Maroun 340G Build Thread

[maroun.c]

Finally Long awaited upgrade begins.

After my 80G (10 years) and then a 150 G for 2 years I’m finally moving in our new home and upgrading to my final 340G tank.

Would like to begin by thanking my wife and family for the great support, in tolerating my hobby and especially for maintaining the tank while I’m on frequent travel.
A special thanks to a group of local reefers here, that already helped a lot and will for sure contribute in decisions and all aspects of the coming build.
Last but not least a big thanks to all RC members who helped with my previous 150G built, as well as to many reefers and LFS Owners, from different countries, that I met on travel and who have helped a lot.

To begin with a link to a Recap of my last build thread which was a very important trial for this upgrade:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1368220&page=45

 

[maroun.c]

And a few pictures of the previous tanks tank I had and the upgrade to the 150G Tank which was never allowed to mature due to 2 moves in 2 years… Still it was an exciting experience as for the 10 previous years my tank was a fish tank with softies as we had no access to LPS and SPS in this part of the world.

83 G 1998-2008

Just before the upgrade to 150

Start of the 150 G 2008

and how it currently looks after it's been moved around 1 year ago and being used as a corals stock in preparation for the upgrade.This is the last pic I have and I have added many corals since then...

 

[maroun.c]

To begin with my vision for this tank is to really be the Center Piece of our new home.
Thanks to a great friend (Architect and 6-7 months old reefer) That design was made.

The 2 seating areas, dining, Drop Ceiling with indirect lighting, Furniture, even doors glass design… was all designed around the tank. The design looked very appealing and with each step achieved so far it showed how correct it was (at least for me)
So here goes.
Plans:

Room plan:

Seating areas, with most of the seats having a direct view on the tank. the couple that don't have a view in a window opposite to them which should be reflecting the tank in the dark or when the shutters are closed.

And the Drop ceiling with indirect lighting all with same size of the tank and centered based on it. Light rail on the side with light from the Right should prvide a side lit passage to the tank. theoratically it should all give leading lines to the tank....

Many considerations were made on size, visual perspective...
Could have gone from a wall to wall tank 470mx105x75 15x3.5x2.5 foot tank. Still I really wanted a tank size that would remain manageable (in terms of lighting heating chilling and weight) so that I can enjoy the tank for a long time to come without it becoming a burden.
Final decision was 80x30x28 (200x85x75 cm) totaling 340G for the display tank.

Second decision was weather we would go for a in wall or a built in and partially protruding look that would give it more dynamics, especially that tank would be visible from a seating area on the side… After many comparative perspectives the decision was taken for a partially protruding tank and we’re going with this design.

or in a hand drawing, something like this:

 

[maroun.c]

As I got the apartment while the building was still being built I was able to incorporate many of the plumbing and electrical of the tank in the walls and under the flooring. I’m getting a fishroom on one of the atticks. Access to it is a bit difficult so It’ll be only for an additional big fuge, RDSB, Chiller, Frag tanks…. Essential Items that need to be accessed frequently will be under and next to the tank. Also got many cabinets around it so will be able to keep things tidy this time.
As I travel a lot, and as we have frequent power failures… many things in the design will look very redundant to some however I have managed to keep my tank without a single crash for 12 years (3 of them while Iwas completely away for months) bu having a very basic system. This time system will be more automated so it has to have a backup plan for each and everything that could go wrong.

What’s already planned and finalized:

Electrical:
1 high load dedicated line from home Mains with home Backup generator
1 High load separate main coming from building main directly and only to the tank.
1 high load line from main going to a 13 Amps UPS with enough battery power to keep tank alive for weeks. The following backup equipment:
Skimmer
Return and circulation pump
Heater
Camera Cabling linked to alarm system network which will allow me to check on the tank while on travel. Not sure if I’ll switch to a dedicated IP Cam so that everyone can get access to see the tank….

