Chris' 180+ Reef tank

[chrisfraser05]

Right guys, as with the last time I started a new journal I'm going to start with the best of intentions to keep doing this.

I've confirmed I will be collecting my new tank on the 2nd of April when I get home from the training course I am on.

Here is the picture I currently have.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/tank.jpg

Basically it is a 6 and a bit by 2 by 2 foot Ehiem tank which has been used for fresh water tropical.

I will be selling the ehiem canisters, lights etc it comes with to recoup some of the cost and will be converting it for marine.

I will be drilling it, doing duel sumps and using my own current lighting setups.

More info to follow ;)

Thanks, chris

[MLBfan]

I don't know much about SW, but I love following journals, and 180 gallons is HUGE, this I'll be a fun journal to watch.

[chrisfraser05]

I'll be transferring everything over from my 90G reef, the journal for it is on here :)

I can't wait myself!!!!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

You're gonna love the extra room. Now that I have my 210, I wouldn't got back to a smaller footprint. The room for aquascaping is awesome.

[chrisfraser05]

thumbs2: thumbs2:

[ScottishFish]

That's a pretty goliath tank chris! Best of luck with it all

[Cliff]

I'm jealous

I would love a 6 foot tank like that

[HEADIN]

Will be looking forward to seeing all this come together Chris.

Seeing how all your previous tanks have all progressed i can imagine this will look superb when its all up and running

[hockeyhead019]

I don't need a bigger tank, I don't need a bigger tank, I don't need a bigger tank hahaha

That set up looks real clean man can't wait till you actually get your hands on it and get moving haha I can't imagine your excitement hahaha 180 is huge and I'm definitely thinking that you'll love the space, 2 feet wide is a ton of room to scape.... keep us posted with plans/news!!

[Crispy]

congrats on the new tank! thumbs2:

if you need any pointers drilling it, talk to Cliff. :hmm3grin2orange: that's one thing you don't want to mess up.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=76407

[chrisfraser05]

Thanks guys. I'm getting really excited now!

I spoke with the guy last night again and its even got lights with it, I'm going to be getting rid of them in favour of my own ones however thats another thing to recoup my costs with lol

I'm going to have a reallly good read and watch as many vids of drilling as I can, I've reduced it to 3 holes in the tank, inside the weir.
I'm going to run my return from through spray bars and try to create a lovely surface ripple over the whole tank with it!

Now... plans.


As you can see there are 2 cupboards, I'm going to make a sump in each one, they will be as big as I can reasonably fit and will link the final chamber of each one so they gravity balance.

The left hand one will be two chambers. One large section where my Algae scrubber will hang above and return all its water into. This will have a sand bed and some live rock in it. The return pump/heater chamber of this sump will be fairly small but will have a bulkhead in it with pipe going to the other sump routed behind the tank. This will be light 18 hours a day.

The right hand sump again will be as big as possible however I will be partitioning part of it off to use as an RO tank for my Auto topup.

The remaining part of the sump will house another heater, another return pump and a chamber where the inflow of water from the tank will pass through a filter sock and a large bag of carbon.

This will be designed to the be clean sump and will not be light (apart from a small 12v light for using when doing maint.

This can then be used (with the use of a pump guard) as a quiet zone for fish/inverts or even somewhere to put a skimmer if I ever decide to use one.


The tank itself will have a center weir built in it and I will be painting the back a light ocean blue like my existing tank.

The substrate will be a mix of grades of coral sand/coral gravel and I will only be using my existing live rock.

I will be using my 4 foot light unit on the left 2/3rds of the tank and prob running 3x54w T5HO bulbs.
I'll then use both my 2 foot light units (same type as the 4 foot one) and have the option of using up to 12x24w T5HO bulbs.
This right hand side is going to be built higher rock wise too so that I can grow my SPS here and use the rest of the tank for softies/LPS.

Flow wise I am going to start off with the existing pumps I have (a mix of koralias and cheap chinese) including the ones currently not in use in my cupboard.

Eventually these will be getting replaced with New wave pumps and a new wave controller.

The controller allows the 2 main pumps to be set on opposite cycles, adjustable between 0.3 and about 5 seconds. One on, one off at a time.

The Third pump on the controller is on/off on its own cycle. This can be set between 3 and 15 seconds (iirc). Combined with the main two (which can create a small wave if set right) this can create a pretty impressive random flow.

The fourth pump on the controller if permenantly on. This will be a pump to be directed behind the rockwork :)

Will start drawing plans once I collect the tank, this is going to be a while before its wet I'm afraid guys!

[hockeyhead019]

A while before it's wet!?!?!??!?!? WTF MAN!!! haha na just kidding definitely take your time and plan this one out since I think once it's up and running it'll be a lot harder to change than a smaller set up

Interesting with the two sumps, I'll be interested to watch that build for sure!! Pictures are your friend haha

[chrisfraser05]

Will be LOADS of pics with this one bud, promise!

[chrisfraser05]

having looked at the size of the tank again and worked out my capacities of my sumps I can now confirm the following....

The tank is actually a little bigger than 180G

It is 6ft 6 inches and and when the weir is setup the water level will be 26 inches high.

This is 800lt or 210G!!!!

Also each sump will hold in excess of 120 lt. This brings me to a figure of over 1000lt total. Taking into account the displacement of my rock I am confident there will be 1000lt of water in the system!!!

Thats 260 US Gallons total water volume after displacement!!

Eeekk lmao

[hockeyhead019]

Swwwweeeeeeettttttttt!! What a pleasant surprise haha

Wow 210 that's pretty big... you could put almost any kind of fish you wanted in there

[HEADIN]

what a centrepeice that would make in your house.

get rid of the furniture bar the chairs and tv and just get the tank into the living room.

magic.

*wishes for a bigger house with a lot of extra space*

[chrisfraser05]

its gonna be awesome!!!!

[chrisfraser05]

Collecting this tank next monday night :)

Can't wait now!!! its all paid up and everything!!!!

Just to top things off my company have decided to give me a raise in my base rate (as a surprise extra ontop of my expected raises etc) giving me enough money to get ALL the extras (sump glass, pumps, pipework etc) to set the tank up!!!!

The raise will then completely pay for a new car for the wife ha ha ha ha

Delighted!

[chrisfraser05]

What a week! Absolute chaos but I finally have the tank!

Looking at the silicone properly I have decided although it will almost certainly last I may aswell resilicone the whole tank for piece of mind.

