Brasil Reef - Fórum de Aquário - Aquarismo - Marinho, Corais e Água Doce

Index for the first tank build - the one that starts below:

Red Sea Monster 1420 System Index (Former Tank)
1. Cabinet sketches, building and Placement | DT Sketches and Building

2. DT Placement | Light Fixture Sketches | Light Fixture Building Part 1 |

3. Light Fixture Building Part 2 | Complete sections in place | RO/DI Install | Skimmer Positioning

4. Light fixture testing | Rockscape Part 1

5. Rockscape Part 2

6. Wiring and Electrical Installation | Sand Introduction | Side Cabinet Finish

7. Filtration Sketches | Sump Build | Sump / Pumps / Skimmer setup Part 1

8. Fuge Setup, lights, sand and rocks

9. Fish Wish List

10. Sump / Pumps / Skimmer setup Part 2

11. Water in the tank Part 1

12. Water in the tank Part 2

13. Water in the tank Part 3

14. Salt mixing in Tank | Skimmer testing

15. BeanAnimal testing | Skimmer Testing 2

16. Deli Shrimp Cycle starter

17. Vortech MP60 Install Part 1

18. Vertex Media Reactor Installation

19. FTS of the tank with lights on (No Stocking)

20.System flow

21. Diatoms and first Inhabitants

22. Vortech installation Part 2 | GEO Calcium Reactor

23. Diatoms and Coral Pictures

24. Pictures of Inhabitants (Yellow Goby and Stylophora)

25. FTS and Barnacle pictures

26. Tomato clowns video

27. Pictures: Tomato clowns, Yellow Goby, Montipora

28. Vortech with WXM Wireless Neptune module Schedule

29. Vortech with WXM Wireless Neptune module, Setup review

30. Pictures: Yellow Clown Goby, Green Chromis, Diamond Goby, Six Line Wrasse and Rock Blenny

31. Pictures: Pupo Food, Six Line Wrasse, Tomato Clown, Rock Blenny and FTS

32. Pictures: Green Chromis

33. Water Depot Version 1 | Video of Water Depot in action

34. Water movement with cyano video

Most of the links above take you to pictures section which are the ones that start lots of replies on the matter, lots of great info from all of you are around these.

Index for the BIGGER tank that followed this first build:


Red Sea Monster 2000+ System Index:

1. Sketches Fishroom Version 1 |

2. Sketches Quarantine Tank

3. Sketches Fishroom Version 2

4. Sketches 400 Gallon DT

5. Beginning of project, Land movement

6. Excavation and drainage layout

7. Cement flooring

8. Fishroom Walls construction Part 1

9. Fishroom Wall Construction Part 2

10. Tank Support Beams | DT Building

11. Fishroom Roof construction

12. New Sump Sketches

13. Fishroom Grey Construction Finished | Tank Support building

14. Tank Delivery Part 1

15. Tank Delivery (With Crane Video)

16. Fishroom Painting cleaning | Water Depot Build

17. Light fixture Modification Part 1

18. Apex Connections | RO/DI Install | Workbench placement

19. Fishroom and Pergola finished | Water Test

20. Light Fixture Railing system

21. Rockscape Version 1

22. Light fixture Railing System (Video Explained)

23. Fishroom painted and Pergola Shots

24. Rockscape Version 2 (Final Version)

25. Salt Water in the Tank Part 1 | Electricity Connections with Apex EB8 | New Sump in Place

26. Plumbing Stand Pipes

27. Plumbing Fittings | Magical Key | Sump Foam arrangement (With Video)

28. Final Fishroom details | Tank Water filled Part 2 | First FTS

This second index will grow from time to time as the thread moves forward :)

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So, recently I sold my RSM250 and decided to take the leap into a larger tank (at least large comparable to the RSM250). So, before I began planning equipment and all the systems requirements I decided to sketch it up in 3DSMax and step-by-step the project began taking shape.

I will begin by showing you the complete project, first, in render mode and then, the real project as it goes.

First off the Tank statistics:

Dimensions:

Made out of: Glass
Thickness: 1/2"
DT: 72î x 34î x 26î (275g)
Sump: 48îx10îx18î (40 gal)
Fuge: 48îx16îx18î (60g)

Total system: 375 gallons

Rock and Sand:
205 Pounds of Marco Rocks
200 Aragonite sand

Lightning:
3x LumenMax Elite Reflectors with Hamilton M80 HQI Metal Halide Ballasts and Radium 20k Bulbs
2x VHO 72î Retrofit kit with IceCap 660 Ballast.
2x Neptune Systems Lunar Sim (3LED/each) Total 6 LEDS with real moon cycles.

