Reef Bruh's 600 Gallon Upgrade

Call will made soon.

I'm strong to the finish cause I eats me spinach. I'm ReefBruh the reefing man. Toot Toot.

 

Following. Looking forward to seeing what you do!

 

If you need an extra set of hands hit me up as well. This thing is going to be amazing!

 

Looking good this is going to be a crazy build I might have to take a drive up ur way to check the finished probuct out

and the question is what kind of lighting?
and what are u going to do with the 225

 

Where did you get your acrylic, and what thickness are you going? 1" seems plausible, but pricey... Im going to watch this religiously and possibly attemp a small cube out of some acrylic ive got laying around, also are you bonding it and siliconing it just to be safe? Or are you already a pro at bonding?

 

Have you ever looked into "gyre" flow tanks. there are some good articles out there on flow... I could help you out. Basically mass flow instead of a bunch of garden hoses.

Anyway, I have never heard of anyone that was happy with their closed loop over all. It adds so much complexity. It add a number of failure points. And it is very inefficient. On a system this big monthly operating costs are going to be big, and that includes power. If you have tiered rates you could be paying a lot.

While many do not like a lot of them, powerheads are the most efficient way to move water. On a tank that size 4 MP60s would be good, and yes that will cost a bit. But power use is still high with closed loops and most of that energy is put in the water which may or may not require you to use more power to cool it, or cool your house. Doing all you can to lower your power use should be a priority.

I just know a lot of folks go big and use closed loops, but don't see the point. If you really want some water movement use wave boxes.

But hey, congrats on the plunge. You seem to do quite a good job. I'm sure this will come out great.

 

Thanks for following.

I might have to take you up on that. I need a couple sets of hands to move the sump.

Definitely going all LED. I currently have a future buyer if if it falls through I will use CL or turn it into a shark or ray tank.

I bought it locally from a company. The tank is going to be made with 3/4" acrylic. A reputable custom tank manufacturer suggested it. If I was going to go 27" high then he suggested using 1" acrylic. I am bonding it and silicone. This is my first time attempting this great feat.

I never heard of a "gyre flow reef tank. My tank will be viewed from three sides so how do I perform this action? My sea swirls will be my primary return and circulation. My original plan was just use that and a couple MP 60s for additional flow. What are your ideas?

 

I'm at work now, I get off in a couple of hours and when I get home will look at some of my bookmarks for you. Or you can google "gyre flow reef tanks". There is a set of articles on Advanced Aquarist. 4 parts and is really good.

Gyre just means circular, and it is a way of getting a mass of water moving instead of jets of random water movement.

So by 3 sides do you mean peninsula style or a regular rectangular tank up against a wall? I have fantasys of doing a peninsula or even a stand aside 4 side tank.... sort of short and wide... like 3x6, or even 4x6, 3x5... but do a center island in the middle, or two islands... and circulate water around it. Is that what you are thinking of with your 4x7?

Obviously just because I have an interest does not mean everyone does. You are no rookie and you have envisioned this build and how you want to go about it. Buying equipment is the easy part, so many GPH, so many watts, certain sized skimmer, so many gallon sump.... but flow is totally different animal and really needs some thought put into it. Obviously tons of folks run closed loops and I don't mean to talk bad about them cause they do have some things going for them. But flow is one of the most important things in a reef and a big system like this requires a good flow plan.

 

I don't proclaim to know everything but thought I could help. Silicone does not and will not stick to acrylic. I bought some stuff one time that claimed it would bond on acrylic for my 300 gallon and it also let loose after a few months.

 

Here there is an explination of Gyre Tanks on page 3...

Advanced Aquarist 2007 TOC Annual .pdf