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BA's New PicO Aquarium Tank


BattleAthletics

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lnglostsurfer

Wow, such a great opportunity! As long as you can keep your inspirations in sight you're going to kill it with this tank. I'm really excited to see which direction you go with the rockwork. What corals ended up surviving?

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Looking good there Hugo.......Of course I expect absolute perfection from this tank. :)

 

We all do! Glad to see you checking in, btw.

 

 

Hey BA, no pressure, bud..... hahahaha

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Looking forward to seeing what you create. I love the inspirations. I know I felt a lot more freedom going from the 8 to my 34. I couldn't believe how much more I felt like I could breath. We just have different dimensions of course. You have the Lifereef skimmer- I have the Lifereef overflow which I finally set up yesterday and works flawlessly, I just have to fix my return line.

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Those are some amazing "inspiration" tanks man. Pick them all apart take the best aspects of each and just kill it, or just wing it and rock the hell outta doing your own thing :)

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BattleAthletics

You will put your inspiration to shame!

 

Yeah right!

 

Looks like the start to an epic project. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

 

Thanks for checking out my build, im hoping everything goes smooth in the plumbing department.

 

Looking good there Hugo.......

 

Of course I expect absolute perfection from this tank. :)

 

HEHE thanks mark, putting the pressure on.

 

Wow, such a great opportunity! As long as you can keep your inspirations in sight you're going to kill it with this tank. I'm really excited to see which direction you go with the rockwork. What corals ended up surviving?

 

Some montis, zoas and the 2 acan small colonies.

 

Im excited where this build goes too also. Thanks for looking at my build. I agree it is a very great opportunity.

 

We all do! Glad to see you checking in, btw. Hey BA, no pressure, bud..... hahahaha

 

Thanks glenn, yeah no pressure.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you create. I love the inspirations. I know I felt a lot more freedom going from the 8 to my 34. I couldn't believe how much more I felt like I could breath. We just have different dimensions of course. You have the Lifereef skimmer- I have the Lifereef overflow which I finally set up yesterday and works flawlessly, I just have to fix my return line.

 

Were like twins getting same gallonage tanks. Whats wrong with the return line? Your thread has taken off, its hard to follow all these threads on here!

 

Tank looks familiar with the bean animal overflow. :P Great build so far can't wait to see what you have instore.

 

I realized you have a DBP tank, thanks for folloring, hope to not dissapoint.

 

Those are some amazing "inspiration" tanks man. Pick them all apart take the best aspects of each and just kill it, or just wing it and rock the hell outta doing your own thing :)

 

Thanks Chris!. I plan to utilize a little bit of everything on this tank. Almost make it seem planted in the beginning.

 

Why isn't this thing done yet! :lol:

 

Come help me! lol Im just waiting for a few things to get here. And some time alone would help.

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Oh, I have the Jtube that goes over the tank to difuse in the water. I drilled a hole to low in it w/ my neighbor's awful drill. I'll have to plug it up and make it higher. Right now I have a lil piece of rubble lifting it up and have it typed. It's returning above the waterline instead of below it but not low enough that you go under the teeth of the overflow box..

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Intro was a saddening read. I remember seeing Marks setup for the first time. I still have the pics I took on my phone. I hope it ends up looking great again and maybe I will make a trip up to Corpus to check it out if its ok with you, Battle.

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BattleAthletics

Acid Washing Dry/Live/Dead Rock

 

Im going to try and keep this short, not too many people in this industry are willing to use Hydrochloric Acid in their tank builds. Now I should first mention that HCL is not something you should take lightly, you should only handle chemicals that you are familiar with. I work in the chemical industry where I handle Hydrochloric Acid aka HCL(100% Strength), Hydrofluoric Acid aka HF(100% Strength) and many acidic materials. I am fortunate to have extensive training in handling materials of this strength and the knowledge to treat in case of an exposure. The muriatic acid I used was a 34% strength and the brand of the bottle was SMART brand. I had approximately 80#'s of rock initially. The rule of thumb that ive noticed many people that have done was use a 10:1 ratio of water to HCL(Muriatic Acid). Many people use 14% HCL, so be careful what you purchase, in the end the HCL might not be strong enough. I'll remind you that the proper PPE(Personal Protective Equipment) is essential in working with chemicals such as HCL. Here is a list of what I used in the acid washing process.

 

PPE of Choice:

 

  • Face Shield w/ respirator
  • Ansell ANSI Cerified Chemical Gloves
  • Chemical Apron or Splash Suit
  • A base of choice, baking soda or the equivalent in order to neutralize the acid

Now you dont have to get all fancy like I did, but I was able to man handle the rock inside the tub. Before you start the process always make sure you have no leaks in your gloves and apron/suit.

