setting up 500 need advice

[BlueLagoonSD]

Okay guys. Im picking up my new glass tank this sunday. It measures 96”l x36”w x32”h. Two upcorners have 2inch holes for the drain. Anyone know how many gph this will be pumping? I dont have any experience with a tank this large so Im hoping you guys do. I need to know what time of pump I will need for the return. Skimmer? lighting? calcium reactor? Any leads to any information will be appreciated. Ill take pictures of the beast this sun. Its gonna take 10 guys to barely lift it, but wish us luck

[brahm]

i think your best bet would be to post on the large tank forum on reef central.

[BlueLagoonSD]

yea I will, just hoping someone will have equipment to sell that I could use for it. I know a couple of people are selling tanks that i could use for a sump and fuge, but Imma have to wait for the tank to get here first to see how much room I got.

[brahm]

...you could always plug the holes, and run some tunzee's

[Flamehawk]

how about using power heads(maxi-jet/rio/stream/seio or those pumps sits on top of tank above water) to creat majority of current in your tank and use a smaller pump to circulate water between sump and tank.

maybe make a wave making thing like Ron has in OG?

You can always reduce the flow with a valve for your drain to raise the water level in the tank. A LOT of water can flow through those drains you have. I don't know if you willing to spend that much money buying a huge pump.

Skimmer, just buy the brand that known to perform well and get the one that capable of handling the load.

Lighting, I would say if you have the money go for Double Ended HQI 250w minimum, assuming you making it a reef tank(assuming you plan to keep wild range of things from things require a lot light to lower light).

Calcium reactor, I think is a must, because it definitly make things easier.

ya it's a heavy tank. I seen 500gal before and 1200 gallon before. If you can find a few of those heavy duty sucktion cup they use for lifting glass, should make the job easier.

Good luck.

Hey, take a picture with ppl in the tank. :P

looking forward to the pictures.

[BlueLagoonSD]

I was planning to go with a ampmaster 3000 or a sequence(model?) as a return pump, which will not only pump water to my main but also to my fuge(around 50 gallons). The tank has holes for a close loop. Not sure If I want to go with a close loop or a bunch of seios right now. Hoping the seios come out with bigger pumps comparable to the tunze 6100. Close loop might be cheaper since i can get another ampmaster of sequence at around 200. I might just incoorperate both.

Skimmer: Was thinking about going skimmerless for awhile since its such a big tank. But when i do, i was thinking of asm 5x. Not sure if its capable of keeping up with such a large tank

As far as lighting go, Im happy with the results of 400. Been running them my whole reefing experience. Will prob go with 4x400watts right now. i know most people keep around 8, but Im going to just have sps in the back, and ric polyp ect in the front. The vhos will provide plenty of light for those low light corals

Calcium reactor: looking at the dual chamber reeftek. Heard nothing but good things about them. Good prices too

Im planning to rent 4 suction cups and the rest of the guys can lift from the bottom.Will definitely take lots of pictuers. Plus Im planning to keep the tank in the garage. Im hoping it doesnt get too hot in there.

[SDMike]

If you need help, lemme know.

I have GOT to see something this big in person!

There's another 500gal tank on www.recycler.com right now for $300 if anyone's interested.

M

[Flamehawk]

I see, whatever works for you. Definitly looks better without those pumps and wires in the tank. Since you going to have it in the garage, than less noise issue.

perhapes you can start thinking about how to cool the garage down if need to. Maybe have vents, windows you can open, fans, leave garage door slitly open......etc.

Or even think about how you can make use of cement floor in the garage to cool the tank a little. Maybe by bury part of the pipe or other ways of transfer some heat from the tank water into the ground. That's something I plan to make it part of my tank when I have my own place.

good luck

[BlueLagoonSD]

wow...thats a sweet offer...sounds to good to be tru

I appreciate the offer, If im short handed, I will definitely call on my fellow sdreefers

[brahm]

Originally posted by SDMike
If you need help, lemme know.

I have GOT to see something this big in person!

There's another 500gal tank on www.recycler.com right now for $300 if anyone's interested.

