JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system

[NexDog]

Background:
It's always been a dream of mine to keep marine fish and this interest has naturally evolved into wanting to keep a full coral reef. Now I'm truly settled in Japan I decided it was time to stop thinking and start actually doing it. Towards the end of last year I bought a 20 gallon tank, some LR and some fish and started to learn about this fascinating hobby. Around 5 months ago I upgraded to a 50 gallon and acquired more fish, soft coral, anemones and a few LPS and the bug had bitten me very deeply - I was hooked.

As fate would have it and certainly a year or two earlier than I'd anticipated the opportunity of designing and building a house presented itself. I work out of home so there would need to be an office and as I spend a considerable amount of time in the office I needed to have a serene environment and what better environment than a monster in-wall tank. (I say to my wife)

And the project is born.

The Tank:
As the months of planning went on the tank kept getting bigger and bigger and I've now settled on a 340 gallon main display (72"x30"x36" - 30" tall). The sump is 48"x24"x30 (150g). The tank and sump are being made by the great guys at Envision Acrylics. James said they'll start building around October 1st and ship out 3 weeks later so I'll have them at the end of October. But I intend to acquire all the equipment before then and I'm well on way.

Equipment:
Being in southern Japan and faced with a technical language barrier (even though I speak the language well), I knew I wasn't going to get the system I wanted by shopping at Japanese vendors. Members here at ReefCentral have given me 100% of my knowledge (as little as it still is) and part of that knowledge has been great online vendors. Through RC I found MarineDepot, Envision Acrylics, Premium Aquatics, OceanMotions, DeltecUSA, Vivid Aquariums and Savko. I can't speak highly enough of all these vendors who have had to put up with barrages of stupid questions from me.

So the main equipment:

Deltec 902 Skimmer
PFO hood (3 x 400k Hamilton 14k moguls with 4 x 140w VHO)
3 Sequence Darts (closed loops)
1 PanWorld 100PX-X (return)
2 Iwaki 30RLXT (chiller and skimmer)
2 OM 4-Way units
1 OM Super Squirt
Arctica 1/2hp Chiller
Aquatronica
Korallin Calcium Reactor 3002
AquaMedic Kalk Reactor

There's also various miscellaneous stuff like auto top-off kits, water change pumps etc but outlined above is the core hardware.

Concept:
I think I've read just about every thread on SSB vs DSB vs BB and it was tough coming to a solution on this. I like the look of sand but didn't want a DSB but I also wanted the benefits of a BB tank which is quite a tall order I thought. The answer came from Steve Weast's inspirational set up at OregonReef. I'm going to design 2 rock racks out of 1.5" pvc pipe and plumb them into a closed loop powered by one Dart with outlets on the bottom of the tank. The rack will output to many 3/4" locline nozzles that will keep the rocks and area beneath free of detritus. I have designed a "sand barrier" which I'll show in a bit that should ensure the flow from the racks does not cause any sand dispersal so I can put in a small SSB at the front of the tank that I can siphon and stir regular. Best of both tank worlds I hope!

Flow:
So there's 2 more closed loops on the tank but these are run through OM 4-Ways. One CL will have 4 outlets on the back of the tank and the other CL will run 2 outlets on each side of the tank. I'll put the back 4 and the rack loops on the Aquatronica so I can turn those off at night. I decided on modest flow through the sump with a PanWorld rated at 1270gph. Total flow rate is over 12,000GPH or 35 times tank turnover which should allow me to keep any SPS I want.

Sump:
The sump is fairly large so I wanted to incorporate a coral grow-out into it. This proposes a bit of a headache as the Caulerpa I grow needs to be lit 24/7. I put this forward to James at Envision:



However, he has a better idea to minimise the light spill which I'll go into later. The chiller will be plumbed off the prop section and return via a Super Squirt. This will give the corals there some nice flow.

