New 75 foam/rock wall build

[Tat2demon]

I'm sure nobody cares to see another thread for a 75 build but what the hell.

Let me start by saying this is actually the second tank for this project. I cracked a back corner of the first one while I was moving it around on a two-wheel cart. :hmm2: After a lot of advice on here I went and picked up another.

I'm a few days into the build but from here on its going to take quite a while to complete. I don't have much of a hobby fund so Ill be doing bits here and there as money allows.

This tank is going to have Beans overflow system - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1310585

Its going to have a foam/rock wall. Ive never tried this before but have been doing a lot of reading on here from several other builds. Im trying to model very much after this thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1732329&highlight=foam+rock. I don't want to steal too many ideas but I love the way this turned out. I also got a lot of info from Customcolors threads that Ill be using.

Ill be using a 20 long for a sump/fuge. I have the tank but haven't had the baffles cut yet. That should be next week.

Ill be using an Eheim 1262 for a return and a pair of Koralia 1050s in the tank.

On to the pics.

As per Beans instructions I went with 3 1 inch bulkheads. I just used a glass/tile bit from Menards. It takes a while but if youre patient it cuts a pretty good hole.

For the overflow I went with one a bit shorter than Beans. I built it from acrylic and painted with black Krylon Fusion.

Next came the start of the wall. So far Ive only made the base of it but will be adding a lot of cave structures, depth and some recesses for the Koralias to hide. I ordered the rock from Marco Friday night. Its supposed to be here Wednesday. :thumbsup:

My Eheim 1262 showed up this morning. The size and weight of this thing really surprised me.

I got the return lines finished this evening. Its 1" up to the top T then splits off into 3/4". The down-lines will be incorporated into the wall and will not be seen. There are 4 outlets that will each have Loc-Lines on them. The return is also going to feed the refugium. I apologize for the busy blue background but my bed and computer desk are also my workshop. :lmao:

Well that's it for tonight. I have the overflow lines done and will get pics up sometime later today. I need to do some trimming on the bracket before they will sit right.

 

[Tat2demon]

I'm late on the other pics but I was able to get all the plumbing done and the tank is on a test run right now. :fun2:

This is an older drain line pic. The return in this one has been changed but I was bored and painted my drain lines black so they're not showing up very well for my camera.

I built a bracket out of some spare wood I had around to support the weight of the drains. They're secured on the bracket and the stand with "Ape Tape". Its a woven polypropylene that I found in the plumbing section at Menards. With this setup there should be virtually no weight or torque put on the bulkheads.

Heres the sump plumbing. I dont have baffles in it yet but could wait to test the system.

For anyone thinking of using Beananimals overflow design I will add to the already large group that love this setup. It took a little bit to find the sweet spot with the siphon valve but now its absolutely quiet. The only thing I can hear my return pump.

I had time late tonight to get back to work on the frame work for the rock wall. I was able to get most of the left side done before I ran out of zip ties. It doesnt show very well in the pics but the center will be much like the thread I linked in my first post. Both sides will have cave openings in the middle of the tank which lead to small caves. Ill also be hiding a Koralia 1050 in each top corner.

Left side

Cave area edge on.

Cave area top down.

 

[Tat2demon]

So in the last few days Ive gotten my rock from Marco and have almost completed the wall. I have the right side done and am going to start sanding the left in just a bit.

The rock from Marco is great. Highly recommended. I bought 25 lbs for the wall and will probably order the rest of the rock I need from him when the time comes. It shipped right away and was packaged great. There were just a few small rubble pieces in the box. I asked for medium size pieces but after doing this project I think I could have gone with his nano rock packs. I ended up breaking them down to quite small pieces. 25 lbs ended up being the exactly what I needed.

I used 4 cans of Great Stuff Pond and Stone Foam, 2 Bill Smith 9oz. epoxy kits and CaribSea Aragamax.

Ill get the left side finished tonight and post some pics of the completed wall with some better ones showing the caves and openings. Heres some in progress shots.

Heres the right side mostly done. Theres a few spots I need to touch mup with more sand/epoxy. I didnt worry about completely sanding the inside of the caves since they wont really be seen. The opening in the top right corner is for the mounting plate of the Koralias that will be going in. Ill have one in each top corner.

