MaddyP - 400G Office Reef

[JasPR]

Beautiful setup! And I don't mean to be a rainy day on a wonderful parade-- but-- I have a 440 gallon also build by coast to coast. And it is serviced by two custom sumps from Advanced Acrylics ( duel protein skimmers and 3 socks in each unit). Your sump doesn't look large enough to hold the overflow volume potential. Hope that has been checked out with a 'simulated' power failure at full levels? JR

 

[fragit]

Any idea what those little blue/silver fish the the red eye spot on the tails are? I'm looking for a schooling fish for my 120.

 

[JasPR]

cardinal fish

 

[pdt7361]

Beautiful tank

 

[Sharvey103]

Fantastic build. Hopefully more pictures will be posted as it is stocked and grows.

 

[MaddyP]

Beautiful setup! And I don't mean to be a rainy day on a wonderful parade-- but-- I have a 440 gallon also build by coast to coast. And it is serviced by two custom sumps from Advanced Acrylics ( duel protein skimmers and 3 socks in each unit). Your sump doesn't look large enough to hold the overflow volume potential. Hope that has been checked out with a 'simulated' power failure at full levels? JR

@JasPR you are correct to worry. The tank doesn't have check valves in the return lines as I didn't want to impede flow. I tested several times to verify the "Power OFF" state would hold all water, which it does, barely. I believe the sump is left with around 5 gallons (1 inch of hieght).

When the design was first thought up, I didn't have access to a room behind the tank. I had planned to house the ATO reservoir and water change containers under the stand, this attributed to a smaller sump. If I could do it over, the sump would take up the entire stand length and have built in frag growout sections. But alas, it is done. Maybe when he decides an upgrade is in order.

Any idea what those little blue/silver fish the the red eye spot on the tails are? I'm looking for a schooling fish for my 120.

@fragit Those are Redspot Glass Cardinalfish, bought from DD. They are sold in groups of 5, I believe. Hardy fish if you don't have predator or bully fish in the tank.

 

[Florian_W]

love it!!

great setup!
can´t wait to see the progress on this tank!

Cheers

 

[dragonfish]

wow wow wow !!!

 

[Jared]

Just amazing!!

 

[MaddyP]

Sad update for everyone...

Since I was in town over the holiday, I went by to check on the tank. It seems the owner of this tank went default on his lease agreement with the building his office resides in. I found out the tank has been without maintenance for the last 3 months or so. Luckily, the building engineering saw to feeding the fish over this past few months, but absolutely no cleaning/maintenance has been performed. Skimmer had been overflowing for a while, main drain line of the bean animal overflow was nearly completely clogged, auto water change system was fried as the saltwater mixing tank hadn't been refilled and the mixing pump died. Only about half the fish remain as nutrients are off the chart. All corals are gone. I haven't received any Apex alarms because the internet was cut off around the same time upkeep stopped. The only part of the tank working properly without fail was the ATO. I checked the logs on the Apex and things had been going wrong for a while with alarms nearly every hour over the last few months. :/

After speaking with the building management, he informed me they were in litigation and would likely take possession of the office contents, including the tank. This may end up being good news, he mentioned wanting to move the tank to the building lobby as the engineer has become somewhat attached to the remaining fish. If so, they've committed to flying me out to move the setup. I'll keep you guys updated as to what happens. This could turn into another build thread!

 

[Jimbo662]

Terrible to see such an amazing tank / work go to waste. Glad to see something finally happening with it.

 

[reeftanker17]

Halliburton has never been good at keeping good water quality though...... hope you get it back to what it was!!! Good luck!!!

 

[MaddyP]

Great news everyone! I just got word from the building in which this tank resides, it's going to be moved into the lobby for all visiting to enjoy! Equipment will be in basement 16' below tank.

I've been asked to submit a quote for moving/setting up with necessary equipment. Hopefully things will move smoothly and this tank will be enjoyed for years to come! More than likely I'll start a new build thread to document the move and setup.

 

[FMF0331]

WOW

 

[MaddyP]

Great news everyone! I just got word from the building in which this tank resides, it's going to be moved into the lobby for all visiting to enjoy! Equipment will be in basement 16' below tank.

I've been asked to submit a quote for moving/setting up with necessary equipment. Hopefully things will move smoothly and this tank will be enjoyed for years to come! More than likely I'll start a new build thread to document the move and setup.

Hopes for setting up this tank in the lobby have been squashed. The building has decided to liquidate the aquarium and equipment and recoup some of their lost costs, and guess who was approached to accommodate this project? Yep, yours truly! Expect to see a few sales threads up in the coming weeks for all equipment, tank, and stand. At least I get to see this setup from beginning to end, closure is a good thing.

 

[MaddyP]

It is official, owner of tank has contracted me to break down and sell entire setup. I'll be posting the equipment on R2R June 26-30 as I tear the tank down and clean equipment. If you are interested in any part of the tank, keep an eye open for a sale thread the week of tear down.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement during this build! I'm sorry to see it's end but hopeful a fellow hobbyist will take up the future of this tank.

 

[revhtree]

It is official, owner of tank has contracted me to break down and sell entire setup. I'll be posting the equipment on R2R June 26-30 as I tear the tank down and clean equipment. If you are interested in any part of the tank, keep an eye open for a sale thread the week of tear down.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement during this build! I'm sorry to see it's end but hopeful a fellow hobbyist will take up the future of this tank.

Too much up keep?

 

[MaddyP]

Too much up keep?

The cost to move it down to the lobby of the building surprised the manager, I think. They are already out $32k because of the tenant defaulting on the office, at this point the building is just trying to make their money back. I understand, I think I would be in the same position in that situation.

At least I get to see the tank through from beginning to end. Trying to stay positive!

 

[pghreefer]

Can you tell me more about the water storage system? Do you have a link or part numbers for the water tanks you used? Any additional detail you can provide on the 3way motorized valve?

Thanks

 

[MaddyP]

Can you tell me more about the water storage system? Do you have a link or part numbers for the water tanks you used? Any additional detail you can provide on the 3way motorized valve?

Thanks

Sure! The tanks are 100 gallon Ace Roto-Mold. I bought them somewhere online, I don't quite remember where. As for the motorized valves, those were purchased from Assured Automation.

2 Way Ball Valve - https://assuredautomation.com/P2/index.php
3 Way Ball Valve - https://assuredautomation.com/PTP/index.php