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kaserpick
03/28/2011, 12:01 AM
This is the second chapter of my Kube Project, the Bonsai Aquascape.

Credit:
There are two main threads that inspired me with ideas and information; they are The Ultimate DIY Rocks! (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=807988) by Travis L. Stevens and Bonsai Tree inspired Aquascape (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1288059) by crazy4acros. Without their documented experience and knowledge, I don't think I would have ever decided to go down this path.

Ideas and Living Inspiration:
While it seems like the idea of bonsai has been catching on quite a bit and others may call it a fad, I find it appealing and very pleasing. Not only is it asthetically pleasing, it's funtional as well. I feel like it's a win, win choice. Anyway, here's my living inspiration:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/bonsai-1.jpg

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 12:07 AM
How do we do that?

I would first like to say that I didn't want to try to 'build' the leaves into the 'scape; I simply wanted the trunk and branches. I think letting the corals become the leaves is the typical idea.

My first thought was to model the tree, with sculpting clay, into segmented pieces. Here's what that ended up looking like:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0005-4.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0001-7.jpg

In the two previous pics, you see the base, main trunk, and extension. The later two were the most difficult to make. I don't have pictures of the branches; they were much simpler.

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 12:12 AM
Once the tree was modeled, I wrapped each piece in siran wrap. Then, I pressed the clay into blocks around it to form a mould. I wish I would have taken pictures of this stage, but I didn't. :p After that, I then mixed Portland Cement, water and rock salt together to make a DIY rock mixture; this was then pressed into the moulds. They sat there for about 2 weeks, after which time I broke them out of the moulds. Here's a piece with the clay piece after which it was modeled:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0003-7.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0002-13.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0001-9.jpg

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 12:14 AM
Once all of the pieces were broken out of the moulds, I used a drill and acrylic rod to piece them together. Here's how it turned out!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0003-8.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0006-2.jpg

Real Tree:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/bonsai-1.jpg

DIY Tree:
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0005-5.jpg

It's not exact, but I'm pleased. :D

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 12:16 AM
Lastly, I'll be using more cement (on the base joints) and grey epoxy (on the branch joints) to strengthen the whole unit and make it look like one piece. Then it's time to soak for 6-8 weeks. :p Thanks for reading! :thumbsup:

Giglamesh
03/28/2011, 01:22 AM
sweet idea and very well done, will you be adding a GSP covering on the base?

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 06:46 AM
sweet idea and very well done, will you be adding a GSP covering on the base?

Thanks! I'll actually be covering the base with sand. So the trunk will look as if there's no support. I hope it turns out well. :)

truebeliever71
03/28/2011, 09:14 AM
Kasey... very nice start! Can't wait to see the end result.

ORayRay
03/28/2011, 09:21 AM
Awesome, I've had that idea for a while but never thought it could be pulled off, good job

KafudaFish
03/28/2011, 09:28 AM
Lookin' gud Mr. Kotter.

montego
03/28/2011, 09:34 AM
looks very promising! subscribed to see your results.

Turbovr3six
03/28/2011, 10:19 AM
Very cool!

T Diddy
03/28/2011, 10:46 AM
Is it 8 weeks from now yet??? I wanna see this thing with some coral glued to it!

:celeb1:

kaserpick
03/28/2011, 11:10 AM
Kasey... very nice start! Can't wait to see the end result.

Thank you very much. :) I can't wait, either!

Awesome, I've had that idea for a while but never thought it could be pulled off, good job

Yeah, this idea was something I always pushed back, because it seemed like it would very hard to make it sturdy. I was surprised at how well the acrylic rods hold it together. With the extra cement and epoxy, it'll be very rigid. Thank you for the kind words. :)

Lookin' gud Mr. Kotter.

Haha, thanks, Mike! :D I thought you'd be interested in seeing how this was progressing.

looks very promising! subscribed to see your results.

Thank you very much! :)

Very cool!

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

Is it 8 weeks from now yet??? I wanna see this thing with some coral glued to it!

Haha, I wish! I'm still working on my Light Housing project; since I had to wait for the drivers, I figured it was a good time to try pulling this thing together. I'll be occupied with the light; hopefully, time will go by rather quickly. :p

:celeb1:

KafudaFish
03/29/2011, 09:45 AM
I am very interested in how this turns out to be honest.

I have always said inspiration can come from the strangest places sometimes.

I was eating popcorn one night and I started building formations.

