My 500G Osama Reef-2

[smb2415]

Ca1ore, thanks for the info on the bubbles. I believe you told me the same info on my tank.

Osama, I too have some bubbles, however mine are more hairlike. I don't know who made my tank, some say GC. The tank is euro braced at the top, inside bottom and even inside edges (likely due to the height go my tank 42"). I've been told by some to worry and by others to not worry. In my experience working in construction, silicone one cured will hold and resist separation. However, vibrations, movements, etc all will stress any joint. More importantly up level surfaces and warping wooden frames are probably more likely to cause issues. As with anything in reefing .. Monitoring is key. I plan on adding it to. My checklist when looking over plumbing, pumps, etc. any signs of leakage (hopefully it will give a warning) then take emergency action. Until then I'm not overly worried. The bracing is 1/2"x3 and silicones everywhere

 

[Osama]

smb2415: Very helpful insight from your personal experience means more to me . Bubbles to me are imperfections and worrisome as they are weakness in the joints. Had I received the tank in my house and noticed it early I would have returned it before filling it. That is just me and my personality. Now as U said I have to monitor for changes in the bubbles and any other signs of new stress. My tank is braced in the top with 4 braces and the bottom has an all around strip of glass also somehow siliconed. My installed has styrofoam under the tank and checked it for level multiple times. I will watch for any changes over the next few months and see . I am also relying heavily on GC saying that these bubbles are OK and will not cause the tank to leak. After all they should know better than us!!! I am now just enjoying the tank and cannot wait to see it full of corals & fish and hope for the best.. Thanks a million greatly apprecaite all inputs

 

[smb2415]

My 'bubbles'

My 'bubbles'

Osama, here are a few pics of my bubbles. Hopefully now that you know you're not alone you'll sleep better.

http://imageshack.us/a/img35/9164/0v4g.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img834/610/tobh.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img543/7953/f2oz.jpg

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Tank looks great. Hopefully the bubble issue will not be one for you.

 

[ksed]

How is your skimmer working out?

 

[DavidinGA]

Best of luck.

Got some balls setting up that big of a shoddy GC tank...

 

[ca1ore]

Ca1ore, thanks for the info on the bubbles. I believe you told me the same info on my tank.

Did I? Well, at least I'm consistent. Had both a 220 with bottom brace and 180 without bottom brace, both with bubbles in the silicone (and tho not Glass Cages, indistinguishable so maybe the same builder?) and both tanks have lasted more than 20 years (I owned the 180 for almost 18 years and recently saw it resell here on RC). Tank builder at the time used the analogy of a plumber drilling holes in floor joists - as long as the hole remains within the face of the beam it does not compromise structural integrity.

 

[Chris Lakies]

Osama this is a great build! I can only dream of a tank this size for now and watch your progression! Im guessing that your doing a mixed reef (soft/lps/sps )? What are you going to use for calcium and Carbonate replacement?

 

[Osama]

David: I would have loved to have a tank with perfect seams but I did not notice the imperfections till after filling the tank and loading it with LR . Not an easy task to move the tank in & out of a house. So I am continuing and hoping for the best.So far So good.. No leaks. I am now focused on the more positive aspects of our hobby enjoying what I have .. Thanks

 

[Osama]

Hi Chris: I am doing a mixed reef. You can see my previous success with 180g & 320g here
My 180g


My 320g from about 5 years ago


I will be dosing (doser not setup yet) three parts ESV B-Ionic Mag/Calc/Alk and setting up a Kalkwasser & calcium reactor. Both system will be used for almost one year after that I will have (I hope ) the doser on standby basis & rely totally on my reactors. For now that is my objective. Since I have been away for 5-6 years I have to learn about what is new in our hobby meanwhile I am sticking with what worked for me in the past.

 

[Osama]

smb & reeftanknewbie.. Thanks for the pictures & support. I do need it as I am worried and knowing that it is possible to live with "Bubbles in the joints" helps. Thanks for your support, greatly appreciated.

