My new 600 gallon reef

[SultanOfSushi]

I meant to state about increasing foods and availability of same. What do you do when you travel or go away from home? Got a designated feeder?

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10095768#post10095768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SultanOfSushi
I meant to state about increasing foods and availability of same. What do you do when you travel or go away from home? Got a designated feeder?

I've got a friend that has helped take care of the tanks when I am away from home. LFS has people who will help babysit too.

 

[CMcNeil]

ok i have to ask.....is there any visible bowing to the front of the tank?it is a sweet sized tank but 1/2" thick scares the heck out of me.for chits and giggles would you be willing to put a 10 ft level across the front of the tank to see how much(if any deflection)?

 

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10165227#post10165227 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
ok i have to ask.....is there any visible bowing to the front of the tank?it is a sweet sized tank but 1/2" thick scares the heck out of me.for chits and giggles would you be willing to put a 10 ft level across the front of the tank to see how much(if any deflection)?

I hate to take away from the tank build but I agree with Checkinhawk.
1/2" acrylic on a 10' tank:eek1:. There is bound to be deflection and eventual crazing and even worse, tank failure under those metal halides.

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10165227#post10165227 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
ok i have to ask.....is there any visible bowing to the front of the tank?it is a sweet sized tank but 1/2" thick scares the heck out of me.for chits and giggles would you be willing to put a 10 ft level across the front of the tank to see how much(if any deflection)?

If I had one, I would give it a try. My eyes aren't the best, but it doesn't appear to be much of any that I can see. I'm not an expert, but wouldn't the euro bracing pull away from the tank if there were excessive bowing? I can't see any seperation from the euro bracing and the faces of the tank.

 

[CMcNeil]

the eurobrace helps but 10 ft x 24" is a huge surface area to have 1/2" thick containing.if there is any bowing it leads to the seams being stressed and weakens the tank over time.also the euro brace would be much more effective as one whole sheet not scabbed together like they did on yours.please dont take this as an attack on you or you tank,i just see alot of tanks that IMO are way underbuilt.just so i can give you an example,i am going to make a 39"x39"x24" cube tank.it will be constructed out of 1/2" acrylic and this is a safe thickness for the tank im going to make.one of our local reefers is having a 6'x6'x2' acrylic tank made and its being constructed from 1" thick plexy.i personally would question the tank builder on how they came up with 1/2" as a safe thickness for your tank.

 

[CMcNeil]

ok ill probably get alot of crap for this but,i used the CYRO calculator(some people say its flawed but it think it gives safe thicknesses)it calls for .791".the closest sheet thickness is 1".bare in mind that cyro sheet is undersized so thats why they call for 1"(which you can see is really only .944").

 

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10167243#post10167243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
(some people say its flawed but it think it gives safe thicknesses)it calls for .791".

It is flawed because the formula doesn't take into consideration lighting heat and waterflow, which both add additional stress on the tank so I actually think that it still under specs. needed thickness.
My tank is 96"L x 48"d x 30"h (660g) and I went with 1" Polycast acrylic (which is more true to size) all the way around. I have several tunze turbelle's including three waveboxes so I went as thick as I could.
Best case scenario is you will more than likely get crazing (small hairline cracks along the top seam of the tank) after a year or two.
Worse case is the front and back pane will start to bow and will get worse and worse over time until the seams fail.
Do you run any fans along the top of the tank? They would really help with the heat stress.
There is a local guy who has a 1.25 acrylic tank but with a 1/2 top and the top has already started to deflect due to the heat of his lighting.

 

[hoover86]

This is deffinetly a recurring topic in this thread. I'm not sure if you have read the entire thread, but I believe this response pretty much sums it up...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9850110#post9850110 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goodwin9
This aquarium, and four prior to this have been built by The Aquarium Company in Winthrop, MN. Spazz, you haven't been the first to question the thickness of the tank and I thought that I would send off your thoughts directly to the builder for his comments. I thought that I would post his reply to me for others to see.

