Our New 800 gallon tank! So excited

Wendy Rodgers · Jan 29, 2019

Well... I like the looks of them for sure. The reason I selected them is because my local fish store which sells lots and lots of corals and has 2 huge display tanks (1500 and a 750 gallon) tanks. He has 13 on one tank and like 15 on the other and at least 25 -30 more on his coral tanks give or take. All his corals in both his display tanks look stunning. One which is 99% acros.
This just told me success and if hes invested in this many lights they must be good.
I'm running 9 at the moment on Big Blue.
I also run the Ai light on my nano and color and coral growth looks great so far.

Best- Steve

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 2, 2019

Cut some base rock today. Made a bunch of foundation peices. Tank has close to 800lbs of base rock.
Now the waiting game begins before I add corals... I'm hoping April 1st ... I know alot of people say 4 months... hoping to get thru the uglies in 3.
Added a bunch of Dr. Tim's bacteria a little over a week ago.

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 3, 2019

Command center is done!
It's all connected to a 1/2 thick acrylic.
There is a large void behind it to hide all pump transformers and wires. I am going to add a computer fan next week as when I opened it up today it was pretty warm in there. The aqua uv transformer box weighs about 35lbs. (Reason for thick acrylic) The panel is held on by 4 stainless 3/8inch post with large stainless washers and wingnuts.

lbacha · Feb 3, 2019

Wendy Rodgers said:
Command center is done!
It's all connected to a 1/2 thick acrylic.
There is a large void behind it to hide all pump transformers and wires. I am going to add a computer fan next week as when I opened it up today it was pretty warm in there. The aqua uv transformer box weighs about 35lbs. (Reason for thick acrylic) The panel is held on by 4 stainless 3/8inch post with large stainless washers and wingnuts.

Here is an idea for cooling the back, I’m using it in my electronics cabinet and got the idea from @elder45

You can hook up to 6 fans to one controller and they come in a bunch of different sizes (they are designed for cooling AV cabinets

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 3, 2019

lbacha said:
Here is an idea for cooling the back, I’m using it in my electronics cabinet and got the idea from @elder45

You can hook up to 6 fans to one controller and they come in a bunch of different sizes (they are designed for cooling AV cabinets

Love the idea... so I found this controller and fan online... one small problem... fan is to big.
I need a usb fan under 4x4 inches to fit sideways in the wire bay. The one that it comes with is 4.88 x 4.88 grrrr
Still hunting!
Thank you for the suggestion as I already had a different deal going in my amazon cart... will be going this route once I find the right size fan.

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 3, 2019

Did some dosing routing today as well. This is not the finish look. I purchased a large rectangular piece of poly plastic and its machine able.
Going to stick that In the Bridgeport mill and make a holder for the dosing lines.

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 3, 2019

Also rigged up the gfo/carbon rinse station canisters. The mini one on top goes to the nano. They have constant flow hooked up with salt water.
They can be valved off right into the spare laundry drain.

Fudsey · Feb 3, 2019

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Silent-Computer-Cooling-Cooler/dp/B0192WNM9C

USB cooling fan 3.9" x 3.5" x 1.6"

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 3, 2019

Fudsey said:
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Silent-Computer-Cooling-Cooler/dp/B0192WNM9C

USB cooling fan 3.9" x 3.5" x 1.6"

Yup... I ordered them with the infinity controller... thank you! Looks sharp.

SkiCatTX · Feb 3, 2019

Amazing build! Looking forward to following along!

BZOFIQ · Feb 3, 2019

Very neat setup. following along.

MarineMalecki · Feb 4, 2019

Wendy Rodgers said:
Command center is done!
It's all connected to a 1/2 thick acrylic.
There is a large void behind it to hide all pump transformers and wires. I am going to add a computer fan next week as when I opened it up today it was pretty warm in there. The aqua uv transformer box weighs about 35lbs. (Reason for thick acrylic) The panel is held on by 4 stainless 3/8inch post with large stainless washers and wingnuts.

I love how clean this setup looks - great job!

