Blog Comments

Trying different color combinations


Wave maker installed still have to upgrade it's pump, and playing more with the lights.

Overflow Screen installed.


And first corals moving in.
flow was still not complete and electrical was running but still needed to be tidied up.
Some pics while tank was getting filled and lighting setup

Thanks for the info, I'm not located in the states and not sure those exist around here...

Thanks.
A Friend of mine Architect and reefer did help with the design which was a great plus.

Wow this is going to be simply stunning!

Another silicone that is often highly recommended is Momentive RTV 108 or RTV 103. The "8" and the "3" refer to the color. One is black and one is clear; I can't remember which off the top of my head. When GE made this (before Momentive bought the "recipe" it was labeled "aquarium safe." Momentive no longer certifies it for this use, but make a quick call to Momentive and they will tell you the product is exactly the same as when GE made it. It's FDA and U.S. Military approved for food safe storage. It's also rated as a sealant AND as an adhesive. Most silicone is NOT adhesive so that's something to consider. Anyway, that's what I recently redid a tank and sump with and the stuff works great. To be fair, I have not had any fish or coral in those tanks since redoing them, but a quick check over at reefcentral.com will assure you that many find use of any other silicone to be all but blasphemy. It's a bit more expensive ($15 from McMaster.com as opposed to $5 for GE I/II at Lowes), but the good mechanical properties you get more than justify the price.

Excellent! Thanks for posting some pics here and providing the link. I must have missed your previous entries. I like your idea, very unique.

Thanks.
Here are some of the drawings:











And the complete list + some explanations, with a slight change of plans as the tank was upgraded from 340 to 390G
http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php...k-build-Thread

Very impressive! Do you have any conceptual drawings or diagrams to share with us that shows your vision?

Thanks Cyano.

makes me want to find a job that pays more..... keep us posted and take lots more pictures, I can't wait to see the end result!

Thanks,
Used Den Braven Aquarium Silicon.
Its a very good quality silicon Made in Holland. I guess the baffles and separations somehow act like braces and prevent bowing. Used 10 mm glass on this one Cost of glass and Silicon didn't exceed 150 usd. Initial plan was to add some Eurobracing on it to prevent bowing and make it stronger especially whenthe pumps are turned off and the sump fills up. didn't want to place those before hand to allow for easy equipment positioning and not have braces interfeering with anything. Still with how large the sump is I'm reconsidering that and might just go ahead and install some braces. My Current Sump for my 150g was built by a tank builder it is a bit smaller than this one :
44"x20x20 Vs the Current 60x 26x18 and it has roughly the same design except that this one have the additional fuge partition and he didn't install any bracing and it's been running since 3-4 years....
any thoughts on this?

Looks great! I'm impressed that their is no bowing. What type of silicon sealant are you using and where did you get it from? I'm also curious about how much did something like this set you back because I would love to venture into making my own custom cube as my next project. Keep up the good work!

Thanks,
Yep been fine so far.

looking good so far glad you didnt hit any big snags

Frag tank and sump on stand:


Water filled and no leaks or seam failure so far:

Steel Stand finished:

It was delivered along with the stand for the 390 G tank and both had a very bad epoxy paint on them so they had to be sanded down to the steel (a really ugly process) and 3 coats of quality epoxy were done causing a weeks delay!!!

And The biggest tank I've assembled myself so far, Needless to say how stressfull the first water fill would be:


As planned,
Sump is:
80x50x45 (32"x20"x18") classic 3 partition drain in skimmer partition, return and Fuge.
8mm glass
Frag tank 1:
130x60x40 (52"x24"x16")

What a GREAT idea! I'm gonna have to remember that one too!

Your "Scaping" does look awesome. I love the open look while still incorporating an ATOL type look. Depending on what coral you add where and how they grow you could be going towards a BONSAI look which is one of the best IMHO.

Great work

personally im going to go short and long on my frag tanks with one layer of egg crate so flow is over and under that way lighting end of it will be of minimal concern, in the neighborhood of 12x48x8or10in deep should allow for the use of NO bulbs to keep electric cost down.

Now a few points to discuss so I can finalize the design of thr whole setup:

Frag Tank:
-Would you go with 1 level eggcrate and provide some bottom space for light acclimation VS stairlike eggcrate?

Fish Quarantine:
-would you go with 1 Larger quarantine with ability to insert separation for fish aggression or 2 smaller quarantines for treatment of multiple fish.

-Coral introduction tank:
How big would you go with this tank and what filtration flow and lighting would you have on it?
What protocol would you follow and what dips would you perform before feeling safe introducing corals to your display?

Looking forward for some active discussion on those which might help others as well in how to deal with new corals and fish.
Lets not turn it into a Quarantine VS no Quarantine thread as that choice was already made.