My wife asked me what I was doing and said nothing.

Last week we went to Ruby Falls and I got some really cool pics of the stalagmites/tites and columns that I would like to use one day.

Do you really think that the cure time will be over a month due to the size of the structure?

kaserpick
03/29/2011, 12:25 PM
I agree; inspiration sometimes appears to come from odd places, exclusively. :p

Honestly Mike, I have no idea on the cure time. I need to get a pH test soon; when I left the hobby (from moving), I gave most of my test kits away thinking that I wouldn't return for at least a year. But, from what I gather, as long as I change the water regularly and monitor the pH to see when it stablizes, it shouldn't take too long. I'm hoping a few weeks to a month. If I have to wait longer, I'm fine with that. It's been taking quite some time to put everything together. Another month won't kill me...if I have to. :p

KafudaFish
03/29/2011, 01:21 PM
The last time I did a fw soak after using Portland 1 I want to say 2 or 3 weeks and then a week in salt and I was good so a month.

It was a back wall for a 29 that was the width of eggcrate.

I had it in a 5 gallon bucket and changed it once each day and also rinsed it in the sink as well.

When I did my last one in my nano it took much longer probably because I used water stop cement and went straight to SW.

Though between the two my nano had so much more rock to water.

Keep up the good work.

jdschwar
03/29/2011, 01:41 PM
Not really DIY but here is my bonsai:


http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad98/jdschwar/vida%20rock/IMG_1713.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad98/jdschwar/vida%20rock/IMG_1714.jpg

kaserpick
03/30/2011, 01:32 AM
The last time I did a fw soak after using Portland 1 I want to say 2 or 3 weeks and then a week in salt and I was good so a month.

It was a back wall for a 29 that was the width of eggcrate.

I had it in a 5 gallon bucket and changed it once each day and also rinsed it in the sink as well.

When I did my last one in my nano it took much longer probably because I used water stop cement and went straight to SW.

Though between the two my nano had so much more rock to water.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the info, Mike! I didn't realize you had to change the water that often. Right now it's curing in the tank with FW. Do you think I'll need to change 5g/day? The tank is ~15g. Again, thanks for the info!

Not really DIY but here is my bonsai:


http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad98/jdschwar/vida%20rock/IMG_1713.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad98/jdschwar/vida%20rock/IMG_1714.jpg

Thanks for sharing, I really like the fair right rock work in the second pic; it definitely looks like bonsai style. :)

reign
03/30/2011, 07:47 AM
I'M very familiar with crazy's scapes (we were friends when he lived here) they had just evolved over time..I am curious to see this final product..Half of me thinks the "very bonsai tree" may look out of place with its smaller branches as opposed to thicker "bonsai structure" but once corals "crop out" out on it may prove to be quite impressive..
+1 cannot wait to see the end product tagging along good luck!!

mcoomer
03/30/2011, 08:33 AM
Your bonsai tree in a nice, rimless cube with black sand. Now that would be a beautiful reef tank. Throw in one or two brightly colored fish with the black sand as a backdrop. You're definitely off to an interesting start.

Mike

kaserpick
03/31/2011, 01:08 AM
I'M very familiar with crazy's scapes (we were friends when he lived here) they had just evolved over time..I am curious to see this final product..Half of me thinks the "very bonsai tree" may look out of place with its smaller branches as opposed to thicker "bonsai structure" but once corals "crop out" out on it may prove to be quite impressive..
+1 cannot wait to see the end product tagging along good luck!!

Thanks for the comments and input! Yes, I'm hoping that once the corals grow out, it'll make for a very dramatic look. It's definitely a little risky; choosing the right corals will be key. Hopefully, I'll choose well. :p

Your bonsai tree in a nice, rimless cube with black sand. Now that would be a beautiful reef tank. Throw in one or two brightly colored fish with the black sand as a backdrop. You're definitely off to an interesting start.

Mike

I'm like the ideas, Mike. :thumbsup: I'm with you, except I'll probably be going with white sand. I've done black sand, and while I did really like it, I want this tank to be a little brighter overall. Hopfully, it'll turn out ok. :) Thanks again!

KafudaFish
03/31/2011, 07:45 AM
As with EVERYTHING ask 10 people get 10 different answers.

Some can be ready to go in a month and others are at 6 months and at pH of 9.0.

