A gravity run system by 2 cats.

[Basile]

I've look at many tank styles and i found the tanks with less corals but big corals to be more attractive than all these mini hundreds you can't really see from a far. And i'm a softy and Macro algae , LPS fan because i've put a wavebox just to see the wave movement which to me is whats its all about. The swaying action of softies and macro algae i find calming affect on most people. i'll have some sps for sure but the tank wont be dominated by sps nor corals for that matter i like a balance in everything, rocks, corals, fish. Some thank your wandering if their's anyroom for fish. These 3 next pictures indicate what i was talking about.

As for fish well a school of 7 chromis are already in a QT

2 picasso clows will follow

yellow tang

5 Anthias( Bartlett) maybe

geometric Hawg fish

Its Christmass time!

You like my Tunze family?

The mud is only used for medicinal purposes, i still do my weekly water changes. The bacterial count of the mud and its composition is the only thing that interest me for my refugium; i do my own miracles, lol.

I have 2 Razors at 16K 27" and 2 at 10K one 27" and 20" for the refugium

The octopus is rated for a 300 g tank i have a 150+75+65=265 total.

Its christmass time the tanks are arriving tomorrow and i'm ready for them; The whole thing cost.....$ 450 + 0

Here's the room where the sculptures go; not quite done yet but in their real positions with the backwalls. The green tape is the tank edges the middle green tape is the wavebox trajectory and mid tank mark 12"

The cat wall will be behind the refugium tank stand which is almost 7 feet tall.Those are the panels going in the refugium.Only 3 are necessary.

Eye level

Left to right perspective

Right to left perspective

This is what i was explaining in the videos about having your tank as a refference for scale. You can see now my feet are too big and large, one of the sculpture could be too wide and i may have to break some feature of my ceramic wall to place one of those sculptures. The green tapes are just a refference, it could all ok but only when the tanks are here will i truely know, dangerous game to play without all the pieces. The middle green tape indicate the wavebox trajectory.

$ 5 500 worth of German ceramic on this wall i got it for $ 666 it was a good catch that day.

How can i forget, the inspector clawless....

 

[Basile]

The arrival of the tanks, the stand didn't make the connection.....are we pleased???Nooooo....

Open crate???

I keep the wraped up untill ready to be used. They seem fine and the way they where protected no worries. Those babies were heavy!!!!! The 75 g refugium and the 65 g sump here

And the monster 150 G in perfect condition , i'm goin to work on the overflow and its easier like that and monday she'll be put on right side up on her stand. All the guys were looking at her overflow and the wavebox , pretty neat design. They loved the glued press resin wood panel on the bottom idea.

How can we forget Lulu and Theo, making their inspections

I'll have more and better pics later time for bed cheers!

Every now and then i make a photo shoot of my buddies which i call the Catwalk so here goes;

The tanks will be sharing these guy's room along with my PC room so for those who missed the beginning here are Lulu and theo's catwalk

Lulu playing in the tanks, in the sump now, the return section; the next time it will be a little wet my friend!!!

Completely baffled

Lulu the computer expert

I had to cover my tank they were leaving all sort of foot print on it! Now their battling it out who's going to be on top, lol often as brothers do.All the way to the floor

Peace time again

See what i mean see what he's doing he's bitting my tank, eating it, good thing i got the blanket, to protect it.

Hyppocrit! lol

See you on the next catwalk

[jedimasterben]

I love how your cats are just as into it as you are. Mine are the same way

 

 

 

[Basile]

I love how your cats are just as into it as you are. Mine are the same way

 

 

 

 

 

Yes they're in everything aren't they, can't keep them out of the box or whats in them. But after that they don't touch anything you'll see after the curiosity has been satified they wont break or touch anything thats what happen with mine i never stopped them or yelled at them about it. a even put them in it .

[NirvanaandTool]

 

Yes if you read the second post of the thread thats what i say actually. My tank is almost a year old. But when i post on YouTube or elsewhere i get so many question as of how i made it, that i've decided to start my thread here with the build up. Its in sequence.But outdated of course.

Ah ok got it - must have missed that amongst all the cat pictures

 

Your cats are hilarious. But it's not just cats that do it. My dog is a Reef Equipment Inspector as well.

 

 

I should take a picture of him the next time I'm working in the sump. He's under the stand sticking his head in there seeing what's going on. Freaked the heck out of the hawkfish I have in my fuge

[Basile]

I know that grown ups are suppose to be mature, set example to younger generations, but with cool things like that who can resist? So played with MY TOYS!!!!!!!

It was already mesured , the stand at 28" left plenty of room for the foot print and the cup , but never assume anything in this hobby i've learned the hard way!

I've heard so much about this monster, that i actually modified my sump for it.

Through research on the net i discover a material on the market that absorb 98% of vibrations and noise in any environement according to the manifacturer; Sorbothane. So i ordered some for my sump. It doesn't change unlike foam or plastic or other materials.

A very well stocked sump

My reactors for phosban and carbon

The drains will dump in the first section on the left and fill it; it'll overflow into the socks and then go throught the skimmer and head to the return who'll split in two feeding the reactors and returning to the Reef tank. The second pump will send all the way to the refugium, on the other wall.See floor plan in the thread.

Remember earlyer i said i had to modify the sump because of the Bubble Master Skimmer. Its so proficient at making micro bubbles that some finds their way to the return pumps in system all over. So i had an extra baffle installed to prevent that, hopefully it will.