I was looking at the stand aswell and although I could adapt it to take a 6 foot sump, or I could do 2 small ones, I really fancy building a new one!

So......

Heres the project list.....

The current stand is going to be turned into a 6 1/2 foot work bench in my garage. I will custom build a stand for the tank and TRY to make it as good looking as one of Cliffs ones (no promises though).
In doing this I will build a matching top unit to house my lights so will need to tank into account heat build up.

I need to build a custom 6' x 18" x 18" sump.

I will be making a fake rock column/tower with white portland cement for all my sps to live on.

I will be making a fake rock (expanding foam and alfagrog) background.

After much thought I am going to get myself a wave box to create a wave effect in the tank :)




So.... lots to be done. This will NOT be a quick project anymore however, I do intend on making it as good quality as physically possible so it will be worth the wait.


Chris

[HEADIN]

Chris you might be on too a very gd idea there with the expanding foam. never thought of that before for making your own diy.rock formatikns etc for a tank. very easy to cut and carve all sorts of holes n caves in it.

do you know what type/make yet is tank safe? definate possibilities on that 1.

[Ashurbarnipal]

Well, color me jealous.

[ScottishFish]

Sounds like you hava masterplan!! I wish you luck on it thumbs2:

[hockeyhead019]

Sounds good man glad to hear you got the tank without any big issues! The expanding foam idea is interesting I can't wait to see what you do with it scaping wise

[chrisfraser05]

Foam backgrounds can be seen here,

http://www.cichlidworld.eu/diy/pozadie/pozadie_pu_e.htm


As far as I can gather all builders expanding foams are inert so pretty much B&Q one will do the job!

I'm getting excited, was sat in a massively boring health and safety course today doodling my tank designs ;)

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

After much thought I am going to get myself a wave box to create a wave effect in the tank :)

Why not just get a pair of Vortech MP40 powerheads. They will do the wave action much better, and much more efficiently. If I had the money, that's exactly what I'd be getting for mine.

[chrisfraser05]

You hit the nail on the head.... if you had the money!

I cannot justify spending that sort of money. They are over £300 each in the Uk, thats about $900+ for the pair!

A wave box will cost me less than 1/6th of the price.


Plus..........

We collected this tonight;

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Bus.jpg

Yea baby..... Rapid Family bus!!

[HEADIN]

Nice car Chris and you got me Tobin now about trying to create some new rock type formations using that expanding foam.can pretty much cut and sculpt it anyway you want once hardened and paint it etc.could be really neat for creating tunnels, caves and plenty books and crannies for fish to explore and hide in

[chrisfraser05]

defo mate!

[ScottishFish]

Do you think the foam would be ok for FW too? Or would plecos chewing on it be a bad idea?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Do you think the foam would be ok for FW too? Or would plecos chewing on it be a bad idea?

You have to cover it with an epoxy to make it safe for the water. Most SW people actually put the epoxy on it and then while the epoxy is still wet they put sand on it to give it the look of rock.

[hockeyhead019]

I was gonna ask what kind of covering substance you needed to put on there for the foam to be safe for use in the tank

Chris that's a habit of mine as well haha the doodling on the notebook during boring meetings haha

[chrisfraser05]

Chris that's a habit of mine as well haha the doodling on the notebook during boring meetings haha

I'm really bad for doing it lol


The foam itself is actually safe for the water. the reason people seal it with the epoxy is that an excitable grazing fish, such as a tang, will pull the foam off bit by bit when grazing for algae and the bits will end up floating in the tank.

Once you seal it with the epoxy it hardens solid avoiding it breaking up.

Doesn't need to be 100% covered, just where fish will pick at. No worries if you can't reach all areas of the foam in other words.

[ScottishFish]

I really fancy giving the foam thing a go, since you are one of few scots users what foam and epoxy would you recommend?

Also does the foam not tend to float? Would you need to anchor it?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

The foam does float. You have to use the spray foam and put it on the "egg crate" light covers. Typically it requires the use of silicone to fit it, however I do know of people who fit it very close to the height of the back of the tank, and then use braces under the substrate to hold it against the back.

[hockeyhead019]

I've seen people use eggcrate as the skeleton and then base that to a pvc structure which they put some LR on and bury into the sand bed... I think that's the best design I've seen so far

[chrisfraser05]

Right.... At long last here is an update!

So I collected the tank and got it home. The more I looked at it the more I decided the stand is no use to me and that the tank needs a reseal, if only for piece of mind.
So, to the drawing board!

I am planning making the stand myself, I am not experianced at wood work so it should be fun lol

So I've got a rough design in my head about the stand but will keep it close to my chest while I work through it, I am however going to make sure it is done to the highest standard with a few special touches!

Next I was thinking about how I will maintain the tank long term. I get really annoyed moving the lights about and lifting perspex panels to do main inside the tank.
I've decided to build an enclosed top and mount the lights in it then go braceless so I can get in easy!

To go braceless I've spoken to a local steel fabricators and I'm getting a frame made for round the top out of angled steel welded at the corners.
Once the tank is resealed this should simply slip ontop and mean I can get access along the full 6 1/2 foot with no obstructions.

Aquascape wise I am going to do the foam background and also making artificial rock structure to put my sps on at the right hand edge of the tank.
I've got portland cement to collect tomorrow and oyster shells and coral sand set asside for it.
I've made a chickenwire and plastic structure that I will clad in fake rock cement as the base (removing it when set) and will make a few branching pieces to press into the foam to hold corals.

I plan to incorporate a wave box into the background hidden in the foam but removable for maint.

The lighting will be 2 6 bulb 24w T5ho units on the right above the SPS and a 6 bulb 54w T5ho unit over the rest of the tank where my softies/lps will be.

This however will get superceded later with a DIY LED unit.

Pumps wise I will be looking at using New wave power heads, probibally only 2 or maybe 3 if I have to. These are designed to work in conjunction with a new wave module which pulses the pumps for random flow... However they will be controlled by............

My last little trick with this project is going to be an industrial PLC setup which will control everything from the lights, heating, pumps, auto topup, wave box, fans etc etc etc.

This should take me a little while and cost a pretty little penny to do however I think the end result is going to be amazing and well worth the wait!

Here are a few pics anyway.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-10190048.jpg
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-10190056.jpg

This is my old 4 foot tank sitting next to it lol
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-10190139.jpg

The stand, now a workbench!
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-10190129.jpg

[chrisfraser05]

Heres my current 3 footer looking a little unkempt at the moment,

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214027.jpg

I've removed some of my aiptasia infested rock into another tank where I am farming them lol

I removed some of my corals onto a frag rack to try and culture them ready for the new tank and save them from the aips

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214111.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214124.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214144.jpg

[chrisfraser05]

last but not least, here is where the rock has gone...

