Foam Rockwall w/ built in refuge for a 26 gal bowfront

[saf1]

Originally Posted by sam.basye

It's rather large. Lol

Funny you should mention that, I was thinking the same thing. However, it does look nice and seems to fit. I do not recall how large they get, do you?

Still doing great there buddy! It is a nice setup.

[Michael Hoaster]

Full house! Your fake wall makes it possible!

[sam.basye]

A friend of mine who has lots of big tanks in his basement had this beauty in his 180. I was there a few months ago and a few babies popped off of it and I wanted one, but he wanted them to grow bigger first. A month later I went back and they were sold to other people. Last week I contacted him to see if he had any new 1" babies. He said no, but was thinking about selling the big one. It is about 4" and expands to about 6-8".
Fast forward to Sunday and now I'm the new owner of it!

Here it is in his tank.


The disk is 4", but expands to about 10" in my tank! Luckily there's just enough space for it.
Hopefully it will pop out a few babies!

Disk during acclimation.


It just kept getting bigger and bigger! Still moving some stuff around. Lol

I hope it doesn't get much bigger. Lol not to sure on their max size. Not much in the way of concise info on them, seems to vary. Most aren't specific whether or not they are referencing the disk or fully inflated when you read the max size.

Thanks for the kind words!


A friend of mine wants to buy the big birdsnest colony, so that will help! I moved some other stuff around, but will highlight that another day.

[sam.basye]

Check out my genius additional auto top off​ reservoir for extended trips!



I needed to find a slimmer reservoir to fit next to the 2.5g container and I found a 1.25g slim container. It's elevated on a 2x4 and I bought some clear vinyl tubing to connect the two tanks. Just open both valves and the water transfers to the main reservoir tank!

[Michael Hoaster]

Handidlyinsky!

[Michael Hoaster]

What's up Sam? Long time. Any updates?

[sam.basye]

Lost interest in the thread posting..

Then photobucket decide to take a sh*t on everyone utilizing their site... Not really willing to transfer everything due to laziness.

Also thinking about starting a new tank and scrapping the 26.

Why? It's leaking...
It's a very very very slow leak. Just enough that the towel the tank sits on is somewhat damp and you can see water in the plastic rim around the base.
Don't know where it's coming from. It's had a 3" hairline crack on the lower right corner ever since I set it up 3ish years ago and never leaked, so not sure where it's leaking from.

The skimmer is junk and should probably be tossed.
I also fried the power supply to the cheapo Chinese canister filter that circulated the 'fuge area by plugging the ATO pump into the wrong power supply so it hasn't been running for months.

I need to replace all the LED's in the light because I don't think it's as bright as it should be. Some coral isn't as bright as before.

Sounds like the tank is doing terrible from all that, but it's actually doing really well, same with the be 2.5g.

If I do get a new tank I'll end up pulling the plug on this thread and start a new one.

[SFish]

Sorry to hear that. Are you going to do a 3D wall on your new tank?

[Michael Hoaster]

Looks great Sam! It sounds like you're getting the three year itch. I've been feeling it too. Any ideas on what you'd do, new tank wise?

[sam.basye]

I've contacted two different people on Craigslist with similar tanks.
I'm going to keep one and sell the other to someone looking for a similar tank.

Thanks, Michael! Getting bored with the current setup so I hope the leak can fix that.

Let me preface the new tank acquisition. Lol
So, of course I can find 3 potential tanks I want, but none are close enough to make the drive worth it. One was going to be too big (60g).


Except.. I have 2 commercial students this semester (and 4 private) that have a bunch of cross country flights to do. Soo, that's my door to getting a tank. Lol
The trick is going to be trying to fit a tank and stand in the backseat of a Cessna 172. Haha

Tank 1 - 25g cube (18x18x18) with 2' stand. Will probably sell to someone I know who's looking for one.

Tank 2 - 30g cube (20x18x21.5) with rear centered overflow, sump, skimmer, powerheads, UV sterilizer, and return pump with a 3' stand.
I really liked the custom overflow that it came with and a bunch of other stuff for a decent price.

I'll post pics of it all.. hopefully in the plane! Lol

SFish, you know it's going to have a foam wall!
Going to really go balls to the wall on this one design-wise.

I really like the idea of the 30g cube since it's similar in size and shape to the current 26g bowfront. Mainly due to space restrictions in the bedroom. Can't go any bigger where we currently are and I think it will fit nicely in the current spot.

Been busy, I'm full time with 6 students and just got my CFII and high performance endorsement and just passed 500hrs last week. It limits the amount of free time I can put LED's in things.. haha

[Michael Hoaster]

So, you want to replace your current 26 with a (well-appointed) 30 cube. I'm guessing your reasons are for a better performing overall aquarium system, rather than the slight size increase. This sounds like a great idea! Having a more capable system couldn't hurt, and it will allow you to progress in whatever direction you choose.

