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Coral Vue Hydros

310 gallon Coldwater System


AquaticEngineer

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AquaticEngineer

12/15/11

My Aggregating Anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima) are dividing on their own now, guess I wont need to collect any more of those :lol:

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LIVSTOCK IS IN, SYSTEM OPERATIONAL 10/4/11

Photo and a quick shotty video I took.

 

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VIDEO:

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg100/S...ober4th2011.mp4

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STARTED PLUMBING THE CLOSED LOOP 9/10/11

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FOAM ROCK FINISHED 9/7/11

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Here's some pics of the tank and stand I just got for free :D There are a few extra holes in it, but I'm going to utilize all the holes towards the bottom of the tank for a closed loop and hook the auto feeder into it. Some of the holes I will have to patch though still.

 

Tank is made of 3/4" and measures 66"x20"x36"

 

TANK WHEN I GOT IT ON 6/4/11

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AquaticEngineer

So I finally started getting this tank setup.

 

Had a couple coldwater friends come over and help me figure out where to place this in the garage. I patched over about 7 of the holes in this thing, and started spray foaming in the rockwork. I'm going to use just one of the 110 gallon lobster tanks as a "sump" for this tank.

 

It will have a closed loop on in that will have a secondary 1/2 horse chiller and the auto feeder I made hooked up to it. It will also be able to utilize all the filtration, and chiller from the lobster tank.

 

I have from the 15th - 21st off from work for a minor surgery, so I should be able to finish this up and start water testing it by next weekend.

 

After this tank goes up, I get to start working on the smaller tank for inside the house :D

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AquaticEngineer
Hat thing is friggin tall! What do you plan on keeping?

Yeah 36" tall :D I'm going to aquascape as vertically as I can so I can have more of an open sand bottom since the tank is only 20" deep.

 

I'm planning on keeping everything B)

 

Seriously though, this tank will house most of the larger anemones, almost all of the corynactis, and the fish I catch that are small but will grow larger. Like a flounder, Kelp Greenling or something, or an Octopus :D

 

Alternative to patching extra holes: hamster tubes! (but for fish, of course)

 

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You act like this thought didn't cross my mind :lol:

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or an Octopus :D

If you want a bimac (octopus bimaculoides) I can catch one and give it to you, but they get a bit less frisky below 59 degrees, and they will kill and eat just about everything, except sea stars, gorgonians, worms, anemone, and urchins. Some fish can evade for weeks or months, but will eventually be dinner. Let me know if you ever want one. How cold will you keep the tank?

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AquaticEngineer
If you want a bimac (octopus bimaculoides) I can catch one and give it to you, but they get a bit less frisky below 59 degrees, and they will kill and eat just about everything, except sea stars, gorgonians, worms, anemone, and urchins. Some fish can evade for weeks or months, but will eventually be dinner. Let me know if you ever want one. How cold will you keep the tank?

 

Heck Yeah :D

 

I will let you know for sure once everything on this big tank is up and running. Since I'm only plumbing one of the lobster tanks into this tank now, I may be able to dedicate the other one to be octopi ready :D

 

If I do that, I could keep that tank at just about any temperature needed. I starting out my tanks in the upper 50's usually around 59 or so. I've since bumped them down into the mid 50's for the stuff I'm keeping.

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I tell you, you're going to have to start charging admission soon. The Damascus Oregon Aquarium has a great ring to it... The DOA.

 

:lol:

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AquaticEngineer
I tell you, you're going to have to start charging admission soon. The Damascus Oregon Aquarium has a great ring to it... The DOA.

 

:lol:

 

I better not abbreviate the name when I ship out fish..... :o

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AquaticEngineer

Update on this tank:

 

We got almost all of the spray foam background done now. Its turning out really cool by spraying it in and then piling rock salt onto it to give it texture. We're also making large piles of spray foam and then packing rock salt around and on top of it while it expands and its making some cool structures.

