Many years in hobby, still making newbie mistakes

[Cari]

Help, here’s my latest “newbie” mistake. I have a peninsula 90 gallon reef tank. When I set it up, 12 years ago, (after a 55 and 72 gallon) decided to drill holes thru rock and put them on a pvc frame. Great idea I came across after hours of research. Aquascape is stable and doesn’t touch sides of tank, great for cleaning.

At the time my plan was to have Green Star Polyps grow across the top, which they did. OK, newbie mistake #1, not putting that one on its own island. . Easily fixable though.

Newbie mistake #2 - not so easily fixable....I made the pillars so high that I can’t grow anything on top of it, the gsp cause extreme shadowing and I’d like to get into other corals, especially SPS.

I can remove the top half of the pillars, as the rocks are at most zip tied in spots, no glue.

Here’s where you come in.... how do I remove the top half of the exposed pvc after I remove the rocks ?? I certainly can’t think of anyway to incorporate it. It will be two white pipes going straight up.

Thanks for your help!

 

[WV Reefer]

Help, here’s my latest “newbie” mistake. I have a peninsula 90 gallon reef tank. When I set it up, 12 years ago, (after a 55 and 72 gallon) decided to drill holes thru rock and put them on a pvc frame. Great idea I came across after hours of research. Aquascape is stable and doesn’t touch sides of tank, great for cleaning.

At the time my plan was to have Green Star Polyps grow across the top, which they did. OK, newbie mistake #1, not putting that one on its own island. . Easily fixable though.

Newbie mistake #2 - not so easily fixable....I made the pillars so high that I can’t grow anything on top of it, the gsp cause extreme shadowing and I’d like to get into other corals, especially SPS.

I can remove the top half of the pillars, as the rocks are at most zip tied in spots, no glue.

Here’s where you come in.... how do I remove the top half of the exposed pvc after I remove the rocks ?? I certainly can’t think of anyway to incorporate it. It will be two white pipes going straight up.

Thanks for your help!

why not just take out the gsp rocks and replace them with new drilled rocks?

 

[Cari]

why not just take out the gsp rocks and replace them with new drilled rocks?

I thought about that....but I think it’s still too high to create a sps “garden”. Wouldn’t I want the frags started half way down the tank to grow upward and have depth to them? I am definitely planning on those gsp rocks coming out.

 

[WV Reefer]

I thought about that....but I think it’s still too high to create a sps “garden”. Wouldn’t I want the frags started half way down the tank to grow upward and have depth to them? I am definitely planning on those gsp rocks coming out.

That’s true, you will need space.

What about just disguising them somehow with pieces of rocks? Then the Corals will grow up around them.

 

[Cari]

Yeah something like that might work well. I could take the rocks off and down to where I would want the frags to start, then as you suggested earlier put a new rock or two on the pvc BUT I could face it out towards the end of the tank to help build a ledge in another direction. Then take pieces and attach up remainder of pvc. I can almost picture it!

 

[lapin]

PVC pipe cutters?

 

[Dennis McGrath]

PVC pipe cutters?

That's what I was going to recommend. As a matter of fact, I keep a set of PCV pipe cutters in my coral tool box that I use for cutting the bottom off frag plugs so I can putty them onto the rocks.

 

[Cari]

Do they cut pretty clean? I was hoping not to drain the tank completely during the re-aquascaping process. I’m envisioning white plastic pieces floating in the water....would it be that bad?

 

[lapin]

Do they cut pretty clean? I was hoping not to drain the tank completely during the re-aquascaping process. I’m envisioning white plastic pieces floating in the water....would it be that bad?

They do cut pretty clean. You "might" 1 or 2 small pieces that you should be able to fish out.

 

[Cari]

Thanks for the ideas and helpful video. I’ve gotten some options that I didn’t think could be done or I didn’t think of. I’ve always liked how this hobby many times is people putting their heads together for solutions and/or ideas! It’s also nice to go to a forum where it’s exactly that and not instant criticism or worse yet condescending attitudes

Having an Aquascaping forum is awesome!

Thanks again R2R.

 

[henan-yinfeng]

WOW, Like this

 

[jmccown]

we all make mistakes, been in the hobby 15 years and still make them myself

 

[naterealbig]

+ 10 on what @lapin is recommending, and great video!

Also @jmccown is absolutely right. The best talent of a true artist is the ability to adapt, make changes, and use slight mistakes to the advantage of the finished product. It's all a learning experience!. I've been in the hobby for over 20 years, and still never get everything right on the first try!

To note:. The pvc cutter may have some grease from the factory on them, so give the a good wash before putting in the tank, or drain the tank to slightly below where you will cut.

How thick is the PVC pipe?

 

[Ryan winder]

I am in love with this aquauscape!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Absolutely pvc pipe cutters. But they sell them much smaller (which will be easier for you to manage inside the tank). The red ones in that video are monsters! Lol. Visit Lowe’s or Home Depot. Best wishes. By the way— love how that GSP looks.

 

[SandJ]

There are also smaller pipe cutters that you turn a few times, then tighten a screw that pushed the blade deeper on the pipe. May be easier to work with in small areas.

 

[TSwizzy]

why not just take a hack saw to the rock and cut as low as you want and then epoxy/cement the new rock work

 

[Cari]

I am in love with this aquauscape!

Thank you!