Building my Dream: It's a Miracles!

[milonedp]

Looks good! You are in a 96 by 36 tank right? Reason I ask is I was going to buy from BRS (can't decide the type yet but leaning toward Reef Saver because it seems to lock together better (?). Anyway I don't want to overbuy but want to get it early enough to cure it. They were saying 400lbs but that seems high to me and given what you've got...

[Crazy_Beaver]

I think you need to remove some rock!

[jt48]

Originally Posted by milonedp

Looks good! You are in a 96 by 36 tank right? Reason I ask is I was going to buy from BRS (can't decide the type yet but leaning toward Reef Saver because it seems to lock together better (?). Anyway I don't want to overbuy but want to get it early enough to cure it. They were saying 400lbs but that seems high to me and given what you've got...

The Pukani is incredibly light weight. If I bought just Pukani, 200 pounds would be enough for this 344 (96x36x23). Although the tank was ordered 23" high keep in mind 3/4 inch glass thickness plus 1" air below the top rim. I requested large show pieces and thats exactly what I got. I had to use hammer and chisel to break some of it down.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Beaver

I think you need to remove some rock!

I agree! I found myself putting more in just for the sake not wasting it.

[Crazy_Beaver]

Originally Posted by jt48

I agree! I found myself putting more in just for the sake not wasting it.

Maybe it can find its place on the sump or you could sell it locally to another reefer

[jt48]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Beaver

Maybe it can find its place on the sump or you could sell it locally to another reefer

Check and agreed

[jt48]

Other than chiseling about one pound off, this is the same amount of rock. Tank now includes two mushroom towers and a cave with many outlets. I like it alot more than first attempt. Much more open room for fish and flow. What do you think?

[sh8g8delik]

Looks great!!! What are you planning on stocking in the tank?

[Newbie Aquarist]

Originally Posted by jt48

Newbie Aquarist wins the prize but I thank everyone for their input.
The more I lowered the water level in the return section, the less wave action I had. I still don't understand how the wave was being created though. I did notice that the wave was so strong that it was bending the acryllic baffles back and forth which in turn helped create more wave. I have two different types of acryllic in the sump-thick new stuff from lowes and thinner, older, more brittle stuff I had lying around. I used the new stuff for the two sides of the refugium section. The last baffle, closest to the return bulkhead is sagging a bit now that the water level in that section is low. Easily corrected though by securing it more with more acryllic or if I can find a piece of glass thick enough.
Thanks again

Woooo Hoooo. I was thinking since the space was sorta small that you was creating a reverse powerhead effect. I assumed that if you had more space where the return was you wouldn't have had that affect. It was just a wild guess. Glad everything worked out for you.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by sh8g8delik

Looks great!!! What are you planning on stocking in the tank?

Thank you.

List is not set in stone, most are seen in every other reef tank (with reason!) Some of my favorite fish-

Stocking List

Regal angel
Copperband Butterfly*
Powder Blue Tang
Hippo Tang
Yellow Tang
Naso Tang
Kole tang
Purple Tang
Flame Hawkfish
School of Cardinalfish (undecided-blue eye, long spine, bangai) OR
School of Anthias (undecided)
Percula Clownfish*
Reef safe Wrasse ( undecided)

I am a big fan of zoas and many LPS. Tank will be mixed reef, not SPS dominated. I was thinking of sticking to just one species of SPS throughout the tank such as Blue Tort.

[jt48]

ATTEMPT #1

ATTEMPT #2

ATTEMPT #3 Slightly different from #2-I tried to enhance "The Cave" by moving the rocks, chiseling the front "ceiling" and adding some large rubble. I think the cave entrance would look "cooler" if it was smaller but its current size imo is more functional for flow and what pic doesnt show, are several outlets inside the cave when you look into it. I think I'm going to stick with this setup for now but may have to make some adjustments when pumps are on. Hope you like it.

[BigOldReef]

I do like the bits of branch coming up to the surface in Attempt #1. I think this gives more shape and dimension to the top of your rock structure.

Once your corals grow in, that won't be such an issue. But for an initial start, I think adding the branch on top of the boulders might help with the aesthetics a little.

I also like in Attempt #1 there is more variation in the height of all the different rock work.