 

Its weird, but I dont think I know of anyone who has done a spray foam background directly onto the back of a large acrylic tank, other than public aquariums. I was talking with my buddy last night about this and the only reasons we could think of why was that most people:

 

1) Already have their tank setup and try to do the panels of foam and then put them in the tank.

 

2) Most people spend a lot of money on a big acrylic tank and dont want to "ruin" it if they mess up.

 

I guess thats the plus side of getting a free tank and already having 2 established tanks to hold your livestock :D

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AquaticEngineer
When do we see the fruits of your labor?

 

I want to see the background.

 

Liz

 

Should be done this weekend on the big tank. I havnt decided if I'm going to use some different shades of gray epoxy paint to make the rocks a little more realistic.

 

I might start on the small one this coming week if I have any spray foam left over. I'm gonna try using some black balloons in the spray foam and them popping them after it sets to leave some caves and voids in the foam.

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AquaticEngineer

Heres a couple pics of what I have done so far on the foam rockwork. The hands in the pictures are my 3 year old sons, he really wanted to help daddy with the fish tank today :D

 

The tank is turned on one of its sides right now so I could get it spray foamed. The water in the pictures is from me spraying out the rock salt, I just let it sit in there until it disolves and then I shop vac it out.

 

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AquaticEngineer
great texture!

 

Thanks :D I did a few test rocks and played with it before hand so I knew how to apply it to the main tank.

 

 

Cool rocks! Never seen that method. Looks fun. :)

 

Thanks :D I had always heard of it in theoretical coversations, but had never seen anyone do it. I figured it was the only way I could get enough rock formations in tank without just making piles of rock. It should look really cool once I can blend some shades of gray on the rocks and start adding barnicles.

 

Once the tank is running with water in it I'm going to glue bits of sponge and coraline algae onto the back to seed it.

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Wow, AquaticEngineer, that has an amazing texture. Cannot wait to see the finished product.

 

You'll be able to attach stuff to the wall too, right?

 

Liz

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AquaticEngineer
Wow, AquaticEngineer, that has an amazing texture. Cannot wait to see the finished product.

 

You'll be able to attach stuff to the wall too, right?

 

Liz

Yeah the wall will be soft enough for me to stick things into. I'm also planning on taking several small pieces of different sponge and using super glue gel to attach them onto the rock wall.

 

I also thought ahead when I was making the rock wall and made several cracks, crevices, and ledges to put things into until they attach themselves.

 

I also found some 1 part epoxy paint and had it tinted to a rock gray color and I've been using it to highlight some of the rock structures to make the points that stick out look more prominant and the cracks to look much more dark.

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Yeah the wall will be soft enough for me to stick things into. I'm also planning on taking several small pieces of different sponge and using super glue gel to attach them onto the rock wall.

 

I also thought ahead when I was making the rock wall and made several cracks, crevices, and ledges to put things into until they attach themselves.

 

I also found some 1 part epoxy paint and had it tinted to a rock gray color and I've been using it to highlight some of the rock structures to make the points that stick out look more prominant and the cracks to look much more dark.

 

This is going to be so cool. I see a bright future for the DOA. :lol:

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AquaticEngineer

I finished up the spray foam on the intake for the closed loop and got the rest of the rock salt off last night and finished painting.

 

All I need to do now is get that large piece in the last picture secured and blended into the rest of the wall and a little more touch up paint.

 

Then its on to laying the concrete pad to level it out in the garage, then start plumbing it up :D

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Those are the most realistic foam rocks I've seen. I will probably want to do something very similar, so please give lots of details about how you did it. How did you keep it from looking like a pile of small intestine, like post people's? I understand how the salt works, how else do you texture it, or sculpt it? Do you use any tools? Is there any internal frame or weight inside the tall stand-alone piece? What kind of paint are you using? Are you going to paint the whole surface of the foam, or just a few spots? Multiple colors? It takes forever for plants or animals to encrust rocks in a cold tank, so the "rocks" themselves will be a big part of the display, and need to look very good. Real rocks aren't a uniform color, so how do you paint yours to look real?

 

Thanks.

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