Monkey's Reef - A photo journal [img heavy]

[King-Kong]

yeah, for the side mounts, I used brass screws, and for the hinges, i've covered parts of them w/ silicone.

at any rate, theyre on the outside of the hood, and I expect any splash to be very very minimal. I also painted the inside of the hood w/ white colored sealer.

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

Good job. Coming along nicely. I like what you did with the hood.

 

[King-Kong]

Thanks!

Tomorrow my VHO's and various other misc. items come in and I will finish the hood and place it up.

The rock and tank has been cycling in the dark -- I'm even getting a minor diatom bloom and my skimmer is beginning to break in and producing skimmate.

Once lights are setup ill begin to monitor this mini-cycle and see wher I stand in it before bringing over my fishies and cured live rock

 

[xtrstangx]

I can't wait to see the pillar, even if it just has the room lights on *hint* *hint*

Its looking like the beginnings of a really great setup.

 

[King-Kong]

I am working on the lights now -- The ballast+wiring came in Friday, but it wasnt until today that my actual bulbs came in.

I just finished wiring the fans, and I am about to run the rest of the power wire for the lights. I want to get this done tonight, so hopefully later on I will have photos of the canopy...

also if everything works out, perhaps I can take the first photos of the actual structure! This thread is due for a thorough spout of photos.

p.s. -- Why cant vendor websites tell you the proper sizes of the plastic hose clamps theyre selling you? I bought a 1" hose clamp from one site, and its too small, then I bought a 1.25" hose clamp from another site, and it's too large. Now I have a handful of plastic hose clamps for tubing sizes I dont own.

 

[Knyght]

I`ve used nylon zip-ties instead of plastic hose clamps before. Might consider that option if it will work for you. Just an idea.


:beachbum:

 

[King-Kong]

Yeah -- I am using them now too, but they do not feel very secure to me.

 

[King-Kong]

THE BIG UPDATE TO END ALL UPDATES!

Well.. I got the lighting mostly complete, mounted, and turned on.

I could ramble on and on about it, but I know people just want photos, so here they are:

Let's see:

As you can see in the photos, the faux sand bed came out AMAZING!! I cannot begin to describe how well this went over, and must urge anyone considering a BB to undertake this task!

The left side of the tank gets little flow because it will be where my softies reside - also, the rock on the left side will not stay that way. The current rock in my 20g will be re-aquascaped for that area, and that rock will most likely go into my sump. I have both Seio 1100s creating turbulant currents around and all over the column (along w/ the spray bar), and whatever is left over hits the left side.

Also, my column, I would say, is a success. It is about 80% complete to what I had in my mind. Note: it is fully free standing, and while it looks like its leaning against the back, it isnt. It is just right up to it so fish will swim in front more than in the rear. It has MANY spots for my future SPS, and the higher you go up, the more intense the lighting gets (saving those spots for some high demand acroporas!). The next phase is designing my coral layout.. I've already begun imaging which species will go where!

the hood didnt come out perfect.. I had alot to deal with in it, and I think I pulled out well. I have two radioshack fans on either side pulling some serious air, but I've already begun looking into a chiller -- the tank and office are normally at 82 degrees WITHOUT lights on.

I got float valves installed on my 5g bucket for auto-top off (and for the 33g roughneck water change).. I am now in search of a well priced electric float valve to control a powerhead -- any recommendations (again, all of them ive seen so far are $60!)?

The skimmer has begun to pull skimmate, but I have had to place the levels VERY high, and even then, its pulled out about 1" worth in a WEEK, and its very watery -- no biggie.. the rock is pretty bare.

I had a minor diatom outbreak (even with the lights off) and it subsided. The rocks have been in here cycling for 3 weeks (not including the months they were already cycling for). I will begin testing for nitrates in a few days (havent bothered now, since the tank isnt ready for real inhabitants).

I am very excited for my fishies and their new home. The next step for me is to CLEAN UP! After things are clean, I will complete my auto-top off, create a skirt for the bottom compartments, and then prepare the tank for moving my fishies over and corals over.

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

Wow. Great pictures and great update. How about some close up pictures of the faux sand bed. I am interested in how that turned out for you. I cant remember if you did that directly onto the bottom glass of the tank or if you did the faux sand onto cutting boards.

 

[MeuserReef]

King-Kong-
Awesome job on the sandbed. One question though.....Do you worry about the areas BELOW the cuttingboard? I want to do the false SB but am curious if I should run silicone around the edges to keep it sealed. Anyone else out there have any ideas about this?

 

[King-Kong]

justonemoretank: I will take some more pics for you later on. If you go back to earlier in the thread, you'll see I made custom fit cutting boards, then placed the faux sand on them. This allows me to remove the "sand bed" (though with the amount of rock on them, good luck.)



Meuser: honestly, no. I tried to make the cutting boards fit before the silicon seams got "steep", but still rest a bit on them so maybe theyd help seal it. I also considered running a bead of silicone around to seal them in, as well, but decided against in the end because I dont think it will become that large of a problem.

 

[mmd]

very nice

 

[Electrobes]

An electric float valve.. do you mean a float switch? you can buy float switches for 7 bucks on http://www.floatswitches.net

I used a float switch and an Aqualifter as my auto top off and it has been working very well for the last year. Auto Top-off - in the DIY section.

 

[King-Kong]

ah yes, a float switch.. I always mix the two terms up

Wow, $6?! These things normally cost $50++. How confident are you in its build quality/ability to not jam and burn out my pump?

 

[Electrobes]

good, I ahve used these people for the last two years or so. The one I use for my aqualifter is about 2 years old. I had one on my old pump, but got lazy when I got my new pump, but it was on the old one for about a year without any probs. If you are worried about it frying out and what not, you could put a relay on it like some of the tohers have suggested in the past, I still haven't done it yet... but I don't necessarily think its a bad idea. Damn me and my laziness...

 

[King-Kong]

wow.. well a year+ seems like reasonable performance. I guess I'll buy a handful of them, then. Thanks for the awesome link.

 

[Electrobes]

werd

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

I couldnt remember if you had the boards cut to size or if that was a different thread that I was following. It does look pretty good from the pictures but they are a little bleached out/washed out due to the camera getting too much light off the bottom. I am not good with cameras but I know there is a way to allow the camera to adjust (I think it is called "meter") for the amount of light against the sand and you can get a better picture.
Looks great and I will be following along as it grows and additions are made!

 

[King-Kong]

I ordered two 24"x18" white cutting boards, and then cut them down to size using a jigsaw and some wood blades. Cut smoothly.

yeah, dont worry, ill take more photos for you so you can see the "detail". Its pretty much impossible with my cameras dynamic light levels to capture both the rock, its detail, and the sand, at the same time, so something has to get under, or over exposed.

 

[MeuserReef]

Thanks KK.

I guess that If theres enough weight pushing the boards to the bottom, there wont be much water under there anyway?

Again, awesome job... Im taking notes.