The two return have lots of room, i can still put a third and even maybe a fourth pump.

Guess who's comming to dinner?

This is the feeding bulkhead to the Reef tank. Its about an inch under the water line to avoid skimming the junk and catching the good stuff for the reef. If the power fail; the lack of the return pump will stop the flow , as the "T" fitting at the bulkhead .

The external coast to coast of the refugium with the 1.5" Herbie style system drain bulkheads and the 1" return bulkhead.

One thing that i really resent from Octopus is the fact that we have to order seperatly that grey silencer at the end of the gate valve for $ 70, they should include it in the Skimmer box at $ 500 the skimmer, i wrote them about it in a negative way. You should too if you have one, it matters!!

The 150 G overflow system bulkheads

The 75G looks prestine out of its foam and plastic.

Trying out my wall and my separation as my refugium it will host seahorses on the left side and anglers on the right side.

They're a bit high so i'll have to cut them with a saw, its easy , but they're fragile it like chaulk.

The reason their's a panel on the right side is the window right accross the tank and right at that level, so no sun light please.

Your reading right , my sepeartion is a screen door for pets. i just have to put the nylon screen in cut the inside panel i don't need and the seperation is done and the water can flow easely between the two sides. even the shrimps can't cross over, just the pods. The instalation will require some rubbles and pond foam to secure everything no silicone on the glass no need. everything will be held from the bottom and the reer.

The angler doesn't needs much room they hardly swim this cube shape biotope will be perfect for it.

All the panels will foamed around the edges to prevent water going in the back with detritus. I'll sealed them on all sides. In between rubbles will be added to blend the seems and the foam will be sanded with resin as well.

[Basile]

The cats are in training as we speak;to boldly go where no cats have gone before

Well i've worked a bit on my tanks today and made my separation for my fuge.

Well i've worked on my separation, here it is. I've used gutterguard instead of window screen, bigger holes that won't clog as easy and will let the water flow more freely. Those holes shouldn't let any crabs or ordinairy snails through, although small shrimp which i'll avoid might, maybe, i said might squeeze through, but no big deal.

The frame opens up to trap the gutterguard between its sides, but since gutterguard is a bit thicker than ordinary screen i have to use Zip ties to hook it up and hold it tight on the sides and in the middle.

Zip ties are your friend in this Hobby, lol I did both directions to make a double mesh to prevent small shrimps and snail o go through , it took more ties.....

On the bottom, some rubble will be put to lift the gate a bit higher and foam will be applied to glue the hole thing on the bottom and on the reer panel as well. Rubble will also be used on the back panel to blend in the gate. Nothing will be put on the fron glass , it will all be held from the back and bottom, no need to smear my display glass.

I still have the door of the frame. I can still make another separation for another tank.

My Herbie drain with its strainer.

My emergency overflow

My return , i haven't decided if i'm having a "T" going across , still debating that one.

Funny on this angle the drain looks higher than it actually is. Its actually much bellow the waterline of the 150G overflow box.

Same illusion here the emergency drain on the 150 g looks higher than the wierd, lol its not.

Thats my new stand for my sculpture, the old as been cracking up on all side the 60 lb structure is too heavy for it. So this new 1" pvc structure will be glued to it tomorrow with foam. Then it will rest on a plexiglass sheet at the bottom of the tank to spread the load evenly and not concentrated at the end of those four legs.

[Basile]

I got them by George i got them!!! Delivered this morning and the janitor helped me , one went inthe elevator no problem, the other, in the dam stairwell, great....just great.... Beautiful finish powdered coated and that 2 " steel, its there for a long time.

The sump fits just flush my calculation was spot on. And so was my green lines lol as you can see. A foam will be put on the floor under the sump.I've already thought of a cover for the stand, easy , simple and beautiful.

Two inch of steel powder coated; what a great finish.

All the mesurements where on the lines.

The refugium stand is on standby since the 150G is in its spot. I'm waiting for my guys to move it all this weekend. All the masks on the wall are form each country i visited

The shelf will be the QT spot and stuff. Underneath a mixing station and maybe auto feeding fridg ; click the link,

Some of my ceramic panels are a little too tall so i had to cut them. Easy with a saw, so you know its not cement , lol. Its more like chaulk, this type of ceramic is porous, its been made for are needs, by a company in Germany, who specialised in this.

This particular one was too wide to fit so cutting it lenght wise was necessary, and ...long......

As you can see i'm way off in my cut; look at the little blue dot at the center bottom of the feet. Cutting ceramic heats up the blade and curves it and make you chage direction whether you want or not. So one of the best way is to start from the other side and try to reach your incomming cut.

It looks like their's lots of gaps but i need those to fill them with foam and seal the ceramic panels from water penetration behind the panels. The foam will surround all the panels and prevent detritus from accumulating in impossible spots.It'll also fix the panels permantly to the wall so nothing moves. As a note after moving those tanks and stands if i sell i sell with the tanks and stands, i'm not moving those ever again, yu can ask my chiropractor!

This is dilema for me; what do you think? The smaller pen will be for the anglers. Now should i put the angler near the feeding tube to the Reef for the pods to migrate in safety, or the other way around. What do you think, i'm asking, i'm not sure if it matters but i don't know everything, and maybe it does matter.

Or this way, the seahorses will be near the feeding pipe to the reef.

