500 gal reef converted to 850gal reef

powdertoastman

powdertoastman

Member
thats just insane man, i couldnt even think of the cost of something like that going in, and the cost of just the salt to do water changes lol. out of all the people who want to see it, add me to the list too lol.......and out of all of them im the only one that is close, only 8 miles away, but very nice looking so far, keep the pics coming as you get more done. :D
 
touchdown34

touchdown34

Member
Outstanding layout...very nicely done!
How long have you had your 500 gallon before you upgraded? Are you selling your 500?
Like everyone else, please keep the pics coming.
Tim
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
Sure 850 is enough?
You forgot the generator in case the power goes out.....
Can you explain how you placed the tank???
If im seeing things right you built a shed, for lack of better words, and placed the tank on the roof? Looks like you have a vaulted ceilinged garage? My guess is you have support beams holding it up while you can get to the plumbing in the tank. What am i seeing in the actual shed? I see an empty sump on the bottom and some lighted other tank/refugium maybe? I have a cousin who wants to do something like that one day soon. I hope he calls me for advice :)
 
balashark21

balashark21

Member
just pray you dont get a mantis...try finding the rock the mantis is in!!! lol beautifull!!! i thought my tank was small before...way to ruin my self esteem!!!! lol jp jp. luv the tank i am gonna come over and steal it lol.
 
jarvis

jarvis

Member
Amazing.:eek: It looks so empty compared to before. Did you loose any corals in the move? What kinda top bracing do you have on that mini ocean?
 
tyr-sog

tyr-sog

Member

Originally posted by bdhough
Sure 850 is enough?
You forgot the generator in case the power goes out.....
like that one day soon. I hope he calls me for advice :)

I quarantee he has a generator somewhere, he's a home builder ;)
 
nerdy

nerdy

Member
That looks fantastic!!!! Excellent work. And I think that answering
everyones questions will be more work than building the tank!!!
 
steveweast

steveweast

Member
To answer a few of the questions out there...
The "stand" was added on to the stand for the 500. After the 500 was down, I tore off the top and re-joisted/decked the top so that the new and old stand would be as one. The support beams (there are three main ones) are 5 1/8 X 16" X 11' Glu-lam beams... these beams can handle heavy weight and long spans (in this case, they are only spanning the door openings...5'). The load is spilt between the house's foundation wall and the garage floor...which I poured thick when I built the house 6 years ago.
The tank is acylic, constructed entirely of 1" thick material, and was fabricated by a local acylic fabricator... it weighs 1200lbs empty.
The cost of this upgrade was not too bad since all that is new is the tank and light hood(which I built myself)
That empty tank is not empty... it is the 150gal sump. Here's a closer look.
 
steveweast

steveweast

Member
Oopps, missed a question...
The whole concept of this system was to create exceptional depth to add realism to the aquascaping and the fishes' motion. Most of the added real estate went into open areas and not reef space. The tank does look a little empty right now... but, that will change over time. I did lose a few (5 or 6) corals... but, none of my prized corals. My saddest loss was that of my blue carpet that passed about a week before the move. I attribute his demise to the fumes and dust that were generated preparing for the move. I tried to limit the fumes/dust, but, it wasn't enough, sadly.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
That is by far the coolest set up I've ever seen !!
Well done Steve - very impressive for sure :)
Looking forward to more pics when you are able.
 
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