Skimmer:
Super Reef Octopus XP-5000 External Skimmer

Pumps:
1x Reeflo Dart Gold for Return
1x PanWorld 100PX-X for Skimmer and Fuge feed.
1x Vortech MP60w Powerheads (When released)

Controller / Monitor:
Neptune systems APEX controller

RO/DI unit:
Vertex Puratek 100GPD RO/DI system w/booster pump.

Plumbing and overflow and water connectivity:
- Internal coast to coast overflow system.
- BeanAnimal siphon system
- Hayward Bulkheads

All plumbing has 1.5" tubing.

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Cabinet:
All cabinet was made out of cypress wood.
Most of the cabinet's wood planks dimensions are 4x2 inches.
Because I live within an earthquake area, to hold the cabinet together I used screws instead of nails.
Once finished it was completely painted with G77 Epoxy for water protection and then painted white for visual purposes.

Render Mode:

1. Lower part of the cabinet 2x2 and 4x2 planks used:


2. Support columns are 4x2:


3. Upper part of the cabinet and middle section completed:


4. Added lateral sections to hold skimmer and electronics:


5. Completed floor for the whole cabinet as well as right compairtment with wall dividing from rest so electronics can be kept safely without salt or water damage:


6. Finished cabinet with lateral sections, the green glasses on each side are sandblasted for visual purposes, also, these will be removable for skimmer maintenance:


7. Lots of access for easy maintenance:


Real Mode: (Sorry for the bad qual. pictures, used my iphone for the majority of them).

1. Planks Ready:


2. Making a quick layout:



3. Big screws for ultimate support:




4. Assembling the middle section:





5.Began building the lateral sections:



6. Painted cabinet, the outer section has a glossy finish:




7. Now the challenging part, moving in the cabinet (As you can appreciate, someone had to take the pictures :D)




8. Screwing lateral sections to middle section and finished cabinet in position:


Display Tank
The DT is made of glass, really can't say I like acrylic (I have two small children as stated before).
Sadly in my country there is no starfire yet so the tank is made out of normal 1/2" glass.
I have decided to go with a coast to coast overflow and BeanAnimal's system for siphon/Return.

Render Mode:

Display Tank:






Real Mode:
Measuring the tank back wall holes for siphon and return:



Almost finished tank:

The really tough challenge, carrying the tank three floors, but hey, somebody had to take the pictures :D




And the tank in its resting place:


Lightning

Maybe this was the toughest part when deciding which way to go.

I basically studied all possible lights out there, LEDS, T5 or/and MH.

I really was inclined of going with a LED fixture but prices are still really high.

Render Mode

The Aluminum cage:









I left two possible accesses to the tank
1. Front opening compartment, for feeding, front window cleaning, and all basic needs.


2. The full maintance access:


Lights displacement layout:


Middle reflectors (3) LumenMax Elite with Radium Bulbs
Outter tubes: VHO lights
Black middle moonlights (6) Neptune Systems Lunar Sims.

Real Mode

Christmas (Without being in December :D)







Assembling the Lights Canopy:

I installed a total of 14 fans
6 on top which pull out the air from inside the tank
8 four on each side which push air inside.

Completed tank with Canopy (Still missing the Sump and lots of other things on the list: (For these pictures I used my Nikon D300, quality is now better :))

RENDER MODE



REAL MODE





Testing out the lights with the controller:





RO/DI System:
I began installing the RO/DI unit, still missing the water canisters which will hold RODI water and Saltmixed water:

My Vertex Puratek system came in a great shape and quality seems good (First ever RO/DI system I owned)


Installation was really quick:





And here some pictures which I intendt to keep uploading as I go...

Installed a total of 12 Electric connectors inside the cabinet, each connection goes into a different plugin in the Neptune EB8 module so I can have a complete control.


My skimmer in position just begging me to install the sump :)



So, maybe this week I will begin rockscaping, all my rock has already arrived as well as the sand.

----- Canopy Function -----

Well, here a couple of updates, first, to show you some of the canopy Function as I think I didn't post pictures before.

