Pictures - 800 gallon reef - 7+ years in operation

[sansui]

Hey, hcrk

Can't wait to see more pictures of this wonderful tank.

 

[gregb]

Its a bit bigger than my fuge.

 

[obarrera]

Any more pictures?
Great tank.:smokin:

 

[2004jeepoutlander]

WoW just wait 8 years when i get out of law school . iwan to go to corporate law. i wan a 15 gallon reef tank. lol itll be worth it.

 

[ReeferAl]

Just curious, did hcrk ever say where he is from? Did I miss that?
Incredible tank!
Allen

 

[thedraven]

This (and MOST reef tanks I've seen on this forum) is way out of SeaWorld's league. I searched and searched and could not find ONE reef setup in that park. It is nothing more than a Marine themed Theme Park. I couldnt find a coral to save my life.

Hey Jarhed, I live in San Antonio and the local SeaWorld park has two reef tanks with live coral and assorted fish. Ive often dreamed of scuba diving in their main display tank (300,000 gallons) , which is a mock reef setup. I guess I'll have to break in at night, but with my luck I'll end up in the shark tank instead.:worried:

Hcrk's tank is.. nice. And Im not jealous at all.. :sad1:

 

[jarhed]

Hey Jarhed, I live in San Antonio and the local SeaWorld park has two reef tanks with live coral and assorted fish. Ive often dreamed of scuba diving in their main display tank (300,000 gallons) , which is a mock reef setup. I guess I'll have to break in at night, but with my luck I'll end up in the shark tank instead.:worried:

Hcrk's tank is.. nice. And Im not jealous at all.. :sad1:

Really?

Damn, I should have stopped there when I drove through San Anton back in September. Maybe I'm wrong, but I couldnt manage to find ANY coral at the Seaworld in SoCal. Aquarium of the Pacific was better, but I dont remember coral there either.

 

[hcrk]

How did you bend the wood? And what wood did you use? Now you have my wife wanting me to build that bridge. Jeez man!

Nice pond. I only hope to create a backyard close to yours. I too will be digging a pond in the years to come.
i'm curious as to what wood you used around your pond? I was told not to use pressure treated wood over my koi pond.

The wood used in the construction of the bridge is "clear" cedar....In order to achieve that curves in the bridge, some pieces were soaked and then stretched and other pieces were cut out of larger planks.

The wood used in the construction of the decks is either clear cedar or douglas fir (which stains to a similar color and tone as cedar).

No, I don't think that it would be wise to use pressure treated wood as the substance that serves as a preservative is thought to be a carcinogen (cancer causing agent) and is likely somewhat toxic to fish.

I noticed you have a rather elaborate sump system - have you ever thought about converting some of that space over to a refugium? [/B]

Yes the thought has occurred to me, and I may still transform part of the sump into a refugium at some point in the near future.

Tank is magnificant! How was the slot cut out for the external overflow? Laser, water jet or ground out with a rotary tool. Is there eggrate infront of the intake?

The "slots" are actually three 2 1/2" round holes that were ground out with a diamond rotary drill.

An overflow box is also mounted on the inside of the tank. The internal overflow has plexiglass "teeth" at the top which can be mechanically adjusted to control height and flow.

hcrK could you tell me the flow rate of the four Iwaki pumps you used on the closed loops?

There are four closed loops - two powered by Iwaki MD55RLT's and two powered by Iwaki MD40RLXT's. The 55's are rated at 1080 gallons per hour each and the 40's are rated at 12 gallons per hour each.

Ok Well these 400w are proving really costly to me also after a year or so I have to change the bulbs also please suggest what other ways (cheaper) are there to arrange my lighting which will prove friendly to my pocket for a long run.
This is my tanks view from above also its 4ft deep, what I am freaked about is how to arrange the 250 and 150 watt lighting, if you think this arrangement is not going to work then how many 400w lights would I need for my tank.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/42171plan_view_1.bmp[/IMG]

If I were building an aquarium such as yours, I would definately reduce the number of bulbs and increase their brightness to 1000 watts. Fewer bulbs equate to substantially reduced expenses for the inevitable replacements. Also, the 1000 watt bulbs will be able to penetrate further into your 48" tank.

Hi hcrk,
Thank you for your posts, replies, and pictures. Stunning to say the least!
I'm curious if you could tell us about two quick things:
1. Noise levels, do you have any sound proofing with all the pumps, water flow, etc? Do you find it necessary especially with the theatre adjacent?
2. Clean-up crew, I know that you had mentioned fire-worms, but what else do you employ?

Thanks once again!

Rob

1. No, I don't have any significant "soundproofing"....although I should mention the fact that the doors are solid (and not hollow). With the doors and hatches to the aquarium closed, the noise is reduced to a reasonably quiet "humm"....which does not bother me and does not seem to bother anyone else.
On the issue of the sound interfering with my theatre....it doesn't....as the theatre incorporates a total of 11 speakers which include 3 centre channel speakers and 2 subwoofers.
2. The original crew of some 500 hermit crabs and 200 Astrea snails have, over the years suffered significant attrition. The attrition does not seem to have caused the aquarium to suffer in any sense. However, I recently placed an orderwith a supplier for 100 Astrea snails and 200 hermit crabs.
I also have about 4 Serpent Stars and 1 Blue Linkia starfish that has survived in my care for at least 10 years.