Of course life can be so serious sometimes you have to let go and laugh at yourself. So here's one for you guys. Check my last post and look at the pictures with the stand and the mirrors. I took those shots early in the morning between my first coffee and waking up. Not being particularly awake and concient of the mirror behind the stand i took my pictures in my original, manly costume. Having only taking a few sip of the morning juice i proceeded to post on facebook my new stands. and went all morning to work on my project and other things. At noon i checked my facebook page and clicked the photopage and looked again at the pictures, in shock i see myself in the mirror in all its glory ; the ugliest fish in the room , all hairy and sagging from every sides ; a real jewel of the sea to be sure. The moral don't be a morron like me and take pictures when your half awake and most importantly posting them right away, and know when their's a mirror in the room , specially your own stupid mirror.

Here's the joke of the day folks.

Well time to progress at last i've got all my parts, finally i can go ahead. As you can see, it looks like the Borgs have taken over.... with their black pipes and tubings everywhere, on the floor and the walls. Since the stands, my PC desk are black, why not the give the mad scientist look, the Borg touch, so the UltraFlex i ordered and the fittings are black as well minus the exceptions i couldn't find , lol. Am i obsess with Star Trek, Noooooo just going with it, lol.

The bags contains wall clamps for the Flex, you screw the clamp in the wall push the Flex in voila, fasten end of story one every foot or every 6" in sensitive area and your done. I use special nails because of the vibration these tubes will generate and a piece of the Sorbothane pads for isolation from vibration on the walls.

Markers; thats where the bulkheads will be in front of the catwalk.

Very handy thing to tighten your bulkheads 1/4 turn after hand tight, $10 at walmart.

You put a layer of this when installing your bulkhead, always on the otherside of the glass and the gasket otherwise they'll compete with each other.

They're never far......

[MikeTR]

phew.. i'm exhausted.. and you're doin all the work I swore once I got done with mine that I would never set another big tank up.. so guess what.. I'm not moving... ever. Eliminates that problem. I can remember all the excitement when the delivery guy showed up with box after box of goodies. Fortunately it went a little better than this one

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZFPflC94pc

 

I'm a little concerned that the mesh separator is just gonna become an algae screen. Then again, maybe that's the idea. Serious skimmer you have there. I have the external one and find it can strip the water clean in about 4 days. Laziness is on my side here.. once the cup fills up I turn it off for a week or so. You have more water volume, but it's definitely changed my attitude about needing to overskim a tank. Did I miss what you decided to do for dosing?

[Basile]

 

phew.. i'm exhausted.. and you're doin all the work I swore once I got done with mine that I would never set another big tank up.. so guess what.. I'm not moving... ever. Eliminates that problem. I can remember all the excitement when the delivery guy showed up with box after box of goodies. Fortunately it went a little better than this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZFPflC94pc

I'm a little concerned that the mesh separator is just gonna become an algae screen. Then again, maybe that's the idea. Serious skimmer you have there. I have the external one and find it can strip the water clean in about 4 days. Laziness is on my side here.. once the cup fills up I turn it off for a week or so. You have more water volume, but it's definitely changed my attitude about needing to overskim a tank. Did I miss what you decided to do for dosing?

LMFAO LOL hahahaah thats priceless .

Well i found out that my skimmer is such a powerfull machine. After a few months i realised that i had to shut it off. So from trial and experiment now with a bioload including lots of sponges that actually filters the water , i shut it OFF 12 h a day. I'm now into the dilema of taking OFF my socks....

As for the tank, Its going to be sold with the condo, i'm not moving that thing again, nope it comes with the walls. LOL.

Thanks againg for that piece of laughter my goodness LOL .

[MikeTR]

I stopped running socks also. I got tired of changing them every 3 days. I do drain the sump twice a year and use a cheap shop vac to suck out whatever has settled. I run a sponge filter after the fuge section with the main purpose of keeping the majority of the chaeto bits from getting into the tank or caught in the maze of pvc. Wish I didn't have to. I'm sure this is not helping the small bit of cyano that just won't go away.

 

Build seems to be progressing quite well.. we all run into hiccups, but love the detailed posts. It sure helps others along the way when they decided to go all in!

[Basile]

 

I stopped running socks also. I got tired of changing them every 3 days. I do drain the sump twice a year and use a cheap shop vac to suck out whatever has settled. I run a sponge filter after the fuge section with the main purpose of keeping the majority of the chaeto bits from getting into the tank or caught in the maze of pvc. Wish I didn't have to. I'm sure this is not helping the small bit of cyano that just won't go away.

Build seems to be progressing quite well.. we all run into hiccups, but love the detailed posts. It sure helps others along the way when they decided to go all in!

That would be a great idea, By the way the gutterguard screen work very well. Because it has such large openings, the micro algaes don't clog it that much, so water movement is not a problem at all. Like i said earlier in the post i'm posting the build so people understand my system, but its running already, but keep the questions and suggestions comming , because i find that some are actually helpfull at resolving some of my problems that i was wondering how too. You've put the finger on one of them already lol , and thanks for that lol. Never thought of that aproach before, and its cool. Now i know what to ask for christmass a shop vack lol.

I write big for my iphone friends, lol

[Basile]

Before the tank goes up 7 feet in the air might as well test it for leaks

Yes Theo was testing the water

No i'm not cooking dinner this is a little trick for your Flex tubing or spa Flex boiled water

Add some hot water in the tub before, then add your boiling water.

