o2manyfish - 750g Display Tank, 1500g System with Outdoor Frag Tanks

[o2manyfish]

A few people have messaged me about the overflow plumbing and the flow in the tank.

The overflow has (4) 2" bulkheads. 2 will be overflows, 1 a return and 1 a dry tube for wires.

I'm not looking for a huge exchange between the tank and the sump. If the tank overturns 2-3x an hour with the sump that's fine with me.

The only thing in the sump is refugium, skimmer, UV, fluidized sand filter and hopefully a future roller mat. None of these go thru more than maybe 1000gph. More than that is just excess water running through long pipes underground. So logically there is no reason to have mass overturn between the tank and the filtration.

In the tank I will have at least one Panta Rhei ECM63, which will move all the water well, adding a second should make for crazy water flow. I also have (5) of the Tunze Stream 3's which I will bury in the rock work to have flow coming through the aquascape.

And I have liked having the Ecotech L1 running through a 1.5" Sea-Swirl. It moves a lot of water pretty softly at close range to protect the corals.

With the new location this tank is going it will be possible to at some point in the future put the surge tank back online, and even add a second one.

The Tunze Stream 3's have proven to be very reliable and require attention maybe only once a year. I have taken off the housings and had no fish choppage with the props running wide open.

And anyone that hasn't seen a Panta Rhei in action -- These things are powerheads on Super Beast Ludicrous mode. The rate at which water flows in the current 560g after it goes down one 10' length and down the other side is really impressive. And when the pulse mode is dialed in not only is the water flowing all the way around the 20' loop length of the tank, but it also makes a really nice wave action on the water throughout the tank. But it takes a lot of tinkering to find the right pulse period for the layout of the tank.


Dave B

 

[biecacka]

Dave, i don’t have a ton of corals as I have been slow to restock my tank after moving. However, if you would like a short list of what I have that I could cut I will gladly cut them for you. You just pay shipping man. I’m sure you will find everything you need local but if not, let me know.
Glad to see you aren’t giving up!

corey

 

[McPuff]

Totally agree on the Stream 3 pump. Have had one running for nearly 5 years and it's been a workhorse. Cleaning it more than once a year is not necessary and even Tunze recommends that interval. Putting the flow rectifier on it makes a huge difference in HOW FAR the effective flow reaches (if that is your goal). Have thought about putting another one in my tank to replace a 6105 but I don't believe the stream 3 can be controlled by outside device...

 

[Cary Hover]

Cary,

The 560g was 36t and I couldn't reach the middle of that tank with the height of the tank on the stand and the width of the perimeter bracing. The new tank is 48" from the front to the back and only 30" tall with a small 3" splash rail edge.

Dave B

I get it now. Thats going to be awesome setting up your aquascape. Those six inches is really going to make a difference in ease of reaching bottom. Cant wait to see it come to life. Good luck!

 

[Cary Hover]

Going to have a steel stand welded. Basically the stand will be a 8x3x32t rectangle with a 1' overhang on the front and sides of the stand. Would still love to do something super creative. This is not going in the center of the house which was the original plan, but we are putting it in the fish room - opposite wall the 400g was on.

220/221 Whatever it takes

Dave

I built a custom Brazilian walnut overlay for my steel stand. Came out realynice with raised panel doors and custom mouldings with matching light boxes.

 

[slippers]

Hey Dave ,

firstly i am so sorry about your losses.

I have been in this hobby for a long time and been following your tanks and builds…video’s etc feels like twenty years. Think i started in the hobbi when you upgraded to the 400 and remember the ocean blue Apoxy floor you put into you home.

My relationship with this hobbi is a love hate one , moved away for work and started by new 280 only about 4 months ago. Started with 60 gallon when i got home keeping it small i said to myself :- haha then to 180 and now 280 in the span of a month. Got velvet from a frag and so on , sure you read the same story 100 times.

I decided to post here to say , that you sir are an inspiration to this hobbi , your kind and giving nature and you ability to share the journey despite the challenges , is amazing. I have been following so long and you have shared so mush of your life it feels like i know you, and we are friends ( LOL dont worry im not a stalker). yes your losses are heart breaking some on those fish i have seen for many years , if its any consolation I can also say with confidence that your successes and failures and the knowlage you have shared saved thousands of fish and coral, from reefer like me. For this i need to say thank you.

