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Diary of a Rather Large Tank

planter said:
You KEEEEEERAAAAZY fishkeepers !! love it!

8x3x3 = 450 gallons thats 900 watts to acheive 2 watts pre gallon!!!! :wideyed: thats 6 x 150 watt MH?? (sorry just thinking aloud) and substrate OMG I hope hubby has plenty of contacts in the trade!

Intersting to see what you do with the sump too wont those over flows vent off gas?

Thanks for posting and please keep us updated ....

or one of these

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... ts_id=1084
 
trouble is aaronorth that unit is only 180cm long! this tank is 240cm long and 90cm wide! Ive just installed MH over a 240 x 90 coral tray and used 4 x 120cm double 150 watt (8 x 150) units 2 front 2 back (expensive business!)

Any hints guys on how your going to light this beast?
 
planter said:
trouble is aaronorth that unit is only 180cm long! this tank is 240cm long and 90cm wide! Ive just installed MH over a 240 x 90 coral tray and used 4 x 120cm double 150 watt (8 x 150) units 2 front 2 back (expensive business!)

Any hints guys on how your going to light this beast?

so it is! :D
 
Hi,
I would strongly recommend that you limit the level of lighting to your original proposal of not much more than 0.5 kilowatt worth of halides. The wpg rule becomes irrelevant for both very large and very small tanks. For high light tanks CO2 becomes a serious issue rather quickly.

Cheers,
 
ceg4048 said:
Hi,
I would strongly recommend that you limit the level of lighting to your original proposal of not much more than 0.5 kilowatt worth of halides. The wpg rule becomes irrelevant for both very large and very small tanks. For high light tanks CO2 becomes a serious issue rather quickly.

Cheers,

Where would you say the rule tails off for large tanks?
 
jayne said:
ulster exile said:
I think we may have found a possible contender for another UKAPS meet :p that must be amazing to see in the flesh!

You'd be more than welcome,we have a barbecue and we're not afraid to use it :lol:
(and we're only in Stourbridge so not too far for you ;) )

Hi Jayne, i would love to come and see your setup when its finished and as you say i only live in worcester so please keep in touch,regards john ps: take a look in my journal because i like the jungle scapes its called johns 450ltr 112g. :)
 
john starkey said:
jayne said:
ulster exile said:
I think we may have found a possible contender for another UKAPS meet :p that must be amazing to see in the flesh!

You'd be more than welcome,we have a barbecue and we're not afraid to use it :lol:
(and we're only in Stourbridge so not too far for you ;) )

Hi Jayne, i would love to come and see your setup when its finished and as you say i only live in worcester so please keep in touch,regards john ps: take a look in my journal because i like the jungle scapes its called johns 450ltr 112g. :)

I meant to say "yes please!"
 
We will be using 4 x 150w metal halides with a moonlight for night time viewing.I've asked about this previously and was told this would be enough.The lights will be individual pendants rather than a multi light unit.

A couple of people has mentioned unstable CO2 because of the type of filtration.It is our intention to flood the towers and add a small pump in each one to circulate the water through the towers to make sure there is no stagnation.Hopefully this will enable the CO2 levels to remain stable as there will be no trickling effect.However,as with everything else we are very much open to suggestions :D

As far as maintenance/initial planting is concerned then yes we(or more likely Billy ;) ) will be getting in there,there really is no other way!That's why we are going to screw all the wood into position to keep things as stable as possible.

We are using ecocomplete for our substrate,another 10 bags was ordered today,taking us up to 28 bags :wideyed: We may use cobbles underneath in areas where we want a greater depth,we'll have to see.

The black acrylic will be attached to the towers tomorrow,and once that's dry we'll start to play with the positioning of the wood,photos will follow of course.

Finally,just to say that John,Chissie and anyone else is more than welcome to visit when we are up and running :)
 
bugs said:
ceg4048 said:
Hi,
I would strongly recommend that you limit the level of lighting to your original proposal of not much more than 0.5 kilowatt worth of halides. The wpg rule becomes irrelevant for both very large and very small tanks. For high light tanks CO2 becomes a serious issue rather quickly.

Cheers,

Where would you say the rule tails off for large tanks?

Bugs,
It's hard to say, there are so many variables and it's not real clear "line in the sand" :? I'd say things start to get dodgy at the 400 litre mark and beyond. It's not just the light but the flow in the tank whose predictability starts to deteriorate. It also depends on biomass. At tanks startup it's always best to be cautious and limit the wattage as well as the photoperiod. At tank startup we are most vulnerable due to poor plant mass and poor bacteria colony population. There is cycling going on in filter, water and substrate and other submerged surfaces so it's advisable to use about 50% of the total wattage the first few weeks or so - that goes for all tanks. This in particular is tricky because large and frequent water changes are usually called for early to rid the tank of ammonia. It's not clear how jayne plans to automate water changes but it is something to think about.

Cheers,

Cheers,
 
Just thought I'd come and join the drooling crowd. With that size tank to play with you could really have some fun with 'hidden jewels' in a jungle scape. ie having small specimen plants hidden around the tank so that every time you look you find something new.

Ceg, I think Jayne was saying that they are going to have an RO unit hooked up for auto top-ups and one of the ideas was to use the pump in the sump to send water down a nearby drain during larger water changes (Though my eco side says you should pump it into a water butt for watering the garden!). Obviously EI and it's associated 50% water changes are a no go here!

Looks like it'll be a relatively low maintenance tank with conservative lighting levels which should make the CO2 less difficult as the uptake wont be as great as in some of the higher tech tanks. Even though I have next to no idea about CO2 my guess would be that the best diffusion method would be a series of diffusers spaced around the tank at points with appropriate flow.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this evolve over the coming months. A tank most of us can only dream of :)
 
Hello all

The towers are now in place and totally dry so we will be placing the wood in position next(possibly tonight).

I'll take photos of course ;) .

I'm not sure if you have read my thread on the fish forum but I am currently attempting to raise about 20 chocolate gourami fry,guess where they'll be living if they make it :lol:
 
Egmel said:
Ceg, I think Jayne was saying that they are going to have an RO unit hooked up for auto top-ups and one of the ideas was to use the pump in the sump to send water down a nearby drain during larger water changes (Though my eco side says you should pump it into a water butt for watering the garden!). Obviously EI and it's associated 50% water changes are a no go here!

Looks like it'll be a relatively low maintenance tank with conservative lighting levels which should make the CO2 less difficult as the uptake wont be as great as in some of the higher tech tanks. Even though I have next to no idea about CO2 my guess would be that the best diffusion method would be a series of diffusers spaced around the tank at points with appropriate flow.

Umm...I afraid there is nothing conservative about 0.7 kilowatts of metal halide lighting. :wideyed: Diffusers spaced around the tank would be a hopeless dream in this size tank. Look how much difficulty people have with diffusers in just a 30 gallon tank. The best bet would be to inject into the sump. That way the effluent into the tank is already saturated. The trickiest design issue for the sump will be how to seal it to avoid CO2 evaporation, but yet to allow access to the sump for maintenance. You'd also want to avoid excessive splashing inside the sump to avoid CO2 loss.

Cheers,
 
We've put the wood in tonight,just three pieces,but they are large pieces!

We've also fixed the upper bracing bars,which are currently being supported by wooden planks,giving the tank a lovely 'mock tudor' look,at least for the next 48 hours until the silicone is completely cured.
tank006.jpg

tank010.jpg

tank011.jpg

tank012.jpg

tank013.jpg


As far as CO2 is concerned we will be injecting it into the sump.The design will incorporate tight fitting cover glasses to stop gas escape,and minimise splashing etc.
 
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