OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef
- Thread starter jnarowe
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I am hoping to have my system completed by this wk end.. Went to Savko on lunch and spent yet another $100.00 :rolleye1:
asnatlas
New member
I didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want to waste 800gal+ of water... With a tank this large (3/4 glass) and everything you can see the silicone pretty good, granted that does not mean everything, but I was being optimistic and hoping that everything was fine and once i tested I would just add the salt and be good to go... Before I started adding the RO water I whipped the entire thing down inside and out a few times with a rag and RO waterââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦
jnarowe
New member
hmmm...sounds risky! 
I filled mine with tap water and ran it for 5 days before I emptied it and started RO. I also ran some vinegar through it and did a tap water wash down. I wasn't worried about the tank itself, but all my connections, and in fact had to fix some. I ended up with water on the floor and some wetvac fun before I decided it was OK to run the RO.
I filled mine with tap water and ran it for 5 days before I emptied it and started RO. I also ran some vinegar through it and did a tap water wash down. I wasn't worried about the tank itself, but all my connections, and in fact had to fix some. I ended up with water on the floor and some wetvac fun before I decided it was OK to run the RO.tinygiants
New member
It looks as if you are averaging about 1 inch a day. How many more inches? 18 at least?
You have a long wait ahead of you. Well every one says nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank.
Good Luck,
Dale
You have a long wait ahead of you. Well every one says nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank.
Good Luck,
Dale
salty joe
Active member
Have you decided how the finish for the viewing panel will be? Can't wait to see the aquascaping - 5' depth, wow!
Checked out your gallery, I used to keep really nice planted FW too. Kinda miss the Cryptocorynes & Amazon Swords. The foam background was interesting. I used to get brown butcher paper & crumple it up with deep wrinkles, then use that for the background.
This is fun to watch.
Joe
Checked out your gallery, I used to keep really nice planted FW too. Kinda miss the Cryptocorynes & Amazon Swords. The foam background was interesting. I used to get brown butcher paper & crumple it up with deep wrinkles, then use that for the background.
This is fun to watch.
Joe
jnarowe
New member
Thanks for the compliments. The foam backing was a test for the reef system. What I like about it is the look and that stuff will grow on it. What I don't like is how boyant it is! I had originally planned to spray it on the walls of the reef, but at the time I was also planning a closed loop system. Now I am not. But I will use it on the rock structure support.
Finish for the viewing panel is still being debated. I am partial to light woods and may do the wall in maple, bamboo, or some other light colored wood. We could get away with stone based on our NW location, but I am concerned about it being a too "bulky" look. I am toying with the idea of using the 8" window sill as the base for a bar with stools.
I haven't really thought it through since before the great reef idea, this was going to be the location of an LCD TV surrounded by book shelves etc. I have been looking at a lot of other big tank walls and I really like the clean spartan look that allows the reef to "pop", thus another reason why I probably won't do something with stone. The only thing that seems to be decided is that along the opposite wall which is mostly windows we will build in a 20' long bench seat that allows us to store our aikido mats inside.
I am contemplating the easy chair route, as well as the poker table route. Maybe I could train fish to read cards???
First things first....
Finish for the viewing panel is still being debated. I am partial to light woods and may do the wall in maple, bamboo, or some other light colored wood. We could get away with stone based on our NW location, but I am concerned about it being a too "bulky" look. I am toying with the idea of using the 8" window sill as the base for a bar with stools.
I haven't really thought it through since before the great reef idea, this was going to be the location of an LCD TV surrounded by book shelves etc. I have been looking at a lot of other big tank walls and I really like the clean spartan look that allows the reef to "pop", thus another reason why I probably won't do something with stone. The only thing that seems to be decided is that along the opposite wall which is mostly windows we will build in a 20' long bench seat that allows us to store our aikido mats inside.
I am contemplating the easy chair route, as well as the poker table route. Maybe I could train fish to read cards???
First things first....
The R/C Man
New member
Very Nice!
I would love to have my own aquarium to build a house around. Unfortunately my whole system needs to be maintained under the tank. It limits what I can do.... 
I would love to have my own aquarium to build a house around.
Unfortunately my whole system needs to be maintained under the tank. It limits what I can do....
jnarowe
New member
Sometimes parts of a system are cool enough to have in the viewing room though, like a refugium, and that can give you more room under the tank and greater water volume. Each installation is unique in some way and that's what is so interesting about RC. For instance, you could mount a refugium above your tank and make it a surge tank as well. There are a couple of those I have seen that were really nice.
The R/C Man
New member
Yeah I have always liked the idea of having a fuge over the tank so the pods can make a safe journey into the tank. I have noticed however that even with the fuge under the tank they still seem to make the trip up the plumbing fairly well.... lol
Travis
10 and over club
I saw a presentation by Anthony Calfo last weekend. He and someone else had done some tests and found that our hobbyist pumps really don't do much damage at all to the pods.
He also covered in depth what we talked about earlier in this thread about feeding protein skimmers with the rawest overflow water possible (such as gravity feeding) and using coast to coast overflows... but we won't get into that one again.:lol: Oh wait, I just realized that was in asnatlas's thread... but I think most of us have been following that one also.
He also covered in depth what we talked about earlier in this thread about feeding protein skimmers with the rawest overflow water possible (such as gravity feeding) and using coast to coast overflows... but we won't get into that one again.:lol: Oh wait, I just realized that was in asnatlas's thread... but I think most of us have been following that one also.
jnarowe
New member
Having the fuge above the tank is not just for the sake of pods. I have mine above because I can utilize my return line manifold and feed the fuge with return water. what's so great about that? well it allows me to use one pump to run all the main equipment and if I need to work on the fuge, I can easily turn it off without affecting the rest of the system. I really like being able to isolate it so that I can clean it, change sand, etc. without having the "storm" go into the display.
And as you can see, I am certainly a proponent of coast-to-coast overflows with direct feed to the skimmer. Those were two main points of my system design. That allows for better skimming while also making the system more simple. Simple is good.
And as you can see, I am certainly a proponent of coast-to-coast overflows with direct feed to the skimmer. Those were two main points of my system design. That allows for better skimming while also making the system more simple. Simple is good.
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