DIY Concrete Aquarium 5,000 gallon - Anderson Family Reef

[dca22anderson]

Yeah neither one of those options is for the faint of heart. They both can work but they both can fail also. I personally would try heating slowly and gently first if that doesnt work give up for the day and come back later and with a clear head try the cutting route. Just make sure you are in a good state emotionally before you start...lol

Agreed… still looking for two unions, may reach out to spears directly and see if they can help…

 

[dca22anderson]

One problem I’m having is the pellet feeder sends the pellets with the flow right into the rock work on the back wall. (I know I could shut off the flow before the dump but hear me out) The pellets also take a while to saturate and drop so some still make it over the overflow into the sump.

I moved the superfeeder to the intake area of the pump so the return pumps send the pellets out into the main open swimming area of the display. It also gives more fish an opportunity to snag pellets since they come out 4 sea swirls evenly spread 4 feet apart at a 45 degree downward flow.

Let’s see how this works!

 

[punchy7080]

One problem I’m having is the pellet feeder sends the pellets with the flow right into the rock work on the back wall. (I know I could shut off the flow before the dump but hear me out) The pellets also take a while to saturate and drop so some still make it over the overflow into the sump.

I moved the superfeeder to the intake area of the pump so the return pumps send the pellets out into the main open swimming area of the display. It also gives more fish an opportunity to snag pellets since they come out 4 sea swirls evenly spread 4 feet apart at a 45 degree downward flow.

Let’s see how this works!

I have my apex auto feeder drop TDO pellets into the return section of my sump. Shoots them out the two return lines and the fish go crazy chasing the food. Works great!

 

[McPuff]

The last option is to rebuild the plumbing by removing the least amount possible. Yes, it will require more parts but it's probably less work than trying to remove those unions with heat and chisels. I've used the burn method to remove some large gate valves and it's not always successful. Probably worth a shot and then you could fall back onto the method I've proposed. Definitely a bummer when you can't find the right union despite having 4 or 5 different types of the same size. Been there! Good luck.

 

[dca22anderson]

The last option is to rebuild the plumbing by removing the least amount possible. Yes, it will require more parts but it's probably less work than trying to remove those unions with heat and chisels. I've used the burn method to remove some large gate valves and it's not always successful. Probably worth a shot and then you could fall back onto the method I've proposed. Definitely a bummer when you can't find the right union despite having 4 or 5 different types of the same size. Been there! Good luck.

Thanks for your insight!

I reached out directly to Spears Technical Services and received some good information. Thank heavens for helpful good customer service!!

I ordered what they recommended. I could only find it in white online... we will see in the next day or so if they match up. fingers crossed!!

For any future folks that may be in my shoes here is the part they recommended:

The union in your photos appear to be a 2” Gray PVC SCH40 Union # 497-020G w/EPDM O-ring or # 457-020G w/Buna O-ring.
For price, availability and ordering please contact a local Spears distributor.

 

[twentyleagues]

Thanks for your insight!

I reached out directly to Spears Technical Services and received some good information. Thank heavens for helpful good customer service!!

I ordered what they recommended. I could only find it in white online... we will see in the next day or so if they match up. fingers crossed!!

For any future folks that may be in my shoes here is the part they recommended:

The union in your photos appear to be a 2” Gray PVC SCH40 Union # 497-020G w/EPDM O-ring or # 457-020G w/Buna O-ring.
For price, availability and ordering please contact a local Spears distributor.

Hoping the best for you!

 

[Bpp124987]

Yeah super stoked to find the skimmer through a friend but super disappointed in MRC.

That’s a great practice to buy spares… I have a small plumbing store in my garage of spares but not this specific one… LOL

We need to start a big tank gear slack channel! Running and maintaining tanks on this scale is super unique and challenging. Love to have an outlet to chat with more large system owners.

I do network via text and phone calls directly with many large system owners and DIY champions now. Luckily there are many great aquarium enthusiasts that ARE more than willing to share information and help you build your dreams.

I for one would love to read more about those challenges. I’ll probably never have a monster tank but it seems super interesting you want to post!

 

[dca22anderson]

Ok so never a dull moment with a big reef!

A few weeks ago my Panta Rhei ECM 75 Hydro Wizard started shutting off on it's own, would remain off till I noticed and restarted it. Luckily I have been home and not traveling so much. This provides most of the circulation in the aquarium and has done a great job since Jan 23'.

