Project Patriot’s Serenity - Where The Lake Meets The Ocean (365 Gallon Reef Tank)

[Karliefish]

The Bark Wall

Back on Post #2, I mentioned that my wife and I wanted to do something really different with the wall that our 365 Gallon reef tank is going to be build around. We thought about wood paneling (which is the current look on the wall) and then we considered doing a slate rock wall. Finally, we found that exact distinctly different look we wanted for our tank - a Bark Wall. We found a place in North Carolina called BarkHouse.com that specializes in building bark wall panels made from North Carolina trees. We went and visited the factory where they build the bark wall panels. It is truly a unique (one-of-a-kind) product. We bought 4 bark samples and then I did a very smart thing.....I left it up to my wife to select the right “look” for our home and tank - as she has great decorator taste....me not so much. Here were the final four choices:

After much deliberation she ended-up selecting the one on the far right - called Popular Bark.

Over the last 6+ weeks the panels have been assembled, sanded and lacquered. There are a total of six 10’ (H) x 5’ (W) panels being made for our aquarium wall. Here is what a panel looks like once finished.

As you can see from the picture, these are “SERIOUS” bark panels!

Today we took deliver of the finished panels. The picture below shows just how heavy these panels are as they had to be delivered to our home using a forklift.

The poles on top of the crate will be used to build the ceiling trim, the trim around the tank and the wall baseboard. Getting this wall built is turning out to be as big as the tank project and just as expensive! But it should look really awesome. I joke with my wife and tell her I think people are going to be more impressed with the wall than our reef tank

 

[Gablami]

Those panels look awesome! Can't wait to see how it turns out behind the tank. Any idea how it might react to splashes? How many inches off the wall were you thinking of placing the tank?

Another tip, if you want to really highlight that back panel, is you can install a backlight, or strip light at the bottom of the stand pointing up so you can highlight the backwall and make it more visible at times when the tank lighting is more dim. It's a cool effect.

 

[Karliefish]

The Custom Sump Builder

Now that I’ve got the tank build and wall build all sorted out, it’s time to focus my attention on the remaining big items. The two biggest items for me are the sump design/build and the lighting. Each of these are really important to me for different reasons. I’ve decided the sump will be more complicated as I’m not going with an “off-the-shelf” sump, but instead going to have a custom sump build. I had to first decide if I wanted to focus on the design and then find a sump builder. Or first find the company and work with them on the design and features. I chose the later (select sump builder first and then focus on the design).

Similar to the process I used to find the tank builder. I created a list of what was most important to me. Here is what I ended-up with:
1) Flexibility in design - how much modification could make and not bust my budget
2) Standard Features - baffles, probe holders, heater holders, etc.
3) Quality - always a tough one to figure out based on internet research
4) Meeting delivery deadline - must be delivered by end of October 2020.
5) Cost - pretty straight forward to calculate
6) Cool factor - it just looks dang cool

I did all the typical internet research and targeted four companies:
1) Crystal Reef Aquatics
2) Geosreef
3) Synergy Reef Systems
4) Advanced Acrylics

Here is my summary on the four - and yes I recognize that others on Reef2Reef will have different opinions. That is what I love most about being part of this Reef2Reef community - the varied opinions!

Crystal Reef Aquatics
Bottom line: Wrote them on three separate occasions, describing my project and NEVER heard back from them. So taking them off the list was quite easy.

Geosreef
Have always loved the look of these sumps - high cool factor. They are extremely well built and come loaded with everything you could ever want in a sump - by far the most kitted-out sump builder on my list. However, you pay a significant price premium and when you do the math on all the individuals items they include, my spreadsheet suggested that I was better off buying the individual kit (filters, plumbing, etc) and installing it all on my own. They did seem willing to work with me on my design and showed some flexibility. Besides price knocking them way down they also couldn’t meet my deadline.

Advanced Acrylics
Competitively priced sump builder that is willing to let you pretty much design the sump in any way you want - high flexibility. Plus, Jonathan (owner) will work with you on some pretty cool design ideas. Everything I read online indicated that their sumps were built well (quality +). Additionally, they had most of the competitive features of everyone else, except for two: (1) they don’t have the ability to etch inch measurements on the skimmer section of the sump. Seems odd that they can’t do this as all other sump builders on the list could. (2) No standard water top-off sensor. From the pics and videos I’ve been able to watch online their sumps look nice, but I wouldn’t say they have huge “cool factor” - not a big deal as this was low on my priority list. One of the most important factors that gave them a high score was their willingness to meet my end of October deadline. Now the proof will be to see if the sump actually shows-up on my driveway on Friday October 30th. Update: The sump did arrive on time, but honestly it was an awfully painful and unpleasant experience working with Advance Acrylics. Johnathan has a habit of making big promises and then going completely radio silent. Days would go by and sometimes longer than a week before getting back to me. Just out of sheer will and perseverance and threating to cancel my order did I get this sump delivered.

