CalmSeasQuest's 2012 Desktop Build

[CalmSeasQuest]

Kudos on the finishing touches. This tank amazes me everytime i check it out. So where is this contest at and what are you up against? Good luck btw!

Thank FSU There are quite a few other very nice entries, bit none as "atypical" as this one. Hard to to tell the outcome, some might not appreciate it's "uniqueness"

That is crazy cool bro.

Thanks Rev, sometimes it's fun to march to a different beat.

Great looking tank

Thank you Barb

I think the real test for this tank and concept will be how it grows out. Each piece was designed with the hope that the acrylic would largely disappear as each coral envelopes it. I used very thin (1/16") diameter acrylic rod to allow many of the corals to appear suspended mid in the water column and gently sway back and forth with the changing current, compliments of the MP-10...Well, that's the plan anyway, time will tell how it works out.

 

[Reef Breeders]

That is way cool! I love the frag towers for sure, the ric garden is amazing!

 

[J Rog]

This tank is sooo cool! Never seen anything like this. Really good looking clowns to!

 

[impur]

Really unique, nicely done. Looking forward to more pics

 

[Dowtish]

I feel more serene and calm after going through this thread. Very nice desktop tank. Congratz! look forward to following along

 

[nova65ss]

Amazing tank! Really incredible what you have done!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

That is way cool! I love the frag towers for sure, the ric garden is amazing!

This tank is sooo cool! Never seen anything like this. Really good looking clowns to!

Really unique, nicely done. Looking forward to more pics

Amazing tank! Really incredible what you have done!

Thanks much, I appreciate everyone tagging along

I feel more serene and calm after going through this thread. Very nice desktop tank. Congratz! look forward to following along

Thanks Dowtish - I can honestly say it makes me look forward to time in my office.

Friday update...

I like the natural light the tank gets in the late afternoons...

The Acans are loving life - now over 40+ heads

Coralline is beginning to form on the bridge stones and acrylic edges

Technically this is a lousy photo, but I like the coral silhouettes created by the setting sun.

Everything is doing well, starting to see corals growing onto the acrylic and the clowns act like they own the place.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

This tank has really been an adventure and a series of pleasant surprises. I say surprises because I had no idea what to expect having had no experience working with acrylic, or much of any DIY background. What I found is that if you allow your self to "screw up" enough times without quitting, odds are that in the end, you'll come up with something good . Here are my observations thus far...

Foam Fractionation
The skimmer turned out to be a real surprise - I hadn't initially planned on including a skimmer on this build, especially when I realized I would only have about 2" available in the overflow area. A quick look at all the commercially available nano-sized skimmers returned little of interest. I had seen very small skimmers made by Mame and a very talented DIY'r named Glazier, but decided they didn't fit the needs of this tank so... I ordered acrylic - lots of different sizes and shapes to start testing with. I'll be the first to admit that I'm surprised at how well this little skimmer performs. I think the key was using the largest possible diameter drain line thereby minimizing back pressure, allowing it to "breath" properly.

Bio-Filtration
As I thought about this build, the greatest initial challenge was how to handle bio-filtration without any live rock. The location where this tank resides doesn't allow for a sump, and I wanted the display area to be free of traditional aquascaping....hence the problem. I had used bio balls and other variants years ago during the inescapable plenum and wet/dry days and swore never to return, yet I had to find a way to make this work in a very tiny overflow area. As I researched bio-media, I came across the MarinePure ceramic spheres and was impressed by the porosity and surface area claims. I reasoned that if I could create an area that pre-filtered water passed through extremely slowly (I'm banning the word trickle), I could create an aerobic environment for processing Nitrites, and just perhaps an adjacent anaerobic area (center of the spheres) that might provide some level of denitrification. So I built a vertical tower using acrylic that holds staggered columns of MarinePure ceramics that is constantly fed a very small volume of skimmed and filtered water. It's still far too early to draw any conclusions, but so far so good. The filtration plan appears to be working with no measurable Nitrates or nuisance algaes.

