Our 12ft self contained reef

[dragonfish]

its a big one wow !

 

[Synodontis]

Thanks Dragon,
It is kinda big huh lol.

I did manage to get everything covered lid wise, but still need to get a couple of hinges & a lid stay.

I think I'll work a test tube holder or something like that into the inside of the lid. What better background to compare colors lol.

Not sure what I'm going to play with next week? Perhaps inlet side of the water change setup. Should have had that done ages ago lol.

 

[Anthony kolodziej]

+ 1000 to algae being part of a cycle great looking tank man love it

 

[gettaReef]

Love everything about this build! Where can one go and purchase glossy acrylic like you used for the test kit cabinet?

 

[Reefmon]

Finally got all the reactors up & running. Time for a new project next week.

What's in the reactors? Awesome build!

 

[Synodontis]

+ 1000 to algae being part of a cycle great looking tank man love it

Thanks Anthony, the worst part is the first 3/4 months I reckon. So many times I walked over to do something, seen the algae, walked away again lol.

Love everything about this build! Where can one go and purchase glossy acrylic like you used for the test kit cabinet?

Thanks gettaReef lol, being honest, over there I have no idea! I just figured all acrylic came as a gloss? I just drive an hour up the road to see the acrylic man. If he's not to busy & I help, he will cut it while I'm there. The joys of doing business outside a large capital city, supports a small local country business which I like also. Country people still offer service, not trying to FB while serving you or ignored completely.

What's in the reactors? Awesome build!

Thanks Reefmon, the first yellow one is Aussie made Sulphur, the second is Caribsea ARM (Calcium) & the third is Aqua Medic Hydrocarbonate (Alk) & Dolomite (Magnesium)

 

[Synodontis]

Been a fairly quiet month considering it's December lol.
Got around to finishing off the test kit / junk pit today. Not being the smartest chip in the packet when it comes to carpentry, I had no idea what hinges would be required for the pit lid. Then uncle Google threw 70+12 pictures at me lol. Who would have believed there are so many different types of hinge's about! Finally found what I was after, a concealed blind corner hinge. I grabbed a gas strut to hold the lid open while I was there also, nothing worse then a lid slamming shut behind you when not expecting it. A loud noise like that while working around the tank has the possibility to result in a soft formless brown mass exiting my trouser leg!

Stuck the lid down first so everything is in the right position.

Hinges in & the lid opens without hitting the end of the tank.

Gas strut fitted & works a charm. Being a gas strut, it also helps with lifting the lid.
All that is left now is a few small alignment tweaks & some sealant for the top edges. Have to admit tho, it is very handy for hiding junk away out of sight but still within reach. The pit has already turned into a standard issue "junk drawer" lol.

The only other thing I've been playing with is the "in" side of the water change. Everything is hooked up from the out of the filter to the tank, but I haven't decided what pump to use between the NSW storage & the filters. The filters are 20"x4" & hold 2x 20micron filters. I have no idea if this is a good / bad thing but all NSW entering the tank will go through these filters. I do plan on getting a Triton test done on pre & post filter to see what if any difference there maybe. Bit of a catch22 with the housing's, I wanted the clear so I could see the condition of the filters, the clear housing's are not UV stable lol. Being outside the will need to be covered so knocked up a box to cover the things up.

Bolted down & plumbed

20micron filters fitted

Bit of a box to hide things away, needs a paint job lol.

NSW storage, we have 3x 5000Ltr water tanks plumbed together.

While making a coffee this morning, Jen was standing at the end of the tank. For some reason I don't think there are many pics of her end of the tank lol. (I have a 12x4, Jen has a 4x12)

Not much else has changed in the DT area. Things are just doing their own thing & I'm trying not to play in there to much. We have 3x acro's in the sump from a couple of weeks ago that need to be placed. Trip down to our LFS tonight as it's delivery night & if something catches our eye then maybe a few more for the sump lol. Sent a Triton sample away last week & waiting for the results, that should be interesting on a tank that's 3 & a bit months old & still trying to get some constant testing results in place.
I re-join the working ranks in about 5 weeks so I'll try & get a few more loose ends tidied up before then.

