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

[sam.basye]

Mr. Chromi is in!
He's not happy with me at the moment.

Canister filter in on. Let the cycling begin!

I'm more than happy to answer any questions, if there are any, regarding the wall or better yet, pointers on what I should plan on doing regarding the 'fuge' or cleanup crew / different critters / amount or Specific fish / inverts you like.

[sam.basye]

So, I put Mr. Chromi in - that little sh*t swam through the overflow and into the fuge.... PITA getting it out. He seems happy and liking the new home for now.

I discovered my lettered olive snail in the fuge... Must've scooped it up when putting live sand from current tank into the fuge. I placed him in the display for now.. he stays buried all day cleaning the sand.

Also put my thin stripe hermit in. He likes to climb the rockwall!

The horse conch and whelk are still in as well.

Added dry coral rubble to the fuge as well.

Skimmer is out bc it was leaking micro bubbles everywhere so I siliconed the seams and will put it back it tomorrow night.


I'm hoping that the critters will start the cycle just a tiny bit as my miscalculations and simplicity have gotten the best of me...

The fish, lettered olive snail, and hermit will be removed tomorrow evening and placed back into the current tank with corals. My fw and sw pico tanks are going back to NC while I'm away for next week. Then for a month in December I'll be away and I have no one to care for the tank.

I'll probably have to put a small piece of raw shrimp in the get the cycle going while I'm away. Can the shrimp just stay in and rot the whole time???
Nothing is ever that simple..

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes, I think you can leave a piece of shrimp in there. Just use a small piece.

There's a great article at:

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/cleanupcrew.html

He talks about clean up crews and cycling using a piece of dead shrimp.

It would be great if you could do some of the waiting (cycling) while you are away.

[sam.basye]

Great read, thanks!
Too bad I like my hermits lol
Guess they'll be the exception to his rule... they are going to utilize that big climbing gym I made them!

"It would be great if you could do some of the waiting (cycling) while you are away.
"
That was the original plan so I can play with it sooner and not have to look at it wanting to throw critters in left and right!

Looks like shrimp will go in tomorrow evening. Before the noodles and garlic.

[Michael Hoaster]

Yeah, I'm a no hermit guy these days. They are fun to watch climbing around on stuff.

It's going to be harder for you not to add stuff too soon, since you already have them in your other tank, ready to go! Being gone for a month should work out perfectly!

[sam.basye]

Put in a piece of shrimp and well see the outcome in a week and a half!

The wall and a spot of sand are starting to get the diatom bloom so all is looking well.

Snappy is letting me know he doesn't like my driving from his bucket in the back. lol

[sam.basye]

Well. Came back to a tank that looked better than I left it...

Here is a pic of the shrimp that refused to start the cycle. It grew some sort of casing around it. I broke it apart last night and hopefully it will start decomposing some more. It was a raw, uncooked, gray shrimp from the fresh seafood part of Kroger for all those that are wondering or thinking I put a cocktail shrimp in there.


After breaking it apart. Casing on left, Shrimp on right. The little white ball is a bacteria ball.



The lights were causing the diatom bloom and with them off the past week, the algae went away.

Any advice is welcome!

[Michael Hoaster]

Weird! I've never heard of that. So you think the tank hasn't cycled? If so, I guess you still need to make it happen, one way or another. You may want to test your water now to get a feel for where you are in the cycle. Judging from past conversations, you may want to put your chromis in there, so you don't get too impatient. Get the lights going on timers and feed the fish. And then be ready to change some water out when ammonia and/or nitrite levels peak. Also, get rid of the shrimp if you put the chromis in.

I wonder what effect the bio-ball thingies have had. The bacterial casing thing is strange! It almost suggests a lack of water movement. Did you keep the filter running while gone? If not, that may be the cause. Basically, you want to run the tank like normal to cycle it, but with a low biological load, so the bacteria can multiply, without being overwhelmed. With your tank size, one chromis should be about right.

You may want to read a few articles regarding cycling, to get some insight into what's going on in your tank. One way or another, your tank will cycle. It's just good to know what's going on, so you don't make any rash decisions/mistakes.

[sam.basye]

It would be too simple if it was already cycled - nothing is ever that easy. Lol

I tested the water Sunday night and it tested the same as when I left a week ago. Will test again later today and see after breaking up the shrimp. I'll test the nitrate as well this time.

As for Mr. Chromi - I may need to by a Mrs. Chromi.. Unless he doesn't swim that way because he is being watched by the family back in North Carolina so I don't have to move everything back from VA, to the beach in SC, back to NC, and back to VA, then to the bowfront all in a months time.
- my fish are the traveling kind as they would go home with me for each break. (College)
I have my own place now..

I bought another light, same thing just a longer version for the tank. The smaller one is with Mr. Chromi and the corals in NC. The new one should arrive today.

The bacteria balls do their thing, what their thing is, I don't know. But they were free.

I have the big hob filter and skimmer on a timer for 12 hours during the day and off at night. The little canister filter is on 24/7 with the heater. There is enough flow to make the shrimp wave but not enough to blow it around the bottom.

I bought a used mp10 and will have it in there closer to January.

I want to get this thing cycled already, or at least started!

[Michael Hoaster]

I forgot about your traveling chromis. Another option is a 'saltwaterized' molly, which is what I used. They eat algae. I never had to feed them, keeping nutrient levels low.

