Cali Kid Corals

Gimmito's 450 gal L-shaped tank

Hehehe...

What's the chain used for? To hold the tank up while you slide it onto the platform or something?

looks good, although I think those mermaids in the last shot might be a tad large for your tank ;)
 
sfsuphysics said:
Hehehe...

What's the chain used for? To hold the tank up while you slide it onto the platform or something?

looks good, although I think those mermaids in the last shot might be a tad large for your tank ;)

Mike,
You are correct in your assessment. We backed in the truck, tied the straps to the chains & winch, slide the tank onto a stack of wooden palettes, & hoisted it up 8' onto the stand. Not bad for 4 guys huh ?

Oh and if you thought the mermaids was funny....wait to I get a shot of my son snorkeling in the tank !!
 
Elite said:
with that stand, you coulda go with a MUCH bigger tank :bigsmile:

Phong,

I think I'm maxxed out for a 1 car garage. Now if I had a 2 car, I might have done a 8' deep tank.
I did toy around w/the idea of doing a 36" high tank, but was concerned w/accessing the bottom.
 
So what do you guys think of the equipment list ?

How about live rock ? I was thinking of using marco rock tied w/acrylic rods (for caves & overhangs). I am intrigued w/argocrete...anybody use the stuff ?
 
Equipment list looks good, I'd go with the H&S skimmer myself, they're pretty efficient.

I don't know if you want go with the denitrator, I really haven't needed them in the larger setups I run.

Be sure to look into TBS dry rock if you want to start from dry rock, it's pretty nice stuff and more obtainable than Marco Rocks. Also, IME fiberglass rod is much more rigid and reliable than acrylic.
 
Almost forgot about that equipment list :D

I don't know if you bought it yet or what, but I'll give you advice as if you haven't, if you have, don't feel buyers remorse, it's simply my opinions :)

Lights-400 watt coralvue dimmable ballast w/lumenbright reflectors.
Sounds good, I'm not familiar with the dimmible ballasts, but these are not dimmable via a controller are they? If they aren't I'd say skip this, go with a non-dimming version, probably would be cheaper. If you want less intensity, I'd say have them on for less time. Are you planning any sort of supplemental lighting? (T5s actinics or any of that?) I'm a big fan of mixing up the lighting having a range of times when the tank is at varying levels of brightness. (not a big fan of MH only tanks :)).

Protein Skimmer-Reeflo Prokit or H&S 250 in sump model (to save some space).
Well the H&S 250 is quite a bit more expensive than the Reeflo, lots of people swear by H&S, but they are a bit pricey. Any thought of other brands? The new Royal Exclusiv (makers of the Bubble King) have a new Vertex cone skimmer out, you could get a Vertex 300 for cheaper and it should handle your tank fine. But if you go with the H&S I'm sure you'll be fine that way as well, these skimmers have been around and they're proven to be good... I'm just a bit of a techno-freak :D (not in a music way)

Calcium Reactor-Deltec PF601S (keeping mostly sps w/some lps).
I'm a big fan of 2-part myself, but if you're ok with calcium reactors then your ok with this, high end equipment and all ;)

Denitrator-H&S 150SR (I do like fish and would like to keep some shoals of anthias, but would like to keep nutrients down).
I'd hold off on this, wait to see if you actually need it. I thought about doing a DIY version, until I actually tested the nitrates and found they were non-existent, no sense in paying for equipment you don't need. Unless you have an absolutely huge bioload your skimmers should keep your tank relatively nitrate free through nutrient export.

Return Pumps- 2 Reeflow Dart Golds (I'm thinking of using a Oceans Motions or manifold).
Read Bryan's (seminolecpa) thread about closed loops.... I know this isn't technically a closed loop, but electricity is expensive in this state, even more so when us reefers hit those 300+% rates, the idea of returns at multiple locations is intriguing but everytime I do it, I end up regretting doing it vs. a simple return. IMO, you don't need to have that much water flowing through your sump, so if you do go either manifold or OM, I think the one Dart should suffice.

Contoller-Reefkeeper Elite or New Aquacontroller.
Write down a list of what you want controlled, monitored, etc. That might dictate what you actually need in a controller, although these two that you listed are essentially the same thing so I'm guessing you want to control a lot :D

Water Movement-An array of Vortech Pumps and Tunze Streams.
Vortechs are maxed at 3/4" so you'd be limited to where you could put them. So make sure your two 3/4" walls is where you want the flow to come from. Some people have issues with them, me I absolutely adore not having wires in my tank (if anything for an aesthetic reason). Tunzes are good pumps too though. With a tank your size and wanting mostly SPS you'll need/want a lot of flow, I'd shoot for over 20000k gph myself... with a caveat, your rockwork structure and what you do with that flow can greatly influence what goes on, with the right arrangement you could go for much less than in flow as long as you get water moving ... if you get my drift :D

