Jeremy's 420 gal DT build

[jlinzmaier]

I've been anxiously awaiting the start of this build. I've been planning a large tank build for several years now and things have recently fallen into place to allow me to get started. Last June my wife and I bought a new house and one of the criteria for the houses we were looking at was that it had to be able to accomodate the tank build that I was brewing in my head!! We found a great house and we're all settled in so it's time to get started on the tank.

I've spent the last several months planning the details of this project and the planning is a whole lot more complex than I thought it would be. With a big tank build everything has to be just right or you end up with big tank trouble!!

The tank will be 96inX36inX28in (approx 420 gallons). This tank will be built inside a wall (peninsula style) in between my living room and my den. The tank will be built by Derek at Miracles Aquariums and he has been absolutely wonderful to work with. I should also point out that Paul from Oceans Motions was critical in the planning of the flow pattern for this project.

Here are a few general details about the project:

- Glass for the viewed panes will be starphire
- The zeovit system will be the primary means of filtration.
- The overflow will be plumbed down into the basement where I'll have my zeolite reactors and two Reeflo Orca 250 skimmers. Total flow through the sump will be approx 2000 gph.
- I plan to have a refugium which will be approx 100 gallons and will contain only a shallow sandbed and LR rubble. Due to the ultra low nutrient levels that the zeo regimen creates, there'll be no need for macroalgae (nor would macroalgae be able to grow under such low nutrient levels). The concept of the refugium is solely for pod growth to provide some natural live food for the tank inhabitants (my opinion of what a true refugium really should be).
- My current 180 gallon DT will be plumbed into the system in the basement and I plan to use this as my frag tank.
- Lighting for the DT will be four 400 watt MH's with a combination of XM 15K bulbs and Ushio 14K bulbs. MH's will be powered by PFO HQI ballasts and the pendants will be Lumenarc III minis. I'll also have four T5 nova extreme fixtures (216 watts each) for a bit of actinic supplementation.
- Lighting for the frag tank wil consist of three 250 watt MH's powered by Ice Cap electronic ballasts and I'll be using pheonix 14K bulbs.
- For flow in the DT, I'll have a total of three closed loops powered by Reeflo Dart Gold pumps. Each CL will have an OM 4-way with drum version 3 (opposing). Two closed loops, in conjuction with my sump return, will function to create a barrel roll effect. I'll only have one overflow at one end of the tank. My sump return will be exiting straight down in front of the overflow which will start the circular motion. Two closed loops will sweep the water along the bottom of the tank from one end to the other then it will be pushed back up to the surface where another portion of a CL will push the water directly at the overflow on the other end. This barrel roll concept will hopefully create some momentum and keep my rocks and SB free of detritus. The third closed loop will funtion only to create random movement and stir up any dead spots. All the exits from the third CL will come in over the top of the tank and will be focused at any ledges or slow movement areas to get the detritus stirred up into the barrel roll. The third closed loop will turn on for about two minutes every 15 minutes and cycle on a 24 hr basis that way. The outlets from the third closed loop will also consist of 3/4 inch locline so I can change up the flow direction any time I want.
- Stand will be stainless steel 2X2in tubing. There will be adjustable legs to ease the leveling process and make everything extremely precise, and I plan to have four steel beams in the basement to support the weight of the tank.

Here are some pics of the construction beginning. It felt pretty good to start tearing down the wall!! That made it all feel real!!

First two pics are of the wall before I got started.






Here I am hard at it. Even my wife got into ripping the drywall off!






This is as much as I've gotten done so far. The 2X4's come out on my next day off work.







This is the window I'll need to take out to get the tank in the house. This window will let us slide the tank right into the den.




I have a friend in the landscaping business that has graciously offered to use his tractor with extended forks to lift the tank off the truck, but my only answer to get the tank into the house is manpower. Tank will be approx 850lbs so I'll have to get about 10-12 guys to help me lift this beast into the house and onto the stand. If anyone has any better ideas please speak up!!

That's about all I've got for today. The tank is due to be completed and delivered by the middle of Jan so I'll continue to give updates as the project progresses but it's all going to happen pretty fast. I'm terrible with drawing programs so you won't get any fancy graphic displays of how my flow pattern will work and exactly where everything will go, but I know how to use my camera and you'll get plenty of pics!!

Jeremy

[customcolor]

Originally posted by jlinzmaier

hey i know that guy!

good start! i wish i could go that big in our little house. so whats for lunch on tank moving day? ill bring the family along so make shure there is enough and my 6 year old can play with your daughter so they are out of the way

[Pike614]

WOW! I thought I had a lot of demo for my 450g in-wall...but it is nothing compared to yours! SHould be an awesome set-up!

[MrSquid]

You know your tank is JUST THE RIGHT SIZE when you have to rip out a freaking window to get it into the house.

Can't wait to check it out in person!

[m2434]

That's awesome. How far from Sheboygan? I have family there; maybe next time I visit I can bring my snorkel gear and go for a swim

[Tc269]

Just call me when the tank is in, or if you need help with anything else Im only 25 mins away.

