I recommend Paul highly. Not only did he get me a really good deal on the pumps, but he also spend half an hour talking through the pros and cons of each, how best to mount them, how to maximize the flow through them, etc. I ended up going with 3 Sequence Reeflo Dart Golds. These pumps are better made than the standard Darts and they have a bit more flow. Importantly, they are a lot more efficient and they run quieter, with less heat, and they use less juice. Here are the specs for both pumps:

Sequence Reeflo Dart: 3600 gph, 12' head, 145-160 watts.
Sequence Reeflo Dart Gold: 3800gph, 13' head, 132 watts.

As I mentioned before, two of these will power the two Oceans Motions 4 ways and one will serve as a sump return.

Cheers,
Los

 

[Bax]

Great choice!

 

[Los]

Whew! The tank arrived today and with the help of Nick and half a dozen other folks, it is now safely in its place. I've got some great pictures to post, but I first need to figure out the best way to get them uploaded since I'm butting up against the limit granted to me by Reef Central. Does anybody know if I delete old pictures from my library if they will also then be deleted from the threads in which I've posted them?

Anyway, I continue to be really impressed with the service from Miracles Aquariums. Derek was a real pleasure to work with. Even better than his service is Miracles' workmanship. This tank is PERFECT. Seriously. The silicone is trimmed in exactly straight lines, the holes are perfectly drilled, everything is just as I hoped it would be. The frame is beautiful as well. Heck, even the wooden crate it was sent in was well made. I can't wait to get some pics posted. These guys do a great job and if you are at all thinking about having a large tank custom made, I highly recommend giving Derek a call: 1-800-720-2782. His prices are good, but what you get is top notch.

The tank, sump, stand, and packaging weighed around 1,500 lbs. Getting that off the truck, up a few stairs, and into my house was no small accomplishment. Once we got it in, we were struggling with how to get the tank off of the cart and onto the stand, which was a good 18" higher. We tried lifting it and it became quickly apparent that wasn't going to work. I remembered a show I recently saw about this guy who built a replica of Stonehenge on his own. We copied his method of lifting one end and putting blocks underneath and then doing the same for the other end and on and on until we finally got it level with the stand. The tank was teetering on two thin stacks of 4x4s, but it worked. Whew. As soon as that was done, we cracked a few badly needed beers .

In addition to the sump, stand, and tank, the 3 Reeflo Dart Golds, the 4 Sfiligoi XR6, the Schuran Jetstream II, the Deltec PF616, and the PM Kalk Stirrer all arrived today as well. It was like Christmas.

I'll post the pics as soon as I hear if I can delete my old pics. Oh, and I've been working on the requisite "mermaid shot" with my wife. She doesn't quite get the importance of it!?!? Give me a day or two.

Los

 

[fefo23]

That's what we won pic a lot of realy good proyect, congrats

 

[Bax]

Los!!!

Congrats!!! Getting your tank and all that stuff is a HUGE step!

..and we neeeeed pics!

Get a photobucket account set up it's free and easy, even I, one of the truly cyber challenged, can handle it!!!

 

[rlxwcapt]

Los this was from Jar-head to ED reef on video. Hope it helps

Ed, the same with saving your picture in the photobucket but click on the Video tab instead of picture. Once the video is completely upload into the photobucket, copy and past the last link.

NIck