Planet 400G Overhang Reef

[skyrne_isk]

So making final decisions on flow is going to depend heavily on aquascape, so let’s get that out here.

Most of the rock I have is old Tonga and Fiji rock that has been sitting dry in a container in my basement for probably a decade. I did end up buying some Marco rock because I couldn’t bring myself to smash up rock that isn’t available any longer to meet some of the niche sizes I needed.

It was lots of hours (but therapeutic) to build the two structures. The process I followed was this:

1. Super glue and sand to “tack” pieces together at exactly the correct angle. This is a big deal to shape the structures to go where you want. Glue first, then sprinkle sand, repeat (and repeat, and repeat ). I used extra thick CA glue, and thought it worked well: https://a.co/d/0b28YWTk

2. But step one isn’t all that great if I had larger voids between how the rocks want to fit together (think > 1/2” gaps). So I picked up some MarcoRocks E400 cement to fill then cement these pieces together. https://premiumaquatics.com/collect...1&_sid=67f6a84f3&_ss=r&variant=47329655030002

Note to others, you can easily make your own "E Marco" cement by purchasing Portland Type 1 style cement (that any local concrete supply house should have or be able to order for you, big box stores don't typically) and mixing with concrete acrylic fortifier mixed 1:3 with water. I used this acrylic fortifier: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sika-1-Gallon-Masonry-Bonding-Agent/999977072

I didn't like how purple the E 400 cement was so mixed it up with Portland cement and it ended up perfect. And I have approximately 97 pounds left out of the 98 pound bag I bought (was the only size they had!).


3. Last step was to drill any vertical rocks with successively larger mortar drill bits (crucial to keep the rocks from breaking, as I eventually learned) and run a fiberglass rod to give structural support through each piece. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-48-in-Orange-Reflective-Rod/3025196?store=1191&cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tah-_-ggl-_-CRP_SHP_LIA_TAH_Online_High_Priority(A-D+Priority+Items+CL3)_Omni-_-3025196-_-local-_-22862735460-_-&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22862735460&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W9fSS-h28OnX_mkmIj_OIsX_&gclid=Cj0KCQjw77bPBhC_ARIsAGAjjV9mVS-0uNrZfQoqWjVTgZt1UgfY1lNJLhKqNBYvxCX6_R0JgNa1qkcaAjopEALw_wcB

To get my bearings for what worked, I started with the arch as it was the lowest risk build part of the aquascape. It's completely true that the rock will break before the CA and sand (ask me how I know). So that's what made me also decide to run the fiberglass rods. I don't have many pictures of the arch in progress (Edit, once the arch cracked at its apex I DID take pics of the rebuild with fiberglass rods going it, they are below)




And here is what the final product ended up like:



I should note: if you look at some of the photos you will see an angle grinder with metal cutoff wheel attached - this was a game changer for how to assemble the rocks and being able to cut the fiberglass rods off flush with the rock. The grinder was frequently used take nubs or rounded parts of rocks down so the pieces would have better bearing edges between two pieces. And it let me drastically reshape rocks that were much too big to be of use. Watched a BRS aquascaping video where they used a hammer I think.... savages.

 

[hatfielj]

That's impressive. I've never done aquascaping like this before. I've got 300 lbs of Australian live rock cooking in a stock tank already. I think I'm going to try building a stable base out of dry rock first, then stack the live rock on top of that. I'm not sure how it's going to go yet. I will use glue and cement for the dry portion, but not the live stuff.

 

[skyrne_isk]

It will become apparent later, but this piece of wood was the start of my primary reef structure - the unsupported overhang. During the build, it was screwed down flush to the plywood deck I used to build the rock structures on top of.




The first couple rocks looked like this - built around the piece of wood

This was continued progression upward of the overhang and getting a sense check of proportions.

I briefly toyed with flipping the order of the structures.

But decided against it and kept building the overhang.

Here felt like the angle was a bit severe so adjusted (coke can for scale)

Top down view at this stage.

Other side, some odd protrusions didn’t quite look right.

Final product:

I wanted the overhang structure to be the dominant feature but initially it was about the same height of the arch. So you might notice the wood platform now under the base of the bigger structure to lift it up a bit. Turns out that greatly complicated the engineering of the anchor of the structure, but give me a little more height without having to build the structure ever longer. So if this build succeeds or fails, it will be on what comes next!

