Samuel's new HUGE tank

[Astrivian]

My wife has demonstrated again why i married her. For my birthday, she bought me a 100 gallon long aquarium. It measures 6 feet long, 1.5 feet tall, and 1.5 feet deep. So this is my upgrade: 10 times. For a while, the only thing in it will be my little arabian dottyback. Man that thing will be in fish heaven.

As for the layout, i have a drawing i would like to share with you. I designed it using Adobe's InDesign, since i don't have the money to actually set it up yet. You can grab it from my .mac account at http://homepage.mac.com/astrivian/

It is a rather large adobe PDF, so you will need Acrobat Reader 6.0 or 7.0 to open it. When you do, click the "Layers" tab. I saved each item (sand, LR, coral, etc.) on a separate layer so you can turn them on and off. If you click the eye to the left of the layer name, it will make the layer invisable. This way, you can choose to see only what you want (plumbing for example).

I am working on the stand right now, almost have it finished actually. My plan is to leave the front of the stand open so you can see the fuge and algae at night. If it turns out to be too loud, i can always put a door on it instead.

As for equipment, i am thinking of a DIY MH + PC actinic lighting system (TY ROB! the series is helping me a lot on this). Since the tank is so long, i might go with 4 MH and 2 actinic. Maybe having three plugs: PCs, 2 MH, and 2MH. This way i can really control how much light i send into the rather shallow tank, possibly helping the acclimation of some corals.

Stocking....hmm i am still on the fence about this actually. Here are my ideas so far:

To start:
1 Snowflake eel (Echidna nebulosa)
1 Marine betta (Calloplesiops altivelis)
1 Velvet Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus) maybe
3 Threadfin Anthias (Nemanthias carberryi)
1 Flying Jet Gurnard (Diplogrammus xenicus)
1 cleaner wrasse
some mermaid's fans (Udotea sp.) and shaving brush algae (Penicillus sp.), in the display
Montipora capricornus
Acropora Lokani

Maybe later:
2 "reef-safe" butterflies (Orange tail, C. mertensii, or Lemon, C. miliaris)

[Amphibious]

What a sweet wife. Give her a hug from me.

[CarmieJo]

Wow! That's a great b-day present!

[Astrivian]

Okay, i just updated the homepage with a newer version of the pdf. Rob suggested ditching the macroalgae in the display. Sure...i can go with that i guess . I also added lighting to this one and simplified the layers and made the file a bit smaller. I am thinking of going with 4 70watt MH's (10K) with 4 36" PC actinics. Why so many lights? Well, if i can afford all this, i want to disperse the light more rather than having one or two really strong lights, since the tank is so long. It will also only be about 16" deep, and i don't want to burn corals or fish with watts. Check the pdf for more on this.

Hey peeps, do i need a ballast for each MH light? Please say no.

[Rob]

i would look at 150W retro kits and yes, you will need a ballst for each bulb

4 x single ballast box, or a 2x dual ballast boxes

[pham411]

PIX would be great!!

[Astrivian]

My dumb digital camera broke but i do have one pic. This is the tank relative to housecat size. I have already started making the stand, which i should have done this week. I will see if i can get some pics of those up soon.

[Astrivian]

i would look at 150W retro kits and yes, you will need a ballst for each bulb

4 x single ballast box, or a 2x dual ballast boxes

really 150watts not 70s? Is the 10K OK you think?

[CarmieJo]

Sam,

I LOVE your scale!

[Reefbaby]

Sam, why not go with T5s, instead of PCs? They're much more energy efficient!

Also...in terms of the MH lighting, I personally prefer 14K or 20K, because they are less yellow-looking that the 10K. But, it is all based on preference. If you were to go with the 10K, then you could get the ocean blue actinic T5s, which round out the color nicely.

In terms of the fish, I would wait with the Diplogrammus xenicus, since they are a bit like Mandarins - they need a very mature tank with lots of live rock in order to satiate themselves on all the micro-crustaceans.

Have fun and appreciate your wife!