It wont become like super soft but a bit more manageable

Yes i have a scaffold to go up there...the cats have their private staircase and private box in the back lol. A plan to put a plexiglass hooked on the steel frame to prevent the feline to hop on the razors LED's.

One of the sculpture, almost finished, wanted to see the positioning. I've explained this earlier, its important to have your tank to do your sculpture because you can juge your scale. I did mine without. Sure enough i have to change the orientation of this one. One of the arm of the sculpture was too long to fit properly so i have to turn it now. not exactly the position i wanted. It still work but, flow wise i could be in trouble, we'll see.

The eggcrate will be under the sand amd still have to hide the foam with resin and sand and trim a bit of the crate, almost finish. The right arm of the right scupture was the problem. too long to put towards the front.

This is where the second scupture will be with the stalactite facing left.

As you can see i've got rid of the white towers, they didn't match the Borg looks, lol, more stream line too.

Now i had to face this guy to get rid of those two towers. The Lord of the Room!

Because i had to change the orientation, see my sculpture is now in the wavebox line of fire. It wasn't before. It'll still work but i rather it wasn't there.

The Refugium will be feeding the 150G Reef tank and will be on a reverse photoperiod hopefully the proximity wont be an issue.

The entrace to the room and the new cleaner look with the new desk

A usefull tool for both my tanks, $ 40 at lowes

A setback , my sump is 20" wide the stand for the 150 is 20" wide but the sump has a 2mm trim , bummer we are working on the problem don't blow a gasket.......

The sculpture on the left will have some of its extremeties out of the water, and on the right the sculpture had her right arm too long to put her front and center hence the position change.

Plenty of room for the second sculpture.

Oh yes their's a back wall to put in too another DELAY....LOL.....

[Leatherneck3755]

Holy God. I am following

[Basile]

I phone Concept Aquariums today about my problem with the sump size, and they suggested to take the trim off with a utility knife all around which will take a few milimeters off each sides of the sump, which is exactly what was missing, or should i say was in surplus. So it should fit now and if it doesn't they'll make me a new one, how's that for service. No worries.

Well yesterday i did a bit of foaming in the fuge i foamed my wall . I place temporarely my wall in my main tank to see what cut i would have to make. I say temporarely because we have to move that pig again to be able to slide my sump back into position again. Oh dear...... Anyway it looks nice .

I'll foam those in after the sump is put in.

I'll be putting resin and sanding the foam on the sculpure today 2 inch of sand will cover the eggcrate making my Tonga branch stand alone.

If you use any foam Acetone will clean out the spout very well and you can use your can and spout again and again. That stuff really strong .It also very good to clean your hands

The foam will be sand today and will be blend in. I don't want dirty water to be trapped behind those panels.

The foamed worked well it went right where i wanted and is blocking any entry spot.

A nice blade will get rid of the smudge.

Smelly cat, smelly cat, or is it soft kitty?

Cat alley......behind the scenes

They shouldnt mess with the plumbing right????

Thats how thick those stands are

What a line up!The 150 G backwall

Inside the $20 external glass Wavebox, i just bought the Tunze pump and voila. I bought the sponge too to house the pump.

The top of the panel will be siliconed on this one because foam swells too much . I don't want the foam blocking my teeth.

A lurker....

The next step is to foam in the seperation with rubbles and blend in the foam and rubble with resin and sand.Thats today; Foam and rubbles will help make and secure the screen. I thought that i wouldn't need silicone on the front glass, that it would be tight enough. WRONG i'll have to put silicone after all. Can't win every time .

On the left side will be the anglers, they don't need much swimming room they rather "walk" and stalk their prey. The right side will be the seahorses territory. The extreme right panel prevent the light from the window to go in the tank.

Before foaming i made sure that every panel was flush with the glass. As you can see they are very flat.

The bottom are also very flat and smooth

The rubbles for the screen

[michaelrzachmann]

_{amazing thanks for the in depth documentation... following}

[Basile]

Ok well today was finishing the refugium decor, backwall , the separation and the substrates.

So i chose some rubbles to put in the larger openings and gaps between the separation and the ceramic panel, and then applied the foam.

I applied foam on both sides to make sure shrimps the smallest of the critters wouldn't cross over and be eaten by the anglers.

Now i didn't apply foam in the bottom like i intended to do because 3 inch of sand would help hold this as well. I just put rubbles to help lift the screen in place while the foam cures. after that i'll silicone the front edge to the front glass panel. I thought i wouldn't have too, but i have too.Their's a gap and i have to fill it.

Thats the silicone i used on top of the panels not block the teeth with foam, the same will be done for the screen.

I have 2 gallons of mud in the tank with the sand on top on one side, and on the other side its a bit mixed. The sand is Tropic Eden Tonga Reef Flakes and Tonga Reef mini-Flakes 2-1 ratio. I use mud for medicinal reason and nothing else, i still do my water changes , i do my own miracles......

The Anglers pen , 30 G

The seahorses pen 45 G

Oh yes i forgot i sanded my sculpture

I'll probably do a second coating

Don't forget to clean your spout with acetone to be able to reuse it

_{amazing thanks for the in depth documentation... following}

 

Thank you , guess who i found spoiling my sand this morning.......what punishment should i inflic do you think. Bare in mind these guys already got castrated lol. Are they intitle to some mistchivism?????