I simplified the programming to just be on at 60% all the time thinking that maybe the programming just wasn't working. That seemed to work for a few days but then it started shutting off again. At first it would just pause but now the screen blacks out and everything powers down.

I reached out to see if I could get some help getting it back online and Unique Corals (Joe Caparatta & his team) have been AMAZING trying to troubleshoot the problem. They sent me a new display right away and I swapped it out and the same problem still showed up. Sounds like it may be an over heated power supply and it may have to be sent back to Germany for repair.

My challenge is over the last few weeks I have seen a decline in the health of the SPS corals and some sticks are not liking the decrease/change in flow.

Last night I built out the old Sicce Voyager HP 10 (4000 gph x 3) tower of power to try and help with the situation:

It looks terrible but provides 12,000 GPH of additional flow. I have 20,000 GPH going down the back corner of the tank and the returns provide another 11,000 GPH… 43,000 is the total flow internally now without the Hydro Wizard. With the Hydro Wizard at 60% I would usually have another 15,500 GPH… Not great for the SPS but it is what I can do for now...

 

[TardWrangler]

I am ready to put in the "new to me big MRC skimmer" but I need help finding some old Spears 2” unions that will match up with the ones they used...

I bought these new spears 2” unions to match but the current versions are way different…

I reached out to MRC via their website and have a local vendor checking with them for me too.

***Update: MRC won’t sell me the unions. They are mad at the guy that sold me the skimmer and mad that I wasted their time getting a quote for their gear when I was trying to get a refund from Bill Wann. Never got a refund from Bill Wann so had to DIY my filtration in the meantime. Funny thing was I was still in the process of saving to buy their gear and still a promoter referring friends often while I saved up for their expensive stuff. Super disappointed in them after being a promoter of theirs for years. (I’ve sold enterprise software as a professional and understand the sales cycle well, my sales cycle was unique under my current circumstances which I made very clear to their sales guy and was taking longer then their normal customer) Happy to discuss my experience with them privately with anyone considering buying their stuff.***

I know it's a long shot but does anyone have 2 or 3 of these laying around by chance?

Once I find these parts I can do a water test for leaks and get it installed!

Hopefully this will help lower my PO4 and NO3 and make my SPS corals happier!

Yeah sorry about the issues you’re dealing with here with MRC, had very similar issues. I’ve spent tens of thousands on equipment through the years with Raj and one of the purchases was the biggest Orca needle wheel skimmer they make. It was around 4k bucks. I barely used it and the need wheel impeller seal started leaking. It’s on a fish only system that’s hyposaline so I have no idea why this happened. I sent in an inquiry and the sales rep told me it was gonna be 800 dollars. Then he told me the wheel is proprietary and I would need to send it back and possibly sign something guaranteeing I wasn’t going to steal their design?!?the sales rep thought I was strange for asking what all these questions and demands were all about. All of this seemed very bizarre and I was a little peeved at all that was occurring and asked to speak with Raj. He wouldn’t make the time after all the years I’ve spent supporting him on his way up. They can keep their crummy skimmer with outrageously expensive replacement parts that fail prematurely. Buyer beware

 

[Bpp124987]

Ok so never a dull moment with a big reef!

A few weeks ago my Panta Rhei ECM 75 Hydro Wizard started shutting off on it's own, would remain off till I noticed and restarted it. Luckily I have been home and not traveling so much. This provides most of the circulation in the aquarium and has done a great job since Jan 23'.

I simplified the programming to just be on at 60% all the time thinking that maybe the programming just wasn't working. That seemed to work for a few days but then it started shutting off again. At first it would just pause but now the screen blacks out and everything powers down.

I reached out to see if I could get some help getting it back online and Unique Corals (Joe Caparatta & his team) have been AMAZING trying to troubleshoot the problem. They sent me a new display right away and I swapped it out and the same problem still showed up. Sounds like it may be an over heated power supply and it may have to be sent back to Germany for repair.

My challenge is over the last few weeks I have seen a decline in the health of the SPS corals and some sticks are not liking the decrease/change in flow.

Last night I built out the old Sicce Voyager HP 10 (4000 gph x 3) tower of power to try and help with the situation:

It looks terrible but provides 12,000 GPH of additional flow. I have 20,000 GPH going down the back corner of the tank and the returns provide another 11,000 GPH… 43,000 is the total flow internally now without the Hydro Wizard. With the Hydro Wizard at 60% I would usually have another 15,500 GPH… Not great for the SPS but it is what I can do for now...

