Tank of the Month - Mar 2002

[Purple Reef]

Steve

It is obvious that you have many new fans (including myself). Goes without saying that , as said before, your work has inspired everyone. Could you post additional pics of your tank? Specially pics of the design and "back stage" set up of the tank. We are very curious about the power head towers, how you are holding the LR towers together, How you manage to hide the power head cables, etc..........


My friend let me just say that if you ever set up your own web page, the traffic would be impressive....:dance: :fish2:

 

[steveweast]

Purple reef; Last weekend I had my powerhead towers out for cleaning and I cleaned the rear panel a little bit; so, attached is a little better picture of one of them. The towers and the platform that elevate the live rock is just constructed from 1/2 inch pvc. I use eggcrate for a platform; and it's all attached with plastic zip ties. The powerhead towers also use the eggcrate for a supporting platform, except in this case, I used 3 layers of eggcrate to make a cage around the intake. It also is held together with platic zip ties. The powerheads themselves are held in place with the zip ties too. The wires are real easy to hide. The wires from the left side of the tank come together and leave the tank and enter a waterproof junction box ( in which they are hard wired ) mounted on top of the tank. The same thing happens on the right side through a second junction box. Rockwork that goes above waterline can hide a whole bunch of things. Steve

 

[jobmw]

Thank You Steve

Thank You Steve

Just wanted to thank you Steve for you wonderful help! Because of your guidence, I do believe that I will be able to create a "reef" tank. We start production on it this weekend, starting with taking the scratches out of the front and then removing the dsl rolls (all 12),cleaning and raising the bio balls, draining water, cleaning sand. Oh speaking of sand, I noticed I have quite a few bristle worms, and I hear pro and cons about them. Any suggestions or thoughts about bristol worms you would like to share? We have an Ro/DI arriving, a huge protein skimmer, more powerful pumps and that's just to start. Oh, and Metal Halides - either 2x240w or 3x 175w...pendants. Not sure which would be better. Have to Smartlite's as well (48' 96w bulbs)

 

[jobmw]

Thank You Steve

Thank You Steve

Just wanted to thank you Steve for you wonderful help! Because of your guidance, I do believe that I will be able to create a "reef" tank. We start production on it this weekend, starting with taking the scratches out of the front (using scratch removing magnets I found on the internet as well as algae remover magnets - remember, this is an acrylic tank) and then removing the dsl rolls (all 12),cleaning and raising the bio balls, draining water, cleaning sand. Oh speaking of sand, I noticed I have quite a few bristle worms, and I hear pro and cons about them. Any suggestions or thoughts about bristle worms you would like to share? We have an Ro/DI arriving, a huge protein skimmer, more powerful pumps and that's just to start. Oh, and Metal Halides - either 2x240w or 3x 175w...pendants. Not sure which would be better. Have to Smartlite's as well (48' 96w bulbs)For once, I have hope with this 300 gal tank and I owe it to you! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[steveweast]

Jo; did you decide to completely break down the psuedo-fish only tank ? did you remove all live stock? if not, don't remove that dls- it's your only biological filtration. Small bristle worms are just fine. It's only the huge ones that can be a problem in a reef. I don't see why you would want to wash the sand ( unless you were going to shut down and mothball the tank for awhile). The existing sand would give you a head start in creating your new reef. You might want to private message me and let me know what you have planned. Oh, and did you get those reference books that are indisensible in creating your reef goal?

Steve

 

[Purple Reef]

Hey Steve

Thank for the pics of the power heads. Very ingenues design. I currently own a 75 gl. custom made acrylic tank(30" H x 30" L to R x 18" F to B) 1.5 years old, strange dimensions but they do make for an elegant tank, specially with the canopy and stand all in black gloss Formica all together to a height of 7". My biggest hassle is the cleaning of the tank without scratching the panels:eek1: I use the tools designed for acrylic tanks such as the plastic spatula and the sponges (never an old credit card like some I know ) but every 3 months I have to invest HOURS is buffing the inside of the tank with a scratch removal kit. Is this some thing you go through too?? I use a floating magnet with a piece of material on the inside to try keeping clean the inside during the week without scratching it, that seems to work fine but the actual cleaning of coraline algae without putting lines on the panels, man what a battle.

I have a 26" tower of LR in the very middle of the tank, covering the over flow, but 2 tubes of epoxy had to come into play to keep those things from falling (which the first 6 months it did several times!). Which I had more than 18" forward to make something similar to your tank with PVC and egg crate, some thing like a stand system. Do you use additives to help your corals do so good? Other than you calcium reactor. I use ESV B-Ionic on a daily basis.

Like I said before my friend if you ever set up a page show casing your construction pics and behind the seen it would make for an interesting site....

Later

 

[steveweast]

Purple Reef; I too use a magnet for cleaning the inside panel. As for buffing the inside panel... been there..done that. I now try to clean the panel at least once a week ..if not more. This seems to not allow the coralline a chance to grow. I also keep my sand depth right at the front panel to zero..and then slope back from there. This helps keep sand particles from scratching the panel when cleaning.As for additives... only Iodine.. because of heavy skimming and heavy carbon use. Steve

 

[Auchinek]

Wow!!