Acylics
I used to think I spent a lot of time when aquascaping a tank, spending hours on end arranging and re-arranging rocks. That time sink pales in comparison to how much time can be spent working with acrylic. Between the various skimmer and bubble plate designs to the 20+ coral mounting pieces that were created (not including those that ended up being destroyed by dropping, being stepped on, sat on, melted or exploding under a saw, drill bit or Dremel.) And then there were those that failed stress tests, or succumbed to my OJT flame polishing methods....the do-overs were plentiful. Out of sheer embarrassment, I will never admit how many hours I spent on this project.

With all that said, I've had a blast with this built. I love the fact that I can tinker endlessly with it (although I've found it a major distraction at work.) Because each coral build is modular, it's easy to move things around, replace entire pieces or swap out individual corals with ease. While I'll never give up my "traditional" tanks, from a reefing perspective, It's forced me to think in the most non-traditional, "Abbynormal" terms. What I discovered was - It can be fun coloring outside the lines.

Thank you to everyone that has spent their time tagging along and for all the kind comments.

 

[Giancarlo]

really cool! Just saw this on aquarist me the other day

 

[fsu1dolfan]

So how did the contest go??

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

So how did the contest go??

Still ongoing - Contest officially ends on 6/4 with Judging ending on 6/25. For now, it's just leave it alone and let it grow out.

The scary thing is I've got a couple more of these tanks and stands on hand - I'm thinking about trying a planted Iwagumi tank - I think it could be stunning with these dimensions.

 

[fsu1dolfan]

Still ongoing - Contest officially ends on 6/4 with Judging ending on 6/25. For now, it's just leave it alone and let it grow out.

The scary thing is I've got a couple more of these tanks and stands on hand - I'm thinking about trying a planted Iwagumi tank - I think it could be stunning with these dimensions.

Sweet...keep us posted and maybe update with some pics later. As for the Iwagumi tank, very cool and peaceful looking tank. Here's an idea for ya, Do it as a saltwater Iwagumi tank. Use GSP to cover the bottom. It was the first thing that popped in my head when i saw it.

 

[mfdrookie516]

The scary thing is I've got a couple more of these tanks and stands on hand - I'm thinking about trying a planted Iwagumi tank - I think it could be stunning with these dimensions.

I have a buddy who has this tank configured as per Amano's idealogy. I've been trying to convince him to change it over to a reef haha.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Sweet...keep us posted and maybe update with some pics later. As for the Iwagumi tank, very cool and peaceful looking tank. Here's an idea for ya, Do it as a saltwater Iwagumi tank. Use GSP to cover the bottom. It was the first thing that popped in my head when i saw it.

I've been thinking the same. My experiment with the Marine Pure ceramics has me convinced I can ditch the live rock and use stones. Black substrate is a bit tougher through as most appears to be magnetic. Either way - lots of research to do

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I have a buddy who has this tank configured as per Amano's idealogy. I've been trying to convince him to change it over to a reef haha.

I'll admit I find some of Amano's Iwagumi designs to be amazing. While I don't think I'd ever "switch" to just planted, but I might "add" a planted tank to my collection

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I've been thinking the same. My experiment with the Marine Pure ceramics has me convinced I can ditch the live rock and use stones. Black substrate is a bit tougher through as most appears to be magnetic. Either way - lots of research to do

through=though...I really dislike the 5 minute edit window used on R2R.

 

[BarbH]

Will have to post an updated growout picture some time

 

[brandenwolf]

wow I really liked this build! amazing never seen anything like it!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Will have to post an updated growout picture some time

Thanks Barb, the tanks largely on autopilot. I'm just watching things grow out until the end of the contest.

wow I really liked this build! amazing never seen anything like it!

Thanks brandenwolf - Gotta try something new every once-in-a-while

Here are a couple quick cell cam shots showing everything growing onto the acrylic and getting "comfortable"...

Due to the price restriction of the contest everything initially used in this build were very tiny frags of very inexpensive corals. Once the contest has run it's course, I'm going to raid my Frag tank and add a bit of bling to this tank :bigsmile:

I'm also very excited about how well the skimmer and filtration tower have performed (Nitrates are still un-measurable.) I think this might open up new options for handling filtration in nano/pico tanks.