200g reef set-up...

[liveforphysics]

Donkey- Perticularly if you are simply paying someone to install things, what could be more simple and novice friendly for someone starting out? Guys come in and install solartubes over where you are going to put the tank. Now you never have to worry about lighting related BS and bulb choices, bulky canopys, thick snakes of wire going everwhere and possibily even re-wireing the house to support the higher lighting demands. If there is a more new-user friendly approach, I would love to hear it.

Surge tanks are very simple passive devices with no moving parts. They are simply built and installed by someone, nothing to maintain or service or wire up in the attic etc. No 8way oceans motions to plumb, and no hayward ballvalve controlers etc. Very simple and maintence free for someone starting out, with an end result being monsterously huge pulses of flow remarkably similar to actual ocean wave current

The earth cooling loop is just a no brainer, if you guys doing large reefs thought about it ahead of time you would all be doing it. Somethings just make sence, despite how much the product marketing departments in the reef equipment industries try to convince you otherwise.

But, in efforts of preventing conflict, I will retire my sugestions if requested.

 

[Scooterman]

It is amazing how much sunlight smashes anything we can try & do to put light into our tanks, I agree but practical in most cases it isn't. Just being able to have a small piece of a simulated reef can be very satisfying otherwise few would ever attempt it in a practical manner.

 

[burning2nd]

WELl then F it, get your self a skid steer and start diging son!.


take lots or pic i wanna see the opperation in hand

 

[liveforphysics]

Handheld auger hole digging tools can go +12ft useing extenstion bars on the auger... Comercial well drilling units can make a neat little hole 20ft down in a matter of minutes.

Think something like this, but with 3 5ft extension bars added on as the hole goes deeper. Really not something impractical or mystical or scary.

 

[Scooterman]

maybe not to you Luke but not everyone can simulate everything as easily as you, consider the two 50g tanks in the attic, you would have to make sure your structure can handle the weight, also you would need to accommodate the surge once it hits the tank & make sure your tank can handle that kind of thing not to mention whatever else will be required to be known ahead of time while building it. Consider even the sky lights needs to be done with some experience, not saying any of this can easily be done but within the limits of ones experience you may be limiting anyone who is new to this & may not even want to deal with all this after doing it a while, then what, how much will it cost to restore your home, consider the average person with average skills then assume it may be practical. Do it, make it work, show us it has worked & you can do it easily then suggest it to others, otherwise whatever unknowns if your wanting the liability because you said it was easy, all I mean is please consider others & their possible limits before turning a newbie into a monster. You have a great gift, just learn to use it where everyone can gain from it.

 

[burning2nd]

"two 50g tanks in the attic"


Im not a genius or anything, but that doesnt sound good 2 me. In my experence's (through my short life) gravity has always won

 

[liveforphysics]

"My husband has been planning to 'purchase' a 500 gallon reef tank. By purchase I mean, pay for the design, construction, maintenance, etc. Doesn't this make him an armchair aquarist?!"



This means, his complexity is limited to calling a home remodeler contractor (or similar), and saying "I want 6 of the big solartubes here, and i want you to dig a narrow deep hole here, and make sure my attic can support a couple of 400lbs resivior/jugs here and here". Now, build me a platform that can hold my 6,000lbs tank here under the lights. After that, you call a plumber over and sit in your armchair and tell him that you want him to run some pipe.

 

[morgan]

liveforphysics dont stop whats this about surge tanks im intrigued do they have to be above the tank also puttiong a saltwater tank in a ceiling space it will eventully eat threough your cross beams
the onmly thing i havent seen on this site is people talk about the structeral damage to your house owning a saltwater tank can do it eats through plaster and f**ks wood up i mean everyone dose know that the salt stays in the water as it evaporates? and air rises so it could hurt the ceiling
just my 2cents

 

[Scooterman]

liveforphysics dont stop whats this about surge tanks im intrigued do they have to be above the tank also puttiong a saltwater tank in a ceiling space it will eventully eat threough your cross beams
the onmly thing i havent seen on this site is people talk about the structeral damage to your house owning a saltwater tank can do it eats through plaster and f**ks wood up i mean everyone dose know that the salt stays in the water as it evaporates? and air rises so it could hurt the ceiling
just my 2cents

I guessing you mean when the water evaporates the salt stays in the tank right?

The surge device is a neat thing, don't know if you would need that much for a 500g tank though & that surge hitting the tank from that height I would think you need to consider when building the tank also, to me this is getting very expensive.

 

[shallowreef]

There is a fish store by my house with a 400 gal SPS tank with a 45 gal surge tank that sits above it. Very cool to see. I just hope you can drain the water quick enough or else you'll have a huge flood and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.

 

[morgan]

how big a tank do u need for a surge
and no i meant salts do pass in the air and soak in to the walls

 

[Scooterman]

When water evaporates it leaves behind the salts so I don't see how salt can float in the air, maybe due to salt creep but that is another issue.

You can surge most any tank with proper design.

 

[burning2nd]

whats a surge tank?

 

[Scooterman]

Ever see how a toilet just dumps a lot of water quickly into the lower bowl? The tank sits up high & every so often it releases lots of water suddenly into your main display tank, thus forming wave like motion across the tank.

 

[shallowreef]

They are noisey and create a lot of bubbles in the main tank but they do move alot of water through your tank very quickly.

 

[liveforphysics]

http://www.masla.com/reef/csm.html

Morgan, that link should give you some info. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding in reguards to the properties of a surge tank. A surge tank is not a tank(aquarium), but generally a round plastic vessel completely sealed off. There is nothing to spill, spray, slop or drip in a surge tank. Due to the energy of its function requireing potential energy
(taken in slowly by a medium size pump) to be stored in the form of elevation, it must be above the aquarium to function.

Since holding something in the attic seems to be the current mystical problem to solve (like digging a hole was earlier), I will explain how I would personaly do it. First, I would use plastic water storeage jugs in 50gal sizes as the body for the surge tanks. The plumbing water line in, and the siphon/surge line would be plumbed and sealed into the jugs. I would then take a look at the roof support rafters in the attic. If trusses were used, I would feel quite safe simply nailing about 4 2x4's on end across between the lower beams of the trusses to make the support platform for each jug. If the roof is just supported by 2x8's running together off brackets at the top of a central beam, I would likely construct a quick easy frame from 4x4 material to tie into the stregnth of a few of the boards and beams available (obviously depending on roof style and location in the room etc). I would lay a few 2x4's on end across the frame to mount each jug.

Nothing would be sitting on the ceiling, nothing would be spraying salt water in the ceiling, nothing would be falling through the ceiling etc.

Once again, this is the sort of thing man should be able to direct(from the comfort of his armchair) a mildly competent contractor to for him in around 4hrs or so, and for around $100 materials cost (not counting the cost of the water jugs themselves, I do not have priceing data for those off hand).


I just got a wild idea here. If this guy is truely looking for someone to pay to build his reef for him, I would be willing to fly out and perform all of the above mentioned tasks at a reasonable price. I however will NOT build the tank itself, but everything else shouldnt run more than a full weeks work. I will have some free time comming up in about 2 weeks, so please let me know if you are interested.