My opinion... Of course I have a 30" piece of shelf rock in my tank so I have a large flat area. But the height differences help a lot in giving you 'stadium' viewing of the corals.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by BigOldReef

I do like the bits of branch coming up to the surface in Attempt #1. I think this gives more shape and dimension to the top of your rock structure.

Once your corals grow in, that won't be such an issue. But for an initial start, I think adding the branch on top of the boulders might help with the aesthetics a little.

I also like in Attempt #1 there is more variation in the height of all the different rock work.

My opinion... Of course I have a 30" piece of shelf rock in my tank so I have a large flat area. But the height differences help a lot in giving you 'stadium' viewing of the corals.

Ok, well I have 3 branches to play around. I'll see how it works out.
Thanks.

[jt48]

For the record......First drops of ro/di water.
June 28, 2012 @1017 pm est

[geaux xman]

looking good man.

what pumps are you planning to use and where are you going to place them?

that might be a task with those big huge pieces of rock.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by geaux xman

looking good man.

what pumps are you planning to use and where are you going to place them?

that might be a task with those big huge pieces of rock.

To start:3 MP40's on back wall (facing front glass) located to left of left overflow, center, and to right of right overflow. It will be interesting to see what they do.

Thanks....

[Chelseyandco]

I'm so on board with this one! Looking good jt48. I may have missed this, but what's the livestock list looking like?

[jt48]

Originally Posted by Chelseyandco

I'm so on board with this one! Looking good jt48. I may have missed this, but what's the livestock list looking like?

Mostly what you would see in many other reef tanks, see post #185.
Thanks

[danfeig]

I think the rock work looks good! It should fill in very nicely.

I chiseled and drilled several larger holes through my dry Pukani rock. Some were to offer places for fish to swim through and hide. Others were for easy sps placement.

Good luck! Looking great so far!

[jt48]

Originally Posted by danfeig

I think the rock work looks good! It should fill in very nicely.

I chiseled and drilled several larger holes through my dry Pukani rock. Some were to offer places for fish to swim through and hide. Others were for easy sps placement.

Good luck! Looking great so far!

Thanks. I was concerned that it was too full but almost every rock in there is functional as part of either the two mushroom towers or the cave. There are some nice holes in the pukani, either natural or chiseled within the cave. I used approximately 250 pounds in the DT. The branch rock is very heavy but allows for some interesting aquascaping. I attempted to place some branches as in attempt #1 but the only places it looked decent would have interfered with my flow.
Side Shot:

[Newbie Aquarist]

I like the way you did your aquascape. It looks like a hybrid between how a reef looks and the pillar look like chingchai.

[vietnam]

Originally Posted by jt48

My four 1.5" Durso Drains


Closeup of one overflow box-two 1.5" durso drains and one 1.0" return

Did you ever take into consideration that from what it looks like you don't have holes for air intake? That could be the cause of the wave action in the sump. If you have holes drilled already, consider larger ones with airline hose coming out of them to help vent so the sump doesnt get a surging with the water.

Nice build, looks very good.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by vietnam

Did you ever take into consideration that from what it looks like you don't have holes for air intake? That could be the cause of the wave action in the sump. If you have holes drilled already, consider larger ones with airline hose coming out of them to help vent so the sump doesnt get a surging with the water.

Nice build, looks very good.

Are you referring to the hole at top of durso standpipe?
If so there is a hole. Hesitant to make it larger as it may heighten the water level in the overflow. Not sure. But either way problem was solved by lowering water level in the sump. Unless of course I solve that problem. I believe the problem was determined to be that my baffles in the sump are all the same height each consecutive one should be lower. I did not correct that issue as there is no wave if sump water level is low enough. But maybe i should fix it so I can have an extra 10 gallons in the system. I have plenty of room in the sump for drainage during power off. Hmmmm.

[jt48]

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

I like the way you did your aquascape. It looks like a hybrid between how a reef looks and the pillar look like chingchai.

His tanks are incredible. I wonder how he works inside his 1000 gallon tank with that height. Really like his motto In his fish room. “Life is too short to drink bad wine.” Although I drink cheap wine, don't consider bad wine.

[sh8g8delik]

Cheap wine can still taste good! I had a bottle of Bogle and it was no more than 10 dollars. One of my favorite. I really like your #1 attempt on your aquascape. I myself like the little cave and overhanging look.