Synergy Reef Systems
Really liked the look of these sumps from the first time I saw them. So they scored highest on cool factor and their quality seemed solid. Their sump features were nice, but EVERYTHING is an add-on cost. For example, more drains - additional cost, more bulkheads additional cost, probe holder is an addtional cost, heater holders additional cost - I think you get the idea. None of the other companies had this a-la-carte approach to pricing. Now for some reefers this pricing approach is probably seen as beneficial, but for me it was simply overly complicated. Regarding their flexibility, they weren’t bad, but once again every modification was an up-charge. In the case of Advanced Arcylics, more drain holes, bulk heads, probe holes etc no additional cost. The one area that Synergy Reef Systems scored lowest on was delivery schedule - they had the longest delivery schedule and showed no willingness to try and be flexible. Now that lack of flexibility may actually be their strength ,in that they are very disciplined in their build process and don’t want to over commit. It just didn’t workout for me. Finally on price, they wanted full payment up front (REALLY?) and when you add-up all the mods and add-no’s they were on the higher-end on overall cost.

My Choice: Advanced Acrylics.
So as you can probably conclude from my evaluations, I selected Advanced Acrylics. Johnathan has a real creative flair and really worked with me to design the sump to my exact needs. In my next post, I’ll share the detail drawing and thinking that went into my sump design. I will tell you that I do have some concerns, as Advanced Acrylics has not been the most responsive company when reaching out to them. I typically have to ping Jonathan 2-3 times to get a response back. If my sump is delivered on time, is built to my exact specifications and has no quality issues, then I will be thrilled and I’ll be quite forgiving on their lack of responsiveness.

 

[Karliefish]

Those panels look awesome! Can't wait to see how it turns out behind the tank. Any idea how it might react to splashes? How many inches off the wall were you thinking of placing the tank?

Another tip, if you want to really highlight that back panel, is you can install a backlight, or strip light at the bottom of the stand pointing up so you can highlight the backwall and make it more visible at times when the tank lighting is more dim. It's a cool effect.

Your tip sounds really interesting, but I’m having a hard time visualizing it. Do you happen to have a picture that shows what you are describing? Thanks for the tip!

 

[Karliefish]

My 134 Gallon Hybrid Custom Sump Drawing

Below is the final version of my 134G Hybrid sump that is currently being built by Advanced Acrylics. The sump measures 70" (L) x 26" (w) X 17" (H) . It will be made from PVC/Acrylic and the color will be white with red welds. So why am I calling this a hybrid sump? That is a bit of an involved story. I originally had this sump designed to be a traditional filtration sump with three 7" filter socks in the drain section followed by a second row of four 4" filter socks. I then started thinking about the volume of water changes I would have to do on 365G reef tank and the calculations suggested that I would be doing 75-100 gallons per month in water changes, assuming twice a month changes. Not only did that represent a lot of weekend work and salt cost, but we live on a lake with a septic system - not thrilled about putting that much salt water into the system. So I started doing in-depth research on the Triton method which is suppose to require little to no water changes. I concluded that this could be a good option. I had to completely redesign the sump, so the refugium section would be after the drain section (required for Triton method). Additionally, I had the refugium section enlarged to hold 10-15% of my total main tank water volume - recommended for Triton setups. I then started getting concerned that if I didn't like the Triton method that I would be stuck with a sump that wasn't designed for a traditional method of filtration - filter socks. So back to the drawing board I went and this is where the creativity of Johnathan at Advanced Acrylics really paid-off. I explained my concern to him and he immediately understood my dilemma and suggested a design that would give me the best of both worlds, i.e., the sump could be designed for Triton Method, but could be converted back to traditional method of filtration. And that is how I ended-up with a hybrid sump. The idea is quite elegantly simple. Johnathan designed the sump with a removable baffle/window and installed a clear acrylic sock holder. If I decide to start my tank with the Triton method of filtration, I simply remove the baffle/window from the drain section (removed with thumb screws) and don't install the filter socks. The drain section and refugium section then become one very large refugium (over 40 gallons) - perfect for Triton method. However, if I want to switch back to the traditional method of filtration, I re-install the baffle/window in the drain section (see drawing) and put in the 7" filter socks and silencers. I am then back to a traditional sump with a separate drain section and smaller refugium section. This is probably way too much detail on this post (sorry for those of you that like short posts!), but heck I think its pretty dang cool. As they say "it looks good on paper"
Praying it works!

