The aquarium thread

by **Soulmonster** Thu May 19, 2011 9:12 pm

I am currently setting up a new reef tank, it's gonna be a 1400 litre system. I am currently constructing the firmament and wait for the two tanks that will be sent from Germany. This is gonna be big.

The aquarium thread CIMG5992

by Pawnshop-Sitars Fri May 20, 2011 2:55 pm

Awesome! I used to love keeping fish when I was younger, but I relied on my dad doing all the work The aquarium thread 6680

Now he can't be arsed with one, so I'll get one myself when I move out. Are you going with a theme for it?

by **Johan** Fri May 20, 2011 5:05 pm

I guess these pictures are suiting for this thread!

The new one's gonna be huge?!!

by **Soulmonster** Fri May 20, 2011 6:46 pm

The plan is to create a mixed reef, meaning that I will have both stone corals (small polyps and large polyps) as well as soft corals. Some colorful fish will be added too, but I haven't decided on them yet.

The old tank is 130 L, the new tank system is appr. 1400 L. The display tank will be about 1000 L and the technical tank in the adjacent room around 400 L.

The aquarium thread IMG_4941

by Pawnshop-Sitars Fri May 20, 2011 9:41 pm

Hell, that's a beast of a tank. It'll take ages to get the ecosystem up and running! The aquarium thread 2113965524

by **Soulmonster** Fri May 20, 2011 10:18 pm

Yeah, this is a long-term project.

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:50 am

Some progress. Next week some guys will come and drill holes in the wall for the ventilation system. With 1400 litre the evaporation is a beast so I need some way of removing moisture.

I am also working on the firmament and hope everything will be finished by the time the tanks arrive.

The next I need to do is start on the plumbing, but I need some more parts that will be sent to be this summer.

by **Soulmonster** Sun Jun 19, 2011 6:25 pm

Looks like I am getting the aquariums next week so I am trying to speed things up a bit.

It doesn't look much different but I have spent many hours getting the surface level. I have also used some plastic to protect the wood parts from moisture. Later on I will add panels to the whole firmament to make it all look nice.

The aquarium thread IMG_5833

This is from my technical room. I will have another aquarium here, but connected to the display tank in a closed system. The hole inn the wall which will facilitate the necessary plumbing can be seen. The tank in the technical room will contain filtration equipment, heaters, pumps, etc. This room also contains my live feed breedery.

The aquarium thread IMG_5834

Now I just hope I haven't made a calculation error so the tanks won't fit down the stairs The aquarium thread 440299

by **Soulmonster** Sun Jul 03, 2011 5:28 pm

The new tanks arrived while I was on a trip to the USA. They are now standing outside my house. I'll have some fellows over on Wednesday to help me carry them into the basement Smile

. Happy happy joy joy!

by Pawnshop-Sitars Tue Jul 05, 2011 1:40 pm

Awesome! Can't wait to see these things up and running. Going to be properly impressive.

by Bismarck Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:02 pm

Dude, that swt-up is SICK! I've always dreamed of having my own reef aquarium at home, just don't have the money or the space to set one up. At the moment I've got fresh water system going. It's a an amazonian style ecosystem so I've furnished it with some deadwood and some plants to keep the water slightly more alkaline. The fish themselves are nothing special, just some small barbs, tetras, a corydora catfish and a massive pleco. Planning on upgrading to a slightly larger tank and maybe giving some cichlids a go.

What sort of filtration system are you planning on using? Seems from what you've written above that you'll be putting it through your house's mains, so I imagine it'll be a pretty expensive system!

by **Soulmonster** Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:32 pm

I recently moved to a new house and negotiated with the wife for some time to be allowed to do this project Very Happy

. The money...I don't want to talk about that, it's more expensive than I thought it would be, but I do all I can to cut maintenance costs (LED lights, few pumps, etc).

I plan on remove pollutants, toxins and excessive nutrients from the water by water changes (about 10 % every week), having a refugium, a big protein skimmer, and mechanical filtration using various pads. I will also remove nitrates and phosphates by using different chemical methods.

