Froggie's 33g Upgrade (Will Update Impulsively!)

[masterswimmer]

Froggie, I'm not enthused by the sand>acrylic sheet>sand setup. You're creating a dead zone underneath the acrylic. Worse than the days of undergravel filters. JMO

If you were to use a thicker acrylic (marineboard) and place that on the tank bottom, then sand (sourrounding the stonehenge structure), you'd still be able to remove it and have a more biologically sound substrate. JMO

swimmer

 

[Quang]

I see...hmmm forgot about the dead spots.
Thanks Russ.
Thicker acrylic it is then!

 

[cali_reef]

Russ, I'm thinking of not attaching the rods to the sheet at all. Just threading it through. So that I can pull out the rod/rock and insert into another hole if I wanted. Bad idea?

The thin sheet will not support the lateral force when the rocks is tippiing over. I was thinking like 1/2" thick sheets.

 

[FastUno]

How about some neoprene mouse pads? I had to kill/cover some GSP growing on my BB & did it with a mouse pad. GSP all gone & mouse pad has no effect on corals.

One of my future project will be to do a BB tank using these pads. I got a whole set of larger pads from ebay ($20) for this, just need the tank & time to do it.

What I would do is this:
-Skim coat the tank bottom with aquarium silicone
-Then place mouse pads over & make necessary cuts
-Silicone between mouse pads to block any debris
-Allow to cure for 2-3 days
-Wash out thourougly & then allow to dry

Much easier & cheaper than the current faux sand bed I already setup.

 

[jenniebutterfly]

but won't the neoprene degrade over time? i don't think it would work to well.

 

[masterswimmer]

but won't the neoprene degrade over time? i don't think it would work to well.

Good question Jennie. It seems neoprene is corrosion-resistant, not necessarily corrosion-proof. Its chemical composition appears to be inert and therefore should not be a safety issue for our reefs.

swimmer

 

[bad coffee]

Q. you can get a piece of 1/2 acrylic from canal street. I'd drill holes in it then tap them so they're threaded. Use nylon bolts in your rocks (cut the heads off, then epoxy in with 3/8" threads outside the rocks)

Then Silicone the sheet down to the bottom of the tank. If you just put it in the tank without silicone you will still create a dead zone below the sheet.

And you can get the 5/16" Acrylic for the false wall at the same time.

B

 

[jhale]

great idea Q.

once you get past the logistics of construction I can't wait to see the design take shape.

one important thing to remember in a project like this is scale.
if you want the columns to appear like the real thing keep the coral you use in the tank low growing, and if you do use anything that get's large plan on pruning it back a lot. much like a bonzai garden. you might want to weather the stones a bit, nick up the edges so they are not so clean. I have a dremmel if you want to work on them. maybe even carve some flutes into the rocks, go crazy
now if you could only find some 3" sharks

 

[jenniebutterfly]

Good question Jennie. It seems neoprene is corrosion-resistant, not necessarily corrosion-proof. Its chemical composition appears to be inert and therefore should not be a safety issue for our reefs.

swimmer

true, but when it does degrade, which it most likely will over time, teh particles will float around the tank possibly clogging pumps and powerheads. i don't know if i would use this method. i think someone needs to set up an experiment with a mousepad in saltwater over a long period of time and see what happens before i would do it.

 

[deelucky]

looking good,love the aquascaping idea

 

[Quang]

The rocks with shipping came out to be about $3.40 a lb. Just about how much I paid for base rock at a LFS few years back.
To me, that's pretty good. Thanks again www.reeferrocks.com for the custom job.
They're really interested in the progress of this tank and would like to feature my design on their website once its completed.

This tank gots a loooooooong ways to go. Keep bouncing back ideas MR!

 

[ming]

Here you slow pokes :tongue1:
The guys @ Reeferrocks.com rock! (no pun intended :lol
:splitspin

Wow, that must have hard to cut through

 

[masterswimmer]

Wow, that must have hard to cut through

I wouldn't be surprised if they used water to cut it.

R

 

[TimberTDI]

Wow, that must have hard to cut through

I wouldn't be surprised if they used water to cut it.

I'm thinking they used a Dewalt saw w/ a 7" masonary blade, a snapbox, a sharpie marker, a tape measure and a welding hammer.

 

[masterswimmer]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/attachments/tank-threads/11749-froggies-33g-upgrade-will-update-impulsivelyx15546x-rock-cut-1.jpg?d=1156448706
I'm thinking they used a Dewalt saw w/ a 7" masonary blade, a snapbox, a sharpie marker, a tape measure and a welding hammer.

:banghead:

:lol2: How archaic!

swimmer

 

[Quang]

OK, so Kris and Jonathan convinced me to drill the tank.
Sorry Brett, no false wall
I was thinking about having 2 overfow boxes (internal...Brett? ) on each top corner (in red).
And two returns (in blue), both having Y-split loclines...the top longer and the bottom shorter.

I was thinking of going with 2 Eheims 1250, one for each return.

What'd ya' think?

 

[jhale]

why two return pumps? that's more space, heat, cost, maintinance.

also go with the external overflows

oh and i don't like drilling tanks that low for returns. if something leaks the tank will drain to that point.

 

[Quang]

Thx J.
So scrub the the bottom return idea.

When you say external overflow... are u talking about the box that has one hanging on the outside and one hanging on the inside or you talking about something else?

I want to be able to get flow on the bottom... maybe a lil powerhead there? IDK.

I went with 2 pumps becuase having 2 1250 was less power than a 1260.
Plus. if something happens to one...I have another on hand

 

[inkblue]

:scratch: do you reaLLy need 2 retuRn pumpS for a tank tHat smaLL...?

 

[DRZL]

froggie,

I'll take a pic of my external overflow i made for my tank as per tunjee's thread on RC, IMO the only way overflow should come . they are really not as hard or tricky to drill...all it takes is a steady hand, water, and some big balls

Ive got them all to spare, for the cheap price of a small frag