scotty1234
New member
Make sure you leave yourself enough room on the front to mount corals to the rock structure.
400g system from scratch pictorial
- Thread starter pclausen
- Start date
pclausen
New member
Yeah, I'm sure I'll tweak it some more. Right now everything is real tight like a brick wall for stability. I'll likely open it up more, allowing for more water flow and hiding places. I mainly wanted to see if I had enough rock for this tank and IMHO ~200 lbs of MI is just right for a 180g, especially once opened up some more.
As I was putting it together, I had a hard time deciding which sides to make visible since a lot of pieces looked good from all angles, so opening it up more will expose more nice surfaces anyway.
Btw, I got the rock from Photon here on RC. Nice guy to do business with.
Opening it up more will likely necessitate using wire-ties, but I think the end result will be worth it. Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend!
As I was putting it together, I had a hard time deciding which sides to make visible since a lot of pieces looked good from all angles, so opening it up more will expose more nice surfaces anyway.
Btw, I got the rock from Photon here on RC. Nice guy to do business with.
Opening it up more will likely necessitate using wire-ties, but I think the end result will be worth it. Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend!
Carl_in_Florida
Active member
pclausen said:
And every weekend thereafter!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Carl
Beverly
New member
pclausen said:
Just found this thread. Amazing technical setup for sure
Was looking at how you've stacked your rock. After several years of reefkeeping and looking at scads of tank pics, I have found that the "wall of rock" look in a tank to be, well, boring. Don't mean to put down all the work you've done by any means by my critique
Aquascaping is the most challenging and rewarding of tasks. I consider it a form of art. Take some time to look at pics of tanks. Find something you like that has an original flavour to it and see what you can do from there with the rock that you have. Try aquascaping your tank several times. Live with what you've acheived for a week or two. If it isn't what you like, aquascape it again. And again. And again, if necessary.
You've spent so much time getting your equipment fine tuned that if you don't fine tune your aquascaping, well, that just wouldn't be right
Your tank has great potential to be a marvelous piece of art, so go for it Also, when aquascaping, keep in mind the species of fish you intend to keep. Find out what their habits are. Do they like swim through or hide in the rock structure? Do they like open spaces? Do they pick stuff off the rock, and if so, arrange the rock so there is a maximum of places for them to do it.
The more open the rockwork is, the greater flow through it which is a good thing, as well. I'd like to see more pics of your aquascaping endeavours now that you have your rock
Best of luck on your wonderful project
Beverly
New member
Here's my 120g as an example of non "wall of rock" aquascaping. The white arrows indicate areas where fish can enter and exit the extensive tunnel system in the tank. There are also exit and enter openings in the back of the rock structure. All rock structures are free-standing and do not lean up against the glass anywhere in the tank.
tgrunewald
New member
Very nice Beverly!!! Do you have sand bottom? Are rocks tied together with anything? If you have a sand bottom did you put rock on tank bottom or sand? I really like the openness and flow.
Tom
Tom
Beverly
New member
tgrunewald,
All our tanks are now completely bare bottom, including the one in the pic posted here. Partway down the following thread are pics of the detritus we siphon, and otherwise clean, out on a weekly basis. After having sandbeds for so many years and pulling them out for upgrading or moving house, there is no way I would put sand, or as I now refer to them - detritus traps, in any of our tanks:
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16978&sid=27f9cf7b9dc223a692a04021ef5c3433
Rocks are simply stacked on one another and not fastened in any way. Stacking rock so it doesn't fall down is tricky, but worth the extra effort. This makes it easy to tear it down if necessary, such as for removing fish or for re-aquascaping if the current set up isn't working the way it needs to.
All our tanks are now completely bare bottom, including the one in the pic posted here. Partway down the following thread are pics of the detritus we siphon, and otherwise clean, out on a weekly basis. After having sandbeds for so many years and pulling them out for upgrading or moving house, there is no way I would put sand, or as I now refer to them - detritus traps, in any of our tanks:
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16978&sid=27f9cf7b9dc223a692a04021ef5c3433
Rocks are simply stacked on one another and not fastened in any way. Stacking rock so it doesn't fall down is tricky, but worth the extra effort. This makes it easy to tear it down if necessary, such as for removing fish or for re-aquascaping if the current set up isn't working the way it needs to.