That's about it for now, take it easy.

 

[tristanfish]

But that 2ft upgrade also added another 2000Ltr's to the system lol. Besides, If I told the much better half I was thinking ahead to the next upgrade, her reply would involve a chopping block, my appendage & a blunt knife!

I'm glad you like the tank mate, If we had the room a "fish room" would have been nice but just couldn't happen. Hence everything had to go inside the cabinet.


Thanks mate, there's still some nice corals down here that didn't get sent over to you guy's lol

I didn't get around to the water change today, (It was Saturday here) but I did finally get around to playing with the reactors.
Since we are keeping everything inside the cabinet, trying to find large reactors was a problem, so being a hands on kinda guy I decided I'd have a bash at building something to suit lol. A bit of tube, a hacksaw, hand held router & a measuring tape, what could go wrong? Was a bit harder then what I thought but getting there I hope. One point tho, we did get to keep the white & red colour scheme going lol.
Reactors will be Sulphur feeding into ARM (Calcium) feeding into Hydrocarbonate/Dolomite mix. The ARM will recirc back to Sulphur & start the process again.
Hopefully the Sulphur will reduce Nitrate's & also lower pH, low pH will feed into ARM & reduce the amount of CO2 needed to dissolve ARM, the the final Hydrocarbonate/Dolomite will help raise Alk, Mag & pH. That's the plan anyway, fingers crossed it works something like that lol.
I don't have the CO2 gear yet but want to get water flowing through the setup. Fitting the CO2 gear into the system won't be to hard & can be done at a later date.

Started with 21Kgs (46 pounds?) of Sulphur

Then added another with 25Kg (55 pounds?) Caribsea ARM

Throw a bit of pipe & fitting around to hook all of the holes up.

Still have another to go but really should play in the tank tomorrow.
Did take a few pics last week, nothing flash but hey, someone might like them lol.

That big purple Monti way back on the first page found it's spot in the tank

A lot of this needs to find a home. Lots of the Zoa's & morphs may not stay in the tank this time round round.

Hobbits?

I do like this rock tho, no idea what the SPS is but it seems quite happy sitting the bottom of the tank.

I'm trying to get a good pic of this Chalice, The yellow is starting to get a hint of a red under glow if makes sense lol.

Left end of the tank seems to have more corals at the moment.

And that's about all I have to share today. It's 12:45 on the AM side of the dial so I'm off to find some caffeine & then think about bed.
Have a great weekend & we will enjoy our Sunday lol.

Sweet Jesus !

 

[Brian Kim]

I thought it was a typo when I saw 12' lol

 

[Aussie paul]

Sweeeet dude

 

[Chrisfish]

Any new pictures of the DT?

 

[qldbulldog]

Beaut tank, love it. BTW where did you get the red PVC pipe in OZ?

 

[dorky]

wow nice build!! do you have any build thread on the reactor? i love the idea of having three media reactors together. keep up with the good work

 

[KritikaL]

this is truly mega.... cant wait to see more.

 

[Synodontis]

Sweet Jesus !

I usually get called a bloody idiot lol

I thought it was a typo when I saw 12' lol

I guess it's something people don't read to often in tank stories

Sweeeet dude

Thanks Paul, it's getting there

Any new pictures of the DT?

Hi Chris,
I don't think to much has changed in the DT really. Planed water change tomorrow so will what I can do about some pics

Beaut tank, love it. BTW where did you get the red PVC pipe in OZ?

