Coming along nicely! The new tank and placement looks awesome. Are you planning on extending the rock wall that is going to cover the side pane with the overflow a little bit around the corner and onto the back pane and then have it trail off into your main scape? or will you just be placing it on the one side pane? I really like the idea of going a round the corner a little bit and trailing down on an angle with the piece getting gradually larger or sticking out from the wall more as it comes down. If that makes any sense at all.:mrgreen:
Either way I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Well, I think this tank may be in the "One of the longest builds ever" books, lol. I finally got the rare combination of tools, time, materials and gumption for another step. I finally built the cube inserts for the stand and one of the gable ends for the overflow side. I just realized too I never did post any pics of the cut dry rock in place so you can see now what I did. I plan on building an arch off of a pillar to the rock on the right side of the tank that looks like it's sitting up in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, without further ado...

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9ef125a4.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5302f80a.jpg

looking real good . i had no idea you could cut dry rock like that . Wicked.
Guessing your sump will be in the basement ?

Ya, I have a 150 gal down there now where my 77 and 20 go into now. I'll get this guy running, move the stock from the 77 into it, then shut down my 77.

just read through your build . .You have put alot ! of work into this tank so far . impressed . cant wait to see it running .

Cool rock work! I think Kien should give your journal a cool name too! :biggrin:

Ooooo, a cool tank journal name! Kein would have to do it, cause I certainly don't have the imagination for it, lol.

Thanks, man. And neither can I, neither can I. And my wife too, lol. She's getting tired of staring at an empty tank for almost 2 years haha.

I love that floating rock that's a great idea looks slick .How did you mount it on the back glass ?

I just used the GE SCS1200 silicone. On the previous page I showed how i cut all my rock so it was flat on the back so sticking it on there was pretty easy. I had to do only a couple pieces at a time and let it set then do another couple pieces. I held them in place overnight with clamps and wire strung over the eurobracing or with plywood shimmed up underneath them. I also put one of my big work shirts underneath them in case they fell before it was all set up.
I thought I had more pics but here's a couple when I started it:
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psd134d7ff.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psadb769f6.jpg

wicked ..
i love the coat in there just in case it fell while you slept lol . good call

So a wee bit more progress. I started the canopy for the tank. I ended up using a cabinet grade 5/8" pre-finished birch plywood. I'm going to seal the ends with Diamond Finish Varathane. Here's a pic while putting it all together in the shop:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps945279f6.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10d60c61.jpg

Then I brought it in to dry fit it and make sure everything is going to work as I think it will. And as normal, nothing does, lol:
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps730edaca.jpg

There's a slight twist in my legs that's apparent if you look close, but I'll be taking another sheet of ply and cutting out the access holes so that will straighten all that out and keep that front nice and square with the rest of it. I will be using pocket door rail running from front to back for each of the 3 light fixtures I've built. If I see the need in the future for it, I can also add 2 more rails 6' long running from left to right to give me even more flexibility for light fixture locations.
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psfde0e520.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psf4fa6a62.jpg

I have thought of one issue I'm not completely certain how to overcome yet. When I mount my light fixture, my wiring comes out of the back of the heatsink. And it's big. 20 wires in one, lol.

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d253174.jpg

When I go to push the fixture all the way back out of the way to work in the tank, I'm not sure where that 12"-16" of wire will go. I may cut a 1" oval hole in that back sheet so that it just slides behind the tank.
Any comments or concerns, fire away. I'd rather find out now than later :)

Little bit more accomplished over the last week or so. Today we got rained out at work so I spent a bit of time sanding my face frame's for the cabinetry. So here's a couple pics of the frames dry-fit on. Everything is getting a coat of Claw Lock sealer, then 3 coats of white, then another couple coats of clear to help give it that nice polished look. Doors are going to be shaker style. I will also have a window sill trim (that matches all my window sills) to cap the top edge at the lower part of the tank and a crown moulding on the top to match my existing crown moulding that goes all around my house.
Starting to look like something! Next.... plumbing :)

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psac9c1269.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps758eb8c5.jpg

And here is the left cabinet space. There's a cavity between the top cabinet and the bottom cabinet where all the plumbing will be run through. I cut the side of this gable out to allow me to fish all my wiring up inside the wall for my Apex and for the ducting I have that will run into the canopy that will be hooked up to a HRV in the fish room downstairs.

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c99a7fd.jpg

That's really nice. I want to do shaker doors on my stand too. Following along

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Finally got into the paint booth:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2044eb00.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f23ea3a.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88124af7.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a9db6bd.jpg

2 coats of M.L.Campbell Clawlock. Tomorrow it gets 2 coats of white and hopefully another 2-4 coats of clear after that throughout the week.