The tanks will be placed in the basement and will be in a closed system without any connection to the mains. The water will simply circulate between two tanks by the means of some water pumps. Fresh water that evaporates will be replaced using an automatic top-off system, and as I said, I will exchange about 10 % of the water every week. The costs of new salt water is expensive so I will be getting it from the nearby ocean. My car can take about 200 litres in the trunk using lots of cans.

Please add some pictures of your system if you have!

by Bismarck Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:01 pm

I would but it isn't exactly pristine at the minute. I'm just back from college and my family who were placed in charge of it don't have a clue how to clean a tank properly. The internal filter is broken from what I can see, and all the plants are dead. Miraculously none of the fish have died so that's pretty lucky.
Imagine a fish tank in the same state as America was portrayed in "The Road" and that'll give you some idea.

by Bismarck Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:02 pm

Meant to ask what sort of set up is that smaller tank in the picture?

by **Soulmonster** Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:17 pm

It's a Red Sea Max 130. A 130 litre divided into two sections, one in front where the corals and fish are stored and a small section behind where I have a small protein skimmer, heater, pumps, some filter pads and some chemical media for filtration. It is a really neat plug and play tank.

Here are a few pictures from that tank:

The aquarium thread IMG_4920

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:15 pm

We were about 8 guys carrying the tanks yesterday. Since they are made of acrylic they aren't really heavy, but only 4 could carry at the same time. Still it was nice to be many to help support and manoeuvre the tanks down the staircase. Acrylic scratches easily so we used foam to protect the corners. It took us about 2 hours I guess before the tanks were in place. What a relief! The aquarium thread 3597338600

Here are a few pictures from when we took the large tank down the stairs:

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And here are a few pictures from today. The big tank is illuminated with one of the LED fixtures:

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The filter tank in the adjacent room:

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Next up is getting the electric wiring up. I hope this will be done today. Then I will start on the plumbing next week, I hope. The aquarium thread 240178

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:13 pm

And the obligatory girl-in-the-tank-picture:

The aquarium thread IMG_5939

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:06 pm

The system is now up and running! Currently about 14o0 litres of salty water is running in circulation between two tanks placed in two separate rooms in my basement. Next up is starting to build the aquascape, the reef. Then I need to improve the circulation and fine-tune the filtration.

by **Soulmonster** Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:53 am

The system is running smoothly. I have started building the aquascape and added sand yesterday. It will need a day or two to settle:

The aquarium thread IMG_5968

by **Johan** Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:29 pm

Wow, you've come a long way since I last read this thread!

Are the fish of the other aquarium moving or do you get new ones for this bigger home? Sharks for instance Wink

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:33 pm

I have moved the old fish into the new tank, together with all the corals and rocks. I will buy additional fish and corals later. I have plenty of room now Smile

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Nah, no sharks. They are either too stationary, get too big or eat the other fish Smile

by **Johan** Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:37 pm

Could you notice anything on the old fish, like "holy fuck, our new house is a lot bigger!"

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:37 pm

Haha, yes, they were scared Smile

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by Pawnshop-Sitars Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:16 pm

Can't wait to see some photos. What camera are you using? Your photographs come out perfectly. My sincerest compliments!

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jul 28, 2011 8:46 am

Thanks! I use a mid-range Canon EOS 500D. I am still learning how to use it and to shoot pictures through the thick plastic walls of the tank.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

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With the night lights on. Some of the corals fluorescence beautifully, unfortunately I wasn't able to capture that this time:

The aquarium thread IMG_6081

by **Soulmonster** Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:52 pm

I am finished with building the reef...at least for now. Now I will start to add more and more corals and just wait patiently for them to cover the whole reef.

Here are a few pictures from today:

The aquarium thread IMG_6184

by **Soulmonster** Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:31 pm

by Pawnshop-Sitars Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:27 pm

Wow!That is simply astounding, very impressive. You got any more fish in it? I can't remember if I am right in thinking that every two weeks you can add another one or two medium sized fish or not. Any more pics?