John Hersey High School 90 Gallon Reef Tank

Infinite thanks to Phil (chicagophil). As some of you know, he's been getting out of the hobby, and he basically donated every last thing that he hadn't already gotten rid of. He donated the following. Brace yourselves.

6' Tall 50 Gallon Octagon Tank
BRS 5 Stage RODI Unit
Coralife 3 Stage RO Unit
RENA Filstar XP3 Canister Filter
Aqua C Remora HOB Skimmer
JBJ ATO
Accela 266 GPH Powerhead
TOM Dive Power
(4) Coral Tongs
(2) Sand Cleaners
Rena Water Heater
150W Ebo Jäger Heater
(2) Tetra Pro PF10
50W Finnex Heater
Finnex 30W Titanium Heater
Eshopps Overflow Box
(3) Kent Marine 120 mL Supplements
Ceramic Filter Media
Mini Jet 404 Powerhead
1" Bulkhead
3 Pack - Aquaclear
R2 LED Moonlight
(2) RO Shutoff Valves
Turkey Baster
(3) Glass Scraper
Veggie Mag
(2) Dr. Tim's Supplements
Reef Epoxy
Nano Glow Refugium Light
Scrubber Pads
Hydrogen Peroxide
(3)Mag Float
Refractometer
Eshopps 23 Plug Magnetic Frag Rack
Salifert Test Kit
reefdosingpumps.com digital dosing pump
Beauty Cap 1800 475 GPH Powehead
4 Pack Ocean's Wonders Mag Disks
10 Pack Kent Scraper Replacement Blades
Phosban 150 Media Reactor
5 Pounds Dry Rock
Whisper 60 Power Filter
1 Gallon Hexagon Tank
Book of Coral Propagation Volume 1
Coral Frenzy
New Life Spectrum
Reef Chilli
1/2" LocLine
Piranha Float
Frag Rock Station & Plugs
Coral Cups
C Balance 2 Part
(2) Belkin Power Strips
(2) Light Timers
265 GPH SP1 Powerhead
Mystery Power Head
240 GPH Koralia Nano
400 GPH Koralia
(Probably in a box somewhere is a Tunze powerhead as well, but I can't find it at this moment.)

Thanks again, Phil! Whatever I can't use on the Hersey Reef will be passed along to Palatine High School for its upcoming project. ;)

- Ben
 
Another round of thanks to some family friends of mine, the Gaylords! They donated a 55 Gallon tank that's going to serve as the sump for the system. All it needs are some baffles, and it'll be good to go! :D
 
And of course, thank you to Marylin (edsbeaker) for donating the Aqualifter Vacuum Pump and the TLF 550 Reactor! We now have what we need to run phosban on what is quickly shaping up to be a behemoth system :D
 
With this weekend's donations, I'm now left with a huge 6' tall 14" wide octagonal tank (thanks Phil!). Naturally, I have to use it, due to its unusual shape, and the only use that I can think for it is this:

Reef Edge deep tank featuring:

Long Nosed Hawkfish
School of Firefish
GARDEN EELS!

The enormous height of the tank is going to allow me to have a VERY deep sand bed, probably around 2', so the habitat should prove ideal for a trio of garden eels. They like low amounts of laminar flow, something that a tank like this lends itself perfectly too. I'm planning on having maybe 300 GPH of water piped down the back side of this tank and out of the sandbed via lockline to create a slowly ascending gyre. Considering that the bottom 2' of tank is going to be sand, about 4' from the bottom of the tank, I want to attach a rock (with either silicone or magnets) to the wall of the tank as a ledge for a hawk. And then, the last 2' or so of the tank will be covered primarily with mangroves. This will let the roots grow a long ways down, as well as shade out the tank from whatever source of lighting I choose.

That's the plan, at least, so we'll see where it ends up. :)
 
fishyfish22 said:
That would look sick but you should try getting one tank up before trying to set up another haha


-Giancarlo
Click to expand...

You're just jealous that Hersey is further ahead than Palatine! :D

Seriously though; I'd agree with you if not for the fact that these are going to share a sump, so getting all of the plumbing done will be easier if I do it all at once.
 
Ben, sorry to sound like a mom on a public forum, especially since I've only met you a couple of times, but I'm proud of you! This is a big undertaking for a high school senior! It would be for anyone. For those of you that don't know, Ben is setting up everything on his own, by choice. He "prefers" to work alone.... but still, this is A LOT of work for one person. Everything is going to be as automated as possible, so we are talking about a great deal of things to put together for three tanks connected to one sump. Congratulations to you, Ben!!! I'm glad the community has reached out to help with donations! This is a remarkable kid, (sorry, young adult). Can't wait to see lots of pictures.

But even though I apologized for sounding like a mom, what were you doing up at 1:55 in the morning on a school night, young man. I saw that time stamp on the post just above mine! :nono:
 
edsbeaker said:
, what were you doing up at 1:55 in the morning on a school night, young man. I saw that time stamp on the post just above mine! :nono:
Click to expand...

Haha ap classes do that to you.
And Ben, thank you for the ro unit! I'm one step closer to getting things set up at my school! I might have to come in on a Saturday to put in the tank if my school lets me... We go and are setting up reef tanks in two different schools, but I'll help wherever and whenever I can!


-Giancarlo
 
edsbeaker said:
Ben, sorry to sound like a mom on a public forum, especially since I've only met you a couple of times, but I'm proud of you! This is a big undertaking for a high school senior! It would be for anyone. For those of you that don't know, Ben is setting up everything on his own, by choice. He "prefers" to work alone.... but still, this is A LOT of work for one person. Everything is going to be as automated as possible, so we are talking about a great deal of things to put together for three tanks connected to one sump. Congratulations to you, Ben!!! I'm glad the community has reached out to help with donations! This is a remarkable kid, (sorry, young adult). Can't wait to see lots of pictures.

But even though I apologized for sounding like a mom, what were you doing up at 1:55 in the morning on a school night, young man. I saw that time stamp on the post just above mine! :nono:
Click to expand...

By the time I finished packing everything up to bring it, it was already 1! Then I had to shower make a lunch, get ready for bed, etc., so 2 AM was pretty lucky. :D

And thanks again for everything; I'm going to fill this up as soon as it's plumbed, skimmer or not, so that huge jumbo reactor is going to help out A LOT until we do get our hands on an adequately sized one. :)
 
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