Open Top:


To hold the structure opened, I installed an automobile hood rod which serves its purpose:



And, it works almost the same as in a car when putting the rod out:


Also, here is an image of the lower compartment, used for daily simple tasks (Feeding, front glass cleaning, etc):


And the fully opened canopy:


------ RockScaping ------

After several tries and different methods, I think I have finally landed on the rockscape I wanted:

I used electric tubing for the inner skeleton, I liked this tubing better for a couple of reasons, first it's thinner than regular water PVC and secondly it's gray, which can be harder to spot with a black background, still I will cover most of the spots where the tubing is shown using Putty:





And the final result:



Now, the challenging part will be to put this rocks inside the tank in the same exact design, I will identify each rock with a pencil so I can rebuild it without any problems.

Well, finally I managed to place the rock inside the tank, it was a little difficult at first because of close quarters and the arches assembly.

I used Loctite Epoxy Putty, it worked great, already had read several reviews indicating that it ain't toxic for the fish, still, I need to first cycle the tank.

Here is a sample of the Epoxy box:


Well, here I am inside the tank putting the structure together. (At least this time it wasn't me taking the pics). All the rockscape almost completed:


And the finish work inside the tank, good thing that the Putty is white grayish and the rock almost the same color so it blends in:





Tomorrow the LFS personnel will install the back to front braces.

All Electric wiring:

All connections under the tank have been completed:


And here is where they come out at the Electricity chamber:


And, each connector goes into its own plug in the EB8:


Tried to wired everything in order, a little close quarters so excuse the mess:



Sand Bed:

Finally I placed the sand in, at the end I used 150 lbs of the 200 I brought, I'm going to use the rest in the Fuge:





And last some final other details:

LFS placed the front to back Bracing, two pieces of 1/2" glass:


And also placed in the side sandblasted glasses (Actually it's a translucent film attached to the rear:

Finally today the LFS delivered the Sump/Fuge, they achieved my exact design, really happy with the result, now hopefully it will work as planned :o

Render Mode:

Here is a quick tour as how the flow works as well as both main filtration for the DT (Skimmer and Fuge).

First a Front and Back complete diagram of the system:



The Coast 2 Coast internal Overflow:



Here is where water goes into the sump:



Fuge:



Return:



-------

Real Mode

Quick Statistics:
Sump : 40 gals
Fuge: 60 gals
Made out of 8mm glass.

Here's the complete Sump/Fuge at the LFS before loading it:



And inside the cabinet:
The three baffles are 2" separated from each one so less restricted flow.
Also, the Fuge is at the front part of the cabinet, my intention is to place a Mantis shrimp inside it to be able to enjoy watching him all the time.




Already placed some of the bulkheads just for fun:



And Both pumps in place (None attached yet):



Also, here is some of the tubing for the Failsafe and silent overflow, still some parts missing which should arrive next Wednesday, after that I can complete all the plumbing:


So, this is it for now, tomorrow I will place the last 50lbs of sand left into the Fuge.
Also, will be installing 6500k energy efficient reflectors for the Fuge

After much work under the cabinet I finally installed the Fuge Lights, I took advice on the bulb at [url="http://www.melevsreef.com/"]Melev's Website[/url], he recommended 5,100k temp bulb but couldn't find it locally, just 6,400k, here is a picture of the bulb:



It's energy efficient, 23W equivalent to 90W!


Installed lights under cabinet: (Not happy with the wiring :( )




Also, the sand went in:


And some rock, trying to achieve the Mantis Cave, quite not happy with the results, I will study more on this matter:






And other Miscellaneous stuff:
I labeled all the connectors:


And here is what a mood light would look:


Do you hear that..... I hear water coming in!!, almost there :D

Here are the Stats of the below WishList:


Here's the Wish List (All info from Liveaquaria.com)


5 gallons per inch.

.

Finally finished all plumbing, this was so far, the most difficult part as I had never cut PVC before and less gluing each piece together (Fingers crossed for no leaks!)

Sorry about the bad quality picks, I had too little space to shoot them.

So, here is quick flow explanation as well as how the system works:

---- Overflow and Failsafe system ----
Still need to straight down the elbows and clean the overflow floor.
1.

The overflow has 1" from glass edge to water surface:
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.


---- Feeding Pump ----
The WaterChange OUT and IN where design to hook up a hose with a 3/4" adapter, closing and opening some valves allows me pull or push water in/out of the sump with the same feeding pump, without an exact measurement I'm considering a complete water change in less than 5 minutes without provoking a complete mess in the room.
2.


--- Fuge Feed ---
1.

2.

3.

4.

--- Skimmer Feed ----
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Well, that's it for now, hope I could make myself understandable :D
Lastly, I bought already matured water, the LFS is supposed to bring it in on Saturday so this is the BIG day.

