Fish Tank Room

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

s2nhle said:
What kind of glue are you using to glue the rock? are you using hydraulic cement?

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

tigerdragon said:
What about taking rock that is in top off rt stack and putting it on the center stack looks like the rock might be able to be used as somewhat of a table pc

I'm leaning more towards an open look, so really would like to leave that space as open as I can and allow for coral fill in.

ReefCartel · Mar 10, 2015

Hey Alex. Do you want some mortar ill send you the rest of my bucket. Should be enough to make a couple pillars

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

ReefCartel said:
Hey Alex. Do you want some mortar ill send you the rest of my bucket. Should be enough to make a couple pillars

If you're not going to use it, send away.

ReefCartel · Mar 10, 2015

Okk ill send it USPS. maybe after work today

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

ReefCartel said:
Okk ill send it USPS. maybe after work today

Cool, thx Bro!

Let me know how much shipping is and I'll paypal it to you.

ReefCartel · Mar 10, 2015

Ok cool.

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

30 down, 30 to go...[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1426024827.445111.jpg

SaltAddict89 · Mar 10, 2015

What is that?

ReefCartel · Mar 10, 2015

Ohh man. That goood stuff

SaltAddict89 · Mar 10, 2015

Well......

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

SaltAddict89 said:
What is that?

Check this read on it: http://blog.aquanerd.com/2012/04/battle-of-the-bacteria-zeovit-vs-prodibio-vs-biopellets.html

And this one:
http://glassbox-design.com/2008/achieved-through-observation-and-experimentation/

SaltAddict89 · Mar 10, 2015

So it basiclly is like a high grade dr. Tims or marineland nitrogen cycle booster

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

SaltAddict89 said:
So it basiclly is like a high grade dr. Tims or marineland nitrogen cycle booster

I've used Dr. Tim's and I have nothing but good things to say about it, I've never used the Marineland product but I've heard mixed reviews on it while Dr. Tim's has always had good reviews the prodibio has always seem to rate even better than Dr. Tim's... in my opinion, for my money, I will stick with the prodibio.

I'm also going to start VSV dosing like Glassbox article indicated in that second URL.

143MPCo · Mar 10, 2015

Cost is always a factor and the amount of Dr. Tim's I would've needed would be double or a little bit more than half of what I spent for the prodibio.

stlcard · Mar 10, 2015

143MPCo said:
Still not happy with the rock-scape on the right, will give it another go tonight.

i think your getting there. the left is nice. it looks natural, which is what you want. fixing the right stack may boil down to needing a chisel to shape some pieces so the "fit together" better. it kind of sucks youre already wet. of all the stuff iver learned from reefing, perfecting the aquascape dry is huge. I taped off my tank dimensions in the garage, and went to town on it. my stacks are all one solid chunk, connected with threaded arcylic rods and nuts. (i drilled holes through my rock work) when i move to a larger tank i will be using mortar to connect them all. anyway,

heres some suggestions:

1. the right stack looks strange because you can tell the pieces are intentionally stacked, where as the left stack looks almost as if it is one solid piece. (Heres the tip to make the right stack similar: go through all your rock, and pick out your favorites for "bases" then pick your second favorites for the first layer/shelf, then continue on per each "level" you want) "Blending" the rocks together gets easier when you start out with larger "bases". As you stack up, work your way to smaller pieces. This means you may need to break them apart. pick a unique spot on the rock and smack the hell out of it with a sledge. just once, maybe twice. You want it to break "naturally". Avoid using Round, oval, or Ball shaped rocks anywhere other than your base level, or level 1. You can see from the picture your level2 (top rock) is round/oval.

1a. (Optional) is cut your shelf pieces in half length wise (left to right, aka the along the X-axis of the rock) with a reciprocating saw (utilizing a metal blade, Smaller teeth with more teeth per inch is best, large teeth like on a wood blade makes cutting rock very very difficult). My rockscape features "shelves" where i literally cut the rock some so that i could create overhangs, and connect it (zip tie or arcylic rod) to a larger base rock which acts as the counter weight / cantilever holding the shelf up.

2. stack your levels while also utilizing the rule of thirds and scale: The empire state building is wider at the base, and gradually steps in until it comes to a pinnacle at the top. The same concept with mt. Everest. (side note: google image search popular mountains. use a picture that shows the Full mountain and its accompanying range. you could try to mimic that look with the highs and lows of the peaks. obviously on a much much smaller scale though) Anyway, your top rock in the right stack is about the same size as your base rocks. Now look at the left stack. im willing to bet your topmost piece is about 1/3rd the size of your base rock in that stack. Here's where the rule of 3rds comes back in.

3. Full Tank View and rule of 3rds: In the above picture, you are still sort of splitting the tank into two halves. when you look at the tank, the two large stacks, accompanied with the one small rock in the middle, creates an instant dividing line to the viewer. IE It is easy to tell where the center of the tank is. (Which by the way, what is that line running down the back of your tank? it's creating a half/half effect in addition to the small rock and your right stack scape) Having a Center is bad. In the below picture i have resubmitted, you will see my suggestion to shift the "right stack" left more off center. This will move your "center line" or what your eyesight perceives to be the "center line", off to the left, and a 3rd.

