randythereefer
New member
Congrat's Kevin!! Its nice to see your tank finally recognized! I just feel lucky to have some frags from some of those monster coral's of yours!
Tank of the Month - November '04
- Thread starter Skipper
- Start date
Yes I have one of those. It doesn't work too well at maximum depth.
Sometimes I wonder that too
Seriously one tower drains to the refugium and the other to the sump. The smaller skimmer pulls from the refugium and dumps into the sump. The larger skimmer pulls from the sump and returns to the refugium. The return pump delivering the water to the 4 Sea Swirls pulls from the refugium. Now isn't that clear as mud? My refugium was built by Barr Aquatic.
Regards,
Kevin
My wife would feed them every few days. They would be a bit skinny when I returned but I soon fattened them up. It was mostly just the Anthias.
It is an acrylic tank. 1" front and back with 3/4" ends and top.
That is what I plan on making (Brent this means you
)Regards,
Kevin
law086
Premium Member
Kevin - great tank. I few questions if I may:
1. Somebody already asked about water changes. It must be hard to manage 150 gallons at a time. Do you have a specific procedure that you follow?
2. If you don't mind me asking, do you have an estimate as to the amount the tank adds to your electric bill?
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Ron
1. Somebody already asked about water changes. It must be hard to manage 150 gallons at a time. Do you have a specific procedure that you follow?
2. If you don't mind me asking, do you have an estimate as to the amount the tank adds to your electric bill?
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Ron
burton14e7
New member
Is it mandatory to have a phyto culture system with a tank that large?
Rogger Castells
New member
Awesome tank, I particularly like the apparent simplicity of everything (homemade sumps...etc) My kind of tank! I will be starting my 210gal in the next few weeks, although I am not a rookie I will like to hear any pointers you can give me do's and don't.
Thanks
Thanks
It's not too hard. I use 100 gal and 70 gal Rubbermaid tubs. I fill them with RO/DI water add a heater and pump then the salt. I let them mix over night. The next morning I siphon off 150 gals from my tank. Then use a Mag 9.5 and pump the water out of the tubs and into the tank. I have a mark on the edge of the tank to know how far down to siphon the water.
No not at all. It cost about $75 a month. We have about the cheapest electricity rates in the nation here. 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour. My total electric bill (my house is all electric) runs about $250 a month.
Great question! Temperature and humidity are two of the greatest challenges with large tanks. I live 95 miles south of Canada so the air here is cool and dry 9-10 months of the year. I use evaporation to cool the tank (12-14 gal a day). To handle the humidity I use an air exchange system. My tank is sealed into the wall. I have a 200cfm fan mounted into an exterior wall drawing air in from outside and blowing it near the bottom of the tank. I have a second fan (400cfm) drawing air out close to the ceiling creating a negative draft which prevents any moisture or heat from entering the house. The exhaust duct goes through the wall into the garage and then up through the garage roof. The fans are controlled by a thermostat set at 78F. That way in the winter or night the tank doesn't get too cool. The fans are on separate manual switches too. In the summer I turn off the intake fan and leave the tank cabinet open when the house air conditioner is running which draws cool air from the house up through the top of the tank. The tank is also placed in a daylight basement which naturally is a cooler location. Here is a picture.
Regards,
Kevin
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I'm not sure why you would want to add phytoplankton. There is a pretty healthy population there already. SPS corals are zooplankton eaters not phytoplankton. The clams eat phyoplankton but they are big enough to receive their nutrition from lighting and nitrates.
Regards,
Kevin
The Rubbermaid sumps have been replaced with acrylic ones now. I was trying to run too much water through the sump. This resulted in micro bubbles. A closed loop would have reduced the amount of water going through the sump.
It's hard to give advice because each system is different and people have different visions of where they want their tank to end up. For SPS tons of alternating current and good lighting is key.
Regards,
Kevin
Old Yeller Tang
Premium Member
Congrats Kevin!
Sweet tank indeed!:beer: :thumbsup:
Roland
Sweet tank indeed!:beer: :thumbsup:
Roland
Poseidon007
New member
Congratulations,wow on the tank!
Poseidon007
New member
Oh Yeah I love the froth shots
What an inspiration. Thanks!
Congrats on your great looking tank...a fellow member told me I had to check out the tank of the Month...I am trying to put together a 200 gallon reef. With limited "building skills" this has become quite the challenge for me. Any suggestions or recommendations??? I also travel with my job and was considering a redundant pump system...not sure how it would work but at least if one fails...it could limp along until I could get home to fix things. Currently having a back-up generator installed on the house just so I don't have to worry about power-outages. Take care, and congrats again...I can only dream my tank will turn out this nice.
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