Zooty's 180 gallon Foam Wall build

[zooty]

We started this back in July but I was slow to get this posted

We picked up a new RR 180 by Perfecto (dual corner overflows) and a stand. Surprisingly we have no pics of the empty but I'm sure we have all seen an empty one

assorted stuff

My wife handled the foam wall build. This will cover the back of the tank
Eggcrate with holes for powerheads

Rock- ziptied on

Foamed- we used the one for ponds so it doesn't need to be sealed. used about 5 cans

 

[zooty]

Ran into a snag with the foam wall.
The eggcrate curled up. Probably from the foam drying too quickly from the heat. We were able to bend it back into place and get it set into the tank and siliconed. Its nice because the eggcrate slides up into the lip on the rim of the tank

Silicone really stinks! The acetic acid/ vinegar smell is very strong especially in a poorly ventilated basement. Good thing there isn't a baby in the house :
Tank and stand shot

the sand bags are pushing the rock against the back while the silicone cures

its very easy to put a hole in a sand bag with rock. grrrr

close-upish shot

The eggcrate on the bottom isn't glued but we will place rock on it to hold it down.
Hardest part may have been keeping the still slightly curved eggcrate flush against the back wall

 

[zooty]

The married with children version of an exciting Friday nite

Rockscaping

Build a little arch

Close-up of arch

This was with the rock I got from a couple different people shutting down tanks. On was covered in apstasia so we let it dry out on the lawn for a couple weeks. I'm guessing that all the dead stuff from it will make a really nice cycle for the tank.

And this is only about 65% of the rock. We have almost as much in our 75 that will be used to build 2 mini-towers in the center and hopefully another arch or 2.

 

[zooty]

One thing that looks to be really nice about the foam wall is those crappy, plastic, ORA frag plugs will push right into it. No gluing, no muss, no fuss. Sweet! ;D

Side view

FTS

FTS with sand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[zooty]

The sump- behind a wall in a storage area. The big holes in the drywall are hidden by the stand ;D

and it keeps underneath nice and uncluttered

 

[zooty]

Nitrates, nitrite and ammonia are all pretty high but not off the chart LOL

Added a few pieces of rock and some sand from our 75 gallon tank to "jump start " this one

The middle still needs rock (to be transferred) and the tops of the left and right towers will be capped with rocks from the 75 that already have corals attached

 

[zooty]

Well, did a 50 gallon WC on Sat but not sure how much it helped. Ammonia is down to 1.0 but Nitrate and 'trite are basically maxed out on our test kit. Phosphate is almost zero (is that normal) but ammonia has come down so that should be good. Not sure since its been a while since we cycled a tank and that one was short as it was since the rock was fresh.

We have some macro algae starting to grow and the skimming is pulling a lot of junk. I thinking we should have used a bag or 2 of live sand so I seeded some more from the 75 into the sand in the sump. It does look like some stuff is starting to grow in the sand in the DT when you look at the edge.

Anywho, put the lights on and it looks like this

 

[zooty]

Finished moving the rock, corals and fish in about 3 hours

Almost lost the dottyback but Mrs found him on the floor behind the sump.

Here's some FTS,

 

[lastlight]

Looks great! I'm surprised how the black foam already looks purple under your lighting. Is it like that in real life? If so who needs coraline?!

 

[ilikelps]

Looks fantastic!

Ben

 

[zooty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15680350#post15680350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastlight
Looks great! I'm surprised how the black foam already looks purple under your lighting. Is it like that in real life? If so who needs coraline?!

It doesn't really look purple unless the halides are off and the actinics are on. But it does give it a nice dark background and lots of places to stuff coral frags.

It really doesn't photograph well and looks better in person.

Thanks for the compliments!