Look at the picture, and envision a pair of Maspect Razors LED lights side by side and hanging there on top of that tank. Now i don't know if you've seen the Razor's profile but they're shaped like a nice walkway , and perfect for the cats to climb on unfortunatly. So i plan to hook from the ceilling , the same as the LED lights, a panel of plexiglas the lenght of the tank coming down behind the tank and cutting off access to the tank, so my feline friends don't hop on my warm LED's and plunge them into the water.

By the way while i was writing this one of them was talking, yes you know, the way they are in the morning lol. Anyway all innocent and climbing slowly up and acting all innocent and looking around and walking back and forth , pacing, if i hadn't been there , i know where he'd been going, lol and as soon as i leave i'll be going in , they're so deliberate, and anyone saying they're not intelligent are crazy, they choose their timing and act so innocently before ...grrr we love them so much don't we, i do.

Well , i've taken the trim off the sump.I shaved the silicone off the sump following the edge of the glass and taken mesurements; here's the mesurements i get so far;(all in inches)

The top of the sump; 19 7/8

Bottom of the sump; 20 1/16

Legs of the stand, bottom 19 15/16

Legs of the stand, middle 20

Legs of the stand top 20

Inside the stand 20 1/16

We are making the last attempt tonight.

You asked me if it will fit i d o n o t k no w snif

We tried and its a missed sump. It doesn't fit between the legs and even if it did their's not room for a hair to move between the bottom braces for the sump. Concept told me they hadn't tried the sump under the stand before shipping it. OOPs not a good move. We tried removing the trim but ultimatly its no go. They said they'd build me another one if that solution didn't work, which i'm greatfull.After all sending the sump and the stand without seing if it fits, is kina strange.

If the weekend was disapointing it was still productive. I managed to installed some of my Maspect Razors light system, one was missing its hanging kit , which i'm going to claim at the store who sold it to me. It was a chore because living in a building with cement slabs 8 inches thick .....I had to drill that concrete! Those tanks will never go anywhere and certainly not those lights.

The hooks are good for 67 lb, the razors are 5.5 lb, i'm good.

When i chose the razors , it was suppose to be between two tanks; one on top of each other, the shape of the Razors made perfect sense at that time. The other factors were; at the time of the conception of the tanks, i had chosen a light to be just right for the dept of the tanks, 21". The Razor's PAR was perfect for that, plus , since it was suppose to be between two tanks i didn't want the heat to overheat the top tank above. Again the wing shape and design of the Razors proved to be perfect for it, even its operation, the fans only working when it becomes too hot made sense, still do. Yes they're still my choice even after the changes in the layout of my system; Razors Rule!!!!

I'm leaving the wall blank, to me it makes the room bigger and symbolises vastnest and makes the effect really interesting in the room

 

[Basile]

Ah HA ! Caught in the act this morning , laying on the beach......when he saw me he new he was in trouble he started to cry, the kind that make your blood ice cold, he was scared, so i went easy on him he was so scared he didn't want to come down from behind the tank, i found out later that Lulu was also there hiding terrified, lol so i took them down gently this time. They know when i'm not happy. I don't talk very loud only when angry and they know the difference.

I was quick with the cam yes lol. Don't know how i managed that,lol.

This morning feeling a bit better i took the ceramic panels that will be behind the primary sculpture out of the reef tank and cleaned up the space.

Now the inside of the tank whith is 22 5/8 , see the tape.....Remember when i said to wait to have your tank before making a sculpture , because it helps with the scale of your piece. I didn't have my tank when i started and this is the result. The sculpture is actually too big for my tank. Its still usable but it wont have the effect i was counting on or that it should have if it was in a ; let say a 30 wide tank. I have to stick it close to the backwall for it to fit because of the foward arm, from which the stalactite will drop.

As you can see the space between the sculpture and the backwall is very narrow, so much so i had to chizel some piece of the wall off. So i can lower down the sculpture without a hitch. Its a very snug fit.

I'm not sure about the waterflow of the tank anymore, because of those tight spots. In the original plan 2 tunze 6095 was enough but now , it may require a third we'll see.

The forward shelves creating the arm and support for the stalactite , takes a lot of room and pushes the main body againts the wall, literaly, lol. It'll make a cool display when finished but some of the details will be lost because of the scale i used. so when you start your piece make sure you have your tank very important. I'll make my stalactite when the water is in the tank . This is for several reasons.

The pieces i took out off the wall;

My 2 pieces of plexiglass to support the sculpture should spread the load evenly over the entire area. The dam silicone; they sell that for aquarium tanks, white? Never paid attention when i bought it. Why white? For aquariums, can anybody tell me where in the world did you ever see white silicone in a tank? rant over...

Putting the ceramic panels on top of the plexiglass at precise markings, because the sculpture is 3 feet long and a few inches seperates it from the other set of sculpture, the Tonga Branch sculptures....

 

Actually i'll be hanging a plexiglass from the ceiling , behind the overflow, effectively cutting off access to the tank. I just haven't around to it yet. Got my hanging kit, just want to wait i've finished all the plumbing . It wont be in the way, i'll still have access to the tank and overflow but not the cats lol. They'll be trapped behind and on their stairscase, lol.

The plexiglass will drop to the edge of the top of the overflow

They actually didn't do anything in the sand ....yet, lol

Concept Aquariums are building me a brand new Sump free of charge and sending it first thing next week, priority one, no charge for their mistake, they hadn't tried it under the stand before shipping it, and it didn't fit. Its going to be in two pieces so easier to install front loader no more moving that big 150G to fit it in . They're doing the new plans this weekend, building it and i should have it next week. Great service. So now i have a sump to sell; 48"X20"X16" . The new sump will have one piece of 32"X19"X16" and the other 10"X19"X16" .