Ah the fun of broken gear. I do usually like two smaller pumps rather than one big one for redundancy - or two bigs at 50% if I could afford it Glad you’ve got the power tower to cover for a bit.

This is gross, but you could put a smart switch in front of that big pump and have it power cycle every hour to keep it on…

 

[Bpp124987]

Yeah sorry about the issues you’re dealing with here with MRC, had very similar issues. I’ve spent tens of thousands on equipment through the years with Raj and one of the purchases was the biggest Orca needle wheel skimmer they make. It was around 4k bucks. I barely used it and the need wheel impeller seal started leaking. It’s on a fish only system that’s hyposaline so I have no idea why this happened. I sent in an inquiry and the sales rep told me it was gonna be 800 dollars. Then he told me the wheel is proprietary and I would need to send it back and possibly sign something guaranteeing I wasn’t going to steal their design?!?the sales rep thought I was strange for asking what all these questions and demands were all about. All of this seemed very bizarre and I was a little peeved at all that was occurring and asked to speak with Raj. He wouldn’t make the time after all the years I’ve spent supporting him on his way up. They can keep their crummy skimmer with outrageously expensive replacement parts that fail prematurely. Buyer beware

Eye eye eye!!!

No refund from bill wann

Crazy customer hostility from mrc

Don’t get me starting on Neptune apex and their outrageous firmware silent treatment.

Why so much poor ethics in the industry

 

[dca22anderson]

Yeah sorry about the issues you’re dealing with here with MRC, had very similar issues. I’ve spent tens of thousands on equipment through the years with Raj and one of the purchases was the biggest Orca needle wheel skimmer they make. It was around 4k bucks. I barely used it and the need wheel impeller seal started leaking. It’s on a fish only system that’s hyposaline so I have no idea why this happened. I sent in an inquiry and the sales rep told me it was gonna be 800 dollars. Then he told me the wheel is proprietary and I would need to send it back and possibly sign something guaranteeing I wasn’t going to steal their design?!?the sales rep thought I was strange for asking what all these questions and demands were all about. All of this seemed very bizarre and I was a little peeved at all that was occurring and asked to speak with Raj. He wouldn’t make the time after all the years I’ve spent supporting him on his way up. They can keep their crummy skimmer with outrageously expensive replacement parts that fail prematurely. Buyer beware

Sorry this happened to you. We have some of the most short sighted folks around with these fish related companies. Buyer beware is true.

Ah the fun of broken gear. I do usually like two smaller pumps rather than one big one for redundancy - or two bigs at 50% if I could afford it Glad you’ve got the power tower to cover for a bit.

This is gross, but you could put a smart switch in front of that big pump and have it power cycle every hour to keep it on…

Thanks for your thoughts! I agree with the redundancy approach. My tank size appetite doesn't match my current reef budget. The single pump was hidden, moved a ton of water and was amazing for a season. I would like to replace it possibly with a few smaller pumps in the future. Cycling it is a good idea for sure but I hope to mail the controller back to Germany for a fix ASAP.

Eye eye eye!!!

No refund from bill wann

Crazy customer hostility from mrc

Don’t get me starting on Neptune apex and their outrageous firmware silent treatment.

Why so much poor ethics in the industry

This is an interesting group of folks for sure... the fish people... The days of outstanding customer service, product loyalty, and promoters is fleeting fast...

 

[dca22anderson]

Sending this back today to get it fixed… reef is quiet… sticks and fish are unhappy… ‍

On the flip side this pump really moves a ton of water!! Corals and Fish love it!! They are lost without it!! ‍

 

[ReefLegends]

Sending this back today to get it fixed… reef is quiet… sticks and fish are unhappy… ‍

On the flip side this pump really moves a ton of water!! Corals and Fish love it!! They are lost without it!! ‍

I wondered why you took your address off the box this morning. Now I know why.

 

[Gho5t]

Well... I was planning on working this afternoon and then I found this thread.

Followed the story all the way through.. amazing work!

 

[dca22anderson]

I wondered why you took your address off the box this morning. Now I know why.

Thanks Skyler for helping get that back to Joe at Unique Corals! You are a good man!

Hope he can get it dialed back in for me asap...

 

[dca22anderson]

Well... I was planning on working this afternoon and then I found this thread.

Followed the story all the way through.. amazing work!

Thanks for checking it out!!

Work will still be there when you finish getting stoked with Reef action.

I love this stuff!!

 

[Bpp124987]

Hi!

 

[dca22anderson]

Lunker feeding at night!

 

[Fishgeek88]

Anyword on the power supply?