3a. our brains are hardwired to constantly calculate, manipulate, and attempt to comprehend and simplify EVERYTHING we do or experience, be it sight, smell, taste, or touch. In this case, eyesight, our brain glances at the tank, and instantly finds the most simple of shapes and symmetry. The brain WANTS to be able to do this quickly with little effort, it wants to comprehend the shapes, recognize the symmetries, and process it as "simple". Meanwhile, natural art is beyond confusing. There are no straight or perfect lines in nature, there are no equal halves, there are no exact scales and identical sizes. Because of this, our brain has to look at it just a little bit longer to try and "digest" or comprehend and make sense of what it is seeing. Ever been to the grand canyon? or somewhere else so outstandingly beautiful you cannot speak? My point exactly... is the beauty lies in the complexity of what you are seeing. The longer it takes for your brain to understand what you are looking at or experiencing, the more beautiful something becomes.

3b. when i glance at your tank i instantly see 2 equal halves. then i process those two halves as two rectangles (the outline of the tank, split in the middle dividing line). Within the two rectangles i see 2 triangles, one (left stack) is an acute triangle ((does not have a 90degree, and 3 unequal lengths). <---- Acute is good. The second triangle (right stack) is more or less an equilateral triangle, aka "perfect" (( 3 equal sides, with 3 equal degree angles)). <--- "EQUIL"ateral is bad. Its a perfect shape, and there are no perfect shapes in nature. So your brain percieves the overall shape of it (right stack) as unnatural, yet pleasing to the brain (because it was easy to process, not "pleasing" in the sense of "beauty" or art which we want). This is also why you may "notice it" before the left stack and realize something is "off" about it. Your brain recognized the symmetry of the shape and processed it before it attempted to take in and process the left stack.

3c. Within that right stack, our equilateral triangle; we have a scale issue. All 3 levels (base, 1, and 2 "Top") are relatively the same size. Break this up by using smaller pieces as your stack upwards. This will not only help scale it out to a rule of 3rds, but also make, shaping the overall final stack shape easier. This is where i highly recommend using some sort of fastening material to connect up. I have used acrylic rods, zie ties, silicone (with rubble rock, to hide zip ties or acrylic nuts, or even use as shims to brace up larger rocks) super glue, and mortar with varying success and failure.

phew. holy cow. that was a lot. sorry to overwhelm you, i see this question a lot and i thought it was about time to make a cliff notes version for some people who struggle with understanding why their rock looks weird. The honest answer is in order to fix something, you need to really know the "why" and "how it works" first. ergo, why i dumped all that on you just now.

You are on the right track. you have to play with it over and over to get the best look. a few additional quick tips:

1. lay out your tank footprint (dimensions) in the garage with painters tape.
2. stack your rocks up and see what kind of crevices hold together best, see what types of features to avoid (like rolling, or wobbly)
3. smack the crap out of some pieces with a sledge.
4. avoid round when you can
5. use a chisel to score a line along the rock if you want to break it naturally with a smack, but encourage it to break along a certain path.
6. break out a reciprocating saw if you need to. (cut the bottoms of your bases flat so they sit flush on the bottom of your tank and do not roll. Do the same with the top part of your base rock, and the bottom part of your 1st level rock. (this will allow them to sit flat, not roll, and appear as though they are one rock.
7. fill gaps with silicone and rubble rock, or use rubble rock to shim up or brace a larger rock that wants to fall over or roll.
8. create overhangs when you can. You want to create shadows to help hide the shape of your rock and distract the mind from understanding the shapes it is seeing.
9. offset everything. a pyramid is great in the desert and for housing rich dead people, but they look like hell in a reef tank.
10. Aquascaping can suck or be fun. You will have to rework it over and over and over again. Remember to take pictures along the way, that way if you find one you like, you can reference back to it easily without stressing about getting it "back to the way you had it before"

Final tip: get this shiiiiet right the first time! Nothing sucks more than growing out your tank halfway, seeing a Tank of the Month, and begin to start destroying your tank at 9pm at night. you'll have to deal with upsetting livestock and making a huge mess. It can be an overwhelming feeling, but perfecting your aquascape to the way you want beforehand, will set you up for success. The more you enjoy looking at your tank, and the more pleasing it is on the eye, the more time you will devote to upkeep and maintaining that level of success. settling for something that is "meh" just so you can get livestock is a setup for disaster and high fail rate.

The reality is, 90% of your tanks lifespan will most likely be spent "growing out" so settling for a simple scape "which will be hidden when corals grow out" is a poor approach and ideology to have. Best of luck, experiment, and get it right the first time.

And yes, i know some may ask, "what does your aquascape look like?" ill post a picture in a little bit of it when i settled on a style and shaped the structures, before all the coral and livestock were added.

Here's my fast edits for you via paint.

143MPCo · Mar 11, 2015

stlcard... Thanks a bunch, I have no issues with ripping the RT side apart and will tackle that this weekend... as for the information you just gave me (WOW) I can't express my gratitude enough for taking the time to write that all up!

stlcard · Mar 11, 2015

Btw. Props on the tank setup. Youre quite the planner.

stlcard · Mar 11, 2015

143MPCo said:
stlcard... Thanks a bunch, I have no issues with ripping the RT side apart and will tackle that this weekend... as for the information you just gave me (WOW) I can't express my gratitude enough for taking the time to write that all up!

Not a problem at all. Happy to help contribute advice to your concept. Dont feel obligated to follow any of it, just my contributions, not expectations.

Great build. Im only half way through your room setup. Im about to gut mine and redo my fish room. You have some great ideas on setup.

Is the spa flex tricky to bend? Never used it but think I may on my rebuild. It sits well in standard schedule 40 fittings? You can use the same glues?

143MPCo · Mar 11, 2015

stlcard said:
Btw. Props on the tank setup. Youre quite the planner.

Thank You! Have been spending a lot of time, working on a custom motorcycle, it's off getting paint so I have free time on this project and riding season is near so need to finish that project up.