Couple of T5s on the tank
Not sure if I should link the Halides and chiller to the UPS

Plumbing:
3 1 inch lines going from tank to fishroom built in walls.
1 freshwater supply coming from RO in kitchen below the floor.
Drain from behind the tank to gardens drain all the way below the floor

4 4" Vent tubes two for the canopy and another two in the stand which I hope will take care of all moisture, and heat. These go in wall till outside the building.

Got a lot of input while making all of those on separate threads and very little can be done now to modify but please do post any suggestion you have that might be worth incorporating in the system.

Pics:

Electrical conduits:
Supply to tank and conduits for electrical tubing from controller to fishroom.

Vent tubes and plumbing to fishroom Drain and from RO Supply:

Drain to Garden Drain:

Overview

 

[maroun.c]

Wall Cemented

And Cleaned up with tiles installed:

 

[maroun.c]

After struggling for years for a decent lighting setup (very high shipping cost if any company would ship, high customs, different voltage 220V 50 Hz Vs 110V 60 Hz in the States…) I managed to get 3 Lumenbright mini pendants 250W (We only have De bulbs arond here and at 16.5x16.5x7 3 of those should be enough to lightup the tank with some T5 supplementation) with Coralvue Dimmable electronic ballasts and Reeflux 250W 12K DE bulbs that I’m starting with.
The only way to get those was through the help of a friend in the UAE reefing society who organized a group buy, those were shipped to Dubai and then he kept them for a while till a very good friend in Lebanon was on vacation in Dubai with his wife and kids and offered to fly with those as Additional Luggage. Getting those after years of waiting and after a couple of months of having paid for them was a great relief.
First impression was These are HUGE, then I was very impressed with quality of the product and packing that got all these from the states to UAE with multiple flight connections and then to a storage in my sisters place there and then a final shipping to Lebanon without a single broken bulb...

When a friend travels with this as extral luggage for you you know he's a really good friend!!!

Aftrer taking them out for a check

And then they went for storage till the built is up...

 

[maroun.c]

Now for the more serious part where I will need help and suggestions:

Tank design:
As I will not have access to the tank from the side and back, And especially that no constructor here feels safe in cutting the back or side glass like this for an external overflow as they don’t feel the glass companies have the know how to provide a fully safe grooved glass. I have two options:
-modifying the left side cabinets to be able to go in them and rech into the tank from a side opening of the canopy and then maybe have an internal overflow.
-Having an external overflow without cutting a groove in the glass, ie internal shallow overflow with screen, 2-3 1” holes in the side glass leading to an external overflow box with the drains in it, or maybe just drains connected to the side of the tank directly. I personally prefer a box with the drains drilled in the bottom rather than a drainfollowed by a an elbow directly…

Thanks for any suggestions you can give.

 

[Mounda]

Great new build Maroun, lots expected !

Mabrouk bro.

DIY comes in handy around this part of the world. Made my own DIY Lumenarc reflector designed for SE use. We don't have DE bulbs over here, the only bulbs around are BLV SE and cost around $210 so I will probably end up shipping a few radiums at the end of the month.

Any group buys soon ?

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks Mounda.
Did you find good reflective quality material to use for those?
The guys in Dubai did make a couple of group buys in the last couple of months, didn't buy anything as I had a busy schedule in Europe and some other places without any trips to Dubai till next month.
We might be gonig with a group buy soon if you're interested.
210 USD!!! wow thats even much more expensive than here...

 

[Mounda]

Yeah, lighting is crazy over here. I am looking forward to buying a bulb or two and have them shipped unless a group buy is worth the wait.

I actually did get a very good reflective surface for my pendants, high gloss stainless steel sheet. I will post pics in my build thread once I get around to starting one.

How does the group buy deal work ?

 

[maroun.c]

I would say the group buy is worth the wait.
I always make a small list waiting for the next group buy.
Not sure how it would work for you as you're based in Egypt so that might be additional shipping to egypt unless you can collect from Dubai...

