I'll watch... when you "edit" one of your first 40 posts will the site notify us you have done so or will we have to keep looking back?... or you could just do a new post and link it to the post that has been updated :D Also could you link the posts to your index?
Example: "The build.....................................Post 13"http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...771#post534771

Game on! :pop2:

Oh, but where are the pics???? :).

No the board won't notify you of edited posts.

Perhaps my plan was flawed :smile: - In any event, I will make the best of it.

Kien - Lot's of pics to come.
Greenmaster - Thanks for the suggestions.

One thing I did test was going back to some of my first Canreef posts. It appears that the edit button still works after many months. I'm hoping the moderators will leave this option available to me.

I will post a note whenever I update content.

<Content Updated> - Posts 3,4,5,6,7,8

Interesting design for the thread even... can we see some photos though? :D

Loving the drawings thus far. Nice to see another builder doing the micro bevels or whatever you're calling them. That's looks so KEY.

Why 2 osmolators?

I like the use of dual Eheims for returns. You're not pushing more through your sump than needed and you have a backup if one bites the fat one.

Blue wave 7 ballasts? I had been looking to purchase a Blue Wave but couldn't find them for purchase. They aren't made anymore AFAIK. Do you have these already?

Are you still building on-site and has this happened?

Looking forward to more!

wow! It is a good thing you are a giant! Working in the back side of the tank at 36" will be fun! :lol: Great sketch up and I do love those dimensions.

Concept Aquariums will definitely be building my next tank. They're great guys to talk to and work with (yes, this is me sucking up to you Concept Aquarium dude! :lol: )

Next tank? Kien get outta here. Stop upgrading man...I pee larger than my current tank!

Hi Brett
I've got a whole section on this planned. I'll try to get it online in the next couple of days. The bottom line is that there will be two resevoirs each with an Osmolator. if either one fails, the other should be sufficient for continued opperation. There are some additional considerations, but I'll try to go through all of that in the content post.

Yes - I already have this ballast on my 90G tank. When I learned they had been discontinued I was dissapointed and thought I had made a bad purchase decision. However, more and more people are telling me how good these ballasts are. I know you can still find them in retail but they are quickly dissapearing.

Lighting is still a big question for me. I'm really not sure what direction I will go, but I am considering LED.

I'm very happy to say that the tank was completed yesterday. I will try to get pictures up in the next couple of days, but I am very happy with the finished product.

Thanks for that. Your tanks are pretty amazing and I've learned a lot from reading your threads.

The tank is accessible from all sides. There's a platform at the back of the tank stand that I can use, so the middle of the tank will really be the hardest to reach. I might have made the tank a little higher than necessary, but the frustration of working in such a deep tank will be made up by the aquascaping options. I don't regret this yet :smile:

Wow...i'm taggin along on this one! Great planning!

The tank's already built and pics in a FEW days?

I wanna see this thing. Do you do sleepovers? I can bring my own bag.

Tagging long!

Great planning. I wish I knew how to use sketchup as well as you do!

Just a suggestion. You could do what Kien did and do a table of contents that link to the posts.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...79&postcount=1

Just a thought.

This looks to be a very nice build. I really like the dimensions, similar to what I have designed for my build. So if I understand correctly you have most of the components bought already ? Looking forward to the rest.

It is very similar to your tank dimensions. I'm following your thread intently.
I have most of the hardware already purchased. The missing pieces are lighting and live rock. Obviously I'm not ready for the rock yet as the tank was just finished.

I really like your thread layout. I think this makes a lot of sense since when you're done it'll read as a concise "This is how I did what I did" guide without all the chitter-chatter in between posts.

I've nver heard of Concept Aquariums. I googled it and I find references to a place in edmonton but their website is shut down....

Hi Mark - Thanks for the encouragement.

Anyway - There seems to be some confusion around the name Concept Aquariums. I don't know all of the details because I really have no idea who used to run the Edmonton based company. I do know that they are not the same company and that the owners have nothing to do with each other. As I understand it, the similar name is just a coincidence.

<New Content Posted> - Pics

Designing the Overflow........................Post 9
Designing the Stand...........................Post 10
Designing the Sump (100G).....................Post 11
Putting it all together.......................Post 12
The build.....................................Post 13

I also updated the index with clickable links. Credit to Kien for the index idea and making them clickable!

<New Content Posted>

Tank Images...................................Post 14

There it is...

Definitely a sweet tank... are you doing the bottom bracing as well or are you done the tank?
When you gonna water test it?

very impressive. all i have to say at the moment.

dear god that tank is a thing of beauty! Those starphire euros are one heck of a nice touch.

What are your plans for the back of the tank? If you plan to have a backing on it...how will you also hide the overflow in a way that blends with your background?

The tank was pushed closer to the wall than I had originally planned. When I first conceptualized the tank, the idea was for it to be an island viewable from all 4 sides. I'm still thinking that I will keep the back side clean and use it as a viewable pane. Perhaps I could paint a section of the wall black just to give the illusion of darkness towards the back. At the very least, I plan to leave enough space between the glass and rock/corals to clean all of the sides. No final decision on this yet.

Thanks for the comments btw!!

The bottom bracing is in place. It's somewhat subtle and perhaps hard to make out in the pictures. It has silicone on all 4 edges of the glass, so it somewhat blends in. These aren't really for strength as much as for adhesion. The structural integrity is still primarily the glass panes.

