****Current Pictures****




















































****Original Post****

Hello everyone! I am new to the forum, and new to forums in general actually. I am pretty proud of my newest venture so I thought I would post.

I had a 150g full reef tank that suffered from 100* water. Lost it because of a $1 blown fuse. The irony was my spare fuse (which I always have) was busted too, so I thought it was the chiller, and did not have the dollars to buy a new chiller on the spot. I ended up giving the (living) livestock to the LFS. I had no intent to start back up again. It didn't take longer than 2 months for the itch to become overwhelming! So, I started a new project.

I had no intent to try to recreate the previous reef tank, so I went for different. Ordered up a custom tank 48x24x12 and had a center overflow put in, though slight set back from dead center. I plumbed the chiller loop through the bottom. I built a Volcano-like structure around the overflow and out of the water. My over-all design came about as I wanted to house coastal type crabs that spend 50% of their time outside the water. I wanted to keep the rock wet to help simulate their natural environment, and I had no intent to simulate tides, so a waterfall type situation was my choice. From the sump return, I split it off into a 1/4 airline feed that I then split three ways. One fills a small rock reservoir that spills into a small rock basin. The other two feed the right side of the Volcano. One spills down the front and into the water, and the back one, which I made as a very slow drip, basically moistens the rock....as the crabs will spend time on moist rock. Turned out well. Because of placement, it is not loud (intentional) as it is in our living room.

Of course there is no canopy, so I hung two 150w HQI's leaving the tip of the volcano dark. That was also intentional, but I have considered spot-lighting it (like you would a painting). Still going back and forth on feasability and is-it-worth-it considerations, as I liked the idea of the tip of the volcano being dark (like when you see clouds over the tip of a real volcano).

I have a sump underneath and have the light ballasts, chiller, and second pump outside in a waterproof and ventilated "shed." I am particularly proud of the automatic water change set up I plumbed. I have a drain that feeds underground to the drainage ditch and an input from my trash can that I mix the water in. Besides H2O mix time and glass cleaning time, water changes take 3-4 minutes.

This project is fun because it is nothing like anything I have done before on this size of scale, so I am learning so many things along the way! I am not attempting to recreate a particular habitat (I don't have the skills of some of the members here!), so my livestock choices may not be "proper." I am doing SPS and LPS, and depending on the tendancies of the crabs, I would love to get clams in there too, because they are so beautiful from above...which I have the previledge of seeing from above!

As this is my first post, I would love some feedback. Both complimentary and constructively critical. If you happen to not like it, try to be cordial with me on your feedback so I am not discouraged to continue to post!

Thank you in advance for taking a look. I have seen some of the member's tanks here and I am truly humbled. Hopefully you will enjoy taking a look at what I have spent a lot of time on here!

That is sofa king cool!! I am looking forward to seeing more!

WOW. that is a TOTALLY AWESOME tank.
PS to N-R

This is from the ground. I liked this picture, that is why I added it!


This is from the left, and you can see the rock basin (the horizontal rock) a little better. Already, only after 3 weeks, it has wonderful micro algaes and the start of coraline. The waterflow through it is surpisingly strong, so I may put some polyps or something there....


Here's a close up of that part. Now, this was right at the beginning, which is why it looks different. I have not taken a close up. Even as I type this, I realize that I should have done that. Oh well, I will soon.


Here is the right side. You can see on the left part of the rock, it is all wet. The water moves fairly fast here. On the right, you will see a black hole, and the drip line is directly above that. Because I made the water drip so slow, it is hard to tell it is even an active drip...the rock always appears magically wet. As such, the crabs hang here a lot.


Here is one of the crabs....


Here is a far shot from the right.

As I mentioned, only my original two shots were current (the thing changes everyday almost...as you all know), so I will take a couple more close ups as well as a couple pictures of the set up itself. I saw in almost every post people asking for pictures! So, I guess that is what everybody likes to see.

Thanks again to everyone for looking.

Wow. This just blew my mind. Way to think outside the box, my friend. Pun intended.

Can't wait to see more!

I WANT MOAR!!!!!!!!































please.

Here is the side access and the skimmer. Disregard the crooked drain line. I have to re-silcone a spot (used this huge drain line) and I didn't tighten it yet.




