Scott's 50-Gallon In-Wall Build

[scbauer]

I've been considering a CA reactor (almost made an impulse buy this morning, actually), but the truth is, I don't know exactly what is going to be in this tank. While there may be some SPS, I'm leaning towards an anemone tank with a few REALLY NICE SPS scattered around. Remember, there isn't goign to be a whole lot of viewing area (18x24) so a full SPS tank might not have the same effect.

So, if there are only a few SPS, I believe I can handle the calcium requirements by dosing either 2 part or liquid CA. Thoughts?

As for the pictures, I agree... I'll take a few pictures of the overflow work tonight and post them.

-Scott

[kar93]

It will probably be easier to get a calcium reactor as it is still important to keep calcium levels normal IMO. It is alot cheaper in the long run aswell compared to dosing.

[oceanparadise1]

that is going to me one mean looking tank i cant wait to see the pics of this done!

[chrismunn]

i did the 2 part thing for 2 years and it got old. even if you dont have a bunch of sps, you can still maintain a stable alk.

[kar93]

Also using good salts can maintain it well. But i would still recommend a reactor as its just the ease of things.

[scbauer]

Originally posted by oceanparadise1
that is going to me one mean looking tank i cant wait to see the pics of this done!

Thanks! I am also very excited to see what this will look like when it is "done" (and I use that term lightly since I'm the kind of person who keeps tweaking and tweaking, so it is very unlikely it will ever actually be done)

-Scott

[chrismunn]

isnt that how it always works in this hobby?

[scbauer]

Originally posted by kar93
Also using good salts can maintain it well. But i would still recommend a reactor as its just the ease of things.

Okay, I'll start looking for a cheap reactor. I think my primary concern is that I have not dealt with them yet. It sounds like a headache waiting to happen with a CO2 bottle, regulator, reactor, etc.

As far as salt is concerned, I used to use Instant Ocean in my old tanks, and have decided to use Reef Crystals for this tank. Anybody have an opinion on Reef Crystals?

-Scott

[kar93]

Here is a good article from Melevs Reef:
Calcium Reactor

[scbauer]

Thanks for the link. I am a big fan of everything that Mark (melev) does. I'm now officially on the hunt for a Calcium Reactor.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

its something you'd probably end up wanting later on down the road. at least now you'll have time to get the feel for it before the time comes that you need to have it precisly dialed in and know how to keep it that way. that may not be for a year or more, but at least you'll have that practice.

the hardest part is going to be getting it setup so that you have the proper co2 rate and effluent rate to maintain a constant level of calcium, and not lowering the ph in the main system. thats pretty much all there is too it. its probably going to be much HARDER than it sounds, and is going to take alot of testing at first! im sure you'll be happy you did it though.

[scbauer]

Don't want to get too far off the build topic, but are Kalk Top-Off and CA Reactors used in conjunction with one another, or is it usually one or the other?

[chrismunn]

they can be used together or seperate, its up to the user. when i get my 75 running i will be running a CA reactor, but will NOT be running kalk.

[psteeleb]

I'm realy liking this. Can't wait to see it up and running. I would be concerned about heat though.

[scbauer]

Okay, I lied. I decided to go drinking and gambling last night instead of posting pictures. Sorry. Now you all know what it's like to be my wife.

Anyways, back on topic... here are some pictures of the overflow that didn't come out as bad as I originally thought:

From the back...



FTS (please ignore the mess on the workbench):



Close-Up (and slightly out of focus):



Close-Up and a little more in focus:


-Scott

[scbauer]

Oh, and since I have yet to post pictures of the light rack, here you go. Nothing special, but it took me all of about 30 minutes and $10 to put this together. I may redo it since I still don't have my T5 lights and don't know exactly how I will mount them, but for now, this is what I have:







-Scott

[scbauer]

Originally posted by psteeleb
I'm realy liking this. Can't wait to see it up and running. I would be concerned about heat though.

Hey psteeleb, thanks for really liking this, I'm looking forward to getting the tank up and running, too. It is continually evolving. The heat issues should be addressed with the following 3 items:
[list=1][*]Tank area will be walled off and have an exhaust fan that pulls cool air in from the house and sends the hot humid air away[*]I've always been fairly successful with a fan blowing on the surface of the water to keep my tanks cool[*]And if the above two don't seem to get the job done, I have a 1/3HP chiller that should do the trick[/list=1]

Thanks for tagging along, keep the comments coming.

