770 Gallon Monster Setup

[aldiaz33]

Awesome tank

Thanks.

We see alot about the costs of electricity. How much has your water bill gone up?

800 gallons of water only costs me $5.00. So since I've been doing 200G water changes every two weeks, my monthly water bill has only gone up $2.50.

In regards to eletricity, it's warmed up quite a bit so the heaters have used only 4KWHrs so far for the month of May (that's about $1.20 worth of electricity). At this pace it will only cost me $2.40 to heat the tank for the Month of May.

Compare this to previous months:

[table="width: 500, class: grid"]
[tr]
[td]Month[/td]
[td]KWHRs[/td]
[td]Cost[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]February[/td]
[td]172[/td]
[td]$51.60[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]March[/td]
[td]260[/td]
[td]$78.00[/td]
[/tr]

[tr]
[td]April[/td]
[td]190[/td]
[td]$64.60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

These numbers are a little deceiving because I didn't heat the tank for all of February and I had to treat for Ich (raise temps to 86) for several weeks in March and April. I have determined that during the coldest times of the year I am basically using the equivalent of around 400 watts 24/7. In other words, the tank is constantly losing 400W of heat during the coldest parts of the year. The heaters kick on for roughly 5 hours everyday to maintain 78F.

Awesome tank and good reading thread.....I saw your input in the thread about kids getting large tanks in general aquarium discussion and was wondering what kind of set up you had.... I sure got an answer in the form of this thread.

Thanks.

Well where he lives water is more expensive. Where I live I will have a drip system up and running constantly and addition water cost will be Max 40.00 for a whole year. Water really does not cost too much.

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My municipality treats our water with Chloramine. Is there a way to set up a drip system if your water has chloramines?

If not, I actually have access to well water (I use it for irrigation), but I don't trust the quality of the water.

Now THAT is a TANK.

Question? Why was there a slope in your floor, of almost 1-1/4"? Usually you'd find that for a garage.

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I don't think it was intentional. It's probably a combination of shoddy cement work and the soil in my area being clay. It really expands and contracts throughout the seasons. My pool deck (which is stamped concrete) rises and falls as much as 2" from Winter to Summer.

I dunno if I posted on this thread already but I'll say it again. Awesome setup!


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Thanks man. Your 450 is dope too. I can't believe you keep that thing in your garage considering how cold your winters are. That's some serious dedication.

lets see pics when you get your fish please !

If you scroll back a few pages I have some videos posted. My camera sucks so I can't seem to get any good still shots. I will post an update soon; fish are definitely starting to put on some size.

A few updates:

- I bought a 7" Flag Tail Prochilodus. Hoping this guy can help keep algae under control

- I put the first scratches into the tank. Apparently there was some debris that got into the magnetic algae scraper pad and well, I scratched it up. They are not deep scratches (you have to really look for them to see them), but I know they are there and it really irritates me. Oh well, there are worse things in the world than a few scratches.

 

[Crazyfish88]

Thanks.



800 gallons of water only costs me $5.00. So since I've been doing 200G water changes every two weeks, my monthly water bill has only gone up $2.50.

In regards to eletricity, it's warmed up quite a bit so the heaters have used only 4KWHrs so far for the month of May (that's about $1.20 worth of electricity). At this pace it will only cost me $2.40 to heat the tank for the Month of May.

Compare this to previous months:

[table="width: 500, class: grid"]
[tr]
[td]Month[/td]
[td]KWHRs[/td]
[td]Cost[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]February[/td]
[td]172[/td]
[td]$51.60[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]March[/td]
[td]260[/td]
[td]$78.00[/td]
[/tr]

[tr]
[td]April[/td]
[td]190[/td]
[td]$64.60[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

These numbers are a little deceiving because I didn't heat the tank for all of February and I had to treat for Ich (raise temps to 86) for several weeks in March and April. I have determined that during the coldest times of the year I am basically using the equivalent of around 400 watts 24/7. In other words, the tank is constantly losing 400W of heat during the coldest parts of the year. The heaters kick on for roughly 5 hours everyday to maintain 78F.



Thanks.



My municipality treats our water with Chloramine. Is there a way to set up a drip system if your water has chloramines?

If not, I actually have access to well water (I use it for irrigation), but I don't trust the quality of the water.



I don't think it was intentional. It's probably a combination of shoddy cement work and the soil in my area being clay. It really expands and contracts throughout the seasons. My pool deck (which is stamped concrete) rises and falls as much as 2" from Winter to Summer.



Thanks man. Your 450 is dope too. I can't believe you keep that thing in your garage considering how cold your winters are. That's some serious dedication.



If you scroll back a few pages I have some videos posted. My camera sucks so I can't seem to get any good still shots. I will post an update soon; fish are definitely starting to put on some size.

A few updates:

- I bought a 7" Flag Tail Prochilodus. Hoping this guy can help keep algae under control

- I put the first scratches into the tank. Apparently there was some debris that got into the magnetic algae scraper pad and well, I scratched it up. They are not deep scratches (you have to really look for them to see them), but I know they are there and it really irritates me. Oh well, there are worse things in the world than a few scratches.