Here is the final version of the hybrid sump

My next post should include pictures of the sump build!

 

[Gablami]

Your tip sounds really interesting, but I’m having a hard time visualizing it. Do you happen to have a picture that shows what you are describing? Thanks for the tip!

Here’s an example of what it could look like. Obviously in this example you don’t need the sound. And you can just add a few strips of controllable strip lights on the bottom of your tank to light up the bark when the tank gets dim. Even with the reef tank lights on, it helps accentuate your background.

Transform Your Aquarium Experience.

Transform Your Aquarium Experience. Current USA Serene LED Kits with Background Lighting and Audio!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Karliefish]

It looks quite nice, but the link suggest that it is for freshwater fish and wonder about putting this on a reef tank? Do you know of reefers that have done this? Also you mentioned putting the strip lights on the bottom of the tank to light up the bark. The tank is behind the bark wall, not sure how that would work? Thanks

 

[Gablami]

Are you going to have a clear back panel to your reef? I thought you were going to have the back clear and be able to see the bark texture through the tank. Yes I’ve done this and other reefers have, but if your back is not clear it won’t have the same effect.

 

[Karliefish]

No the front of the tank is going to be flush with the bark wall. The back of the tank will sit in the utility room and therefore the back pane of glass is black so you don’t look into the room. Thanks for the suggestion - it does look really unique!

 

[Karliefish]

My 134 Gallon Custom Sump is Done!

Advanced Acrylics finished by custom 134 gal. sump today! As I updated in an earlier post (see #23), working with Advanced Acrylics has been an incredible painful and frustrating process and I'm not sure I'd go through it again. Yes Johnathan is highly creative and they appear to make good products, but there lack of basic customer service and follow-up is really difficult to accept. Case in point, I have written Jonathan for 6 straight days now regarding drain pipes he agreed to cut for me and I haven't gotten a single text response - not even a single word response. Throughout my entire design/build process it was a constant battle to get Johnathan to respond - it always seemed to take the ultimate threat of cancelling my build project with Advance Acrylics before I'd finally get the courtesy of a response. This is sad because I am so excited about getting my sump. I know everyone always talks about how excited they are to have their custom dream tank built, but I’ve have to admit, I’m just as excited about my custom dream sump. I put months into the design of this sump - spent way to many sleepless hours running through my head all the design options.

Here are some pictures of the various stages of my sump build. I’ve tried to include early build pictures and as many views as possible. All the details on the sump are explained back on post #25

Here is a couple of pictures of the sump fully crated and the FedEx truck leaving with my dream sump.

 

[Gablami]

That’s awesome that you got your sump built basically immediately. I love my AA sump, almost as much as I love my tank .

I took a few snaps with my iPhone this morning just to show you what I was thinking about that backlight idea. Obviously it won’t work the same way you are setting things up. I had thought the bark texture would look really cool through the tank.

 

[Thaxxx]

Awsome!

 

[revhtree]

That’s awesome that you got your sump built basically immediately. I love my AA sump, almost as much as I love my tank .

I took a few snaps with my iPhone this morning just to show you what I was thinking about that backlight idea. Obviously it won’t work the same way you are setting things up. I had thought the bark texture would look really cool through the tank.

Oh man I love this! I was wondering when someone was going to do this!

 

[Gablami]

Oh man I love this! I was wondering when someone was going to do this!

Ah, wish I could take credit, but I saw it in someone else’s build. It was years ago, and I don’t remember who.

 

[Karliefish]

That’s awesome that you got your sump built basically immediately. I love my AA sump, almost as much as I love my tank .

I took a few snaps with my iPhone this morning just to show you what I was thinking about that backlight idea. Obviously it won’t work the same way you are setting things up. I had thought the bark texture would look really cool through the tank.

I spent some time staring at your tank and the awesome lighting and I so wish there was a way to incorporate this stunning look into my tank, but sadly it just won’t work with my tank being blacked-out on the back and sides. Brilliant one-of-a-kind look you’ve created here - kudos to you!

 

[Karliefish]

Flooding has delayed Sump Delivery

We all get some unusual setup backup’s in this hobby when it comes to setting up a new tank. One of mine occurred this past weekend. I flew down to our home in North Carolina as I was expecting the deliver of our new 138G sump from Advanced Arcylics. The sump build was completed on schedule, however, the sump never arrived on last Friday. Apparently the last hurricane, along the Southern states, left some serious flooding on serveral train tracks. The sump was being shipped Fedex Freight via rail from from California to Georgia. Very bummed as it will now be delivered this coming week and I won’t be there to receive it and inspect it. My wife will be there to receive the shipment and we’ll have it stored in our garage. I won’t be back to North Carolina until Thanksgiving which will be my first opportunity to check it out. Strange...the things that can cause disappointment

 

[Conchman]

This will be a stunning build. You are thinking each step thru with patience and great thought. You will end up with a small, yet beautiful piece of the ocean. I will watch this one as it progresses...