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214253.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Assembly%20of%20parts/2012-04-12214305.jpg


The reason I am encouraging aiptasia (feels so wrong) in this tank is that I will be receiving 6 bergia nudibranches next week or the week after and plan on breeding them to help other reefers out.

I had some before, I only got 2. I added them straight into the reef tank and never saw them again.

I believe they were eaten by my fish. This time I will make sure I have enough incase I loose some to fish in the main tank, I could even rotate my rock through a third small tank with bergias in it if need be.

Should be interesting to see if I can get them up to a good amount of numbers. May also pay for some of the stuff on the new tank long term lol

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

This however will get superceded later with a DIY LED unit.
Why not just save the money and go straight to the LED setup? Unless you already have the fixtures you need. lol


However they will be controlled by............

My last little trick with this project is going to be an industrial PLC setup which will control everything from the lights, heating, pumps, auto topup, wave box, fans etc etc etc.

Not sure I understand this either. An Apex will do this quite well and is designed to be used with LEDs and all the other mentioned aquarium equipment. Why not go with an Apex?

[chrisfraser05]

Why not just save the money and go straight to the LED setup? Unless you already have the fixtures you need. lol


yea I already have them, the 2x 2 foot ones on my current reef and the 4foot over the aiptasia breeding tank.



Not sure I understand this either. An Apex will do this quite well and is designed to be used with LEDs and all the other mentioned aquarium equipment. Why not go with an Apex?

All the tank controllers I've looked at so far have either not had the full functionality I've been looking for, not had enough flexibillity or have been massively expensive.
I'm looking at a compact PLC system which has 32 digital in and outputs plus 8 analogue in/outs. I will write the software myself to run the tank in modes of my choosing and have plenty future upgradabillity.
Should be able to get the whole automation done for less than $200us.
Just checked and to do the same with Apex is about $1000!!!! Nice to be able to connect to it wirelessly but wholely not worth the extra $800 imo lol

[ScottishFish]

Sounds to me like you have a very good idea of how your gona assemble this monster chris thumbs2: I know Scottish Football Association about saltwater set ups so I can't even lend opinions, o well, I will just cheer you on from the side lines :hmm3grin2orange:

[chrisfraser05]

cheers mate. The more I look at it the more I think why rush?

I'm happy with my current 3x2x2 but want to take everything I've learned and make the changes to build the system I really want.

If we owned our own house already I'd be doing a through the wall one with its own tank room but because we don't I'm doing something that can be moved.

I've learned I don't like braces on a tank, they get in the way.

Since doing a Mitsubishi PLC's course last October and a Siemens one last week I know enough about PLC systems to know what they can do and how to program them. I want to basically make it so there is a little bank of switches that can put the tank into different modes.

Say switch 1 is normal mode. Both sump pumps on, wave box on and all powerheads cycling pulses of 1 second on, 2 seconds off.

Switch 2 could be feeding mode. One sump pump on, wave box on and no powerheads. Maybe make it a spring return switch and timed as a 15 min feed mode.

Switch 3 would be storm mode. All pumps on full, main lights dim then some extra white LED's flash like lightening. Storm could last say 4 mins. Also Storm mode could be made to happen at a set interval once a day, week or even randomly.

Switch 4 could be water change mode. Basically I have an extra caravan pump attached to the system and a hose that comes from the drain return that I can divert with a ball valve.
you take a drum of new salt water, put the pump in it and flip switch 4.
Take an empty drum and put the hose from drain in it and turn the ball valve.
As water drains from system the sump float switch activates the water change pump instead of the ATO pump and replaces the lost water with new water.
Finished the change, switch back over.

With this system I can also do all sorts like lock out the ATO pump for say 5 mins after sump pumps are back on to allow it to balance.

Also this allows me to build a system for power loss.

you can buy UPS systems (uninterupted power supply) for computers but they would not be big enough to power everything, what I can do is put a relay which monitors the input and if mains is removed then the PLC program turns off the lights, wave box, powerheads etc.
It would only leave one heater and the sump pumps in circuit meaning the total power consumption would be under 300w at most and the tank would stay warm and circulated as long as possible until mains power returns.

Tell me it doesn't sound awesome lol

[HEADIN]

sounds like the perfect system goin on there mate. You are in the wrong line of work. You should be puttin a patent onto this and selling your idea to a company for an all in 1 system type build if you get what the hell im wafflin about lol

sounds a good idea anyway.

[chrisfraser05]

sounds like the perfect system goin on there mate. You are in the wrong line of work. You should be puttin a patent onto this and selling your idea to a company for an all in 1 system type build if you get what the hell im wafflin about lol

sounds a good idea anyway.

Doubt I could patent the use of industrial PLC's lol

I'm defo in the right line of work with my new job though, doing exactly this and more on Oil rigs.

[chrisfraser05]

I've identified this board as there are extra inputs and outputs making it nearly future proof to me.... nearly lol

http://www.audon.co.uk/cubloc_plc/cusb36r.html

I can get this cheaper than the advertised price too ;)

[Cermet]

A big warning - saltwater is hyper corrosive. All electrical parts (esp. relays/switches) must be sealed against possible water vapor entry. Don't overlook any possible route of entry or the electronics will fail. Also, always design for a failure (that is a failure does not cause a runaway heater or water drain/entry or similar issue.)

[chrisfraser05]

I'm all over it mate. Making a sealed box fed and extracted with air from outside the cabinet by PC fans.

Working in the offshore oil industry and on airfields for years I've seen the damage water can do!


I really appreciate all the advice on here though, I'm glad people are trying to find possible issues and help me :) :) :)

[Cliff]

Your knowledge of electronics is way over my head (I still own a working 8-track player), but this is a very interesting read.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together

[Rue]

You still have an 8-track player? We still have a box of 8-tracks!!! :hmm3grin2orange:

[chrisfraser05]

Thanks cliff, really appreciate the interest I get of the guys on this site.

You lot have taught me loads!

[hockeyhead019]

Chris sounds like a kick-a$$ project, have you thought about power surge protection? Wouldn't want a surge to cook anything especially with something so integrated it could lead to a nasty situation (I'm sure you've thought of this already lol)

Also what's the power consumption of the system going to be like you think? I assume your PLC is going to operate a bunch of relays which will allow pumps to turn on etc?

