Bayou Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Howdy my name is James. I am putting a tank in my office. Promise to try to keep this updated! Tank is a 36x36x22. Extetnal overflow, black PVC bottom, rimless, 2xdrain and 2xreturn. Tank was designed by me and custom built by Planet Aquarium in Dallas. Stand was designed by me and built custom by a custom cabinet maker near my old office in Lewisville. Stand will hold tank and will be flanked on each side by mirrored twins to hold "stuff". I built a stone temple structure (like Tulum) in my previous 190. It came out pretty good so I will try to do a better job this time and attempt to copy Chichen Itza. I have not decided if this will be a sps dominate tank or if I want to do an anemone monoculture(1 nem and only clones). Got a little more time to figure it out...... --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?mggde3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Equipment: I have the tank, the stand, a beast of an ozone reactor, a Trigger Systems sump on order and my beloved wavebox that I just found out will not fit between the corner and the bulkheadðŸ˜! Wish list for other equipment is: Light - EcoTech Radionics LED fixture. I know 1 fixture will not cover the 36x36 footprint but I look forward to having less light on the edges for a change in appearance. Sicce return pump. Very quiet. Skimmer - I want a Trigger Systems Bursa skimmer but they are on back order. I really like the new skimmer designs with the pump under the body and not beside it. I may have to compromise here and get another skimmer if I get impatient. Powerheads- plan was to run my wavebox(I love tunze wavebox) but I was not clear about return hole placement and there is no room. So now my plan is 2 x MP10wES or 2 tunze Powerheads. Controller will be Digital Aquatics RKEnet. I like the remote monitoring from my phone and the logging ability for troubleshooting problems. Temp spikes, pH drops, ect. Reactors- 1 carbon, 1 ozone, 1 bio pellet. Ozone- I am a firm believer in ozone. Corals fight constantly and the only thing that can remove the chemicals from their warfare is ozone. I am going to run a large generator and feed it into an ozone reactor rather than the skimmer. This allows for more contact time between the ozone and the water, it does not hurt my very expensive skimmer and best of all it allows the ozone to stabilize before it makes it back to the display tank. And of course a ORP probe and controlled thru the RKE to avoid overdose. Water- this part really blows. Tank is in my office and I can not make or store RODI. I will have to haul in all topoff and water change water. Chiller - never had one before so this should be interesting. Property manager told my tank is ok. Also told my the HVAC is not on on weekend unless a manual timer is set in the office. Chiller will be needed for sure. I have a brand new one waiting to be opened. It was a gift so I know nothing about it but it should be big enough. Big chiller in a cabinet will require some vent holes and fans to circulate the warm exhaust air out. Gonna put 2 on chiller cabinet and 1 on sump cabinet. Topoff cabinet should be ok without a fan. All for now. Hope to finish painting center cabinet this week and get it to office, the flanking cabinets in the next few weeks. Gonna be late may/early june before water. Questions, comments welcome! --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?eod3ti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sounds good. Well planed out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Bayou, I like your attention to detail in the planning. I agree with part of your conclusion on ozone. The chemical warfare of mixed reef tanks, in my opinion, can only be remedied with activated carbon or use the EPA montra that "dilution is the solution to pollution" and do large partial water changes. In my use of ozone, I always discharged my ozone into activated carbon. This enhanced the operation of the carbon and in my opinion took the place of the protein skimmer. During those days, the skimmers were not as powerful as is available across the shelf today. I choose to run skimmerless as I like high nutrtiant systems and favor using decorative macros and marine plants in my display tank. Glad to see you on the forum. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Bayou, I like your attention to detail in the planning. I agree with part of your conclusion on ozone. The chemical warfare of mixed reef tanks, in my opinion, can only be remedied with activated carbon or use the EPA montra that "dilution is the solution to pollution" and do large partial water changes. In my use of ozone, I always discharged my ozone into activated carbon. This enhanced the operation of the carbon and in my opinion took the place of the protein skimmer. During those days, the skimmers were not as powerful as is available across the shelf today. I choose to run skimmerless as I like high nutrtiant systems and favor using decorative macros and marine plants in my display tank. Glad to see you on the forum. Patrick Thanks for the input! I have spend literally hours going back and forth on the skimmerless/skimmer topic. At the farm we actually have run several systems with no skimmer for several months. The results were pretty good for the most part. It would take 20 minutes just to list all the talking points, then hours discussing and debating them all and almost everyone would have a different final opinion. I think with a very well developed micro fauna food chain(tank at least 1-2 years old) and a limited feeding of fish/coral and adequate water changes and ozone and keeping your hands (oils, ect) out of the water .... skimmerless is totally possible. At the farm we run very undersized skimmers. Here is our logic - we like the air exchange, we like dosing ozone, we like having skimming ability when there is any death/decay in the system or heavy fragmenting.... so we have skimmers. But they are undersized because we pay $$ to make coral food and dose chemicals.... an oversizer or even an efficient and "correctly" sized skimmer will skim most things out of the water column before the corals can consume it, same for fish poop. For this tank I'm gonna put a beast of a skimmer on it. If I do nems I will feed them fish, so they do not need a lot of nitrogen in the water. If I do SPS I want the water clear and clean(water volume is small enough so that I can afford to feed heavy, then skim out most of it before it fuels an algae bloom.) And I do not need a lot of nutrient for macro algae growth, I look at refurgiums as breading grounds for micro fauna more than nutrient export. I will put bright enough lights over the fuge to grow some chaeto and dragons breath. And I completely agree on the post reactor carbon. It should be almost mandatory for skimmer fed ozone. I plan to plumb my carbon reactor downstream of the ozone reactor. It will capture the free radicals, the chemicals and the water will travel slow allowing a higher "absorbion" rate. If I ever have a need for additional carbon I can just throw a filtersock in the sump as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Excellent looking tank and great equipment list. I will be building a similar tank (though only 30 x 30 x 15) when I move back to Dallas this fall, so I look forward to watching this one. If you are really committed to the wavebox, you could build it externally before you set the tank up. I would personally rather have the box external so I don't lose the space in the tank. I like your SPS philosophy, skim hard and feed heavy. I think it is the best method for SPS tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Tank looks great. Do you use controllers for your aquaculture setup? What drove you to the RK vs the Apex? