thephoreefer
Supporting Member
Yes my rocks at shop are like these, they use acrylic rod to hold them into place. They are easy to break the acrylic rods though so be careful and inspect from time to time, don’t want to fall on glass
65 gallon tank
- Thread starter MichaelB
- Start date
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Thanks for the tip about the rods. I have a question for you. Have you had any issues with the rock In terms of cycling the tank, bio loads, or maintaining parameters ? It kinda seems as if the rock isn't as porous as other types of rock.
I really like the weight and look of it however.
thephoreefer
Supporting Member
I kept a lot of live rock in sump so wasn’t an issue. No issue occur, I still think it doesn’t matter, it can still harbor bacteria even if not porous. If you have a sump I’d recommend an area for the biomedia.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
I still have tap water in the 65gallon now.
My current task Is to cement the rock structures and let it cure. simultaneously I would drain the tap water get some rodi from Neptunes to replace the tap. Mix the salt together inside the tank than add the rock structures.
* adding fish to the tank isn't even on my radar for many weeks- months.
* I may add a few corals at the 2 week point for observation purposes as things dial in.
1. I've been soaking bio bricks for about 2 months in my 32cube rear chamber for the sump.
2. I plan to add a softball size live rock from 32 into the display of the 65.
3. I will also add another similar size cave from the 10 gallon tank I'm breaking down to the display.
4. Josh also gave me a few rubble pieces he had soaking for me in his sump.
* maybe dr tim's and ammonia to speed cycle in addition to the above 4 ponts.
I plan to take things slowly, yet I just need to do something with the tank as my wife isn't happy with it sitting there empty. Have to show some progress.
Do you think I'm missng anything?
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Coral reefer
Past President
I see no need for dr. Tim’s if you are seeding with rubble etc fro established tanks. Shouldn’t really hurt, except maybe your wallet
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Shoot your a genuis lmao, and saving me money. I was planing all new water and 3-4 trips to the store. Thanks.
I have the rodi thing, but taking one project at a time. So its further down the list.
thephoreefer
Supporting Member
I heard this is great for cycling a tank, actual bacteria
MichaelB
Supporting Member
I was able to finsh this part of the scape between yesterday and today. Cemented everything hopefully good enough.
*I didn't measure the tank or tape out the lines like I had to with my biocube(very tight space), so I'm not sure what order they will actually be in inside the tank but I'm very confident they will fit.
Will also make a small cave out of live rock but, I need to see where these will be placed before I mess with that.
I wish I could paint the cement to match the rest of the rock, but I'll have to live with it until it ages and all blends in eventually.
*I didn't measure the tank or tape out the lines like I had to with my biocube(very tight space), so I'm not sure what order they will actually be in inside the tank but I'm very confident they will fit.
Will also make a small cave out of live rock but, I need to see where these will be placed before I mess with that.
I wish I could paint the cement to match the rest of the rock, but I'll have to live with it until it ages and all blends in eventually.
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MichaelB
Supporting Member
I will have some more rock just has to work around these, so can't really mess with them yet. And they will be live rocks so I need actual salt water in before I add them. Also going to most likely go with the calcium reactor media as substrate.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
So, today was an adventure, starting with a home depot trip to find bolts to mount lights in the canopy. I brought the lights and brackets with in the store and still took me 2.5 hours. Got home played with it 2 hours only to realize what I bought wouldn't be secure enough for the weight of the lights. I managed to find stuff in spare hardware in my garage stash. Between that stuff and a bunch of zip ties It took another 1.5 hour but managed to get them secure.
Once I put the canopy on top of the tank I realized one of the brackets is slighty off centered and, I'll have take it half apart to readjust it so the lid closed flush.
The only really annoying thing is that I lost one of the cords to my lights. Amazon is showing $50 bucks for a replacement power supply brick. (Really sucks)
The good news is the rocks are finally in the tank. It’s still filled with tap water, so I still need to drain it to add rodi and mix the salt. I think it looks decent. I will need about 50 gallons of rodi, even with water changes on my main tank. So will be a few trips to the store.
Pictures included. I have doors for top and bottom fyi just havent put them back yet. And the portion with the lid is hingded so it opens as well, but impractical for this short guy. I can't touch the bottom of the tank even using a step stool.
Once I put the canopy on top of the tank I realized one of the brackets is slighty off centered and, I'll have take it half apart to readjust it so the lid closed flush.
The only really annoying thing is that I lost one of the cords to my lights. Amazon is showing $50 bucks for a replacement power supply brick. (Really sucks)
The good news is the rocks are finally in the tank. It’s still filled with tap water, so I still need to drain it to add rodi and mix the salt. I think it looks decent. I will need about 50 gallons of rodi, even with water changes on my main tank. So will be a few trips to the store.
Pictures included. I have doors for top and bottom fyi just havent put them back yet. And the portion with the lid is hingded so it opens as well, but impractical for this short guy. I can't touch the bottom of the tank even using a step stool.
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Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Maybe this is just me but starting anything bigger than a nano without your own RODI unit seems impractical. It should definitely be cheaper, and you have more control over quality, but Neptune will be fine. I would prioritize the maintenance infrastructure before setting up the actual tank, even though this is less fun.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
MichaelB
Supporting Member
My first tank back in 2006 was a 100 gallon, rodi units weren't even a major thought in the main stream back then. I had like 20 5 gallon jugs I use to haul around. It’s not convient for sure but I only have about 7 jugs now. Also I aquired a rodi unit recently and it's on the future project list. (The list is getting smaller one task at a time)
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MichaelB
Supporting Member
Latest update:
1. Tank drained, cleaned, and filled with rodi water from Neptunes. I'm mxing (reef crystals) salt inside of the tank.
2. Fixed the top of canopy so it closes flush, rehung the doors, and mounted a white led strip light inside the sump area of the stand.
3. Rerouted all the power cables through the back of the stand, installed a new stock nicrew power supply replacement for the one I lost.
Next steps,
A.) add live rock peices/ ceramic bio filter media (I've been soaking in my main tank)
B.) Find some improvised type of lid for ato reservoir I have and get ato setup.
C.) Identify and aquire the parts, l need to get rodi system set up.
Current effort involves - trying to stop smiling and staring at this empty tank.
1. Tank drained, cleaned, and filled with rodi water from Neptunes. I'm mxing (reef crystals) salt inside of the tank.
2. Fixed the top of canopy so it closes flush, rehung the doors, and mounted a white led strip light inside the sump area of the stand.
3. Rerouted all the power cables through the back of the stand, installed a new stock nicrew power supply replacement for the one I lost.
Next steps,
A.) add live rock peices/ ceramic bio filter media (I've been soaking in my main tank)
B.) Find some improvised type of lid for ato reservoir I have and get ato setup.
C.) Identify and aquire the parts, l need to get rodi system set up.
Current effort involves - trying to stop smiling and staring at this empty tank.
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MichaelB
Supporting Member
This stand and canopy came with the tank. My biggest issue is multiple cats lol. Some of them like sleep on top of the tanks. One of the cats actually used it as a watering hole and personal recreational pond.
Having solid tops is the only way I know how to keep them from drinking, falling in, playing, or reaching inside and fishing.