Smiddy's Reef 360 Peninsula

[Colored Sticks]

I definitely understand that, one step at a time! It will be exciting to see the fish room come together in the ensuing week. If we weren't dealing with all the coronovirus stuff I would offer my hand to help with rockwork if you needed it!

A few thoughts and things I've found over the years that have helped me, and I hope are at least a little helpful for you (in no particular order).

1. I think deciding what you're going to do for flow first (type/placement of powerheads) is critical. Once you know this you can start to build the rockwork around the flow limitations of a given setup. In the end I think this helps to keep dead spots to a minimum and reduce the need for extra equipment later on.

2. Remember that sclerectinians get BIG. Mature colonies can easily take up a 12" cube of space. Leaving both vertical and horizontal room for growth is key to filling in space and allowing for colonies to mature without having to waste energy competing for room. I think the biggest "mistake" (I put quotations because it truly is preference) I see people make is having their aquascaping too close to the top of the water. Inevitably branching corals reach the top and need to be trimmed extensively to keep from shading others.

3. Keeping rocks away from the glass helps to keep maintenance from being a pain, and corals growing into it or impeding flow further down the aquarium.

4. For me utilizing a good bonding agent helps make intricate 3D structures and keeps any burrowing fish from knocking over stacked structures (E Marcos 400 is supposed to be amazing).

5. To go along with 4. If you're using sand, I suggest placing the rock on the glass first. This will give you peace of mind that it will stay sturdy over the years as corals add weight to them.

6. Don't forget the small guys. Smaller/shy fish and inverts like to have bolt holes to hide in. I think small caves or crevices build specifically for those species helps to keep everyone feeling safe and happy.

Again these are only thoughts/suggestions, and my 2 cents on aquascaping. No matter what you end up doing I know we're all excited to see where it ends up!

Comments and opinions are always appreciated! I got some of the foundation Macro rock this time. I used to have Pukani, but now you can no longer get it. I will be having sand in this tank. I can't justify to myself the ascetic loss of not having sand for my SPS. Just need to stay on top of cleaning it.

 

[NDaquarist]

I think sand is a great idea, I'm not a huge fan of bare bottom tanks (from both an aesthetic and ecological/food web standpoint) they work but are not how I personally like to create the marine environment. In practice sandbed maintenance should be fairly minimal, I would highly suggest reading Sandbed Secrets by Dr. Ron Shimek (if you're interested in getting access to it shoot me a PM). Once you create a healthy sandbed the rest just sort of falls into place, it's a very easy way to keep nutrients to a minimum (with high levels of coral/fish feeding) while increasing the amount of biodiversity in the aquarium. Indo pacific sea farms has great sandbed "starting" kits, and multiple types of critters to help with detritus consumption and sandbed turnover/stirring.

 

[MuralReef]

I have some acrylic rods on the ready for arches and over hangs.

That was what I did in the tank I have in the library. Just make sure you have plenty of masonry bits as they tend to dull quickly. What type of overflow did you order? I am just curious.

 

[Colored Sticks]

I have be

That was what I did in the tank I have in the library. Just make sure you have plenty of masonry bits as they tend to dull quickly. What type of overflow did you order? I am just curious.

I have been doing construction for several months now and have quite the collection of everything!

For the overflow, I got a modular marine 36". I have never used one before, but have heard good things about the 36". This overflow is actually at CDA and will come with the tank.

 

[Colored Sticks]

Fish room Friday night update:

Decided to put up some panels to sever as mounting areas for electronics and shelving... Then decided with so much water volume being in the basement, it was decided to put up FRP to protect the studs/walls.

A ton more work going on this weekend/week to get the fish room ready.
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[halmus]

I’m a big fan of FRP! You can have a water fight in there and not worry about the consequences.

Good to see the progress.

 

[Colored Sticks]

I’m a big fan of FRP! You can have a water fight in there and not worry about the consequences.

Good to see the progress.