Thanks mate, the pipe is made by George Fischer (GF+) & used by Royal Exclusiv. Aquabella is the RE OZ distributor & very helpful if you give them a yell. Just be aware that the pipe is Euro metric, meaning that 32mm pipe is outside dia. Nothing at Bunnings or Masters off the shelf will fit the pipe. Finding the metric fittings is not easy in AU & when you do they will be in grey or black. So get some spare fitting to have on hand if something go's wrong lol.

wow nice build!! do you have any build thread on the reactor? i love the idea of having three media reactors together. keep up with the good work

Thanks dorky lol,
We don't have a reactor build thread as such, only a TJ on the local AU forums with a lot more details in the the build. I'll do a reactor post for you tho, nothing special in the making of them lol, just a few problems to workout when not having all the flash CNC or laser machines in the garage.

this is truly mega.... cant wait to see more.

Thanks Kritikal, Things have slowed down now & lazy man disease is really catching up with me. Still have some more bits to tinker with.

Good luck & kudos to you if read any further lol, the brain is going to think & the fingers are going to move, this could be interesting if not coherent!

Well Xmas is out of the way for another year, good riddance I say. I'm not a Xmas person anymore lol.
Bugger all has been done since I bolted the WC filters to the wall. I have started playing around with the pwr / control center which I have been putting off for months as I still have no idea what should be happening in there. So I decided to start with the UPS & work from there. Not sure if I dribbled about the UPS here in a previous post or not so sorry if I'm repeating
Sparky mate Matt who put in the extra 3 pwr circuits for the tank was kind enough to give a UPS that was no longer being used. A huge 2ru rack mount APC Smart-Ups 3000kva! The returns run at 46w each & a couple or four Tunze pwr heads should run as basic life support for a bit with this thing So I trundle down to the local hardware store & pick up a 15A GPO, get back home & start putting that in the wall.
Backing the truck up a bit & shedding some insight into the fuse box sparky mate Matt installed for us. We are lucky enough to have 3 phase power to the house. Matt installed another fuse box down by the tank & ran 3 phases down to this from the main fuse box. From this box each phase is split into 2 GPO's, so now we have 6 double GPO's for the tank only. Each GPO is RCD protected in case the worst happens & I stick a sharp metal object in one of the sockets to check if working The single double socket under the 6 i an original house socket. The tank fuse box looks like this........

So anyway, back to the story, I flick #6 switch to the off position & hook out the corresponding 10A GPO, then wire in the 15A GPO. Flick everything back on & wait for the sparks to fly. No such luck but the UPS fires up with a few beeps & clunks, then starts flashing the replace battery LED. Bugger, drag out the user manual I found on Uncle Google & proceed to troubleshoot the situation. Nothing drastic, having been unplugged for an undetermined amount of time, just leave the thing powered up so it charges the battery for at least 5 hrs. Left it over night & had a play the next morning. All the green charge lights are maxed out & the replace battery LED is nowhere to be seen. How goods this! Went through the shutdown & then powered it up again, it did the self check thing all good! Thought that was a pretty good way to start the day lol.
Then added another couple of switch boards to the rack & decided what was going on these to be powered by the UPS in event of power cut. Got all that sorted, found a couple of UPS out cords & plugged the 2 boards into the ups. Well! you would have thought it was the end of the world when I switched off the wall socket to simulate a power cut. UPS starts beeping non-stop, lights start flashing, replace battery red LED is flashing seventy twelve beats per second, the green battery out LED is doing it's best to keep up with the red LED & I'm standing there staring at the UPS with a "what the?" look on my face. Didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the battery's may have charged but as soon as you want to use said charge they were not going to play the game. Turned the GPO back on & everything settled down again but the red LED would not go away lol. So a new set of battery's now have to be found. While the UPS has power it's all good & running so that were it's sitting now.
Next part was to stick the PC back in the rack. I had to go out & grab a wireless adapter thingy so the tank PC could be accessed from the main PC I'm using now. I also had to borrow a monitor from a mate, then find a mouse & keyboard for it lol. Set the connections up & got that under control. The PC is nothing flash, it has no reason to be gaming speed as it's only a tank PC. Only used to adjust Tunze wave makers, UPS to send a few E-mails, set the frag lights, look after a few fans if fitted down the track, so needs nothing flash. Remote desktop is this thing........

