New 200g from Greece!

[theofilos]

After curing my rock for 2 weeks and removing the dirty bottom I made my first attempt at aquascaping the tank. Here's the general idea I have in my mind. Of course many pieces are gonna be moved to make things more natural. How do you find it? Thanks for viewing!

 

[stylolvr]

I would love to hear some more about the equipment, setup, etc.

What are you planning on keeping? It looks like you are going to need a bit more flow for any SPS.

 

[theofilos]

Well the aquarium is this:

http://www.star-aquarium.it/star200_eng.php

I've made a durso system to communicate with the sump located on the right. Also I'm using the holes that were already in the tank but modified the cap they had. I use the lights provided (400w T5 with reflectors). My skimmer is an H&S 150 with a 2000l/h pump. I'm rebuilding my stand soon (while keeping the main frame ) and stopping this 3 divided shelf cuz its limiting my space a lot. Maybe than I'll consider changing to a bigger skimmer or a 2nd one of the same type.

As for the flow I have 2 Tunze nanostream 1x 6025 and 1x 6045 but this week I'm doubling them to 2x 6025 and 2x 6045 which should be more than enough for the flow.

My focus on this tank is Fish and Natural look. I'm gonna have corals but it's not my thing . I wanna keep some nice fish like regal angel , achiles tang etc. Also I want to have macroalgae growing on the rock. We'll see how that will work out. This week I'm going to tie the rock together each pile at a time. I'll shorten the right one and make the other 2 a bit more steep. Also I'm getting my first fish on quarantine ( 6 weeks minimum) a pair of ocelaris , gramma loreto, red firefish, purple firefish and maybe a helfrichi firefish if they find it. After those we'll see what's next.

How does my plan sound? :rollface:

 

[waynem]

Does the tank appear that blue in real life?

Look forward to more updates

 

[theofilos]

No it's the camera. The tank is a pretty balanced white/blue. I don't know how to correct that though, would using flash work?

 

[waynem]

No a flash would add to much the other way. It depends on your camera if its a DSL go for a polarising lens or just play with the exposure.

 

[theofilos]

I've started aquascaping the tank. Because of the lack of aquarium related products in Greece I've done my own DIY live rock base system . This is what I used.

By using those I managed to have a PVC to tie the rocks with and a base for the rock so as not to harm the bottom glass.

The result is:

BEFORE aquascaping

After fixing the right pile only

After fixing the left pile

Side view of left pile

Outcome so far without touching middle pile yet:

Excuse the algae but it's the early tank syndrome.

The plan for the middle pile is to make it short but lengthy and make a bridge to the left pile using that rock that's longest than all others. Keep in mind that the tank is viewable from all sides so you may get confused as to what is left and what is right with the photos . Just take my word for it above the pictures.

I want to have this tank as natural look as possible. Once I make the middle pile tomorrow or the next day it will be easier to judge for me. Also adding aragonite on the bottom will further enhance the outcome. Because I don't like my tanks usually, could you help me out and make a review on the 2 piles I've aquascaped so far? Thanks guys!

P.S. I tried to make the rocks as spacious as possible so there's plenty of small caves or ledges. But the rock I bought is a bit too much it seems...

 

[Haste Diesels]

Cant wait to see it finished!!

 

[theofilos]

Nice to hear ! Until the end of this week I will have everything done even aragonite. Than maybe I'll clean the glass, until now I love seeing all the copepods amphipods grazing on the algae and I leave it like that .

 

[herostar]

I think the rock piles look pretty good. Lots of space for corals and for fish to swim around....

 

[BWIPlumbing]

once its covered with corals and comes alive in there its going to be beautiful!

 

[theofilos]

Thank you everyone. This is a good motivation to me that I'm on the right track . In return I promise to finish middle pile tonight after I get back from work hehe.

 

[theofilos]

After 2 hard days my job is almost over. The layout is complete. Only a few details remain but I can't stay any longer awake. I work in 3 hours hehe. Here's some pictures to give you a good idea of the final look. Some rocks will be moved on the upper parts but you can have a very good view already. I am 110% satisfied. Tomorrow I will cut the net on the bottom where it's not needed and I will finish the details on the rock. After that I will add the aragonite and we are ready to roll!

This time I don't need any positive feedback . It feels so good already :rollface: .

 

[mahalamata]

Kali arxi!
its good to see more Greek reefers!Where do you live?Is it easy to find marine LFS near you?I grew up in Athens and it can be a pain to find an LFS that doesnt give you weird looks when you ask for marine fish...
Anyway rockwork looks good,keep us posted of your progress!

 

[theofilos]

Thank you.

For the last 3 years marine aquariums are so popular that you can find at least 5-6 good stores. The variety in fish is somewhat good. I just have to DIY some parts as we don't have easy solutions like in USA and most of all its so expensive here .