My 180g, 4 sided viewable project thread

[bitterman]

If you need a hand with the tank let me know. As Artw and Nerine can attest to I picked up 1 end on my miracles 180 while they had the other end. A 180 is suprisinly light to me compared to the 195 (It mad with 3/4" glass instead of 1/2" glass of the 180)

I might also be able to lend a hand in terms of cabinent making depending on what you are after and the time involved.

Have you thought about a steel stand with removable wood panels to give full acees to the system if needed for maintenance?

Bruce

[Hookup]

Ok, so here is the first diagram of the rock-work that should help place the holes in the tank.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be... However what I also realized is that if I'm not exactly correct, I can add an elbow here or there to move things around... but the down side with that is 1.5" plumbing is very large... moving an intake a few inches can be very bulky...   something that goes against the zen/minimalist look.



Feedback is welcome, wanted.  The white bloches are suppoed to be caves/arches lol...

[Vincenzo.]

that is going to be totally bad ass man. when i said four corners. something along those lines came to mind. and seems like you have this all figured out.

[Hookup]

The holes have been determined.. I just need to re-draw the diagram and send it in Tuesday.  Oh and I added 4 more holes bringing the total number of holes in the bottom of the tank to 13...  Yep, that's swiss cheeze for sure... 

The reason is, I want to have 6 closed loop outputs and 4 closed loop in puts.  The current plan only calls for 4 outputs / 2 inputs...  The main reason is I need to think way, way, way down the road say in 3-4 years when the corals have grown into their max size (after that fragging takes care of things)... Anyhow, the flow required at that time might be significant, so with 6 outputs and 4 inputs, I could run two pumps, say gold series darts @4200gph each, and get upwards of 8000gph flow in 180gallon system... then, if really needed, I can put in gold series hammerheads @6200gph each, and move up to 12,000gph in the system for circulation..

Each of the CL outputs will be divided into two 3/4" pipes that will delivery flow in to directions.   Additionally for the first while, a 4-way OceansMotions will be used to create random flow on four of the 6 outputs. (I reserve the right to change that plan)

I'll post a new pick as soon as I can.  The demolition will not start until after I get the fireplace ripped out, and stone put on the wall, the fire place raised 6inches high and re-connected etc...  It'd be nice to assume I can get that project done for the end of next week... Then the week after, or possibly the one after that, start ripping up walls and building stands.  Oh, and I saw the coolest thing around lighting... it's a surprise you'll have to wait and see, but I think you'll like it... I know I will.

[Vincenzo.]

if you ever know anyone who needs Demo done, that's my trade. and it's not smash and crash, structural demolition. although there is lots of smash and crash.. or if you ever  need some help.

[Hookup]

Ok, so I cannot believe that it's already been 2 weeks (12days) since this thread started and virtually nothing's been done... I know, I know.. lots of writing was done, some interesting diagram with lines and color was created, but in the end, nothings been really done...

Today, I finished the tank hole design and it got sent into the builder to keep things on their end moving.  I expect to take delivery of the tank by the end of October.  It's still a bit slow for them, so maybe i'll get lucky and it will be here sooner.  I'd like to get moving faster, but until the glass is sitting in my house I'm a bit stuck.... I will open up the wall soon, and start the stand... I believe that I can "trust" the builder to create the tank to spec... so 24" = 24" + 2x5/8 pieces of glass (I think it's 5/8ths, do not shoot me if it's different)...

The image below was sent to the builder today.  Assuming they are good with it and do not have any questions, we should have lift off....

[Rybren]

I know that the builder SHOULD know, but did you specify the hole diameter or just the bulkhead size?  I'd hate to see the tank arrive with a hockey sock full of 1.5" holes all over the bottom.  That Murphy fellow likes to hang around the reefing community.   

[Hookup]

I know that the builder SHOULD know, but did you specify the hole diameter or just the bulkhead size?  I'd hate to see the tank arrive with a hockey sock full of 1.5" holes all over the bottom.  That Murphy fellow likes to hang around the reefing community.   

This is a good point, and a follow-up email will be required!

[guyfish]

Possible first sw post for me lol.. Still looking for my first tank..But I'm a gen contractor, so if Vince or you need any help..Don't be shy... Maybe it'll help me work off anything you're willing to sell from the previous build  ..I figure I owe you just for the info on your builds...lol
Dave

[Hookup]

Possible first sw post for me lol.. Still looking for my first tank..But I'm a gen contractor, so if Vince or you need any help..Don't be shy... Maybe it'll help me work off anything you're willing to sell from the previous build  Also.... I'm good muscle for any heavy stuff..I figure I owe you just for the info on your builds...lol
Dave

a) Vince is a good guy, but this is my thread
b) Vince probably could use the help though... 
c) I like help too... so now your suckered into helping two people!!!!! muwwahhhahaha

[guyfish]

Thats ok..I like to help...Not afraid of the hours... Or learning a thing or two...Or everything..lol And I dream of someday having a 92 corner   

Dave

[Hookup]

Thats ok..I like to help...Not afraid of the hours... Or learning a thing or two...Or everything..lol And I dream of someday having a 92 corner   

Dave

92 corner is for sale for sure...  I just do not want to post it up because obviously i cannot release it just yet..