Nice to have you back, seems that I remember you saying you would like to start a discussion on nitrates or phosphates. Did you ever do this?

No not yet....I have some thoughts on various matters that I believe may be of interest and will outline them in a future posting.

I have a question concerning your use of mirrors....

Do you have any trouble with territorial fish "staking their claim" so to speak? I briefly considered using a piece of mirrored glass for an overflow, and one of the concerns that was put forth was that fish would literally fight themselves to death.
While I threw out the use of the mirror because I found that manufactures use a copper layer on top of the silver to let the paint/lacquer layers bond better, but the idea is still festering in my mind.

Your tank is truly an inspiration! Thanks!

No, "staking a claim" (so to speak) has never been a problem. After a fairly short period of time, the fish just ignore the mirrors .

If I understand you correctly, I believe that you originally planned to mount a mirror within your aquarium, which is something that I would not do. All my mirrors are located outside the aquariums and away from any saltwater.

I do have one question though... So you were saying that your projection screen drops in FRONT of your 225? Why would you do this? Just out of the situation of the seating arrangement?

No, it doesn't drop down....the theatre is in a separate area of the basement. The two aquariums are located on either side of the theatre area ... one in a library and one in the bar area.



Thanks again for all of your many kind compliments.

I will post some additional pictures soon.....perhaps before my Christmas vacation.

I will also update readers with some recent events.

......and finally, although I am happy to continue to answer questions and share experiences, I would again ask that my right to personal privacy be respected.....



.......................

 

[melev]

Looking forward to the new pictures, and thanks for keeping the thread updated. :thumbsup:

 

[djfrankie]

HCRK is great to see you're back keeping this thread alive!

Thanks,
djfrankie

 

[Broodingwolf]

Hey hrck thanks for posting again. Sorry everyone keeps asking you questions, I hope you can understand why (it sounds like you do) -- hopefully they will drop off.

So this bill wann guy, is there a link to his tanks? After seeing this beauty, I'm dying to see some other dream tanks out there.

 

[fredl]

Very nice setup, I don't think I could land such a great project myself. Kudos on a project very well done, it's clear that you must have a great passion for reefs.

Do you keep fish in the garden as well?

 

[fred says]

Really nice tank! Any updates?

 

[DitchPlains2]

PURE GENIUS

PURE GENIUS

Never before have I wanted a large reef, but since seeing your tank I just firebombed my Nano's and plan on starting a large reef....what an inspiration!! God I wish I had some money to do something like that......ahh the life of a poor grad student/teacher. I am sure someone has asked this, and not to sound crass, but what is the estimated overal cost of this behemoth?? I am assuming at least 30k? Am I wrong?

 

[moebiius]

if you've read through all the posts...HCRK...doesn't want people to pry into his private life nor disclose what he has spent on this beautiful tank....even then...its probably not even the monetary value.......it surpasses that in unmeasurable lengths...

and no you're not sounding too crass...its a question a lot of people would like to know but probably will never find out....

please keep this thread going by not prying into HCRK's life and finances...otherwise he might not post anymore.....thanks!

 

[thedraven]

I agree that its wrong to ask Hcrk about his personal life, but I can easily understand why people would be so interested. Some people are curious, some are simply jealous. But what drives this behavior? While I admire his reef tank, I dont think we should be seeing/asking about his bar, home theater, paintings, etc. This has nothing to do with the subject at hand. The more he reveals about his lifestyle, the more people will ask personal questions. Its sad but true. So lets not ask guys.

Personally, I believe his tank is rather impressive, and think its wonderful he chooses to educate with the tools he has. Good job Hcrk, and thank you for sharing your tank.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

I also have about 4 Serpent Stars and 1 Blue Linkia starfish that has survived in my care for at least 10 years.

I think keeping them that long is really exceptional and shows how good the biological balance is.

Looking forward to your updates.

 

[DitchPlains2]

hey guys please excuse me then

hey guys please excuse me then

Moebelius, & Thedraven You make good points!! I wasn't try into his personal life. I was only curious about the cost, because wondering if something like this is affordable or doable, in time when I get a home, it would be a nice idea, whence I refinance and gain some equity. I am not interested in his bar, home theatre or etc... or what he does for a living, although they look beautiful and stunning as well. I seriously, hope he keeps us all posted for a very long time, his tank is a wonder of man & nature combined in harmony. I am happy with my two nanos, np for me. I just don;t have a good understanding of the cost of a project this immense as I have never even delved into this end of the hobby, but its my new passion. Anyways, I enjoyed this thread so much, I needed to say thank you to HCRK for posting this.

 

[guitarfish]

Affordable?

Go to Tenecor and look at the Ultraquariums...check out the prices...that should answer your question.

 

[hmoore]

Then go to www.championlighting.com and find a pump, some lights, a chiller, some heaters, some plumbing, etc. and you're set!



*disclaimer*
No harm is meant by this post. To be honest, this is the absolute best way to get a real picture of roughly how much something like this costs.