12 foot long shallow reef build

[Exarkun1178]

Hi all,

Thought I would start a thread to document my tank.

A bit of back ground. I started saltwater 4 years ago with a 14g Biocube. I wasn't the best with maintenance. But managed to keep up enough. Last January I was up late, as sometimes happens, and decided my nano was not large enough.

When I thought about what I wanted in a tank, gallon-ige(sp) was not a priority, But the display was. When I looked other tanks I noticed a lot of dead space. With taller tanks so much of the water column was not used, and the depth was often not balanced with the sq inches of surface water. With deep tanks, the fish would often be "lost". I did like that the fish had places to swim but often I could not see them all the time. Long tanks often were gigantic. These big builds way put side my budget and skill level.

Deep and tall tanks also had higher lighting demands and larger volume tanks have high maintenance costs... etc...

But I got to thinking, why not the length without the height and depth? Narrow enough that the fish are always visible, shallow enough that lighting is minimal, and long enough to allow fish to swim to destinations and their own territories and be seen nearly all the time.

However finding a tank like this is challenging. 12 foot is the longest single sheet of low iron class I could find. Then it was deciding on the height and depth.

So there it is, 144" wide x 18 tall x 14" deep.

I build the stand and panel. I DIY'd the plumbing. Pictures to follow.

 

[Exarkun1178]

My big issue was plumbing. The shop that built the tank set it up with three bulkheads. One 2.5" in each far side weir and one 1.5" center high.

The tank is only 14" deep, I was unable to find a stock sump that narrow.

My first idea was was a series of tubs. See pictures. Well, turns out I know nothing about fluid dynamics. 2 2.5 inch drains gravity feeds A LOT more water then a a .75" hose between the tubs.

 

[Exarkun1178]

After this fail I thought about just closing in the bottom. I am by no means handy but didnt see a better option. So out came the plywood and saws.

I fiber-glassed the whole shebang. And after fixing two leaks, I was good to go.

My first setup used the one weir to drain, the other to fill and the middle bulkead was the E overflow. This was working, and quiet but very limited tank flow. I had a slow moving current with the bottom half nearly no flow, even with two power heads.

 

[Exarkun1178]

At this point I was over my head. I had a local Aquarium expert come in and evaluate. She came up with a solution to use the two weirs the right way as drains, and the middle as the fill. Her solution increased the water flow and movement, However It was VERY LOUD. She came back to make it quieter, but even that wasn't quiet enough.

I fiddled with it last few days and have it sorted.

 

[Exarkun1178]

After getting the noise and and plumbing sorted I started adding fish.

So far, 4 damsels, 2 clowns, a goby, and a coral beauty.

 

[Dave]

Well that's a little bigger than a bio cube. Nice start. lighting plans? Corals? Long tank would be nice for tang to swim.


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[Steve Jakubiec]

Close to my dream tank dimensions, very good for tangs, etc. I would only be worried about the maintenance aspect. My current tank is <1/3 of that size and the time commitment is a lot.

 

[jkapit]

A very unique design. looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Lostinthedark]

A Powder Blue Tang in that tank would be like watching a tennis match with it going back and forth. Thats an awesome build. Very unique. My biggest worry would be any sag or imperfection on that stand would put a tremendous amount of strain on the 12' piece of glass.

 

[Exarkun1178]

Happy to report my first water change went well yesterday.

All the fish are accounted for, and alive.

Salinity looks good. The ammonia levels were at ~0.5pp to less then 0.25.

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[art13]

The first thing I would do if I were you is get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer along with 35ppt calibration solution (do not use ro water to calibrate it no mater what the directions say!). If you plan to keep corals this will be a necessity, hydrometers are not reliable enough to use for a reef.

 

[Dave]

The first thing I would do if I were you is get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer along with 35ppt calibration solution (do not use ro water to calibrate it no mater what the directions say!). If you plan to keep corals this will be a necessity, hydrometers are not reliable enough to use for a reef.

Agree with art...and they are one of the cheaper pieces of equipment for this hobby. Definitely worth it


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[redfishbluefish]

Hate to say it, but you want / need zero ammonia. It's highly poisonous to the fish. The tank did go through a cycle, didn't it? If not, immediately put in BioSpira or some other nitrifying bacteria product.

 

[Sunny]

Hate to say it, but you want / need zero ammonia. It's highly poisonous to the fish. The tank did go through a cycle, didn't it? If not, immediately put in BioSpira or some other nitrifying bacteria product.

In addition to what Paul said above, you also need better test kits. Sorry, but API are crap.

Keeping fish with the ammonia reading you have there, it will not be good news for too long. You need to dump Biospira ASAP. Also when cycling the tank you are not supposed to do water changes.

Good Luck.

 

[Exarkun1178]

Thanks for the recommendations. The tank is still cycling. I have a consultant managing the tank, and it's cycling.

I'll pick up the refractometer.

Despite having managed the nano tank for a few years I am very much a novice. I'm not sure I am capable of managing a tank where the salinity variances between the hydrometer and the view finder one. Same with variances of one test kit over another. But I do look forward to when I can.




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[mnat]

Really interesting tank design and cool documenting. I agree with what the others above have said, you want zero ammonia and getting a bottle of biospria or Dr. Tims will give your tank a very quick cycle. People in the past used damsels to cycle a tank but there are better ways and that can be really harsh on the other fish you have in the tank. A refractometer is much more precise, the digital ones are even better. They are more expensive but pay for themselves in the long run.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Very interesting design I like it a lot. I had the same thoughts as everyone before me. I think with a six foot run on the stand to the center brace I might add some additional bracing.

 

[Exarkun1178]

Very interesting design I like it a lot. I had the same thoughts as everyone before me. I think with a six foot run on the stand to the center brace I might add some additional bracing.

I was worried about the frames strength also. My brother in law is a structural engineer. He helped me build it and says it is capable of holding more then 10,000 lbs. Hes concern was not the direct weight, but rather the lateral load should it shift. left or right Its why we offset the middle supports.

So far so good.

 

[Exarkun1178]

Looks like the ammonia is going down.

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[Exarkun1178]

Did a few more tests today.

Also added 2 domino damsels.




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