So still 2 months away from T-Day (Tank Day, heh) but I'll be very busy getting the equipment together. I'll post photos as the fish room take shape but this is what it looks like now:



My office is to the right in the corner and you can see where the tank will be in-wall. At the end where the pipe is sticking out will be a sink and the whole room is going to insulated with soundproof foam and finished like a bathroom (plastic walls).

I should be getting all the plumbing parts from Savko this month and the PFO hood from Premium Aquatics and I already have the Deltec 902, 2 Darts and the 4-Ways and Super Squirt from OceanMotions so full steam ahead.

[brianemone]

can't wait, looks like its going to be a great setup.

[rulesmith]

you are building a tank very close in size to mine. I also plan on getting it from James. I will be following your progress with anticipation

[dougchambers]

NexDog -

Saddle up buddy! It's going to be a great ride....

Let us know what you need,

Doug

[NexDog]

Hey rulesmith - when you getting yous and is it going to be in-wall?

Doug - it's threads like yours that have schooled me and given me the knowledge. If I'd never have found RC this would never have been possible.

[dougchambers]

Reef Central is the best source for spending other peoples money I ever found...

Glad I could be of some assistance,

Doug

[moonpod]

Are you building a whole house from scratch with the tank being an integral part of the plan? COOL!

[Hop]

Yeah, Another thread to watch unfold. You know NexDog this is not going to get me any closer to getting mine done

Looks like your starting off right... The house built around the tank!!!

[asnatlas]

Originally posted by Hop
Yeah, Another thread to watch unfold. You know NexDog this is not going to get me any closer to getting mine done

Looks like your starting off right... The house built around the tank!!!

That is what I am talking about... Tank first, house second, LOL... When I have my next house built, I will be taking into consideration my 600gal, and maybe even another large tank...

Shawn

[rulesmith]

Yes, mine is mostly in wall. about 12inches will show on one side when it is all done. I am going with 77inches cause my girlfriend insists that it is worth the extra money to make it match the spot we have for it. 4 inches for $500 seems crazy though, lets see if I can use her argument when it comes time for the skimmer.

I decided to go with the tunze streams for flow, not doing the Cl's. I will add two tunze wave boxes down the road if I need to.

I am leaning towards an ASM skimmer, but size under tank is a bit of a proplem. The deltecs are sooooo expensive. I bet you will love it though.

I decided to go with James when I read the thread on the 340 front hex. That tread was one of the reasons I am going with the tunzes too.

I hope to have my tank in November so you will be leading the way

[NexDog]

Well. my wife thinks the tank is going in the house but we are know that the house is going around the tank.

But seriously, when we got the go-ahead on the house and I could actually design it, the opportunity to finally realise a dream was there and I wasn't going to pass it up. The builders, my wife and in-laws look at me like I've gone insane when I explain the 2 million yen budget for the tank. But when it's up and running and in its full glory I know they'll be amazed as there's no such thing as an awesome reef tank down here.

The cost of land and housing at here is astronomical. I've seen such beautiful houses here on RC and would love something so spacious but the economics of the situation cannot warrant it. However, the house I'm building is consider large by Japanese standards. It has a lounge, dining room, kitchen, guest room, office, fish room, bathroom and utility room downstairs with the lounge having a vaulted ceiling. Upstairs are 4 bedrooms which I need as I have 3 kids. If anyone is interested there's a plan here:

http://senlacsamurai.com/house/

It's envolved somewhat since then and the siding and roof will look nothing like that. The dining room extends out an extra metre or so. I'm happy with it and will be comfortable for my family. The office with in-wall tank is real central feature though (for me).

Hop - been following your setup from day one and have stolen some of your ideas.

Shawn, looking forward to your 600g monster!

Going to post some more pics tomorrow.

[NexDog]

rulesmith, I read that thread too. I came across a few threads that had Envision tanks and they were all amazing setups. Plus he built the 800g at OregonReef. Just so many awesome setups coming out of Envision tanks and everyone loves the customer service so it was an easy choice. Looking forward to your thread - is it going to be 77x30x36? Gotta love that 36" depth.

