Bruce went "Overboard" Tank Journal

[Rostato]

I googled them. They are ugly as sh*t. Not going in my beautiful build! Only way I'd use those is if I was using mirror balls as lights.

Agreed. And the dude that hawks them on Facebook is so annoying I had to block him.

 

[Vhuang168]

Rock work looks good.

Why raise the bottom level up vs having sitting flush on the bottom?


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[Oakland Evan]

Rock does look very nice. Another few additions you could add (assuming your not going with solar) would be an Ecotech backup battery for your return pump and a UPS backup battery for the Apex and/or EB832.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Rock does look very nice. Another few additions you could add (assuming your not going with solar) would be an Ecotech backup battery for your return pump and a UPS backup battery for the Apex and/or EB832.

There are two backups (Icecap) for two of the Gyres already.

 

[sfsuphysics]

So do you have any coral placement plans? Specifically in the middle where the rock looks super close to where the water line may be?

 

[Oakland Evan]

There are two backups (Icecap) for two of the Gyres already.

I saw those, was just listing all the extra toys you can add while you're still in the build phase. The Ecotech battery is $250ish with the adaptor/booster cable you need, and the UPS backup is less than $100. They just add extra backup in case you have a long power outage.

 

[JVU]

Rock work looks good.

Why raise the bottom level up vs having sitting flush on the bottom?


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I second this comment and question. I don’t have the extensive rock on the bottom, but I did intentionally make all the rock bases flat and flush so that stuff wouldn’t collect there, and for stability.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

So do you have any coral placement plans? Specifically in the middle where the rock looks super close to where the water line may be?

Yeah -- so that did get closer to the waterline than we expected. We were measuring, but somehow it got about 2 1/2" higher than we planned. So I have plans for most spots except that one. May go with a Monti Stellata there sine it grows out much faster than up. Not 100% sure yet.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

I second this comment and question. I don’t have the extensive rock on the bottom, but I did intentionally make all the rock bases flat and flush so that stuff wouldn’t collect there, and for stability.

They are only raised a little bit -- frankly not much more than a few natural "lips" would be even if we had put shelf down directly. There will be sand as well and that should seal the small spots to keep debris from collecting.

As to the why -- the purpose of a 4-6" diameter flat disc on the bottom isn't to raise it, but to stabilize it. The rock is actually 5 separate structures. The base shelf on each are roughly 16" in diameter. By putting the foot on it rests perfectly flat on the bottom and makes it easy to build each structure up on a solid base that is easy to set into the tank. Each of those structures is 50-60 pounds and this way it's 100% stable.

 

[Chromis]

Makes sense, and even if you manage to get some sand or small debris under a flat base that size it will remain pretty stable.

I was imagining you’d fill the areas between the base rock with sand, to keep a deep enough bed for wrasses while keeping the sand area down.

 

[Chromis]

Here's a pic (box trim comes in black as well), I got a fish room so ascetics are not an issue for me. I just like the ability to make custom controls without having to use my iPad/iphone.
.View attachment 12451

It reminds me of that Simon game from the 80s...

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Update -- mid cycle.

Tank is up and running. Big shout out to Mike (@Coral reefer) for getting this plumbed. What I thought would be tons of interior cabinet space turned out to be a tightly fit jigsaw puzzle with the chosen equipment. Beyond the large sump, large skimmer and ATO reservoir you quickly run out of room when you're also plumbing in an 80w UV sterilizer, a 40w UV sterilizer, an Alge Scrubber, etc. We ended up suspending the 80w above the sump and having to push back the sump etc to install the 40w in front.

The four Orphek Atlantiks were very challenging to mount as well. Orphek doesn't make a mounting solution for a Euro-braced tank and hanging them was out of the question because of a 16' slanted ceiling. I ended up using two Ecotech RMS bars and hanging them on that. It has some bow in the middle, but I'll fix that shortly by strapping some flat steel"beams to them.

I ended up removing some of the rock as it was just too much. Now it has more open space and looks even more "shelvy."

Electric is all run and everything is working. I still need to do some cable management, but it'll never be as clean as I want it. Just not a talent I have.

Cycle is about a week away from adding fish and some corals.

 

[tankguy]

Still holding your CRC Crystal Flame for ya

 

[Coral reefer]

Did you take out more rock than that too center piece?

 

[Flagg37]

Man, things definitely look cramped in there. I wonder if it will inhibit maintenance.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Man, things definitely look cramped in there. I wonder if it will inhibit maintenance.

There's actually a lot more space than it looks like in the pics.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Did you take out more rock than that too center piece?

Yes -- about another 20# as well.

 

[sfsuphysics]

So is that due to the outside part of the camera lens creating a "fish eye" look or is your lighting bar sagging in the center?

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

So is that due to the outside part of the camera lens creating a "fish eye" look or is your lighting bar sagging in the center?

It's sagging.

 

[sfsuphysics]

1"x2" extruded aluminum should fix that up... unless you want your lights tilted towards the sides of the tank