Another thing I was thinking about is failures, say you burn up a sump pump, I would build in a contingency in the code for a failure of that sort (not saying it's common but definitely something you would want to think about just in case)

I'm extremely jealous of this project and love the your idea of concocting your own controlling system, much more interesting than the out of the box controllers that either aren't flexible enough or cost too much $$$ lol plus it'll be a real fun project!!!

[chrisfraser05]

I'll be surge protecting the PLC bud.

The digital outputs are relay outputs with a 250v 5a max so thats what I'll be using. saves the cost of extra relays.

The power consumption will be just a little more than the current system,

all the pumps are about 100w total, plc and ATO use about 5w, scrubber lights 120w, T5s will be aprox 400w but this will reduce with the LEDs, and the heaters, when is full swing 500w however they would rarely be on.

MAX total with everything on 1200w or 5A AC.

General daytime running 550w ish and night time sub 300w.


There would be no need for code for a burn out pump etc.

Each line will have its own micro CB so if one of the 2 sump pumps trips the other is still running. No actions need to be done on the loss of any single piece of equipment.

I will have 6 analogue outputs, I was planning using 3 of the outputs to drive Triacs to vary the output of 3 AC powerheads, I'll look at ramping them up and down on a cycle. I might just so this instead of getting a wave box.

Heres the PLC unit.

http://www.audon.co.uk/cubloc_plc/cusb36r.html

Lastly I have planned to have the outputs from the sealed box with water proof plugs and sockets but also have leads with matching sockets that can plug into standard power outlets so that my wife can simply plug all the heaters and pumps into the wall should there be a complete system failure if I was not there.

[ScottishFish]

Well chris I am totally lost in your SW and electrical lingo but I still love reading it thumbs2: it really shines through how much thought you have put into this. Better to do the job right the first time than have to fix your problems multiple times.

[chrisfraser05]

you say that but something occured to me today... the chip set I was looking at has no real time clock....

thankfully there is another one, only a few quid more that does have one!


phew!

oh hold on..... for only a few quid more again there is one that is the chip, board, more in/outputs but its all incorporated into the back of a touchscreen LCD which I could mount on the tank stand.....

Hmmmmmm lol

[hockeyhead019]

haha and such is the problem with DIY electronics, so much you can add always! hahaha

*cough cough* get the touchscreen!!!! *cough cough*

Looks like you have this really well though out Chris, and that's a great idea to have things accessible to plug in to standard wall sockets if there is a snafu and you aren't home haha

So a question on how you plan to structure your coding... (to everybody else please excuse the engineering nerdiness hahaha)

Are you planning on having different overall configurations IE

Storm Mode:

Heaters: ON
Wave Maker: Full blast
Pumps: ON
Lighting: Dimmed with bursts

Regular Mode:
....

VS.

Heater: Always on
Powerheads (multiple modes) ie storm, regular, feeding, waterchange
Lighting (again multiple modes) ie storm, and then regular day light cycle

You get the idea or were you planning on having different configs for each piece of equipment and then just being able to call each mode with a bigger mode. But the second one would allow more mixing and matching, seems like it'd be bulkier since you'd have to redefine each mode for every part of equipment you wanted... idk if this even makes sense to you.. if it does cool if not can you lay out your programming scheme?

I'm really excited to see this one come together (it doesn't show much though does it haha)

[chrisfraser05]

I'm leaning towards doing it in Ladder as its prob the easiest code to write imo however hadn't though of how to structure it so far.

http://cubloc.com/product/01_07ct1721cw.php

wonder if I can set ramps for the lights easy enough or if its going to have to be a diy coing job lmao.

the 6 analogue outputs will be 3 driving pumps through fets and 3 for LEDs.
Will have to be 1 for the blues and 2 for whites.

[chrisfraser05]

I didn't fully read your post mate, did you edit it???


Structure wise I think it will prob be modular with lighting/pumps being a function block and calling them with different variables depending on current mode...

ie pumps called on cycle out of phase with each other with X variable.

When called in Normal mode X would be 60% but in Storm mode X would be 100% and in night mode X would be 40%.

Lighting would be slightly more difficult because although I would be able to run them at different percentages etc I would need to over ride it slightly to make the lightening flashes.

Its just going to be a case of suck it and see I think.... Either that or add a string of LED's on a digi output purely as lightening..... or 3-4 strings each on a seperate output to make the lightening do different stuff :)

its exciting :) :) :)

[hockeyhead019]

gotcha, ok that makes a lot of sense to do it that way and yea it'll be cool to see how you actually do the lightning

Cool touch screen also, I vote yes to that hahaha

[chrisfraser05]

had another thought too mate......

To utilise some of the MANY spare digital outputs I'm going to buy 3 peri pumps and write a couple of extra lines to use it as a dosing pump for Alk, Calc and mag!

You could pay $500 for a 3 channel dosing unit alone whereas I'll be using about $50 of pumps ;)


Kerching!!!!

[chrisfraser05]

May be a slight delay on this one, and by slight I mean a few weeks after my projected Aug/september date for completion......

The reasons???

Well, 3 fold reasons really.

Reason 1.....

We can't decide on a finish for the cabinet!

No point racing ahead only to stall while waiting to decide.

Choices at this point are Zebrano wood or Oak veneer finish, solid oak paneling or high gloss white (car paint) all over.


Reason 2....

I'm consistantly adding more and more to the build, so far this is what needs done;

Build cabinet
Build hood
reseal tank
make sump
make fake rock
fake background
paint back of tank
make DIY LED's
Make Touch screen PLC automation system


Reason 3....

I'm going abroad/offshore earlier than I thought so could be going away as soon as a fortnights time for my first trip.
Basically I'm going to sit back now to plan each and every part and make a shopping list.
Work will begin as soon as my first trip is done.

Thats with the exception of the fake rock which I have started making slowly.


I would like to imagine this project will be completed before christmas, september/october even, however if it takes longer, so be it!

[ScottishFish]

Sometimes that just happens Chris, least you will have extra time to decide on every aspect of it.

[HEADIN]

Chris are you making the fake rock from the expanding foam that you mentioned?

If so how's it coming along? Been running this through my head and thinkin of how best to shape mold it etc. into something that resembles a rock or little cave structure of sorts.

Suppose could just make a big large clump, let it harden and then cut it up and carve it out into something..

Could also be a good way to make a type of tree/root decor if there was a way to shape it..?

[chrisfraser05]

Sometimes that just happens Chris, least you will have extra time to decide on every aspect of it.


