one month after the upgrade to an 850gal reef

[Swedish viking]

How many synthetic corals have you in that tank??

[eric4usa]

It's a real shame that most of people that could spend an hour a day and show the same dedication to their tanks could never recreate this due to the sheer KASH required.

If I had the money, I'd build this same tank and the homebuilding company to support it. (Very jealous of your finances in case you couldn't tell)

Anyway, my question stems from:

Originally posted by steveweast
......I have these cages in the rear of the tank and completely hidden (but still accessible). I hate having the intakes so low (if there were a major plumbing failure, it could drain the tank); but, I hate seeing plumbing intakes even more.....so, I'm rolling the dice.

Hasn't your power ever gone off?
Do you have any 1 way/check valves on the system?

I have a hard time believing that the plumbing will allow most of the tank to drain all over your garage when the power goes out.
If so, you've really got to prevent that as it would be crazy to have all that work ruined even in a short power outage.

GREAT tank!

[crab0000]

I think these intakes are for the closed loop. So, I think he means that if he had a leak in any of these lines the tank would siphon down to these intakes. Of course I could be wrong as this is all from memory.
Steve

[steveweast]

Swedish Viking... there are no synthetic corals in my system ... it's all real.

Eric4usa... that quote that you stated was refering to my closed loop and not the return pumps. I have a maximum water line painted on my sump. As long as the operating water level isn't above this line, the sump can accomodate all the water in the event of a power failure. I also have an overflow connected to my sump that connects to my house's drain system in case the water level does get higher than that water level line on my sump... it's impossible for water to overflow my sump.... it will go down the drain first. What I was talking about in that quote was a complete plumbing failure on my closed loop... like a burst pipe or something... that is where I'm exposed.... but, that sceniaro is extremely remote.

[melev]

Steve, do you find that you have to heat and cool your garage to keep normal ambient temperatures for all your plumbing, etc?

[Acrylics]

Originally posted by steveweast
I perfer a black or a painted background that mimicks a sense of infinity... as if you were diving over a ledge. The black doesn't completely mimick the distant/infinity ocean water either...but, I might play with a multi-colored painted background (using dark blues and aqua colors) in the future to try to more accurately reflect a sense of ocean water infinity.

Steve,
You know, if you wanted to mimic the ocean more, we could have just gone with infinite blue rather than black
Just stumbled on this thread today, didn't know you were around here. Thanks for posting pics, I rarely get to see the tanks finished.

James

[steveweast]

Melev... I'm pretty much constantly exchanging the garage's air with outside air to exhaust the humidity. My garage fan completely exchanges the air every twenty minutes or so... a little less often at night. Therefore, my garage temp is usually just a little warmer than the outside air.....no matter what the temperature outside is. My heaters and chillers maintain the tank temp. Venting humidity is more important to me than garage temperature.

James... funny, I didn't know you were here either. I wouldn't have anything but a clear back because I keep my back glass as clean as the front and clear glass is easier to clean. I have a 1/4 black acylic panel that covers the back of the tank and can be easily removed when I need to clean the back. It's this back panel that I would have an interest in playing around with a layering effect of color to simulate open water color stratification.

[Acrylics]

Originally posted by steveweast
funny, I didn't know you were here either. I wouldn't have anything but a clear back because I keep my back glass as clean as the front and clear glass is easier to clean. I have a 1/4 black acylic panel that covers the back of the tank and can be easily removed when I need to clean the back. It's this back panel that I would have an interest in playing around with a layering effect of color to simulate open water color stratification.

If you are ever back in my neighborhood, stop by and I'll give ya some translucent blue acrylic panels to play with. They have to be back-lit but look real cool.

James

[steveweast]

Thanks... I'll try to stop by this week.

[melev]

What a small world! I had no idea you knew James, Steve.

Did James build your tank?

[73ChargerFan]

First off, AWESOME TANK!

What I was talking about in that quote was a complete plumbing failure on my closed loop... like a burst pipe or something... that is where I'm exposed.... but, that sceniaro is extremely remote.

It happened to someone I know, a sch40 pvc elbow developed a crack and exploded, and half his tank was drained onto the floor. He lost everything.

[steveweast]

Melev... yes, James built my tank.

73chargerfan.... that's my greatest fear. But, your story is the first I've heard of a burst pipe (especially on a glue fitting). I figure the possibility is remote, but definitely not impossible.

[steveweast]

double post

[Julio]

It was mostlikely craked before he put it on.

[invincible569]

steve,

how is your tank maintenance now? see a big difference vs your old 500? I wanted to a while to ask after you had your tank setup.

[steveweast]

My maintenance workload is about the same as it was with my 500. The one thing that is easier is the cleaning of both the back and front panels. With the nearest rock at least 10 inches away from either panel, it makes it quite a bit easier to clean the panels. The settings for the reactors are running about the same as was before too... but, that is to be expected since my bio-load is the same as before. Evaporation is a little more; but, not alot more... about 8 gals a day.

[nf4sevenw]

how many lbs of lr do you have? how big is your sump? did i see three skimmers? very nice tank by the way.

[Perez14]

just curious what you have backing it all up electric wise. over the summer a series of bad storms came through an dwipe dout power to most of the city and i had nothing to back up my tanks. the power was out at our house for 4 days and a little over 5 hours and i lost everything. the only good thing about that is i get to start over and do a better job on them this time.

[shellym]

All I have to say about your tank and pictures is..............Priceless!!!


Very nice work indeed!!

[ScavDog]

The New England Aq. reminds me that typically the reef displays at public aquariums are quite disappointing

Their displays have improved IMO. I will post pics later if possible.

-Steve, your tank is sick! The cost-effective electrical bill is key! If I'm ever in you neck of the woods, I am calling you up.

BTW, what is the dry weight of the tank?

[steveweast]

nf4sevenw... there about 1200 - 1400 lbs in the tank. The sump is 150gals. No, you did not see three skimmers...... there are four skimmers.

Perez14.... We don't have severe storms here in Portland...only an endless drizzle. I haven't lost power at my house in over three years... and that was for a rare ice storm and only for a few hours. I do, however, have several generators that I use for work ready to go at a moments notice.

Scavdog... the tank's dry weight is 1200lbs.

[nf4sevenw]

HA! 4 SKIMMERS THATS AWSOME! how many calcium reactors? kalkwasser reactor? can you explain this closed loop to me again? the pumps sit in the tank, in cages, then through holes go out up and down again? is that acurate? i always thought closed loops were from one hole to another. help me out here i am kinda confused. again 4 skimmers thats awsome. have a good day and thanks for taking your time to share your info

[steveweast]

nf4sevenw. ... The closed loop is no different than most closed loops. The water is circulated out of the tank and right back into the tank via a pump located outside of the tank ... in my case the pumps are located just under the tank. It is the intakes of these pumps that are in the cages.. not the pumps themselves. If you scroll back into this thread, there are photos of the two calcium reactors and one kalk reactor.

[JonF]

tank of the year (decade?)!!

[andrejka]

Originally posted by JonF
tank of the year (decade?)!!

The BEST pound per pound ever!