Ever have a dream come true?
I have been planning this for a very very long time and am finally able to make it happen.
DT is 750 g and sump is 150 g. Tank dimensions are 96”x42”x48”. Had to go with acrylic instead of glass due to the size, weight and cost. It is 1 ¼” thick with an external overflow box on the back. Back wall of the tank has a layer of black acrylic laminated onto it and a cutout top center for the overflow. There is a ¾” acrylic top that acts as a brace. It has 2 large cutouts for access leaving 4” acrylic border all the way around and a 14” wide strip across the center from front to back (top view).
The stand is 2" stainless steel box tubing and sits on a ceramic tile floor on top of concrete slab so plenty of support there.
It will be located in the center of the house against a wall viewable from almost every room.
It will be setup 6” away from the wall to allow room for the overflow box and sump return plumbing. The cabinet will hide the gap between the tank and wall.
The wall has a closet and a bathroom behind it. I cut through the sheetrock to access water supply, drain line and the closet which will be used for making RODI, saltwater and dosing storage tanks.
I also put the skimmer in the closet since it’s a biggie (SRO XP8000). Added an A/C vent in the closet ceiling which will push cool air down across the storage tanks and skimmer. Cool air will then flow out from the closet through holes in sheetrock and into the cabinets above and below the tank. The hope is to use the home A/C to help keep things cool to some degree. There is a large 1 hp chiller as well with the heat exchanger located under the tank and compressor outside. Closet layout.
Everything else is under the tank. The sump is 66”x30”x30”. There are 3 drain lines (2” PVC) from the bottom of the external overflow box which empty into 3 filter socks 7”x32” in the sump. There are 2 separate sump returns each with Hammerheads and 2 separate closed loops each with Blueline HD 70s. The 2 sump returns run up behind the back of the tank on either side of the overflow box in the gap between the wall and the tank. Each sump return has jets over the top of the back wall and through bulkheads in the back wall. The skimmer is fed by a Blueline HD 100. The 2 closed loops are through bulkheads in the bottom. All plumbing will be hidden by rock.
The stand has doors that open fully on all three sides and the lighting can be raised up out of the way into the top of the cabinet when working on the tank. Going to use 4 Solar Stinger Sunstrip 140 LEDs. They are made by inledco, USA. Sold as Econlux in Europe. You can check them out on Google and at all the trade shows.
The tank has been pressure tested and graduated to official aquarium status. It will be delivered this week.
I have 300 lbs of Pukani dry rock curing in large bins in the garage and another 300 lbs being cured by my new friends Brad and Amanda from Hobe Sound Frags. They are fantastic people and so glad to have them close by.
I will post lots of pics as things progress. It is absolutely overwhelming that this is finally coming together after all of these years. I will have this giant blank canvas to work with and it is going to be a real struggle to stay patient and proceed slowly as we all know is the real secret to success.
More to come.....
I have been planning this for a very very long time and am finally able to make it happen.
DT is 750 g and sump is 150 g. Tank dimensions are 96”x42”x48”. Had to go with acrylic instead of glass due to the size, weight and cost. It is 1 ¼” thick with an external overflow box on the back. Back wall of the tank has a layer of black acrylic laminated onto it and a cutout top center for the overflow. There is a ¾” acrylic top that acts as a brace. It has 2 large cutouts for access leaving 4” acrylic border all the way around and a 14” wide strip across the center from front to back (top view).
The stand is 2" stainless steel box tubing and sits on a ceramic tile floor on top of concrete slab so plenty of support there.
It will be located in the center of the house against a wall viewable from almost every room.
It will be setup 6” away from the wall to allow room for the overflow box and sump return plumbing. The cabinet will hide the gap between the tank and wall.
The wall has a closet and a bathroom behind it. I cut through the sheetrock to access water supply, drain line and the closet which will be used for making RODI, saltwater and dosing storage tanks.
I also put the skimmer in the closet since it’s a biggie (SRO XP8000). Added an A/C vent in the closet ceiling which will push cool air down across the storage tanks and skimmer. Cool air will then flow out from the closet through holes in sheetrock and into the cabinets above and below the tank. The hope is to use the home A/C to help keep things cool to some degree. There is a large 1 hp chiller as well with the heat exchanger located under the tank and compressor outside. Closet layout.
Everything else is under the tank. The sump is 66”x30”x30”. There are 3 drain lines (2” PVC) from the bottom of the external overflow box which empty into 3 filter socks 7”x32” in the sump. There are 2 separate sump returns each with Hammerheads and 2 separate closed loops each with Blueline HD 70s. The 2 sump returns run up behind the back of the tank on either side of the overflow box in the gap between the wall and the tank. Each sump return has jets over the top of the back wall and through bulkheads in the back wall. The skimmer is fed by a Blueline HD 100. The 2 closed loops are through bulkheads in the bottom. All plumbing will be hidden by rock.
The stand has doors that open fully on all three sides and the lighting can be raised up out of the way into the top of the cabinet when working on the tank. Going to use 4 Solar Stinger Sunstrip 140 LEDs. They are made by inledco, USA. Sold as Econlux in Europe. You can check them out on Google and at all the trade shows.
The tank has been pressure tested and graduated to official aquarium status. It will be delivered this week.
I have 300 lbs of Pukani dry rock curing in large bins in the garage and another 300 lbs being cured by my new friends Brad and Amanda from Hobe Sound Frags. They are fantastic people and so glad to have them close by.
I will post lots of pics as things progress. It is absolutely overwhelming that this is finally coming together after all of these years. I will have this giant blank canvas to work with and it is going to be a real struggle to stay patient and proceed slowly as we all know is the real secret to success.
More to come.....