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 It might surprise you how much a skimmerless system can be feed. However, I do not do a commercial farm, anymore, nor do I do SPS. Thus controllers and protein skimmers. Some of the aquafams that I have visited had liquid oxygen for use with intensive aquaculture. Instead of having backup pumps and redundant electrical supply sourcies, they used air to move water. When the air header loses pressure then a second pump on a automatic back up battery or generator comes on. The third back-up to air was the liquid oxygen with a solenoid operated valve. Sounds like you have your game plan together. Happy reefing, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Finished painting the middle cabinet today and side cabinets are almost finished. Finally! Gonna have my cousin mule the cabinet to office in the next few days. Once I get the middle cabinet in the office I can set the tank on it and this will look like an aquarium project. Sump also comes in this week! --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?ustqvz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Enjoy your new tank euphoria. Looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hey James. New tank is looking great. The shallow tank is awesome. I've heard Planet Aquarium has some issues with hole/overflow location. I bought Omar's old PA tank, and I really like the PVC bottom. Algae sticks a little too easy to it though, but overall it is nice. Why don't you build a wavebox? They are very easy to make and if you have the pump/controller, then the box is a minimal component. I'll be watching your thread for the ozone. I've been thinking about buying an ozone reactor but haven't had the guts to pull the trigger on it yet. Who built the stand for you? My parents are in Lewsville and I need a surround for my steel stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Got the sump in today! It is awesome😄 Coworkers saw it and just stared with blank faces. They are not fish geeks! LOL --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?pwgm2j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Olaggie01- Stands were made by Fiorenza Custom Woodworking (214) 356-2826 Wayne is a really nice guy. He does custom work, mostly kitchen and bookshelves I think. Shop is near Business 121 and Main in Lewisville. And literally next door to the wholesaler Saltwater Inc. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?geboae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 I may consider reworking the wavebox. I am having trouble pulling the trigger on those Ecotech pumps. Just a lot of cash to drop on something I kinda already have and like. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?vq0m43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I may consider reworking the wavebox. I am having trouble pulling the trigger on those Ecotech pumps. Just a lot of cash to drop on something I kinda already have and like. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?vq0m43 Hey buddy, Looking good so far, I'm in need of some stand building myself for my 36x36x27 cube. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippwalters Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Following with interest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Thanks for the name. I'll drop you a PM about a question. I completely understand about the vortech issue. I have 4 tunze (2 - 6100s and 2 - 6105s) but I'd really like to put a vortech on the far side of the peninsula. I think it would look a lot cleaner than having a huge tunze but why would I want to drop another $400 on a pump when I have 4 that work great. I am fine tuning my DIY wavebox, so hopefully that will help. That way I can use the 2 6105s as flow pumps instead of wave pumps. That sumps is awesome. James (I think that is his real name), does some great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubasteve92 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Is that a trigger system elite sump? Are you using the section in the back of it as a refugium? If so how are you getting the water down to the chamber? What size is it? Sorry bout all the questions.. Awesome tank!! I will be following along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Ron! What's up man! Nice to see another transplant. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?xmrhbd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Is that a trigger system elite sump? Are you using the section in the back of it as a refugium? If so how are you getting the water down to the chamber? What size is it?Sorry bout all the questions.. Awesome tank!! I will be following along! It is the Elite, the 30" Ruby Elite. Back section will be a fuge. I will feed it from the drain(will T it off with ball valves and slit drain between skimmer section and fuge section. Sump size is 30" long and I think about 15 tall and 17 wide... But you may need to check the Trigger System website for the exact width and height. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?ut0l5t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubasteve92 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Thats awesome! I love these sumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 This looks like it's going to be an awesome setup! Makes me miss mine. The only suggestion I would make is maybe consider two MP40's instead of the MP10's. I had a very similar tank, rimless 36x37x18, and had major difficulties getting the kind of flow I was happy with. I started out with a snapper return, and one single MP40. I found I had a lot of dead spots so I sold off the one MP40 only to change to three korallia 3s just so I could get rid of the dead spots. I still wasn't happy because there wasn't enough flow to keep my SPS happy. So then I changed to a nano wavebox and the korallias. Still didn't get enough flow. Then I changed to two waveboxes, and I was almost happy, but now I had dead spots, and still wasn't very much flow. I ended up with two MP40's and was thrilled. I didn't have a single dead spot, and the flow was awesome. My SPS couldn't have been happier. I know this is a long explanation to my suggestion. I just want you to see that I have tried almost every combination, and was only able to obtain good results with the two MP40's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Cabinets are painted! All 3 are done. Finally! Hoping weather lets up tomorrow so we can haul them up to the office at lunch. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?bi4muz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Medi- Thanks for the info. Those MP40s are pricey... You got me thinking.... but that is a lot of extra cash. --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?m1vj2n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayou Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Got 2 cabinets to the office, tank on the stand, sump in the stand and chiller in one cabinet. Progress! --- I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?hpeshy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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