The Hawaiian inspired over-build ( 300g system)

Outstanding designs and a fellow Chicagoland reefer!:wave:

Subscribed for inspiration!

I love the idea of a Hawaii inspired biptope. We go diving every year in Kona. You have to love this deep small coral heads with the Bicolor anthias. My wife even got a cleaner shrimp to clean her teeth at one of those coral heads at a dive site called garden eel cove.

dinn-cleaner-shrimp-for-web.jpg
 
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alin2 said:
Outstanding designs and a fellow Chicagoland reefer!:wave:
Click to expand...

Thanks! Also great picture; its good to hear first hand accounts of common aquarium animals found in Hawaii. I am getting a lot of conflicting info here on the internets. :spin2: Good to hear the cleaner shrimps are Hawaii approved.
 
Very Nice Build!!

I love thee idea of the Hawaiian Biotope. I am doing the same thing in my Elos 120.

I am creating a deepwater Hawaiian Biotope and my fish include the following:

Bandit Angelfish ((pair)
Flame Wrasse (Trio)
plus there are a few other harder to find species that I am working on obtaining.

You should really look into the Bandit Angelfish, I can tell you without a doubt that this is my favorite species of fish.

Here are my babies:

IMG_1009.jpg




~Michael
 
michael_cb_125 said:
You should really look into the Bandit Angelfish, I can tell you without a doubt that this is my favorite species of fish.
Click to expand...

Wow, that Bandit pair is fantastic. How long have you had them?

Can anyone else contribute to our list of "aquarium sized" Hawaiian specimens?

Thanks!
 
"Hawaii HB580 aquarium ban is thrown out, adds marine conservatories instead"

:celeb1:

Thanks to anyone who made a fuss about the Hawaiian Aqaurium Ban legislation! Of course, everyone knew Snorkel Bob was full of it. Certainly would have made my biotype idea MUCH more difficult, lol. Cheers! :beer:
 
I really like watching your plan come together. Your project is impressive.:thumbsup: I'll admit I was hooked as soon as you mentioned "Kuai". I was there for a week this time last year and that is my favorite place on earth!

Thanks for sharing how you cemented the rocks. I've been thinking about doing something like that as I am going to use my existing rock for my new build but would like to add one more unique looking Island. What is the purposed behind using the eggcrate? I've seen others do it but was a little concerned about trapping debris if used with a 1-2" sand bed.
 
Rotknee said:
What is the purposed behind using the eggcrate? I've seen others do it but was a little concerned about trapping debris if used with a 1-2" sand bed.
Click to expand...

The idea with the eggcrate is just to get the rocks off the glass and prevent any issues in the event of falling rocks. Not sure how REAL these concerns are, but I felt it was cheap insurance. I am also hoping the eggcrate will help keep the sand from moving around too much.

I have similar concerns regarding detritus accumulation. My strategy is to keep the sand bed just deep enough to cover the eggcrate. High flow will also be helpful to keep the detritus in suspension.
 
You can see here that the rock is only touching the eggcrate in as few places as possible. Hopefully that will help with detritus as well:
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=rockWork1024.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/rockWork1024.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Also, can anyone confirm if this is a male bi-color anthias? (From Haffs09 pics collection)
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=user28166_pic1873_1256426941.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/user28166_pic1873_1256426941.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Thanks!
 
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Thanks guys!

Come on now, I know someone out there can identify the anthias above? It is sort of a strange angle which is I think what is making the pink look so pronounced?
 
OK, lets build ourselves a 1.5" Stockman Standpipe!

The tools used:
Power Drill
Screwdriver
File
PVC glue
(a vise was helpful)

Here is the plan:
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0760.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0760.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Since I lack a decent workshop or proper tools I am using a power drill on our Kitchen counter to cut the opening from the PVC (yes, my girlfriend loves me). First things-first, I secured the PVC pipe using a vice.
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0765.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0765.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I used the drill to create the outline of the piece I wanted to remove. This was tedious, but only took a few minutes to accomplish. Yes, I realize there are probably a million better ways to do this job, but we all have to work with what we have :)
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0766.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0766.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I used my screwdriver in a 'chisel-like' fashion to create the opening.
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0768.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0768.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Hey, wow... it worked:
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0771.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0771.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

A little filing goes a long way to clean it up.
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0773.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0773.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Ready to drain!
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0775.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0775.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I went ahead and glued on the reducer bushing which will hold the 2" coupler in place.
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0781.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0781.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

...and the finished product:
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0776.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0776.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I decided not to glue the coupler or the cap on so they can both be removed for maintenance if needed.
 
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And here it is in the overflow...
<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0779.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0779.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=IMAG0780.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/IMAG0780.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
is the cement you used reef safe? "portland type I"
do u know if any one else has successfully used it??

can u take some close up pics of the Rock Welds that you did with the Cement?

the BUILD looks great so far :) - Subscribed :)
 
The Portland cement type I / Type II is reef safe.

"Don't forget that public aquariums were using cement rock before and after world war II. Dick Perrin had been making cement reef rocks in the 1980's. He had been very successful also when using silica sand. Dave Smith of Reef Encrustaceans has also been a long-time cement rock maker, using various materials including aragonite sand. There were also aquarists in Europe making cement reef aquarium rocks in the 1980's (probably earlier too?), and others here and there making cement rocks for reef and saltwater aquariums even earlier. Bob Stark had been making aragonite cement and crushed oyster shell cement since 1991."

So Portland cement has been used to create DIY rocks and other DIY reef structures for a long time. Some things to understand are that it may increase your PH as the cement cures. I noticed a slight peak (8.3) in the first few days after filling with water but quickly fell to 8.2. Not sure if this was even due to the cement as it is such a small amount of cement used and it was a new tank.

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/t_miller_052498.html
http://www.reefcentral.org/forums/showthread.php?p=16975822http://
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1360507
 
Found some better pictures from when I first picked up the display tank. I picked this tank up new from SaraB who was an all-around fantastic seller. Excellent dimensions IMO and I can't speak higher of the quality.

Size: 40x30x20
Volume: 110g tank.
Manufacturer: Miracles in Glass
Style: Rimless / 1/2" Starphire

<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=DSC00133.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/DSC00133.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=DSC00125.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/DSC00125.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=DSC00122.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/DSC00122.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/?action=view&current=DSC00118.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z332/tellyFish/DSC00118.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
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