Initial Filling:

Even so the LFS couldn't deliver the water and the canister (60 Gal) didn't fit my water room, I began using the 5 gallon canisters as the tube from the RO/DI wasn't large enough to reach the tank and in my country I couldn't find this type.



The RO/DI is delivering it's purpose :)


The Initial Overflow testing:


The tank began filling (You can imagine how it is to fill this tank by 5 gal canisters)



Also, as I began filling the sump and some leaking happened, with the opening of some valves I managed to transfer the water from the sump to the Fuge, even the water on this side began clearing.



And this is where I managed to reach today, I think I transferred over 100 gallons, that's more than 20 trips with the 5gal canisters:




Olha a gambiarra rssssssssssssssssss



Tammy, glad you're off your call as of today :)

Chris, that sounds much more worst situation than mine :( good you're now enjoying the tank!

Ok, desperate times need desperate measures:

Today I bought some tubing that would perfectly fit with the 4mm RO/DI Tubing (RO/DI tubing inside this tubing) I silicone the bridge between them, put tape, so, pretty sure it ain't going to slip easily (Fingers crossed or it's going to be one hell of a pool party!! :D)






I'm off to work and nervous that this thing doesn't fail

You are absolutley right Chris, now the games truly begin :D

Yesterday, I left the complete system work for about 2 hours, happy to report no more leaking and apparently everything is running smoothly.

The bad part is that there is lot of noise coming from the pumps (Vibration) and some of the water going into the sump (Need to check everything again as it's supposed to run quiet).

To try resolve the pump noise, I bought to day some Dynamat, mat (Repetitive ha), I will put it under each pump (Feed and Return) and under the whole skimmer which is the works noise of them all.

Also, happy to report that salt went in also last night, here are a couple of pictures and videos on how it was done,

As I did my close loop system in the sump area with my feed pump, I decided to pour in the salt in there so this pump could basically mix it and then all the salty water would go up to the DT.

The close looped system:



Sump chamber where the salt went in:


Salt in:




And a Quick Video of the salt going into the DT
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viR50P5_ghI[/youtube]

And some other videos of the system working (Lack of quality, no Steven Spielberg here :))

Part of the system: (Baffles removing bubbles and The Temp tube for avoiding return siphon)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmHVIJGpwBI[/youtube]

Skimmer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAJ1Ag1qmY[/youtube]



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4rqEDmbWL8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpefm6UfuSY[/youtube]

Thank you and enjoy your Turkey!

[
Aaaa the days of the Diatom, tank looks beautifully ugly :D



As you can appreciate I'm bored and tempting to keep stocking as my only model to shoot at for the moment is my Leather Coral LOL

Bryopsis no inicio da montagem?

Sei não viu. O cara monta um super aquario, com equips bons, movel e vidro bonitos, melhor substrato possivel... etc etc etc
E mesmo assim o cara consegue ser descuidado o bastante para deixa infestações acabarem com o aquario. Se bem que nesse caso só me parece um problema com diatomáceas.
Mas no geral isso me revolta.
Meu aquario, que não chega nem aos pés (em questão de qualidade de equips e preço) não tem sequer uma planária; algas, tenho poucas e só no vidro... aiptásia então, tenho só uma e ainda me preocupo.

Pronto, desabafei kkk

Agora vamos esperar que esse aquario deve ficar lindão rss

Acho muito legal essas sequencias de fotos que tiram até dos parafusos utilizados! Fica bem didática e esclarecedora!

Haja cano.... e parafuso....

Esse cara viajou....

Que overflow ridiculo... uma caixa enorme, dentro do aquario? transparente? coisa mais feia...

Também achei o movel muito estranho, com aquelas laterais sobrando... outro erro, as VHOs ficaram muito altas e SEM REFLETOR...., as HQI tambem estão muito longe da água (haja perda de luz...)

O sump do cara é muito mau pensado... quero ver como o cara vai limpar a sujeira que irá decantar naquela caixa quebra-bolhas... faltou um local para uma filtragem mecanica, com perlon ou filterbag....

O land scape ficou bonito, mas pouco pratico, quero ver como ele vai posicionar os corais ali...

realmente ficou tosco esse overflow box dentro... e o armário foi projetado para guardar tranqueira até dizer chega!

Realmente fantástico o passo-a-passo desta montagem.
Quero aproveitar e fazer uma pergunta aos especialistas daqui do Brasil Reef. Para que serve aquela mangueirinha vermelha em cima do durso A???
Abraço.

alguem me reconheceu na porta tirando o suor do rosto!