[Rob]

good point on the T5s christi.
and yes, because of the tank depth, i would look at 150W bulbs, not 70w

[Astrivian]

Yes christi my wife is very popular with me right now

yes i was looking at T5s just recently actually, I think i might go with those. Oh great comment about the ocean blues rather than actinics, i will have to see some tanks with different setups to get a visual. Personally, i don't mind a little blue in the tank, i think it looks more natural given that red light doesn't penetrate that far into the water.

Oh, and yes the "housecat scale" did seem rather universal. Since there are many people on line from metric-using countries, i needed a culturally-neutral scale for measurement. Cats work well

The stand is almost at the point of being finished. I will have some pix up this weekend of it. If i can find the wood i am looking for, it will be really tight.

The next step is to order the RODI filter next week! I am going for the same one you have rob the Aqua-safe maximus (100gpd).

[Rob]

The next step is to order the RODI filter next week! I am going for the same one you have rob the Aqua-safe maximus (100gpd).

awesome, ya know i tried to see if TR could get some kick back from all the promoting i do of those units... but he didn't bite on it...lol
oh well, gotta try.. hope you enjoy it, i know i have

[Astrivian]

So i have two new pics for you all.

This is a pic of one of the sides of the tank. It is oak and stained with a light stain to match the other furniture in the house.


I am making the stand so that i can take it apart if and when we move. The sides are bolted on to the top and bottom, but the bolts themselves don't take any of the weight. The 2x4s on the four corners bear most of it, and i have 5 2x2s down the two long sides (3 in back, 2 in front).

I noticed, to my that hardware stores don't sell cabinet doors just by them selves. So, i decided to make my own. Seriously though, all they are is a plank framed by some boards. Easy easy. Besides, i needed rather oddly shaped doors.



This pic i just took today as i am waiting for the glue to dry. Typically, i ran out of wood for the other door, so it is back to the store. They are each rather large: 2 feet wide and about 3 feet tall (60.9 cm wide and 91.44 cm tall). Behind them and around the sides will go some sound blocking foam. The back of the tank (which will face the wall) is open to allow for ventilation with the help of a small fan. With any luck, i will have the stand up with the aquarium on it by the end of the weekend.

[Sloppygolf]

Looks like you are doing pretty well so far. I like the color of the wood. Going to have a canopy? Probably not .....

I told my wife she should buy me a new tank...she said I was lucky she didn't get rid of any of mine already.....guess that means it isn't a Christmas surprise.

[Astrivian]

cattus piscis yes i do have one of those in the tank already. The advantage to that species is they only need a little bit of water, but they do require direct sunlight for warmth (i think they are cold blooded). Pretty snobby eaters though. Live food works best but they seem to settle for some dry cubes every now and then, and popcorn, mine likes popcorn for some reason. Not sure about the husbandry of them however. I know they will eat most other fish you have, except maybe lionfish. I keep my two with a pomeranian (misellus canis) and the catfish seems to be the dominant species...well.. luckly the pomeranian is too pathetic to jump out (or in).



misellus canis = pathetic dog

Looks like you are doing pretty well so far. I like the color of the wood. Going to have a canopy? Probably not .....

Actually i am planning on a hood. That part i have not honestly thought about too much yet though, i seriously do not have the money for any of that yet. But it all comes together piece by piece. I want the hood to match the rest so i will probably make it out of the same sort of wood (oak and stained). I don't know why but i still have reservations about resting it on the glass, and i would like to be able to open it easily. So i think i am going to use some long screws and chains and make it attach to the studs in the wall. Sort of hanging but not.

[BrianPlankis]

Samuel,

Hey man, this is looking like a great setup! I can't wait to see it finished You have a good wife!

I'm with Rob and the others that 150W and T5s would be better choices if within your budget. Although our club recently made 70W MH lights with good reflectors and they put out some pretty good PAR. You'll have a much better bulb choice with 150W MH though.

Brian

PS. I got your message, I'll give you a buzz soon.

