My first build... vertical!

[Passedyouby]

Careful using lava rock, there is a reason no one really uses the stuff. Once you move to live corals I would change it out for marine pure balls/blocks and run carbon heavy for a bit.

Hmm!!! I think this is the first time ive heard bad things about lava! I understand live rock gives a new tank an initial bacteria 'boost' but afer established ive never heard of people having problems.
Im not arguing, Honestly curious. Why should i steer away from them? Suckers seem to be wildly porous!

 

[Saveafish]

@Passedyouby
This is very cool. I seen where your having a sump wish. Maybe look into the same ide for the sump. Tall sump. 8x10 deep like 20" deep. Than you can put stuff in it. Just stack on each other. Or maybe a canister filter.

 

[Passedyouby]

@Passedyouby
This is very cool. I seen where your having a sump wish. Maybe look into the same ide for the sump. Tall sump. 8x10 deep like 20" deep. Than you can put stuff in it. Just stack on each other. Or maybe a canister filter.

I appreciate it saveafish!

Yeah, that was kinda my idea here. I put that plastic bin in as a "sump" for heaters, filter sock, dosing systems, etc and the 5gal bucket next to the tank is my "canister" filter full of lava rock and a polishing pad.

Issue i have with changing over to a tall sump under the tank is the plumbing. I made a rookie mistake and put the check valve before my valves instead of after... now im stuck with those three valves placed exactly where they are, instead of being able to cut and move them freely to make room for the sump to drop lower.

 

[McFly]

about lava! I understand live rock

Lava rock, not live rock. I mean you could turn lava rock into live rock over time, there is just considerations like heavy metals leeching over time.

If you complete a quick search on using lava rock for live rock, there are lots of forums posts out there.

 

[Saveafish]

Maybe add a canister filter to it, in line. Hide it under a lil cute table next to it so people can sit on the table and look at it.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Love the tank. Very cool idea!

 

[Passedyouby]

Lava rock, not live rock. I mean you could turn lava rock into live rock over time, there is just considerations like heavy metals leeching over time.

Hmm. Didnt consider impurities in the lava leaching out... i use RODI as my incoming source. Would you think that water changes alone will keep levels down? Or is it worth investing in a filter to remove?

 

[Passedyouby]

Maybe add a canister filter to it, in line. Hide it under a lil cute table next to it so people can sit on the table and look at it.

What would the canister add to the equation? I felt the biological media was already overkill! Haha

 

[Snookin]

Hmm!!! I think this is the first time ive heard bad things about lava! I understand live rock gives a new tank an initial bacteria 'boost' but afer established ive never heard of people having problems.
Im not arguing, Honestly curious. Why should i steer away from them? Suckers seem to be wildly porous!

Lava rock is a problem. You don’t know what the lava rock was formed from. There could be heavy metals that leach into the water over time that are poisonous to fish and inverts. Also, tradional live rock either natural or man made is usually composed of calcium carbonate and helps with natural PH buffering and has other benefits for the saltwater aquarium. Lots of articles on that just google. Any rock or porous material can become “live” once bacteria forms but it doesn’t mean that it is good for maintaining a saltwater aquarium.

 

[Saveafish]

What would the canister add to the equation? I felt the biological media was already overkill! Haha

It'll add bio filtering. You can get them with UV in them. Or maybe. Build a 4"X11"x the heigth. Wood cabinets one on each side and use the space to run plumbing and put the sump on top.

 

[Passedyouby]

Lava rock is a problem. You don’t know what the lava rock was formed from. There could be heavy metals that leach into the water over time that are poisonous to fish and inverts. Also, tradional live rock either natural or man made is usually composed of calcium carbonate and helps with natural PH buffering and has other benefits for the saltwater aquarium. Lots of articles on that just google. Any rock or porous material can become “live” once bacteria forms but it doesn’t mean that it is good for maintaining a saltwater aquarium.

Hmm. Good tips! I will phase it out as things start to stabilize

 

[McFly]

Hmm. Didnt consider impurities in the lava leaching out... i use RODI as my incoming source. Would you think that water changes alone will keep levels down? Or is it worth investing in a filter to remove?

I would simply remove the lava rock and use an alternative like marine pure. Its more expensive but worth the piece of mind. You do not want to be troubleshooting weird coral or invertebrate issues a year from now to find out your lava rock was slowly leeching copper all along. I'm surprised no one else has pointed this out yet as a potential issue with your setup.

 

[Passedyouby]

I would simply remove the lava rock and use an alternative like marine pure. Its more expensive but worth the piece of mind. You do not want to be troubleshooting weird coral or invertebrate issues a year from now to find out your lava rock was slowly leeching copper all along.

I assume removing all at once is a bad idea for the tabk, but do like your idea and will phase it out over the next month!

 

[dantimdad]

I honestly think I would lay this thing on it's side, use a router to leave a 2" eurobrace and put an end on it.

Really long shallow tank would be very cool and much, much easier to do.

 

[Passedyouby]

It'll add bio filtering. You can get them with UV in them. Or maybe. Build a 4"X11"x the heigth. Wood cabinets one on each side and use the space to run plumbing and put the sump on top.

I do like the idea of building a wood cabinet of the same material to hide the additional equipment. Will open a few new doors

 

[Passedyouby]

I honestly think I would lay this thing on it's side, use a router to leave a 2" eurobrace and put an end on it.

Really long shallow tank would be very cool and much, much easier to do.

That would be too easy! Plus it wasnt cheap designing it this way! Gotta make it work now! Haha but i do agree it would have been a smarter idea

 

[SeaJay]

If you really want to light the bottom portion of the tank better you could probably find a way to disguise some lights in some type of furniture or wall sconces about halfway down the sides of the tank.

 

[nguye829]

Nice build. It is definitely something that you don't see every day.

 

[Passedyouby]

If you really want to light the bottom portion of the tank better you could probably find a way to disguise some lights in some type of furniture or wall sconces about halfway down the sides of the tank.

Clever idea. Will keep that in mind if the tank feels dark later on.

My plan was to use a single kessil A360N-E. They penetrate deeper than my tank is tall, so except for shadowing i should be okay on the penetration front

 

[Passedyouby]

Nice build. It is definitely something that you don't see every day.

Thank you. That was the goal! :)