It just means my wages will rise sooner so no great shakes :)



Chris are you making the fake rock from the expanding foam that you mentioned?

If so how's it coming along? Been running this through my head and thinkin of how best to shape mold it etc. into something that resembles a rock or little cave structure of sorts.

Suppose could just make a big large clump, let it harden and then cut it up and carve it out into something..

Could also be a good way to make a type of tree/root decor if there was a way to shape it..?


The rock I've been making so far is Portland Cement, Oyster shells, coral sand and rock salt.

I've made a small branching piece and have half done a hollow tower which will will have small shelves for SPS corals (prob plating montis) to it on and I'm going to make a small table for the top of it for some branching stuff.

The foam will be the background of the tank so once its all resealed and the wier is in I will be getting that done.



I had a plan for a branching formation of rock almost like the skeleton of an umbrella coming up from the bottom of the tank and sitting about 10inches from the surface but. I was planning putting my torch coral in the center of this ontop and putting coloured ZOA's on the branches themselves.


Not that I've been thinking alot about it lol

[ScottishFish]

Not that I've been thinking alot about it lol

Nah, seems like a passing thought more than a precise millitary operation . . . .:hmm3grin2orange:

[hockeyhead019]

Great idea with the dosing pumps Chris, just gotta be careful with the mix but that's its own fun side experiment haha

I'd honestly like to see you put a little more thought into it, I mean it's a huge project and you don't seem to have a direction or really a plan at all... ;)

[chrisfraser05]

rofl

Cheers bud!


I will play with the mix until I get it reliable at a few ml of mix every few hours then will have a page on the touch screen where you can increase dosing percentage wise. Say standard dosing would be 50% (5 ml per 3 hours for example) then putting the setting to 60% adds a ml per hour.

Simply test twice a week to begin with and adjust as nesscicary then move to once a week/fortnight once it stablises.

If I hit 100% dosing simply double the strength of the mix then turn it back to 50%.

[hockeyhead019]

gotcha yea that makes sense and yea I mean Cliff knows a lot more about the mixing than I do, they all effect eachother so definitely only change one at a time haha but that sounds like a solid approach to it

[Mitch p]

Quick question for you. I see you will be using a PLC as a medium for the actual timer/wave maker etc. I know you said you took a SIEMENS class and I am assuming you will be using their logic programming IDE ( Step 7 ). But have you thought about perhaps writing into straight C or Java? You could pick up a board with perhaps an embedded logic system ( perhaps one from Arduino or another USB based controller, that is if you know Googles Arduino based code )for around $25-50 US. Just a suggestion tho. I know a lot of people are set in S7 PLC work but it could be a cheaper alternative and could be cheaper to replace in the long run of things. But thats only if you are into that kinda thing :18:


Also all the ideas sound great! I will be following this journal for certain.

[chrisfraser05]

Quick question for you. I see you will be using a PLC as a medium for the actual timer/wave maker etc. I know you said you took a SIEMENS class and I am assuming you will be using their logic programming IDE ( Step 7 ). But have you thought about perhaps writing into straight C or Java? You could pick up a board with perhaps an embedded logic system ( perhaps one from Arduino or another USB based controller, that is if you know Googles Arduino based code )for around $25-50 US. Just a suggestion tho. I know a lot of people are set in S7 PLC work but it could be a cheaper alternative and could be cheaper to replace in the long run of things. But thats only if you are into that kinda thing :18:


Also all the ideas sound great! I will be following this journal for certain.

Thanks for that Mitch. I've had a look at the Ardunio boards and it works out very similar in price for the similar spec Cubloc ones.
If I could find an intergrated touch screen Ardunio with all the same outputs/inputs I'd certainly not rule it out.

Coding wise I could do it alot easier with Cubloc just because it uses familiar codes (at the moment easier, I would learn I suppose) but I do like the extra options that you can have with the Arduino. Bluetooth, USB and ethernet cards being just a few.

Will keep my options open and keep searching. Thanks buddy :)

[Mitch p]

Thanks for that Mitch. I've had a look at the Ardunio boards and it works out very similar in price for the similar spec Cubloc ones.
If I could find an intergrated touch screen Ardunio with all the same outputs/inputs I'd certainly not rule it out.

Coding wise I could do it alot easier with Cubloc just because it uses familiar codes (at the moment easier, I would learn I suppose) but I do like the extra options that you can have with the Arduino. Bluetooth, USB and ethernet cards being just a few.

Will keep my options open and keep searching. Thanks buddy :)


Absolutely! Just wanted to give you some more ideas! So....I hate to ask this so early, but what are ya planning for the behemoth of a tank ya got there stocking wise, any neato updates or decision changes?

[chrisfraser05]

Stocking wise will be starting off with what I've already got,

Scopas tang, Sargassum Trigger, Royal Gramma, Pair of Clowns, Yellow tail damsel, Bi colour blenny, file fish, gobies, jawfish, various shrimp, starfish hermits and snails.

Corals wise I've got some bits of branching SPS, plating SPS, Torch corals, a 14" leather coral, some zoas and some mushrooms.


I'd like to get a Tri Colour tang and a shoal of Lyratail Anthias but not sure what else.





Chris

[hockeyhead019]

Another thing you might want to think of is on-board memory so that you can track the data. By this I mean recording whatever you can to look for any trends so you can see if you wanna make any changes. I know I'd kill to be able to watch my temp and pH graphs over the course of the day but my reefKeeper doesn't have any on-board memory to track that

Just another thing to think about

And in terms of what board to go with I'd stay away from the ardunio one, it lack processing power from what I understand and I'd just stick with the PLC but it's definitely something to think about since you won't be using a lot of logic, more just a timer on steroids with some different modes from what I understand

[ScottishFish]

I have no real idea of what can live with what in SW, just wanted to chip this in though, I saw for the first time a bird wrasse, quirky as anything, and I read they can be housed in a 180 no probs, ever seen them before chris?

[chrisfraser05]

I have no real idea of what can live with what in SW, just wanted to chip this in though, I saw for the first time a bird wrasse, quirky as anything, and I read they can be housed in a 180 no probs, ever seen them before chris?

Oh yea, I've got a banana wrasse too lol

Wrasses are stunning fish. One of the smaller wrasses would be fine in a 180 mate. I've going to get another couple of wrasses as some point too.