I also would prefer to find someone who wants the system "as it is".... the walls are completely covered in purple coralline algae, which, IMO makes them look real as opposed to the foam-walls that they are...   I deally, the system would be sold where in all that's needed is a sump, return pump and skimmer.... but i'm easy...  when that time comes.

[salvini55]

Today, I finished the tank hole design and it got sent into the builder to keep things on their end moving.  I expect to take delivery of the tank by the end of October. 

End of october! But i wanna see it now! what am i going to do for the time being? 

[Hookup]

Well, good news/bad news... Good news, Paul a Oceans Motions (www.oceansmotions.com) saw my post on RC, including that the tank was being built in Toronto at Miracles, and tracked down my cell phone number backwards from the tank builder, to Ottawa Inverts to me...   Desperate for sales right?  Wrong.

He wanted to discuss the design in detail and offer some suggestion and insight to the build process.  That prompted a call to Miracles, who put the build on-hold... (that was the bad news part)... I want all the input I can get, so he's currently reviewing the design so we can talk further (the first call was 60min easy, his long distance bill)...

Not to sound rude or arrogant, the hard part is finding advise from people who have maintained a system for more than 5 years...  Everyone has advise, but finding people who will offer any after 5 years of running an sps system is proving, well impossible...

Additionally, I've been having issues with Low Alk in the system.. in spite of using the baling system... It just made no sense no matter what I was dosing, ALK would not go up.. (I was dosing enough sodium bicarb for a system of 800 or more gallons and nothing changed)...   

Well I spent the past 30-45min on the phone with the owner and lead designer of Faunamarin.de Claude.  What an amazingly intelligent person.  I have been told exactly what is happening in my system and why... though I'll admit I do not understand a bunch of it...

The short answer is my parameters were out of balance, because I raised them too quickly maybe, and in their current state, it would have been impossible to raise the Alk.  Also, ULNS tanks have different target parameters than regular systems, something I did not know.

Ca - 380ppm to 400ppm
Mg - 1200ppm
Alk - 7.0dkh
Salinity - 33ppt to 35ppt

There was some debate/discussion on the right and wrong way to measure the salt levels in your system... I'm not getting into it because all that i would be doing is repeating someone elses is preaching... but the short answer was, specific gravity is not as effective as salinity, and salinity is what we need.

So, I've made major changes to my dosing, I no longer dose Ca or Mg until my levels fall off... and I will continue to dose Sodium Bicarb until my Alk raises... I'm also adjusting my salinity from 37/38ppt to 35ppt or 34ppt...

Not directly related to this build, but in the same breath, this is the system that will be driving the new tank, and it's very relevant knowledge.

For those thinking of the Randy Holmes 2part system, Claude left me with one thought, the recommended components of that system are between 60 and 80% pure...  What's the other 40-20%...   Marketing for his products aside, it's a good question.

[JD]

Well it looks like I may be making some adjustments myself. I too did not know an ultra low nutrient system requires a different balancing. For the past 4 months I have been targeting 380, 1350 and 8 with 35ppt. I knew about the alk but not the mg.

Curious, where did all the bicarb go? Did it precipitate out? And if it did will it become soluble again as the system becomes balanced and spike you alk?

I checked my Dowflake Xtra and Mag Flake bags for purity...the Dowflake is 84-87% and the Mag Flake is 94-97%.

At one point I was using only Bio Calcium for calcium addition. I was scared when I found my alk had spiked to 24 dKH.
Holy crapola!!!   Nothing died, nothing was acting different. Everything seemed normal and all ended OK.

Thanks for sharing.

[salvini55]

I dont know why, maybe irrelavent but i cant stop thinking about if the Great Stuff Seafoam is perhaps absorbing the sodium bicarbonate. Im going out on a limb here, I dont know how much was used or if its even possible? Interesting to know this info as it will prove a great stepping stone in ULNS managment. Cuz if you didnt know, considering the amount of reading you do, I bet lots of people dont know. Regardless of what type of system they use to achieve ULNS's, vodka, ultralith or zoe, surely these params are the goal. Still much reasearch is to be done, im very interested in the subject.

curious..., what did he say that made you put the build on hold? In ten words or less....LOL 

[Hookup]

FLOW 

[salvini55]

The absence of, or the plethora of?

[Hookup]

The general concept... as in 'what flow am I trying to achieve and why' kind of question...   Which my only answer is, enough flow to keep detritus suspended, and blow the micro-layer of water off of the sps... anything more is just showing off, anything less is not sufficient...

We were discussing how much flow, and types of flow to accomplish the task.

One *idea* that was discussed, in a closed loop system, if your pump blows 4000gph, it would also suck 4000gph... wouldn't that equate to 8000gph in your tank?

I admit that controlling flow that blows is easier than flow that sucks... but both can be 'controlled' to some degree to accomplish the requirement of flow.

[salvini55]

well that's alot of flow and the fact that it will be hidden in the aquascape is going to be amazing. Im sure it will work out perfect.