"Lot of armchair aquarium builders out there. It never ceases to amaze me the number of "experts" that present themselves in fields where they have very limited working knowledge or experience. You have nothing to worry about on your aquarium. The bow you see right now is what you will see 5-10 years from now. The bow and flex reaches its maximum at about 3.2X the height of the material ie. the bow of a 24" tank reaches its maximum flex at about 77", this is from Rorke, the military spec data on materials stress and strain, materials with a fixed top and bottom. As for the calculator, it just doesn't fit for your construction. First, it is for a two part polymerized joint, not solvent. The polymerized joints in real world use, just are not as strong or durable and do require thicker materials. Second, it does not figure for a Euro-Brace. There are dynamics with this that are not addressed. Third, it figures for a 750 PSI allowance on a joint that will see about .85 psi. Also, this spreadsheet formula has nothing to do with bow, and bow is what your expert derives from the formula. These are flawed conclusions drawn from inaccurate information from a non-applicable formula. Chuck, I just don't know how to nicely word this for a Reef-Central response with-out being drawn into some web drama with the rest of the web experts.

Let me share with you one of my favorite flawed conclusions, which unlike above, is actually based on ACCURATE statistical information.

"Everyone has only a 50% chance of every dying."

Half of the population of mankind that has lived on earth, since the beginning of mankind, is alive today. The population of man on this earth is an exponential formula. This statement is true, half of the total population that has ever lived is alive today. Can you therefore draw the conclusion that you only have a 50% chance of death? If half the people that have ever lived on earth are still alive today than you could argue the point. As ridiculous as this sounds, it is statistically true. Of course there are dynamics and conditions not addressed that make this statistical formula flawed. It kind of reminds me of your aquarium "experts"."

 

[Goodwin9]

Thanks Hoover, I was getting ready to re post the response from the builder.

CHECKINHAWK..the euro bracing is 1" and is ONE piece running the front facing of the tank as is the back brace. On top of those, sit the 4 - 1" braces running front to back. I hope the above post sheds a little more light on the builders decision for building my tank.

TRIGGERFISH1976 - I'm not running fans, but have the cooling ducts from the AC above the tank to help with the cooling. Euro bracing is 1" so I'm not sure what effects the heat may have on it. So far, there haven't been any problems or issues. I guess time will tell...

 

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10167875#post10167875 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hoover86
This is deffinetly a recurring topic in this thread. I'm not sure if you have read the entire thread, but I believe this response pretty much sums it up...

Wow. The response from that builder is scary. He is basically saying that the tank is under built. Tanks are really not suppose to bow, period but builders will always try and convince buyers that it is "normal" and not a big issue. Bowing not only creates a magnified appearance in some areas but it will almost cetainly leads to crazing. Think about it this way, if the acrylic bows it is basically stretching that sheet of acrylic thus making it thinner along the edges. Given that it is only 1/2" you can you imagine how thin it is getting near the areas that hold the tank together and this is when the tank starts to craze.
I am not saying all of this to bash this tank because Goodwin has obviously invested a large amount of time and money into his tank and should be proud but the builders response just got to me.

 

[Goodwin9]

Added a Spotted Face Surgeon today. He's about 4" long. Most of the lights were off when I took these pics and the tanks needs a little cleaning. Will post better pics when there are better conditions.

 

[rogergolf66]

well I remember reading about it when you setup this page. but can you tell me what skimmer you are running. Thanks

Roger

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10193173#post10193173 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rogergolf66
well I remember reading about it when you setup this page. but can you tell me what skimmer you are running. Thanks

Roger

The skimmer I am running on this tank is an H&S A300-3X1260 external skimmer.

 

[erics3000]

Looking great.. You have some cool fish. What are your sand filters for? Are they like remote sand bed? I want to stock my next tank heavy with fish and have been contemplating a Remote sand bed. I just don't want my water volume to go to crazy. Trying to keep it reasonable. Yeah right.???

 

[cbui2]

that baby has some nice features, will you be changing out that skimmer. is that crushed corals above sand?

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10193681#post10193681 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cbui2
that baby has some nice features, will you be changing out that skimmer. is that crushed corals above sand?

I'm sure once someone has the tank cleaned and all of the lights are on, he will look different...No more skimmers, the H&S is doing just fine. The is some crushed coral in the sand, water flow moves it to the front, or moves the fine stuff towards the rear of the tank.....

 

[Denadai]

My god, I never seen so many fishes like that

How are your PO4 and NO3 ????

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10194427#post10194427 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Denadai
My god, I never seen so many fishes like that

How are your PO4 and NO3 ????

NO3 5
PO4 .39

 

[Goodwin9]

Here are a couple of more pictures of the new Spotted Cheeks after cleaning the tank. He is still a little camera shy, but looks better in these pictures;