Another thing you might want to think of is on-board memory so that you can track the data. By this I mean recording whatever you can to look for any trends so you can see if you wanna make any changes. I know I'd kill to be able to watch my temp and pH graphs over the course of the day but my reefKeeper doesn't have any on-board memory to track that

Just another thing to think about

And in terms of what board to go with I'd stay away from the ardunio one, it lack processing power from what I understand and I'd just stick with the PLC but it's definitely something to think about since you won't be using a lot of logic, more just a timer on steroids with some different modes from what I understand

I'll defo write the data into a datablock and track the ph and temp, will be handy to see what the tank does through the middle of a summers day etc.

All any PLC really does is the job of a few timers on steroids if you think about it.
The stuff I've been training on the last few weeks (Top drive drills for Oil rigs and automated pipe handlers) are actually simpler in function and code than what this tank system will be lol

The only complexed bit on those is the VSD (variable speed drive), basically a massive inverter and frequency converter than can put out over 1500A at 750V AC!!!!!

[hockeyhead019]

1500A at 750V AC!!!!!

Wow... I need one of those haha

Yea I imagine it won't be overly complex since it'll just be an on off cycle for a set amount of time depending on what "mode" your in but still cool as heck haha

[chrisfraser05]

check this out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ_AwFSWIPU

I'm going to Automate most of my house when we buy :)

[Cliff]

Cool table.

[chrisfraser05]

Right, decision has been made as to how the stand and hood will look.

Going for something a little different to the norm.

I will build the frame solid out of construction timber (2x4) and get it solid.

I then will be cladding the outside in MDF but will be painting the entire thing in epoxy with a dark admiralty grey pigment.

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/p-1801-dark-admiralty-grey-epoxy-pigment.aspx

Should look pretty modern in style. Very high gloss finish and easy to wipe down.

I will make 100% sure every single part is sealed in the epoxy and the cabinet doors will be handle less using magnetic fasteners (save little hands getting into the sump).

Can't wait now. Work starts in aprox 1 month!

[Rue]

That table reminds me of Catherine the Great...she had a table that rose up from the floor (for dining) with place-set tubes that took down the order, and then returned the food to the guest...and the entire table would then retract again afterwards for dancing...

This was done in order to ensure privacy for the guests (no one would see them). Apparently servants are very gossipy...

...not that I'd know...:hmm3grin2orange:

[chrisfraser05]

cool thumbs2:

[hockeyhead019]

Chris, I might have missed it somewhere in the thread but have you given any thought to using LED lighting instead of T5? If you're planning on using the T5's because you already have them that's completely understandable but I was just curious if you gave DIY LED's a thought.

I ask because they'd be dimmable via your master control system which would be pretty cool since they're what's popular at the moment, idk just figured I'd ask and see if you'd given it any thought

[chrisfraser05]

its funny you should say that..... I thought I'd mentioned it already but might have forgotten.

I will INITIALLY be running with the T5 units however will be building a custom LED system.

I've been planning this aswell and will be using Cree XM-L 10W cool white LED's, CREE XP-G R5 Cool White LED's and Cree Royal Blue 3w's.

These will be driven by Mean Well drivers, the ELN-60-27D dimmable driver for the 10w's. The mean wells for the others will be identified closer to the time.

I'm thinking of doing lighting zones.

My SPS area on the right will be zone 1 with the majority of the lighting, say 8 XM-L's and a mix of royal blues.

Zone 2 will be along the the back half of the center and left of the tank.
This will consist of the 3W whites and again some royal blues in the mix.

Zone 3 will be the forward half of the center and left.
This will also be 3w whites and blues however this will mainly be free swimming area and also a couple of softies and my leather coral.
Lighting demand in this area will be much lower so I will keep it loose.


Lastly I am going to be looking into some cheap as chips LED's to act as Lightening. Prob have them in 2 locations over the tank and just have them on/off with a digital supply. Just switch their drivers on and off with the PLC to flash them.

Doubt these will be cree, prob just 20w multi chip generic ones with non dimmable drivers.

[hockeyhead019]

Ahh very cool and yea good idea with the cheapos for the lightening, the different zones is an interesting idea makes sense though if that's how you have your tank arranged.

[chrisfraser05]

Theres no point in wasting money and power over lighting areas of the tank.

If the time came that I wanted to add say SPS to the back or something I would just remove 3w whites and their driver from zone 2 and replace them with 10w's.

Would be a small amount of work and cost. DIY builds always leave room for scope where off the shelf doesn't imo.

[hockeyhead019]

I absolutely agree... something else I saw was a completely modular build down to the level of being able to move each individual light around with quick disconnect... I thought that was a little too messy but strands of maybe 5 lights or so together is what I'd shoot for in terms of modules and being able to shift pieces around. It could get a little hairy with the extra wires for the dimmable function but still would be worth it if you make changes to the tank or want to swap in some different colors or something to that effect

[chrisfraser05]

I've been chatting with the wife today and we've decided on 2 major changes to the tank plan.......


We're not drilling the bottom and having a weir!

What we are doing is having 2 Xaqua in outs each supplied by an Ehiem compact 5000+

This will give me not only a lovely surface ripple to compliment the pinpoint light effect of the LED lights but also will avoid having a deep weir to clean, ball valves and overflows to balance, covering the weir to stop fish getting in and many other benifits.

The only negatives I've heard of so far are cost but research continues.



Next change is that I was really wanting to do the foam background to hide the weir and wave box etc.

Because this plan is now weirless and I am replacing the wave box with alternating flow pumps controlled by the PLC there is nothing to hide!

The back wall will now be completely clear and will just be blue painted.

The rockwork will just be my existing rock built up away from the back glass leaving at least a 4" gap.




I've finished my fake rock tower that has been designed for my SPS to go on.

I took a quick shot of it in the tank they put it in to soak along with another couple of bits.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/rock1.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/rock2.jpg

Thanks

chris

[chrisfraser05]

One minor update to the plan.

I've been looking at temp probes and interfaces for the PLC and tbh its going to work out more difficult and expensive than just adding an stc-1000 to the system.

What I will do though is mount the STC 1000 above the touch screen and have relays on the heating/cooling outputs of the STC.

The PLC will then know and be able to know if the STC is in heat or cool mode.
If its in neither heat or cool the PLC will know its between say 25 and 26 deg.

Also I could have the PLC turn the STC off completely if required to isolate the fans and heater.

although this does slightly move away from my idea of everything being incorporated into the single controller, I like the idea of having a seperate display for temp. Also the PLC will still have some feedback of the temp state and overall control of the system.