I don't quite know what to say...I am in awe..if i could do but 10% of what you have done...

I am, however, planning on putting in a large tank when i build my next house, room behind to be a small laboratory for the myriad of things that go with it. Though, seeing what you have done, perhaps there is no need for the 'room' as i had originally considered.


Auch.

 

[Purple Reef]

Steve;

If you don't mind, what kit do you use as a acrylic scratch remover and how do you buff it out?. I personally use Rainbow scratch remover (sheets are 3"x3") and apply it with the cleaning magnet, changing the levels of sand paper as I go. But man does this take time and effort!!!:eek1: :eek2: I need to find a tool (magnet) I can attach to my power drip!

Another thing, do you keep a power generator for black outs.? Living in South FL I should have gotten one some time back (haven't needed it so far) but hurricanes are a possibility. I considering a Honda or Mitsubishi model that putts out 1100 watts and is silent and the size of a bag($500 + or-).

Thank Steve.:beer:

 

[Purple Reef]

Sorry ;

..........attach to my power drill (not drip... ).

 

[Reefer_in_mass]

just awesome!!!!

just awesome!!!!

Boy do i wish I could have a tank like that one!!!!
you need alot of money to get there....and if I had it....I would do the same thing!!!!!

3 skimmers!!!!! WOW!!!!!!


Great tank!!! Keep up the good work!!!!! :beer:

 

[steveweast]

Purple reef; I'm on the same scratch removal system as you are...mulit -grade sheets of wet/dry sandpaper. Yes, it does take alot of work. I use the Magnavore 10 magnets which have a pretty strong grip;so, it's not too bad to remove micro scratches..but, it still blows an afternoon. Power outages here are rare and usually short lived; but, I also have portable generators ( that I use for construction) available if needed.

 

[Flyboy]

WOW........

WOW........

Great Tank Steve, do you have a web site that we can follow your tank progressin at?

 

[Codiene53]

Very Beautiful Tank!!!
How do you clean the front ? Do you(or maybe your wife) have to get in the tank? How do you re-arrange the corals if needed?

 

[steveweast]

Flyboy; I'm sorry to say not yet..but maybe soon.

Codiene53; You'll notice in the photos that the light hood is on a rail system and can be slid completely out of the way for easy access. Cleaning magnets help keep the front panel clean.

 

[Kevin Gougherty]

Steve your tank is a work of art. I'm about to embark on my 1st attempt and I have loads of questions.

You say you suspend your LR 4 inches above sand so power head can move matter from under. What did you use as a superstructure support system., PVC, cement...

Does you tank represent a deep water reef. I want to design a Ino-Pacific Deef Water Reef. I see your temps are about mid 70's. So I suspect a chiller is mandatory?

I'd appreciate you response. Again wonderful job. I love it. The color scheme is so much like what I want to achieve. I scuba dive and your reef scape depicts deep water so wonderfully.

 

[ReefEnvy]

OMG!!!!

OMG!!!!

Steve!!! Even the equipment room is a work of art!!!! However long it took you, however much it cost you, it had to be worth every bit!!!! The end result is absolutely AMAZING!!!!!

One thought comes to mind though, knowing how myself and quite a few other Reef keepers are never quite satisfied, where do you go from there?!?!?!? What's your next upgrade going to be?!?!?!? Or has the significant other hidden all your tools?

 

[steveweast]

Kevin; the liverock sits on a platform ( about 4 inches above the sand ). The platform frame is constructed from 1/2 PVC with a piece of eggcrate on top. I didn't even glue the frame together..just pressed fitted together in case I wanted to modify it later. All the rock is on the platform except a row of rocks in front to hide the frame. The current ( and any debris ) comes through gaps in the rockwork.
I keep my temperature setpoint at 77.5. This means that my heater prevents the temperature from falling below 77.0 and the 3/4hp chiller prevents the temperature from getting above 78.0.
I know alot people keep higher temperatures; but, I've had good results with a lower temp. I wouldn't say that I'm trying for a deep water reef; at least not with 4200 watts of light. The tank,however, is deep;and as a result, the bottom of the tank can support lower light requirement inhabitants while the top can support shallow reef stock like SPS. So, I guess the tank would represent both shallow and mid-water habitats....in winter.

 

[steveweast]

Reef Envy; where to go from here?.... this 500 gal tank should make for adaquate sump one day

 

[ReefEnvy]

Sorry, can't look at any more Pics!!!

Sorry, can't look at any more Pics!!!

Up until now, I've been quite pleased with my DIY ability, and how my tank has matured. Just finished looking at all your pics, including the impressively simple "Power Head Tower"..........

Now, I feel like a color blind three year old with a box of crayons standing beside Leanardo Da Vinci as he paints the ceiling of the chapel!!! Gee thanks Steve!!!!!