Incredible!!! Zilla 3!!
- Thread starter ReefWerkes
- Start date
ReefWerkes
Premium Member
Trust me - the most exciting thing is that you are able to look down over top of the pool, I mean tank... I doubt there will ever be a hood.
Last I knew he is working on adding more lighting.
Last I knew he is working on adding more lighting.
ReefWerkes
Premium Member
5000 - Give or take a hundred (depends on the evaporation that day)
Smalltankguy
In Memoriam
Great tank and great setup. But that is not the most impressive aspect of it all. By far it is the healthy beautiful fish. That is the way I measure a good tank, by the way the fish look. And your fish could not be happier or healthier!
Jack
Jack
TooFar2Sea
New member
A few answers...
A few answers...
Hi all.
Thought I'd post a few replies to some of the questions raised here:
Rick - "Once in a lifetime" - Actually, I believe a Zilla 3 visit will become an annual tradition around April for SEASL members.
Nookie - Yeah, the RCSDs are installed, but not active yet. I need to get the PLC (Programable Logic Controller) I bought up and running, and a bunch more electrical work done before they will be working. Also need to solve a splash problem. Such Fun! BTW- The twice-a-day current switch is also tied to the PLC operating.
Scott - Lift tubes: The most efficient way to move water with the possible exception of a propeller pump - but lift tubes don't crew up sea life. Think about the classic bubble tubes in your first 10 gallon goldfish tank. Same thing, mine are just made of 3" PVC pipe a bit over 3 feet long. I also push about 40 cubic feet of air a minute through them compliments of a 1/2 HP regenerative blower. I used 1/2" pvc conduits down the center of the 3" PVC pipe that is capped at the end. The ends of the pipe are cut at a 30 degree angle to allow water to enter. (2) 3/16th inch holes are drilled near the bottom of the 1/2" air pipe to allow the air out... Seems to work just fine. Back pressure is a nice stable 1.5 PSI, just about what I would expect for the depth, so it appears I got the hole diameter right on the first guess (ok, so it was an educated guess, but I didn't REALLY know...).
Microbubbles: all the time unless I turn the lift tubes off for photos. I've managed to reduce them somewhat by raising the water level in the tank, but that is going to be a challenge to keep when the two RCSD's start firing (I have to make sure they don't displace so much water that the tank overflows). Reducing the microbubbles is on the list of things to do. I have some ideas, but...
Electric Bill: highest to date was $362, but that includes cooling the house, and running over a dozen computers. Oh, thats based on $0.047 cents/KWH - gotta love being in an Electric Co-op.
All - think the refugia has finally stopped leaking. I tore it completely down and spent well over a month with it bare bottomed trying to find leaks. Finally gave up when it was down to a gallon a week from one location. Looks like that spot has finally self sealed. Its been refilled for several weeks and is starting to regrow the caulperia.
Kevin
A few answers...
Hi all.
Thought I'd post a few replies to some of the questions raised here:
Rick - "Once in a lifetime" - Actually, I believe a Zilla 3 visit will become an annual tradition around April for SEASL members.
Nookie - Yeah, the RCSDs are installed, but not active yet. I need to get the PLC (Programable Logic Controller) I bought up and running, and a bunch more electrical work done before they will be working. Also need to solve a splash problem. Such Fun! BTW- The twice-a-day current switch is also tied to the PLC operating.
Scott - Lift tubes: The most efficient way to move water with the possible exception of a propeller pump - but lift tubes don't crew up sea life. Think about the classic bubble tubes in your first 10 gallon goldfish tank. Same thing, mine are just made of 3" PVC pipe a bit over 3 feet long. I also push about 40 cubic feet of air a minute through them compliments of a 1/2 HP regenerative blower. I used 1/2" pvc conduits down the center of the 3" PVC pipe that is capped at the end. The ends of the pipe are cut at a 30 degree angle to allow water to enter. (2) 3/16th inch holes are drilled near the bottom of the 1/2" air pipe to allow the air out... Seems to work just fine. Back pressure is a nice stable 1.5 PSI, just about what I would expect for the depth, so it appears I got the hole diameter right on the first guess (ok, so it was an educated guess, but I didn't REALLY know...).