I would like to humbly offer , that is there is anything i can help with , a power head new pump any equipment you need ( as i would not risk coral from my tank for at least 80 day - UGH) . Let me know message me ill order and send to your home directly , the intention of the offer is not charity, its an investment in my own tank and livestock so you keep sharing and improving and i keep learning.

your friend Charles

 

[o2manyfish]

Hey Dave ,

firstly i am so sorry about your losses.

I have been in this hobby for a long time and been following your tanks and builds…video’s etc feels like twenty years. Think i started in the hobbi when you upgraded to the 400 and remember the ocean blue Apoxy floor you put into you home.

My relationship with this hobbi is a love hate one , moved away for work and started by new 280 only about 4 months ago. Started with 60 gallon when i got home keeping it small i said to myself :- haha then to 180 and now 280 in the span of a month. Got velvet from a frag and so on , sure you read the same story 100 times.

I decided to post here to say , that you sir are an inspiration to this hobbi , your kind and giving nature and you ability to share the journey despite the challenges , is amazing. I have been following so long and you have shared so mush of your life it feels like i know you, and we are friends ( LOL dont worry im not a stalker). yes your losses are heart breaking some on those fish i have seen for many years , if its any consolation I can also say with confidence that your successes and failures and the knowlage you have shared saved thousands of fish and coral, from reefer like me. For this i need to say thank you.

I would like to humbly offer , that is there is anything i can help with , a power head new pump any equipment you need ( as i would not risk coral from my tank for at least 80 day - UGH) . Let me know message me ill order and send to your home directly , the intention of the offer is not charity, its an investment in my own tank and livestock so you keep sharing and improving and i keep learning.

your friend Charles

Charles, Thank you for the generous offer. Your sentiments are greatly appreciated. Fortunately we don't need to much equipment for this upgrade.

Keep growing what you have out and hopefully in the future we can exchange some coral.

Dave B

 

[o2manyfish]

90 Day Update Since Disaster Struck ---

Well today, June 17 is 90 days since the Salifert Flatworm Exit nuked my fish and this nightmare episode in my reefing career began. All the tanks are still up and running - 560g Display, (2) 180g frag tanks, 90g anemone tank. After the die off of all the coral the algae growth took off. Chaeto in the frag tanks took off in the spring sunlight and was growing the equivalent of 4 5g buckets a week between the 2 tanks. The tanks themselves were just filled with brown grunge algae. Each frag tank has about a half dozen assorted fish that survived. I added some snails and about a dozen mollies to each frag tank. Over the past month the chaeto growth has slowed to nil and the algae growth in the frag tanks has gone from brown to green.

In the display tank the coraline is growing all across the rock. There are about 20 fish that survived in the 560g. I moved the Imperator and Rabbi Tang from the frag tank to the 560g to have something swimming around for the last few months. Also threw in a Black and White heniochus that was in the old sump for aptasia control. I have really enjoyed the heniochus in the tank, but don't think I will risk it when we start adding corals again. Initially the rocks in the 560g all were covered in brown shag crap looking algae, and the glass was going full cloudy in 24 hours. Now after 3 months the rock is either clean or coraline covered. The glass takes about 4 days to get cloudy - but it's brown algae on the glass not green.

Once the sump arrives and the rock from the 560g gets moved into the sump. Then I will individually drain the frag tanks and bleach clean them and give them each a 'fresh start'.

We ordered a new 270g Fiberglass sump to replace the 340g glass sump that blew a seam outside. We had tried ordering it through a vendor from AES / Aquatic Eco Systems / Pentair out of Florida. After 4 weeks of them dickering around (with the vendor) confirming the sump was in stock and available I finally got fed up and just ordered it myself directly off their website (AES).

They gave me a shipping quote and said delivery would be in 2-4 weeks. After 2 weeks I hadn't heard anything. 2 emails a week and finally after 5.5 weeks they crated up the sump and sent me a Tracking number. They told me it had shipped out a week ago today. But after checking the tracking number everyday - there was no information. Turns out that AES had blatantly mis-informed me (Interpret that wording any way you like). And when they said that the crate had been picked up and shipped they really meant - One day it will be picked up and shipped and it's not actually on a truck.

So after a bit of frustration I can say that I now have tracking information that shows the sump is on it's way to Los Angeles.

Not having the sump has delayed the breaking down of the 560g. It's also forced me to patiently wait and not start collecting fish or corals yet.