This is the front access, left side. The pickup drops and exits the side of the stand and elbows outside. The return for that same line is down there too, but not visible. The pump is the return through the overflow.




You can see the drilling, and I did not aimlessly put holes in the stand, the weird holes are the former needs of the previous reef tank. The chiller return line is visible in the back.




Here is a close up of that return. Not sure why I showed this. Oh well.




Here is the "shed" I mentioned. Rubbermaid. Waterproof. I drilled holes in it, attached screen and small water diverters for instances of rain or sprinklers. The attachment for the trash can for mixed water is on the left.




Here is the inside. The return from the pump supplies the chiller line and it returns back into the house. The red handle off the return line is what leads to the drain line under ground. Open it and water drains from the tank. The intake for the pump is from the PVC pipe. The red handle branched from the PVC pipe is the alternate intake from the trash can to replenish the water level during water changes. Man, that makes my life so much easier!

Wowzers. Very nice! I haven't seen such a unique tank in awhile! Thank you for sharing and welcome to nano-reef!

You know, going through my pictures for this post, I found a couple pictures from my old reef tank, so I will throw those up as well. Never had a chance to properly represent it on a site like this.....

150 gallons.



2 400 watt 20k's installed. Not too sure why it looks purple, but looked cool to me.





The left 2/3rds of the tank.





"Big fish" we called him, a Desjardini Sailfin Tang. He will be coming back to us.....





I loved this picture.





This was a little earlier in it's life....(you'll notice the pink bird's nest is in a different location)





This is Big Fish and Purple Tang. Purple Tang is in the Volcano already.









Thanks. This is fun sharing. I never have done this before. I would always look at everyone else's....



Thanks! I sat conceptualizing for a full 3 days....literally.....3 days. I was on vacation and did NOTHING else except sit and sketch. I am glad you like it! I hope it turns as beautiful as some of the tanks I have seen here.

Holy $%#*!!! Undoubtedly the most original and one of the most beautiful concepts I've seen on here! Your 150 was an awesome looking tank as well. I like the left 2/3rds shot, the reflection looks like a Monet painting...but better. Welcome to Nano-reef, please keep posting and thanks for sharing!

that is freakin sweet!!!

totally mind blowing for me!!
those pic`s were out of this world
the tanks (both) are a credit to you
thank you for sharing those pic`s

Amazing!!!
I love how the crabs climb out

This tank is amazing!

YOU WIN

Wow! Thanks for all the kind words!

I can't wait to see this grow into something awesome. I will post a couple pictures today that are a little more detailed when the lights come on.

Thanks everyone!

Wow that is amazing!

The evaporation will be a PITA but I think it will be worth it haha

Gallon a day.

Rad.

Ehh thats not as bad as I thought it would be. Looks really neat, should be fun to watch progress

Def TOTM material here!

Wow! very nice tank:D

This tank is sooo cool. If you grow corals in the waterfall it would be amazing, but if the pump ever fails they would dry out, so don't use anything too valuable. Good job!

and

I agree with all of the above! You have created a very unique and inspiring tank....Great job!

O M G!!! Sorry to the rest of you here... But, this is my new favorite tank of all time!!! Unique FTW!!!

Be very very proud of this build bro!

Thanks for sharing, and !

MOAR PICS! this tank is awesome. i want to see more of the crabs!

Excellent tank here.

I have seen tanks like this (ranging from a full on terrarium to something like this where it's only a secondary habitat to 1 or 2 species).

One thing that I think could even enhance the appearance of this tank would be the use of some mangrove trees with the prop roots! Combined with your unique "volcano" rock scape that would rock!

That thing is pretty incredible. You win.

No doubt. Very impressive! Can't wait to see this one develop.

daym that is awesome! what a crazy idea to let it out of the box. good job

Your head must be the size of that volcano right now with all the feedback your getting lol, it's only going to get bigger, amazing tank man, the 150 was awesome to, can't wait to see more.

lol. i have a feeling he's gunna become a regular poster....

That has to be one of the coolest tanks I've ever seen, I think the only way it could be more BA is if it was a zero-edge.