It sounds like you've got a good setup and plan. I look forward to hearing more of your 'cycling adventures'!

[sam.basye]

Been busy, tonight I checked the ammonia level: 0ppm --- lowest its been so far...
Nitrate: 3ish ppm

Put the fuge light over the tank for the time being --- 18" fluorescent under-cabinet light.

I'm gonna go to the lfs or Petco to see if they have a Chromis I want tomorrow or the next day to start the cycle if the light doesn't start some diatom bloom.

The turkey I bought the new light from didn't ship it till Saturday and didn't use priority like he said he would, so.. I get to wait another week for it to arrive. ugh..

More like the 'cycle-less adventure' lol

[sam.basye]

Okay... Now I'm really confused.

Here's a picture of a spirorbid worm I spotted on the tank glass. There are a number of them forming all over the front. This is the biggest one at half a mm. It took a year for them suckers to appear in my first tank. Why would they form now???

I feel like it is safe to start adding my stock, but there is no form of beneficial bacteria for the tank as of now. Not that I can add any of my livestock until January anyways.

So the waiting continues...

[sam.basye]

Here's the pic I forgot to post

[Michael Hoaster]

Well, there is something in your tank they can eat, so it's probably a good sign. You've still got the dead shrimp in there, right?

Hang in there!

[sam.basye]

Shrimp is still in, scattered throughout the tank when I broke it up. Just crushed a shrimp pellet in there last night too.

It's probably a good thing the pets aren't here or I'd really be tempted!

Gonna buy me some cheap window tint from Walmart to cover the ugly eggcrate this weekend.

Still need to relocate the canister filter as it is just hanging on the front for now. It will be moved to the back with the return in the upper right corner.

Will post some more pics when done with the tint.

[Michael Hoaster]

Sounds good. Look forward to pics!

[sam.basye]

Just found out I'll never be doing my own window tint....

What a pain in the a$$!

Came out pretty good even though it took me for ever.

Here are the pics.


Tint taped to the tank after cutting.


Light from fuge - the tint is dark until it opens up in the back, pic shows transition bars that aren't actually there.
Cut out the fuge thermometer on bottom left.


Fuge light on top.


Right side

I still don't have the light yet so the pics are either lit from the back or on top only with the fuge light.

The tint has a VLT of 5% and was just under $10 for a 22"x74" roll at Walmart. I tried a number of different methods.

I tried taping copy paper to the tank, traced the border with a pen and then taped the tint on top and cut it out with an x-acto knife - not precise enough.

I tired taping copy paper to the tank and traced the border with a pen and then cut it out with scissors and cut the tint with an x-acto knife while on top - not as precise, but better.

Lastly, I gave up the copy paper and taped the tint to the tank and cut the shape with scissors all in one cut - this yielded the cleanest cut and was the most accurate.

The fuge light lightens the back enough to see through the tint and inside the fuge.


Oh, and I held my cell phone camera light up the the glass in the dark fuge and saw tiny creatures (looks like little 'dust particles') swimming to the light!

[Michael Hoaster]

Not bad! I was skeptical, but it looks good. Props for finding the best method!

[Saltydrip]

Back to the foam wall....

I'm about to take on a very similar project using an old 29 gal tank that used to be my sump. What I'm still trying to figure out is covering the foam. Did you apply contact content to it then sand? I've heard of guys tearing away the "skin" of the foam the painting on resin to ally the sand. I've also heard of tearing off the skin the painting it. I'm not fond of that idea.

[sam.basye]

When I first foamed the wall, I sprinkled finely crushed lace rock (like a powder) with a few bigger chunks over it as it was still wet. This gave me a grayish tone with a good starting texture.

Later, after it cured, I tore off the unnatural looking smooth bubbles and used the contact cement over the entire wall. I then sprinkled a good amount of fine beach sand (from Clearwater ,FL) over the wet contact cement.

The places that I tore the foam off needed a little extra contact cement for the sand to stick.

If I were to do it again, I would have found a contact cement that dried clear. The one I got has a slight yellow tone, but it mostly goes away when filled with water.

I applied the contact cement just enough to cover the foam with a light coat and then dumped sand on top. I did this section by section. One little 4oz jar was barely enough to cover the whole wall.

I don't see a need in tearing apart the 'skin' of the entire wall as the sand stuck nicely the way I did it. I'd only tear it all off if you are going for that kind of texture.

Let me know if that helped!

[sam.basye]

Finally got my camera... Its better than the cellphone, but not by much.








Canister filter relocated to back.



Starting to get some more diatoms again.

[Saltydrip]

That's awesome! I'll give it a try. My weekend got all messed up so I hope to get started this week some time

[sam.basye]

Make sure to post some pics of your wall!

Oh and make sure you spray the foam randomly and not in rows. Don't forget to press out the air in the foam after 15 min as well.

Happy foaming!

[Saltydrip]

Almost ready to get started.. Next I hit the hardware store.

[sam.basye]

Gonna mix the two sands? I like the idea of a color variation throughout the wall.

Good starting point! Don't forget the zip-ties, eggcrate, and the evil foam. Better off getting more foam than you think just in case so the project doesn't have to stop if you ran out, That's why my wall took soo long.