Feels like a whole new tank!

triggerfish1976

New member
I spent all day Sunday removing about 200lbs of LR and reaquascaped the entire tank to open it up a little bit. I went from a rock wall with small islands to a bunch of large islands and pretty much moved most of the rock off of the back of the tank.
Not only does it look better allowing for the best use of the depth of the tank but it has also increased the water flow in the tank. I broke a few of the SPS but it allowed to fill get a little closer to filling some of the open spaces on the rock.
Here are some pics from today:

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It almost seems to be an "anti-trend," but I too prefer open spaces / caves / holes - although I don't have 600 gallons to play with :)
 
Thanks for the comments everyone. I practically had to climb in the tank to reach some of the rock.
The water movement has changed drastically now that it is more open. My sand was pushing to one end of the tank due to the aquascaping but since I opened it up the sand is evening back out to the rest of thw tank, but I am slowing removing the sand so it really it was only cool to see the change in flow pattern.
 
tank loks alsome, I like the different views, its like you have made 4 diferent sides to look at, the more realastate the better. Very nice.
 
Looks great Matthew. I really love the open space all around the tank. I'm not a fan of stacked rocks either and really love the island, curved around each other. With that depth you can really give a feeling of space and truly give it a open feeling. I really like the changes you've made.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10428855#post10428855 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rogergolf66
what are the dimentions of the tank? and how many gallons?

Roger

96"l x 48"d x 30"h = 600g plus 150g sump.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10429134#post10429134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefArtist
Looks great Matthew. I really love the open space all around the tank. I'm not a fan of stacked rocks either and really love the island, curved around each other. With that depth you can really give a feeling of space and truly give it a open feeling. I really like the changes you've made.

Thanks. The aquascaping bugged me from the the first week I setup the tank, it just took me a while to gather the initiative to redo it. Once I get the sand out I think it will be much easier to manage maintenance wise.
I also see that your setup is underway. I can't wait to see the finished product.
 
who's setup?

48 inchs deep that is crazy. Wow very nice job.

why do you say the maintanice will be much less with out the sand bed?

Roger
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10429351#post10429351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rogergolf66

why do you say the maintanice will be much less with out the sand bed?

Roger

I have become a firm believer that sand absorbs nutrients and then releases it back into the tank after prolonged exposure to high nutrients in the water. By removing the sand I can get to a satisfactory waste import/export ratio that will allow me to keep my Nitrates and Phosphates at low levels and still feed my corals and fish wihtout worry about fluctuating paramaters. I also have an insane amout of flow and I am sick of having to blow sand off of low lying corals and anemones.
 
trigg man you have some serious flow in there. How many penductors and how do you like them? Pros and Cons, give us details.... :D
 
The sand doesn't absorb nutrients, it converts them to Nitrogen gas, which blows off during skimming.. If you have a fine enough grain of sand, and enough flow to disallow detrius to collect, you shouldn't ever have a problem.. This, of course, also depends on the depth of the bad.. Most people agree that you should either go with 1 inch or less or over 4 inches..

Just my .02..
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10429587#post10429587 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by akwtampa
The sand doesn't absorb nutrients, it converts them to Nitrogen gas, which blows off during skimming.. If you have a fine enough grain of sand, and enough flow to disallow detrius to collect, you shouldn't ever have a problem.. This, of course, also depends on the depth of the bad.. Most people agree that you should either go with 1 inch or less or over 4 inches..

Just my .02..
I disagree. It has been shown over time that a DSB will build up large amounts of Phosphates and eventually max. out the absorbtion capacity of the sand and in return it will start to leach back into the tank. It is the same concept as liverock. There is a reason why "cooking" rock has become so popular because hobbyists are starting to see the negative side effect of have large amounts of pourous rock and sand in their tank that absorb nutrients result in the inability to keep PO4 levels low enough to sustain good growth and color in their SPS corals. When these nutrient sponges get to a point where they are over sautrated the built up nutrients has no where else to go but back into the tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10429578#post10429578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Hawk'ster
trigg man you have some serious flow in there. How many penductors and how do you like them? Pros and Cons, give us details.... :D

I am running (4) 1" penductors.
I personally love them as they add so much more flow to the tank. The only down side is the restrict the overall turnover of water through the whole system but the reduction is not enough to effect the overall function of the entire system.
 
what's up triggerfish1976, I love your tank and the room it has, I'm looking to purchase soon a 600 gal size and was wondering were and is it glass , acrylic , and were do you think is the best place to look for this ? . thanks.
 
Awesome , new look triggerfish1976 . I love the open look my self . I Had a SSB when I set up my 225 , and I wanted to have more flow . I wasn't having any problems with the tank , just wanted more flow , without a sand storm . Well I went BB , and I think I had less work when I had a SSB . I never had a DSB . so I can't give an opinion on them . I am setting up my tank again , and I'm going back to a SSB . I think your tank looks outstanding . Ted
 
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