Microbubbles: all the time unless I turn the lift tubes off for photos. I've managed to reduce them somewhat by raising the water level in the tank, but that is going to be a challenge to keep when the two RCSD's start firing (I have to make sure they don't displace so much water that the tank overflows). Reducing the microbubbles is on the list of things to do. I have some ideas, but...
Electric Bill: highest to date was $362, but that includes cooling the house, and running over a dozen computers. Oh, thats based on $0.047 cents/KWH - gotta love being in an Electric Co-op.
All - think the refugia has finally stopped leaking. I tore it completely down and spent well over a month with it bare bottomed trying to find leaks. Finally gave up when it was down to a gallon a week from one location. Looks like that spot has finally self sealed. Its been refilled for several weeks and is starting to regrow the caulperia.
Kevin
hwynboy
Active member
I love this tank and I can just imagine well sort of..all the hard work you put into designing this and putting it all together. I dont know if this is a stupid question but could you explain the lift tubes and how they work how they are fed etc? and the purpose for them? Thanks.
Lift Tubes
Lift Tubes
The lift tubes are just bigger versions of the bubble tubes you see in small aquariums. They are very efficient at moving water, horrible at lifting it. Fortunately, I want to move it...
Each tube consist of a 39" (from memory) piece of 3" PVC with a 90 degree angle elbow fitting. The fitting is drilled in the center and a 1/2" PVC pipe runs down to the bottom. The end of the 1/2" pipe is capped and sets in a recess drilled into the wall base to hold it centered. The bottom of the 3" PVC pipe has a wedge cut out to allow water in. About 3 inches above the 1/2" pipe cap are (2) 3/16th inch holes drilled through. The air escapes from those holes, forms big bubbles, and lifts the water above the bubble up and out through the top. Again, this is just like the little bubble tubes used in small tanks.
I have (8) of these lift tubes form a bank, one bank on either side of the sump area of the tank. They blow their water out over the top of the RCSDs (first attempt at getting rid of some of the bubbles). Each of the 1/2" air tubes are connected to a common run of 1.5" PVC that the blower pressurizes (basically forming a manifold).
Each bank moves about 700 gallons of water a minute. Yes, minute... that 42,000 gallons of water an hour using a 1/2HP regenerative blower air pump.
Suggest browsing the Aquatic Eco-Systems (aquaticeco.com) catalog for more information - they have pretty pictures and talk about the theory of operations in greater detail.
Lift Tubes
The lift tubes are just bigger versions of the bubble tubes you see in small aquariums. They are very efficient at moving water, horrible at lifting it. Fortunately, I want to move it...
Each tube consist of a 39" (from memory) piece of 3" PVC with a 90 degree angle elbow fitting. The fitting is drilled in the center and a 1/2" PVC pipe runs down to the bottom. The end of the 1/2" pipe is capped and sets in a recess drilled into the wall base to hold it centered. The bottom of the 3" PVC pipe has a wedge cut out to allow water in. About 3 inches above the 1/2" pipe cap are (2) 3/16th inch holes drilled through. The air escapes from those holes, forms big bubbles, and lifts the water above the bubble up and out through the top. Again, this is just like the little bubble tubes used in small tanks.
I have (8) of these lift tubes form a bank, one bank on either side of the sump area of the tank. They blow their water out over the top of the RCSDs (first attempt at getting rid of some of the bubbles). Each of the 1/2" air tubes are connected to a common run of 1.5" PVC that the blower pressurizes (basically forming a manifold).
Each bank moves about 700 gallons of water a minute. Yes, minute... that 42,000 gallons of water an hour using a 1/2HP regenerative blower air pump.
Suggest browsing the Aquatic Eco-Systems (aquaticeco.com) catalog for more information - they have pretty pictures and talk about the theory of operations in greater detail.