 

List of materials:

 

  • Muriatic Acid
  • PPE
  • A big enough tote to hold your rock
  • Water
  • Enough baking soda (Depending on the amount you are to be washing)
  • Stopwatch
  • pH paper and a pH meter

 

Now I had this dead rock for a couple of months now, it was live when I got it from a local reefer(originally the rock was in the bay), in order to prevent any hitch hikers and unwanted pest algea I decided to try out what vinegar would do to this dead rock. It essentially cleaned it to a certain degree, but nothing compared to what HCL did to it.

I donned the proper PPE needed for this job, I had a tote full of rock, filled it up with water and prepared everything I needed in order to ensure a smooth wash. I should mention that the pH of HCL is less that -1.0, so it will cause blisters, severe burns, tissue loss is evident and the biggest one of all is that it is EXTREMELY CORROSIVE. It also has a certain pungent smell to it. I guess im a little used to the smell of HCL.

 

Acid washing:

 

  • Fill up tote with rocks to wash
  • Add water to the tote just about 1in. above the rock line in the tote(Depending how much water you have)
  • Add Muriatic acid SLOWLY(Depending how much water to acid ratio 10:1)
  • Wait 20-35 minutes, or until bubbling has died down
  • Add baking soda
  • Test pH of the water solution
  • Ensure that it is around a 7
  • Proceed to dump neutralized water to the drain or ditch or gutter etc etc.
  • Take rock out of tote and rinse with garden hose, a strong pressurized nozzle is needed for this step as it ensures no rubble or granuals are left behind.
  • Wash down the tote very well
  • Let the rocks dry for 1-2 days(Sooner or later if you wish)
  • Mission completed

During acid wash, notice the brown organics dissolving

Before

12168412043_9ce1150cea_c.jpg

 

After

12168403073_d1bdfff0f1_c.jpg

 

Hope this helps anyone wanting to learn more on how to do an acid wash.

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BattleAthletics

I have been working on my equipment panel and the makeshift light hanger, as opposed to hanging it from the celing. Here are some pictures of the aformentioned panel and hanger

 

Equipment Panel(Unfinished):

12516098843_1bfce86be3_c.jpg

 

12528335255_3906428214_c.jpg

 

Light Tree(Unfinished):

12516087623_dac08a847e_c.jpg

 

GFY, dosing pump holder

12515976305_0a45678ef0_c.jpg

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lnglostsurfer

Great write up on the acid wash! And the equipment for this thing is looking quite tidy, I like the look of it.

 

Only question for the acid wash, I've read other people letting it soak in RODI water after the wash in addition to spraying it off with a hose. Is this not a necessary step since you neutralizing the pH?

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BattleAthletics

Great write up on the acid wash! And the equipment for this thing is looking quite tidy, I like the look of it.

 

Only question for the acid wash, I've read other people letting it soak in RODI water after the wash in addition to spraying it off with a hose. Is this not a necessary step since you neutralizing the pH?

It won't hurt if you dunk the rock in rodi. As long as the pH is neutral and you let it air dry in the sun for a while it will be good as dry. Thanks for reading into my wash process! I wrote it while my little one was sleeping in my arms one handed haha. I know now that I misspelled some words, but it was very late.

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Coming along nicely man!

 

Awesome write up on the acid wash, I never knew it was that bad/ needed to be so careful with it..... good thing I haven't messed with doing a wash on rock yet.

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BattleAthletics

Intro was a saddening read. I remember seeing Marks setup for the first time. I still have the pics I took on my phone. I hope it ends up looking great again and maybe I will make a trip up to Corpus to check it out if its ok with you, Battle.

No problem, when this tank matures and your welcomed to come.

 

Updates!? How's everything coming along?

Its coming along just not as fast as id hope.

 

you had me at bonsai

:D I hope to start the rock scape this weekend, but working nights hampers much of that time, that and splitting time with the little ones and starting this tank.

 

Oh, I have the Jtube that goes over the tank to difuse in the water. I drilled a hole to low in it w/ my neighbor's awful drill. I'll have to plug it up and make it higher. Right now I have a lil piece of rubble lifting it up and have it typed. It's returning above the waterline instead of below it but not low enough that you go under the teeth of the overflow box..

I understand what you mean now. I have to play catch up on your thread, I barely have time to navigate NR, not like I used to.

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12168412043_9ce1150cea_c.jpg

 

This made me think of Breaking Bad LOL

 

 

12528335255_3906428214_c.jpg

 

 

So organized!!!! That pull-out equipment panel is genius. Did you do that, or was that from Mark? Very impressive!!!! :)
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BattleAthletics

so organized & tidy- really nice.

Thanks, its still unfinished but I hope to have enough space to put all my equipment.

 

This made me think of Breaking Bad LOL

So organized!!!! That pull-out equipment panel is genius. Did you do that, or was that from Mark? Very impressive!!!! :)

Haha, I felt like Heizenburg too while doing it, I even stared down a 6 year old and told him im watching him, while I wore my apron, gloves and faceshield.

 

I did the equipment panel, it slides very well and is heavy duty, the battery backup is 20lbs+ alone. This panel is heavy though!

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