I think if there is enough water movement and sand sifters you wouldnt have that problem, and the benefits of having the sandbed are very evident in my opinion for creating and maintaining the type of bio-diversity that I for one like to have, and I am not knocking the barebottom thing, but I personally like the sandbed, and the livestock you could not keep without it as well, so for this reason I will have a sandbed likely in any tanks I ever have for a display, I mean there is sand in the ocean so why not try to keep the display aquarium as close to nature as possible, and to do this I would think requires the sandbed along with some good sand stirring creatures, but I think the tank in your pictures looks really nice so dont take any of this the wrong way, as it is only my opinion and not meant to be lived by or anything lol.
Thanks for sharing the info and pics and good luck with your reefs,
Frank.
Thanks for sharing the info and pics and good luck with your reefs,
Frank.
Dk Coral
New member
Just wanted to drop in on the aquascaping also....
Dont do the reef wall look ! Get some PVC pipe and do some crazy stuff, peaks, caves, vallys.....you name it
And push it all the way to the back - there are SOOOO many sweet coral, LPS, clams, ect that are to be placed on the bottom
Other than that - freakin sweet setup and thumps up all the way down the line
Dont do the reef wall look ! Get some PVC pipe and do some crazy stuff, peaks, caves, vallys.....you name it
And push it all the way to the back - there are SOOOO many sweet coral, LPS, clams, ect that are to be placed on the bottom
Other than that - freakin sweet setup and thumps up all the way down the line
pclausen
New member
EnFuego said:
EnFuego, I ended up getting the rock from Photon here on RC. It is uncured, but seems to be going through a rapid cycle. No smell at all in the tank or the living room. The skimmate on the other hand stinks to high heaven, but being that the skimmer is in the basement, I'm not worried about it.
pclausen
New member
Day 2 water params
Day 2 water params
Temp 80.4
S.G. 1.025
pH 8.04
Ammonia 0.4 ppm
I did a 40g water yesterday afternoon when working with the rock, so that probably had something to do with the ammonia staying at 0.4.
I really like your rock work Beverly and appreciate your pointers. I too would like to prevent the use of zip-ties if possible to make ongoing maintenance easier. And I agree w/ Dk Coral that I want to leave room in the front for placement of corals/clams and what not, which isn't really the case right now. And thanks for your pointers as well Photon. I'm sure I'll be playing with the layout for quite a while and might never ever claim it to be done!
What I did yesterday was to get 3 large containers and dump about 40g of water from the tank into them, and then drop the rocks onto the vats, clean out the bottom of the tank, then put the rocks back in.
How important is it to keep the rocks 100% covered in water during the 1 - 2 hour process of re-aqua-scaping? I'd like to waste less water if possible, but I don't want to start my cycle over again each time I pull out the rocks in case that is what happens if I don't keep them under water. I doubt that will happen, but I was just curious how important it is to keep the rocks wet and how long I can safely keep them out of the water without any negative effects.
Been thinking a lot about just how deep to make the sandbed. I definitely want to have one for the natural look that is gives along with the fascinating array of lifeforms that come with it. Some say to stay with 2 inches, others say you need at least 4 and yet others say the real benefits of a DSB is only realized when you get to 6 inches.
So is it ok to use regular lime from Lowes/HD for increasing pH like the bag I pictured above?
Day 2 water params
Temp 80.4
S.G. 1.025
pH 8.04
Ammonia 0.4 ppm
I did a 40g water yesterday afternoon when working with the rock, so that probably had something to do with the ammonia staying at 0.4.
I really like your rock work Beverly and appreciate your pointers. I too would like to prevent the use of zip-ties if possible to make ongoing maintenance easier. And I agree w/ Dk Coral that I want to leave room in the front for placement of corals/clams and what not, which isn't really the case right now. And thanks for your pointers as well Photon. I'm sure I'll be playing with the layout for quite a while and might never ever claim it to be done!
What I did yesterday was to get 3 large containers and dump about 40g of water from the tank into them, and then drop the rocks onto the vats, clean out the bottom of the tank, then put the rocks back in.
How important is it to keep the rocks 100% covered in water during the 1 - 2 hour process of re-aqua-scaping? I'd like to waste less water if possible, but I don't want to start my cycle over again each time I pull out the rocks in case that is what happens if I don't keep them under water. I doubt that will happen, but I was just curious how important it is to keep the rocks wet and how long I can safely keep them out of the water without any negative effects.
