How not to start a reef tank, my first reef tank build

[living_tribunal]

The first two columns are starting to take shape. There is still a lot of work to be done and I don’t like the “branch” connecting them. The left most formation also needs to be taller.

I want the column descent order height to be 18, 14, and 9 inches respectively.

My pictures aren’t the highest quality but the left most column features a nice inward slopes curvature allowing for coral to please the viewer on all viewing sides (sounds dirty).

To create a main branch into the first “pad” if features a small supporting column that’s approximately 5 inches tall for the fish to swim/chill under on the back side of the tank.

The second column is essentially a fish super highway. There are 5 entrances/exits into the column. Fish can chill and swim through these areas.

I’m going to be adding more shelves all around both columns soon.

 

[living_tribunal]

The attached shelves makes it easy to quickly add/remove pathways.

 

[living_tribunal]

I believe this will be close to its final form excluding the branches/shelves. (Once again, sorry for the low quality iPhone images).

There are about a dozen archways and hideaways for the fish. The descending order of the column allows for free top swimming as does the large space between the left most column and the center.

 

[aqua_code]

Looks good make sure to keep a little gap between the rocks and your glass for cleaning.

 

[flchamp89]

Really like that backwards L shape foot off the center rock work.

 

[Tubbs90reef]

I’m new to the hobby to! Your progress looks great can’t wait to see your next update.

 

[JustinSmi86]

Love the progress... I wish I had put more thought into my aqua scaping

 

[living_tribunal]

In the last 3 days my neighbor has seen me mixing some granular substance into a Rubbermaid 40 gal, wearing a gas mask while chiseling into some form of white rock, and mixing chemicals into a tank.

It just hit the fan when our eyes awkwardly crossed paths while I was taking this load to the trash. All I witnessed was him shaking his head in disdain.

I’m pretty sure my neighbor thinks I’m a drug dealer...

What’s the number for reefing anonymous?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Aquascape is really coming along!

 

[aqua_code]

rodi unit might help keep the neighbor out of your recycling bin.

 

[living_tribunal]

rodi unit might help keep the neighbor out of your recycling bin.

I have a 50gal ro/di unit, appropriately named Rudy.

For the initial fill I went ahead and stocked up on distilled water to make the process a bit faster.

 

[AiKkz]

Nice looking rock scapes!!!!

 

[Miami Reefers]

Following the thread! Great job so far keep it up!!

 

[aqua_code]

Definitely transition over everything to rodi when you get a chance. I've had copper show up in distilled water I've used in the past. Looks great so far.

 

[phatduckk]

Looks good! You get glue all over your hands like I did? I did my first scape last week and pealing the glue off my hands took longer than securing the rock structure

 

[living_tribunal]

Looks good! You get glue all over your hands like I did? I did my first scape last week and pealing the glue off my hands took longer than securing the rock structure

Glue managed to reach places where the sun doesn’t shine...

 

[LBReefer]

LT, now that you got the rock work done and most of your sand settled, can I give you some appropriately delayed advice?

I'd drill the tank and add a sump. It will ultimately greatly increase your chance at longterm success. Drilling the tank was not nearly as scary as I thought. You can check out my build thread on all the ways to screw it up (hint: measure twice, cut once and for haven's sake, dry fit for a while before applying irreversible PVC cement). The sump will allow you to add a real skimmer, filter socks and maybe even a refugium. I found that all three contributed to my middling success.

I found that rubber gloves mad most things in the tank more pleasant. I've superglued things together that were rather unpleasant to separate.

You can also forgo the bleach for you rocks. That's more appropriate if you were using live rock that you were trying to make dead. Instead I'd just throw the rock work inadvertently bucket of rodi water with an abundance of powerheads and change the water every 72 hours. You are trying to leach out any particulate matter that may throw off your reef chemistry. I found that the silicates in the manufactured rock contributed greatly to my growth of unwanted cyanobacteria and other nasties.

You are off to a great start and have the perfect attitude. I really enjoyed following your initial follies.

 

[living_tribunal]

LT, now that you got the rock work done and most of your sand settled, can I give you some appropriately delayed advice?

I'd drill the tank and add a sump. It will ultimately greatly increase your chance at longterm success. Drilling the tank was not nearly as scary as I thought. You can check out my build thread on all the ways to screw it up (hint: measure twice, cut once and for haven's sake, dry fit for a while before applying irreversible PVC cement). The sump will allow you to add a real skimmer, filter socks and maybe even a refugium. I found that all three contributed to my middling success.

I found that rubber gloves mad most things in the tank more pleasant. I've superglued things together that were rather unpleasant to separate.

You can also forgo the bleach for you rocks. That's more appropriate if you were using live rock that you were trying to make dead. Instead I'd just throw the rock work inadvertently bucket of rodi water with an abundance of powerheads and change the water every 72 hours. You are trying to leach out any particulate matter that may throw off your reef chemistry. I found that the silicates in the manufactured rock contributed greatly to my growth of unwanted cyanobacteria and other nasties.

You are off to a great start and have the perfect attitude. I really enjoyed following your initial follies.

Excellent feedback! I appreciate you taking the time to provide me pointers, I place great value on this kind of information.

Regarding the sump, I agree with you on this. I will say, I’m not sure if now is the right time. I really want to just get my bearings straight and be capable of running a simple tank with 1-3 fish and maybe a few soft corals before upgrading to a sump and possibly fuge.

I’m a big believer in learning/growing out of necessity and to be honest, I doubt I’ll have this 36 gal for more than 8 months before upgrading to a 90 gal cube. At that point, I’ll definitely be installing a sump and most likely heckling you for advice.

Your second point of feedback I am VERY appreciative of and have a few follow ups on.

The difficulty in starting a new reef tank is the diversity of available information. While there are hard coated methods that have become laws effectively, there are many methods that haven’t. All we have to learn from is A.) second hand accounts and B.) trial and error.

About 50% of reefers (I love saying that) are adamant on performing a full cure on dry rock before initial cycling. I have also seen the algae that dry rock is capable of. That in tandem with a cycle could make my tank dirty for several months. The others say that rinsed dry rock is fine to perform an initial cycle on and many have pictures to boot.

My thoughts are since I have to run an initial month long quarantine on the fish, would it not be smart to perform a full bleach/ natural cure of the dry rock before cycling during this same time? Once the dry rock is fully cured, I’ve heard cycle times are quite fast if you use biospira with pure ammonia.

I’d rather be safe and patient than rushed with a tank that’s a horrid mess.

 

[aqua_code]

Marcorocks are usually pretty good. The key is getting to a good balance where the rocks aren't leaching phosphate. It helps to run macroalgae in a refugium. In extreme conditions GFO can help as well. I put my marcorocks directly into a new tank about a month ago and haven't noticed anything negative.

 

[living_tribunal]

Marcorocks are usually pretty good. The key is getting to a good balance where the rocks aren't leaching phosphate. It helps to run macroalgae in a refugium. In extreme conditions GFO can help as well. I put my marcorocks directly into a new tank about a month ago and haven't noticed anything negative.

It can’t hurt to take the time and do a bleach cure in this case, right? My LFS was adamant about fully curing the dry rock before starting any cycle.