470g inwall construction thread

[kimoyo]

Dgasmd,

I'll just respond once to you and if you want to converse further pm me.

Maybe you have a learning disability or interpret too much out of what you read.

My post got you so upset that you needed to name call ? Maybe I linked you in too much with GSchiemer especially because you were defending him, my bad. You feel better now?

Did I agree with gschiemer about what he pointed out regarding the plumbing and such? Yes and I still do.

Well, thats good because I agree with some of it to (the bulkhead placement but the invisible plumbing over the top is funny). But I'm not going to be condescending about it nor would I carry it on for two pages in someone elses thread.

I guess am very guilty of assuming everyone else is also wanting to hear that.

Just say your comments in a post and then make another thread to argue about it.

Funny you mentioned that. I heard the same from a few people and took no offense to it. I believe LR serves only 2 purposes in a tank: to support biological filtration and to serve as a shelf for the corals sitting above it. My goal is not to have to see LR, but the corals above it. I built the tank with the vision of 2 years down the road when the corals are fully grown. Just to show that different peole like different things. I think those people that do all those elaborate rock formations are nothing but ridiculous. They end up killing 70%+ of the potential places to put corals in. To me it is about the corals, but to a lot of people it is about everything else. That is nothing to be offended over.

Exactly, its your opinion and its cool and eventhough I think it looks horrible, I got nothing but love for ya.

Do I need to say it again? Yes, curthendrix has a nice tank and I hope he enjoys it regardless of the criticism (good or bad).

Thanks for your approval

 

[bassman57]

Great setup so far . Could you tell us some info about that high-tech RO unit .

 

[GSchiemer]

I wasn't going to bring up the subject of the rock structure but since it's been raised, I'll add my two cents.

The layout is very nice and would be great if this were a FOWLR tank. For a reef aquarium, the structure is too tall. Assuming those staghorn acros at the top grow the way they should, they'll all be hitting the surface of the water within a year. In this respect "dgasmd" is correct. Many aquarists design their reefs to look great from day one with no consideration for one to five years down the road. I made the same mistake and ultimately removed 1/3 of my rock.

Greg

For those not interested in learning anything, ignore the above post and start reading from here:

Way to go! The rock looks great!!

 

[fishman805]

It's a real shame that this thread has reduced itself to this bickering contest.....

 

[GSchiemer]

Why is putting starboard down so horrible? Is there a negative other than you saying its pointless. I don't want to scratch the bottom of my expensive acrylic tank either. Do you know how easy acrylic scratch with rock? I'm thinking about putting sand in but I'm leaving the starboard down to protect the acrylic regardless (and not because I'm worried about it breaking).

The "negative" is that it's "pointless." Your gluing soft plastic on top of hard plastic to keep the hard plastic from getting scratched. That in itself is ridiculous. Who cares if the bottom gets some scratches? You don't look through the bottom and the scratches aren't visible underwater anyway! You also lose 1/2" or more of aquarium space that translates into approx 10 gallons of water volume!

In your case you're putting sand down. That makes it even more senseless since you're covering the bottom. Why would you care about potential scratches? Why would you subject yourself to the additional expense and complication of gluing another piece of plastic on the bottom? Why not double up the acrylic? At least you know it won't curl or dislodge. Even though this doesn't make sense, it actually makes more sense than starboard. If the scratches bother you, you can easily buff them out when you empty the tank; although this is pointless too.

Maybe I'm crazy. I just don't see any redeeming value to a starboard bottom. It's just plain silly.

Did I miss it when they passed out the Kool-Aide or something?

Greg

 

[GSchiemer]

It's a real shame that this thread has reduced itself to this bickering contest.....

You're right. Let's get back to the important stuff:

That Starboard bottom looks great! Where did you get it? How much did you pay? Do they have colors other than white? I'm thinking of gluing it to all 4 sides of my aquarium so I'll never scratch the glass.

 

[Agu]

Lets keep things civil, avoid personal attacks, and not make derogatory statements about anyone or any group of people.

