My 400g room divider system (photo essay)

[gregt]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...05#post4916405

[Gerard Alba]

10/10

[gregt]

I've finally been split. LOL

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• General Information
• General description
• Movie and wide angle pictures of tank
• Canopy and stand access. Doors everywhere
• Old room layout and why I placed the tank where I did
• Access into the tank from the wet room
• Living room with furnitue and wet room walls painted / Water finally in tank!
• Do you have a generator?
• Why only 20" high?
• Rock in the tank!
• Why no sand?
• Animated view of all sides of tank
• How much water do you evaporate? Do you have humidity problems?
• Do you have a calcium reactor?
• Aquascaping
• Original Aquascaping
• Final aquascaping
• Construction
• General
• Room layout. (Deciding where to place the tank)
• Transporting a 300 gallon glass tank in excess of 600 lbs
• Framing of walls and canopy
• Cabinet doors hung
• Wet room (empty)
• One coat of paint (tank still empty)
• Canopy / Stand
• Stand construction
• Tank on bare stand
• Construction pics (roof and ceiling of canopy)
• Canopy roof with vent (replaced with fan) & wet room with shelves and table
• Inside of canopy with box fan (eventually replaced by chiller)
• What about the weight of the canopy resting on the sides of the tank?
• Cooling
• Box fan used for cooling before chiller was installed
• Chiller plumbing (chiller is remote)
• DIY chiller info
• More chiller
• Electrical
• Electrical
• Eye Candy
• Rock Anemone macro
• Clam and coral macro
• What camera do you use for your tank pics?
• New corals
• More new frags
• Animated view of all sides of tank
• Critter pics
• Coral macro
• More coral pics
• Corals
• Corals
• Lighting
• Lighting
• Lighting - MH installed only no VHO yet
• Lighting Q & A
• Final lighting - some corals
• Lighting discussion


• Plumbing
• Auto top-off system
• Duct tape plumbing
• Chiller plumbing (chiller is remote)
• Eductors
• Eductors installed
• Do eductors make a difference?
• eductors...
• Eductor performance testing and demonstration
• More eductor discussion
• Hook plumbing for pumps
• Hook plumbing discussions
• Hook plumbing discussions 2
• Hook plumbing discussions 3
• Hook plumbing discussions 4
• Hook plumbing discussions 5
• Hook plumbing discussions 6
• Return plumbing (More hook pictures)
• How do you prime a hook?
• More hook priming discussion
• More hook discussion
• Overflow
• Overflow design
• Overflow height discussion
• Overflow
• Overflow (details on fish barrier)
• Silencing the overflow
• Why didn't you need a durso or stockman to quiet the drains?
• More overflow pics
• Return / Drain
• Test version of return plumbing & final drain plumbing
• Sump and tank with test plumbing running
• Saltwater tap using spare drain You GOTTA see this one!
• Why 2 2" drains?
• Eductors installed
• Return plumbing (More hook pictures)
• Drain plumbing
• Skimmer
• Skimmer installation layout
• Temporary installation of MR-3 skimmer until MR-6 arrives
• New MR-6 skimmer next to the MR-3
• One or two injectors on skimmer?
• "GregT's ultimate skum bucket" skimmer collection cup
• MR-6 Skimmer plumbing
• Skimmer tuned for wet skimmate
• quieting a large beckett skimmer
• Another reason to use a muffler on a beckett skimmer
• Sump
• Sump design and construction
• Starboard
• What is starboard?
• Why the white plastic (starboard) on the bottom?
• Why no sand?
• Starboard corner lifting
• Coralline on starboard
• Where can I get starboard locally?
• Where can I get starboard mail order?
• Stocking Plan
• Stocking plan for fish
• It's an 8' tank. Are you going to put tangs in it?
• Stocking ehtics
• Web Cam
• Web cam
• Webcam shelf

[TheCoralReef731]

wow, 65 pages. Good job greg. Looks really cool, my tank is in my bedroom, so not many people see it, but yours is right near your front door??, cool.

[gregt]

Yeah, I wanted it to be the centerpiece of the living room. I think I succeeded.

[owskkibibles]

wow, that is a really cool tank, and you had a bunch of cool ideas for DIY stuff. Probably going to use some of those. thanks

[NewMariner]

Originally posted by gregt
I've finally been split. LOL

LOL What did you do split it yourself...must be nice to be a mod.

[Bomber]

Originally posted by gregt
I've finally been split. LOL

Around here the word is "fragged" mister!

[gregt]

Ok, I finally added another fish.

I've always wanted an angel, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to put one in a tank. After he followed me all around the reef, I just could not resist. He's the most beautiful french angel I ever saw.

He followed me around the reef and let me take dozens of pictures of him. So I decided to bring him home.

Here he is on the 16th on the reef:






And here he is the 17th in my reef tank:

[gregt]

He is now eating and is still in perfect condition. So now I have 6 fish in the tank. Getting crowded. LOL

[luminary]

Originally posted by gregt
He is now eating and is still in perfect condition. So now I have 6 fish in the tank. Getting crowded. LOL

That angel counts for about 4 fish though .

[gregt]

You're right about that. I think he's eating my trumpet coral too. Oh well, the sacrifices you make for a fish.

[gregt]

Actually it's a lot smaller than it looks in the photos. It's only about 6" long. Get's around 10" tall when it fully expands it's dorsal though. Very pretty fish.

[melev]

Wow, you brought home a wild-caught fish? Do you do that with all your livestock?

[gregt]

I've caught almost all the fish in that tank. 150 watt UV. Haven't lost one yet.

[melev]

No way! How did that fish fit through such a tiny UV? I'd figure you'd have to get the 1000w UV at least.

[gregt]

Har har. Actually, the UV has 2" unions so the fish propbably could fit if it really wanted too.

[luminary]

Originally posted by gregt
I've caught almost all the fish in that tank. 150 watt UV. Haven't lost one yet.

Doesn't the UV have to be plugged in to work? Or did you finally get it setup?

[gregt]

Originally posted by luminary
Doesn't the UV have to be plugged in to work? Or did you finally get it setup?

Oh you guys are so funny. Yes, it does have to be plugged in.

[jeffbrig]

Wow, beautiful angel greg, should be a nice addition to that giant tank of yours.

[Bomber]

Originally posted by luminary
Doesn't the UV have to be plugged in to work? Or did you finally get it setup?

That fish is beautiful!

[bheron]

Greg, great thread and great fish. Can you give us more on how youre able to catch a fish in the wild and bring it home to your reef? ie - are there laws that regulate that sort of thing?

either way it sounds like the perfect way to collect livestock if youre an expert.

[GregM779]

Gorgeous tank, I can't wait to see the inside finished. I'm not a big fan of french angels but I do like that one, probably the nicest one I've seen.

[gregt]

There are laws. For that particular fish in the area I caught it you need only a Florida state saltwater fishing license, which I have.

I don't recommend catching your own fish as a general rule. Especially if you have a long travel in front of you. I am lucky enough to be able to dive with professional collectors that have decades of experience and the right tools to catch the fish without damaging it. This fish was net caught with almost no difficulty at all. My swimming with it for so long before trying to catch it probably had something to do with that.

By the time you add up all the costs of the trip, boat, equipment, etc this fish probably cost me 10 times as much as a fish you'd buy in the LFS.

Luck has been a large part of the 0% mortality rate as well.

[gregt]

Originally posted by GregM779
Gorgeous tank, I can't wait to see the inside finished. I'm not a big fan of french angels but I do like that one, probably the nicest one I've seen.

I agree. That blue face and the streaming fins were just to much for me to resist.