600g FOWLR
- Thread starter dzfish17
- Start date
jjk_reef00
New member
Tank looks great!
Following along.
Following along.
geaux xman
New member
what kind of LED are you using? your growth looks great... 
dzfish17
New member
Thank you.
what kind of LED are you using? your growth looks great...
Im using MH now... maybe we will see some growth soon.
Thanks, The project took almost a year and I probably got in and out of the tank at least 1000 times. I took alot of pics and I'll show how I built a pvc frame with eggcrate that the rock is attached to. The corals slide into pieces of pipe for easy removal.
Thank you. I got the idea for the backlit cave after seeing the jellyfish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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dzfish17
New member
I'll give some background info on the tank before I start the build. I hit a 20k jackpot in vegas in 08 and decided to buy my dream tank while I had the money. Its not the smartest thing Ive ever done because my income was cut in half the following year (Im a painting contractor and things went bad really quick). I had no choice but to set the tank up FW and wait for the economy to get better (and the wife to get a job ). I let it run that way for a year and a half and in 2010 I started planning what I wanted for this tank.
There were three main things that I concluded were "must haves" for this project.
1. The tank must be energy efficient.
2. The tank has to be easy to take care of.
3. I didnt want to see the acrylic walls or any equipment in the tank.
I did alot of research on FO tanks and most of them were just a little to bland for me so I decided to add some artificial corals to help "liven" things up a bit.
). I let it run that way for a year and a half and in 2010 I started planning what I wanted for this tank.There were three main things that I concluded were "must haves" for this project.
1. The tank must be energy efficient.
2. The tank has to be easy to take care of.
3. I didnt want to see the acrylic walls or any equipment in the tank.
I did alot of research on FO tanks and most of them were just a little to bland for me so I decided to add some artificial corals to help "liven" things up a bit.
Good for you ,we all are going thru hard times but we will survive!!! aquariums bring joy to so many of us aquarists and friends alike.when you are able please discuss wall , how you made it and materials used, strikes and missses as well as sucesses and where you got the corals ;awesome look as I have always been a Fish rather than coral man myself.
dzfish17
New member
Yeah, things were really hard for awhile but this year has been pretty good... so far. I had a 210g reef in the wall before I got the big tank and it was alot of fun but I dont want to think about how hard it would be to have this as a reef tank. There were a few challanges along the way but I didnt get in a hurry and they worked themselves out.
The corals came from a place in SoCal called dlmanwarren. Some of the corals have faded and Im not sure if its the corals or something I did... I treated the tank with cupramine once and use bleach to clean the corals. I dont think its the bleach because they were already fading and I only started using bleach the last two times I cleaned them.
I dont really mind that they faded because I dont care for the bright colors (makes the coral look more fake). I saw the link that you posted and they look good... may start changing out a few at a time.
dzfish17
New member
Thank you. Ive always wanted to have a real cave and with a tall tank I was able to create one. I looked at alot of pics of underwater caves before coming up with this design. It was one of the hardest things to build because the tank came with a 1/4" piece of black acrylic on the back and sides. I had to router out the area and then do alot of sanding to make it clear again.
Thanks again, Im excited (and nervous) to finally start this thread. Im really slow on the computer so bear with me... my wife and daughter are teaching me how to post pics.
dzfish17
New member
Very nice looking,
Subscribed...I love the backlit cave. Maybe by the time you finish your thread....I will have had my tank (much smaller) going for a year and can start a build threadI like the idea of finishing the build first....it takes the pressure off build pace.
Thanks for checking it out. I like the way you think... no pressure. The main reason for waiting is that I was afraid that the set up wouldnt work... the fish might have hid behind the rock wall all the time.
dzfish17
New member
I found some pics of the stand and wall. The tank sits between the living room and garage. The 210 is gone and the stand is almost ready for the new tank.
Ive finished the wall and its ready for texture and paint.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=DSCI0724.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/DSCI0724.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Everything is ready for the tank install.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=IMGP1504.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/IMGP1504.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here is the back of the tank. The tank is in and I can finish the fish room wall.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=IMGP1506.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/IMGP1506.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The fish room is done and the familia even bought me a sign for my birthday.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=DSCI1231.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/DSCI1231.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Ive got one more pic (tank as FW) to post and then I'll get started on the new aquascape.
Ive finished the wall and its ready for texture and paint.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=DSCI0724.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/DSCI0724.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Everything is ready for the tank install.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=IMGP1504.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/IMGP1504.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here is the back of the tank. The tank is in and I can finish the fish room wall.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=IMGP1506.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/IMGP1506.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The fish room is done and the familia even bought me a sign for my birthday.
<a href="http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/?action=view¤t=DSCI1231.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee461/dzfish17/DSCI1231.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Ive got one more pic (tank as FW) to post and then I'll get started on the new aquascape.
jjk_reef00
New member
With that tall of a tank, how hard is the maintenance?
How thick is the acrylic on your tank?
I've always wanted a 40+" tall tank.
How thick is the acrylic on your tank?
I've always wanted a 40+" tall tank.
dzfish17
New member
Thanks.
Its pretty easy to take care of. I clean the front pane once a week (kent scraper), do a 10% water change every 1 1/2 weeks, and clean the skimmer every 4/5 days. It takes me about 15 min to clean the front and another 15 min for a water change. I also stock light which helps keep maintenance easy. I should clean the corals more often but its usually done every 2/3 months.
The tank walls are 1 1/4" thick with an additional 1/4" black acrylic on the sides and back.