M

can you link to it? I can't find it?

[SanDiegoReefs]

http://www.recycler.com/asp/AdDetails.asp?iID=38754&sBAC=760&bSQ=0

-moore

[suver569]

bluelagoon- Check here


http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88577

Dude put together a killer 850 gallon. Might give you something to size your tank up with.

[brahm]

Originally posted by moore
http://www.recycler.com/asp/AdDetails.asp?iID=38754&sBAC=760&bSQ=0

-moore

cool thanks was this guy in san diego?

[SDMike]

Originally posted by brahm
cool thanks was this guy in san diego?

If not, he's somewhere in SoCal...

M

[brahm]

i emailed him he is in bakersfield.

[SDMike]

Originally posted by brahm
i emailed him he is in bakersfield.

Yeah, and? $300 for a 500Gal tank and you're worried about a little driving?

I've seen threads on RC where dudes with that size tank spend $3000-4000 ON JUST THE TANK.

M

[brahm]

i ain't scared to drive, it's finding people in bakersfield to lift it into my truck!

[SanDiegoReefs]

I know plenty... I'm originally from a small town about an hour and a half north of Bakersfield. I have plenty of friends who would help move it in exchange for some lunch... ha.

-moore

[SDMike]

Originally posted by moore
I know plenty... I'm originally from a small town about an hour and a half north of Bakersfield. I have plenty of friends who would help move it in exchange for some lunch... ha.

-moore

YOU may not know people in B-field, but I'll bet HE does!

M

[brahm]

.....bakersfield is how far by sf right?

[nalbar]

bakersfield is about an hour north of L.A.



nalbar

[brahm]

Originally posted by nalbar
bakersfield is about an hour north of L.A.



nalbar

oh thats not so bad.. hmm i' guess i'll be asking the guy for some pictures!

[bgoode]

moore, where are you from? I'm from Porterville, about an hour north of bakersfield.

[SanDiegoReefs]

Bakersfield is about 1.5-2 hours north of LA (about 120 miles). It's just a bit north of the grapevine on the 99. Not much to look at though, ha.

bgoode: Porterville?? Awesome. I'm from Exeter. One of my good friends just joined Porterville PD... and he has some crazy stories from the streets of P-ville, geeez. I think he saw 2 dead bodies in his first week.

-moore

[BlueLagoonSD]

well here it is guys..finally in my garage. It was a long tough sweaty stinking day. Would like to thank sokalreefer, makubix, moore and chillywhilly for going out of their way to help me out. Unfortunately we couldn't get anyone to get inside the tank for a picture, i had to use my dog instead.

[BlueLagoonSD]

blue tape is on the edges because i wanted to reseal the tank just to make sure nothing happens later on

[BlueLagoonSD]

stand...

[BlueLagoonSD]

canopy....:)

[BlueLagoonSD]

sorry jason just had too...everyone who knows him, knows hes like almost 7 feet tall.....lol

heres jason and a pocket bike during one of our breaks

[BlueLagoonSD]

the tank is not on the stand yet because we did not have enough people to lift that thing of the ground. I figure the only way we can do this is to get around 12 guys to lift it off the floor. Anybody else have any suggestion on how i can accomplish this impossible task?

[T. VO]

The tank is 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and about 3 feet tall! It's pretty small.. :p

I wonder how long Moore is going to allow that photo of him up.. :rolleyes:

[BlueLagoonSD]

thanks chap, since you live so close to me..I might have to call on you in the future...you'll regret you offered once you feel 1000+lbs on your back:p

lol enjoy the picture of moore while it last...

[chin_monster]

The safest way is to rent a lift from an equipment rental place to lift it up and then slide it off onto the stand. Otherwise it's you and twelve of bestest friends trying not to drop the thing or crush fingers.


Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
the tank is not on the stand yet because we did not have enough people to lift that thing of the ground. I figure the only way we can do this is to get around 12 guys to lift it off the floor. Anybody else have any suggestion on how i can accomplish this impossible task?