One thing to watch for...it looks like the probe cords are very close to the power cords. Some people suggest that the electrical current in the power cords induces electrical interference in the probe cords, resulting in inaccurate readings from the probes. I'm not sure if this will impact your setup, but wanted to call it out just in case you experience anomalous probe readings. I've helped mitigate this in my setup using 2 methods to check parameters (i.e. refractometer + salinity probe).

Looking forward to more updates soon!

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 4, 2019

MarineMalecki said:
I love how clean this setup looks - great job!

One thing to watch for...it looks like the probe cords are very close to the power cords. Some people suggest that the electrical current in the power cords induces electrical interference in the probe cords, resulting in inaccurate readings from the probes. I'm not sure if this will impact your setup, but wanted to call it out just in case you experience anomalous probe readings. I've helped mitigate this in my setup using 2 methods to check parameters (i.e. refractometer + salinity probe).

Looking forward to more updates soon!

Thank you!

As to the probes,
I've read the same thing.... after I planned the layout. Lol!

I really dont trust probes either. More there just to tell me certain things. I do rely on the temp probe thou. I think I read it messes with salinity and ph the most.
I test with a refractometer as well but do use the probe to tell me if my ato is acting right. I know if my salinity is raising on the probe my ato is probably not kicking on... and if its dropping my ato isnt kicking off till float catches it.

I've been thinking about getting some 1/4inch blue wire loom and run the probe wires thru that to the apex unit.

Good eye sir... I appreciate it as I did read it, but have kinda forgot about it as so much other stuff has had my attention. Just another thing to add to the list! Haha!

Best- Steve

darkrabbit · Feb 4, 2019

No words... following!

If you're using Apex probes I wouldn't trust them at all. The only one that has any accuracy for me (and from what I've seen with other threads) is the temp probe. The pH is off by anywhere between 0.4 and 0.5 at all times, the salinity can't be calibrated reliably and won't maintain calibration apparently. ORP I guess could be accurate but I have nothing to test against. Sad considering the cost of Apex gear. Use the probes more as a delta monitor than for absolute value.

427HISS · Feb 4, 2019

With the name factor and price,....that's nuts !
I have a good used Apex to set up soon, so what brand is accurate ?

ua hua · Feb 4, 2019

Absolutely love how much time and thought has went into this build. It’s definitely going to pay off in the long run. Huge hockey fan myself. Blues is my team and we have a USHL team in my town. Have had several players go on to play in the NHL. It’s fun watching them as young kids then turn into stars in the NHL.

Dsnakes · Feb 4, 2019

Sorry for the mass of notifications you’ll receive from my ‘likes’

I can’t wait to see more of your epic build unfold. Very impressive!

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 5, 2019

N

Dsnakes said:
Sorry for the mass of notifications you’ll receive from my ‘likes’

I can’t wait to see more of your epic build unfold. Very impressive!

No worries! I was like.. 56 notifications! Lol

Thank you for the compliments!

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 5, 2019

427HISS said:
With the name factor and price,....that's nuts !
I have a good used Apex to set up soon, so what brand is accurate ?

Like dark rabbit said... I think only the temp probe is accurate.
The rest I use a guide and test myself.

Wendy Rodgers · Feb 5, 2019

ua hua said:
Absolutely love how much time and thought has went into this build. It’s definitely going to pay off in the long run. Huge hockey fan myself. Blues is my team and we have a USHL team in my town. Have had several players go on to play in the NHL. It’s fun watching them as young kids then turn into stars in the NHL.

Thank you for the kind words...
As to hockey, yea.. we dont miss a beat when it comes to the Lightning. I try to follow the Syracuse Crunch
And your right about watching players grow. Gourde (37) went from zero to hero over night. Love the kid. You know you love hockey when you go to a baseball game and fall asleep by the 2nd inning!
October can never come fast enough!
Blues are a strong team always in the end. We play you all on the 7th, and I know the Schenn-O'Reilly-Tarasenko line is hot right now for the blues. Going to be a good game for sure!

Best-Steve