[Astrivian]

So i have been looking for some cooler ways of controlling my lights over and above the typical hardware store timers. I thought that in an age where my farmer father-in-law can change his irrigation water using his cell phone from the golf course, i should be able to have computerized controls of my lights for not too much money. Well, i found something. A company called Insteon makes RFID and powerline controlled lighting. They have several products that might work well for aquariums including on/off switches (i would not use their dimmer switches for this stuff) made especially for fluorescents and motors (i.e. powerheads). The best part is they are all integrated, no matter how many you add later. So, unlike timers, you can create If...Then situations, timed events, sequences, and one-touch changes.


The best part is you can wirelessly control all this from your computer (Mac or PC). Man...there is never enough money for this hobby. Although, these do-hickies do not seem to be that much, cheaper than MH's anyhow. And hey, you can always expand this to your whole house.

[CarmieJo]

So controlling the whole house raises some interesting possibilities. Like the tank lights turn on when you first turn the bathroom lights on in the morning... That way the fish are awake when you get downstairs.

[Astrivian]

Just a quick update on the little nano i have at the moment. Eventually everything in the nano will go into the big tank.

Nano while still cycling


Four months later:


There is some red and green hair algae but i really don't mind them. There are a few spatterings of coraline, but the T5 isn't strong enough, i think, to really get it growing. The hair algae looks kinda cool actually, like grass. As long as it doesn't get too aggressive, i think i will leave it alone. The dottyback is doing fine, still fiesty as ever. There are no inverts, other than one hermit, because the nitrates are too dang high, 15ppm. Even after a water change the nitrates only drop to 10+ppm. Hmm. I am working on a video putting together the Tube Fuge (in the DIY forum) and hopefully that will drop the nitrates. If nothing else, it is a fun little experiment

[Astrivian]

Hey i wanted to get your feedbacks on something i heard. As mentioned above, the new tank, which is almost ready!, is only 18 inches high. Needless to say, i will not be doing a DSB in the display. I was thinking of a 1" argonite sand bed. However, one person suggested doing a BB. I am not a big fan of bare bottoms, i think they look artificial and tacky, at least at first. He did have an interesting suggestion though, to start with a BB during the cycling and maturing, and instead of sand, let green star polyps take over the entire bottom of the tank like grass. I would still have my LR stacked up a bit off the bottom to create caves and the like. I suppose i could get some serious flow along the bottom without having it stir up sand...

On that note, i am thinking of keeping some SPS and i have read that star polyps can cover and suffocate many SPS. But couldn't i just yank them off?

Oh, and i will certainly have a DSB in the fuge/sump underneath with macroalgae and the like.

[Rob]

its an idea, cleaning GSP off glass is one thing, but have you ever tried removing them from a rock?? might want to give it some thought first.. its a cool idea, but you would have to keep them off the rocks, er you find yerself in a pickle..

[Astrivian]

Not to sound cruel, but if these things grow as crazily as some people suggest couldn't i just kill the ones on rocks (i.e. tear them off in pieces if they wont play nice)? I will definitely research this a bit more, i just wanted to throw it up here and see what people thought.

Oh, and what do you think the reaction of the fish would be to these things all over the bottom?

[Reefbaby]

It's more a problem of actually getting them completely removed from the rocks. You can rip and tear all you want, but they're quite resilient and just a little piece of the flesh will be able to grow back into a polyp again.

I can't imagine that the fish would react negatively to them all over the bottom, unless you have some gobies or other fish that like to scavange around in the bottom substrate....

[Astrivian]

Good comments everyone! G-d i love TR!

Oh, wetwebmedia has a few suggestions about how to control this stuff. One of the peeps on there (steven pro i think) said you could place small rubble rocks around the perimeter of the stars. When the polyps start to climb over the rock, simply take it out and trade it in to the LFS, or a friend, and put in a new rock. This might not be a bad idea and I might actually make some money on the side.

One thing i did read that worries me is on chemical warfare. Apparently some Zoanthids like these can excrete a poison into the water. If left to build up, the poison can wipe out the tank. So lots of activated carbon is needed to filter this stuff out. Not a bad idea anyway i suppose.

Oh, and keep your eye up here! The stand is finished! I will post some pix this friday or saturday. I need to call my friend (Colaebola) to help me lift it onto the stand, the tank is really heavy.