30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Thanks, saf1 and Michael!

As for the wall, it's been 3.5 years since doing the first one, minus the wall in the 2.5, so I was ready to try doing another one. Plus, the excitement of a new tank also helps! Foaming the egg rate directly to the tank made it easier too. Trying to get the wall back in was a pain on the 26g. I had to break it to get it to fit..
I actually felt like this wall was easy and went really smoothly.

Make sure you look at the wall from every angle before filling it so you don't find a spot you missed. Lol
One thing I have thought after every wall I've made is I wish I used more rock. It's difficult zip tying the to the eggcrate so you can't see them once finished and rock is kinda expensive.
It was also challenging foaming the wall in the tank due to a lack of visibility and can/tube angling.
One thing I might try next time is not pressing all the air out of the entire wall so it doesn't look as flat.

The key to making the wall realistic is to have flowing lines. In this tank, the rock starts halfway up the back left side and comes up a little towards the front which then slopes down across the front and curves back into the sand bed ending with the taller pointed rock in the center. I also chose the rock at the top right because the shape would allow the return nozzle to fit nicely and tight to the rock. I don't want to see equipment, so this helps the nozzles to blend a little better.
Also, choose rock that matches the wall.. lace rock is cheap and a similar color as the wall, especially with gray sand thrown on. You could use other, lighter colored rock, and throw crushed coral or white sand on to help it blend.
The walls that don't come out that great have rock randomly spaced across the wall and often stick out like a sore thumb. Everything has to tie into each other and flow.

That's my bi-color blenny. It's purply-gray with a yellow/gold tail. The while splotches only show up in certain lighting. It has been exploring all the different nooks and crannies to hang out in.
 
The tank looks great. I really like the rock work. Very interested in trying this out, maybe just on a QT tank or even just for fun on something smaller.

The dog looks really happy to be with you. Looks at those eyes. :0)
 
Nice looking wall! What's it made out of??

It's made out of lighting diffuser / egg crate, landscaping black lava rocks, and held together with ~100 lbs of black sanded grout.

Step 1, build a mold out of wood or you will scratch your tank for sure.

Step 2, lay out the rocks how you want.

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Step 3, measure and cut your egg crate so it will fit in the tank around the center brace.

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Step 4, mix grout and use it just like brick mortar to hold the rocks in place.

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Step 5, build a small pond out of plastic and 2x4's to cure the rocks before adding to the tank. (Use rags or old socks to protect the plastic from sharp edges)

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Step 6, squawk 7500, and ident :D
 
30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Thanks guys!

Finally the semester has started back up and I'm busy working again. I've got 5 students and one that really tests my patience. Lol
4 instrument and 1 private.

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Flying in the clouds.

Dog update!

Cooper likes to ride [emoji4]

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Fish update!

The 26g is almost gone. Ripped the wall out and cut off the remaining coral attached to the wall last night and removed Snappy. The big rbta finally gave up without any light for the past week and it moved to the wall for easy removal.
The 26g has been running with no filtration for the past 2 months on the floor with no issues. Just a power head and 25w heater.

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Everything is placed and looking good in the 30g. The plate coral hasn't been looking too good and I think it's been getting too much light, so I moved it to the back corner. The burning magician zoa's are bleaching out which led to this determination. The plate coral is looking better today.
Probably gonna turn the light down a little.

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Now got find people to buy the coral that doesn't fit!

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It all looks great! You seemed to have a pretty seamless transition to the new tank. You made it look easy!
 
Wow, Sam that is looking good! I like the layered structure that you're creating.

Nice 4Runner! I've got an '07 Sport. What wheels do you have on it? I'm looking to either paint mine or find a nice set of black wheels for it. Want to get a slightly wider stance on it as well so the wheels match with the flares. Spacers are not an option though.
 
Thanks, Michael!
It was easy. Lol
Straight from one tank to the other without acclimating.
Worked well enough. Haha

Thanks, McPuff!
Those are the stock "˜99 limited 16" "œ5 Star" wheels with anthracite gray plasti-dip.

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Look up Level 8 MK6 wheels. They are Discount Tires brand and only $125 /wheel. They come in satin black, gray and bronze and multiple offsets. If you got the -10 offset it would push the wheels out to the flares. Im thinking about possibly getting a set in gray. They'll be having a sale in march for $100 off a $400 purchase I believe.
 
This one is for you Michael. Lol

I got a new roof rack for my birthday and just mounted some aux LED reverse lights to the back of it. :D

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I wired it to a switch so they work independently when needed, like backing down the driveway at night.
 
Hey thanks for the heads up on those wheels! I'll check them out. I'm still learning about this stuff so very helpful about the offset. Just gotta figure out what's the biggest tire I can get without lifting the truck. Sorry to derail!
 
Hey thanks for the heads up on those wheels! I'll check them out. I'm still learning about this stuff so very helpful about the offset. Just gotta figure out what's the biggest tire I can get without lifting the truck. Sorry to derail!



