Hop's 800 gallon rebirth

[Hop]

OK I know some of you thought it was sacrilege that I tore my 450-gallon system down. Numerous issues compiled and aided in the decision.

First off was the system itself. I think anyone who builds their first dream system will tell you that a lot more thought went into building it than effort in building it I was no different. There were a few corners that I cut and a few things that I didn’t even think of. The problems with the tank were:

1. Plumbing. I had a few hurdles to overcome and overcame them fine. What I didn’t account for was noise. The display room was not that bad, a slight trickle was noticeable as the water fell 8’ from the overflow, under the tank and into the crawl space before traveling about 21’, up 3’ and into the sump/fuge portion of the tank. The other issue was where the water came back up 3’… It was rather loud in the downstairs bathroom and at night could be heard in my daughter’s room. The sound of water was also noticeable in the master bedroom when all was quiet, but I didn’t mind this much.

2. Humidity… Yeah we’ve all heard this, but I live on the outskirts of the desert. We have low humidity and people actually run humidifiers in their homes during the winter to curtail the bloody noses… No go, on really cold nights, humidity hit 60%, my windows were completely watered over, mold grew in the window sills, my daughter’s room was right above the tank and had mildew growing on the ceiling near the sofet of the roof line. Vent fans were not enough for the system.

3. Equipment: I should have taken more time with the initial equipment purchases, but money was a factor. Basically anyone who wonders how big tanks are managed can just refer to the phrase “you can go as big as your checkbook”. So after getting things going, I wanted to tweak things a bit and found out that my flow wasn’t going to work and the lighting was sub-par as well. A whole lot of watts was spent lighting the top 20” of water and didn’t do anything for the bottom.

4. SNAILS! OMG, never gain will anything ever get plunked into my tank. I have no idea where the vermetids came from, but they certainly learned how to breed. Enough on these guys, I’m trying to forget them!

Other than that, the tank was doing really well. I can say that numerous hours was spent learning about chemistry and as far and that aspect goes, it was a very healthy environment for my critters.

So with the tank issues, my wife just bouncing back from cancer and the passing of my father I found myself swimming dangerously low on co-co puffs! It was time for the tank to come down. I transferred everything into my 125 and began selling the parts I wouldn’t need.

Then of course I found out that I got a huge raise at work… One of those once in a life time raises, and well… I can set the tank back up the way I always wanted.

So here I am planning the rebirth of the biggest tank I can fit in my house So long story short is that the planning is going far beyond the thought of “what do I need to do to keep a healthy tank”. The thought process is now “how can I set it up for years of trouble-free husbandry” with an emphasis on a “finished look”.

So here is the basic rundown…
-370 gallon SPS/LPS system with a few softies
-70 gallon sump
-100 gallon fuge
-50 gallon grow-out tank
-90 gallon acrylic RO/DI storage/top off container
-75 gallon acrylic salt water mixing container. Plumbed with external low-watt pump

-And- Since my wife likes the critters that can’t go in a reef well… She gets her own 180-gallon tank plumbed in as well.

So the working volume of the system will be approximately 800 gallons…

To be continued

[Hop]

So what are we doing differently on this build?

1. Plumbing… The plumbing will be completely replaced and I will be using spa-flex to make more of the corners, rather than regular PVC… Why? For one I can ease a 90 degree corned over several feet and use it’s flexible properties to slow the water down as if falls 8’. Questions? Stay tuned over the next few months I haven’t got it all figured out yet!

2. Humidity… I will be completely sealing the wetroom and space above the tanks off from the rest of the house. The space above the tank will be vented from the wetroom and vented outside. Sort of a loop if you will, air enters the wetroom where it is cooled by an ac unit, Fans bring the cool air from the wetroom into the space above both tanks and then exhausts the warm/hot air out. The entire wetroom and void above the tanks will be lined with fiberglass sheets, similar to the ones on the bathroom walls of your local fast-food bathroom (that’s a bad example, but you get the idea).

3. Equipment… I’m sure you get the idea here, but a few of the plans are:
- 3 400 watt 20K metal halides, supplemented with VHO for dusk to dawn effects.
- The same closed loop with OM 4-way, but with a smaller pump, panworld, rated at about 1100 gallons and a different drum for the closed loop.
- Tunzes. The bulk of the flow will come from 4 tunzes on a controller
- An AC pro will keep everything in check. I was going to use my Jr., but decided that I needed to control more outlets and wanted better control of the equipment. Remote access was also needed and CPU set up was a bonus.

The list goes on, but I’m still researching a lot of equipment!

So for now, here is a general pic of the wetroom layout. It’s really not to scale, as I will have much more room than what is depicted in this picture:

[drstupid]

i'm glad you're getting your groove back on, hop. you've always had great advice and insights for other folks on this site, it was a pity when you had to downsize yourself. and especially for such difficult reasons... at least it's a good reminder for the rest of us what's really important.

i'm already subscribed to this thread, and can't wait to see what you accomplish.

pete

[jnarowe]

very cool. don't forget to check out Aquatronica.

