500 gallon cold water build

[bellsphaselacey]

Hi everyone, been on the forums for years and never made a account until now.

My 21st birthday is coming up and I figured id treat myself.. 8’-4’-2’ acrylic tank with 4’ powder coated steel stand.

I’ve always regretted not documenting my builds and figured this would be the perfect time to start doing so.
today I pulled some old rock out of storage and I’m going to begin bringing the rock back to life in time for the tank delivery.

Hope you all enjoy as the updates come around!

additionally if anybody has input on alternatives to filter socks on a system this large please feel free to chime in, I’ve been running a reef Mat 1200 on my 240 cube and loved it however I’m not sure how it would do on the 500.. maybe two reef mat 1200s??

 

[blaxsun]

That's going to be a beautiful tank! I also run a ReefMat 1200 on my 200-gallon (heavily stocked) system, so I think you'd be good with a pair of ReefMat 1200s.

Right now I get about 20-24 days per roll (60-70" average daily), so I imagine you'd get closer to 40-50 days with a pair of ReefMat 1200s (maybe even longer).

 

[piranhaman00]

Please elaborate on cold water setup.

On my 21st I think I had about 20$ to my name and spent it all on booze. I also started my fake ID on fire.

 

[bellsphaselacey]

That's going to be a beautiful tank! I also run a ReefMat 1200 on my 200-gallon (heavily stocked) system, so I think you'd be good with a pair of ReefMat 1200s.

Right now I get about 20-24 days per roll (60-70" average daily), so I imagine you'd get closer to 40-50 days with a pair of ReefMat 1200s (maybe even longer).

Thank you!! I’m really excited I’ve always wanted a monster size tank.
That’s what I was thinking as well, thank you for the input!!

 

[bellsphaselacey]

Please elaborate on cold water setup.

On my 21st I think I had about 20$ to my name and spent it all on booze. I also started my fake ID on fire.

OfCourse!, I’m Planning on doing some sort of kelp forest, with small leopards and cali horns.
(And before anybody goes crazy on me about the leopard in a 8-4’, I have a friend with a far larger tank ready to take the leopards when the time comes down the road).

 

[bellsphaselacey]

And the process begins!

broke down my 240 today aswell and figured I’d share a picture of Bobby, came from my buddy’s tank and he has been living in my sump since he’s a beasttt.

 

[squidarcher]

How're you gonna source the kelp?

 

[piranhaman00]

OfCourse!, I’m Planning on doing some sort of kelp forest, with small leopards and cali horns.
(And before anybody goes crazy on me about the leopard in a 8-4’, I have a friend with a far larger tank ready to take the leopards when the time comes down the road).

Leopards? You don’t mean the shark?

 

[bellsphaselacey]

How're you gonna source the kelp?

The shoreline by my home is lined with kelp and Recreational harvest of marine algae for personal use is permitted in California. 10lbs a day

 

[907_Reefer]

I'm in, been eyeing cold water setups..! Nice tank!

 

[bellsphaselacey]

Leopards? You don’t mean the shark?

I do indeed, and I can already feel the shark police coming.
I’m planning on purchasing a 8-12” leopard pup and raising it up over the next 5 years and donating to a client with a 18,000 gal in ground when it has outgrown my tank.

Before anybody gets to upset please consider that this tank is being purpose built to give the shark the absolute best quality of life the few years it is growing up in my care, and has a forever home lined up.

 

[bellsphaselacey]

I'm in, been eyeing cold water setups..! Nice tank!

Thank you!

 

[bellsphaselacey]

The pile in the corner of my garage is ever growing!, picked up a 2nd reef mat 1200 today.
Gonna get to cleaning my royal x 12” skimmer next and planning out my plumbing, and selecting a fuge light, if any one has recommendations on ^^ please chime in

 

[907_Reefer]

Nice! I love this part. You decide on drain style for the overflow?

 

[MyFirstCar]

Just some thoughts on Kelp. Ignore me if you've had kelp in a reef tank before. I work with some commercial kelp farmers for my work, and depending on the type of kelp (in California, you'll probably be wanting giant or sugar kelp), it could strip that tank of nutrients FAST. It also doesn't transplant well from the sea, and doesn't ship well, so get a lot to prepare for losses. For some reason it also really doesn't take well to artificial salt water, ESPECIALLY instant ocean. If recommend trying to use natural sea water if you can. No a ton of info into why, but all the kelp nurseries I work with avoid instant ocean like the plague, and use NSW when they can (to the point of shipping it in sometimes).

Not to say it can't be done, and I'm sure it will look amazing, just some things to plan for.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Tagging along

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Just some thoughts on Kelp. Ignore me if you've had kelp in a reef tank before. I work with some commercial kelp farmers for my work, and depending on the type of kelp (in California, you'll probably be wanting giant or sugar kelp), it could strip that tank of nutrients FAST. It also doesn't transplant well from the sea, and doesn't ship well, so get a lot to prepare for losses. For some reason it also really doesn't take well to artificial salt water, ESPECIALLY instant ocean. If recommend trying to use natural sea water if you can. No a ton of info into why, but all the kelp nurseries I work with avoid instant ocean like the plague, and use NSW when they can (to the point of shipping it in sometimes).

Not to say it can't be done, and I'm sure it will look amazing, just some things to plan for.

I agree. I live close to the shore and pull a bit of kelp for my temperate tanks. It mostly ends up as a food source, but I have grown some but not reliably yet. both from leaf and gametes. Unless you have the right conditions, kelp will just start to break down rather quickly. Creating those right conditions are a process in itself and may be more involved than you expected. Not trying to take away from the OP's dream tank, just be prepared for the process.

 

[bellsphaselacey]

Nice! I love this part. You decide on drain style for the overflow?

Myself as well! The planning stage is always fun.
I have been considering a gate valved full siphon for my drains although I’m not sure that’s what I want yet.

 

[bellsphaselacey]

Just some thoughts on Kelp. Ignore me if you've had kelp in a reef tank before. I work with some commercial kelp farmers for my work, and depending on the type of kelp (in California, you'll probably be wanting giant or sugar kelp), it could strip that tank of nutrients FAST. It also doesn't transplant well from the sea, and doesn't ship well, so get a lot to prepare for losses. For some reason it also really doesn't take well to artificial salt water, ESPECIALLY instant ocean. If recommend trying to use natural sea water if you can. No a ton of info into why, but all the kelp nurseries I work with avoid instant ocean like the plague, and use NSW when they can (to the point of shipping it in sometimes).

Not to say it can't be done, and I'm sure it will look amazing, just some things to plan for.

Wow thank you for the info!, my plan is to use Scripps water so I feel that will give the kelp the best fighting chance and I’m about a 3 minute drive from beach so hopefully the trip won’t be to harsh on it haha.

In regards to the kelp stripping tanks of their nutrients, I’m not sure it would necessarily be a bad thing for the species I plan to keep however really good to keep in mind.
do you know what happens once nutrients are depleted?, does the kelp die off?

 

[flagg37]

When I lived in CA and was planning a large build, I looked into having water delivered. The guy would take his boat several miles off the coast pump it onto the boat through a pre filter then onto his truck to deliver it and pump it right into the tank. When factoring the cost of salt and time for the rodi, it became more worthwhile. I don’t know if it’s still as good of a deal but might be worth it for the first fill up.