Been thinking a lot about just how deep to make the sandbed. I definitely want to have one for the natural look that is gives along with the fascinating array of lifeforms that come with it. Some say to stay with 2 inches, others say you need at least 4 and yet others say the real benefits of a DSB is only realized when you get to 6 inches.
So is it ok to use regular lime from Lowes/HD for increasing pH like the bag I pictured above?
Last edited:
pclausen said:
Thanks for the response...You and I are both starting up a 180 at the same time. I also have a thread going on RC....I bought about 150 lbs. of rock b/c I plan on transferring another 150 from my 75, later...
Just a friendly idea.....The rocks look beatiful but I would try to create some more tunnels and valleys......Most reef fish like to swim through tunnels.....Just trying to help..
Albert
pclausen
New member
No offense taken Albert! Appreciate the advice.
I just read the "What your grandmother never told you about lime" article and it looks like that "lime" from Lowes isn't what I want. I'll use it in the garden and look for some picking lime instead. The lfs owner I spoke to yesterday was the one that told me to just get lime from Lowes. Guess he was wrong (I'm sure that doesn't come as a shock to anyone here
).
I just read the "What your grandmother never told you about lime" article and it looks like that "lime" from Lowes isn't what I want. I'll use it in the garden and look for some picking lime instead. The lfs owner I spoke to yesterday was the one that told me to just get lime from Lowes. Guess he was wrong (I'm sure that doesn't come as a shock to anyone here
).
Beverly
New member
Re: Day 2 water params
Re: Day 2 water params
Yup, it's good to siphon the crud from the bottom. It's also good to give your rocks a good swish in a pail of tankwater before putting them back into the tank. Lots of detritus will come out of the rock, and you will have to dump the water from time to time when your water gets really dirty.
The last time we re-aquascaped our 120g, it took us from 9 am to about 3 pm. Of course, we had corals to contend with, so that probably increased working our time in the tank.
We have short 15g rubbermaid tubs that we fill with tankwater that the rock goes in when re-working the rock structure. Each rock that comes out of the tank gets a good swish in a separate pail of tankwater just as described above. Keeping the rock wet during its time out of the tank is important, imo. So any water that comes out of your tank for swishing and short term storage can be considered a water change. You're going to have to get into the habit of water changes anyway, so starting while aquascaping is a good thing
Everybody has their own preferences for sandbed depth. Some don't use any at all for maximum detritus removal. Others just want an inch of sand to make it look natural. Others do 3" to 4", like we used to do, while others go the full 6". You're really going to have to do as much reading as possible to figure out what's going to work best for you. Of course, I am totally biased now about bare bottom tanks and keep only animals that do not require a sandbed, of which there are tons to chose. Two years ago, though, I wouldn't have even given the idea the time of day
Re: Day 2 water params
Yup, it's good to siphon the crud from the bottom. It's also good to give your rocks a good swish in a pail of tankwater before putting them back into the tank. Lots of detritus will come out of the rock, and you will have to dump the water from time to time when your water gets really dirty.
The last time we re-aquascaped our 120g, it took us from 9 am to about 3 pm. Of course, we had corals to contend with, so that probably increased working our time in the tank.
We have short 15g rubbermaid tubs that we fill with tankwater that the rock goes in when re-working the rock structure. Each rock that comes out of the tank gets a good swish in a separate pail of tankwater just as described above. Keeping the rock wet during its time out of the tank is important, imo. So any water that comes out of your tank for swishing and short term storage can be considered a water change. You're going to have to get into the habit of water changes anyway, so starting while aquascaping is a good thing
Everybody has their own preferences for sandbed depth. Some don't use any at all for maximum detritus removal. Others just want an inch of sand to make it look natural. Others do 3" to 4", like we used to do, while others go the full 6". You're really going to have to do as much reading as possible to figure out what's going to work best for you. Of course, I am totally biased now about bare bottom tanks and keep only animals that do not require a sandbed, of which there are tons to chose. Two years ago, though, I wouldn't have even given the idea the time of day
scotty1234
New member
You should be able to keep the rock out for hours at a time without anything really getting hurt. You can put them into a bucket of saltwater and blast them with a powerhead to clean off all the junk before putting them back into the tank. I am a fan of about a 2-3 inch sand bed.
