New House and New 300 Gallon reef tank build w/ fish room

[scott11106]

Amazing set up. That's all some serious cash lol....

Question: I have read that a QT tank can't be within 10ft of your DT or open water like top offs. I see you have a lid on the QT tank, how has this worked? Do you think ICH or other diseases can transfer to the DT?

it has worked perfectly, only thing i would change is to have 2 smaller tanks instead of 1 55g QT.
as far as the 10 ft rule i have not nor do i think that is a problem as a canopy solves all of those issues and i use separate tools for QT tank. I also do not have my circulation pumps hitting the top of the water so there is not alot of spray. Since the fish are only in there for 25-30 days i just do auto water changes weekly to remove and refresh the water.

 

[scott11106]

This is a dream come true just seeing these pictures! Well done! I hope you are getting time to actually enjoy your work and not focused on what "still needs to be done." If you are not, take a weekend off and just sit back and enjoy Thank you for sharing this adventure!

yes it was alot of work but i really enjoy it. Besides hiding the power cables on left of apex gear and a but under main display i think i am done and the main display now runs itself except once every 10 days i need to make new salt water mix which entails opening valve from fresh and adding salt, and at the same time empty the skimmer cup and scrape algae scrubber and clean glass, thats it. they are fed auto so i only feed the tank reef frenzy twice a week or so with nori for tangs (unless i am there and want to feed them which i do alot) but the tank can run by itself for 10 days if i want and as soon as i can figure out a way to get the salt water mix thing to be automated it would go longer as that is really the only thing that cant be automated today. of course having said all of that i like to piddle so i am always messing around with tank but i dont have to if you know what i mean.

 

[saintsreturn]

So funny story... We havent advertised it yet, but a friend and I are working on an automated mix station. We will share all the details when we get to that stage, but right now its still being plumbed and programmed.

Really, the only thing i am not confident in yet is the mixing. I am trying to use timers and a salinity probe to do that math, but it hasnt been fun. one suggestion was to make a hyposalinty solution and add that, but that defeats the purpose. More to follow.

That all said, glad you get to enjoy the tank!

 

[scott11106]

So funny story... We havent advertised it yet, but a friend and I are working on an automated mix station. We will share all the details when we get to that stage, but right now its still being plumbed and programmed.

Really, the only thing i am not confident in yet is the mixing. I am trying to use timers and a salinity probe to do that math, but it hasnt been fun. one suggestion was to make a hyposalinty solution and add that, but that defeats the purpose. More to follow.

That all said, glad you get to enjoy the tank!

well let me know what you come up with and when you finalize it as i would gladly beta test it for you or purchase if it is already tested. either way let me know...

and yes i thought about the hyposalinity but you are right as i then do not get the water change i am looking for...

i did think that when i go away for more than 10 days i will just have it do half the water change % but that is not the best solution

 

[saintsreturn]

We are going to do a whole write up on here when it is done. Of course when we are "done" others will be able to see what we did and most likely find the tweaks we are missing.

Unfortunately i am unable to plumb my mix directly to my tank, so i will always have to walk a hose. That said, i will never have to lift a bucket again. So my hope it i can get the system to pull and top off based on float switches, which means someone like you who is plumbed and let it ride.

The next phase after i complete the general automated station, will be to run timed tests on salt additions to figure out what "if salinty =1.02, add 3 seconds " kind of solution. Then we run an auger type system that adds specific amounts...

Like i said, much to do still.

 

[BroadBno615]

We are going to do a whole write up on here when it is done. Of course when we are "done" others will be able to see what we did and most likely find the tweaks we are missing.

Unfortunately i am unable to plumb my mix directly to my tank, so i will always have to walk a hose. That said, i will never have to lift a bucket again. So my hope it i can get the system to pull and top off based on float switches, which means someone like you who is plumbed and let it ride.

The next phase after i complete the general automated station, will be to run timed tests on salt additions to figure out what "if salinty =1.02, add 3 seconds " kind of solution. Then we run an auger type system that adds specific amounts...

Like i said, much to do still.

Should try and make a video

 

[Deiblerj]

This is AMAZING!! Looks like a lot of $$$$ but a fun project and awesome tank/fish room to enjoy!

What is your livestock list so far?

 

[scott11106]

This is AMAZING!! Looks like a lot of $$$$ but a fun project and awesome tank/fish room to enjoy!

What is your livestock list so far?

 

[marcus aurelius]

Looks awesome. Thanks for the good ideas, I will be moving here soon in it to the house we are building. The difference will be a peninsula tank over 300 gallons.

 

[scott11106]

Looks awesome. Thanks for the good ideas, I will be moving here soon in it to the house we are building. The difference will be a peninsula tank over 300 gallons.

sounds great, let me know if you have any questions...i learned a ton in the process

 

[marcus aurelius]

Yeah it will be at least a year, but I will.

 

[mtraylor]

I would kick those snails up to at least 60. Looking great.

 

[scott11106]

I would kick those snails up to at least 60. Looking great.

yea that is a good idea, i have been adding more pretty much monthly as i did not want to overload in the begining

 

[GK3]

This is pretty neat if you’re into like reef keeping and all that stuff.

I do like that you made the front side fit into your house and actually look appealing from a furniture stand point. My build is much smaller but I have a shelf next to my tank too. That lasted about 12 months, I got bored, and just put another tank there. My girlfriend is still giving me a hard time.

 

[Fr4nkthet4nk]

following this

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Those pictures are amazing I absolutely love the fish room holy cow is all I got to say !

 

[scott11106]

Those pictures are amazing I absolutely love the fish room holy cow is all I got to say !

thanks, it is my pride and joy..... not only is is pretty but it seems to be working the way i planned it, something new..lol

 

[OffTopic]

Absolutely love this build, cannot tell which I like more the new house or the new tank.... Amazing job, how do you like having a dedicated fish room? Following along now, a bit late

 

[BZOFIQ]

Superb build and planning. Love your initial drafts of the setup/plumbing. Kudos on everything being super neat. Love it.

 

[mch1984]

So now that you’ve had this tank up for a while, I have a question. How is the 36” deep tank to deal with? Any problems reaching stuff in the back? Stuff like that. I think the deep tanks like that are spectacular looking, and I’m considering one.