-Scott

[scbauer]

Originally posted by scbauer
Hey psteeleb, thanks for really liking this, I'm looking forward to getting the tank up and running, too. It is continually evolving. The heat issues should be addressed with the following 3 items:
[list=1][*]Tank area will be walled off and have an exhaust fan that pulls cool air in from the house and sends the hot humid air away[*]I've always been fairly successful with a fan blowing on the surface of the water to keep my tanks cool[*]And if the above two don't seem to get the job done, I have a 1/3HP chiller that should do the trick[/list=1]

Thanks for tagging along, keep the comments coming.

-Scott

Actually, the hope is that the 1/3 HP chiller will do the trick all by itself. I think this chiller is overkill for a 56-gallon tank, but since it was 108 degrees here yesterday, I might need the full power of the chiller.

The vented wall should help with keeping cooler air around the tank and help with the pH (keeping fresh air circulating). The fan is really just a last resort and I will probably just run a program on my AC Jr. that says "if temp > XX then fan1 on" and XX will be 2 or 3 degrees higher than what I set my chiller at.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

that overfflow box isnt nearly as bad as you made it sound. as a matter of fact its not bad at all! thats a cool light rack too, is it just angled aluminum rivited?

i was curious about the heat too, i asked about it in an earlier post but got no reply. is the wall idea a certainty, or just an idea. in my opinion its going to be your best defense against the LVNv heat! as long as its ducted the way you describe with tempurature controlled air being pulled from the house and the heated air ducted out of the house somewhere. if its not ducted the room will surley become a little sauna! if you do that then you could probably get away with using the fans only. you could hook up a chiller on a temp. controller thats set at a temp. 2 or 3 degrees above the temp. set for the fans on your ACjr. that way if the fans arent enough, it'll still kick on the chiller as a preaution before the tank fries. i wouldnt be opposed to precautions against heat when the back side of that tank is in a garage in the middle of the desert! just a though?

did you win anything? i won $47.00 bucks in south lake tahoe a few weeks ago haha, big whoop huh. it was the second time i had ever gambled and i didnt know what i was doing. i got yelled at for leaving the rolet table with the wrong chips.... oops

[scbauer]

Hey chris, the wall is not a certainty, but I have been planning it all along. I'm pretty sure it will happen. The idea is to have a vent with some 4" duct work going under the stairs and into the kitchen. There would then be a bathroom exhaust fan near the top of the "fish room" that would exhaust the air outside. This would pull cool, air-conditioned air in from the kitchen and vent the hot air outside.

Option 2 would be simply to have the same duct and vent from the kitchen (cool air inlet) but have a second vent on the same wall as the tank, about a foot or two above the tank. I would then add a fan on the intake side to blow cool air in, and if the room is walled/sealed properly, the hot air at the top of the room will be forced through the vent at the top and back into the house.

I know the second option isn't as efficient because the hot air stays in the house, but it will be cooled by the A/C in the house. I actually like this option better because it will increase the humidity in the house which is something we really need. It is so dry out here I have considered installing a whole-house humidifier. We'll see if the tank gives us enough humidity.

-Scott

[scbauer]

Quick stat... 42% of the posts in my thread are by somebody other than me. That's nice, but I feel like I'm talking with myself sometimes. 58% of the time it's just me. Help me out people!

[scbauer]

Actually, that last post brought it down to 41/59

[scbauer]

Originally posted by chrismunn
did you win anything? i won $47.00 bucks in south lake tahoe a few weeks ago haha, big whoop huh. it was the second time i had ever gambled and i didnt know what i was doing. i got yelled at for leaving the rolet table with the wrong chips.... oops

Actually, I went to dinner withh a friend and he wanted to play blackjack. We both won $100, had 2 or 3 (or 9) free drinks then called it a night.

How did you like South Lake Tahoe? My wife and I lived there for 3 years before moving to Vegas. Miss the lake but don't miss the snow.

-Scott

[scbauer]

Final update tonight... leak-tested the overflow and it didn't pass. One corner leakd quite fast into the tank so I had toload up that corner with silicone. If I didn't and the power went out, the tank would drain into the sump down to the level of the bulkheads that are in the overflow... that would be bad..

Should be fixed now. I'll test again tomorrow night.

-Scott

[nmbeg]

you're not talking to yourself. consider it a lecture, or perhaps a soliloquy...... one person talks but an entire audience is listening.

ps. this post should help bring your percentage down a little......