The "How to go Barebottom thread."

[Bomber]

I'll be a son of a gun! I just checked, our's has a off thingy too. I never realized that.

We have snow too you know.

It's in the top compartment of the GE Profile in the kitchen.

LOL

 

[kwjones]

LOL...ours has an "Auto" setting. If the temp inside the house gets below 75 the AC shuts off. And if the temp gets below 68, we have something called a "heater" to warm the house up with.

The next time it snows, I'll have to send you a few snowballs that you can throw at someone.

 

[ezhoops]

ok, was just thinking. In every picture of BB I've seen, mostly from another post. Everyone's glass was spotless, not even coraline algae. why is this? Are you guys really that anal or does it serve a purpose in keeping other nasty critters off the glass, or do you just like the sparkling clean look.

 

[kwjones]

Clean glass makes for easier/better pictures. If you keep the glass clean the snails have to go somewhere else to eat, which is what you want.

 

[Weatherman]

Everyone's glass was spotless, not even coraline algae. why is this?

Not always. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m just too lazy to clean off the glass between the two overflowsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

Yesââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ I have fish now. Four, evil, little Vanuatu Damsels. It's been so many years since Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve kept damsels I forgot how much they bicker at each other. Makes we wonder how long it's going to be before I have three... then two.... then one.

 

[matt the fiddler]

i get wet skimate with my needle wheele. i have a air line going in jsut before the pump to suck air in, and I can control how much i want. [usually just to overloading the pump levels] I also run an air stone at the bottom for extra volume, and even more chopiness.

if it gets dirty though.. skimmer productivity nearly stops.. that is partiall becuase of my design.. i am redesignin the top end of my skimmer soon!

 

[Weatherman]

Sometimes, you just have to be a little bit creativeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

This is a EuroReef ES5-3. I have the riser pipe set as high as it can go, and then I added a section of PVC pipe to the end of the riser pipe to lift the water even higher. The output from the skimmer is directed into an upstream section of the sump, so the skimmer has the opportunity to process at least a little bit of the water more than once before itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s returned to the tank.

The sludge in the bottom of the collection cup is only there because I added a drain line to the side of the cup a little higher than the bottom. I can collect about a half gallon of skimmate a day with this setup.

Under routine operations, the quality of the output from the EuroReef rivals my Bullet-3 (of course, the Bullet-3 can run circles around the EuroReef, if I put the Bullet-3 into overdrive).

 

[samsfishnchips]

guys you know what would be cool, photos of rock racks, ect, how to properly put rock so you get nice flow and less acumulation under the rocks,

sam

 

[matt the fiddler]

i can collect anywhere from 5 gallons a day to a drop a day.. depending on the angle i set my cup at.. i try to aim about 5 gallons every 1-2 weeks, then that is my water change..

oh i also fond moving my tunze so it is 2" off the bottom, and not like "touching " it clears more area of the bottom with a stronger current..

 

[Bomber]

(of course, the Bullet-3 can run circles around the EuroReef, if I put the Bullet-3 into overdrive).

I love beckets and Bullet3's.

I can make that sucker do anything I want it to.

 

[Weatherman]

guys you know what would be cool, photos of rock racks, ect, how to properly put rock so you get nice flow and less acumulation under the rocks,

sam

This is a view from the side of my 120, looking along the back wall.

I put branching pieces on the bottom of the rock pile so only tips of the branches touch the bottom. The cavern is open on both sides, so water can flow freely through the channel.

 

[SeanT]

Everyone's glass was spotless, not even coraline algae. why is this? Are you guys really that anal or does it serve a purpose in keeping other nasty critters off the glass, or do you just like the sparkling clean look.

Actually, it is because the tanks are low nutrient and stuff grows on the glass very slooooowwwwlllly.

Which is a good thing.

 

[SeanT]

I posted about equipment in the eqipment forumn I did not get much reply I read it was hard to or not possible to get wet skimmate with a needle wheel

You can EASILY get skim wet with a needle wheel. Just raise the water level inthe riser tube.
Same as a Beckett.

I know bomber says he doesn't know about eqipment

That's ok, he picks up our slack in all the little, itty, bitty crawling things department, we will get his back in the hardware.
Heck, he still hand cranks his model T.

 

[Travis]

guys you know what would be cool, photos of rock racks, ect, how to properly put rock so you get nice flow and less acumulation under the rocks,

sam

Hopefully everyone that has been following these threads from the beginning won't be too sick of these pics yet...:lol:

The rock rack:
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/page11/8-22-0040001.JPG>

The plumbing to keep the detritus off the bottom:
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/page8/7-10-0400001.JPG>

"nice n clean" (this pic was taken shortly after setup but it's still just as clean today, with the exception of some coralline growth):
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/page12/under-eggcrate.jpg>

The finished product. The wall around the tank covers the bottom 4 inches so you don't even see that the aquascape is elevated by the eggcrate:
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/full-tank7-28-05.jpg>

 

[samsfishnchips]

Weatherman, Travis, thanks for the pics

Travis, do you mind telling us the materials used,

thinking on doing the same thing to my tank now that is young rather than wait for later, which won't be easier, and putting a tunze on the right back corner, pointing to the left front corner, thinking that will take care of any debris setting down there, either 6060 or 6080, thanks

sam

 

[Travis]

Travis, do you mind telling us the materials used

Black eggcrate and 1" pvc risers painted black with underwater epoxy from aquatic eco systems. Each riser was drilled with 2 small holes to allow them to be attached to the eggcrate with black cable ties.

 

[concept3]

Obviously not as nice as Travis' rock rack and setup, but it's for a different purpose. I built a "cage" for my Megaflow since I hated the way it looks. I also wanted to make sure that the LR I placed on top of it had ample space to help detritus flow into the return. This is what I came up with. 1/2" PVC glued together, and I drilled hundereds of holes in them to get better water circulation.

Looks like I spent a fortune in Premium Fiji Rock which is ALL I have. No base rock here. I must have used less than 90 lbs.

I made PEGLEGS for those larger pieces of LR that were designated for the bottom of the tank. I did 3 large boulders this way. The pegs were cut plastic coat hangers jammed in with Epoxy Putty.

 

[matt the fiddler]

the pegs are nice

 

[WILDTHING]

Here's mine, I used coat hanger legs too but I made mine taller to be sure the flow from my 2 seio 1500's was unobstructed. I thought I'd put them in the back of the reef but they are so big they would have made it difficult to place the rock so I could access them for cleaning. So instead I placed them on the left side of the tank blowing to the right side which I've made my settling area. As a bonus my tang loves to go under there and shoot the rapids. I also won't be losing frags anymore.

Here is a pic of what the foundation looks like

lots of holes and spaces for flow and detritus to fall through to the bottom so it can be swept away. This is the right side of the tank, the heavier stuff accumulates here while the lighter stuff gets swept to the overflow above

I even gave my clam legs

If it seems like stuff is getting trapped behind the corals I've placed on the floor I can easily make tiny legs for them as well.

Full tank shot taken the day after the conversion

 

[Zaphod]

Obviously not as nice as Travis' rock rack and setup, but it's for a different purpose. I built a "cage" for my Megaflow since I hated the way it looks. I also wanted to make sure that the LR I placed on top of it had ample space to help detritus flow into the return. This is what I came up with. 1/2" PVC glued together, and I drilled hundereds of holes in them to get better water circulation.

do you have the actual stand hooked up to a closed loop? I am thinking of doing the same idea on the stand and pluming it in.