Zero's upcoming frag tank man-cave

[zeroinverse]

So a few months back I found an abandoned fish tank. 4x2 footprint and 12" high. One long side pane glass was broken and it must have been a DIY tank. Someone siliconed aluminum bottom braces.

So I stripped off all the silicone and bought a new glass for side pane. Since it is only 12" high, I used 1/4" glass (glass pane cost me $30).

Found some old Novagard RTV series 400 silicone and put my tank back together.



Note: industrial-grade, slow cure silicone is recommended over stuff at home depot, etc. Slower cure time helps create a stronger bond. For 12" high it may not be a super big deal, but taller tanks will benefit from the added strength.

And finally, my upcoming man-cave with frag rack and extra tanks for berghias/aiptasia culturing.

 

[zeroinverse]

In case people are curious why OXIME-based silicone is better compared to the more common acetoxy ["vinegar smell (acetic acid)"] type silicone available at Home Depot and Lowes (example: GE Silicone I)...

Moisture curing silicones are categorized by the byproduct given off as they cure with moisture. For
example, acetoxy cure silicones give off acetic acid.
Alkoxy cure silicones give off alcohols, typically
methanol or ethanol, and oxime curing silicones evolve
oxime. Acetoxy cure silicones are known for their ability
to cure rapidly and develop good adhesion to many
substrates. Their largest limitation is the potential for
the by-product acetic acid to promote corrosion. Alkoxy
cure silicones, on the other hand, do not have this
limitation because the alcohol by-products are noncorrosive. This makes them well suited for electronic
and medical applications where the acetic acid could
be a problem. Unfortunately, alkoxy silicones typically
have lower adhesion and take longer to cure than
acetoxy silicones. Oxime evolving silicones offer cure
speeds and adhesion which rivals, and in some cases
surpasses, that of acetoxy cure silicones. However, the
oxime they evolve will not corrode ferric substrates,
although it can stain copper or brass.

Also, curing time may be 1-2 weeks for full cure. Guess I have to wait for my "propagation tank" to finish curing.

Moisture curing silicones have a maximum
depth of cure which is limited to 0.375 - 0.500". At 50%
RH, moisture cure silicones will cure to a tack free
surface in 5-60 minutes depending on the type used.
Complete cure through thick sections of silicone can
take up to 72 hours. It should be noted that adhesive
strength may continue to develop for 1-2 weeks after
the silicone has been applied. This occurs because the
reaction between the reactive groups on the silicone
polymer and the reactive groups on the substrate
surface is slower than the cross-linking reaction of the
silicone groups with themselves.

 

[Reef Bass]

Nice job with the tank. I might have been tempted to drill the new side (or another side) for overflow purposes before reassembly.

Thanks for the explanation on silicone adhesives.

 

[zeroinverse]

Nice job with the tank. I might have been tempted to drill the new side (or another side) for overflow purposes before reassembly.

Thanks for the explanation on silicone adhesives.

Thanks!

I am debating whether to put my "sump" on top rather than on bottom. Then I can use the same light source to grow macro in the "sump" and have bleed over light for my 10 gal aiptasia culturing tanks... Same electricity and all.

 

[northbay-reefer]

Hey Ron, when we spend a lot of time with our fish tank, it's hard to tell if it's our man cave or the dog house so call it what you will lol j/k
.
Great job on the tank, I think it is going to turn out awesome.

 

[Grant W]

Interesting info regarding the silicon. Where do you get the oxime type material?

 

[zeroinverse]

Interesting info regarding the silicon. Where do you get the oxime type material?

I found a tube lying around the house and it was still sealed.

You can find it on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Novagard-400-...1355136303&sr=1-10&keywords=novagard+silicone

The Novagard 400 series is oxime-cure.

 

[lokii_37]

Its looking good Ron. I like the idea of the sump above the DT so it can just gravity feed down and the pods do not have to go thru the pump to get to the DT.

 

[zeroinverse]

Since I need To heat my garage in the winter, you think I should just run MH over the frag tank instead of T5s or LEDs? Sounds like I'd have to pay for heaters to heat up my enclosed 1 car man-cave area anyways...

 

[northbay-reefer]

Since I need To heat my garage in the winter, you think I should just run MH over the frag tank instead of T5s or LEDs? Sounds like I'd have to pay for heaters to heat up my enclosed 1 car man-cave area anyways...

That's what I used to do with my frag tank and I have the light on at night to keep it warm. your typical heater is 250 watt and the halide is also 250 watt so it's a wash plus you get some real nice growth.

 

[zeroinverse]

Hmm, right now my garage is consistently at 62degrees. So wonder if I need to insulate the garage or the tank side walls.

 

[kodiak23]

Nice job on the frag tank, looks like we can expect to see many nice new pieces at our raffles

I used RTV silicone when I siliconed my baffles in my sump. I got it at Graingers. Its an awesome store that has just about everything. Good to check out if you've never been there.

 

[zeroinverse]

Kodak: yup, always loved grainger. We have one near us. So whenever something special homedepot or lowes doesn't carry, I can order from them. I even ordered relays for my aquapod build.

 

[zeroinverse]

So here is the plan for the reverse sump (filtration systems in top of frag/prop tank).

(I need to figure out exact sequence...)

algal turf scrubber

Macroalgae (large particulate mechanical filter & pod refugium)

Live rock (biological/denitrification filtration)

Deep sand bed (biological/denitrification filter and deep layers acidify to help dissolve calcium)

Surge tank (Carlson or Bornemann) - reduces need for circulation

calcium reactor

Skimmer (minimal use? TBD)
carbon/phosphate reactor (optional and used as needed)

 

[Lucas M]

What's a surge tank? Link?

 

[woodnaquanut]

Kinda like a toilet. Fill up tank and when it gets full enough it 'flushes'

(voice of the turtles in 'Finding Nemo')

Surf's up, dude...

 

[Grant W]

Big splashy thing thats fun to watch. surfing opp for fish.

 

[AMAYEU]

Noise concerns with the surge tank? Watch out for all those micro bubbles.

I have also seen a reverse sump in action. Pretty interesting as you do a double take. Don't see it too often.

 

[SantaMonica]

Also, if you build and operate the scrubber properly, it will probably kill the other macros.

 

[zeroinverse]

@amayeu I figured this way, I free up storage space underneath my prop tank and since I don't plan to be in the sump often (except cleaning out ATS and skimmate) it would be good. Plus then I benefit from a surge system without having to put another "surge bucket" above my tank since the reverse sump is already there.

@santamonica great to see you join the conversation. I have read many of your posts about ATS and seen the ATS designs you sell. I am excited by ability to have 7-day old pods hopefully help feed my prop tank. I hear you are an engineer down in SoCal.
-----
Are you saying with an ATS I won't be able to maintain macroalgae? I understand the nitrate and phosphate uptake will be faster with turf algae. Any suggestions? Do I isolate a separate "slow effluent" macroalgae section that I feed independently?

My thought was to have a chaeto macroalgae mechanical prefilter to trap big food particles, then my DSB and liverock (more for natural calcium dissolution and pod/cryptic critters) and then my surge bucket would "blast through my ATS".

I would like to grow other macroalgae like dragon's breath, blue ochtodes, among others... Just not sure if I should put them in the prefilter area or if I allocate an area just before the surge tank (to allow the any macroalgae pods to exit out to the propagation tank). Thoughts?

Ideally, if I can keep a macroalgae section, I may consider putting sea horses in that area.