[jlinzmaier]

That's awesome. How far from Sheboygan? I have family there; maybe next time I visit I can bring my snorkel gear and go for a swim

M2434

Your welcome to come see the tank any time. You'll have to leave the swimming to the fish though!! I did read a build thread in which a guy was converting a swimming pool into a reef tank just so he could swim in it. I'm not lucky enough to have that kind of money to push around.

Jeremy

[siropa]

Glad you've gotten started. Can't wait to see it when it is done.

[goldmaniac]

looks to be fantastic !

tagging along

[93292_FishGuy]

Looks to be a good build thread read i will be following along.

[bwoody62]

I know I'm excited, and it's not even my tank!!! I'll be watching so I can copy all this later!1 Good luck. And yes we're all jealous!!

[jlinzmaier]

Thanks for all the interest and enthusiasm everyone!!

Please speak up if any of you guys (or girls) have any ideas on how I can improve any of my plans/designs. I outlined the basics in the first post, but as I go through each step along the way I'll detail exactly what I'm doing and why I'm doing it that way.

Jeremy

[siropa]

Are you convinced zeo is the way to go? I know from seeing your posts on that other forum you've had a few issues. Not that it is going to happen, but if you bail on zeo, do you have things planned out to add a fuge or the like?

[jlinzmaier]

Only a minor bump in the road with the current zeo issues. I'm 100% confident this slime is only a phase and it will pass. On the zeo thread I've been very persistent with the zeo guys only to make sure they've evaluated the situation thoroughly and they're prescribing the right treatment/dosing. I'm also convinced that the zeozyme that I'll be getting this week will make a significant difference.

The coral growth and coloration is still off the charts so there's no chance (ever!) that I'll bail on zeo!!

Jeremy

[siropa]

full speed ahead then

[MrSquid]

Hey Jeremy - care to share with the class just how big this beast is gonna be? I mean...in that pic you're standing on a LADDER to pull off drywall for your FISH TANK! And I thought my wife was understanding through the build process!

Are you adding an air exchanger or doing something with the HVAC to accomodate the evaporation that the house will be seeing with 600+ gallons of water? How many gallons will you have total in the end?

And if I were you, I'd blow some more insulation into that attic while you've got that wall opened up.

[jlinzmaier]

Yes Mr. Squid, I neglected to provide any details in regards to the ventilation but I've got big plans!!!

Essentially above the tank will be an entirely isolated space from the attic (and the rest of the house). Picture the tank and the space above to be one large enclosed column that will extend outward to the edge of the house. I'm going to have bathroom drywall (moisture resistant) enclosing the entire space and there will be a complex ventilation system to manage the heat and humidity.

Considering I'm already evaporating off 5 gallons per day on my 180, I figured I needed a good plan to manage the heat and moisture of this tank. There will be a monitor which will regulate temp and humidity in the air above the tank. If the heat or humidity hits a certain point I'll have exhaust fans (extremely quite ones) kick in to vent the air out through the sophet of the house. There will be a small fan running continually underneath the tank since there will be three pumps powering my CL's. Since I'm already putting a hole in the floor for plumbing the overflow into the basement, I planned on making a few more larger holes to allow cool air from the basement to be sucked upwards when the exhaust fans kick in. I'll also have an exhaust vent inlet from the outside to allow fresh air to circulate around the tank (again, this air will be vaccuumed in when the exhaust fans kick in). This will serve two purposes 1) remove any excess co2 that can cause a decrease in pH and 2) help cool the system during the winter months. Since we get near 100 degrees in the summer I'll have to have some kind of valve to only take in air when the temp and humidity of the outside air is appropriate. I'm not sure if venting in any outside air will cause any condendsation issues, but I plan to talk with some heating/cooling companies before I finalize those plans. Making the space above the tank a confined area (as opposed to leaving it open to the attic) will allow the heat and humidity to be much more easily controlled since I'll be working with a smaller volume of air.

I'll be talking with some heating/cooling companies this next week to see what they recommend and I'll update everyone with the final plans.

Jeremy

[jlinzmaier]

Not sure what the total volume of the system will be. Let's see

DT will be 420

Frag tank will be 180

Refugium will be 60-100

sump area for skimmers and zeolite reactors will likely be 60-100 gal

Just that gets me between 700 and 800 gallons. Haven't finalized the layout and design of the equipment in the basement just yet. Once I get my stand in place I can put in the steel posts and from there I can start planning the plumbing around the supports.

Jeremy

[siropa]

I'm going to have to add another fuge or something to keep ahead of you if you get to the 800g mark

[mg426]

I will awaiting your progress.

[jlinzmaier]

I'm going to have to add another fuge or something to keep ahead of you if you get to the 800g mark

LOL!! Not trying to compete, but if you want to we could make it real interesting. Since it's entirely unfinished, I think I've got a bit more room in my basement than you do. Too bad you invested in that home theater - you could have added another pond!!

I knew I was missing something. I have yet to add on the FOWLR tank!!!! JK. That will be an addition in the future years.

Jeremy

[MrSquid]

Do a clear back on the 420 - then get a 2nd 420 as a FOWLR. Place them back-to-back and fill it with triggers, lions and eels.

[Boyman]

Subscribed! I will be tagging a long for this one. I can't wait !

[spleify]

Gonna be cool!

[JDigital]

I already want more pics.. LOL

Good Luck with the build.. I'm taggin along.