Feb, 2 2009 12:00:00 AM
Tank Temp : 0.0
Tank pH: 0.00
Ca Reactor pH: 0.00
Tank ORP: 0
Tank Conductivity: 0.0
Chart Last 3 Days
Chart last 7 days
System | Status |
Metal Halide 1 | OFF |
Metal Halide 2 | OFF |
Actinic Supplement | OFF |
CO2 Control Valve | OFF |
Kalk Reactor Motor | OFF |
Top Off Water Valve | OFF |
Heater | OFF |
Alarm | OFF |
Chiller | OFF |
Chiller Feed Pump | OFF |
Top Off Switch 1 | OFF |
Top Off Switch 2 | OFF |
High Sump Level Warning | OFF |
Skimmer | OFF |
Cooling Fan | OFF |
UV Sterilizer | OFF |
Main Return Pump | OFF |
The pictures on this site are all taken by me (unless noted otherwise), please don't steal them in any way, shape, or form. Please contact me for permission if you like to use them for any reason. Thanks!
150 Gallon In Wall Reef Tank

Introduction:
The tank was set up in February 2005 as a second tank in the house since
the 180 gallon tank in the living room was getting full with all the fish
I been buying. We decided to make the front half of our basement into
a TV\Family room and also add a bathroom in the same area, putting an
in wall tank with access from the fish room located just on the other
side of this space was one of major consideration in designing the layout
of the family room.
The Tank:
This tank is built by InterAmerican and was purchased used from a couplein
NJ that found the hobby no longer interesting for them. I been told the
front and two side panels are “Starphire” glass, the glass does appear
to be clearer than regular float glass used on the AGA tanks, but I am
not 100% sure about the authenticity of the claim after I received my
latest tank I had custom built by a different tank builder. The dimension
of the tank is 48” long x 30” wide x 24” tall with two internal overflow
boxes located at the rear corners of the tank. These dimensions makes
a very desirable reef tank to equip, illuminated and up keep based on
my experiences with numerous tanks in the 75-180 gallon range. I built
a tall stand with 2X4 framing lumber and ¾” thick plywood, nothing great
to look at but it was easy and cheap to put together, but most importantlyit
is solid and serve the purpose. Due to the tall stand height, I had to
add a “cat-walk” on theback side of the stand so I can easily work in
the tank without using a stepladder.
Lighting:
The primary lighting is provided by two 250 watt matal halide system,
supplemented with two VHO actinic bulbs. Each MH system consist of a PFO
HQI ballast (M80), driving a XM
10K mogul based bulb, and housed in a Diamond
Luminarc reflector. The Luminarc reflectors are one of the most efficient
reflectors avilible in the market and lights up the 48”x30” footprint
really well, they are however, a bit bulky.
The lighting schedules are as follow:
3:30pm VHO comes on as dawn effect
5:20pm First MH turns on
5:30pm Second MH turns on
6:00pm VHO turns off
10:30pm VHO turns on for dusk effect
10:50pm First MH shuts off
11:00pm Second MH shuts off
1:00am VHO turns off
The total lighting period is 9.5 hours with each MH on for 5.5 hours,
this lighting scheme is enough to produce satisfactory growth while reducing
the electrical consumption and heat created. The MH light bulbs was changed
at approximately 15 months of age and the last set of VHO was changed after 20 months
of use. I like the XM 10K bulbs for its price and PAR output, the color
could be a little bluer but that’s why we use actinics anyway.
Water Circulation and Motion:
Tank water drained to the sump is pumped back with an Iwaki MD40RLXT
pump rated at 1,350gph@ 0’ head. The water flow from the pump is split
into two fixed outlets located on the back of the tank, each outlet have a Penductor
nozzle which uses the pressure to further increase the flow at the exit
of the nozzle.
A close loop utilizing a Sequence Dart pump draws water from a 1.5 inch
bulkhead located in the center back pane of the tank, 8 inches up from the
bottom. The water flows back to the tank via two 1” Sea Swirls mounted on
the front corners of the tank, and two 1” PVC pipes with nozzles located
in the back corners to blast the bottom of the tank.
More motions are provided during the light on periods with a Tunze
WaveBox controlled by a photocell. The WaveBox is one of the best
ways to provide water motion through out the entire tank using very little
power.
Filtrations:
The sump is a standard 30 gallon AGA tank modified to provide a holding
area for support equipment and additional water volume, it is located
below the display tank. Approximately 800 gallons per hour of water are
drained from the overflows and fed to a manifold, from there the water
goes thru a 40W UV sterilizer, a Deltec media reactor filled with 4 to 5 cups
of generic carbon, a PhosBan reactor filled with 2 cups of PhosBan,
and the remaining water is fed to the skimmer.
An H&S A250-1260x2 skimmer is used in the system since I don’t believe
you can “over” skim a tank. Most ratings listed by the skimmer manufacturer
are over rated, not capable of providing good skimming capacity for a
well-stocked tank. I have tried a few high-end needle wheel type skimmers
and this H&S skimmer is in my opinion is the best one for the money I have experianced.
Bio filtration is provided with approximately 200 pounds of live rock,
they are mostly “Tonga Kaelini”, with the remaining sold to me as Marshall
Island and Fiji premium. No sand is used in this tank, making this my
first “bare bottom” tank. I am looking forward to add sand into this tank
when I get a chance to do the tank over again.
Heating and Cooling:
Two 200 watt heaters are located in the sump, they are controlled
by the AquaController IIIP to heat the tank at 78 degrees and turns off
at 79 degrees. A CustomSealife 1/3 HP chiller located in my backyard is used to cool the tank,
it is set to turn on at 82 degrees and turn off at 80.3 degrees. The chiller is controlled by the
AquaController IIIP and fed by an Iwaki MD30RLXT pump.
Other Equipment:
An auto top-off system keeps the water level in the sump constant,
two float switches signals the AquaController IIIP and it turns on and off a solenoid valve, adding fresh RO\DI water
from the 35 gallon reservoir when needed. All top off water is fed to a
Precision Marine Kalk Reactor before being dripped into the sump to assist in
maintain pH, Ca, and Alk levels.
Tank water pH level, ORP (Oxygen Reduction Potential), COND (Conductivity, used to determin water salinity) and water
temperature are monitored with a Neptune System AquaController III Pro. This is one of the best toy I have bought in this hobby.
The controller provides a “real time” tank conditions and controlled appliances
status to my website and is displayed on the left side bar of this page.
More to come