Floating reef for 75 gallon peninsula

[bigbugoutfitters]

So I have been putting together a new tank piece by piece for a while. This weekend I will be picking up the 75 gallon tank from petco, a 29 gallon breeder to convert into a sump, and about 50 pounds of dry rock. I dont expect to have water in this thing for a few weeks at the earliest however I have been as you might imagine, spending all too much time thinking about the layout of this tank. I figure in the last 2 weeks ive looked at 500 tanks with nearly as many different aquascapes. Ive kicked around the idea of a HNSA but i'm not convinced its for me, once I get around 80 pounds or so I am sure I will have a better idea. What I have decided is just too dang cool are the floating islands. Most of the floating islands I have seen in larger tanks take up a large portion of the tank however I am only wanting mine to extend 6-8 inches max from the overflow side of the tank.

Because I am looking to have the tank be mixed reef/predator community tank I am having to be really conscious of my aquascape to allow for plenty of room for the weaker swimmers(dwarf lionfish, Canthigaster leoparda puffer). The goal of this would hopefully be 2 fold; in part i think it would give the opportunity of a pretty cool spot for the lionfish to perch, but also it may be a convenient method of hiding a circulation pump. But that is putting the cart ahead of the horse seeing as I am not sure where I will need to place the pump without having an aquascape in place.

Because the tank is glass I will not be able to do the traditional method of silicone-ing the acrylic to the side of the tank. Instead I am going to toy around with a combination of pvc and acrylic. I have looked around a bit and have not yet seen a pvc frame method for building the island. If anyone has any pointers or advice, as always, it is greatly appreciated!

 

[blaxsun]

I watched a YouTube video a few weeks ago where they created floating islands using Tunze magnets in the rocks so they could move them around and they weren't permanently affixed to the glass.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

I watched a YouTube video a few weeks ago where they created floating islands using Tunze magnets in the rocks so they could move them around and they weren't permanently affixed to the glass.

I saw that one, super cool! I am worried about weight with that though, especially if the total rock piece is 12 inches x 8 inches x 4 inches. Weight definitely might be an issue...
One thought i have had is with the possibility of a snowflake in the tank using some sturdy pvc to help brace the rock. it won't be as true a floating island as I would end up hiding it with some rock rubble, but it would still definitely be pretty cool.
Another option I have considered is something more like the standard approach. because I am not able to glue acrylic to glass the 90 degree piece of acrylic wont work. However a piece of acrylic with 2 90 degree bends might work if one portion is noticably longer, perhaps 30 inches vs the 8 inches. I could then place some of the aquascape on the acrylic to help balance the island. Thoughts?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Cool! Following! I love innovative aquascapes!

 

[afrokobe]

I saw that one, super cool! I am worried about weight with that though, especially if the total rock piece is 12 inches x 8 inches x 4 inches. Weight definitely might be an issue...
One thought i have had is with the possibility of a snowflake in the tank using some sturdy pvc to help brace the rock. it won't be as true a floating island as I would end up hiding it with some rock rubble, but it would still definitely be pretty cool.
Another option I have considered is something more like the standard approach. because I am not able to glue acrylic to glass the 90 degree piece of acrylic wont work. However a piece of acrylic with 2 90 degree bends might work if one portion is noticably longer, perhaps 30 inches vs the 8 inches. I could then place some of the aquascape on the acrylic to help balance the island. Thoughts?

I dont see why your design wouldnt work

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Not sure why I didnt think of this but i'll probably be combining both ideas. I know that the established acrylic method will hold the rock but I think that implementing the pvc could also be kinda neat and unique. I wont be able to work on it too much the next few weeks unfortunately as I will be spending the next 2 weeks or so guiding clients up here on the kootenai river. Maybe i'll add a couple pictures of the fish we catch once I get the first draft of the island plan put together.
In the meantime, here is picture proof that not just tropical or marine fish can be stunning!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

It’s coming together. The acrylic is 1/4”, 10 wide, 36 long.
threw 2 90s into it with the shelf being 10” off the bottom and leaning 6 inches out.

made sure to not keep the base 90 a true 90. Definitely bent a bit once i started piling all the rock on it.

Drilled a bunch of holes for flow as well as 2 holes to insert the pvc. Ended up making the holes set for 1.5” pvc instead of 1” after foing a bit of research on eels.

once i got all of my pvc measured out I inserted a 45 elbow with a 3 inch section of pvs into the larger drilled hole, glued it and used a zip tie to secure the lower pvc to the base acrylic.

lots of ac glue and sand used putting this all together and pieces fell of many… many… many times… i also used 2 part epoxy in a few i stances to help create a better grip off of the plexiglass to secure the rock.

put the insert in the tank! Ive still got quite a bit of work to do with the aquascape but this is the first time where i am feeling that i am getting somewhere. Insert is flush with the back of the tank so Definitely a relief there.

Its a bit close to the tank on each side for me to be 100% happy but its not TOO close. Roughly 1 and 3/4 inches on each side.

Fun little cave structure

lots more work to do!
Shoot anymore questions or advice you may have my way!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Few other shots as well. Still have to cover up some pvc on the “floating” section as well.

 

[Feet Pixel]

When I was reading your initial thought process, I didn't think this idea aligned with my personal preference, but after seeing your work I think that's the coolest concept i've seen.
Are you going to double the supports as an eel tunnel? Would be really cool.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

When I was reading your initial thought process, I didn't think this idea aligned with my personal preference, but after seeing your work I think that's the coolest concept i've seen.
Are you going to double the supports as an eel tunnel? Would be really cool.

Yep! Im thinking a snowflake eventually. Probably wont be for a while. Im being given 20 lbs of live rock from an established fallow tank, no hitch hikers! Ill finish the aquascape once my heater comes in and ill try to post some pictures.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

wifes side first, my side second

wifes side cave

front of tank

cave on my side

pvc tunnel

floating ish reef.

overall this has all been a very fun project. As im sure you can tell, not all of the rock is fresh dry stuff. Got some shelfing rock for free from a local guy that he had stripped from a fallow tank of his. Not sure how a feel about the aquascape on the front of the tank. Maybe itll grow on me. It just seems to clash with the very deliberate floating reef and pvc structure. If you have any recommendations, please let me know! Might buy a little more live rock, if you can think of any more shapes that could improve the look of it please feel free to give me a recommendation!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Wife agreed, scrapped a bit of the caves. Better but still not perfect.