[hockeyhead019]

Well you really don't move away that much, if the PLC knows a ballpark temp for the tank and the status of the STC-1000 it might as well me controlling the tank lol are you going to make it two seperate controls, one for the fans and one for the heaters? Or will it be more of just a seperation of the units from the STC-1000 controller?

[chrisfraser05]

the STC 1000 will control both the heating circuit and the fans in the sump/hood.

As it has a 10a 230v channel for heating and another for cooling there's little point in not using them. I'll just use a 230v relay conneted to each (in parallel with fans/heater) that control a signal circuit for the PLC feedback.


Basically there will be one relay output - Digital - STC on/off

and 2 inputs - digital- Heating on/off and Cooling on/off

I think that answers your question.


Here's the controller

http://www.simplyaquaria.co.uk/STC_1000_Mini_Digital_Temperature_Controller/p1097265_5033661.aspx

[chrisfraser05]

just thought I'd put up a tiny update.

I'm currently over 5000 miles away from the tank so progress is slow lol

Basically I have had the angle steel brace for round the top of the tank made up so it can be free of cross braces.

I cut the old silicone up and the tank is currently sitting in 5 pieces stacked up in my garage.

I have reviewed plans for the tank and have settled on a plan.

I am simply using this design for the stand;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN4Y9AYuwcQ&feature=related

once the stand has been built (not painted) I will rebuild the tank ontop of it then fill it. This will give the stand an opertunity to settle before its painted.

I will then remove the tank so the glass can be drilled.

The stand will be fully painted with epoxy with a pigment through it and an enclosed hood with plenty room for lighting will be built to match.

I will be using silent PC fans to provide circulation for both the hood and stand.
I thought of having a more open setup but running lighting for SPS and an algae scrubber means there is always light spill unless its completely closed.

I should be starting to build the stand when I get home in about 2 weeks time :)

[hockeyhead019]

Nice can't wait to see the build start! And yea leaking light can be pretty unattractive IMO with the exception of hanging LED's which I think look pretty slick over a tank... but I digress... you need to get back to the tank! Get your priorities straight, new SW tank >>> work

[chrisfraser05]

Even when I build the LED's I want it all hidden ;)

Digress as much as you want mate, I like digress lol


I may have a little tweek to the automation plan.

I have been offered a deal I kind of cannot refuse. A friend bought Sicce voyager 8 power heads (x2) and the wave master controller for them.

Cost him £280 but if you buy them individually you are looking at nearly £360.

He used them for about 3 weeks but his tank cracked (unrelated issue to the pumps). He thankfully didn't have fish in it yet. He has decided to give up the hobby which is a shame.

He has offered them to me for £150 though which is a mega saving and because he has the receipt and stuff the warranty is still valid.

I will be buying these so will see how I get on just using the controller for them.

I might eventually incorporate the wave control into the automation system however if I am happy with the controller with these I may just leave it.

Will have to trial them in the 90G, althought 3000G an hour flow rate might be a little strong in there lol

[chrisfraser05]

Tiny planning update.

Have been looking into the finish and design of the stand and hood.

Have made a decision of the design, as in the picture below;

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Tankmodel.jpg

The panels will be fully removable all round.

On cabinet 3 font and 2 side panels, held by magnets.

Again on the hood, 3 front and 2 side held the same way.

I want them fully removable for access.


The center and left hand panels will remove to expose the sump. The right hand pannels will hide all the electrics for the tank. This will include a dosing system however but my RO topup will be housed in the sump side.


The sump will be 4 chambers.

Chambers going from right to left will be;

The first chamber will simply be a catch chamber for all the water returning from the tank. This will have the Algae Scrubber directly above it and ALL the return water will go through it.

The scrubber will be light by RED LED's. This will be running from the rear to front of the tank so as you look at the sump you will be looking at the mesh in the middle and the LED's each side. This way you will remove the mesh directly towards you for easy cleaning.

The second chamber will be a sand bed with mangroves growing in it.

This will be light, again with custom made LED's. A mix of Warm white and reds. This could be replaced with macro algae's.
The main reason for this chamber is to culture micro life or be a chill out zone for new fish etc.

I plan to have my RO topup sprinkle the water like rain over this section as mangroves require fresh water over their leaves regularly to remove salt deposits.

Chamber 3 will be my ATO sensors, bag of carbon and return pump.

Chamber 4 will be purely for RO water for the ATO.

This chamber is located at this end for easy refill.

The pump for this will have enough hose and cable length that I can move it into my 25lt water change containers to use it the ATO as a semi auto water changer like I currently do. Simply move the pump into new SW container and syphon water out of the tank. The ATO sensors detect low water level and replace the water I am taking out with nice fresh SW.



I've been looked further into the main tank light setup.

I've decided on using a combination of 3w LED's.

They will be Royal Blue, Blue, Violet/UV, Natural white, cool white and a couple of deep red.

These will be using 80degree optics except the reds and V/UV's.

Having done calculations (the angled lines on the above design) I have worked out rough placements.

So, I've decided to make my lights a ONE piece unit.
The unit will be a 1500mm by 400mm by 2mm sheet of Aluminium with the LED's attached.
My father inlaw works at a recycling center so he is collecting old PC's at the moment for me so I will be using the heatsinks from them on the top side of the unit. The more heatsinks I can get my hands on the better.

The Drivers for the lights will be located down in my electrical area.

As it stands this is the design..... hope you guys like it so far!!



Oh, the painting.... It's a little bit of a secret, only one member on here knows about it at the moment. I believe its something nobody has used before on a tank stand :)

I'm currently unsure if it will be Matt Black, Matt white, Gloss Black, Gloss White or a custom colour.

Chris

[Cliff]

I really like the idea of mangroves.

Just a word of advice on the canopy. When you design the opening/door, make sure it is big enoug to remove everything in the tank. I ended up doing that on my first canopy, but by accident. I would have hated to remove the rock from my 90 gallon by first removing the canopy

[chrisfraser05]

The plan is that I will scape the tank with the canopy off.

The tank itself is braceless.

I can lift the hood on easy then put the panels on and the lights will place in easy.

Routine maint will be easy as there will be plenty room to reach in, its just the largest bits of rock would need the hood off.... To be honest if I was doing a full rescape I'd want it off anyway.


Here's a build plan, i'm only just learning sketch up so its a long process!

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/1.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/2.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/3.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/4.jpg

[chrisfraser05]

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/5.jpg

I've mainly made these to get my own measurements and have a plan but it helps show what I am aiming for.

[chrisfraser05]

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/6.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/7.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/8.jpg

And that is me spent!