I trust you're all adults and understand this message ?

 

[durango_doug]

i would also like to hear about that ro.

 

[lugi]

I can tell you about his RO unit, its a Millipore AFS Series chemical analyzer water feed system and it costs around 8000.00 bucks new but he got a pretty good deal on it. you can read about it here Millipore RO unit I got me one too!

 

[NexDog]

Is it safe to resubscribe?

This rings true:

Well, thats good because I agree with some of it to (the bulkhead placement but the invisible plumbing over the top is funny). But I'm not going to be condescending about it nor would I carry it on for two pages in someone elses thread.

I'm here to learn and I really do appreciate the negative feedback that GSchiemer and others provided. But we can do it nice and we don't have to slag off the whole RC membership and be overly sarcastic.

 

[curthendrix]

This thread is like a car wreck....you know you should just turn away...but you still slow down and look.

The layout is very nice and would be great if this were a FOWLR tank. For a reef aquarium, the structure is too tall. Assuming those staghorn acros at the top grow the way they should, they'll all be hitting the surface of the water within a year.

GSchmiemer, I couldn't disagree more...not a big surprise. In a tank that is 44" in width a rock structure like your suggesting is ridiculous. You would wind up seeing the initial rock wall and then have a flat wall to the back. Some details of the rockwork for you. The rocks in the back 1/3 of the tank are sitting on a 12" high shelf. That stag you pointed out is sitting directly on that shelf....roughly 12.5" up in a 30" water column. BTW....We are still waiting to see the pics of your tank, your rockwork, your in-tank plumbing, and your shallow sb. I have no problem with you posting the pics on this thread as your opinions have become a thread topic.

I have said before that I am not here to debate the sb vs bb topic....many other threads for that discussion. I will post a few pics of the chiller in the next few days. Getting back to the tank, my mated pair of percs have developed what appears to be Amyloodinium ocellatum...I assume due to the stress of the move and lack of a host. I am planning on removing them and treating and I my UV unit is now running 24/7. My mandarin seems to be adjusting to the tank and is now feeding on mysis again. The flow does seem to be a bit much for him so I turn off the side spraybars during feeding time.

My previous RO unit was one from AirWaterIce and it did its job on my 155g. However, our water quality is very bad here in Tulsa and I was running through a filter change every 6 weeks preparing water from this tank. The Millpore unit is a monster. The unit currently reads the TDS of the output water at 55...I need to change the RO membrane..where it should be reading 10 or less. However, even at a 55 reading the output still has a zero reading on a TDS meter....yes...the output is VERY pure.

 

[bigreddog]

This is an impressive and beautiful setup. It's nice to see the attention to detail in every aspect of the setup. I'm a firm believer that what surrounds (i.e. woodwork, paint, plumbing, etc.) the tank is as important as the tank itself. You've proved that, very nice. Keep sharing.

 

[dgasmd]

curthendrix:

How much lower is the room behind the tank than the room in front of the tank?

Thanks for the info on the RO unit.

 

[GSchiemer]

This thread is like a car wreck....you know you should just turn away...but you still slow down and look.

BTW....We are still waiting to see the pics of your tank, your rockwork, your in-tank plumbing, and your shallow sb.

My tank was featured in the Fossa & Nilsen "Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" series, Sprung & Delbeek's "The Reef Aquarium Vol 2," Mike Paletta's recent "Ultimate Marine Aquarium" book, Borneman's "Corals" (back cover), as well as numerous other books and articles over the past 10 years.

If you're happy with your rockwork, that's great. I was just offering my opinion. Perhaps the picture you posted was somewhat of an optical illusion.

Greg

 

[APorter]

I just hope you siliconed the starboard in place and sealed the edges around the starboard with silicone. My experirnces have been that detritus WILL build up under it. And it''s a bit** to siphon out. with the bare bottom it is a breeze to siphon out detritus and I think that is the reason for a bare bottom system, eliminate detritus buildup.

I'm thinking of gluing it to all 4 sides of my aquarium so I'll never scratch the glass.