[burntom]

Watching with interest! Keep the updates coming.

[Hop]

How much is a yen again... 2 million sounds really cool. JJ

This is great NexDog!!! I hope you get that "Christmas eve as a child" feeling I get while building this thing!

Nice home design by the way!

[NexDog]

I checked on XE and 2 million yen is just over $18k USD. One doller is about 110 yen at the moment. That budget is about right considering the cost of shipping the tanks to Japan (almost 3 grand there).

[Psyire]

Wow, this will be impressive.

I really like how you are realistically budgeting for this tank, many people have no clue when they start a project this big.

Keep up the great research, it'll make your $$ go a lot further as you will spend it more wisely. Plus you'll have the added bonus of being happy with your end result. (if there is such a thing as an end result, lol)

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

can't wait to watch this monster develop....still dreaming of my BIG tank days ahead!

Good Luck!

[NexDog]

Thanks E-A-G-L-E-S. Keep dreaming and it will happen sooner than you think.

Psyire - it can be done cheaper, absolutely no doubt about that. The shipping costs for me automatically added 35% to the cost of everything. Normally the shipping works out to be about 20% but the shipping on the tank is like 40% of the price of the tanks due to the sheer weight. The $1800 Deltec skimmer cost $450 to ship. I'm averaging it all out at 35% in the end.

There's an interesting thread in the main forum about the costs of setting up a reef tank and I remember Jeff with his 250g saying he'd spent 13k so far and has yet to introduce a fish. I think $13,000-$15,000 is a realistic figure for a system around 300 gallons.

When I see such crazy numbers flying around I think we must seem like exorbitant a$$holes.

[wangster]

wow..sounds like it's going to be a crazy setup! a friend of mine put Deltec 902 to his 150G tank which have around 20 fish in there. Deltec 902 is a BIG skimmer.. I wonder if I can visit you when I do goto Japan?

[NexDog]

Wow, a Deltec 902 on a 150 is maximum overkill. Full respect to your friend! I've decided that being an equpment junkie I absolutely must have one of those dual becket Barr Aquatic skimmers (the SK5220). I plan on stocking heavy as I can without aggression problem so I might need another skimmer.

The 902 is BIG though, but will fit under the tank nicely as the fish room just sits on the slab and the floor level is half a meter above it. The tank will start at about the 1 metre mark above floor level so I have a full 1.5 metres under the tank. And as it's surrounded by the concrete footings and has a drain at the end, if catastrophy strikes and the tank pops, the water can get in the house at all.

Framing madly right now. First floor framing was done today and second floor tomorrorw and the roof goes on the day after tomorrow. You might think that's crazy fast but it's only the basic framing and wood slats on the root and then they fill the rest in later. Pretty unique way of building out here. Not at all like the UK or even Australia. It's a big rush to get the roof on and then they have this tradition where you get on the roof, spill salt in all 4 corners and then you throw money, candy and rice cakes onto the crowd below. Pretty trippy culture but I love it.

[wangster]

bless the house maybe?

[NexDog]

Yep, the land had to be blessed first. The shinto priest came around and shook his tassled stick and we all chanted and drnak Saki.



That's me in orange, my wife next to me and then her parents.

[mmd]

i notice alot of vegetation right next to the recently poured foundation...appears the japanese take care in not destroying everything within site of the foundation like we do in america. must be nice tio be environmentally conscious....cant wait to see more pics

[Bax]

NexDog

This is going to be a great system! Good luck and keep the posts coming!

[rulesmith]

I am interested on your choice on the skimmer. Before you were saying that you would be going with the Deltec, now the Barr, what was your thought process? I am trying to figure out what skimmer to go with and am very interested on how you came to this choice? What other skimmers have you considered?