As for water testing - I have to slow down a bit for the next while. I may fill it with ro/di water and do an extended leak test over the summer, but plumbing in the sump and adding salt will have to wait for now.

another one i have to tag along for sweet looking build

A weak point of the tank is typically the joints. I'm glad to hear you strengthened them :D... I would hate to see your fish flopping on the floor.

EPIC-ness!!!

(subscribing the s#it out of this thread.)

Looking supreme ! Is that glass covering your overflow box ? You must of enjoyed having it built at home, seeing the whole thing come together. That's also up my sleeve.

<New Content Posted>

Planning the ATO (Automatic Top Off)..........<moved to 38 - Changed status to draft>

Pretext: I’ve had my ATO fail while on holidays. This caused the sump return chamber to completely evaporate leading to a subsequent failure of the return pump. After fixing the ATO and replacing the return pump, the ATO did what it was supposed to do and pumped 10 gallons of saturated Kalk water (pH 12.4) back into the system. The result was a pH spike reaching upwards of 9.5. While I was able to recover from this without a tank crash and better yet, without losing any wildlife, it drove home the importance of a reliable ATO. In my opinion, it is one of the more critical components and can potentially fail without warning.

Wow!!!!!!!!!
 

Amazing how a quick look on the computer can generate such green eyed monster feelings................:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen :

Looking forward to seeing this develop!

Absolutely fantastic build. The level of detail and planning incorpotated into the build (as well as the great explanations) could (should?!) be made into a How-To for those looking at building large tanks. You seem to have all your bases covered on your build.

I do have one question, however:

In regards to the steel design (and redesign) I've noticed that on the stand that the aquarium isn't actually sitting on the back brace where you've added the additional support and the entire backside seems to be for the benefit of the overflow alone. You were very concerned in this build early on about having enough support but from my (rather limited, forgive me) knowledge it seems like you are ignoring the rear re-enforcement entirely. Can you give me the rationale for it?

I really hope this doesn't come off as a flame/troll post (it's not I assure you :) ) I just found it a little odd the way the tank fits on the stand.

Again, fantastic tank journal; it's making me itch for an upgrade :D

Hey Mikey

Sure - ask me a difficult question. :smile:

There are a couple of ways to look at this. Let's make sure we are talking about the same thing.

http://owa.footit.ca/wwwimages/question1.jpg

I believe that you are referring to the fact that the tank sits on Beam B and not Beam A. I did consider this.

The first modification I made to support this arrangement was to add an additional brace from front to back. Where splitting the load in two squares (3'x3') should be sufficient, I am splitting the load in three rectangles (3'x2').

I also figure that the two beams together, being only 2.5" apart and welded in 4 places, will collectively have a strength greater than a single beam.

Finally, I am counting on the distance to the braced beam (Beam A) being small enough that the load will be almost directly transfered between the two beams.

Having said all of that - there's not a lot of science behind it. It's more intuition than anything. If the stand weren't overbuilt, I would be a little more concerned, but I think there is a sufficient safety variable built in to offset the risk of deflection along this beam.

This stand design gives me considerably more space underneath the tank. The extra 4.5" makes a big difference. It also will make it easier to hide some of the plumbing when I start panneling the stand. So far, I don't regret the design.

Anyway, the question is perfectly reasonable, no need to appologize.

- Thanks

Thanks!!

There is a glass cover for the overflow. It is removable and is primarily there for looks. There may also be a secondary benifit of noise reduction making a quiet overflow almost silent

One note if you are considering something similar. Glass on glass scratches and chips. I will put little rubber feet (matching the silicone thickness) to ensure that the pieces never touch. I considered an acrylic cover, but 15mm acrylic is either very difficult to find, or just not manufactured.

Watching the build was a lot of fun. Can't wait to see yours.

BTW - If you wan't to come check out the tank before you finalize your plans, just let me know.

The voyeur in me wonders if perhaps you happened to video the assembly of the tank.

That would be....awesome :biggrin:

When Gary built my old 400 on-site there was a strange smoke/fog surrounding him. The shroud of mystery if you will. Try as I did I could not directly view the magic that is the on-site build.

Actually...I just felt he wanted some privacy and I let him be =)

abcha0s' 300G Starphire Ultimate Reef
 

Sorry - I didn't get any video.

+1 on the privacy consideration. You'll notice that there are no pictures of the mysterious builders surrounded by their shroud of smoke and fog. :smile:

I may just have to do that, thanks.

Holly crap, this looks like a developement proposal to me! Nice tank and nice tank build porposal thread:razz:

Alright, you were not kidding when you said it was a little bigger...all I can say is wow! I can't wait to see it all come together...thanks for bringing me to your thread!

<New Content Posted>

Plumbing the Overflow and Return..............Post 15

So, I had the evening to myself yesterday. My wife was working and the kids were sleeping. A rare opportunity for me to work on the tank without interruptions. The next step was to plumb the tank and I have to admit I really wanted to see some water in it.

At one point, I was kneeling on the floor beside the tank. The basement floor was scattered with PVC fittings. Paper towel lay in a pile where I had been placing it after wiping excess glue from the joints. Various tools were within reach. I had the Apple TV streaming ‘Chillout Dreams’ from DI.FM to the home theater – In fact I was really enjoying myself.

It occurred to me that I was sharing an experience of so many others before me. Plumbing the tank. - I’m not talking about professional aquarists, or even when you are working on a tank with friends. It was the solitude that struck me.

I'm not sure I can get too poetic about plumbing but I totally love doing it!