Blazin rebuild and upgrade

BlazinNano

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Ok so everyone might have read that my 46 gallon crashed last night. Well I lost a lot of corals and a couple fish. So my plans where to rebuild the setup and get everything back in order. Well after some thought I decided to not rebuild the bow front. Instead it is time for an upgrade. So the 90 gallon that has been sitting in the garage for a couple months is gonna be cleaned up and setup. I have a couple ideas I am throwing around on what I am gonna do. First thing is I will be making a ceramic rock structure for the tank. May not be 100% ceramic but we will see. Second idea is making it a peninsula tank. Not sure on that one yet but I am about 80% sure that is what it will be. Third idea is either black sand or black starboard (if they make it). I like the look of black. I know it is harder to keep clean and does not have the buffering capabilities as normal sand. That idea is still a toss up. I think trying to keep it clean will be a challenge need to do more research. First step will be next week when I go to the ceramic wholesaler and get about 100 lbs of clay. Once it is fired it does not weigh 100 lbs so we will have to see how much I can make with it. Then to get some 2x4s to build a stand skeleton and hood skeleton.
 

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Sounds like a good plan. You have the opportunity to upgrade now, so why not take it. If your question is whether or not they make black starboard, the answer is yes.. I have some, and you saw some this morning in my tank..
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It just has a lot of purple on it. If you need any help with the stand, design, or anything else for that matter... let me know I will be glad to help.

Jack
 

sf_ramsden

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Def make sure to water test the tank... Not sure how long it has been sitting dry, but I have heard silicone can dry up and not hold after a while.
 
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BlazinNano

BlazinNano

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Jack thanks. I know I will have questions and you aren't to far away.

And yes I will leak check the tank. If need be it will be resealed. I resealed my fiance's tank and that was over a year ago and still going strong.
 

sf_ramsden

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Jack thanks. I know I will have questions and you aren't to far away.

And yes I will leak check the tank. If need be it will be resealed. I resealed my fiance's tank and that was over a year ago and still going strong.

Sounds good!! I just didn't want to see another thread from you in a few weeks about a leaking tank!

Good luck in the re-build, maybe this was a sign!
 
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BlazinNano

BlazinNano

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Sounds good!! I just didn't want to see another thread from you in a few weeks about a leaking tank!

Good luck in the re-build, maybe this was a sign!

You wont see a thread you would just never see me post again. Yeah the fiance said it was a sign to go bigger and better.
 

akabryanhall

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I think you need to go for simple simple simple with this next tank man. I think you are doing the right thing by rebuilding but you should stay away from all things frustrating and make this an enjoyable and simple experience.
 
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BlazinNano

BlazinNano

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Now Bryan how long have you known me? When do I do things simple? I mean on the 46 I had two sumps on gravity draining to the next. Simple is easy and boring! If I wanted something simple I would have a goldfish tank. Come on man you know me!
 

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Hey I did black sand in my old tank loved it I don't think it was any harder to keep clean than my sand now it was awesome actually have some black sand to add to my existing tank as soon as I can get off my butt And get all the crap off of my sand bed haha it really makes anything you put on your sand bed pop 10 fold it's hot and if you have good flow to keep things stirred up it'll keep it self clean fwiw I never have and probably never will clean my sand bed never had a problem with it either
 
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BlazinNano

BlazinNano

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I read a lot of people saying it sticks to magfloats because of the high iron count. Did yours?

Also some people say it does not have the reflective quality so you do not get coraline growth but I have a friend with black starboard and he has massive coraline growth.
 
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Reef UP

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Your mag 7 would get you by if you could make up for it with powerheads in your tank for your turn over rate, as for the black sand there was a few pieces that would stick to my mag float but I get that occasionally with my white sand, as for reflective properties I think it was nice for the lps to not be on a blazing white sand bed I think they pulled truer colors than what my lps does as for coraline algae I think it actually helps it grow by not reflecting light as much at least I know I had a ton of it, still do, always remember in this hobby though it's your tank if you think you'll like black sand then by all means get it that's what you like and if you are pleased with the appearance, what seems to be a pain for those won't be true to you because you have your own preferences you know what I'm saying?
 

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29 because you can vary the baffles heights and have better options to run your skimmer at the depth you want did that help? I would actually go with a 40breader because then it'd be a great size for most upgrades in the future haha but seriously it'll just give you a little more room in the sump for other things you may want to add in the future
 
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