 

[Osama]

ksd: too early to judge the skimmer. One thing I will not enjoy is unscrewing the top to clean it!!! I am learning to deal with adjusting it. Since I am daily working on LR adding sand moving MPs etc. skimmer has been behaving erratically. It is not connected to a drain going to basement yet so it is dumping into a bucket. One day hardly had anything in the bucket but overnight the 5g bucket filled up to within 2 inches from overflowing onto my wooden floors!! Wife would not be happy!!!
My LFS/Buyer/installer -Matt uses it to run half his store on one of those skimmer so I am sure it will skim just fine. I have to accept the unscrewing to clean it and once the system is setup,adjust it and leave it be ..

 

[Osama]

Electrical Controls in

Electrical Controls in

Matt today is installing the controls and the calcium reactor and hopefully the APEX
Here are the back panels with the controls for the 4-MP60 pumps & for the 7-Maxspect 165W lights

On bottom Right are controls for main tank controlling two lights of main tank and frag tank



On bottom left are controls for main tank first three lights and for Refuge tank



In the center are the controls for the MP60s two on the right and two on the left and in the center are two back up controllers for each of two sets of pumps

 

[Osama]

Done with Electrical

Done with Electrical

We now have two dedicated circuits fully functional. Each circuit serves one of the two main tank pumps, two of the four MP60 and half the lights ...
Lights in Family Room have been restored after being out for about two+ weeks. Everything looking neat .. thanks Matt.!!

 

[reeftanknewbie]

smb & reeftanknewbie.. Thanks for the pictures & support. I do need it as I am worried and knowing that it is possible to live with "Bubbles in the joints" helps. Thanks for your support, greatly appreciated.

Glad to help. Wish you lived closer as I would stop by and help.

 

[Osama]

Thanks & great offer to stop by & help...maybe on a vaction sometime when the tank is flourishing and U can visit ,,

 

[Osama]

First Upsetting moment Water in Office & Family room

First Upsetting moment Water in Office & Family room

Fortunately the areas that got wet was confined. Nevertheless, we had water on our wooden floors a No No for wife Marion!!!.. All electrical hookups looked great to us and Matt hooked up the APEX unit and I called in their support to help me load the software (no disc) for my PC. They did provide very good support and now I can see my info on my PC. Unfortunately it must have been setup to shutoff pumps or whatever because I woke up at 1:30am and came down to check on things (always worried about skimmer overflowing the skimming bucket which is a temp sett-up).. and floors were wet and could not restart the pumps!!!. Matt came in around 7:30 unplugged the APEX and everything is now running fine without APEX for now.... Next challenge is upon us ...

 

[SPotter]

sorry to hear about the water on the floor but why would the pumps turning off equal water on the floor? are your sumps not big enough to handle the backflow from your display tank?

 

[Osama]

Hi Steve.. Matt had calculated the volume of free space needed & maybe/I guess that he underestimated the back-flow from the monster skimmer he bought & installed. The two bottom tanks are also there and can take some extra volume of water but it was not sufficient...He tested the system before the skimmer was installed and all was well and under control with a bit of free volume to spare. We are supposed to have an overflow pipe in case of such situation that he was debating whether it is needed.. He & us now know it is a necessity. Matt said that will be drilling for such an overflow pipe as soon as he can. Now that I see it I think that the sump could have been an inch or one and a half inch taller
It is imperative for us to have the most reliable system as we need to be able to travel without having our children worry about flood in the house. So Matt plans on installing sensors for water levels and has installed (not activated yet) a sensor for wetness on the floor that is tied to the APEX system.. A bit disappointed but if all is well at the end we will be OK.. it was not too bad this time. Wife is not ripping the floors out yet as she fears mold from my hobby!!!
If all looks great and works as great as what we expect it to, we will be OK with this one time disappointment. This project is costing us a bundle and we do not need to end up with wet floor especially when a professional is doing the work & not me Mr. Amateur Osama!! I know Matt will do right by us and will end up with a terrific show piece.. More to come..

 

[ca1ore]

If I understand correctly .... putting an overflow-to-drain in your sump because too much water flows in when power is out is not a good idea. OK, yes, it will prevent a sump overflow, but when the pumps restart there will not be enough water in the system and your ATO will then make up the difference. OK once, but over time salinity can be affected. Far better to figure out what went wrong and either setup the skimmer so it cannot fully backflow or add another sump reservoir.