phippsj
Sun, 27th Dec 2009, 09:52 PM
At this time a year ago I was hunting Craigslist looking for an aquarium. We ultimately bought this 180G in January. I then spent January through July working on various prep projects, including redoing the stand, getting the tank drilled in the back, to the big rockwork project.
Here is the initial thread.
http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50956&highlight=foam+rock+wall
Six months later I figured it was time to get some updated pics. I have STILL not finished the canopy... but should get that done by the end of the month. We have a clownfish, 2 red (Jazzy and Jeff) and 1 purple firefish, and a hawkfish (B-52...loves to dive. Oh yeah, we used to have 2 but one decided to jump out of the tank). We also have a purple tang (Prince) and an orange spot (Cameleous).
Not much in the way of Coral. A whole bunch of brown polyps that were hitchhikers from the live rock I bought. We also have the green star polyps and a frogspawn. Our favorite is the catus coral, which likes to be active at night. We have to feed it, but well worth it.
The fuge has macro algae as well as 2 dozen mangrove sprouts. It is also the home to our Zoas since Cameleous has a taste for them.
So far the rock wall panel thing has been good to us. The only major problem was that I had not sealed up a gap in the left panel and our purple tang got stuck behind there the first day in the tank. I had to rip apart the left wall to get the tang out. When I reassembled (much harder with water in the tank) I made sure to plug that gap! Unlike most rock walls, I left a gap back there intentionally for water flow, and have powerhead pull the water out.
Most of the rock I used was Marco rock. I thought I was going to have some serious issues becuase I did not cook it. Aside from slightly high phosphates, no real issues to complain of.
On to the foam debate, no complaints from me. I am also a newbie so I may not know what to be complaining about. I have florida marco, fiji marco, agrocrete and foam (covered with expoxy/sand). I have noticed some interesting trends with the coraline regarding the surfaces. The foam is quick to get covered by green coraline. The Florida Marco and the Agrocrete picked up a darker red coraline and little purple. The Fiji, however, seems to pick up the purple the fastest.
In terms of what got covered the fastest, the foam and the Fiji definately covered quickly. The agrocrete and the Florida marco were much more tedious. Perhaps because the foam and Fiji is more porous?
Now, I have noticed the the rock wall itself is a haven for all kinds of critters. Apparently amphipods love the wall. Fish can't get behind, so they go crazy there, almost like roaches. We also have starfish (very small) that look serpantine in nature (very long, skinny arms). Not sure if those are good or bad. They love the foam walls with all those nooks and crannies.
Anyways, here are some pics. I am *trying* not to move too quickly, but that is a challenge. I want to just drop everything in the world in there!
Lighting, by the way, is VHO T5's (Giesman powerchrome x2, one actinic and one true blue for a total of 4) and 3 MH's (2 1200K 250Watt and 1 20K 250W). My 20K bulb got broke (by me!), so when I replace that I will change over to 10K bulbs as well.
Here are some pics of the setup now.
Here is the initial thread.
http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50956&highlight=foam+rock+wall
Six months later I figured it was time to get some updated pics. I have STILL not finished the canopy... but should get that done by the end of the month. We have a clownfish, 2 red (Jazzy and Jeff) and 1 purple firefish, and a hawkfish (B-52...loves to dive. Oh yeah, we used to have 2 but one decided to jump out of the tank). We also have a purple tang (Prince) and an orange spot (Cameleous).
Not much in the way of Coral. A whole bunch of brown polyps that were hitchhikers from the live rock I bought. We also have the green star polyps and a frogspawn. Our favorite is the catus coral, which likes to be active at night. We have to feed it, but well worth it.
The fuge has macro algae as well as 2 dozen mangrove sprouts. It is also the home to our Zoas since Cameleous has a taste for them.
So far the rock wall panel thing has been good to us. The only major problem was that I had not sealed up a gap in the left panel and our purple tang got stuck behind there the first day in the tank. I had to rip apart the left wall to get the tang out. When I reassembled (much harder with water in the tank) I made sure to plug that gap! Unlike most rock walls, I left a gap back there intentionally for water flow, and have powerhead pull the water out.
Most of the rock I used was Marco rock. I thought I was going to have some serious issues becuase I did not cook it. Aside from slightly high phosphates, no real issues to complain of.
On to the foam debate, no complaints from me. I am also a newbie so I may not know what to be complaining about. I have florida marco, fiji marco, agrocrete and foam (covered with expoxy/sand). I have noticed some interesting trends with the coraline regarding the surfaces. The foam is quick to get covered by green coraline. The Florida Marco and the Agrocrete picked up a darker red coraline and little purple. The Fiji, however, seems to pick up the purple the fastest.
In terms of what got covered the fastest, the foam and the Fiji definately covered quickly. The agrocrete and the Florida marco were much more tedious. Perhaps because the foam and Fiji is more porous?
Now, I have noticed the the rock wall itself is a haven for all kinds of critters. Apparently amphipods love the wall. Fish can't get behind, so they go crazy there, almost like roaches. We also have starfish (very small) that look serpantine in nature (very long, skinny arms). Not sure if those are good or bad. They love the foam walls with all those nooks and crannies.
Anyways, here are some pics. I am *trying* not to move too quickly, but that is a challenge. I want to just drop everything in the world in there!
Lighting, by the way, is VHO T5's (Giesman powerchrome x2, one actinic and one true blue for a total of 4) and 3 MH's (2 1200K 250Watt and 1 20K 250W). My 20K bulb got broke (by me!), so when I replace that I will change over to 10K bulbs as well.
Here are some pics of the setup now.