I really have to get started on the plumbing :)

Got 2 coats of white done yesterday. Pics look the same so I won't bore you guys with them. Headed to Nanaimo today to pick up plumbing supplies and other stuff for work.
Got a call from Jeff at LifeReef last night... my new skimmer is on it's way! Yay!

Looking great Dominique .
You better hurry up and get it done, with this weather you'll be back outside building the wife's garden fixtures. :mrgreen:

Lol, you have no idea how accurate that statement is :) She's already chomping at the bit for a few things to get done.

I got a couple hours this aft to work on some of the plumbing. I had to fish all my lines up through the wall from the basement, so I opted to run that section in white spa flex. Only down side is how stiff this stuff is, but with a little grunt work I was able to get them all in. I'm planning running a Herbie set up, it's worked extremely well for me so far. Using Beananimal's flow guide, the numbers work for running a single 1" full siphon, but it seemed close, so I ran 2. This also gives me the ability to run Beananimals silent overflow should the desire hit me. I also ran a 1-1/2" safety overflow.
The returns are probably overkill. I'm planning on running 2 Waveline 12,000's. The output's on them are 1-1/4" so I ran 2, 1-1/4" lines. One on the front of the tank and one at the back. My plan is to run a line across the front with 3 - 3/4" loc-lines and the same across the back, each on their own pump. After the first 3/4" loc-lines come off, I'm going to reduce to 1", then when the second comes off, reduce to the final 3/4" loc-line.
Yesterday, while in Nanaimo I got most of the hardware I need for my cabinet doors although I've yet to order them. Hopefully that'll happen early next week.

Any suggestions on doing something different/better, let me know.
Anyway pics:

Lots of pipes for such a small hole

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf7d3f32.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6b7c2c34.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps71d8bb4f.jpg

Lookin' good, Dom!

One recommendation I have is to brace the spaflex to take stress off the bulkheads on the overflow box. Because the spaflex is pretty stiff and has a BRUTAL shape memory that tries to make it coil back up, it ends up putting constant stress on the bulkheads over time, especially in a tight space. I've already had one bulkhead fail because of it (the sideways torque caused the external plastic nut on the bulkhead to skip a thread and come loose - that was an exciting day). And now that I'm typing this I can see the back of the tank and am noticing a lot of salt creep on one of the bulkheads, telling me that it's not far off from a repeat. I think I'm going to replumb and use hard piping.

Wow beautiful set up so far. Gonna follow along

:popcorn:

Thanks man. Funny you mention the issues with the flex torqueing on the bulkheads. As I was putting it together I was thinking the same thing, but was hoping if I left for a day or two it would get used to the turn I put in it. Maybe I'll cut that section and put 2 - 45's there on that last turn directly below the bulkheads.


Thanks! I'm really hoping to get it wet this summer. Been a long haul so far.

Wow dom awesome build thread, now i see what you were talking about! That rock wall looks really good, can't wait to see this tank take shape. I'm going to have to find someone close by with a wet saw because i love the floating rock on the back wall idea! getting in there while the tank is already setup however could prove difficult ;) Anyway keep the updates coming, great work so far.

really nice clean set up. Wish I had wood working skills to make a stand .

Look what I got in the mail today :D

There was one more box, but I forgot to include it in the pics :(
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psb065b800.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psdad6ff21.jpg

Oh, Look! It's nesting boxes!

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps54be4967.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3f049da8.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d4b611e.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8afa1b31.jpg


48 3/4 total inches of AWESOME!!!!

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...pscf8a7318.jpg

Hmmm, doesn't seem like anyone likes my skimmer :( Oh well...

Started on my rock work yesterday. Got some acrylic rod and a couple sheets for bases. The plan was for 2 pillars and an archway to the floating rock on the back right of the tank. But after looking at it for a bit, I decided that the rock work glued to the left side on the tank to hide the overflow gives the look of one pillar already. So I decided to just make 1 more pillar and 1 arch.
I'm not really happy with my arch - I may scrap the idea but would like some opinions.

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps191a102a.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...pse9e1c02b.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82e0269f.jpg


Turns out the piece is too heavy for me to get into my tank by myself. I have to wait and see if I can get a buddy over to help me lift it in there. Meanwhile, it sits on a TV table beside the couch. :D
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0000226f.jpg

The Arch - It's not finished, I have a bunch of rock rubble I will be fitting in between the rocks to make it look like one piece instead of a bunch of rocks stacked together.

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps69299643.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psc224beeb.jpg

And and end view...

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psc7f12e82.jpg

The tank is 24" front to back, I want to avoid the mistake I made on my current tank of too much rock and rock too close to the glass. As well I still have 1 or 2 large pieces of rock I'll with stack against the base of the arch, or sit in the front right corner so there isn't quite so much negative space.