Next weekend, June 26th we will be building the steel stand on site on my back patio. Stand will be constructed of 2x4 and 3x3 1/8" steel. We will Herculiner the stand.

We've also made some plans for above the new tank. I ordered a motorized lift for the light rack. I picked what I think is a clean looking unit from a company called Auxx-Lift. https://auxx-lift.com/products/auxx-lift. Another item which should have been shipped a few weeks ago and I have yet to get a tracking number.

I ordered it without the rack shown in the photos cause I wanted to build my own. Last night with the help of my friend, Tim Kelly, we put together the order for the light rack from 8020.net for a T-slot 4 rail rack to hold the lighting.

Lighting is not finalized yet. I was hoping, without letting the wife (very very supportive wife) know to replace my XR30 Gen3 Pro with Gen 5s - But of course they just came out with the Gen 6. I was speculating to need 15 or 18 lights. Not an un-noticeable charge on the credit card.

A phone call to Jake Adams over at Reefbuilders to discuss the new Gen 6's and he convinced me I would only need 12 of the new Gen 6s to cover the 10'x4' foot print. But Jake is also really pushing for me to not get 12 XR30s and instead get 24 XR15s for better light coverage.

I like the idea of 24 spots of light over the tank. I don't like the idea of 2x as much equipment and electrical to keep clean and organized.

So that's the update for now. Hope to start updating this thread more frequently as things start to happen / change / evolve. Hopefully next weekend you get to see me doing some welding on my stand.

Dave B

 

[o2manyfish]

This was a good weekend for some progress. On Thursday our new sump finally arrived from Florida. It got installed on Friday. I don't have any photos of it yet. But it holds water and we are happy.

Saturday and Sunday we built the stand for the new 750g tank. It was only 105 in the backyard, it felt like the metal was welding itself together. But with a couple of sun shades and several gallons of water the stand got built.

 

[o2manyfish]

Saturday we cut all the pieces and built the base of the stand. Because the new tank has such stocky dimensions - 120x48x30 I wanted the stand to try to not accentuate the chubby dimensions. So I built a cantilevered deck which will hopefully make the tank look a little sexier.

 

[McPuff]

Lighting is not finalized yet. I was hoping, without letting the wife (very very supportive wife) know to replace my XR30 Gen3 Pro with Gen 5s - But of course they just came out with the Gen 6. I was speculating to need 15 or 18 lights. Not an un-noticeable charge on the credit card.

A phone call to Jake Adams over at Reefbuilders to discuss the new Gen 6's and he convinced me I would only need 12 of the new Gen 6s to cover the 10'x4' foot print. But Jake is also really pushing for me to not get 12 XR30s and instead get 24 XR15s for better light coverage.

I like the idea of 24 spots of light over the tank. I don't like the idea of 2x as much equipment and electrical to keep clean and organized.

Dave B

Have you considered the Orphek Amazonas (960 most likely)? I'm guessing you'd need 8-10 of those max. Far fewer cords and power supplies. Or the Atlantiks would be a good option too. Excellent lights!

 

[o2manyfish]

New tank has begun assembly... Diminuitive is not the word I would use to describe it.

Dave B

 

[o2manyfish]

Tank assembly is moving along.....

 

[o2manyfish]

When you've been in the hobby so long that all your friends are too old to help you move a tank into your house....LOL

Nope - My friends are great - This was just the easiest and safest way to get from front yard to back.

DaveB

 

[o2manyfish]

Stand is in the house - Next step is tank into the house and onto the stand -- Hopefully this coming Sunday.

Dave B

 

[dca22anderson]

When you've been in the hobby so long that all your friends are too old to help you move a tank into your house....LOL

Nope - My friends are great - This was just the easiest and safest way to get from front yard to back.

DaveB

Epic picture! Love your commitment to our hobby! Well done!! Your build is coming along nicely!!

 

[o2manyfish]

Its inside the house!

Dav B

 

[ColoredRock]

when does it get wet!

 

[o2manyfish]

when does it get wet!

Planning for this week. The heat though is slowing down my plumbing. Hopefully plumbing will be done on Weds and I can start the aquascaping and then add the water.

Dave B

 

[LaloJ]

Dave I just read about your disaster in April, I remember the disasters also in the beginning and I'm very sorry for your losses, that interruptus was phenomenal, great fish but your work is always inspiring and now you have something quite interesting going on, so congratulations for that great conviction that you and your wife have.