Sump-100 gal Eco system sump (I don't know if I'm going to actually use miracle mud)
As long as it holds your skimmer, and is large enough to prevent a flood in case of a power outage no problem with this

Refugium-I would like to employ a gravity fed fuge on the upper left part of the tank.
Sounds good
 
Tuberider,

Thanks for the advice. I have a friend (Ed Lum) who recommended the H&S 250 skimmer and Mike over at Reef Specialty recommended the Reeflo Pro Kit skimmer. The H&S would save me alot of space (since I have a 1 car garage).
I'll look into the TBS dry rock & IME fiberglass rods. Where do you recommend getting them ?
Do you have any experience with argocrete (GARF). ?
The denitrator was a precautionary measure. How big are the systems you have installed/maintained ? and the bioload ? I was'nt thinking of any large fish...I'm mostly going for shoaling fish (anthias), clowns, wrasses, & some tangs.

Jim
 
Fiberglass rods I get at Tap Plastic, they're really cheap and can be used for all kinds of stuff (like coat hangers and duct tape :D)

Most of my larger systems range from 180-300+ (hard to measure since there's sump and fuges involved). I just got back from a 200g+ system that I service one a week that almost didn't need to be wiped down it was so clean, and that sucker has a lot of fish in it, tangs, foxface, anthias, clowns the list goes on and on. Make sure you set it up so water changes are a breeze and you can do at least 60g a week and you should be fine, I cannot stress how important it is to make water changes easy on a tank of that size, if you get a cold or work/family takes over your life you want to be able to flip a couple of valves or switches and be done with it. The problem you run into with larger systems is once your nitrates are high it takes a lot of work to get them back down and clear out the stupid hair algae.

I do not have experience with aragacrete, however somewhere on this lovely forum there's a great thread about making it, I'll try to dig it up when I get back from my band rehearsal.

Jeremy
 
Mike,

Thanks for you advice also.

Regarding the lights I've heard some good things regarding the coralvue dimmable ballast, not sure if it's via a controller. I like the idea of dusk to dawn effect and being able to slowly acclimate corals. I do like supplemental lighting and can always add T5's down the line.

I'll look into the vertex....I noticed Marine Depot carries them.

I saw Brian's (Seminolecpa) 2-part dosing system and it was very cool. I will give it some thought.

I wanted to put vortechs on the rear part of the tank for good oxygen exhange and the tunzes in the deco rocks in the canyon. I"m toying around with the idea of using eductors from one of the returns.


The denitrator will be a wait and see piece of equipment.

The return pumps is just a fail safe in case one fails. Brian recommended not using a OM and just using vortechs & tunzes. I too want a discreet looking tank where you don't see overflows, plumbing, cords, heaters, etc.

I like the Reefkeeper Elite, but I'm intigued with the new aqua controller (which oddly looks like the reefkeeper)....I do like automation and being able to see water parameters when away. I'm even roughed out for a webcam in the future !

Jim
 
Jeremy,

What do you play ?

I'm a sound man myself.

I just did a gig in central park in millbrae earlier this month..6 bands (it was a long day). :tired:

Jim
 
seminolecpa said:
Get some friggin water in that bad boy, you have been teasing me with these pics for months now. :)

Brian,

I'm trying but, I was trying to install a venti-a-hood in the kitchen today. I'd rather start framing out for the hood on my tank ! :bigsmile:

Jim

p.s.

How's the tank doing by the way ?
 
gimmito said:
Jeremy,

What do you play ?

I'm a sound man myself.

I just did a gig in central park in millbrae earlier this month..6 bands (it was a long day). :tired:

Jim

I play bass in http://robincampbellband.com/, we play mostly on the coastside, but get out for jaunts to The Little Fox in Redwood City and up in "The City". We'll have to talk music sometime, it's my other passion and yours too I'd imagine if your pulling 8hr+ gigs sitting at the board. :p
 
Jeremy,

I checked out your band's video. Funky rendition of "smiling faces"...perfect song for a bassist !
I do enjoy music and will have a dedicated home theater room after my remodel is done...you're more than welcome to check it out along with the tank. I have a friend (Jerome Madigan) who just did a gig at The Little Fox w/The Pawn Shop Kings. Check out www.myspace.com/willderryberry1, another friend of mine who just put out his latest cd "7." Oh, and that gig started at 7am and finished at 6pm. :tired:

Jim
 
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Shot of two of the four dedicated 20 amp circuits for the tank.
 
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Rear of tank. I will be using a removable sheet of blue acrylic that will be painted black on the top and bottom (kinda faded in). The acrylic will be routed to accomodate the vortechs. Magnets will be used to secure the acrylic.
 
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