[andyjd]

Unless you have the Tunze...dont forget about the Voretch pumps

[Hop]

jnarowe: I'll have to do some reading on that one... I really liked the Neptune once I got used to the programing language. I'll certainly be doing some research on the matter

andyjd: I had thought about them, but I'm not sure they would work for my set up. I was thinking at this point that the tunzes could be aimed, whereas the votecs seem to be a strait ahead venture. On one side of the tank they would obstruct the viewing pane and on the other, I have my overflow. Now I could work around the overflow, there is just enough room, but it would limit my options. Right now, just thinking, I'm 90% certain I could get the tunzes in there and have little if any of them seen unless your really looking for them. The option is still open though

drstupid: Thanks! It's funny though how things work. If I had got the raise two weeks earlier, the tank would still be up and I would just be trying to figure out band-aids... So I'm actually glad it worked this way. Plus it gives me a chance to buy some frags and get a year of growth on them before they go in the big tank

[SirTony76]

Awesome man, I'm glad that you are able to do this!

TP

[purebullet417]

good luck i loved reading your 450 gallon so well see how this is

[The Reefer91]

i'm so glad you're starting up a BIG tank again. can't wait to see what comes of this

[NickInMiami]

Looks like a great plan of attack. Can't wait to see future updates. GL

[gkarshens]

How many threads are you going to make me subscribe to??? JK Looking forward to it.

[jnarowe]

the Aquatronica does have some advantages over the Neptune in that it is more flexible and easier to install multiple probes and manage multiple tanks. I was a bit shocked when i got my ACIII Pro and it could only handle one tank. Now there is an add-on to run more probes but I definitely think it is worth checking into. The downside would be service where with the Neptune you can call Curt and get immediate help. He is a really good guy. I just think the Neptune product is a little behind in some areas.

Don't forget about the Tunze rocks!

[Hop]

SirTony76: Thanks. I hope your not in a hurry I'm guessing at the minimum, I won't be turning on the RO/DI for 8 months and suspect that 12 months is a more realistic goal.

purebullet417: I'm hoping that this one will be more informative. As I mentioned a few months back, if I thought I had something worth sharing in the reef hobby I would pick up some web space... So I anticipate that this one will be worth grabbing some space, detailing a build and I think, just maybe that when this is done, the website will begin offering something to reef enthusiasts Can't go into detail on that one!

The Reefer91: Thanks! Me too, although I wish I had the space to go bigger It just doesn't seem that big anymore. And after the Hundreds of hours I have doing woodwork in this house, I'm not moving anytime soon

NickInMiami: Hopefully I have to build a better shop before I can start Should just take a weekend for that, but when done I'll be able to rip 4'X8' sheets by myself with no issues.

gkarshens: This is the last one... I hope The old addiction thread is done... I will not be posting there. The Nano thread is just for blabbing about what I have and asking for help on what's in there now... And this one, that will have it's really slow times

jnarowe: I'll definitely look into it. As far as the rocks go... I was planning on two of them in each front corner

[mflamb]

Welcome back!!!!!!!!!!

[Mishap]

I'm still not caught up on the old thread! I was pumped for the table of contents that never came!

[Riona]

Yay! I can't wait to see the new tank, since I still have to dig up pictures of the old one. . . Great that it is going well!

[Hop]

mflamb: Hey thanks

Mishap: Your not missing anything and no table of contents needed on this one yet!

Riona: Hey! Hope that chaeto is doing well for you

I tried replacing the above image in the picture host, but something went amiss... Won't let me do it. So here is a better depiction of the room, with it being a little more to scale

[JR719]

I'll be following this one too. Good to see your back at it and your wife is ok.

[agarza]

I've followed you around your 450, then the 125 nano, so you bet I'll be here for this one, looks great so far.

[kipher]

Hop - Congratz on the raise!!! I can't wait to see this project develop. BTW, you grafic of the wet room is great, draw it yourself? I didn't get the opportunity to follow your 450g system, but I'm on board for this one. GL

[Riona]

Growing VERY well! I didn't realize it when I first got it, but when I switched tanks it was taking up the entire gap I'd put it in Thanks again btw ^_^

[melev]

Hop, the only thing I don't like is where the grow out tank is located. It'll be hard to access and hard to clean. Working on frags should not be a back breaker or you'll never do it.

The rest is going to be awe -- wait for it -- some!

[Hop]

JR719: Thanks bud! And she is better than new!

agarza: BTW, where is the update of your thread I'm subscribed and all.

Riona: No problem! Glad it's working out for you.

melev: Interesting. Thanks for the observation. Maybe I'll map it out with cardboard boxes first and see how the reach is... I have a 2' box I use to get around to the buckets and stuff now, I had thought about just reusing it... Mental note added

[Tripspike]

Hoppin on...

[Randall_James]

and awaaaaaay we go