 

[Tat2demon]

Oh btw, for anyone thinking of doing a foam wall, take the advice from others that I ignored. USE GLOVES! :lmao:

This foam is some very nasty stuff while its fresh. Its all over my hands, a shirt, my 5 year olds arm and a shirt of his.

Also, Once the foam is cured its all puffy and round looking. Personally I didnt like that look at all so I started going after it with a Dremmel. After a bit I found it was much easier to use a needle nose pliers and just take random stabs at it and rip pieces out. That gives nice random holes and sharp areas to match rock better.

 

[Rookie07]

I have used nail polish remover on the foam(great stuff) when it gets stuck on you...I only did this when the foam was fresh, but it did work very, very well.

Great job by the way....Looks awesome!

 

[Tat2demon]

Ah Ill have to remember that. I wiped off most of it but Im still stained black where it was.

 

[Tat2demon]

Got the wall done a couple weeks ago and have had fresh water running it in since then to make sure theres no leaks and to get anything off the rocks and foam. I drained it out yesterday and its just about filled up again for the final time.

Were adding the salt while the filling finishes up.

Ill be adding a piece of rock and some sand from my 10g to get things kicked off. Its going to be a bit before I can buy the rest of the rock.

 

[Tat2demon]

Im hoping to be able to get another 50 lbs of rock in the next couple weeks then its time to save up for lights.

I picked up a $10 two light T8 fixure from Walmart a few days ago and a couple bulbs on sale at Menards for 4 bucks. I painted it black and put a piee of acrylic on each side so it wont slide around and fall into the tank. It will work for fish until I can get a proper setup.

 

[Tat2demon]

Here's one showing the caves system. I couldn't get any decent pictures. The blue is where the Koralia 1050s are going to go. The red is the areas that are caves or lifted a ways off the glass. The far left is just one big single entrance cave while the far right has 3 openings to it. Both areas have larger rocks on the outside to create shelves for attaching corals.

 

[romanr]

You did a really nice job with it. Like that you have your kid involved.

 

[Tat2demon]

You did a really nice job with it. Like that you have your kid involved.

Thanks. Hes had a large obsession with anything related to fish since he was old enough to know what they are. Most of his toys, books ect are fish, sharks, whales and whatnot so he loves to help with the tank any chance he can get. Cant wait till hes old enough to do water changes.

 

[mossdog]

I really like your build. The caves are a nice touch too.
I am starting my build soon and plan to use foam but I cannot seem to find the pond and stone version anywhere!!!!
Is the bit in the centre with no foam just like that because of the caves?
What did you use to cut the dry rock into flat backed pieces?

 

[Tat2demon]

I really like your build. The caves are a nice touch too.
I am starting my build soon and plan to use foam but I cannot seem to find the pond and stone version anywhere!!!!
Is the bit in the center with no foam just like that because of the caves?
What did you use to cut the dry rock into flat backed pieces?

Thanks a lot.

I got mine at Menards for about $8.50 a can. If you have one near you it was with all the rest of the sealing foam in the paint department.

The big crevice in the middle is something I saw in another build and really liked it. The crevice part is 6-7 inches off the glass then slopes in near the middle caves. When I get it stocked with fish it should give it a good depth when they swim through it.

I would love to show a top down shot so you can see the depth of it but my overflow is in the way.

The rock isnt flat on the back. I just took the big piece out to the back of my pickup and smashed the heck out of them with a hammer and screwdriver until they were the size I liked. :hammer: After that I just set them where they looked like they fit on the egg crate and foamed around them.

 

[Tat2demon]

A couple updated sump/fuge shots.

 

[mcdonaldtj]

Looks great, one question do you have room for a power loss in your sump? The level seems a little high and I would worry about an overflow.

V/Tim

 

[Tat2demon]

Yep. With the water just above the black line in the return section, a power off only brings it to within about an inch of top of the sump. Theres not much room in the return section but a good 2 inches or so above both the skimmer area and the fuge.

 

[Tat2demon]

My 50lbs of remaining rock showed up today. :spin1:

And almost no rubble.

I may end up breaking down a couple of the larger pieces. Will have pics of the 'scaping up later tonight.

 

[T Diddy]

lookin good brutha

 

[nature boy]

Hey, looks good. All you need is a skimmer now.

 

[Tat2demon]

Happen to know where I can get one? :lolspin: