One Cubic Meter of Ocean
 

Well I guess it's about that time again, with a new tank comes a new build thread.

The last tank was doing so well the fish gods decided a total crash was in order.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...1/coral_11.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...2011/crash.jpg


Well this my answer back.

It will be bigger, brighter, stronger and just straight up better than before.

So here's what I'm going for:
The tank will be located at the back of the new bar, it will be built in to match the cabinetry and contain two fridges and a wine rack below.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psb55eea24.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps5e9ce09b.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps20f64485.jpg

Haven't got all the details figured out yet but enough to get going.

:eek: OMG what happened?????? and so sorry for your losses, you had a lot of nice stuff :sad:

Glad to hear you're not out and are going to come back, the new tank plan looks great

Nice! With the fishroom right beside it, I imagine that is going to simplify the plumbing a bit too.

Are you doing anything with the old tank? It fit the space so well that it would be nice to see something done with it.

Tank Specs:

62" x 32" x 32"
Will hold approximately one cubic meter of water
Low Iron Front
Fully Polished (not that you'll notice :lol:)
External overflow

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps080451e7.jpg

It will tie into the existing fish room conveniently located right next to the tank.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...pscefb98df.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psb6f4433c.jpg

What do you live under a rock?

Apparently! I just looked at your old tank journal, not sure how I missed that before.

Cool I like the idea for the new tank, I think it will look great in there.

The old tank will come out and be replaced with something smaller that I think will fit the space better. I never liked the current placement, although it did fit well I just never though it fit in well, if that makes sense.

I thought it looked great: like it was made to be there. I'm sure that means the next one will look even better in there, as you've got a very good eye.

The first thing the wife asked was "will you have to cut a hole in the wall I just painted?", "yes dear but it will be small, you won't even notice"

Yeap, that'll do.....

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps4fe09d9b.jpg

I have to move one of the sumps first to finish the hole from the other side.

Is she at home while you're doing this? I'm not sure if watching you do it or finding out after the fact would be worse. :lol:

But then, I guess "small" is a relative term.

Here's the stand in place, thanks to Grizz!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps93e8cb05.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps89ccf8f5.jpg

I didn't want a center post or bottom rail as this way I can easily add the fridges and rack below.

I think she's been with me long enough now to know what to expect, in all fairness once the tanks in place you really won't notice it :biggrin:

And the tank was moved in yesterday. By far the heaviest thing I've ever had to move. Thought it would be easy with four of us.... nope it was not.

Thanks to Dave from concept.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps75396b0c.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps40513994.jpg

I also managed to get some of the cabinetry built and installed before the tank went it.

Today's update

Spent the weekend rearranging the fish room a little to accommodate the new tank.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psa1cbb928.jpg

Got the hole all done, just have to attach the overflow now but the holes are the wrong size so I'm still waiting to figure out what I'm going to do about that.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psaf9a7011.jpg

I also added some brackets to support the tank a little better. Since the stand doesn't have a center column on the front and I put foam under it to protect the tile, once full it won't distribute weight evenly causing the front foam to compress more putting the tank off level. The braces tie into structure and keep the stand straight, they allow up and down movement but prevent any tipping movement.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psedbffbf7.jpg

Looking forward to seeing this one live! Looks awesome so far!

I'm subscribed!! Looking good and so glad that you didn't quit the hobby after your last crash!

Looking killer Steve!!!

haha buddy i was curious what you were gonna do with that spot, the tank there is perfect i love the design:)


def following along , i loved your other tanks i cant wait to see how this turns out:)


mixed reef??

Very beautiful!


Sent Via Pirate Ship.......

Well I have a plan but who knows if it will work. Planning on keeping a few butterflies and angels along with whatever corals they don't eat. Probably SPS and soft corals for the most part. I've already purchased 2 golden butterflies and 1 empire angel so quite a bit already invested in the fish part. One thing I thought I could keep for certain was anemones like maxi and rock anemones. However the goldens ate those pretty quick so not a great start :lol: Hammer coral is also out and pretty much any kind of zoa/paly. The empire seems to be fairly well behaved but the butterflies are trouble for sure despite them supposedly being more on the reef safe side.

