Phil's tank

[Lunchbucket]

ok Phil i'm calling you out!!

i went to Oceans of the Midwest today and got a few things (thanks as always for the healthy stuff Grant!) and Phil got there right about the tiem the wife and i did. Grant was helping a cutomer so Phil offered to show me his new cubish tank...i was game to take him up on that in a heart beat! wife and i got to see a beautiful set up! very nice and clean w/ lots of thought into it. loved the DIY canopy and stand too.

soooooo...this is my thread to MAKE Phil post pics of his beautiful tank. i plan on modeling my next system after his. my next system will be quite a while out.

so get to posting Phil

thanks go to you and your fiancee for letting the wife and i view the tank!
Lunchbucket

[Dakota Reef]

Alright Lunch,

Thanks for the kind words, it was nice to have you over to see my work in progress. I've been putting off posting til I get everything a little more complete, but since you've called me out and all......here goes.

The tank is 270 gallons - 54x48x24. It seems like I've been planning this in my head forever and working on it for half a year, so its pretty exciting to finally get water in it and move the contents of my 125 and 40 gallon tanks into their new home this past week.



I'm very happy with the sense of depth from the tank, its hard to portray in a photo but this one from a higher angle may help.


The sump is located in an adjoining room directly behind the tank room so there is quite a bit of room to get to the sump. My goal was to keep this room from becoming a spaghetti mess of plumbing and wiring. In the rush to get things running, and the tanks moved from my old home in Madison, its gotten more cluttered than I'd like but hopefully I can organize it a little better.




As for the inhabitants, the fish all seem thrilled with their newfound room to roam. Although my purple tang still needs to assert himself every night before lights out.



The good news so far is that my Majestic Angel hasn't shown any interest in the button polyps or even the xenia for that matter. It was amazing to hear his startled grunts when I moved him from the 125 for the trip to Sioux Falls.



And so far my Ricordia and assorted soft corals seem to be responding well to the increased lighting. They were under 55 watt PC's in the old tank. I really love the light color and intensity put out by the MH 250 watt Aquaconnect bulb with the lumenarc reflector. Still trying various combos of T5 bulbs to get the right look for the fill in lighting. Here's a picture of some of the corals under just a couple of the T5s.



I'll post a few more pictures once I get the aquascaping done a little better and the sump room finished. Oh yeah, I'm going to have a TON of old equipment to sell so stay tuned.

Phil

[UrbanSage]

Looks awesome! Lots of thought put into this, it shows

[tangdiver]

Sweet....man, I love deep(front to back)tanks. Makes them look bigger than they already are.

Grant

[sdreefers]

Phil, that is an awesome setup!! The tank is the perfect size. I like the cube, it makes for a really versatile shape!! Also, the fish look really good and the corals do as well!! Having a tank like this would be a goal of mine, I think it's the perfect size. I never was much for cubes, but after seeing your tank I think that I like them more!! You get great depth and you can few it better from multiple sides!! Again, I want to way wow, that's a nice tank!! Now I just got to figure out how to get the wife to let me upgrade!! Anyway, let me know what you have for used equipment, I would be interested as I have a few projects that I want to start!! This hobby is like crack, once you start you just can't stop until it (or your wife) kills you!!

[Lunchbucket]

YIPPIE!! now everyone can see the tank! i was very impressed. that is the first big cube tank i've seen in person. i have always loved the cube idea and look (in pics) and now it confirmed it i believe i will get a cube for my next tank.

very impressed on the DIY side Dakota Reef. the stand is beautiful and the hood looks great and is functional.

lol yeah this hobby is crack...should they have rehab for addicted reefers??

keep the pics coming as the progress goes
Lunchbucket

[sdreefers]

I guess the coolest part about the cube tank IMO is that no matter where you stand to look at the tank you have a good view and also are closer to the fish. I think they are really neat. My sister as a little 12 gallon aquapod and it's cool how you can get so close to them. Anyway, keep up the good work Phil, and looks like I will be seeing you at Grant's more often buying a ton more crack to fill your tank!! We are all addicts, but hey, could be worse things!!

