Feb, 2 2009 12:00:00 AM
Tank Temp : 0.0
Tank pH: 0.00
System | Status |
BK Skimmer | OFF |
Refugium Light | OFF |
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300G Fish Only Tank

Introduction:
No, it is not a typo on my menu bar linking this page. The current 180
gallon fish only tank should have been replaced by a 300 gallon display
tank by now, for multiple reasons the move has been delayed. I don’t want
to make the changes on the menu bar, which will just further discourage
me to set up the larger tank. The current 180 gallon tank was set up in
the first floor living room of the house in July 2004 as a reef tank.
I took all the coral and metal halide lighting out of the tank when the
150 reef tank in the basement was established in March 2005, it was officially
converted to fish only tank and I was happy to get some none-reef friendly
fish I always wanted. The system total water volume is approximately 370
gallons, and I have about 30 fish ranging from a 7 inch Queen angel to
a 2.5 inch Bicolor Pseudochromis.
The Tank:
I had purchased the tank used in October 2003, before I had made up my
mind on moving back to NY, it sat in my mother’s garage for the next six
month and served as a temporary holding tank during the our move from
Southern California. This is a standard AGA 180 gallon tank with built
in corner overflows. The previous owner had drilled five holes for 1”
bulkheads on the back pane of the tank for a close loop setup, I think
he must been drunk when he drill the holes, they are placed so randomly
it could not have been done by someone sober. The tank sits on a stand
built from 2x4 framing lumber, with front and two side panels made from
¾” oak veneer plywood and solid oak trim pieces, I tried to mimic the
mission style furniture I have in the house, it was the only requirement
I had when I submitted the design to the wife for approval. The canopy
is also built similarly from the same material, it is about 13’ tall to
accommodate metal halides and have three 4” cooling fans in there for
air circulation. I planned to replace this tank with a larger tank this
summer; this should allow the current fish to have more room to swim,
maybe for me to get a few more fish too.
Lighting:
I am currently using two 80W T5 bulbs, one D+D 6000K midday and a D+D
actinic 03, driven by a IceCap 660 ballast and reflected by SunLight Supply
T5 Parabolic reflectors. These 5 feet long bulbs are really bright being
over driven by the IceCap, the color mix from the two bulbs makes all
the colors on the fish really “pop” and I can also see shimmering effect
in some areas. The lighting period is from 4:30pm to midnight daily.
Water Circulation and Motion:
Tank water drained to the sump located in the basement are pumped back
with an Iwaki MD55RLT pump rated at 1,100gph@ 0’ head, it is powered thru
a inverter charger and two marine batteries and will last about 6 hours
if the power goes out. The water flow from the pump is split into two
fixed outlet located within the corner overflows, I estimate each outlet
have approximately 350 GPH of flow. Two Tunze 6100 Stream power heads
provides additional flow within the tank and is on an APC computer power
back up for those unexpected power outages.
Filtrations:
The sump is my old 100 gallon acrylic display tank, I took out some of
the center and perimeter bracing to provide easier access to the equipment
located with in. Approximately 700 gallons per hour of water are drained
from the overflows and fed to a pair 75 gallon holding tanks located just
above the sump, from there the water goes thru a 40W UV sterilizer, a
Reefmania media reactor filled with 12 cups of generic carbon, and with
most of the flow is fed to the skimmer. A Bubble King 300 external skimmer
from Royal Exclusiv is used in the system. I bought this skimmer used
at a great discount but I still don’t feel the skimmer is worth the money;
it is too over hyped on the internet as the “best” skimmer. My old Barr
Aquatics twin beckett skimmer performed much better for a lot less money.
Bio filtration is provided with approximately 200 pounds of live Tonga
branch rock, a shallow sand bed, ranging from 1” to 3” is used in this
tank.
Heating and Cooling:
Three 300 watt titanium heaters are located in the sump and being controlled
by a Ranco controller at to heat the tank at 78 degrees and turns off
at 79 degrees. The system is currently not using any chiller and the water
temperatures stays at 82 degrees and below, even on those hot days we
have during the summer.
Other Equipment:
I have two 75 gallon holding tanks connected to this system, one is used
for soft coral propagation and refugium, it is lit with a Sunlight Supply
6 bulb T5 TEK light and additional circulation provided by a Tunze 6080
powerhead. I have a hand full of Kenya tree coral growing on a egg crate
rack in half of the tank, and some cheato on the other side, I hope these
will help to export some of the excessive nutrient. The second 75 gallon
tank is used to acclimated any new fish I acquire, this area will give
them a chance to get used to the water perimeter and food I use before
they get moved up the fairly aggressive display tank, a Tunze 6060 Stream
powerhead provides additional flow and some live rock are used to provide
hiding places for the new fish.
A home made auto top-off system keeps the water level in the sump constant,
two float switches activate a relay and solenoid, adding fresh RO\DI water
from a 35 gallon reservoir when needed. All top off water is fed to a
home made Kalk Reactor before being dripped into the sump to assist in
maintain pH, Ca, and Alk levels.
pH level and water temperature is monitored with a Neptune System PX-1000
expansion module connected to the AquaController III Pro on the reef tank.
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…