*thud*


























Thats the sound of my jaw hitting the floor

............................



^^ couldn't say anything because I was speechless. lol

There are some great tanks here at N-R.com... And this is by far most original and refreshing tank I have seen in nr.com in...... prolly NEVER! Congrats! YOU WIN!

Thank you for posting. I love how original this all is, gives me ideas for the future. Please keep us updated you def. win

Alright Kyle I am lucky cause I live in Thousand Oaks also....I HAVE TO SEE IT IN PERSON....thats really sweet....

ONE OF A KIND

AWESOME ON A STICK!! What's so great about this tank is that everybody's head starts ticking, like mine, about all the possibilities with projects like these. What an inspiration!

It looks clean and beautiful too. You didn't just do something cool, you thought it out and done it well.

In a word...friggin awesome. One of the most unique tanks i have ever seen. Do you have any issues keeping the exposed rock wet? My only worry would be of potential die off in areas of rock that arent kept adequately moist.

well done.

That's an honor! Thanks!



Hard to tell in the shot, but there are 3 Mangroves that I have put in the tank. They are very small.....and I think I may try to get one mature one for instant gratification!

I went to take some shots today, but my camera battery died. I will get some close ups and different angles up Sunday.

I have a Hi-Def camcorder, so I will try to get some videos up in the next week too. The waterfall part is certainly a cool thing to see....

I have full intention to get some kind of livestock in the rock basin on the left, and I don't know what it will be. The water flow is very adequate to support many types of things. I was thinking of a montipora or something...not sure. I am gonna give that at least a couple months just to see the algae growth and try to recognize any potential issues. The good thing about the waterfall design is that it is off the main sump return, so there are no additional dangers or inconsistencies that will arise (other than the always detrimental power outage, in which case everything is equally screwed).

The water pattern seems consistent though when spilling down the rock, so I should be good to go on that front. But, that was a good point, Rehype. I thought long and hard about that too. In the end, I figured any potential issue wouldn't be detrimental, if even noticeable. I have even run tests on a water collected from the rock, as a couple of natural holes in the rocks that collect water. The movement is consistent enough to have no difference in parameters from display nor sump. However, that was a primary motivator for me to put liverock in the sump (which I normally do not do). But, given the smaller space of the tank vs. potential for any issues, I went that route. Trial and error. Part of the process of doing something brand new. Good call though.

Anyways, pictures to come tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!



Thanks!

You have NO idea how long I thought about doing that!

Freaking amazing is all have to say!!! This will have to take TOTM at some point By the way where did you get those rocks from?

Wicked cool. Your planning and execution is excellent, all the work is beautiful. I love how well it all integrates into the rest of the room, the cool-ass carvings on the sides of the stand - the whole damn thing!

Awesome. A truly different idea for us all to think about.

WOW! This is so incredibly awesome! Great work!

My new favorite tank...Kudos

holy crap. seriously.

Nicely done. Thank you for sharing and please keep it up!

Here's some close up shots.....(lots of pictures...sorry).

Here's one the mangroves. I had a couple of Xenia colonies that I put in, and one made it's way behind, stuck, and gets it's light from the hole. Real interesting..





From the right side.




Back of the right side.




Left side from the front of the tank. Another Mangrove there in the middle of the shot, and there is one on the right. The black thing under the rock is a 2" PVC T for a little hang out. I am going to start a montipora colony on top of it.




The left side from the left side. This montipora frag was almost white when I put it in here, and I did simply because I was cycling the tank. Look at it now! Only 3.5 weeks old.



A couple of mussels from the coast. Thriving even though the water is warmer than they are used to. Usually in the morning, they are wide open almost like a scallop. Real cool.



Side view.



Here's the thing I keep calling the rock basin. Great algae growth. Har to tell in the shot, but those are all encrusting algaes, and the purple coraline started very quickly. I put a starter piece right under the water drip and it seemed to work.



Back of the Volcano from the left side. The return is a Y-Click-Lok. Prior to the Y, it is split and reduced down to 1/4" to supply the waterfall line.




Here's the valve for the waterfall line.



Back side of the Volcano from the right.



Left side.



Right side.



Here are some crab shots!!!







Hope you enjoy 'em!