I am as well! we should be finishing the walls up today and the plumbing. Tank should be here next weekend

 

[Colored Sticks]

Update on Fish room:
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[Colored Sticks]

More updates:
FRP walls are up. I wish I put studs around the entire room and just put FRP walls everywhere, but that can be done at a later time. Areas with close proximity to saltwater have been accounted for.
Electrical is 75% complete - Add electrical drops in two places for Washing machine, and water mixing station, outlets installed around the room. Need to install ceiling exhaust fan for humidity. Two separate circuits were ran to the fish room dedicated to fish tank equipment.
Plumbing is 75% complete - All copper piping complete. Almost all of the sewage lines are complete, need to add my manifold for waste water exits from the main tank ( will be above the sink were the stub out is). Shop sink installed, Washing machine required plumbing is installed, started installing the water mixing station ( forgot to add a valve to the top of it, which is easy to fix and will be complete today)

Still a ton of detail work to do: caulk everything, install RO system, install apex electrical, the list goes on and on.
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[Colored Sticks]

Fish Room update: Slowly but surely continuing with building out the fish room. Waste water hook ups and water mixing station complete. Need to finish exhaust fan and then all the electrical will be complete. Have one 20Amp circuit dedicated for the tanks and equipment and one 20 amp dedicated to the fish room misc needs.

Tank update: Due to the snowy forecast in Denver this weekend, a one day delay in the tank stand assembly, and availability we have had to move the install to next Saturday. Patience is key in this hobby, luckily I have plenty of things to keep my mind busy for another week.
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[TheRealChrisBrown]

Man, that tank looks awesome! The stand is pretty beefy too, could you stand on that ledge around the edge?

 

[Colored Sticks]

Man, that tank looks awesome! The stand is pretty beefy too, could you stand on that ledge around the edge?

Thank you! I am sure I could, that ledge is going to be a bar, but might be used as a step stool when no one is around.

 

[Colored Sticks]

RO update: With the old RO unit being stored for about 9 months, come to find out post installation, the O rings no longer hold seal, but I have a pretty picture of what the RO setup will look like once the new parts come in. For those who are into the details ( the carbon blocks and sediment filters are flipped positions and will be installed normally once the new parts are in)
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[scmountain]

ahh that answers 1 of the 3 drains, what're the other two?

 

[NDaquarist]

My guess: One for automatic water changes and one for large volume water changes when needed?

 

[Colored Sticks]

ahh that answers 1 of the 3 drains, what're the other two?

Exactly what NDaquarist said.

 

[Colored Sticks]

My guess: One for automatic water changes and one for large volume water changes when needed?

To add to that I have a stem pipe with a ca that can be removed and added onto later if needed.

 

[scmountain]

To add to that I have a stem pipe with a ca that can be removed and added onto later if needed.

there it is. Smart move planning ahead
I originally was going to do AWC even bought the pumps for it, but let the power of internet forums dissuade me from it as I have never tried it for myself.
Everyone has an opinion on the matter, feel like sharing yours?

 

[Colored Sticks]

there it is. Smart move planning ahead
I originally was going to do AWC even bought the pumps for it, but let the power of internet forums dissuade me from it as I have never tried it for myself.
Everyone has an opinion on the matter, feel like sharing yours?

I am trying to plan ahead as best as possible.
I honestly have never had AWC set up on any of my systems in the past, so with this being the first one I will need some time before a full review can be discussed. I really like the idea of small daily water changes or every few days. With a system this large, I really wanted to automate the process so lazyness/excuses will not be a factor in maintenance. I am a really big proponent of stability which leads to my thoughts that very small daily or few day water changes would be best, versus 20% every two weeks.

 

[Colored Sticks]

Fish room updates:
1) Added ventilation fan to deal with humidity in the fish room
2) Added homemade RODI filling circuit. Three Stainless Steel float values for redundancy of the automatic shut off using a electronic solenoid for filling water storage bins
3) Started filling water to test system ( electronics, pumps, and plumbing) SUCCESSFUL

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