My new 600 gallon reef

[Goodwin9]

I thought that I would share my latest project, a 600 gallon reef tank which is in the final stages of completion. The tank is being designed for both fish and corals, primarily SPS.

Here are some of the specifications of my project;

Tank

Manufactured by The Aquarium Company in Winthrop, MN. Dimensions are 120L X 48W X 25H

Stand

42" high custom steel stand.

Sump

Custom acrylic 40L X 42W X 22H sump/refugium

Equipment

Protein slimmer - H&S A300

Calcium Reactor - Reef Mania CR600

Phos Reactor - Reef Mania FMR2

Sand Filter - Dual Lifeguard FB600

Chiller - Dual Prime 1/3hp chillers

Filtration - Dual Lifeguard, mechanical, chemical, and 40 watt UV's

Lighting

3 Sunlight Supply Lumen Max 2 reflectors with 400 watt Ushio 14K bulbs, Galaxy 400 W electronic remote ballast.

2 Coralife Aqualight Pro 250W HQI/compact fluorescent fixtures.


The project has been going for several months and should be delivered in the next week or so. Comments welcomed and I will try and answer all questions as the project comes together.

[Goodwin9]

Here are a few pictures of the tank being built. The tank is manufactured using 1/2" acrylic.

[Goodwin9]

The stand is of steel construction, 42" high. The stand was built in two sections to be able to fit through the doorway.

This is a picture of the stand after it returned from being powder coated. In this picture, the stand is upside down.



Here is a picture of the stand put together with the top and bottom shelf in place.

[Goodwin9]

Here are a few pictures of the tank and stand with some of the "guts" of the system sitting below the tank.

[Goodwin9]

Here are a few pictures of the sump/refugium.

[clekchau]

wow nice

[nyvp]

very nice congrats

[Paikuhan]

Love the depth.

[thor32766]

yeah cant wait to see that thing running!

[HotRod68Camaro]

Those dimensions are awesome.

[tank121]

Looks like it's gona be a nice system.
I have a 8x4x2 that is made from 3/4 acrylic. I am no expert but 1/2 inch seems like it is too thin for that size tank.

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by tank121
Looks like it's gona be a nice system.
I have a 8x4x2 that is made from 3/4 acrylic. I am no expert but 1/2 inch seems like it is too thin for that size tank.

I agree it seems like 1/2" would be ok for the bottom piece but the sides should be 3/4" atleast.
Tank121 you have any pics of your tank setup?I have the same size tank as you that im in the process of setting up.

[Goodwin9]

Originally posted by tank121
Looks like it's gona be a nice system.
I have a 8x4x2 that is made from 3/4 acrylic. I am no expert but 1/2 inch seems like it is too thin for that size tank.

I'm not an expert either, so I hope that the manufacture knows what he is doing. I understand the euro braced top adds a lot of strength to the tank. He's built some very large tanks and I am confident in his abilities. He built my 96" tank out of 1/2" with a solid top, no problems with that tank.

[invincible569]

Tank looks great! Love the shallow height. It's going to give you a deeper perception even though you may not need it. Glad to also see you are getting some great equipment. You're going to be a happy person in the end. Are those 2 chillers on the end?

[Goodwin9]

Originally posted by invincible569
Tank looks great! Love the shallow height. It's going to give you a deeper perception even though you may not need it. Glad to also see you are getting some great equipment. You're going to be a happy person in the end. Are those 2 chillers on the end?

Thank you! I chose the height for two reasons, fits through the door way and tank was much cheaper by only to have to use 3 10 foot sheets of acrylic. Any taller, and I would have had to buy another 10 foot sheet.......

I do have two chillers at the end of the stand. I learned my lesson this past summer when I had my chiller quit on my 470. What a mess. After that incident, two is better than one in my mind.

[invincible569]

How do you plan to run your chillers? one on 78 and one on 81? And then maybe switch roles (primary/secondary) in a yr?

I know what you mean. I also plan to run 2 chillers. I will have one sized one step higher while the other will be sized properly just to get by and order a new one if it ever fails.

[bbehring]

Goodwin, great build! I will enjoy following your progress. Can't wait to see it up and running. What flow turn over are you looking. What pumps? Closed loop?

[Goodwin9]

Here is the plans for the returns. Closed loop is running off a Blue Line 100 and there are 2 Turbo-Sea 1740 for the other returns. I haven't figured out total flow until it is set up and running.

[blfuller123]

Cant wait to see this with water

[Goodwin9]

Originally posted by invincible569
How do you plan to run your chillers? one on 78 and one on 81? And then maybe switch roles (primary/secondary) in a yr?

I know what you mean. I also plan to run 2 chillers. I will have one sized one step higher while the other will be sized properly just to get by and order a new one if it ever fails.

I will probably start out setting them a few degrees apart. I'm not sure what to expect for heat from the lights. I'm guessing right now that they both will run with all of the light turned on. After my experience this past summer, I now have an extra chiller in a box just incase a chiller quits on me in one of my other tanks. A person wouldn't think in South Dakota they would be needed this time of year, but mine seem to run all of the time.

[InLimbo87]

Wow, like others have said, great choice on dimensions...

[Old Crusty]

this is going to be GREAT.

[Alphabet]

Very nice indeed, hoping to see plenty of pics in the future!

[bassettmd]

going to be an awesome tank

[dmoneymaker]

that is going to be a very nice tank