6gal Hex Cement n' more Reef

dcoufal

dcoufal

New member
Since I've run out of things to do while waiting for the baby to come... ;) I decided to see what I could come up with using extra/old stuff laying around.

6gal Hex (stripped down to just the tank and the top rim)
Coralife Aqualight Mini
Misc. Maxi-Jet powerheads
etc.

I decided to try a cement/agrocrete nano. I didn't want to use the filter that was on the hex tank, so I made up an internal overflow to fit in the back corner of the tank:
overflow_closeup.jpg


I ordered a couple of bulkheads from DFS that should be here next week to create a closed-loop using (most likely) a Maxi-Jet 1200 externally. ;)

I'm not much of one for patience... so, I started working on the styro for the tank leaving space to drill the holes when the bulkheads come in:
styro_side.jpg
styro_top.jpg


Then, I went ahead and covered the styro with agrocrete:
agro_front.jpg
agro_top.jpg


I'm giving it 24hrs and then I'll start curing it using vinegar/water or yeast/sugar/water.

I'll have to add some agrocrete when the bulkheads come in to help cover the small space left for the return bulkhead and whatever pipe I come up with for the return.

So... guess I'll start working on modding the top rim of the tank to hold the Aqualight and a couple of small fans -- or -- I'll start covering the outside of the tank with either rock, styro/agrocrete, epoxy, fiberglass, or ??? to cover up the styro that can be seen from the outside. Ideas?

I'm thinking of using black sand for the bottom of the tank when the time comes. ;)

Oh... yes: this will most likely be a zoa/mushroom tank. I might add a mantis.... or...... ???

So, any comments?

Dwain
 
Finally got around to taking a pic of the "hood".

hood.jpg


A sheet of acrylic was cut to fit inside the top lip of the original top trim of the tank.

I added (6) 1/4" tall acrylic tubes to hold the Coralife Aqualight in position in the center of the hood.

2x 1.5" fans are mounted on the back of the hood, blowing towards the surface of the water.

The (2) roughly triangular shapes on either side of the Aqualight were cutout from the acrylic to allow the air from the fans to exit.


I'm currently curing the cement wall in the tank with water & muriatic acid. The water/acid mix was last changed on 11/27 and is at least pH8.6 right now. ;)

The bulkheads should be in on Thursday. :D Then, I can drill the tank, place the bulkheads, and finish the cement work around the return bulkhead. Fill 'er back up and run an external pump to finish the curing.

When it's cured, I'll fit it with water from my 125g and a mix of sand from the 125g, the 6g "stand-alone fuge", and new sand.

Dwain
 
Mikeeal said:
Very nice indeed. Can you give any more specs on the light you used? Is it anything like this one? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11382&ref=3532&subref=AY&N=2004+113345
Click to expand...

That's the one.

Mikeeal said:
Also, are you worried about putting all that time into the background and plumbing when those tanks are so easily scratched? I have the same one, and it seems like whatever I use to clean it, scratches it, inside and out. Nonetheless, I really like what you've done with it.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, there's that possibility with any acrylic tank. I've had a couple of 1g pico's in the past and never had any scratching issues... but, I've scratched the heck out of a 6g bowfront. ;)

I'm treating this tank as more of a "play" tank to just see what I can come up with. :D If it works out well, I might try it again on a 35g glass hex.

I guess we'll all find out in a month or two... (hopefully it'll cure fast and I can start doing more before Christmas) ;)

Dwain
 
alien9168 said:
Looks awsome!

Was the argocrete expensive to do?
It really looks cool!
Click to expand...

Thanks.

No, not expensive. I had the cement and sand laying around in the garage. I actually crushed up a bunch of old/dead coral skeletons that I've picked up at the coast over the years (and SPS frags that didn't make it ;)) to use instead of commercial crushed coral.

Well, my DF&S order came in today... but, only 1 bulkset set was included in the box. The other is apparently on backorder. :(

I went ahead and drilled both holes and put the outflow bulkhead in place.

bulkheads.jpg


I made my outflow pipe out of a short piece of PVC (to fit in the bulkhead) and a section of acrylic. I bent and shaped the outflow pipe by heating it with a torch and carefully pressing it into the shape I wanted. Just add cold water to set the shape! I then sanded the entire outflow pipe to either 1) speed the process of coraline growing on it, or 2) help hold the cement on it. Haven't decided which method to go with.

outflow.jpg


I need to do the agrocrete around the outflow bulkhead and then I can get back to curing all the cement.

Dwain
 
I'm thinking about using a piece of fish net in the tank... Maybe attached at a steep angle along one side of the tank (nearly vertical) - with room to fit the cleaning magnet between it and the glass, of course. ;)

I think it would look pretty cool to have zoas growing on the netting - a zoa net after a while!

So, the question is: Will any old fish net be safe? Natural fiber vs. synthetic? Approx. hole size? (1/2" or 1") etc. etc.

Off to freeze outside while rinsing the tank after the cement work last night. I'll get some pics of the additions later today.

Dwain
 
Dwain, you've really done an amazing job getting the aragocrete to look so good in such a small place. I can't wait to see the finished product.

-Scott
 
I think you should try the new "barebottom", where you glue sand to some type of board. Just to complete the diy aquascape theme.
 
Very nice, how did you form the styro-background? Did you get a big piece and break it into sections and then glue small bits to form the ridges and such? I might try this instead of Great Stuff foam on my next nano, since it looks like you can shape the styro easier and you aren't using a ton of agrocrete so it should cure fast.

-Mike
 
nonamesright said:
I think you should try the new "barebottom", where you glue sand to some type of board. Just to complete the diy aquascape theme.
Click to expand...

I just couldn't bring myself to do that.... :( I'm a sand guy. Heck, even my FW tanks had sand.

Dwain
 
Melbourne said:
Very nice, how did you form the styro-background? Did you get a big piece and break it into sections and then glue small bits to form the ridges and such? I might try this instead of Great Stuff foam on my next nano, since it looks like you can shape the styro easier and you aren't using a ton of agrocrete so it should cure fast.

-Mike
Click to expand...

I used a styro box from a coral shipment. ;)

Scalpel, needle-nose pliers, silicone caulk, and about 3 hours. Most of the time was spent trying to decide what to make it look like.

A hot knife would be better than a scalpel -- I was cleaning up styro-snow for quite some time.... ;)

Dwain
 
Okay... back to my other question:

I'm thinking about using a piece of fish net in the tank... Maybe attached at a steep angle along one side of the tank (nearly vertical) - with room to fit the cleaning magnet between it and the glass, of course.

I think it would look pretty cool to have zoas growing on the netting - a zoa net after a while!

So, the question is: Will any old fish net be safe? Natural fiber vs. synthetic? Approx. hole size? (1/2" or 1") etc. etc.


Looking for opinions/comments.... :D

Dwain
 
I'm not sure what impact the netting would have on the occupants, but I think the synthetic would be a better choice. I think it would be a bit more durable and the strands could be a bit thinner, keeping the entire tank on a smaller scale. Just my .02

Tim
 
I think the fishnet is a great idea.

Netting material - I agree with timschmidt. It seems like the synthetic would be more durable.

Hole size - 1/2" even seems too. What about 1/4"?
 
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