M

 

[Karliefish]

Update on new 365G Tank Build

I got some updates from Gaston (TankMeUSA) on the progress of the new 365G reef tank build. All glass panels have now been siliconed. Additionally, the corner seam structured reinforced braces have been manufactured and installed. The corner braces really came out nicely as you‘ll see in the video. They are casted from molten glass and are designed for 3 purposes: (1) guard and protect silicon seam (2) reinforce the integrity of the aquarium and (3) help with water flow within the aquarium corners. The first video is the tank after all glass panels were siliconed together. The second video is the corner braces before they are installed and the third video is after they are siliconed and installed in each corner.

Video #1: Shows tank after all glass panels being siliconed



Video #2: Shows Corner Seam Structured Reinforced Braces



Video #3: Shows Corner Seam Structured Braces installed on each corner of tank

 

[Karliefish]

This will be a stunning build. You are thinking each step thru with patience and great thought. You will end up with a small, yet beautiful piece of the ocean. I will watch this one as it progresses...

M

Thank you for taking the time to read my tank build thread. I’ve been really working hard to fully document this build and you are so correct....this process takes a great of patience and lots of sleepless nights thinking and thinking. Trying my best to learn from all my earlier successes and failures.

 

[Karliefish]

Lighting Decision

Now that the tank build is coming along nicely and the sump build is complete, I can now turn my attention to finalizing my lighting decision. Here are the decisions I have already taken:

1) I know I want a combination of T5 dimmable lights complemented with LED lights. I have had great success with this combination in the past and hopefully will continue this success with my new tank. Love the consistent growth of T5’s and the coloring control I can get with the LEDs.

2) I know that I will be using two ATI SunPower 8 bulb 48” dimmable fixtures - just purchased. These fixtures will be installed end-to-end via wire hanging kits in the middle of the tank. I will be using two heavy duty slider kits that will allow me to move the lights away from the tank during T5 bulb changes and tank maintenance. Here is a picture of the area where I will have the slider system built.

The distance is exactly 34” which is the width of my 365G custom tank (Left side is tank front). I met with my contractor this past weekend to brainstorm on how best to build the slider system. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it comes-out as nice as I have it envisioned in my head. BTW....I still haven’t completed my decision on T5 bulb combination, so I’m interested in all opinions (8 bulb setup).

3) Regarding the LED’s lights, I have spent three months figuring out what lights I want to use. Part of the reason it has taken so long, is trying to figure out how best to mount the lights as I want to use T-slot aluminum extrusion. I want to use some type of articulating mount setup which will allow me to slide and point the LED lights exactly where I can get maximum spectrum coverage. The challenge as been on how best to install the T-slot extrusion on my 2x6‘“ wall frame studs in a way that I can move the LED lights out-of-the-way for maintenance. I finally figured out a workable solution this weekend that involves installing channel brackets onto by 2x6 frame (front and back side of the tank). I will then lay two 8’ T-slot extrusion bars into the channel brackets. When I need complete unobstructed access to the tank ,I can lift the lights (attached to the T-slot extrusion bars) out of the way. Here are the channel brackets I’ll be using.



4) I know the light placement layout: The T5 fixtures will be in the middle of the tank with 3 LED lights on the front side of the T5 fixtures and 3 LED lights on the backside of the T5 fixtures.

5) Now the big decision that I haven’t made - what LED lights to purchase? I have narrowed it down to three choices: (1) Reefi LED Duo extremes (2) Mitras LX7206’s or (3) Kessil A360X. There are all kinds of pro’s and con’s I could list for each choice, but will spare all of you that detail. And yes I have extensively research Radionam AI Hydras, Reefbrites, etc. I have always been the type of reefer willing to use “non” standard/typical lighting which is why you see both Reefi and Mitras on my list. I love the look and ease of use of the Kessil lights (shimmer might be best with these). However, the specs and the reviews on the Mitras have all been excellent and this is currently my front runner choice. The detail control, software interface, spread and spectrum range is solid. My only concern is buying a light where my support will be coming out of Germany - bad light could equal long replacement delay. The dark horse are the Reefi DUO extremes - a new up-and-commer to watch. BTW...I have figured out how to mount all three light choices to the t-slot extrusion.

OK so now I‘m seeking input on my light setup and LED light choices? Thanks everyone!