the oceanic 50 build.....

[james3370]

has moved from the "planning" stages to the "im progress" stage LOL

bought the following in the last week or so & things are starting to filter in :

* 160lbs of dry rock from premium aquatics (waaaay too much but it was on a black friday deal & at the time i was gonna do a biocube 29 too....but that has been scrapped)
* (5) 4'x8' sheets of black eggcrate (once again...waaay too much. see above LOL)
* mag7 pump for my Skimmer i bought awhile back
* (1) icecap high output 24" t5 retrofit & (2) icecap std output 24" t5 retrofits
* (2) Giesemann 11k Aquablue Plus bulbs
* (2) Giesemann 6k Midday bulbs
* (2) Giesemann Pure Actinic bulbs
* (2) Rena 100 watt heaters
* glass-holes.com 700gph overflow kit
* (2) glass-holes.com 3/4" return kits
* 40 breeder for sump/fuge
* maxi-jet 400 pump for UV sterilizer (that i haven't bought yet & might not LOL)
* maxi-jet 900 pump to use in fuge w/ spraybar to tumple cheato
* Ocean Runner 3500 for return pump
* Oceans Motions 4-way for closed loop
* Mag 9.5 for closed loop
* maxi-jet 404 for ATO
* z-poxy finishing resin to coat the rock wall from UV

....still need to buy
* ATO Kit & a 5.5 or 10 gallon tank for the water storage
* glass panels for bubble traps in sump/fuge
* wood to build stand & canopy
* misc stand & canopy hardware
* misc electrical layout stuff for stand
* several cans of great stuff foam for the rock wall i'm doing
* (2) 1 1/2" bulkheads & screens for closed loop
* (4) 3/4" bulkheads & screens for closed loop
* UV Sterilizer (might scrap that)
* REEFKEEPER 2....not sure if in the budget

geez....this thing might be "wet" by my bday (march) :rollface:

 

[commonstranger]

Best of luck James I know it will turn out good for you. If you dont need all that rock let me know.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13857742#post13857742 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by commonstranger
Best of luck James I know it will turn out good for you. If you dont need all that rock let me know.

will do

This is what i bought by the way. got (4) boxes for a total of 160lbs :eek1: but i had a 10% off coupon from them & got it during their black friday sale special of free shipping :rollface:

it was suppose to be for a pretty lage structure in this tank & also for a rock wall/island in a biocube 29, but i scratched the biocube plan, so yeah.....i'm definately gonna have some left over

 

[commonstranger]

Just shoot me a PM when you know how much youll have left over.

 

[james3370]

40 breeder wouldn't fit w/out building my stand too large for what i want, so bought 29 gallon & baffles from glasscages.com the other day

....still need to buy
* ATO Kit bought
* a 5.5 or 10 gallon tank for the water storage
* glass panels for bubble traps in sump/fuge bought
* wood to build stand & canopy
* misc stand & canopy hardware
* misc electrical layout stuff for stand
* several cans of great stuff foam for the rock wall i'm doing
* (2) 1 1/2" bulkheads & screens for closed loop bought
* (4) 3/4" bulkheads & screens for closed loop bought
* UV Sterilizer (might scrap that) bought
* REEFKEEPER 2....not sure if in the budget

 

[NeveSSL]

Wow, man. Nice.

I would recommend going with an AC Jr. for a controller, though. Reason being they are a quite a bit more flexible than the RK2s, but the RK2s are still pretty good units.

Also, WE NEED PICS!

Lastly... maybe you should hire someone to carry that rock in next time.

Brandon

 

[james3370]

i now see that the rock i bought is "lace" rock & i read that it will never become "live"...even if seeded w/ live rock???

then i read that somebody used some & it had coraline growth on it....is this right?

my plan was to use it for the back wall & center structure i have planned that will have lots of caves/swim-thrus. i just want it to look right

oh....& there will be a build thread :bum:

 

[sandalscout]

Where'd you read it won't become live? All that makes rock "live" is the microogranisms that live on it's surface. One of my tanks has been "live" for nearly a year with 80% lace rock and is doing fine, has coralline growth, supports a healthy population of copepods, brittle stars, bristleworms, and provides adequate filtration of the tank. I'm not sure why one would not consider this rock any less live than that new manmade live rock that is coming out of Fiji.

 

[NeveSSL]

ANYthing you put in your tank will become "live".

It just so happens that what we call "live rock" is more porous than, say, limestone. This means there is much more surface area to support many more bacteria to provide for more filtration.

I'm curious... where did you read it would never become "live"?

Brandon

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13893772#post13893772 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL
ANYthing you put in your tank will become "live".

It just so happens that what we call "live rock" is more porous than, say, limestone. This means there is much more surface area to support many more bacteria to provide for more filtration.

I'm curious... where did you read it would never become "live"?