[SDMike]

Originally posted by chin_monster
The safest way is to rent a lift from an equipment rental place to lift it up and then slide it off onto the stand. Otherwise it's you and twelve of bestest friends trying not to drop the thing or crush fingers.

That right there is probably the smartest thing to do. Those lifts really do help out.

Having said that, I'm still available with a strong back and a weak mind. I have to have a weak mind if I'm actually VOLUNTEERING to help lift that monstrosity!

M

[JeromeBaker]

I'll put these pythons to work if you need help lifting it.

[BlueLagoonSD]

what im planning to do is get a lot of guys hopefully around 10-12 and lift it and slide it in from the side. I might have to rent those industrial strenght suctions in order to do this. Does anyone know if home depot sales them?

I was looking at 2 ampmaster 3000 for circulation. 1 ampmaster will be split where one end will return to the tank and other will go to the fuge. The other ampmaster will be used for a closed loop. Does anyone know which sequence model is equivalent to the ampmaster 3000. Is the ampmaster even strong enough for this tank?>

[ConUSsd]

i just want to see your first and prior month's electric bill after you set this thing up! OUCH! :eek:

[chin_monster]

If it were me I'd be for capping all those holes that are for closed loop circulation systems and run down to the local neighborhood Tunze store for a trio of Stream 6080's to start with and add another if needed. Otherwise the elecrical costs are going to be monsterously huge to run pressure pumps to run the tank.

The Tunze's will give you dramatically greater flow rates for about about half the cost of running a single AMP3000 each month. Something like 17-watts each for 2240-gal/ hr turnover for the 6080's.

Anyway, that would be what I'd do concerning turnover inside the tank.

[BlueLagoonSD]

lol charles, i need you to come down and design my tank. I have a few drilled holes so im not sure which ones to cap off. I think i might go with that idea. Would 4 6100 tunze be too powerful for this size tank?:confused: I wont be to afford tunze so im waitng for seios to come out that are equivalent in power.

[chin_monster]

The 6100's are awesome, but incredibley expensive. The 6080's are about $175 a piece vs about $310 for the 6100's.

The non-electronic/ variable ones are reasonable for what they do, the others cool, but really, really expensive for what they are/ do.

I would think that 3 or 4 of the big streams would be about right. I would lean much more towards the non-variable 6080's (even though the longer I have the electronic 6000's the more I like them, they are still very pricey).

[BlueLagoonSD]

ok guys i need you guys help with the plumbing. Im stuck with a tank with 12 holes and im not sure what to do with it. What i decided to do was to go with 2 sequence pumps for the return and closed loop. I heard nothing but good things about them. Here are the 3 im considering. http://www.acropora.net/sequence_flow_water_pumps2.htm
I'm considering the hammer for the return and the stingray for the closed loop.
According to the picture i drew of my tank, which hole do you guys think should be the one that drains for the closed loop? Which holes should be the returns. Please help. Any advice will be appreciated.Visuals will be helpful.

ps. the measurements are the size of the pvc piping.

[BlueLagoonSD]

all the holes are circled in yellow except side facing directly at you.

[brahm]

this is getting far to complicated just give the tank to me, and save yourself the trouble ;)

[nalbar]

when you say numbers are the size of the pvc do you mean the bulkhead? because you have 1.5 marked for a hole but the bulkhead you already have installed does not look like a 1.5.

personally i dont like inside the tank water movers, whether tunze or PH's. is this a frag tank or a display tank? it would be far cheaper to divide the tank in half and get two different sump pumps, one for each half of the tank. that, combined with a closed loop, would give you all the flow you would need. you get a couple high volumn iwaki's (or similar) and pipe off to 'swivel" pipes into the tank from above (through the upper holes i suppose) and those lower holes (downsized to increase flow) half way down you would be set.




nalbar

[BlueLagoonSD]

the number are the size of the piping taht goes into the bulkhead. This tank will be a display tank, so i wont be dividing it. Thanks for the idea though.

