1000 Gallon Fish Room Build

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Ha, not sure anyone would want to watch a reality tv show of this build. It would likely consist of me pondering over something for the majority of an episode with constant dog barking in the back ground.

It will probably be a few months before I build the algae reactors. Currently they are designed similar to the ARID reactors. However, I am using saltwater to cool the LED heat sink tube as opposed to their patented air/liquid heat sink. My C30 reactor would quickly fill with Chaeto in less than (10) days on my 55 gallon reef when I was running. Therefore, I wanted to have several larger units made to minimize maintenance. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with cleaning the reactor full of Chaeto with only bleach and water. It would easily take an hour a week to take down one reactor and move outside for cleaning. Hopefully this won't be necessary. I'll just have to be extremely careful not to allow any bleach into the main system.
 
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I've been weighing the options of breaking out at least the SPS tank into a seperate system. The underside will be left open in case I decide to go this direction down the road. However, I'd likely just start a new tank for SPS. To me it's better to have all (3) tanks connected for ease of maintenance. I dont want to have (3) or more of everything to worry about combined with checking water parameters, etc.

Until recently I had struggled to grow SPS and have lost more high end frags than I care to admit. This was until I took my ARID reactor off line along with removing my calcium reactor in preparation for tearing down my 55 gallon. After severely neglecting the tank with dosing, water changes, etc, my SPS started to color up and grow very fast. My phosphate now will typically max out my phosphate checker at 200 ppb or 0.6ppm when it was typically o.03ppm with the algae reactor running. I dos a few times a week trying to keep my alk above 12dk.

I'm not sure if my poor SPS growth initially was due to low nutrients or possibly alk swings but things have changed drastically after I stopped jacking with things. My hope is that the SPS will continue to thrive with the increased nutrient levels in my system. I'm sure there will be some that are not happy and grow poorly or die.
 

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Thanks everyone!

Yes, the humidity does have me concerned. Since the room has already been dry walled and finished I don't want to mess with the walls. I'll be putting several coats of Sherwin Williams best moisture resistant, outdoor paint on all walls and the ceiling. I'm hoping I'll be okay covering the tanks and venting the skimmer and sump to the outside. I'll have a 130 cfm fan pushing air into the skimmer and another 130 cfm fan pulling air out of the sump. They will likely not run all the time but I will see how well this works. Anyone with any experience with this please let me know. The covers will be rather expensive but I can't imagine the humidity from 51 sq/ft of open saltwater...

I do have a gf and we've been together for several years now. Think she is used to me going over the top on most of my projects by now. Her only objection to date has been covering the front window with an aquarium as this was not my original plan. Our dogs like to look outside and bark at anything that moves. I countered with telling her I'll put in a storm door on the front porch so they can look out the front door. She did ask me if I thought the 3" piping, ball valve, etc for the return pumps was a little excessive while sitting on the kitchen table. She doesn't care what I blow my money on as long as it not at a strip club.
wow you are one lucky man.... i'd already be out on the streets for bringing it up! :eek:
 
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I received all of my steel last week (approximately 2,500 lbs worth). Unfortunately I had to order most of it pre-cut and formed as the company I work for has been too busy to allow access to their laser and other equipment. Couldn't put the build on hold any longer so I decided to have our steel supplier do the cutting.



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The horizontal support channels are ready for powder coat with the exception of a few last minute electrical wiring additions. I've decided to run my additional electrical circuits in PVC electrical conduit and incorporate the conduit runs along side the supply/return plumbing. Therefore I won't have to go cutting up my walls to add the additional circuits that will need to come out one day should I ever sell the house.

The (6) vertical support stand weldments require the most fabrication work before I can weld and paint. I spent several hours machining the mounting holes in each tube. Just need to finish tapping each tube. The other tubes will need additional holes drilled and tapped along with pockets milled out for the hinges before I can weld. Hopefully I can get these completed and powder coated in the next week.

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The 1/4" thick steel top plates have already been pre-cut with the mounting holes laser cut as well for accuracy. However, each of the holes must be countersunk for a 3/8" flat head cap screw. I've been working on a plate each night after having issues with getting the correct countersink bit. There are approximately (130) holes to countersink which is not an exciting process. Hopefully I can squeeze the top plates into powder coat this weekend and get them ready for install.