I happen to change the water that often since it was easy to do. I would pick the rock up, rinse it, pour out the old, and refill. Going back to Travis' thread people either air dry for a while, soak and leave or soak and change often. If you go back around when Insane Reefer was running her experiments on shortening the wait time I want to say she air dried for weeks, did a short like 1 week FW soak and a week SW one. I maybe off since I have not looked at any of that in much detail in a year. She did multiple methods and when I cannot remember exactly I want to say overall it was the amount of water she used was decreased but the time did not change significantly. If I am wrong sorry for the error and would like someone to let me know.

What? I cannot remember everything! That would be silly.

You are basically driving a chemical reaction in order to stabilize the pH.

Some people add an acid to the water such as vinegar or muric acid to further push the reaction. But what do you think that does to the structure?

So what to do huh? If you have a pH test kit you could probably figure it out pretty quickly when to change.

Again you have a small structure with a large amount of surface area compared to the volume so that should help.

Just think of it this way, it will give you more time to think, "Man I should have ...."

KafudaFish
03/31/2011, 07:50 AM
I just remembered something:

Blide's build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1980384

He used a marine type of cement that is suppose to cure in a week. You can get a 55 pound bag for around $40 if you can find it local. Mr. Wilson has used it and I believe he asked him.

Also if you want another DIY rock read with Mr. Wilson search for reef ceremics. He was not the OP but he shows some mad skills in it.

KafudaFish
03/31/2011, 07:54 AM
got it:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=993625&highlight=reef+ceramic

kaserpick
03/31/2011, 10:40 AM
Awesome, Mike! Thanks so much for the info. I wish I would have thought about a marine type cement; I had to break the moulds to get the pieces out. I can always remould if it seems to take waaaaaaaaay to long. I'm hoping it'll be good within a month. Fingers crossed! :D Again, thanks for digging up that info!

KafudaFish
03/31/2011, 02:18 PM
Kasey,
No sweat. Just think of it as filler while you wait.

dainiusiva
03/31/2011, 03:33 PM
Great work Kasey!

Two questions :

Why didnt you just made ceramics from clay? It has lot of advantages to it. It is light, it is porous, you can make uniform structure this way (no need for epoxy), and it would not need curing.

Also what corals do you have in mind for the top of the tree - will it be SPS (keeping in mind your LED build) or will you choose something more plant-like/swaying in the current?

kaserpick
04/01/2011, 01:16 AM
Kasey,
No sweat. Just think of it as filler while you wait.

Thanks, indeed. :)

Great work Kasey!

Two questions :

Why didnt you just made ceramics from clay? It has lot of advantages to it. It is light, it is porous, you can make uniform structure this way (no need for epoxy), and it would not need curing.

Also what corals do you have in mind for the top of the tree - will it be SPS (keeping in mind your LED build) or will you choose something more plant-like/swaying in the current?

Thanks! Well, I've heard some negative things with ceramics. I remember reading a SPS thread (OP was in Europe), and he suffered some RTN and algae problems during his transfer to a new tank (old tank was amazing). He had started with ceramic rock; once he switched to another type of rock, his problems were done. From that point on, I kind of wrote off ceramics.

As far as corals go, I'm looking to go SPS dominate. I might also grow some nice Palythoas on the trunk and branches. The SPS corals will be things like Acropora Hyacinthus, Acropora Millepora, and Acropora Prostrata. I want some acros that will table out as well. I'm think 5-7 acro species. Lastly, I want 2-3 NICE clams. :)

reeftanknewbie
05/01/2011, 04:59 AM
Looking forward to seeing this setup...really neat idea. Any fish going in there?

DreTheReefer
05/01/2011, 12:47 PM
Awesome idea my Bosnia trees have given me some inspiration for my nano as well

kaserpick
05/01/2011, 03:02 PM
Looking forward to seeing this setup...really neat idea. Any fish going in there?

Thanks! It's almost cured. :) For fish, I'm choosing 3-4 Green Chromis, despite how common they are. :p I wanted something simple and uniform that would bring good movement to the tank.

Awesome idea my Bosnia trees have given me some inspiration for my nano as well

Thank you! Bonsai trees are amazing; that is a dedicated hobby in and of itself.

Girly Gears
05/01/2011, 06:04 PM
W-O-W. This is so cool, can't wait to see it grown out! If I ever get into SPS, I can see me doing one of those with pink birdsnest, sort of like an underwater cherry tree in spring.

kaserpick
05/01/2011, 08:52 PM
W-O-W. This is so cool, can't wait to see it grown out! If I ever get into SPS, I can see me doing one of those with pink birdsnest, sort of like an underwater cherry tree in spring.

