150 Rebuild: New rockscape and going bare bottom!!

TheAquatect

TheAquatect

I Could Stop If I Wanted
Thought I would document and share my reboot. After an ich outbreak caused me to have my DT fallow for more than a few weeks, I saw it as an opportunity to redo my rock work. Since this was my first sw tank, I had ample room for improvement in the way I had done things. I had WAY too much sand and phosphates were killing me. GFO was not much help so I decided to correct my errors and I tore down the tank.

This was my tank before the tear down. I had a love/hate relationship with the rock wall and was never 100% happy with it. I relocated all the coral to a 75 gal in the back of my fish room.


My plan is to get some really nice tall (23") rockwork with ledges so I did a quick bleach and vinegar bath on the bare rock to shed the organics.

Nice clean rock!!...


I'm using fiberglass rods to stack the rock and its going together pretty well IMO. I'm using jb water weld epoxy and got the first tower done, so tell me what you think! :)



and mocked-up in the 150.


Ran out of epoxy so more to come.. :)
 
I like it alot man! Are you going to be running any sort of starboard or pvc on the bottom or just glass?
 
Thanks! I am looking forward to growing a nice layer of coral across the bottom, mostly Acans in I can.

CrazyEyes said:
I like it alot man! Are you going to be running any sort of starboard or pvc on the bottom or just glass?
Click to expand...

I am doing bare glass on the bottom to keep it simple.

snake1 said:
The rocks look awesome where did you buy the fiberglass rods
Click to expand...

They were $1.99 each at Lowes, they are in the Misc. Hardware isle with the mailboxes, sign posts and such. They are called driveway markers.
 
The rock tower looks awesome! You just use a standard drill to hole for the rods? I would have been afraid it'd crumble, but now I have some ideas. :idea:
 
Rockybottom said:
The rock tower looks awesome! You just use a standard drill to hole for the rods? I would have been afraid it'd crumble, but now I have some ideas. :idea:
Click to expand...

I am using a smaller masonry drill bit to start, then finishing with a 3/8" masonry drill bit which is the same diameter as the rod. Don't use a regular bit, it will ruin the bit. As for the crumble part, it can happen. I had a rock crumble on me from the second tower which is why there was only one tower in the pic!! :)


BUT...Here is the mock-up of the second tower. I'm epoxying it tonight and tomorrow since I am making them in sections to get them in the tank. I am having way too much fun building these things.
 
How long did you do the vinegar bath for? Pure vinegar or diluted? One rock at a time or all together? Thinking about doing the same, I'm just soaking in RODI for now, don't want to lose a lot of mass by doing an acid bath but I might do it if I'm not happy with how it looks after multiple RODI soaks/dry cycles...
 
mikellini said:
How long did you do the vinegar bath for? Pure vinegar or diluted? One rock at a time or all together? Thinking about doing the same, I'm just soaking in RODI for now, don't want to lose a lot of mass by doing an acid bath but I might do it if I'm not happy with how it looks after multiple RODI soaks/dry cycles...
Click to expand...

I did all my rock together in a 20 gallon brute.

I did a bleach soak first, 24 hours and the water:bleach ratio was about 10:1. I let the rock air out in the sun for a day then did the vinegar soak for another 24hrs. I diluted my vinegar with the same ratio. I was not trying to remove too much of the rock, just clean it up a bit.
 
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