Not to keep beating a dead horse, but I would really like to know how detritus would get under starboard and why it would have to be glued? You have rock sitting on top of the starboard so I don't see how detritus is going to get under the starboard or that it would move so you wouldn't need to use glue.

 

[curthendrix]

Detritus could get under or wedge between a piece of starboard that isn't exactly flush with the side glass. James at Envision Acrylics basically built the tank around the starboard so there are no gaps and it is sealed.

Perhaps the picture you posted was somewhat of an optical illusion.

Pics are deceiving when it come to depth...especially without coral in place. There's a slight rise in elevation from front to back with lots of caves and passages. The rocks in the rear third of the tank are not stacked on other rocks but sit on a 12" acrylic shelf leaving a rise in elevation of approx 12" over a 44" run.

 

[kimoyo]

Simple: All plumbing goes over the top, through the top, or through the sides and bottom of an overflow box. With a tank inside a wall there are no pipes visible anyway!

Can you please explain how the pipes will be invisible if he wants to get an outlet midway or near the bottom of his tank. If your planning on going thru the overflow it would be very hard to put 90 elbows in the overflow without making the overflow wide.

I built the tank with the vision of 2 years down the road when the corals are fully grown. Look at the first page in this thread and see the picture curthendrix postedof hid current tank. Anyone see that picture and they can't tell what the hck of a structure is under it. And just to show that different peole like different things. I think those people that do all those elaborate rock formations are nothing but ridiculous.

Again, I'm saying I didn't like the wall of rock, not that you shouldn't hide the rock or that having elaborate rock formations is needed. You've seen this picture before I believe.

For a reef aquarium, the structure is too tall.

I would think that you would realize that there isn't only one way to do things considering how versed you are in this hobby.
Check this TOTM out.

And check this Japanese tank out.

Both tanks have rocks either higher or around the same height as Curthendrix's

The "negative" is that it's "pointless." Your gluing soft plastic on top of hard plastic to keep the hard plastic from getting scratched. That in itself is ridiculous. Who cares if the bottom gets some scratches? You don't look through the bottom and the scratches aren't visible underwater anyway! You also lose 1/2" or more of aquarium space that translates into approx 10 gallons of water volume!

I asked you for a negative other than your opinion that its pointless and you tell me the negative is that its pointless. With 1/2 starboard and rocks sitting on top of the starboard, why would I have to glue it down? The little amount of detritus that might possible get stuck under in the outer edges is nothing compared to the stuff in your rocks. Have you guys looked at the rock cooking threads and all the junk that comes out of the rock when they clean them. The wedges between the tank and starboard can easily be vacuumed out when your doing your cleaning. And if it doesn't hurt the tank then why are you so adamant about no one using it?

My tank was featured in the Fossa & Nilsen "Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" series, Sprung & Delbeek's "The Reef Aquarium Vol 2," Mike Paletta's recent "Ultimate Marine Aquarium" book, Borneman's "Corals" (back cover), as well as numerous other books and articles over the past 10 years.

Then it should be real easy for you to post a picture. Or do you think that everyone has had the pleasure of seeing your tank already?
Paul

 

[dchap]

Sorry for getting off topic, but your tank looks great

No seriously. That is incredible. Looks like no expense was spared, done right, like it should be.

More pics curt. more pics more pics..

 

[curthendrix]

Thanks for those pics.....some great looking tanks. My rockwork was actually patterned after SteveWeasts tank with a center canyon theme (the first pic) before Steve's tank matured..not quite 8' deep but I'm happy with my 44". Again, in the pics its very hard to get a sense of depth vs heigth without coral. The canyon is my favorite part of the aquascape.....pretty neat to watch a fish come from behind a rock structure and swim almost 4 feet directly at you!! I do plan on mounting frags on most of the vertical rock surfaces as I like the dramatic look it provides especially with depth!

 

[mikeo1210]

I, as well as many other successful reef aquarists, have kept Acropora species

I wasn't talking about slimer's, orange caps and nanas.