On to the next bit, The UPS being smart but also a few years old, uses the old DB9 in coms cable. Try finding one of them today lol. I asked at the local PC shop, I got a blank stare & the reply "you do it's 2015 don't you?" Now that's service Ended up finding a DB9-USB cable that I figured would do the job! So head down to office works & grab one. Get home, plug it in & the UPS beeps, then shuts itself down again! This is just becoming so much fun! Out comes the user manual again, after reading a bit more I find out that the UPS has to use APC Smart coms cable part [HASHTAG]#ABC123[/HASHTAG] to work! Really! So I consult Uncle Google again about this $70AU cable to see whats so flash about it. Some bright spark decided to put PC pin #3 to UPS pin #6 & PC pin #4 to UPS pin #7! Way to make money off an obsolete type of cable! Being in a throw away consumer electronics era, the cable I brought has molded plastic covers so I can't even pull that apart & swap a few wires around. Need to make a trip down to Jaycar to grab some plugs & cable to make a cable up, I'm not paying $70AU for a $7 cable. The USB cable cost me $40 & will now live in a box in the garage lol. I've loaded up the PC software to set up the UPS when I make the cable up & that's where that's up to.

I never really had a clear idea what was going to go in this rack compartment so measurements where never taken. With everything I've dropped in there it now has a gap of about 25mm between equipment that I will need to blank out. Still need to make up some acrylic covers to hide all the screws & tidy the whole thing up some. For the moment it's looking like this.....

From the top.....
5x 8 switch power boards, 2 of these plugged into the UPS. Everything in the tank can be switched from here (1RU each)
1RU black face plate
2RU black face plate - STC heater controllers, Eco-Drift20 & Gyre controllers mounted to these
25mm gap
2RU plastic case holding the LDD board & controller for the tank lights
1RU Meanwell rack housing holding 2x Meanwell 48V 21A 1000w power supplies for the LDD's above it
4RU rack mount PC
2RU APC 3000kva Smart-UPS

I told you I can dribble on about rubbish when I'm tired & get started, how many mistakes slipped through lol
That's about it for tonight, I'll try 7 post some DT pics tomorrow during / after the WC lol

 

[Brian Kim]

Talking about being organized, that is awesome...more pics!

 

[qldbulldog]

Thanks for the info Synodontis, you do beautiful work.

 

[Synodontis]

Talking about being organized, that is awesome...more pics!

Thanks Brian
Makes it easy to turn off anything from one position & all electrical stuff in one place.

Thanks for the info Synodontis, you do beautiful work.

No problems mate but as for the beautiful work lol, I just like

@dorky
The reactors where made in the garage with minimal tools lol. Insulation tape, tape measure, pen, hacksaw, circular saw, router & a drill. I used 300mm dia acrylic tube & 10mm white acrylic sheet. Cut the tube to length, cut the sheet to size for a base, collar & top plate, router a recess to sit the tube in & router out a hole to make the collar. I clamped the collar & top plate together & drilled the holes to fit the lid.

The circle that was left after cutting the collar was used as the internal media plate.

Final water test over a few days

I used 20mm Marine Sources bulkheads for water movement. A few trial fits to work out hole placement & recirc pump placement. I was going to keep the pump on top of the reactors but was advised by the local RE guy that was not the best placement for RD3 pumps lol. So it was relocated to the floor beside the reactors.

Inlet tube, base plate & mesh fitted

Start filling them up

Then run a few pipes to hook it all together

I really should have taken the router to the corners & rounded them off, ahh well, they are in now lol. I made 3 of these for less then finding 1 commercially brought unit, excluding the pump. I'm happy with them, may not be perfect but they fit the system & are working. Still have to do the CO2 setup but will be a few months of yet I reckon.

 

[Synodontis]

Water change done today & took some pics, some came out OK, some really good (not many) & some I just wont post lol. Point & shoot jobbie so don't expect the same as some of the pics I've seen get posted. Going to a bit of a photo bomb I'm afraid

 

[Synodontis]