I think your skimmer looks sick!!.
guess that's not going under the tank eh lol.. is it lifereef?

I've been following your build thread, looking awesome. I really like the time you are putting into the rock work. it is going to stand out once completed. .

keep the updates coming

That's not a skimmer, it's a Saturn V rocket! Neil Armstrong would approve! Awesome build so far. Enjoying the updates and the rock work!

Reeferfulton - ya, it is a Lifereef. The thing is awesome. Can't wait to get her fired up. Jeff from Lifereef is great, loves to communicate and walk you through the decision making process. I paired it with a Jabeo DC6000 from Nick.

Lol, Wardog. The thing is a beast. It's modular so I can get another extension tube and make it a 72" skimmer :D

Got a buddy coming tonight to help me get that sculpture in the tank. Stay tuned...

That thing is a beast :twised:

Houston, the rock is in... now to get it where I like it, lol

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1584ebe4.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps618684e6.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps784c657b.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psbe76a79f.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e57c9df.jpg

I think what I don't like about the arch is it look unfinished. It is, after all, only 1/2 an arch. So I am debating cutting some more rock, and stacking it underneath the one stuck on the glass to continue it down to the tank floor again.

Hmmmmmm.......

like the rock work. To finish the arch, may be tie it in with the back wall, like how you covered the over flow.

Awesome build. Next tank I'm going to construct rock with rods exactly like that.

I think what you might not be liking is the way that arch is visually offsetting against the rock on the other side of the tank. Try to think in terms of photography and the rule of thirds. Take a picture of your tank with the rocks in it and place two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines across the image and see how those rocks you've got in there are positioned relative to the lines and their intersections. You've got a really strong visual feature that spans the full height of your tank on the left and sort of cascades down, then over in the other corner there's this tall, narrow structure that is almost an inverse of what's happening on the left and doesn't really visually relate to anything.

Since you've got the ability and patience to make structures like that, your options are pretty much endless, but FWIW I've never really been in love with the idea of a classic arch in a tank. Between the mish mash of rocks that go in to building them, and the rods they need to be attached to, they always seem to end up looking like a pop-corn necklace. It's almost impossible to make them look like they belong. I've seen it work in tanks that have really big footprints in both length and width as the bases of the arches can be built up enough to make it all fit together with the rest of the scape, but it's a challenging shape to work with.

Hmmm, I think you have a point. I've heard and read of that rule of thirds in a couple aquascaping papers and threads I've looked through. For some reason it's harder to pull off in person, lol.
I am a little disappointed in the acrylic rods though. They're much softer and pliable than I thought they'd be. I used 1/2" rod, but even the pillar tended to want to sag to one side at the top, even though the rod ran basically straight through it. I had to epoxy and shim quite a few of the larger pieces for it to stand straight and be solid. The arch piece absolutely will not stand on it's own and needs to be supported on the end, even though I built it on a large platform foot that could take the off centre weight. I didn't take the time with it though, to fill in the cracks between the larger pieces because I could tell right away I wasn't going to like it, but wanted to get the basic structure in the tank to see it. It's not what I had envisioned.
You are absolutely correct in describing it as a pop-corn necklace. The base is definitely too small, but I already seem to have more rock in there than I wanted. Damn, maybe I need a bigger tank.....the wife would kill me :D

So, I need to reconsider the arch. I'll try and take a FTS, print it and divide it up like you said. Then see what I can do to re-arrange those pieces.

Well, after sitting and looking at those structures a bit, I decided I really didn't like that arch where it was and that cutting more rock to make it look like it belongs was chasing my tail and probably was going to be wasting rock. So.... I decided to see what it would look like if I just switched the 2, placing the arch on the rock that was already cut on the left side and put the pillar on the right.
I have to say I like this way better and I think it just might work :)
I have yet to take a look at the FTS with an eye for thirds I'll see what I can do this weekend...

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93f00cac.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psa465e1bb.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb3a47fd.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psb99fbe3f.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22008627.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9cbba5c4.jpg

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psbd70c367.jpg

So. Dom. Ya puttin' water n there soon? :biggrin:

That scaping looks awesome! Nice job!

I agree looks much better. Just a thought maybe you could put a few small rocks connecting the 2 rock structures on the bottom or make it have some sort of base? Maybe its just me

Looks really cool! :)

Lol, I doubt it'll happen this summer, but I sure hope it'll have fish in it before the end of the year.

Thanks guys for the scape feedback, This new layout is definitely growing on me.

wow, that's a wicked structure you got there Dap.

yah that's really awesome, I love it. Also, how on earth do you have the patience to sit looking at an aquascaped tank for months without putting water in it? I couldn't stand it!

That rock scape is killer! Cant wait to see it running!