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I've been taking Fridays and Mondays off lately to work on things in hopes of having the system cycling by the end of November. I was able to apply floor leveling compound to the room along with Red Guard isolation coating last weekend. I'll be painting the ceiling and walls this weekend with several coats of high grade outdoor paint. I'll also start installing the first few rows of tile in the room. Once the stand supports are in place I can finish tiling around them in a few weeks.

Most of my rock work has been scattered around the garage as I slowly piece it together when I have time. Since large pieces of Tonga rock are next to impossible to come across these days (unless you are willing to donate an organ for a few pieces), I decided to order numerous boxes of AquaMaxx tonga rock and then drill, pin , and epoxy the pieces together. I've been using a mixture of 1/4" & 3/8" 316 stainless steel all-thread as dowel pins to secure the larger branches together. It's a ton of work drilling the end of each piece out with a concrete pit and then driving the all thread in place but has turned out nicely. I then join the two pieces together with white epoxy. Most of the joints are stronger than the tonga rock itself. I've got approximately 300 lbs of Tonga rock. Most of it will be mounted together in my SPS & LPS tanks.

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There is also another 300 lbs of dry Marco rock and 400 lbs of random dry rock I've bought off of Craigslist over the years. This has all been through several acid and bleach baths. I'll use more stainless steel all thread, nylon all thread, Marco cement and PVC pipe to complete the rock work once the tanks are in place.

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Oh yea!
 

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I received all of my steel last week (approximately 2,500 lbs worth). Unfortunately I had to order most of it pre-cut and formed as the company I work for has been too busy to allow access to their laser and other equipment. Couldn't put the build on hold any longer so I decided to have our steel supplier do the cutting.



IMG_5658.JPG

IMG_5659.JPG

The horizontal support channels are ready for powder coat with the exception of a few last minute electrical wiring additions. I've decided to run my additional electrical circuits in PVC electrical conduit and incorporate the conduit runs along side the supply/return plumbing. Therefore I won't have to go cutting up my walls to add the additional circuits that will need to come out one day should I ever sell the house.

The (6) vertical support stand weldments require the most fabrication work before I can weld and paint. I spent several hours machining the mounting holes in each tube. Just need to finish tapping each tube. The other tubes will need additional holes drilled and tapped along with pockets milled out for the hinges before I can weld. Hopefully I can get these completed and powder coated in the next week.

IMG_5665.JPG

The 1/4" thick steel top plates have already been pre-cut with the mounting holes laser cut as well for accuracy. However, each of the holes must be countersunk for a 3/8" flat head cap screw. I've been working on a plate each night after having issues with getting the correct countersink bit. There are approximately (130) holes to countersink which is not an exciting process. Hopefully I can squeeze the top plates into powder coat this weekend and get them ready for install.

IMG_5687.JPG

I've been taking Fridays and Mondays off lately to work on things in hopes of having the system cycling by the end of November. I was able to apply floor leveling compound to the room along with Red Guard isolation coating last weekend. I'll be painting the ceiling and walls this weekend with several coats of high grade outdoor paint. I'll also start installing the first few rows of tile in the room. Once the stand supports are in place I can finish tiling around them in a few weeks.

Most of my rock work has been scattered around the garage as I slowly piece it together when I have time. Since large pieces of Tonga rock are next to impossible to come across these days (unless you are willing to donate an organ for a few pieces), I decided to order numerous boxes of AquaMaxx tonga rock and then drill, pin , and epoxy the pieces together. I've been using a mixture of 1/4" & 3/8" 316 stainless steel all-thread as dowel pins to secure the larger branches together. It's a ton of work drilling the end of each piece out with a concrete pit and then driving the all thread in place but has turned out nicely. I then join the two pieces together with white epoxy. Most of the joints are stronger than the tonga rock itself. I've got approximately 300 lbs of Tonga rock. Most of it will be mounted together in my SPS & LPS tanks.

IMG_5585.JPG

There is also another 300 lbs of dry Marco rock and 400 lbs of random dry rock I've bought off of Craigslist over the years. This has all been through several acid and bleach baths. I'll use more stainless steel all thread, nylon all thread, Marco cement and PVC pipe to complete the rock work once the tanks are in place.

IMG_5591.JPG
Absolutely love the build!

I do have one concern. 316 grade stainless steel will corrode in salt water if left in there long enough. You may want to give some thought to using a different type of material to hold your rock together. In the short term it will be fine but I would worry about it long term.

