720 Gallon Project Update part Two

[blane perun]

720 Gallon Project Update part Two

 

This is part of a series covering the trials and tribulations of the home coral farm.

 

My last post talking about a few of the details of the climate control system, and the Polyboard wall covering. I wrapped up with speaking about the individual grow tanks, and the species I planned to cultivate in each of the tubs.

 

Some new gear came in today and I wanted to post and update prior to the work ahead of me. Since the last post all of the tubs are full. Below list my breakdown of the individual

Systems.

 

Quarantine

SPS

Leather

Gorg & sponge

Disco & LPS

Palythoa & Zoanthus

 

This is a shot of the left side of the room when you walk in the door. I just snapped the shot just 20 minutes ago. My lighting cycle will run with the day, but for the purpose of illuminating the room I switched two of the light I have installed on.

 

 

And here is a shot of those same four tanks from the opposite side of the room.

 

 

This is the opposite side of the room from the same side, these two tubs you are looking at are the sponge, and quarantine systems.

 

 

The light is currently hanging above Zoanthus, but this will be a tank dedicated for Discosoma and LPS. The tank has a 8 in deep sand bed, and I am currently having

Shelves built to hold the plugs I grow on. Once the tank was up and running I

Chose my Purple Tang to help break things in. Much of the live sand from a previous display was ported to this tank, so things were not so rocky. Zoanthus being a favorite

I started making road trips about a month ago looking for some new color morphs. Here are some recent additions.

 

 

Many of the polyps were closed when I switched the lights on but I’ll be sure to post some updated photos in weeks to come.

 

 

Each system contains a 350 watt heater, as a back up to the gas heat already keeping the room at a constant temp of 78. In addition I have purchases a Hot Magnum for each tank to run the water through carbon, or hold any type of absorbing material for problems that may arise down the road. I chose the magnum because it seemed to offer the most bang for the buck and occupied the least space.

 

The powerquad PC came with some great mounting hardware. Vinyl coated steel strand adjustable sleeves, and eye hooks. After mounting the fixture I really liked the look. I went to Home Depot and purchased some coated steel strand (I was only able to find green though) and some adjustable catches. I took apart a dual strip light and drilled the fixture for the steel strand and mounted it as best I could to match the PC fixture. If anyone out there knows where I can get black steel strand please email me.

 

 

I chose recessed lighting throughout the area for a less obtrusive look, and to also serve as a place to mount ballast out of the way of water, and eyes. This recessed shelf serves

That funstion.

 

[tinyreef]

coming along very nicely! i especially like that red color morph of zoans. are these the tubs/system you were going to grow under skylights?

 

you may want to rest the tubs on a piece of plywood or some other insulating medium to stem any addt'l heat loss. the plastic is somewhat insulating but the floor will suck up the thermal energy continuously.

[blane perun]

Thanks,

 

It seems to be taking forever. I actually have the whole project posted on my site. Putting up the addition to about 1 year. These are the tubs I’m using to grow under skylights. This is a night shot of the room so you can’t see much light. I was having some good readings this summer, but as winter fall came the light really dropped off. My home faces North South, and it’s a bit worse than I thought. I’m using some supplemental lighting now in addition to sunlight.

 

I had considered elevating the tanks a bit, but when it came down to a cost analysis, I found it cheaper to heat the room than cool it so I put the tanks right on the ceramic floor. They did great last year ! Never rising above 80 with minimal room circulation. This addition is attached to my basement so I just leave the door open and the heater warms up the game room a bit as well.

[tinyreef]

good point on the cooling costs. i forgot about that.

 

do you think you may be losing any significant peripheral or reflective light because the tubs are black? it hadn't occurred to me until a recent post on black sand brought the subject up.

[ross76053]

Coming along very nicely. Those tubs alone are major $$, so you've got a nice money pit going there! Hopefully the pit will recoup the investment in time.

 

By the way, your website it coming along too... I just signed up.

 

Take care....Ross.

[blane perun]

Ross:

 

Thanks for the vote of encouragement.

 

It certainly is a money pit. The tubs themselves are priced fair,

But building 6 systems instead of one seems to rack up the bucks.

 

I hope to learn allot and write some more articles. In time I will

Have a good amount of propagated pieces and be fairly active

In trading.

 

The site is coming along, thanks for signing up. I actually have a

New release of thesea.org coming up in December.

 

Many new features.