paulthomas' 400 Gallon Reef Build

[customclimates]

Sweet looking tank Paul! I will keep an eye on this one for sure.

 

[mpoletti]

I have seen many tanks that do not have absolutley flawless seams. Fill it

 

[paulthomas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14551919#post14551919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by customclimates
Sweet looking tank Paul! I will keep an eye on this one for sure.

Pfft. Keep an eye on it? I'm expecting you to swing by in the not-so-distant future.

 

[paulthomas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14552619#post14552619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mpoletti
I have seen many tanks that do not have absolutley flawless seams. Fill it

Yeah but what if the seams haven't fully cured?

 

[mpoletti]

Seams fully cure in 21 days. They shouldn't even really be moved during that period

 

[paulthomas]

As far as I know, it's been curing for a good while. Then they add the interior euro and allow that some time. I'll double check on that to be sure. Thanks Mark.

 

[~sp0ok~]

nice tank
i'm looking for a good place to get my new tank at

 

[Nocturnal]

Looking forward to this build

 

[Dave's Reef]

NICE tank Paul! I LOVE the external overflow box tanks they make. I looked into that but it was mucho more expensive and with 30" of depth I figured ahh, what the heck!

Anyhow, I'll be tagging along on this one!

 

[gotfin]

a seam like that is quite common. people just dont see them as often with clear silicone. it will not affect the structural integrity of the tank. it usually happens if the bead of silicone isn't put down just right. it is just little air bubbles.

 

[gotfin]

i filled a 60x30x28 just 14 days after the main panels were glued together

 

[paulthomas]

Thanks everyone. Man, I'm feeling the pressure.

gotfin,

I was told that GE Silicone I, which is what was used for my tank, requires 28 days to fully cure. Other brands may differ.

 

[gotfin]

im no chemist, but im sure the ingredients affect the cure time. the brand i use states it reaches full strength in 7 days. I am actually going to be doing a first fill on another one next week after 16 days. i think the real issue for cure time is at large joints where the silicone is squeezed from between layers of glass like where the bracing laps another piece. this i know takes a while to cure because i have checked it. i did it with both clear and black, with the clear you can actually see days go by, like the growth rings in a tree stump.


No pressure, just fill it!!

 

[JustinReef]

Nice tank!

Careful with the Plasma across from the tank though. I tried that in my last place and it really didn't work at all. It got so hard to watch TV that we had to move it.

Are you planning a canopy? I guess that could help.

 

[JustinReef]

Double post.

 

[paulthomas]

Thanks for the info gotfin. I noticed the rings on another dark grey area of the silicone. I do hope the white stuff on the front seam dissipates though.

And good luck with the fill!

Thanks justinpsmith. I was talking to a friend, who is a big "audiophile," but not into this hobby. I explained the lighting and he said don't even bother. The glare will be too distracting on a plasma screen. Windows are bad enough for glare, nevermind 1000+ watts of lighting. So I think we're either going to move the plasma to another room or stick it in a corner and re-arrange the living room.

No canopy. I'm using a Giesemann fixture.

Well, I should be finishing up my stand with a friend tomorrow. But since I've got nothing else to post, I'll post my equipment list since I never did.

Sump: I'm going to use a 6' rigid fiberglass pond liner that I pulled out of the ground from my yard. I'm adding baffles and coating the interior with Gluvit.

Skimmer: BK 300 Internal

Return Pump: Reeflo Tarpon

Flow: Three Vortech MP40Ws

Lighting: 6' Giesemann Spectra with three 250W Megachrome 14.5Ks powered by IceCap 250W ballasts and four 80W T5s powered by German T5 ballasts

Controller: Neptune ACIII and a Ranco Two Stage

Cooling: One or two exhaust fans, various fans and a window A/C

Calcium Reactor: AquaC RX-1

I plan on using a peristaltic pump and resrvoir for Kalk top-off.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[GSMguy]

That sump is awesome

 

[paulthomas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14610117#post14610117 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
That sump is awesome

Thanks. I hope it will be. I'm planning on keeping my fuge in there as well. It holds ~ 200 gallons, totaly filled. I'll porbably add a seperate frag tank down the road. I'm a little concerned about evaporation with the sump though. It's got a lot of surface area. But then I don't see how it's much different than using say two or three seperate tanks.

 

[GSMguy]

More evap= more kalk= higher Ph= stable parameters= accellerated growth.

Also more evap= more potential for evaporative cooling, just make sure you have a nice ro/di ready

 

[paulthomas]

Those are some good points. I feel bettah now. I should have a good humidistat for the exhaust fans too.

I'll be using NSW and filtering it through carbon and a 120W UV for water changes. For top-off, I've got an AWI Typhoon III.

What's your opinion on NSW?