From the British Stainless Steel Makers Association:
Selection of 316, 304 and 303 types of stainless steels for seawater applications
Introduction
The 316 types are used widely in marine applications, but their corrosion resistance in contact with seawater is limited and they cannot be considered 'corrosion proof' under all situations. They are susceptible to localized attack mechanisms, principally crevice and pitting corrosion. This limits the scope for the use of these steels in seawater contact.
 
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Thanks for the heads up on the 316 SS. This has been a big concern of mine as well. A few months ago I conducted a simple test leaving one of the all-thread pieces in saltwater for several weeks. It did rust on a few small areas which I figured could be due to the material being processed with carbon steel tooling. I know a couple week test is nothing compared to being in an aquarium for the next (20) years or so. I'm sure a couple pieces wouldn't matter as much as a few dozen leaching out over time. I've seen conflicting reports on the use of 316 SS in reef aquariums. I'd imagine it has to do with certain impurities and the material not actually being the grade as specified when issue arise. However, I'm contemplating on changing them out before I get too far along. Not sure what to use as most plastics will become brittle over time or are not strong enough at only 1/4" diameter. I might just spend the extra money now for Titanium all thread. It's not terribly more expensive than 316 SS. What's a few hundred dollars more at this point...
 
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Titanium it is! I'll order from material tonight. Getting the rock work the way I want it might be the most challenging aspect to date.
 

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Titanium it is! I'll order from material tonight. Getting the rock work the way I want it might be the most challenging aspect to date.
Hate to bring it up, but I would feel worse if you had problems down the road from the chrome and other non grade specific heavy metals leaching into your water.
 
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Sorry, it's been a busy month or so but I'm finally making progress after taking some vacation time. The metal fabrication and powder coating was a little more involved than I thought but turned out very nice. I received the last missing steel piece yesterday and will finish welding the braces and powder coating tonight.

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Support channels fresh out of powder coat oven.

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1/4" thick top plates out of the oven.


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Current state of aquarium stand assembly. I have a friend coming over tomorrow night to help me lift the 1/4" steel plates on top so I can level out everything and tighten all fasteners. The largest plate is around 40"W x 82"L and weighs a little over 225 lbs so it should be interesting. Once the stand is anchored in place, I can finish doing the tile floor in the room along with the trim work. Hopefully this will all be done in a few weeks time as I am waiting for my new 250DD aquarium to arrive mid-December.

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Lifebreath HRV with carbon filter just arrived yesterday. I'll be attempting to install in my attic this weekend. I believe it has 5" ports and is supposed to be 83% efficient at 32 deg. F. I'm planning on running a ceiling mounted return duct in each of my two deducted fish rooms. I'll also be running a smaller duct down to the canopy of my 150DD along with each of the (3) aquariums in my main fish room to exhaust the humidity/CO2 regularly throughout the day. I'll use a few booster fans to draw a slight negative pressure to take the load off the HRV. As of now, I'll place a few supply lines from the HRV in my living room. The thought being humid air is pulled from the areas of high humidity and exhausted to the outside. Fresh air will be forced into my living room where it can pass through my HVAC system if necessary before making its way to the other side of my house with the lower pressure.

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I was finally able to get my 150dd quarantine tank on the stand in my living room. It has been the most difficult challenge yet as the stand would not fit through my front door by 1/8". After spending hours attempting to disassemble my stationary sliding glass door I had to completely disassemble the stand and re-assemble in the house. It was already finished at this point but didn't suffer too much damage other than splintering on the bottom in one spot.

I'll have to take more pictures of my quarantine set-up this weekend once I get my cabling routed and cleaned up. The GEO SU30R sump is in place and plumbed. Overall I am very impressed with the sump. It is very well thought out and clean looking. I'll be using an Ecotech Vectra M1 return pump with Jebao PP-15 wave pump for circulation. I'll place my new Neptune Apex head unit in the cabinet with the new 832 outlet block. Currently working on plumbing my freshwater/saltwater lines from my garage for the auto top-off/auto water change functionality. I also have a canopy due in any day now for this I'll have to finish and place on top. Hopefully I can get this running in the next week or so.
 

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Looking good!
 

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Finally was able to finish routing the cables for my 150DD quarantine tank so I could fill. I'm very impressed with the GEO sump. There is very little noise from the sump even with the Vectra M1 pump at 100%.

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If this is your idea of a QT tank, I can't wait to see your fish room!
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%
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