So what do you plan to do differently? How will this tank improve on what you learned from the old one?

[sam.basye]

Reason for replacement: leaking tank
I am also running out of room. Lol
So, no in tank 'fuge/equipment plus an extra 4 gallons will hopefully be enough to satisfy my need for more space.

Better performance wont really a determining factor, but it will be warmly welcomed.
I'll have to learn how the sump operates so that will be a challenge. That's assuming the previous owner had it set right..

I will let out a little surprise for the new tank.. I'm going to build a part in the back with deep sand for a spotted garden eel.

What will I do differently...
Make the bottom 3" of the foam wall with rock rubble to keep the shrimp from picking it apart. And the top 2" with rock rubble, or extra foam so it doesn't degrade from the lighting.
Better rock structures in the wall.
Modify the screen top to prevent rusting hinges and breakage.
I'm sure there's other stuff I'm not thinking of..


I just replaced the fan in my LED box light over the 2.5g and of course the LED driver died/is dieing today..

[sam.basye]

It fit!

Well, minus the stand which I didn't really want anyways. It wouldn't fit in the trunk of the Mercedes crew car. Haha






This is the return flight from Richmond, VA.

[Chasmodes]

I think your current tank looks good. Sorry to hear about the leak and deteriorating equipment though. But, a new tank project/replacement sounds fun and will bring the excitement back! I'll be following along again. Are you going to keep your new build in this thread or start a new one?

[d_malisz]

I will be waiting for some new info

[sam.basye]

Thanks guys!

I will be creating a new thread within the next week and will post the link to it in here.

Progress:
Everything is clean
Replaced all plumbing with new pvc
All equipment tested
New screen top

Things to do:
Need to start planning out the wall and buying materials
Filling and testing flow
Check for leaks
Replace all LED’s in the light
Clear out stand for the sump
Possibly add baffles to the sump - need to research it
Replace power supply in box light over 2.5g

I think I am going to buy a big trash can or tub for the livestock transfer and setup new tank for a few days, then return it. Lol

Everything piled up in the floor is starting to irritate the wife, so gotta get on that soon!

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm excited for you! I think the main reason for baffles in a sump is to prevent micro bubbles coming from a skimmer, to get into your return pump, and thus the display. Hey that reminds me, what are you going to do with your beautifully obsessive-compulsive cabinet 'o goodies, now that you're adding a sump? Also, are you going to do one of those "Star Trek Enterprise" style cabinets, with hidden wires and LEDs?

[sam.basye]

Well, I plan on drilling a couple holes in the back side for the sump and return.
The cabinet is also not mine, but the landlords.. which I suspect I will be buying whenever I move out. Lol
Here’s already a rectangular hole in the bottom backside because I lost the screw on cap for my old led fixture and couldn’t get to it from the side. That and I’m sure it probably doesn’t look too good on top anymore..

The Star Trek stand may get some landing lights inside. Lol thanks for the idea Hoaster! I’m going to leave the top 2 shelves in place and relocated the crap on the bottom 2 shelves. Probably get rid of the second shelf from the bottom. I’ll have to add blocks under the bottom shelf so it doesn’t sag.
The whole cabinet will need to be moved out from the wall about 4 inches to fit the new plumbing and possibly re-braced internally to support the added extra weight.

I think the baffles are more geared towards keeping a constant water level in each chamber. The micro bubble theory is probably also right.
I just don’t know what I want to do with the sump yet. I’ll have to post pictures of it to get ideas.. I think it’s a 10 gallon and it has an acrylic box that held a ton of bio-balls the overflow drained into. The rest was open with the skimmer and return pump next to one another. I don’t really want to use the balls and would rather put a carbon or filter pad in its place.

[Michael Hoaster]

The idea with a baffle preventing micro bubbles from entering the return pump and display, is to have one baffle with a gap on the bottom for water to flow through while the bubbles float to the top.

Sounds like you've been busy, stacking Benjamins, ya yuppy!

[sam.basye]

Just typed out the opener for the new build thread! I still need to proofread and add pictures, so it should be live hopefully tomorrow!

[Michael Hoaster]

Nice! I look forward to another sweet, fake walled tank. What forum will you put it in? I've been saving up some witty banter…

[sam.basye]

Oh boy... haha

It’ll probably go in the DIY forum like the other two. Got a better place??

[Michael Hoaster]

No, the DIY (cough, cough cheapo) section should be perfect for you.

Good setup, Sam. I couldn't resist!

[sam.basye]

Ha! I am still mentally just as cheap as before, but I find myself slipping when I 'need' something.. I use something similar to the the credit card mentality where you don't have to see the money leave the wallet to justify it. I just turn off the part of my brain that says there's a cheaper option or you don't need it and just do it. Haha

[sam.basye]

Oh, and I've pretty much had it with cheap Chinese sh*t !
*Canister filter, skimmer, etc.. what a pain.