Farewell planted tank! Start of 63 gallon build

[DriftingNemo]

Next week this nasty planted tank stuff is getting wiped out, tank is getting completely cleaned, rim removed, repainted background and rim reattached. I'm going to buy some new sand, dry rock and I've ordered a bunch of stuff from eBay (feels like Christmas already!) I got a buy 2 get 1 free deal on 14000k 24w T5s which I couldn pass up! I paid the same amount of money for 3 bulbs as I would for 1 bulb locally! The only problem is that there's not a lot of people selling dry rock locally, only my LFS sells it (a bit pricey) and they only have a few rocks. Also, I need to source a canister filter ASAP. Ideally, I would like to have fish in my tank by christmas time so the whole family could enjoy it, but if the tank isn't cycled by then, I won't rush it. I'll keep posting during this build and I hope you guys and girls get involved in this thread

[Newtybar]

I got my rocks from Marco Rocks and am pretty happy with how they look

[k4ndyk1ng]

Lol, this is what I have done tore down my 60g it is now empty

Some advice is to get the substrate out use a dustpan and brush to get the stuff out and shovel it

 

[DriftingNemo]

I got my rocks from Marco Rocks and am pretty happy with how they look

I live in the UK so I won't be able to order from that site, unless they are UK based.

 

Lol, this is what I have done tore down my 60g it is now empty Some advice is to get the substrate out use a dustpan and brush to get the stuff out and shovel it

+1 on that! It's a dirted tank too, it would take hours to remove all that mud with my hands

[k4ndyk1ng]

You in uk? Sweet man same join the club where everything is twice the price

[k4ndyk1ng]

Screw the canister filter they are too much work on these thanks. Where bouts in the uk are you?

With dry rock you will maybe have to soak it to get rid of nitrates and phosphates off it.

If you want this cycled fast, get 1kg liverock per 10l of water get some power heads and wait. I got really good lr and little to no die off and my tank cycled in like a week

Good luck, have fun and don't give up

[DriftingNemo]

Screw the canister filter they are too much work on these thanks. Where bouts in the uk are you?

With dry rock you will maybe have to soak it to get rid of nitrates and phosphates off it.

If you want this cycled fast, get 1kg liverock per 10l of water get some power heads and wait. I got really good lr and little to no die off and my tank cycled in like a week

Good luck, have fun and don't give up

 

Canisters are my favourite type of filtration, good at pulling crap out of the display and less hassle than a sump. I live in Cornwall, and 24kg of live rock from my LFS would cost me £240, but there's people selling live rock for £5 per kg. I can't give up lol, I put too much money into this.

[DriftingNemo]

Installed a Fluval 406, an Eheim Jager 250w heater, around 22kg of Ocean rock, 8kg of Tropic Marin sand and I'm just testing my filter setup for any leaks.

 

I'll have to take my pictures on landscape mode, portrait seems to tilt them sideways!!!

[CronicReefer]

Tank looks good. I use a Fluval 306 on my 29gal and its got great space for any type of filter media you want to use. I even find pods and snails inside it when I clean it out so its good to know they aren't making it to the propeller.

[DriftingNemo]

Tank looks good. I use a Fluval 306 on my 29gal and its got great space for any type of filter media you want to use. I even find pods and snails inside it when I clean it out so its good to know they aren't making it to the propeller.

 

Thanks! The 406 has 5 media baskets, I use filter floss, bio balls, rubble rock, ceramic rings and activated carbon. The flow is so strong, thankfully it has adjustable flow. I used to find all sorts of critters inside the canister of my old tank.

[ndrobey]

All limestone was at one time live rock in a reef. Therefor, all limestone is dry rock. Get some limestone and chisel it into whatever shape suits you and treat it as dry rock.

[DriftingNemo]

All limestone was at one time live rock in a reef. Therefor, all limestone is dry rock. Get some limestone and chisel it into whatever shape suits you and treat it as dry rock.

 

There's still room for rocks in my tank. The ocean rock is being used as a base, I will use live rock to cover it and build ledges for corals to be placed on. I don't know much about the ocean rock that I'm using, but I've used it in my previous saltwater tank without an issue. The only downside is that it isn't nearly as porous as dry rock or live rock.