Brandon

saw a post or 2 here & there saying that

anywhoo....i kinda had a mini-freakout about not using all lace rock & checked bulkreefsupply & they have their ecorock on sale right now (3-6" size 50% off...reg 2.69/lb now 1.35lb) so i ordered 80lbs of it
:rollface:

....my large structure i want to do in the center, i will prob build the base of around the caves/pass-thrus w/ the lace rock & then cover it w/ the better ecorock

bought:
* 160lbs of "lace" rock from premiumaquatics.com
* 80 lbs of ecorock from bulkreefsupply.com
.....so thats 240lbs of rock for a ~42 gallon tank :lol: ....but at least i'll have plenty to pick & choose from

so yeah, those that need some rock, i'm definately gonna have some left over LOL

 

[james3370]

i also just got done figuring out all the plumbing (ball valves, unions, elbows, etc) & have an order ready including the flexible pvc......going to call flexpvc.com tomorrow


now that pretty much leaves the "hardware" for the stand & canopy, so i need to sit down & finalize how i want doors, slides, etc for them & get that ordered.

stand is looking more & more like i'm gonna have to construct a "custom" ato reservoir to make it fit where i want it rather than a standard 5.5 or 10 gallon tank. prob just get some pvc cut at lowes to construct it when it's all said & done.

the ato kit i ordered has (3) floats.....a dual-float for the sump (1 backup redundant) & then a seperate float for the ato reservoir to stop the pump if it runs dry

 

[sandalscout]

James, I would LOVE to see pictures of your Eco rock, I'm really curious as to how it looks. I'm not sure I'll buy any, since I'm pretty set on making my own, but I was leaning heavily toward it.

The only difference between going with "live" rock and dry rock is that it will take a little longer to cycle the tank. A live rock cycle is going to take longer due to the rock not completely dying off, but with dry rock curing (and it will be required to cure, even though the other thread says not, there just will not be an initial die-off) it'll take longer. As far the rock not being live, if that was the case, why would so many people dry out or cook their rock? You will be fine, it will just look at little different at first, and take a little longer than "normal", possibly a good thing if you do not have the entire financial outlay up front.

oh, and the post that says lace rock will never be live:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1524375

 

[james3370]

once the ecorock comes (it was apparantly shipped today) i'll get pics & post em, but for now, here's pics of the sizes that comes in a package of CaribSea 40lb box from premium aquatics. this was (4) boxes...160lbs

** 18" ruler to show scale **

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v501/james3370/tank/temp/CIMG1353.jpg...that was the contents of (1) 40lb box

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v501/james3370/tank/temp/CIMG1354.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v501/james3370/tank/temp/CIMG1355.jpg

i think this is just basically like DIY concrete rock cause there was a white powder film all over everything once i was done moving it around....just like a bag of quikrete concrete mix
:rollface:

what pieces of it i end up using, i will give it a good scubbing/rinsing to get an of the leftover residue off & then "cook" it as i've stated before.

 

[james3370]

oh...btw....i stopped by the critter & got a tube of aquarium sealant (couldn't remember if it was GE I or II that was recommended while at lowes LOL).

i started siliconing the baffles into the sump when i got home & have already learned 1 thing.....i suck at running a silicone bead :mad2: LOL

when i ordered my overflow box & all my bulkheads from glass-holes.com i had them cut me a piece of black 1/4" acrylic w/ skimmer slots in it. well i forgot that the 29 i bought is not as deep & shorter that the sump i had designed in the beginning....so they had the old dimensions DOH

so i have to get out the router & the edging bit to cut this sump wall piece down to the size of one of my baffles before i can put it in as well

 

[sandalscout]

i think this is just basically like DIY concrete rock cause there was a white powder film all over everything once i was done moving it around....just like a bag of quikrete concrete mix
:rollface:

Looks like "real" rock, it's basically just quarried fossilized limestone, but it's not super solidified, so it powders fairly easily, leaving a dust coating on everything.

 

[james3370]

all plumbing adapters & flexible pvc ordered.....now i think all i need is stand & canopy hardware, bunch of cans of great stuff foam & a tank for the ato reservoir

 

[fallinapart]

Your getting there.....man what a project, I'm excited just following along in the thread.

 

[NeveSSL]

Oh... you should also know that ...

Brandon

 

[james3370]

i'm saving up for one nice build thread

if it's any consulation, i can see it all in my head & i must say it looks pretty f'n pimp!!! LOL

to quote Brad Paisley......"who needs pictures, with a memory like mine"

hahahahaha

 

[james3370]

....still need to buy
* a 5.5 or 10 gallon tank for the water storage...gotta get stand built to see where i can put one that'll be easily accessed before buying one
* wood to build stand & canopy
* misc electrical layout stuff for stand
* several cans of great stuff foam for the rock wall i'm doing

the above 3 should finish off my home depot gift card...& then some probably LOL

* REEFKEEPER 2....definately NOT if in the budget