AMDPhenomX4's 180G Reef Build

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AMDPhenomX4

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
544
Location
Charlton, MA
AMDPhenomX4's 180G Reef Build (56K Warning)

Ok, As you may know, I am starting a 180G reef. So far I have acquired 135Lbs of base rock and have set Egg crate down. I'm currently siliconing the rock work.
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2X250W and 1X400W Metal Halide
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Rock siliconing:D
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Rocks that will be siliconed sooned Will make the arches seperate from the bases.
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Hoping to have the rock done by next weekend. Will put sand in after the rock. Will probably add rock as I go.
 
I hope the silicone is as a failsafe and not holding the rocks up completely. You would be better off using 1" eggcrate and zipties for strength with "Great Stuff: Pond and Stone foam for failsafe/integrity.
 
That rockwork looks awesome so far. Looks like you've got things planned out so thats good. :) Nice tank btw. Its huge lol.

And yeah, the eggcrate protects the bottom glass should a rock fall. But usually people can achieve this same thing by putting inches in their sand bed depth.
 
Yes it is. I was hoping to get a goby/shrimp pair or a jawfish and didnt want to risk them causing a rockslide. I'll see about how the silicone is but it seems pretty tough after a few hours. Wont the foam make it float though? Ooh looks useable, Does Home depot have it?
 
Yeah but if you have a sandbed of 3 inches or more.. the rocks wont hit the glass if they fall.
 
I have never heard of this, what is the eggcrate for, to protect the glass?

In public aquariums we use fiberglass grating to make the frame of structures: back, caves, arches, etc. In home aquaria under 200g I recommend eggcrate (cheaper) to accomplish the same thing as it allows you to build the rocks up and ziptied to grating without losing structural integrity. The main precautions are to use 2 sheets of eggcrate since they are .5" in thickness and when stacking the rock to make sure the bases are always supported so zipties act as reinforcement rather than holding everything up (zipties get brittle over time). The foam I mentioned can cover up zipties or other imperfections along with creating caves, etc. out of pvc.

Here's some pictures, for example, of one I just recently built: http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o5/C3ntury/Frame.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o5/C3ntury/IMG00166-20090711-1655.jpg
 
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I want a big tank too, too bad my parent won't let me have anymore tank, they said I m too crazy on fishesss OoO~
good luck AMD, I love the rockwork, can't wait till u finish!!
 
Ok finally got the 130Lbs of base rock into a shape i like. This is after 5 hrs of messups:D.
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I tried to make ledges of different heights and space for clams and sand dwelling fish and corals.
 
Yeah seriously.. i and i thought that 75lbs of rock was alot.. That doesnt even look like that much rock.. jeeze. Still looks awesome tho. Im sure its going to look 10x better when you have sand in there.
 
Well im going to put sand in right now then:p. Will be a bit of powerhead moving to add the new rock but, it will look nice.:D Will add pictures in a bit.
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Now to figure out how to fill it...
 
Nice!! Im liking it bigtime!! This going to be such an awesome tank. Im excited for how its going to look when your ready to put livestock in. Told you the sand will make it look better. XD
 
Do you like to silicone it better? Because i imagine that later any changes would be next to impossible. Also where did you get the rock?
 
Siliconing seemed like alot of work. I used silicone on the right tower and am going to silicone the arch today. I got the rock from some guy on a reef forum. The silicone can be pretty easily removed.
 
Following along. Might be a really nice tank in a year, since nothing good happens fast in salt. Salt will be my next venture.
 
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