MaddyP - 400G Office Reef

[MaddyP]

For those interested in large office builds, I've decided to share a tank I've been working on over the last year or so. The tank is owned by a company called ZZW Global and located on the 29th floor of the Oklahoma Tower, downtown OKC. I was approached by the owner to design and setup this tank to be maintained by a LFS. Design started in January 2015 and was up and running around September 2015. I flew to OKC from California every few weeks to work on different aspects of the setup.

Aquarium:
96" x 36" x 26" Eurobraced by Coast to Coast
Starfire 3 sides
Bean Animal Overflow (1.5" Drains)
BRS Screen Kit
Steel Stand

Equipment:
(6) Radion G3 Pros
Ecotech 96" RMS (Strengthened with aluminum tube)
(4) Ecotech MP60 Quiet Drives
(4) Ecotech Battery Backups
Trigger Systems Sump (Custom)
(2) 80w Red Dragon Pumps for Returns
(2) BRS Jumbo Reactos (Carbon and GFO)
(2) Eheim 1262 for reactors
(3) 300W Jäger Trutemp Heaters
Reef Octopus SRO-5000INT Skimmer with Neck Cleaner
Stenner Pump Single Head (ATO)
Stenner Pump Double Head (AWC)
(2) 110 gallon Roto-Mold Strage Containers (RO and Saltwater)
(2) Avast Marine Pressure Switches for ATO
Apex System (2 PH, 2 Salinty, ORP, 2 Temp)
(3) Apex DOS Dosing Pumps
(2) Apex AFS
250 lbs rock from John at Reefcleaners
200 lbs Tropic Eden Reefflakes Sand

Design:



First pic of tank from CTC!



Installation! Had to remove the door to get it in...









Some of the goodies...



Sump:











Rock Scape!





Sand...





Plumbing and Equipment:











Water and LIGHTS!









Cabinet...

 

[MaddyP]

Filtration:
Filtration for this tank is mechanical and biological. The system utilizes (3) 7" mesh filter stocks, Reef Octopus SRO-5000INT skimmer, BRS Jumbo Reactor with GAC, and dedicated doser for vinegar. The ultimate goal is to rely mostly on biological filtration through diverse microfauna throughout the system without stripping the water of essential nutrients. This is not designed to be a ULNS system, but to mimic a reef as closely as possible. There is, however, an additional reactor installed in the system for GFO in the case of extremely elevated phosphorus levels.

Supplements:
Currently, the system is setup to dose alkalinity, magnesium, calcium, and vinegar. Trace elements to be maintained by daily automatic water changes of 2-5 gallons. In the unlikelihood that additional additives are needed, two spare dosing units have been set up.

Lighting:
From the beginning, this tank was destined to be an SPS dominate system. Metal halides were the obvious choice, however, this tank was to be setup in an office and monitored remotely. Due to heat buildup, lack of control, and increased evaporation, lighting needed to be efficient and powerful. T5HO was the second choice, but these also produce heat and to correctly illuminate a tank this size meant a lot of bulbs that would need to be replaced twice a year. The final decision was to go with Ecotech Radion XR30w Pros due to coverage, efficiency, and PAR output. Since I hate spotlighting and shadows, 6 units were placed over this tank using the Multi Light RMS. Although I was guaranteed the 96" light bar would be adequate to hold 6 radions without bowing, it was not and needed to be reinforced with a 96" aluminum square tube bolted to the top of the rail. Currently, the light schedule is an adaptation of cakemanPA's lighting schedule from a Reef Central thread on radion graphs. Control is via a Ecotech Reeflink due to the ability to acclimate and create a "moving" sun. at some point control of lighting may be converted to the Apex for simplicity.

Flow:
From the beginning this tank was to be a rimless peninsula design with nothing around the peninsula to distract from the beauty within. I had imagined that the return from two Red Dragon 50w pumps (1300 gph each) and two Ecotech Vortech MP60's at one end would create enough of a gyre to turn over water at the far end of the tank. Once setup, though, I realized that as SPS started to grow, the "gyre" flow would likely not be enough and as a result two additional MP60's were placed on the peninsula end of the tank. This brings total flow to 2600 gph through returns and 7500 gph for each vortech (32600 gph or 85x turnover capability). Vortechs are connected to Apex via the WMX module and running ReefCrest at 80% flow.

As SPS growth inhibits flow throughout the tank, it may become necessary to develop a closed loop system that plumbs through the euro-bracing around the top of the tank.

Maintanence:
I wanted this tank to be as easy as possible to maintain so many of the systems are automated. Maintenance is coordinated and tracked via Aquaticlog and handled by a local company (Wet Pets by Steve) in Norman, OK.

Current Schedule

Weekly:
Change filter socks
Empty skimmer cup
Clean glass
Test parameters
Top off dosing containers

Bi-Weekly:
Replace carbon

Monthly:
Remove and clean skimmer cup and swabbie
Vacuum detritus from sump

Feeding:
The tank is fed half a teaspoon of Rod's Food (Carnivore and Herbivore) twice a day during the week, and Neptune Systems Crossover diet 3 times daily on the weekends via automated feeders connected to the Apex system. As this is an office tank, no one is on site to feed during the weekend.

 

[MaddyP]

Some pictures of first fish...



















Current:

 

[Salty1962]

Awesome build! You went all the way.

 

[Vidofner]

Looks great!

 

[CastAway]

Coast-to-Coast Custom Aquariums!

Very very nice!

 

[Khalifa Alhaddad]

Great job and great build

 

[reeftanker17]

Some pictures of first fish...



















Current:

Where is this because I want a job.... can't guarantee I'll get much work done

 

[MaddyP]

Thanks guys! This was a fun project. Since the tank is on the 29th floor, manual water changes were not an option. Everything on this tank is automated including RO top off, saltwater mixing, and water changes. We even designed a motorized tee to transfer water from the RO container to saltwater container. The only manual needs are basic maintenance and adding salt to mixing tank. Apex controlled all the way!

 

[kazikage42]

This build is top notch, great job

 

[Jimbo662]

WOW...gotta follow this one!

 

[revhtree]

What an awesome build!! Beautiful job!

 

[x_burt]

How's the Tusk with the shrimps?
Love the build!

 

[Oldreefer44]

Awesome build. Great opportunity to design a system where they seem to spare no expense to do it right.
Couldn't help but see the irony of an aquarium stand underneath a Haliburton sign.

 

[MaddyP]

How's the Tusk with the shrimps?
Love the build!

Funny you bring it up...lets just say the shrimp lived a shorter life than expected.

The tank was supposed to be a mixed reef (heavy SPS) but the local company maintaining the tank talked the owner into an aggressive stocking list. I presume because the initial expense is higher and more care would be required. I'm a bit disappointed but it is out of my hands at this point.

 

[MaddyP]

Awesome build. Great opportunity to design a system where they seem to spare no expense to do it right.
Couldn't help but see the irony of an aquarium stand underneath a Haliburton sign.

Haha, exactly the reason I saw fit to snap the picture. The owner of the tank is in the oilfield business as well.

 

[rebekwl]

Awesome setup!

 

[NeptuneGarden]

 

[Atif]

Amazing .......

 

[reeftanker17]

Awesome build. Great opportunity to design a system where they seem to spare no expense to do it right.
Couldn't help but see the irony of an aquarium stand underneath a Haliburton sign.

Same here hahah