[nalbar]

i did not mean dividing the tank, i ment dividing the work (drains and returns) into two sections because of your odd hole layout. that way instead of one HUGE pump to feed all those 11/2 pipes, two smaller pumps, one for each side.

just wanted to clear that up.



nalbar

[BlueLagoonSD]

Oh excellent idea nalbar. Didnt quite understand it the first time around, but thanks for clearing it up. My plumbing is hold as of right now while i shop around for a sump. Might have to go custom on this. I will hopefully get my pumps next week. Decided to go with 2 sequence hammerheads which is rated at 5500 gph with 0'head. Skimmer: not quite sure yet. Just waiting for finals to be over and ill be free to work on this tank this summer.

But im glad we got the hardest part over with:)
garage needs to be cleaned up still though

[suver569]

Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
canopy....:)

I can see you'll be a slave to SDG&E lighting this tank :D
What's the total # of lamps, and wattage?

[JeromeBaker]

Yeah that canopy looks loaded. That's really going to be a cool tank. I look forward to updates. Is it gonna make it in the house or????

[BlueLagoonSD]

unfortunately, the tank wont fit in the house, so Im force to turn my garage into a fish room. As of right now, Ill prob just start out with 4 400watt mh. The tank is 8 feet long, and each metal halide should cover 2 feet. The tank is 3 feet wide, but I dont really care if the light will cover the front sand bed or nothing, since ill keep low light corals like polyps mushrooms ricordias, etc, since my vho will take care of them. I will keep my electricity down as much as possible. I hoping=)

Creating this tank is pretty fun, can't wait til its up and running

[jetor]

Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
unfortunately, the tank wont fit in the house, so Im force to turn my garage into a fish room.

You are more than welcome to try and fit it into my house as an alternative......... :)

[nalbar]

my tank is also in my garage and you know what? i LIKE it! no worries on spilling water or droping anything on the floor. the only worry for me is dust, and i have decided to learn to cope.



nalbar

[BlueLagoonSD]

Darn it...everything i wrote got erased!!
:mad:

but ill be more brieft this time

Plumbing: Finally finished, after fixing several pita leaks. Decided not to go with a closed loop and caped off all the side holes. Wanted to save on electricity. Im glad i did because im getting some monster flow from my sequence hammerhead. It returns to 2 1.5 inch bulkheads which are further splited into 2 1.5 outlets. The bottom 1 inch bulkhead goes into a 4 feet spraybar which will be hidden behind the rocks

Fuge: Decided to go with a 29 gallon fuge. Flow is T of from on of the 2 inch drains and then a 1 inch bulkhead brings it to the sump.Why so small you ask? Because I had it laying around. Why waste more money right? Also it fits under my stand perfectly next to the sump. Who would want a 50+ gallon plus tank full of macro algae neways right? Wouldnt know what to do with them every month.


Sump: Purchased a 85 gallon acrylic tank from david M. Converted to a sump. Holds just the right amount of water perfectly

Sand: Decide to go with a shallow sand bed. And have dsb in the fuge. Dont like the look of it. So i have about .5 inch of sand just enough to cover the glass.

lighting: decided to go with 2x72inch 160 watt vho actinics and 4x400watt. Thanks to chaps interesting link regarding light time. I decided to stagger the lighting time. 2 will be on for 4 hrs. The other for the next 4 hrs. Not only will i save electricity, I will increase the bulb's life.

No skimmer no lights, no calcium reactor, no life! So as you can see i still have a long way from being a sdreefs totm!!hah

Just taking one day at a time. Just waiting for my 2x250 watt titanium heater to do its magic and for the water to clear and Hopefully add my lr to it tomrrow. Maybe fishes. Well see. Now for some pix

[BlueLagoonSD]

fuge on the bottom

[BlueLagoonSD]

fuge lite by 1x96 watt daylight next to the monster return pump

[BlueLagoonSD]

the sump ..getting lots of bubbles from the return, regret not baffling the sump

[BlueLagoonSD]

tank from the top...dirty water

[JeromeBaker]

I have an erection.

[BlueLagoonSD]

Originally posted by JeromeBaker
I have an erection.

