6-30-2009
Richard and I started building two 600 gal tanks a few weeks ago.
I brought mine home this last weekend and am in the process of reinforcing and water proofing the bottom and side corners. Then I'll try another water test. The first test I found a couple of small pinhole leaks after 3 inches of water in the bottom.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/35/-GZu9ICEj4k
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/34/Qfd3Fk8LlpM
Update. 09-07-04.
Water test 2. Still leaked, but I did a full tank test anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/33/hFMaLlyzArY
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/32/kaPUcmzDU0E
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/31/N-1bmN8LDOQ
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/30/vhZrCMtoPhA
Updated. 09-07-18 building the stand.
Updated. 09-07-25 the tank is in the basement.
Updated. 09-07-29 working on the tank in the tank.
Updated 9-19-2009
Filling in the house for the first time. Got all the plumbing done. Using a Reeflo Dart for the main pump. The sump is a 55 gal inside of a 125 gal.
Updated 9-25-2009
Filled with sand.
Updated. 9-29-2009 put some fish in.
Updated 10-8-09. More pics of the sump. Installed two 36 watt UV Sterilizers inside the sump. Installed the auto water change system. My drain lines in my basement are wall drains, so I made a non gravity auto change system. Basically the system is a pump on a timer. The timer turns the pump on twice a day for 5 min at a time. The pump is plumbed to 1/2" pvc that runs into the other room into a utility sink. I then have a float valve in the last chamber of the sump that slowly fills the sump with fresh water.
The sump and pumps are easily accessable from both ends of the stand.
A few pics of the big female Motoro.
Updated 10-12-2009. Added the canopy and lights. With the canopy I tried something I've been thinking about for years. I've never put any type of reflective material inside any of my canopies I've built. I've always wondered how effective it would be. I researched lightweight reflective materials and decided that Mylar was the most reflective and the most lightweight. I looked into what Mylar was made of and decided that Aluminized Polyester was about the most common material. I then noticed one day that Emergency Blankets are made from this same material. I bought 4 Emergency Blankets for a few dollars and stappled and taped the entire inside of the canopy with them. The results are mind blowing. I have four, four foot T12 double bulb flourescent lights in the canopy. Thats it. There are no dark spots. You can't tell where the lights are from brights spots. All the light in the entire tank is uniform. The other nice thing about the emergency blankets is they pretty much reflect all of the light and keep most of the light in the canopy. The canopy doesn't have a solid top or back. Just the mylar material. This canopy has ended up being lighter that the canopy on the 210 gal tank that was very similar in design.
The first pic is with the flash. The rest are without.
Richard and I started building two 600 gal tanks a few weeks ago.
I brought mine home this last weekend and am in the process of reinforcing and water proofing the bottom and side corners. Then I'll try another water test. The first test I found a couple of small pinhole leaks after 3 inches of water in the bottom.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/35/-GZu9ICEj4k
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/34/Qfd3Fk8LlpM
Update. 09-07-04.
Water test 2. Still leaked, but I did a full tank test anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/33/hFMaLlyzArY
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/32/kaPUcmzDU0E
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/31/N-1bmN8LDOQ
http://www.youtube.com/user/theanimalmanfishman#p/u/30/vhZrCMtoPhA
Updated. 09-07-18 building the stand.
Updated. 09-07-25 the tank is in the basement.
Updated. 09-07-29 working on the tank in the tank.
Updated 9-19-2009
Filling in the house for the first time. Got all the plumbing done. Using a Reeflo Dart for the main pump. The sump is a 55 gal inside of a 125 gal.
Updated 9-25-2009
Filled with sand.
Updated. 9-29-2009 put some fish in.
Updated 10-8-09. More pics of the sump. Installed two 36 watt UV Sterilizers inside the sump. Installed the auto water change system. My drain lines in my basement are wall drains, so I made a non gravity auto change system. Basically the system is a pump on a timer. The timer turns the pump on twice a day for 5 min at a time. The pump is plumbed to 1/2" pvc that runs into the other room into a utility sink. I then have a float valve in the last chamber of the sump that slowly fills the sump with fresh water.
The sump and pumps are easily accessable from both ends of the stand.
A few pics of the big female Motoro.
Updated 10-12-2009. Added the canopy and lights. With the canopy I tried something I've been thinking about for years. I've never put any type of reflective material inside any of my canopies I've built. I've always wondered how effective it would be. I researched lightweight reflective materials and decided that Mylar was the most reflective and the most lightweight. I looked into what Mylar was made of and decided that Aluminized Polyester was about the most common material. I then noticed one day that Emergency Blankets are made from this same material. I bought 4 Emergency Blankets for a few dollars and stappled and taped the entire inside of the canopy with them. The results are mind blowing. I have four, four foot T12 double bulb flourescent lights in the canopy. Thats it. There are no dark spots. You can't tell where the lights are from brights spots. All the light in the entire tank is uniform. The other nice thing about the emergency blankets is they pretty much reflect all of the light and keep most of the light in the canopy. The canopy doesn't have a solid top or back. Just the mylar material. This canopy has ended up being lighter that the canopy on the 210 gal tank that was very similar in design.
The first pic is with the flash. The rest are without.