[hoover86]

Yea awesome setup. I'll be interested in any used stuff as well as I'm doing all I can to get my 125 setup finally, keep us posted!!

[want2reef]

Where did you the Aquaconnects?

Thanks

[Dakota Reef]

Sorry for not getting back to the thread sooner, I've been tied up getting my house in Madison sold.....and its done now finally!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. As frustrated as I've been at how long its taken me to put things together, it has been fun. Even all those hours staring at a blank wall trying to imagine how to hang a light hood from the ceiling and hoping I'd get it centered over the spot where the aquarium had to go.

want2reef,

I got the Aquaconnect from Fish & Ichthy Stuff In my travels they have to be one of the best local fish stores in the country.


Of course we're fortunate enough to have another one developing right in front of us here in South Dakota at Grant's place.


I've gotten a few pm's from people interested in my old equipment and I promise I'll get a list out of the stuff I no longer need.

Phil

[Lunchbucket]

Phil - Calling you out again man. Just wondering if we could get an update on how you like the system and how you like the size?

I have an opportunity to get a 48x48x20" for a good price. I don't like tall tanks so I do not see 20" being a problem but you opinion would be nice

thanks
Lunchbucket

[Dakota Reef]

Hey Lunch,

Sorry I haven't been looking in our forum for a while and didn't notice your question. I did see though that you pulled the trigger on your 4x4 tank. Congratulations!!!!! You're gonna love it.

As for how I like my setup after having it up and running for a little over six months. I couldn't be happier. Even a little suprised at how well its gone so far. There's very little I'd do differently. All the worries like humidity problems and hoping I wouldn't need a chiller and worrying that my lighting plan give me enough light seem to have been non-issues.

The size of the tank works well for me. One thing you won't mind is the 20" height. My tank is 24" and even though I've got monkey arms its tough setting up live rock and grabbing fallen frags in the middle back of the tank.

I'll try and post some update pics so you can see how things have started to grow in.

Lunch, how soon are you picking up your tank? Its going to be fun watching you put this together. I'm sure I'll learn a few things to add to my own cubish tank.

Phil

[Goodwin9]

Phil..thanks so much for allowing Melev & myself to stop and view your tank in person. Pictures don't do it justice. You need to put you tank on the large reef tank forum when you have time. You really have a "Show Tank" that more people should get a chance to see. Both of us were impressed with all of the thought and time that you put into your tank. Hopefully Marc will post some of the pictures from his visit for all to see. Thanks again!

[melev]

I can't wait to get those pictures edited and posted. Phil, your tank is really neat because of all the DIY that you did to it. And looking at the pictures you posted months ago, the tank looks great as it has matured.

[melev]

Phil (DakotaReef) invited me to visit his tank before I left town. He's got a beautiful cube tank that is all about DIY.

The tank is acrylic, and probably around 240g. The canopy was specially designed to be adjustable. His "fishroom" is super clean and organized, sitting behind the tank. It is actually a closet in his office, converted for the needs of his system.



The stand was made with two areas for shelving, and the left side near the wall is open to hide a small step stool to work on the tank.






His reef is beautiful, coming a long way from pictures he posted in March 07.

















Here is his Longnose Butterfly feeder, filled with a frozen cube of fish food.

[melev]

The tank is lit with a single MH bulb. I believe it was a 400w bulb, in the 15,000K range. On all four sides of the canopy, T5 lighting supplements and keeps the tank bright.

What really impressed me was how the canopy was designed so as to be adjustable. It was built to hide a Luminarc III reflector. The entire wooden canopy can be raised or lowered by pulling a couple of set pins, as long as he has a helper nearby to keep things balanced. The reflector inside can be raised and lowered using long bolts affixed. Pictures will clarify this better. First, peek inside the canopy to see one of those bolts.


And you can see the bolts extending from the wood in this picture. By twisting these, he can lower the reflector or raise it higher, as he reacclimates the tank to new bulbs or to extend the life of an older bulb.


