Weeds

[Michael Hoaster]

Agreed! I'd add that the harder it is to get through, the more satisfying the final results. While I know I'm not the best fake wall builder, I feel like I can get it done to a level where I'll be satisfied with it. And getting it done will be a huge relief, and one of the last hurdles to get over before I can fill my aquarium with life again.

 

[Chasmodes]

I feel like I can get it done to a level where I'll be satisfied with it.

That is the goal. Don't sell yourself short. Your wall looked just like your plan and turned out great IMHO. Between the wall and your mangrove root, that's what got me hooked on your thread to begin with

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate the support! I'm so glad to hear the root and the wall were inspiring.

 

[vlangel]

Between the wall and your mangrove root, that's what got me hooked on your thread to begin with

Me too, I loved the idea of a harem of royal grammas living in holes in the wall and the mangrove root was brilliant. The look it gave your tank is so unique.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn! Can't wait to get it up and running again!

 

[vlangel]

:bigeyes:The weekend is almost here Michael, no pressure but we will all be waiting on Monday morning to see the progress on the tank.:bigeyes:

 

[Chasmodes]

I can't wait to see it when it is finished, with the gramma harem, all those beautiful damsels, and the barnacle blennies (...and the goby), with those beautiful macros and grasses swaying in the current with the fish. Pics won't do it justice, we will need a video

 

[Michael Hoaster]

You two!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Ok, so here's my first shot at using the foil as a filler for the fake wall. Not too bad. That top left transition is too straight, but I think I can fix it. I'd like to get it close to perfect but it doesn't have to be. The foam should fix most parts that aren't. Getting there!

 

[Chasmodes]

Where's the like button?

I get what you are trying to do now. This will be cool.

 

[vlangel]

Like!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

You two are like my own psychiatric team! You're pushing me make a big breakthrough!

 

[sam.basye]

Looks like your about to cook a bunch of potatoes. Haha

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I know it looks nuts right? To really push it over the edge, I need to incorporate some duct tape! Whatever it takes…

 

[Chasmodes]

The funny thing is that internet forums and social media have pushed me as an aquarist to boundaries and accomplishments that I never thought that I could do. If you can envision it, you can do it, is the message. I see that in your past and current builds, as well as the builds of others, and that is also inspiring to us, to keep us motivated in our ventures. I like to think that perhaps I do the same for others as well in return. I've learned so much from my internet friends/colleagues sharing their experiences. Never in my dreams would I have imagined building the fake wall in a tank like I did (although it isn't finished, it's almost there) and my dream oyster reef biotope tank (even though it's a mini version of my dream). If these resources weren't available to me, I might have a tank with a stack of rocks for my river tank, or a Chesapeake Bay tank with shell rubble piled on the bottom with perhaps some dead coral rock supporting them (not that there is anything wrong with that). This is quite a hobby now, much more so than when I was a kid.

Looks like your about to cook a bunch of potatoes. Haha

:lmao:

 

[vlangel]

You two are like my own psychiatric team! You're pushing me make a big breakthrough!

Ha ha, I thought you were going to say that we are pushing you 'over the edge!'

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Right on Kevin! I've used this forum to raise my game for sure. I figure that once I put it out there, I'm committed to follow through. I'd be embarrassed to bail! So I keep attempting stuff I wouldn't normally do. I read a lot of different threads too. You never know where you'll get inspiration. So we all inspire each other to be better aquarists.

Now I better go check on my potatoes…

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Over the edge, ha! I'm not even sure where the edge is anymore!

Besides the great encouragement I get here, the thing that's pushing me the most is my empty, lifeless tank. I really hate seeing it like this. It's embarrassing!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Boy, what a difference location makes. It looked fine, sitting on the floor.

I put my new fake wall assembly, with the foil in place, in my tank. It's too much! Way too intrusive. So glad I looked at it first. I'm going to have to modify the structure and I think I'll go back to foaming right on/in the egg crate. I snapped a few pics.

So now I'm modeling an abandoned silver mine that's been flooded by rising sea levels…

I think I can go thinner with just the foam.

Looking at this is giving me ideas on how to refine the structure. It's got to be curvier - no straight lines. I also need to account for the wave box output and the main return. I'm thinking irregularly shaped holes would look more natural than round ones. I plan to add some overhang to the back wall, at the top left, that will transition to the new wall. This will help, but I'm also just going to have to adjust to the extent of the intrusion.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

OK, so I did some more staring and thinking. How to make the new fake wall less intrusive?

If I could move the wave box back, the bulky enclosure would be smaller, and I'd have a longer distance to transition down towards the front glass. That would do it. But I can't move it back because that would put the outside magnets on the wet side, in the overflow. I thought about shrink wrapping them, and realized they'd need to be held in position together, in one unit. So I fashioned a spacer from egg crate and wrapped the whole thing with packing tape.

This magnet assembly allows me to move the wave box back about four inches. This is very good!

New placement of the wave box. You can see where the magnets were before the move. I'm not worried about it blocking the overflow because only one, two inch diameter magnet blocks flow. The box is about a quarter inch off the wall - the thickness of the magnets.

This sketch shows the new shape of the fake wall, in yellow. With four more inches of space between the left edge of the wave box and the front glass, I have much more space to transition/taper it towards the front.

Better.