Level 8 has some other nice looking and affordable options, but the MK6's are my favorite.

I believe the 0 offset will push the wheels 1/4" out from stock and -10 about even with the flares; at least it will for a 3rd gen with limited flares.
For the 3rd gen, you can fit 265/75/16 without rubbing, everything else larger will require a lift or body lift to prevent rubbing - stock size is 265/70. I would start looking on t4r dot org.

I want 285's, but I don't want to re-gear because the v6 is already slow, not to mention getting worse mpg's as they already suck. Lol

If you have the v8, re-gearing may not be an issue, but you'll lose 1-2 mpg with the bigger tire.

I've got 265/70/16's now with no lift, but come March, I'll have 265/75/16's with a 2-3" lift! I've got the shocks and rear springs sitting in the basement ready to go on when I get new tires in March. Doing them at the same time so I don't need to get 2 alignments. I also have a tundra big brake kit ready to go as well. Hopefully I'll get that done this month as I found out it pulls to the left when stomping on it when I swerved to miss a dog wandering across an intersection the other night, not to mention there's some air in the lines. Lol

Last night I ran out of gas. Lol
I disconnected the battery to install my reverse lights which reset my trip odometer last week, which I use to fill up due to the fuel gauge not working, and couldn't recall the mileage. Last night on the way to dinner, I got off the wrong exit and did a u-turn and felt it stutter. I was able to make it through a shopping center, wait at the light, and make it across the intersection to the gas station where it shut off as I rolled up next to the pump! I looked at my wife and said God was watching over us and that's why I took the wrong exit, otherwise we would've been stranded.


Nothing new on the fish front.
Might go to the LFS today to see if they have anything I want. I gave an employee my number a week ago if he sees one of the green eels pop out, but no calls...
 
New fish! Got it last week and had to drain it out of the overflow a few days ago. Lol
I also got a sweet metallic green brain coral frag for $6 too.

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Wow Sam, your tank looks amazing. I think your foam/rock wall looks the best that I've seen. I love the way that you've wrapped it around into the foreground of your tank, that really looks realistic to me. It will be fun to see how all of the corals grow and shape your tank. Nicely done.
 
30 Cube Foam Rockwall Reef Tank

Wow Sam, your tank looks amazing. I think your foam/rock wall looks the best that I've seen. I love the way that you've wrapped it around into the foreground of your tank, that really looks realistic to me. It will be fun to see how all of the corals grow and shape your tank. Nicely done.



Thanks, Chasmodes!


This is what the tank has looked like for the past 3 weeks due to pure laziness..
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Here's an update picture:
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Took this yesterday after looking in the doorway think how cool it looked in the corner.
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Tank progress update:
Skimmer has been off for the past month because it was overflowing and I gave up on it.
So, no filtration, other than the uv sterilizer and filter sock. The sock lasts about 4 days before it's overflowing.

The cotton candy-ish algae I had has since gone away, so algae free.

Had to dial back the light due to bleaching and will probably have to dial it back some more.

My big 6" rbta made it out of the soap dish, thank you urchin, and puréed itself into the mp10. It was too late and there was just a big chunk left stuck, blowing in the current. Left it and pulled the overflowing sock. So much for nems nuking a tank... no skimmer or water change after and wouldn't have noticed one way or the other.

Yellow clown goby is a goner, due to me giving up on it. Lol I had "œsaved" it at least 3 times after swimming into the overflow. The 4th time I told it to kiss my a** and left it. Haha (plenty of food flows through-I'm not inhumane..) checked a few days ago and couldn't find it.

Plate coral is holding in there. Looking better than before, but still rough.

Fried two usb fans plugged into the surge protector USB ports before realizing they are fast charge 2.1a ports.. gets a little moist in the cabinet.

Everything else looks happy and doing well.

Haven't even been to my LFS in over a month!

Look at these rednecks... two women; one with a beer in the cup holder of the riding mower pulling the other in the trailer. Lol

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Flew to Norfolk, VA last week over the water. Pretty cool seeing the sand waves through the water.

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(this pic isn't edited, looked exactly like that out of the window!)

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Cooper and the dog barrier I built to keep him from jumping over the back seat and messing up the leather. He now gets to run around and hang out with me in the yard without the leash since he has proven he can be trusted. [emoji4]

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Great update, nice pics! Tank looks great! It's nice to see it developing. I'm a big fan of sand ripples too. Nature's art.
 
Thanks, Michael!

Gotta start looking for a new fan idea and replacing the internals of the led box light over the 2.5. Found a big bristle worm in it yesterday! Hopefully that was the only one and it's now swimming in the Lynchburg Sewer system. Lol

Going to be re-doing the water reservoir stand too at some point to be less rickety and less of an eye sore.
 
Haven't done much with the tank since the summer. Got cyano pretty bad at one point and lost all the birdsnest, but other than that and being lazy cleaning the glass, it's going well.
I've been gone or pretty busy these days and don't do much to the tank other than filter sock changes.
I'll try to take a pic of the tank this weekend when I'm home!
 
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