News on Zilla 3
News on Zilla 3
Sorry about that... I haven't updated the web site in some time. Tell you what - I'll make that a task for this weekend.
The tank is doing well.
I had to replace an Iwaki WMD-40 pump on the skimmer. It was the first american motor Iwaki I have ever purchased and I won't do so again. Within a few months the motor was whinning badly. I've had the Japanese motors last well over 5 years. I went with a Velocity T-5 and it seems to be doing very well.
I also added a Dolphin Amp-Master 3600 to the system. It draws water out of the sump, then routes it right back into the middle of the tank - causing an upwelling in the center that varies from 1-3 inches high. Very nice effect, should solve the "dead water" problem I had that caused the fish kill in March, and puts the flow through the two overflow skimmes in their ideal range (about 30 gallons/minute each). Surface is now crystal clear due to the flow, and I suspect the corals are benefiting as well.
Can't find my eyelash (aka lawnmower) blenny, but I seldom get more than about 2.5 years out of one, and this one was due. I'll have to pick up a replacement sometime.
The refugia has more of less stopped leaking - the total gutting and resealing seems to have worked. Once in awhile I'll get some minor dripping in one corner - but a bucket placed there seldom has much in it.
Finally, 9 months after buying it, started playing around with the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that I'm eventually going to use to control all the timing events (lights, lift tube rotation, etc.). I'm even going to add a low-voltage switch near my computer that will allow me to turn the blower off remotely. That will be handy for both photography, and when someone calls - the lift tubes are the primary source of noise on the system.
Guess thats about it,
Cheers all!
Kevin
News on Zilla 3
Sorry about that... I haven't updated the web site in some time. Tell you what - I'll make that a task for this weekend.
The tank is doing well.
I had to replace an Iwaki WMD-40 pump on the skimmer. It was the first american motor Iwaki I have ever purchased and I won't do so again. Within a few months the motor was whinning badly. I've had the Japanese motors last well over 5 years. I went with a Velocity T-5 and it seems to be doing very well.
I also added a Dolphin Amp-Master 3600 to the system. It draws water out of the sump, then routes it right back into the middle of the tank - causing an upwelling in the center that varies from 1-3 inches high. Very nice effect, should solve the "dead water" problem I had that caused the fish kill in March, and puts the flow through the two overflow skimmes in their ideal range (about 30 gallons/minute each). Surface is now crystal clear due to the flow, and I suspect the corals are benefiting as well.
Can't find my eyelash (aka lawnmower) blenny, but I seldom get more than about 2.5 years out of one, and this one was due. I'll have to pick up a replacement sometime.
The refugia has more of less stopped leaking - the total gutting and resealing seems to have worked. Once in awhile I'll get some minor dripping in one corner - but a bucket placed there seldom has much in it.
Finally, 9 months after buying it, started playing around with the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that I'm eventually going to use to control all the timing events (lights, lift tube rotation, etc.). I'm even going to add a low-voltage switch near my computer that will allow me to turn the blower off remotely. That will be handy for both photography, and when someone calls - the lift tubes are the primary source of noise on the system.
Guess thats about it,
Cheers all!
Kevin
Cyanophytes
New member
How thick is the glass and what did you use for the framing
Glass thickness
Glass thickness
I used 3/4" iron-free glass. The frame is 2x6 lumber, subflooring, and lots and lots of System III epoxy. All water bearing surfaces are fiberglass cloth reinforced. All seams have a 4" fiberglass tape over them covered by a 6" fiberglass tape.
Kevin
Glass thickness
I used 3/4" iron-free glass. The frame is 2x6 lumber, subflooring, and lots and lots of System III epoxy. All water bearing surfaces are fiberglass cloth reinforced. All seams have a 4" fiberglass tape over them covered by a 6" fiberglass tape.
Kevin
graff71884
Premium Member
That thing is amazing. How long does it take you to clean it, if and when you do it?!
Similar threads