 

[Aquafred]

WOW,
Looks like a very well planned built. Hope all goes according to plans.
Love the design too.
You already deserve Setup of the month. TOTM here we come this time.
Congrats on the new house, its a shame you loose the view you had on the last one...
One thing that's not clear though, you mention its an appartment and then that it has gardens so is it a house or an appartment? Internal design and tank location looks perfect.
Looking forward to see the tank up.

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks Fred.
You know I've been planning this for years now...
Not sure about setup of the month as it still didn't start as for TOTM in all honesty it's not in my short term expectations and not even an aim. For the time being I jsut want to build something very pleasant to the family and to people visiting as well as something out of the regular tanks I had for the last 12-13 years and which reflects all I've learned so far...
didn't really lose the view as the new building is just next to the one we had rented the first appartment with the view. Just a different angle but still very nice view.
It is an appartment not a standalone house. it's on a very stiff valey so from one side it's on 2nd level and another side is has it's mid level at groud level and most of it is ground level where we get 2 small gardens (if it makes any sense!!!)
Tank location was partly the reason why I went with this one..

 

[maroun.c]

Some more update to catchup with the current status and jump start the build...
Ceiling already finished. Seeing it in real life gave more sense to the drawings and seing the whole ceiling align to where the tank will be made a whole difference. Its amazing how architects see things on paper that takes us a few more months to see and appreciate in real life...

Drop ceiling instalation.

Some cabling

Starting to become visible

And after the first set of paint.

Behind the tank Finished.

3 Sets of dedicated electrical cables one of which is even independant of the whole appartment cabling and comes in directly from building supply... Wanted a 4th one but the conduits already installed didnt fit it.
So I get:
-1 independant supply capable of handling the whole tank and more
-2 other supplies from main supply backed by building generator. (one on right side)
-1 line from backup UPS which should be able to handle essential equipment for 3-4 days or a bigger set of equipment for 6-7 hours.. will decide on this later on..
-1 conduit and supply line to fishroom.

 

[maroun.c]

Fishroom, Still needs some work.
Tubing to and from is anlready installed as well as ventillation system to handle the heat from Chiller and humidity from additional sump and fuge, RDSB, Frags tank... planned there...

Finally to start with some the build heres the initial scheme for the in stand sump.
Stand will be 80"x34"x38"
Expecting to loose around 6-7 inches out of the 38" height due to bracing and 4 inches clearance at the bottom... Skimmers planned will be the Hurricone Cat 1 I already have and maybe an additional Super reef octopus 5000 Series not sure if it'll be the internal 5000 or the cone... Sump will handle drain from tank around 1000GPH and as well as drain from fishroom situated around 6-7 feet higher so need a bigger pump 1500-2000 GPH. Feel free to advise on baffles, bubble trap or anything you feel I should incorporate to avoid bad surprises after the sump is constructed. Didn't go longer than 60 inches for the sump although I had around 20 more inches which I chose to leave for ATO, Automatic dosing, Kalk stirrer and maybe Ca reactor in the future which I thought would be better to place in the stand rather than in the cabinets on the sides. Would appreciate any advice on this as I still have to finalize design of things in the cabinets and stand...

 

[scubaclimber]

like seeing the progress and planning! Hopefully this will be me in my next house. Planning a 300g myself.

 

[coraltastic]

very nice work on the new build cant wait to see some more progress i will be tagging along.

 

[maroun.c]

like seeing the progress and planning! Hopefully this will be me in my next house. Planning a 300g myself.

Thanks.
When do you expect to start your 300?
Been planning mine since 2-3 years now...

 

[maroun.c]

very nice work on the new build cant wait to see some more progress i will be tagging along.

Thanks.

 

[scubaclimber]

Thanks.
When do you expect to start your 300?
Been planning mine since 2-3 years now...

I am on my 6th month...have a 120g mixed reef, 30g frogfish system, and frag system now.