Exactly! That's the look I'm talking about! I'm thinking Millepora's and such because they have such long polyps. Instead of leaves swaying in the breeze, it'll be polyps swaying in the flow. :p

Thanks, Girly Gears! :D

DreTheReefer
05/02/2011, 06:42 AM
I ended up purchasing the structure on the left side of this tank it gave me the Bosnia feel.
<a href=http://s1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd367/Dre3281/?action=view&current=IMAG0143.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd367/Dre3281/IMAG0143.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

kaserpick
05/02/2011, 10:59 AM
Looks good! Do you have a side view shot?

reeftanknewbie
05/03/2011, 04:05 PM
I think your choice in fish is perfect given the style you are going for. fish that school seem appropriate....besides chromis are some of my favorite fish.

kaserpick
05/03/2011, 11:14 PM
I think your choice in fish is perfect given the style you are going for. fish that school seem appropriate....besides chromis are some of my favorite fish.

Thanks! They're one of my favorites, too! I mean I still have my more exotic fish that I like. But, chromis just seemed to fit the bill; common or not, I still find them beautiful. :)

kaserpick
07/10/2011, 06:35 PM
I thought I would give a little update to show how the rock's doing; I wanted to make sure I provided a little closure for those who may wonder what happened to this project. The rock is finally fully cured and the tank has been up and running for 3 weeks now. Here's a shot of how it looks with the sand and lights:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0192-1.jpg

I'm very pleased. :D

reeftanknewbie
07/10/2011, 06:54 PM
very nice.......let there be life.

kaserpick
07/10/2011, 09:04 PM
Thanks. :) Let there be life, indeed!

PCFisher66
07/11/2011, 10:38 AM
Looks nice, kinda like a thumb and a peace sign or a German 3, they use their thumb as 1.

kaserpick
07/11/2011, 10:47 AM
Looks nice, kinda like a thumb and a peace sign or a German 3, they use their thumb as 1.

:lmao: Thanks! I can see that! I've had someone else say that it looks like a zombie's hand.

Once the corals are introduced and start to grow, I'm hoping the hand look will give way to the bonsai tree. :p

ibnozn
07/11/2011, 11:06 AM
Just cover the branch ends with green star polyps and you'll be done!
Nice juniper btw.

kaserpick
07/11/2011, 12:03 PM
Thanks! Yeah, I'm planning on using Acropora species for the 'leaves'. I might try to grow polyps on the trunk and branches...maybe Acan Lords instead.

That Juniper is beautiful. I wish I could say it's mine; despite how I worded my first post, I didn't mean for it to sound like mine. I just meant that it was my inspiration. But, you're right; it is a nice Juniper. :)

miwoodar
09/03/2011, 12:35 AM
Nice work Kasey - any updates?

kaserpick
09/03/2011, 07:42 AM
Thanks, Mike! Give me a couple of hours and I'll post pics of it with the corals. All of them are frags though, so it's still going to take some time to fill in. :p

kaserpick
09/03/2011, 07:08 PM
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e253/kaserpick/DSC_0228-1.jpg

I just vacuumed some of the sand; sorry it's not super clear. Everything's small, but I think it can have the potential to be a real stunner. :)

miwoodar
09/03/2011, 11:29 PM
Agreed on the potential. I'm looking forward to more updates!

I like the candy cane placement btw.

gr1mm
09/04/2011, 08:20 AM
i actually have two bonsai trees in my sum lol :dance:159612

kaserpick
09/04/2011, 10:23 AM
Agreed on the potential. I'm looking forward to more updates!

I like the candy cane placement btw.

Thanks Mike; I was really happy after I placed it there. :)

Mr..Tang
12/31/2011, 08:20 AM
let's see an update!

kaserpick
03/13/2012, 10:54 AM
I'm sorry to say, that due to a Dino outbreak, I ended up scraping all of the crushed coral and rock work.

voyager_rob
04/27/2012, 12:47 PM
jdschwar,

The structure on the right of the tank looks interesting. Was it a commercially made 'rock'?

BowieReefer84
04/27/2012, 01:15 PM
Maybe you could get a 15lb bag of rubble from brs and a bunch of superglue gel and go at it...

That would look awesome if it looked like a piece of rock imo.

Either way thanks for sharing and neat idea.