Thanks bro. Ya tell me about it. It seems like we're somewhat in the same boat on utility costs besides the cost per kwh your water costs looks to be the same as mine. We pay about $6.00 for a 1000 gallons usage. I take it your on a flat rate too? As for my energy during the summers isn't too bad for me either as I have to completely shut off my heaters cuz my water temps raise to 86F as well. As I recall the energy costs during the summers would cost roughly around $80-$100 for both my 450 and 90 gallon. During winters is a total different story as the costs nearly triples in price. My water temps struggle keeping at mid-high 60F and I'm using a jehmco 1000 watt titanium and 2 x 300 watt titanium heaters. I tried adding more heaters but it just draws too much power all at once and trips the breaker. My dad flips out about it all the time lol. The energy costs during winter ranges from $250-$320@$0.101 per kwh. These energy costs doesn't include what my family and I use of coz. As I recall my last winter energy bill cost was $390.00 but that's included what we use. I know I use about avg of $60-$70 per month just for house hold stuff. The rest of the costs is from my fish tanks. My dad pays for the house hold utilities and I cover the rest. Prepping for this winter I'm gonna well insulate my garage in the summer and hope for the best. Lol


Oh btw you will love the flag tail. They're stunning but keep a close eye on it as they are sometimes bullies.



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[aldiaz33]

Here's a video I took a few days ago. The Flagtail is still in quarantine with another 6 Arulius Barbs, so you won't see him in the video. I had heard that Flagtails can be bullies, so I will definitely keep an eye on him- thanks for the head's up Crazyfish.

They are all starting to put on some size!

Widebars are now at about 6".

[video=youtube_share;wz6ph0JYCpw]http://youtu.be/wz6ph0JYCpw[/video]

 

[LOPAKA]

looks great Alex !!

 

[doviiman]

Nice job Alex..
Just a heads up, those Blk Bar Silver Dollars turn into little piranaha when it comes to food. The larger they get, the more aggressive eaters they willl become for food. Mine will often try and take food out of other fish mouths. They are some greedy fish and seem to eat non stop.

 

[przfynest]

dude this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Crazyfish88]

Here's a video I took a few days ago. The Flagtail is still in quarantine with another 6 Arulius Barbs, so you won't see him in the video. I had heard that Flagtails can be bullies, so I will definitely keep an eye on him- thanks for the head's up Crazyfish.

They are all starting to put on some size!

Widebars are now at about 6".

[video=youtube_share;wz6ph0JYCpw]http://youtu.be/wz6ph0JYCpw[/video]

That's awesome Alex. The schooling fish looks great. Love them black bar silver dollars

 

[theyangman]

After seeing a tank like this, it actually makes me despise my 180.

I feel like a complete loser with a 1 gallon beta tank compared to your monster tank... GRRRRRR!!! lol. Sick build, and sick setup.

I tip my hat to you sir, as you have a gorgeous setup!

 

[hobbes4]

- I put the first scratches into the tank. Apparently there was some debris that got into the magnetic algae scraper pad and well, I scratched it up. They are not deep scratches (you have to really look for them to see them), but I know they are there and it really irritates me. Oh well, there are worse things in the world than a few scratches.

I use micro fiber cloths for glasses/electronics/camera lenses on the inside and outside of the magnet on the 270g i got from you. So far so good...i just rinse them out every once in a while to make sure there are no debris. You can get a 7 pack from amazon for like $9.

 

[aldiaz33]

looks great Alex !!

Thanks.

Nice job Alex..
Just a heads up, those Blk Bar Silver Dollars turn into little piranaha when it comes to food. The larger they get, the more aggressive eaters they willl become for food. Mine will often try and take food out of other fish mouths. They are some greedy fish and seem to eat non stop.

Seeing your Black Bars is the reason I got mine. They are probably the most glutonous fish I've ever had. I can sit there and throw food in the tank for 30 minutes straight and they go after the last pellets just as aggressively as the first. I don't normally do this...I was just experimenting to see if they had a point where they had enough...I don't think that point exists.

I saw you made some changes to your stock a while back. Any new videos or pix you can share? Did you ever end up getting a large gravel vacuum?

dude this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

That's awesome Alex. The schooling fish looks great. Love them black bar silver dollars

Yeah, I love the movement in the tank and that fact that they almost all play nice. The Texas is beating up a little on the Oscar. If his aggression gets worse (which I'm guessing it will), I'll be getting rid of the Texas. I can't stand to see fish with frayed up fins- I feel bad for putting them in there with a bully.

After seeing a tank like this, it actually makes me despise my 180.

I feel like a complete loser with a 1 gallon beta tank compared to your monster tank... GRRRRRR!!! lol. Sick build, and sick setup.

I tip my hat to you sir, as you have a gorgeous setup!

I feel the same way about ArapaimaG's 52K tank and JohnPTCs setup. But I'm maxed out...I can't afford to run tanks that big. I think I've mentioned it before, if I knew how much this tank was going to cost me (not just the startup cost, but the ongoing costs to run it), I wouldn't have gone so big.

I use micro fiber cloths for glasses/electronics/camera lenses on the inside and outside of the magnet on the 270g i got from you. So far so good...i just rinse them out every once in a while to make sure there are no debris. You can get a 7 pack from amazon for like $9.

I've been using felt pads, but I'll try the microfiber cloth. Thanks for the tip!

I've been using microfiber rags to clean the exterior of the tank with Brillianize (awesome product by the way- gives the acrylic a glass, smooth as ice feeling).