The old one, or should i say the one that doesn't fit

 

[Basile]

Well my sculptures are in the tank, while i'm waiting for my new sump. Since Concept has built me a new one and shipping it this week it should arrive next week. Its in 2 part; part one, drains and skimmer; 32"X19"X16" and the reactors and return module 18"X19"X16" . Both part will be loaded from the from of the stand which will be more practicle actually, if i have to change, sump in the future... Done at no extra cost since they'd build it and not tried it under the stand before sending it, they stood behind their service . Extremely good service with that company.

Well here's my finished sculptures, in the tank and backwalls

One reason i said in my videos about having your tank when you do your sculpture is to have a better sense of scale. Well here's a good example of this. As you can see the piece is stuck to the backwall. The sculpture is actually too big for the tank; still usable but i made it without the tank and could ajust the scale correctly. Because of that its off center, and pushed back. It would be more at home in a 30" wide tank rather tank a 24". I'm still using it and happy about it, but food for thought.

Because i didn't have the tank the height as also been miscalculated. The plexiglass has risen the piece; replacing the 1/2"pvc with 1" pvc as well . So now the sculpture will be partly out of the water . It doesn't compromise its use but changes ; the lighting, the waterflow expectations, and the stalactite position and lenght as a result.

I plan to have little crab climbing outside the water onto those selves, got to find the species that does that lol. Some sargasum can grow near the surface as well.

The stalactite will still look cool there.

The waterflow has to go throught this now eeewweww grrrrrrrr

Two inch of sand will cover the plexiglass and the feet of the support structure. One inch will be clear for water to flow through and under . A cave will be formed with corals positioned around the feet and the structure hiding most of it.

The 2 " sand covering the eggcrates will make these branch rise from the sea floor and stand on their own, one covered with green star polyp, the other with zoas and keeping the shape of the branch will make a stunning effect.

The refugium

It made of an eggcrate core, with rubble rocks tied with zip ties, around the eggcrate, foamed between the rocks tied to a nylon rod , sanded with epoxy resin and sand and voila.

I have no word to describe how cool ...just check it out

[Basile]

It made of an eggcrate core, with rubble rocks tied with zip ties, around the eggcrate, foamed between the rocks tied to a nylon rod , sanded with epoxy resin and sand and voila.

I have no word to describe how cool ...just check it out

Lulu was guarding it ....

Its better to have a thick resin because the sand stick to it much better so a 5min one works best, so don't mess around get going with it.

While i did the foam i sprinkled some crush coral on it , but be carefull on the edges otherwise it'll fall over,that technique is better just on the top of the stalactite .

After the sanding even on top of the crush coral

Always start at the end

 

 

My first one same process

I can't wait for the fish to swim around that and the gorgonians and the likes.

what type of foam are you using?

Use Acetone to clean your spout for re-use and hands.

Did the sand bed today

[Basile]

I thought the sand bed was too flat but i was told it wouldn't stay flat too long, with critters and waterflow going. And if i add a goby and a pistol shrimp anyway. I still have a few bags of sand if i want to add to it. My heat exchanger is due next week my second sump is not here yet but i'm told i still can put water in for a few days , get the system going it the humidity wont hurt anything. I can't finish the plumbing without the dam sump. I'll get the sump in a few days, then the heat and air exchanger dec 3, what to what to do... my smal fuge is full of bacteria , just have to transfer half the live rock and sand in there and the cycle is started.............decisions decisions

During the snowstorm yesterday this was my doing, a bit of this a bit of that. I ended up with my hands full of glue anyway. Talked to the Concept guy my sump should be here next wednesday same day their installing my heat exchange unit.

No its not sewage plumbing, lol its my return line, my whole plumbing is black, i whent for the star Trek Borg look, the stands are black steel and their was no way i could hide any of the plumbing between the two tanks so why not make them part of the decor and go for a them like, so i when for it; The Borg have assimilated my fishroom and cat room. lol. Those are my cat stairs behind, so they can have their excersises.

The return line will have some weight to it so along the way i've braced it at different point, don't worry , its not harming the pipe i have a cushion between the harnest and the pipe.

Those little clamps are great , they hold 57Lb along the route of the line. By the way you see the little black tape between the clamp and the wall? Its a vibration absorbing membrane , to stop any vibration to radiate into the wall and to the rest of the condo.

This is the membrane i was talking about Sorbothane . Absorb 98% of all vibration i also put it into my sump under my pumps and skimmer. Cost $25 a sheet on Ebay. Impervious to oil, detergents water of any kind.

I've put a piece between every clamp or anything that hold a pipe conducting water.

I'll paint those hooks black later on, got to keep the Borg theme going, lol

Yes i want it to hold so i drilled every holes

Funny i found that their was a second resistance when i was drilling, never happened before couldn't understand why......This by the way is set up so i can unhook it and fill bukets, or my QT or other tanks. This is the Refugium feed to the 150G reef.

I got my answer as to why i felt a second resistance while drilling.....this is in my bedroom on the otherside, DAHHHH , HEY if you can't laugh at your self who will, life is too short to miss on that.I'm the first to laugh at you so...lol And when i'm great i'm the first to say so too lol i share my emotions, lol anyway thats easy to repair , i couldn't stop laughing when i closed my bedroom door that night lol.