Ill take that as a compliment.:D
Thanks guys

[T. VO]

:p

[JeromeBaker]

definitely a compliment! YOur tank is rad! :)

[brahm]

:)

[brahm]

or..

[BlueLagoonSD]

told him mermaids do not exist..

[T. VO]

:p

[brahm]

Originally posted by SoKaL ReeFiN
:p


ouch!

[brahm]

Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
told him mermaids do not exist..

rofl!!!

[brahm]

:) see below.

[brahm]

round 2

[T. VO]

[edited]

All discussions back on Mikes 500.

[BlueLagoonSD]

hah thank you!

[brahm]

Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
hah thank you!

haha i saw it .. and i will rember it forever.

[T. VO]

I could always pull out that picture again.. :p

But no, lets keep all future pics as closely related to Mikes 500 as possible. haha

[BlueLagoonSD]

some update i guess

went to la today and got about 120lbs of dried rocks
and made my ghetto rock rack. Its 1'x2' and made out of eggcrate and left over pvc i had. Nm the black and white combination, seems to be a theme for my tank. oh wells always did like the 2 colors together.

[BlueLagoonSD]

the rocks! Its very nice. So big but yet so light.

[BlueLagoonSD]

the amount of live rocks I had. Thought I had a lot, but in the 500, it looks like rubbles

[BlueLagoonSD]

rocks all in. Looks like Imma need another 200lbs or so of rocks. Im going broke, still need skimmer, light and calcium reactor! So much for my "buy now and worry about it later" idea..its all coming to haunt me now.

[BlueLagoonSD]

oops forgot pix.. As you can see, Im going for the stevewest theme with the canyon in the middle. I love the width of this tank

[BlueLagoonSD]

alrite guys i need some help. I opened my sump earlier and i saw nothing but foam. Looks like my sump is a big ole skimmer. So much micro bubbles is coming into the sump that its causing it to act like a skimmer. How can i reduce so much bubbles? Theres a mini tornedo in each of my overflow boxes. Should i reduce flow or :confused:

[BlueLagoonSD]

the mini tornedo that develops

[BlueLagoonSD]

mini tornedo

[JeromeBaker]

I applaud your bravery.

[Alexsd]

why dont you used a filter sock? that should stop all the bubbles going into your sump.

[T. VO]

He was using a filter sock but the the damn thing overflowed out of the sock creating more bubbles.. haha

[BlueLagoonSD]

i threw a brand new filter sock on one of the overflow piping last night and this morning, it was overflowing....i might just have to clean it everyday if thats the only option:(

[BlueLagoonSD]

at first i thought it was detergent, i told sokal to taste the bubbles, he did and said it taste like soap, so i tried some, and it tasted salty. Need a third taster to confirm whos correct:D

[Alexsd]

I have to change out my sock every 2-3 days


Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
i threw a brand new filter sock on one of the overflow piping last night and this morning, it was overflowing....i might just have to clean it everyday if thats the only option:(

[T. VO]

No need for a third taster, I was just trying to scare him.. :D

[BlueLagoonSD]

how do you clean your socks anyways?

[Alexsd]

I just use the water hose it works well
some people put them in the dishwasher but my mom will kill me if do that.

[JeromeBaker]

I loved living at home. My mom absolutly loved it when Id poor my skimmate down the kitchen sink.

[chin_monster]

Mike,

Much of the problem is going to be that there is a lot of organics in that rock that has to come out.

Tests are going to show sky high ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels right now because of all that dead rock. Any sort of skimmer would be a benefit at this point just to export that nastiness. Barring that, water changes.

I don't think a whole lot of the microbubble issues you've got right now are related to the plumbing, but you're going to have to wait until the organic levels come down to reasonable levels to be able work with anything really.

P.S. I'd be asking around to see if someone has an old ETS or AquaC skimmer lating around that you could borrow for a while (something with a drain fittting anyway). Anything without one will fill up immediately and not of much use. Something that drains into a 5-gallon bucket (or larger container).

See what you've got yourself into.

