New Negative Space Aquascape in XL300

Neuratox

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I never thought I would do this, but I downsized my tank, going from a 90 gallon to a 65 gallon, but I'm so happy I did. I bought the 90 gallon as a used tank, built the stand myself (first serious DIY project) and just wanted something that looked nice. To top that off, I had no idea what I was doing when I set up the initial aquascape. I'll spend the next 6 months stabilizing the new tank and slowly transferring over the livestock and corals.
I spent a combine 20+ hours building the scape in the garage and then moving it into the new tank. It was absolutely terrifying. The heaviest piece weighed about 40-50lbs and I was so worried that I was going to drop it as I'm standing on the ladder, leaning over the tank to lower it in. In the end everything was fine (thanks in part to my wife's support) and I couldn't be happier with the results!

I still have a bit of work to do modding out the stand so I can have a true control board for all of the electronics and I want to get one more hydra 32, as I currently only have 2.
I just wanted to be able to share the final product with people that would truly appreciate it.

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ZManGT

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I really like the look of this. You have lots of levels to work with for coral placement and a decent amount of rock but it is still very aesthetically pleasing.
 
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Neuratox

Neuratox

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Thanks everyone! I honestly didn't think it would turn out this good. Luckily I found this video about a week before I bought the new tank. ().
Jib - TLDR of the video - use reef safe superglue and an accelerator to cure the glue within seconds. Build the structure and then use cement at all the joints. I tried to follow the last step of the video where Ryan used sand at the joints. I really didn't have much luck with it, but I tried to do a few joints at a time. The places where I tried only one at a time showed the best results, making it look like a single rock rather than fragments.

ZmanGT - Yes! Thats one of the most exciting things to me. My plans for this tank are to make it a mixed reef tank, leaning more heavily toward SPS.
 
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Neuratox

Neuratox

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I really don't like the rat's nest of cords that accumulated over time with the previous tank and I wanted to make sure that I got off on a good start with this one. I saw some pictures of control boards that provided a good deal of inspiration and built one myself. I'm really pleased with this. Not only does it look sexy, but everything is organized neatly. Furthermore, everything is off the ground, so in the event of a tank leak, it is going to be a much safer situation. BTW, this tank is on a GFCI outlet - installed and tested before setting up the tank.

I also made sure that if needed/wanted the whole thing can be pulled out from under that tank - no mods done directly to the stand - didn't want to ruin it.

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Flazh510

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I really don't like the rat's nest of cords that accumulated over time with the previous tank and I wanted to make sure that I got off on a good start with this one. I saw some pictures of control boards that provided a good deal of inspiration and built one myself. I'm really pleased with this. Not only does it look sexy, but everything is organized neatly. Furthermore, everything is off the ground, so in the event of a tank leak, it is going to be a much safer situation. BTW, this tank is on a GFCI outlet - installed and tested before setting up the tank.

I also made sure that if needed/wanted the whole thing can be pulled out from under that tank - no mods done directly to the stand - didn't want to ruin it.

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What did you use to make your control board?
I also have 300 XL , yours looks amazing
 
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Neuratox

Neuratox

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Hey Flazh,
Thanks so much for the compliments. I've worked hard to make this a true improvement on the last build. I should update the pictures now that all the coral went in this weekend.
The control board is made out of melamine shelving that I spray painted black. Don't be fooled, it doesn't like to be painted haha. It took 3 or 4 coats and about 12 hours to dry each side.
Here is the tinkercad file I made for it. Its pretty messy and not 100% exact as it was my first time, but as you can see it worked out fairly well.
By the way, I LOVE the 350. The added depth is incredible and I'll never go without it again!

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/kYHXK6hXVec-reef-cabinet-insert

Cheers!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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    Votes: 64 36.8%
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