R2R - Bottyfish 60 gallon rimless
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Bottyfish
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Hey all,
I just put in an order for a CP40 cross flow. ;Smuggrin A few reef stores and hobbyists are running them and so I have seen them in action in person. As usual, I'll share pics, review and thoughts.
Since I figured out the whole add a video thing, I'll probably post one of those as well.
I just put in an order for a CP40 cross flow. ;Smuggrin A few reef stores and hobbyists are running them and so I have seen them in action in person. As usual, I'll share pics, review and thoughts.
Since I figured out the whole add a video thing, I'll probably post one of those as well.
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Bottyfish
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Alright all,
So there are some of the pieces that I am working with. I mentioned in my post when I got my dry rock shipment that I was sad that pukani was no longer being shipped cross border and I had to settle for reef saver.
These are nice pieces but not very porous and pretty heavy which I didn't like all that weight being added to my overall setup.
You will see why I wanted something more porous later on... when I share what I did today.
My order came with two flat pieces one that was about 15" x 12" x 1" long (bottom right) and the other 6" x 5" x 1" (bottom left)
The others where averaging 6" x 5" x 4 with the exception of one that was 10" x 6" x 5" (top right)
So there are some of the pieces that I am working with. I mentioned in my post when I got my dry rock shipment that I was sad that pukani was no longer being shipped cross border and I had to settle for reef saver.
These are nice pieces but not very porous and pretty heavy which I didn't like all that weight being added to my overall setup.
You will see why I wanted something more porous later on... when I share what I did today.
My order came with two flat pieces one that was about 15" x 12" x 1" long (bottom right) and the other 6" x 5" x 1" (bottom left)
The others where averaging 6" x 5" x 4 with the exception of one that was 10" x 6" x 5" (top right)
OP
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Bottyfish
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My vision for my aquascape will be a black Tahiti reef featuring a part floating reefscape.
I've searched online and in R2R and there were some fascinating setups where rocks were suspended off the sand bed of the tank.
There was one video of someone explaining how he achieved it but I thought it was really complex using overhanging glass attached the main tank etc. I think it was because he had ALOT of rocks he wanted to make hover.
I did more research and saw some more tanks with smaller pieces and the methods were PVC to bulkhead drilled into the overflow box sealed with a cap. Although it looked really nice I didn't want to drill or glue anything permanently to my tank incase I want to change anything in the future.
I decided to just build a stand using 1/2" acrylic reinforced with triangle acrylic pieces and just rest some of the rock pieces on the sheet.
The "floating" rock will come off against my overflow which you'll note from my blueprint on my first post at roughly a 45 degree angle.
Off to the right side where my tank is visible from a side view I will have some caves where my rocks will be stacked to create this effect.
I've searched online and in R2R and there were some fascinating setups where rocks were suspended off the sand bed of the tank.
There was one video of someone explaining how he achieved it but I thought it was really complex using overhanging glass attached the main tank etc. I think it was because he had ALOT of rocks he wanted to make hover.
I did more research and saw some more tanks with smaller pieces and the methods were PVC to bulkhead drilled into the overflow box sealed with a cap. Although it looked really nice I didn't want to drill or glue anything permanently to my tank incase I want to change anything in the future.
I decided to just build a stand using 1/2" acrylic reinforced with triangle acrylic pieces and just rest some of the rock pieces on the sheet.
The "floating" rock will come off against my overflow which you'll note from my blueprint on my first post at roughly a 45 degree angle.
Off to the right side where my tank is visible from a side view I will have some caves where my rocks will be stacked to create this effect.
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OP
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Bottyfish
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I went off to the plastic warehouse where I picked up some weldon 4 and 16 and some scrap pieces of black 1/2" acrylic sheets
I wanted to raise the rock no more than 5" off the sandbed keeping in mind the rock height and future livestock being to close to the surface.
I cut the pieces and some triangle wedges as well as some triangle pieces to reinforce the top piece.
From there, I mounted my larger flat rock ontop and cut the top acrylic sheet using a drill and jig saw to how the rock will be shaped.
I wanted to raise the rock no more than 5" off the sandbed keeping in mind the rock height and future livestock being to close to the surface.
I cut the pieces and some triangle wedges as well as some triangle pieces to reinforce the top piece.
From there, I mounted my larger flat rock ontop and cut the top acrylic sheet using a drill and jig saw to how the rock will be shaped.
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Bottyfish
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Analyzing my proof of concept...
I was unhappy. ;Sour
The right side was too bulky and the rocks looked like 3 boulders just stacked on top of each other. There was no caves, no changing in the structure of the individual rocks.
The floating pieces was just a flat slab of rock and I wanted more changes in elevation ;Shifty
And finally the far left pieces had issues balancing the way I wanted without slipping some smaller rocks to offset the angle to achieve a balance. :mad:
So I took it all apart, and moved the pieces to the garage where I had a saw, rotating hand saw, chisels and hammers and was in the garage for a few hours.... ;Vamp
I was unhappy. ;Sour
The right side was too bulky and the rocks looked like 3 boulders just stacked on top of each other. There was no caves, no changing in the structure of the individual rocks.
The floating pieces was just a flat slab of rock and I wanted more changes in elevation ;Shifty
And finally the far left pieces had issues balancing the way I wanted without slipping some smaller rocks to offset the angle to achieve a balance. :mad:
So I took it all apart, and moved the pieces to the garage where I had a saw, rotating hand saw, chisels and hammers and was in the garage for a few hours.... ;Vamp
OP
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Bottyfish
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The floating center piece I broke it up into three smaller pieces which will create a hole in the middle and allow me to elevate some of the pieces to make it look like a hill.
