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One of the problems that reef tanks frequently encounter is the rise of detritus buildup. One way that I’ve come up with to combat this problem is by creating an open sculpture. By using concepts that were partially inspired by GARF and partially inspired by frustration I built my first sculpture about two years ago.
GARF uses “Aragocrete†to create realistic looking reef baserock that can be in the form of tables, arches, and caves. Because I had a major problem with Aptasia, and because I was faced with the prospect of moving 2000 miles back from TX to MD I dried out all of my liverock. Once I arrived in MD and started setting up my tanks I realized that I had a lot of base rock and very little money to buy new liverock. I also realized that I’d always had an aversion to leaning liverock against the back glass. For one, the glass is impossible to clean with rock leaning on it. There is also a problem with detritus forming in places that are impossible to access. Finally if you try to shove a siphon tube through the rockwork, you run the risk of knocking over the reef.
The solution was to use arch shaped pieces of baserock to create a multilayered structure that could be set into the center of the tank. The largest pieces made up the bottom layer. Medium sized pieces made up the middle layer and the smallest pieces were placed at the top. Instead of stacking the pieces like bricks I put arches down in a circular pattern with a center brace for support and loosely followed suit with the top two layers. All of the intersections were cemented with “Aragocrete†For this I used one part white Portland cement, and three parts oolite (Southdown) and aragonite.
The first sculpture was placed in my 58 gallon tank. For weight reasons I would not recommend exceeding this size. I’m currently using three smaller sculptures in my 125. The only problems that I’ve had with this concept was the weight. I’d estimate that it weighs 60-70 Lbs. I’m a healthy young guy, so for me to move this is not too bad. For others, you might want some help or just make the sculpture smaller. The other down side is that it takes a while to seed the baserock. I used GARF Grunge or crushed liverock to seed the tank. In my opinion the pros far outweigh the cons. This technique provides improved water flow over the traditional reef tank, greater stability and provides access to all parts of the bottom substrate from all angles.
I realize that this way is not the only way or necessarily the best way, but it is one way. I hope someone out there benefits from my trials and tribulations.