Back to topic, the spout is directional hopfully it will work, lol. Got to find a way to remove the ink from the pipe.The gate valve gives me complete controle on the flow comming from the refugium. Eventually it'll drop in a 3" pipe that will be decorated with rubbles and foamed , inside will be special sheets of plastic where pods can multiply undisturbed, but a futur project.

Behind the fuge, the cats hallway, in the begining, all the tanks were on the opposite wall and this wall was for the cats exclusively, but the plan changed because the floor couldn't take 3 tanks on one side.

I glued these sucker good , i red that more was better.....If their's a leak i really don't know how to undo this really.... By the way you see now my hight tech early warning system for the cats. I call it the green sphere. Its compose of gree duranium and has at its core a plutonium bell tha gingle when the cats passes through, the sound is so awfull , it travels for light year around.......go a keep in character here lol.

The emergency drain, fuge.

The dripping has been taken care of, lol.

I finally put my toys in, as you can see they fit perfectly, specially the Tunze 6095 in the $20 wavebox, lol . The other 6095 will generate the current while the one in the box will make the wave by emptying the box in succession.

Inside the box, i hade to mesure the pump size on a glass to tell Concept Aquarium exactly how large and wide to accomodate the pump but also the magnets, the size of the hole. They nailed it!!!!

They black out the box, the only thing is either they forgot or they didn't think about it is the front toward the tank lol. but By the way to all the guys who helped me, i know how much more difficult it was to move and carry the tank with this box on the side, because we couldn't get a good grip on the dam thing because of it.

When i ordered my tank and Concept told me they did waveboxes in the overflow, i was surprise, and i asked them if they could make mine on the side, and they said sure, inside or outside. I couldn't beleive it. I was so happy , no need to camouflage it and no lost space in the tank, and for $20 instead of $ 600 . My only regret is not knowing more about wavebox at the time. The position its in now, i would asked that to put it right up front, but P. F., are great Guru , who i personnaly admire and think he'sone of are greatest asset in the hobby said it still going to work anyway.

The Tunze 6055 in the refugium is aiming straight at the separation screen hopfully it'll help in its cleaning and in moving water between the two sides. The 1" feeding buklhead right beside it.

Since i've blocked the side with a ceramic panel because of the sun(heat issue) the powerhead has to be put on the front glass. But the foot print is actually very small really. Tunzy 6055 as well on the seahorses side. The other side of the refugium will be for the Anglers.

My RODI mixing container for the moment, i'll have another mixing station later on. For now this 30 G fits perfectly in the corner.

Perspective look from the otherside of the room

My little fuge running for 2 months now, will seed my big system as soon as i get that sump.

All the equipment is waiting, my Octopus 3000,2X DC 3500diablo pumps , 2X little fishies reactors, and the plumbing part roughly cut because now the size of the sump has change since its in two pieces now, have to wait to see how it fits....

 

[Basile]

My little fuge running for 2 months now, will seed my big system as soon as i get that sump.

All the equipment is waiting, my Octopus 3000,2X DC 3500diablo pumps , 2X little fishies reactors, and the plumbing part roughly cut because now the size of the sump has change since its in two pieces now, have to wait to see how it fits....

Under the fuge, will be the QT that is now the little fuge i've got going, and the Apex Neptune controller. Under it will be the mixing station. and if i can an auto feeding fridg project.

This is the view from my computer chair.

The same powerhead from inside the tank, behind the sculpture.

A few people were asking me about what was this Borg theme i was obsessing about, so here's some pictures of the Borg so you can understand my theme.

The Queen Borg

Its a look i like, i'm not into the sleak and rounded things, lol I like the busy dingy look of the Borg.

LOL when its finished it will have LED green lights under the shelf and under the sump.

 

[metrokat]

What a huge build!

I cycle my tanks with catfish. You look like you have enough to do the same.

 

 

 

 

[Basile]

 

Well today i've research my list of things i'm going to put in those tanks and why, what do they do and if compatible with not only each other but with my goals and the technology i've got . Plus if they fit with the enviroment, corals and macroalgae, for example, i've put 4 trochus snail in my little seeding fuge and they ate half my macro's , so ya , we learn don't we. So knowing what they eat and finding out who they don't like is kina important. I knew that but a refresher was good. Plus i came to learn a few things with this refresher course and came to some conclusions that i'll put into practice and test those assumptions of mine.

So anyway here's the population tanks list;

Refugium

Seahorses side A;

5 Hippocampus erectus seahorses black

Red madarin

1 Blood shrimp,

very shy carnivore

2 sexy shrimp

Carnivore

5 Electric Orange Hermit Crab (The secret to recongnising them its the blue eyes, contrasting the orange legs.)

Omnivore

Potential Controller Of:

Chaetomorpha crassa

Chaetomorpha aerea

Polysiphonia elongata

Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha linza

Enteromorpha intestinalis

Enteromorpha compressa

Super Tongan Nassarius Snail

Cerith/Tower Snails

Angler side B

1 yellow Angler

Carnivore fed once a week

1Brittle Sea Star, Fancy (Ophiure protoreaster)

Detritus

20 Cerith/Tower Snails

(algae; Diatoms Stringy Growth

Diatom Coating)

Fuzzy Chiton

herbivore

Reef tank 150G

6 chromis

Carnivore

1 Yellow Tang

Potential Controller Of:

Acetabularia crennulata (Mermaids Cup/Mermaid Wine Glass Alga)

Valonia macrophysa

Valonia utricularis 2

Valonia utricularis 1

Derbesia marina

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

Ventricaria ventricosa

Ulva rigida (Sea Lettuce)

Ulva lactuca

Centroceras clavulatum

Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Green Bubble Weed)

Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha linza

Enteromorpha intestinalis

Enteromorpha compressa

Hypnea musciformis

Hypnea cervicornis

Valoniopsis pachynema

Boodlea species

Cladophora rupestris

Cladophora prolifera

Cladophora laetevirens

Chaetomorpha crassa

Chaetomorpha aerea

2 Picasso Clown

Bubble tip Anemone

1 yellow Watchman Goby+ Pistol shrimp

Sand mover

or

2 Orange Stripe Prawn Goby

Sand and rubble mover carnivore.

+

Pistol shrimp

Carnivore

5 Bartlett Anthias

Females

1 green Mandarin

5 cleaner shrimp (carnivore)

15 Super Tongan Nassarius Snail

(detritus)

1Neopetrolisthes ohshimai anemone crab.

Filter feeder

1Brittle Sea Star, Fancy

(Ophiure protoreaster)(detritus, omnivore)

1Fighting Conch;

(algae ; Potential Controller Of:

Derbesia marina

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

Oscillatoria sp. 2

Oscillatoria sp. 1

Cladophoropsis species 2

Cladophoropsis species 1

Acetabularia crennulata (Mermaids Cup/Mermaid Wine Glass Alga)

Diatoms Stringy Growth

Diatom Coating

Chlorodesmis species (Turtle Weed)

10 Banded Trochus Snail ;Trochus niloticus

Potential Controller Of:

Derbesia marina

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

Ostreobium species

Cladophoropsis species 2

Cladophoropsis species 1

Bryopsis species

Bryopsis plumosa

Acetabularia crennulata (Mermaids Cup/Mermaid Wine Glass Alga)

Diatoms Stringy Growth

Diatom Coating

1Long-spined Urchin (Algae)

Potential Controller Of:

Ulva rigida (Sea Lettuce)

Ulva lactuca

Bryopsis species

Bryopsis plumosa

Cladophora rupestris

Cladophora prolifera

Cladophora laetevirens

Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Green Bubble Weed)

Valonia macrophysa

Valonia utricularis 2

Valonia utricularis 1

Boodlea species

Ostreobium species

Valoniopsis pachynema

Acetabularia crennulata (Mermaids Cup/Mermaid Wine Glass Alga)

Fucus vesiculosus 2

Fucus vesiculosus 1

Fucus spiralis

Cladophoropsis species 2

Cladophoropsis species 1

Ventricaria ventricosa

Chaetomorpha crassa

Chaetomorpha aerea

Sargassum vulgare

Sargassum sinicola

Sargassum natans

Sargassum johnstoni

Sargassum hystrix

Sargassum fluitans

Lobophora variegata 1

Laminaria species

Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha linza

Enteromorpha intestinalis

Enteromorpha compressa

Hypnea musciformis

Hypnea cervicornis

Wrangelia argus

Dictyota linearis

Dictyota dichotoma (Brown Fan Weed or Divided Net Weed)

Dictyota bartayresii

Polysiphonia elongata

Chlorodesmis species (Turtle Weed)

Centroceras clavulatum

Derbesia marina (hair algae)

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

1 Mespilia globulus (Blue Tuxedo Urchin)

Potential Controller Of:

Derbesia marina

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

Boodlea species

Ostreobium species

Cladophoropsis species 2

Cladophoropsis species 1

Chaetomorpha crassa

Chaetomorpha aerea

Cladophora rupestris

Cladophora prolifera

Cladophora laetevirens

Chlorodesmis species (Turtle Weed)

Acetabularia crennulata (Mermaids Cup/Mermaid Wine Glass Alga)

Valoniopsis pachynema

Bryopsis species

Bryopsis plumosa

Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha linza

Enteromorpha intestinalis

Enteromorpha compressa

Ulva rigida (Sea Lettuce)

Ulva lactuca

1 Elysia diomedea (Mexican Lettuce Slug

Potential Controller Of:

Bryopsis species

Bryopsis plumosa

Chaetomorpha crassa

Chaetomorpha aerea

Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha linza

Enteromorpha intestinalis

Enteromorpha compressa

Derbesia marina

Derbesia species 2

Derbesia species 1

Cladophora rupestris

Cladophora prolifera

Cladophora laetevirens

10 Cerith/Tower Snails

(algae; Diatoms Stringy Growth

Diatom Coating)

1 Emerald crab Mithrax sculptus

Potential Controller Of:

Dictyota linearis

Dictyota dichotoma

Dictyota bartayresii

Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Green Bubble Weed)

Ventricaria ventricosa

Cladophora rupestris

Cladophora prolifera

Cladophora laetevirens

Valoniopsis pachynema

Bryopsis species

Bryopsis plumosa

Valonia macrophysa

Valonia utricularis 2

Valonia utricularis 1

Porcelain Crab (Petrolisthes galathinus)

Filter feeder

1 (Fromia milleporella) red starfish

Detritus

 

 

[MikeTR]

ok, so you need to make a cat elevator that looks like the borg ship. Looks like it'd work in that corner. Cats get in at the top and take it down to the floor. counter weights and pressure on the line so it doesn't go flying down or back up.