There is enough room to reach in the tank, feed, and do minor tasks, but when it is time to really get in there, he created a simple way to remove the crown moulding to get better access. The crown moulding is affixed together, wrapping on three sides. Two pins hold it in place in the front, and a pin on each side keep it secure.





When he wants to pull it off, he places a couple of blocks of wood under the ends to support the trim. Once done, he can pull the pin on each end.



The two front pins are permanently affixed to the trim, and slide out of the pre-drilled holes. With this method, he can remove the 3-sided piece by himself.


More space to add LR or corals!


In the fishroom, the ballasts are secured up on the wall. The wiring goes through the wall, inside the wooden trim that is mounted along the ceiling, and drops down inside the wooden canopy. When visiting, all you see is beautiful woodwork without any wiring to spoil the decor. Above the ballasts, you can just make out the vent fan used to draw moist air out of the closet area.


The sump is a simple layout. He uses gravity to run as much equipment as possible to avoid excessive power consumption. A nearby refugium to the right drains into the sump. Part of the plumbing drains into three different Phosban Reactors used to clarify water (carbon) and remove phosphate (GFO). The Euro-Reef skimmer draws its air from outside using a length of flexible tubing.


Top off containers drip kalkwasser. One is always settling while the other one is in use, to avoid dripping the sediment into his system.

[melev]

Everything is in its place, easy to find and kept clean.


The tank is clean, using a few pumps to create flow. A Wavy-Sea is used to rotate a Tunze powerhead back and forth.








He likes zoanthids and ricordias.

[melev]

Acropora sp.


The tank had some BTAs tucked away in the rockwork and some clowns snuggled up in them often.


M. digitata


M. capricornis






His gorgeous Majestic Angelfish kept my attention for most of my visit.








Thanks for allowing me to visit, Phil!

[InsaneClownFish]

Very nice setup.

[Lunchbucket]

VERY VERY NICE Phil! Can't wait to see it in person again. Mine is almost the same size. Hope I can get mine to look like yours soon

Melev - Just for correction that is a Geo Skimmer...well if it is the same one that he started with

Lunchbucket

[UrbanSage]

Amazing tank Phil

[Travis]

Wow Phil! The tank is really maturing since the last time I was there. Great job. Maybe after hunting season, when I have some free time, I will have to stop over and see it again in person. Or we could stop at your house after "guy's night out" as long as Grant isn't the one planning it this time.

BTW, thank for stopping over while I was out of town for that emergency. It is great to know that I have friends that are willing to help out in those situations.

[Dakota Reef]

Hey Marc,

Thanks for the great pictures. I really enjoyed having you and Chuck stop by and I'm happy that we had enough time to chat. Your website and online advice have been invaluable to me and I'm sure countless others in the hobby.


Lunch, you're right my skimmer is a GEO, still chugging away nicely. As for the lighting my MH bulb, sadly, is only 250 watts. (You have to understand in the original plan, this tank wasn't really going to have more than a couple of strategically placed SPS corals). Upgrading the lighting is going to be a priority this winter. I'm actually suprised at the amount of growth I've gotten considering the modest lighting.

By the way, Travis, Nick and Lunch.....I've got corals from all three of you growing in the tank so you've all contributed to this SPS takeover thats messed up my original plan!!!

Lunch you're welcome to stop by anytime....I'm hoping to pop up and see your masterpiece in progress soon.

Nick I still need to come over and check out that new Vortech in person.

Travis, happy to help you out, although I think you're wife had everything under control....she just didn't know she had it under control. I'm up for the next guy's night out!! Just let me know when and where.

[Travis]

Phil, I'd say you are getting amazing results with that lighting. I see a couple corals that you got as frags from me that are now bigger than my current colonies. The one that sticks out the most is the purple with green polyps digitata. Yours looks to be about twice the size of my colony right now and I have not taken many frags from that colony.

[Lunchbucket]

Phil, let me know when we can hook up adn you can see what kind of advice you have for my future tank. Hope to have it up before summer

Lunchbucket