Away off into the country side with a bunch of rednecks in the morning to shoot automatic weapons...... Hmmmmmm......

I'm gonna die lol

[chrisfraser05]

slight tweek to the sump.

Before I planned it so it could slide in. Because of this it was slightly thinner front to back but it was slightly longer.

Here is the plan with the sump wider front to back but shorter.

Gains are good in volume but sump would need to be built inside stand.

Might make it VERY difficult to move house next year or even move the stand once built.... Hmmmmm.

Not sure!!!

Difference in volume is quite alot though, especially in the RO topup area.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/8b.jpg

I'm leaning towards the idea that if I move house I could just cut the sump up and reseal it in the new place lol

[chrisfraser05]

I was sitting today when I was being driven out into the Texas countryside to meet my doom......

I am loosing nearly 4 inches of sump height because of the cabinet height at the bottom.

I've decided to put a sheet of ply underneath the stand have the sump sit down lower than the door height.

Also I'm going to raise the stand height further AND I'm going to be able to rework the plans for the supports so the sump can be both long and wide....

Was too tired last night and didn't think of turning the supports so the wider sump would fit!

I think in total I gain about a potential 15G of volume but better than that I have more room above the sump to work.

Will post updated designs later.

[chrisfraser05]

So, here is this evenings work....

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/1.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/2.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/3.jpg

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/4.jpg

Note the black line on the sump... This is the seperation between the RO section and the rest of the sump.

The sump is 50cm high (20") and there is over a foot of room above it for access.

[chrisfraser05]

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/5.jpg

Here is the 40mm angle steel bracket installed to make the tank braceless.

will do more soon.

[Cliff]

It sure is nice to be able to have a tank without the top center brace. That has always bugged me on my 90 gallon tanks

[chrisfraser05]

I'm really looking forward to having this one running (its gonna be a while).

I'm also going to only have supports at the corners at the front of the hood.
When the removable panels are off you will be able to move the full length of the tank to clean glass etc without anything getting in the way.


I've been trying to think of all the things I can engineer into this system to make life easier. May aswell do it right while I've got a blank canvas.

Just worked it out and the whole system, RO, Sump and tank will be a metric ton of water!!! :help:

[hockeyhead019]

A ton!?! That's insane man!

I've been chewing on ideas for things to make life easier on the tank and the only thing I can think of is having the topping off (which you've already planned)

I think the biggest thing for me is always what happens after you lose power... I'd plan on having some type of contingency plan for when the power goes up. I don't think there's too much to that though since you won't need to really prime anything like I do with my drain line

[chrisfraser05]

only thing I can do really is use a UPS for my sicce pumps and return pump to keep the tank oxygenated and flow going round for dilution of waste.

I'll also work an alarm into this so we know power has gone (txt message to myself and the wife) so if it is prolonged we can plug the generator in.

The house will help maintain the tank temperature so it's only after about 3-4 hours the temp will drop any really.

The benefits of the Algae scrubbed low energy system (as you know), is that apart from the heater and pumps, the only other thing in the system that is powered is the lighting. Nothing essential.

[chrisfraser05]

right, finished my model for now....

Going to add my lights, algae scrubber and plumbing too for a laugh soon.

Here's the hood frame.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/6.jpg

Removable panels on,

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/7.jpg

Rail around bottom to locate bottom panels and take the weight,

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/8.jpg

[chrisfraser05]

Ta da!!!!


http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/9.jpg

And a little cheeky rear shot

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc321/chrisfraser05/Project%20Reef/Sketch%20ups/Stand%20MK2/91.jpg


Gotta love Sketch up!

[Old Marine]

Looks Good to methumbs2:

[chrisfraser05]

Thanks buddy!

It's no "Tanked" but I'm hoping that the contents will be the focal point :)

[Cliff]

I like how you can draft your plans like that.

I would suggest a cross brace on the back (prehaps at the bottom corners). That's a little bit of over-kill, but it would certainly make it a little stronger

[chrisfraser05]

I forgot to post the pic on here but there will be braces going horizontal from to back underneath the ply top on the stand.

I will actually be using 22mm ply to cover the whole back of the stand aswell, it won't be open backed like the sketch up.
The main reason I will be doing that as I want to avoid light spill on the wall from the red scrubber lights and the lights for the mangroves.

That is my No1 complaint of my current, open backed stand. As the lights run opposite to the tank lights the room is constantly light by one source or other, its never fully dark!


I will however be running silent PC fans supplying fresh air to and removing warm moist air from the cabinet.

The fans will be UPS protected along with the return pump, circ pumps and ATO.

[hockeyhead019]

... any updates man??

[chrisfraser05]

aye..... I'm closer to the tank than I've been for a while. I'm in Norway so just the opposite side of the north sea ;)


Basically mate, between trips abroad I've been sorting the house, helping the missus with the baby, doing courses and machine polishing and waxing both the cars in prep for winter so no chance to do fish tank stuff.....

Well, I say that, I've done plenty but that's been sorting out the mess of algae and dead corals after the wife nuked the reef tank with plant food.
Not the tinkering I had in mind!

So, materials are in the garage, tank is in bits waiting to be built, siccee pumps are in the 90g in readyness it's just finding time.

I'll let you into a little secret though..... We might have to delay it further depending if my bergia nudibranch farm takes off and I turn it into a little buisness.

[Cliff]

Nice, a nudibranch farm !!!

I'm still looking forward to more up-dates about your 180 tho :ssuprised: :11:

[chrisfraser05]

I'll take a few pics of it this weekend lol

[hockeyhead019]

I want pictures of the pieces!!! I demand it! Lol... On a more serious note I'd like to see the nudibranch farm though also haha that could definitely make you a pretty penny depending on how quickly they breed since they always seem to be out of stock.. EVERYWHERE lol

[chrisfraser05]

your telling me mate, there's a 6 month+ waiting list in the UK for them at the moment!!!

[hockeyhead019]

Wow dude that could definitely make you some mullaahhhhh

[chrisfraser05]

:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

[chrisfraser05]

Time to close this Journal I think.

Tank will eventually be built BUT in the mean time its becoming a 180Gallon sump for a breeding system!


Sorry for the big build up guys, hopefully I've at least given somebody a few ideas!

[hockeyhead019]

I...I...I... don't know what to say :( haha no worries man maybe one day it'll come back into play

[chrisfraser05]

I'm still building the stand, hood and lights for when we move, with any luck we'll be able to make enough extra cash from the bergia's we have the house deposit quicker lol