And thanks to all for the nice comments.

think they will eat acans or favias or even chalices??


if not i got some ill put aside for you for when your here next:)

Acans for sure but I'm hoping I can get away with chalices. I have one frag I'm going to try but I'm going to wait a bit until they are better established on frozen.

ok cool well when they learn to behave themselves lol i got for you


chalices:


riddler chalice
cotton candy
watermelon
hollywood stunner
orange dotty back

and favias:

aussie reverse prism
aussie prism favia
bubblegum
purple and blue
confused warcoral


yours whenever you want them or are ready for frags:):)

Sweet thanks man, I still want those blue polyps btw :biggrin:

got a chunk put aside for you of that as well , actually a couple chunks lol:):)

Awesome!

Your cabinets and fish room are always sooo pretty.

Picked up the new return pumps. These seem to be what all the cool kids are talking about these days do I guess we'll see.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...54F03D2C89.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...54F9BB2CD1.jpg

Hoping to pick up the new overflow box tomorrow.

Thanks! I really hate staining wood but I'm getting better at it.

Oh sure!!! I had to wait weeks to get my pumps and now it seems like EVERYONE is getting them like going to the store for bread :twised:

Are you going to run them externally Steve? When I read the instruction manual it only said submerged :noidea:

Yeah I'm using them external, everything I've seen online suggests external/internal use and they appear to be properly sealed so I guess we'll see. Would kinda suck if they are internal only.

Steve looks great man well done. always love the way you bring things
together.

Another hole :mrgreen:

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...0AA77E07AA.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...A0050160-1.jpg

The hole will be used for the return line/manifold, already partially built and painted black. Both pumps will tie into the same line for now.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...10A4A6EE28.jpg

Here's a quick look at the cabinet work above the tank so far. Doors will be put on later and the ceiling will continue out in this style. Either some drywall painted white or some white melamine will be cut to fit into each opening. They will be screwed in place and made to be removable for any needed future access. The screws will be covered with some kind of finishing trim which will also be removable. Also contemplating a cove style light concept for accept as well as pot lights in some areas which is still TBD.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...1160489627.jpg

Got the overflow box remade and installed the other day. Big thanks to Dave again for rushing that through the shop for me.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...0A0519CCE2.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...09FEEBEE02.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...09F8D1EDAB.jpg

Looks like I forgot to turn the light when I took those pics :redface:
Anyways the overflow is pretty big but for good reason, one so I have access being that it has to protrude through a wall and the other relates to volume needed for the two pumps. The idea here is rather than running a traditional return pump I run a large return pump direct from the overflow to to the tank for circulation, the head loss here is very minor. Then I run a second smaller return pump from the sump to the overflow. Sort of like an overflow in an overflow or something you might do as a mod to an AIO tank. My reasoning for it is as follows;

• Take advantage of external pumps for circulation without adding an actual closed loop.
• Being able to separate the sump system from the tank without effecting the actual tank flow, good for maintenance and/or future additions or changes.
• Separate control of sump turnover rate.
• Possible gains in efficiency and lower noise levels.
• Possible gains in simplicity and reliability when compared to closed loop.
• Double surface skim effect (water from tank skimmed at high flow, then overflow skimmed at low flow and fed directly into skimmer intake).
• Possible to add variable pump control if later available.

I'm running two pumps just for redundancy, if one fails then I still have circulation. Also being DC pumps I figure someone will release a module for external control with 0-10V so having two pumps will allow alternate flow patterns.

very nice!

looks incredible man .....umm i hope you know how all that works lol i pity the tank sitter:P:P:P

When I see stuff done like this, my head hurts!! In my mind, my builds start out like this, but end up as a pipe draining my tank and length of hose going back in :)
Nice job!

Thanks guys.... I think :neutral:

I'm planning on a decent amount of remote monitoring so I can keep an eye on things when I'm away, I just can't go anywhere without internet access or cell service. The room is a little overwhelming, there are 17 valves so far but for the most part they are just for maintenance stuff. Not like I'm in there turning valves all the time :razz:

Plan is to setup a quarantine system this weekend and start a 6 week quarantine for the fish I have now so I'm starting fresh, hopefully without any parasites. Never done this before but being that this tank is mostly about fish and some will likely be pretty expensive and sensitive it just makes sense.

Qt all setup

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...7331A59DC8.jpg

I'll be setting up an identical tank below

Any prophylactic treatments being done? Hypo? Paraguard?

Also, for remote monitoring I love my IP camera. I set a bunch of preset locations on it, which really helps. I can see water levels in the tank and sump, and the floor around the system. I can even see the polyps on most corals. It was worth every penny. :)