Later,
Charles

[BlueLagoonSD]

your right charles, my ammonia is definitely sky high right now. Didnt expect any die off with the dead rocks. Im hoping this micro bubble/foam issue is directly related to that, it makes since because it started right after i added them in. Skimmer i borrowed from kim92111 is flooded with foam right now, but its definitely skimming stuff. Thanks for the help.

[T. VO]

Happy B-day yo. You should take a trip to Vegas, oh wait.. you already did. :rolleyes:

[BlueLagoonSD]

thanks dude! And im ready to add some fishes!

[brahm]

Originally posted by BlueLagoonSD
thanks dude! And im ready to add some fishes!

...hehe with a 500 hundred.. what goes in might never come out! hahaha.. Keep away from the damsels!

[JeromeBaker]

How is this monster coming along? I watch this thread like some of those RC "big tank threads", anxious to see it all come together.

Does Bluelagoon take the cake for sdreefs biggest tank?

[BlueLagoonSD]

Hey
The tank is coming along fine. Nothing too crazy yet. Just finished the aquascaping (150 more lbs of rock and 150lbs of sand) and added all my fishes. Yup the cycle is finally over. Also added a 96watt 10k pc bulb to my fuge.
I installed a icecap 430 and 2 160 watt bulbs. But the Son of a b@#$ ballast shorted out on me. So i had to send the ballast in to icecap for repair.
The tangs are loving the extra 400 gallons of swimming space.
My next purchases are skimmer, metal halides and calcium reactor. Trying to slow things down a bit because I will be moving soon. :(

I will try to get pictures up tomorrow. Not sure if i have enough light on the tank to take decent pictures. LOL All i have are one 20watt flourence strip and 2 30watt bulbs. We'll see

[T. VO]

Finally move the tank in and starting to set up and you're planning on moving! Son of a *@%& mother *%#%*@% crack %@*%*% bull%*@^ piece of *%#% is that?!

[JeromeBaker]

Originally posted by SoKaL ReeFiN
Finally move the tank in and starting to set up and you're planning on moving! Son of a *@%& mother *%#%*@% crack %@*%*% bull%*@^ piece of *%#% is that?!

Well said.

[BlueLagoonSD]

yup, my family have decided to move. Sucks ass....

[Flamehawk]

where you guys moving to? bought a new house?

[chilly05willy]

Omg... when/where you moving?

and I thought moving a 40g was bad.... if you need help man, just let me know

[T. VO]

He's moving to Sacramento. Good luck helping him Will. :)

[brahm]

ha that tank has been on A JOURNEY!

[T. VO]

Did I say Sacramento? I meant Mira Mesa. :p

[brahm]

Originally posted by SoKaL ReeFiN
Did I say Sacramento? I meant Mira Mesa. :p

ES STUPIDO!

[T. VO]

TU MADRE!

[obarrera]

This is hilarious.LOL

[BlueLagoonSD]

yea..im moving up north, prob around mira mesa area. Maybe this new house will provide a room for the tank rather than a garage. We'll see. Im looking forward to the move, but not moving the tank. It wont be til late this year anyways.

[obarrera]

Do you have any pics of your tank?

[EyeReef]

Finally got some lights up in this mix. Not that much but enough to see the fishes. 2x160 watt.

[EyeReef]

side view

[EyeReef]

left side

[obarrera]

Wait im confuse,are you BlueLagoon?
Anyway that's a bad ass tank.:cool:

[T. VO]

Oh my god, BlueLagoon is LVreefer! What a surprise! :eek:

[PonE619]

I thought Makubix was Blue Lagoon:D

[ninhsavestheday]

I AM BLUELAGOON :D

[T. VO]

No no.. you are Blue Baboon.

[EyeReef]

just wanted to post some new fishes i got yesterday. One is a 5 inch blonde naso with streamer, and another an adult emperor(Imperator) angel. Both are reall beauties. Had some agression from the foxface, but things seem to have calm down this morning.

[EyeReef]

sorry for the bad pictures....i dont have much patience to take good pictures

[EyeReef]

the two outcast

[JeromeBaker]

Pictures dont do this tank justice.