Starting an interactive reef - 265g reef tank w/ live web camera

[rEd86]

OK. We just got settled into our new office space so I can finally start the build thread I've been planning for 8+ months.

Being a technology company we have done streaming video projects in the past. I actually developed a site that would allow remote user control over a camera in our offices. That was several years ago and I wanted to dust off the old code with some newer hardware.

I also wanted to do something at our new space around my other passion â€"œ salt water reefs. I had a reef tank back in the 90s and wanted to have a couple of tanks in our offices. We have plenty of space and I thought this would be something fun to do. (and it gave me an excuse to get some cool toys)

The current plan is to have a 180g FOWLR tank and a 265g reef tank. I had a sump closet/room built (5'x9') that will house all the equipment for the reef tank. I wanted to start with a bigger reef tank but didn't have the budget with all the other office move expenses. I hope to upgrade to a larger tank over the next year or two.

Just so I don't get flamed, here's a photo of the FOWLR tank, which has cycled with new fish.

So here’s my first post that will take you along the journey with me and hopefully you’ll be able to see things first-hand in the next month or two from a live site. I look forward to your input/feedback along the way.

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

well Ed, get on with it!

 

[rEd86]

I am getting there! I wanted to at least get the thread started so I get more pressure to keep things up to date. I knew I could count on you!

So here are some photos of the sump room. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room for most of the equipment.

And here’s the stand for the 265g as it will butt against the sump room.

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

Here’s the electric sub-panel for the equipment.

I ran a dedicated three phase 50amp feed over there. I don’t think I’ll run into any problems of not having enough power at my disposal.

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

very nice start! :thumbsup:

 

[rEd86]

This is a 200g storage container for RO water.

Note the dollar bill on top for scale.

When I purchased it online, there was only an illustration of the unit. I don’t think it was to scale because when it came in we couldn’t fit it through the front door. Luckily we’re in an old building which has windows that are 56” wide. The fun part was we are on the third floor so we tied rope around it and pulled it up.

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

Here is some of the equipment I’ve already picked up.

Three lumenarc light fixtures

Protein Skimmer

Lifereef Calcium Reactor

Two Vortex wireless Pumps

I will try and get a few more pictures of some of the other tank equipment next week.

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

where did you get it and how much?

Here's my 200g:

And I need one more like yours for SW.

 

[rEd86]

It was $199 for the storage tank. I got it from Plastic Mart:

http://www.plastic-mart.com/class.php?item=1465

Shipping was a lot because of the size and weight. (80 lbs)

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

That's a good price but is it an in-ground? Looks like it might bow out above ground.

 

[rEd86]

I hope it's above ground - otherwise I'm screwed.

They sell steel strap down bands for it so I can only assume it's for above ground.

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

This is the pan/tilt/zoom camera I will have on the system.

The original camera we used years ago was a Sony PTZ camera with an Axis video server connected to it. The video server's frame rate was slow (2-3 frames a second), the image quality wasn’t great and the image size was something like 320x240. Not bad for 1999 but not acceptable for today’s broadband viewers.

This model (the Axis 213 PX) can run at 30 FPS at 704x480 and has a 26x optical zoom. We will be able to zoom in and see the details on the corals.

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

I have been meaning to get a web server camera for quite some time but just haven't put any effort into it yet.

 

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

Looking good. Can't wait to see the building begin!

 

[melev]

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11859269#post11859269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
I have been meaning to get a web server camera for quite some time but just haven't put any effort into it yet.

Well hopefully it will inspire you to set one up at some time. Most of the reef cameras I've seen online are fixed cameras. I am not aware of any that will allow you to control them remotely.

I was amazed at the quality of the picture and the frame rate of this camera. It costs a lot but there are ways of finding great deals on them. I spent about three months bidding on them on eBay until I finally won this one at the price-point I was willing to pay. You just have to be patient.

I also plan on having it take still shots of various locations in the tank each day and creating a time-lapse video showing the growth and evolution of the reef. That is something I can automate once it’s developed so it will be interesting to watch what happens.

Later!

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11859678#post11859678 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NUBIANTANGLOVER
Looking good. Can't wait to see the building begin!

Thanks. We have drilled the overflows for the 265g I will get the pictures up this weekend. I have the glass and will start building the overflow box early next week. If things don't get too crazy I should get everything up and cycling within the next 2 weeks.

--Ed

 

[jnarowe]

there are a few reef keepers I know of that have cameras you can rotate and zoom. very cool. I would like one for my tank room so I can check up on things.

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11862778#post11862778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
there are a few reef keepers I know of that have cameras you can rotate and zoom. very cool. I would like one for my tank room so I can check up on things.

I'd love to see them. Send me any links to them you might have, I am making a list to include on my site when I get everything up. I did some initial searches but only found static cameras. (which I am including as well)

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

So here are the pictures of the tank we drilled:

and here is the drilled tank in the stand:

We’ll start the plumbing by this time next week!

--Ed