Our 400 Gallon In Wall Natural Sun-Lit Reef

polyppal

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I am happy with the outcome; I will wait to go higher after I finish the other sides. need to see how the complete tank looks like.
Finish it off (exterior) with a polish, that’s about as finished as sanding can get it. Novus 3 and 2 on a buffer and it’ll look like new!
 
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jdpiii3

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Wow, very reflective. I may have missed it but what kind of PAR do you get on a sunny summer day? How much does it drop if it’s cloudy?
I haven't done a lot of par readings on the tank when I first set it up I was getting par readings in the high 200's at the sand bed. I do plan to get my own par meter and will do some detailed charting.
 
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Setting up the Maxspect Gyre XF280 and I didn't want to use the dry side magnets on the view panels so I put together a bracket so I could hang the Gyre from the top support. It's a first draft, open for suggestions.


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flagg37

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What’s the problem with the magnets on the viewing panel? They probably obstruct the view less than the bracket you made.
 
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Finishing up a few upgrades to the command center, added an Apex Neptune and Trident systems, along with dosing equipment I've had that I never got around to installing. One new addition I'm very happy with is the picture of my late wife doing her Mermaid pose taken during the install, she'll be watching over the reef. Let the calibration begin.

As for the Maxspect Gyre XF280 I tossed the PVC bracket and have the magnets on the top eurobrace It works, I am waiting for 2 more magnets to arrive then I'll will be able to lower the pump a bit lower in the display.

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Setting up the Maxspect Gyre XF280 and I didn't want to use the dry side magnets on the view panels so I put together a bracket so I could hang the Gyre from the top support. It's a first draft, open for suggestions.


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If you hit up @rds85 he could probably fabricate an acrylic bracket for you, his looks pretty good and functions really well!

 
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jdpiii3

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If you hit up @rds85 he could probably fabricate an acrylic bracket for you, his looks pretty good and functions really well!

Thanks for the info, I will be sure to check it out.
 

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Your tank has always inspired me to want to do a naturally lit aquarium when I'm able to one day. Do you have many turns in the solar tubes? I'm curious how many twists/turns you can out in them before you lose efficacy in the solar tubes.
 
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jdpiii3

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Your tank has always inspired me to want to do a naturally lit aquarium when I'm able to one day. Do you have many turns in the solar tubes? I'm curious how many twists/turns you can out in them before you lose efficacy in the solar tubes.
Hi Sltloser, I have a minor turn in both tubes, if I remember correctly you lose about 15-20% with any big turns. You can see the tubes in post 800 looking up to the sky from inside just above the tank.
 

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Hi Sltloser, I have a minor turn in both tubes, if I remember correctly you lose about 15-20% with any big turns. You can see the tubes in post 800 looking up to the sky from inside just above the tank.
I appreciate you pointing me to that post, that's definitely helpful. I remember your tank from forever ago when you were just starting it. I'm hoping I can do this on a large scale one day and use solar tubes as a way to supplement other lighting. We'll see how it goes! Haha.
 

MartinM

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Love the solar tubes, I’m in the planning stages for the same! Are you using any supplemental lighting for evening viewing, and if so, what? (I’m sorry if I missed this discussion, you can just let me know what post # to review if you don’t mind!)
 
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Checking in with a few new updates. It's been about a month and a half that I've been using the Apex Trident system and dosing really liking the stability of my alkalinity calcium and magnesium. Also the automatic dosing of my liquid carbon has made things so much easier. Just a few short weeks I've brought my po4 down to .03.

Looking at the tank I'm amazed at how clear it has become once again.

Some new eye candy, making their debut on our natural sunlit Reef.

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Love this tank all around
Thanks so much, I was on the fence late last year on whether or not to keep the tank going. The depression from losing my wife and two years worth of lockdowns and restrictions I didn't know what to do. Glad I decided to do some major maintenance and upgrades I'm enjoying the tank like it was new again.
 
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jdpiii3

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Love the solar tubes, I’m in the planning stages for the same! Are you using any supplemental lighting for evening viewing, and if so, what? (I’m sorry if I missed this discussion, you can just let me know what post # to review if you don’t mind!)
Sorry I missed your question. For years I just had eight 50 watt high output LEDs over the tank that I used for night time viewing. Recently I added four Kessel a500's
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jdpiii3

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I finally got my shark :) Anyone else into PC gaming and building computers? Just put the finishing touches on the new office work computer.

David Lightman from War Games just called and asked if we can play Global Thermal Nuclear War. I told him how about a nice game of chess. AMD Ryzen 5950x - EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 - 64 gigs of G.Skill Trident Z NEO DDR4 - 4TB of M.2 NVMe Samsung 980 Pro's - ASUS Crosshair VII Dark Hero - Ryujin II 360 liquid cooling loop - Liam Li Dynamic XL case, fans & streamer cables.... I should have no problem playing chess.

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 78 38.0%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 69 33.7%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 26 12.7%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 30 14.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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