 

[Glowurm]

Using sea sweeps for my peninsula on the viewing end to help with flow. I refuse to use low closed loops because of the risk for leaks. A bulkhead will not last forever and 400 gallons would lead to a VERY costly and long road of repairs not to mention the loss of life in the system. I always plan for the worst though. 40 gallons compared to 400 isnt even in the same world . Ive been in floods so I have seen enough.

The solar tube is a cool idea. Would be awesome to use 2 of them between the lights. My tank is essentially in a fortress under 2 other floors so its not an option for me though I always wanted to play with solar tubes. In that 4ft peninsula reaching the middle will be still a challenge . Love the natural inspiration!

Yes have considered sea sweeps or alternatives, also considered over the top loop with holes drilled in the back of the tank rather than the bottom of the tank. Primarily because in the event of failure or maintenance it would not lead to a total tank collapse.

 

[MasterClassReefs]

It will become apparent later, but this piece of wood was the start of my primary reef structure - the unsupported overhang. During the build, it was screwed down flush to the plywood deck I used to build the rock structures on top of.




The first couple rocks looked like this - built around the piece of wood

This was continued progression upward of the overhang and getting a sense check of proportions.

I briefly toyed with flipping the order of the structures.

But decided against it and kept building the overhang.

Here felt like the angle was a bit severe so adjusted (coke can for scale)

Top down view at this stage.

Other side, some odd protrusions didn’t quite look right.

Final product:

I wanted the overhang structure to be the dominant feature but initially it was about the same height of the arch. So you might notice the wood platform now under the base of the bigger structure to lift it up a bit. Turns out that greatly complicated the engineering of the anchor of the structure, but give me a little more height without having to build the structure ever longer. So if this build succeeds or fails, it will be on what comes next!

Fun idea! Will be interesting to see how they hold up with the coral weight on them as I dont see much to keep them from tipping in the direction of the lean. The impossible overhang look is always a cool choice though. I have a couple overhangs that reach out 2ft or so but I have a foot countering the lean below to take the load.

 

[MasterClassReefs]

Using sea sweeps for my peninsula on the viewing end to help with flow. I refuse to use low closed loops because of the risk for leaks. A bulkhead will not last forever and 400 gallons would lead to a VERY costly and long road of repairs not to mention the loss of life in the system. I always plan for the worst though. 40 gallons compared to 400 isnt even in the same world . Ive been in floods so I have seen enough.

The solar tube is a cool idea. Would be awesome to use 2 of them between the lights. My tank is essentially in a fortress under 2 other floors so its not an option for me though I always wanted to play with solar tubes. In that 4ft peninsula reaching the middle will be still a challenge . Love the natural inspiration!

Yes have considered sea sweeps or alternatives, also considered over the top loop with holes drilled in the back of the tank rather than the bottom of the tank. Primarily because in the event of failure or maintenance it would not lead to a total tank collapse.

Good thinking. Plan for disaster and you may be able to avoid it.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Any thoughts on steel vs alufab stands? A powder coated welded steel stand from Planet is within a couple hundred bucks of the aluminum stand from Framingtech. And gets me a warranty from Planet on the tank....

 

[Apotack]

Warranty = no brainer for a few hundred dollars

 

[skyrne_isk]

Warranty = no brainer for a few hundred dollars

The only thing I need to figure out is if the stand can be maneuvered through the hallway to the back room. At 30” tall there’s one right corner I need to plan around. Tank is only 25” tall and will fit, but didn’t check 30”.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Fun idea! Will be interesting to see how they hold up with the coral weight on them as I dont see much to keep them from tipping in the direction of the lean. The impossible overhang look is always a cool choice though. I have a couple overhangs that reach out 2ft or so but I have a foot countering the lean below to take the load.

Here’s the plan on that:

For the entirety of the aquascape build, this block of wood was screwed to the plywood with a couple fiberglass rods drilled through both the rock and wood to hold it solid.


There is a local plastics shop near me that sells PVC up to 3” thick. Some years ago, I bought a couple remnant blocks they had around. So the plan was to transfer the dimensions and holes on this wood
block to the PVC block.



But the first problem I had was the PVC block was a bit too short. And so I needed to laminate another 3/8 piece to the block to make it match the wood.



Then I routered that shim piece flush and cut the PVC to match the wood block (I didn’t snap any pics of that part).

Because I also needed to bump this whole block of PVC by 1” to raise the structure like I ended up doing in the mock-up to keep the overhang larger than the arch. So I sourced this 12” x 1l piece of sheet PVC from: https://buyplastic.com/pvc-type-1-plastic-sheet/
And sanded it to 240.



But I ALSO had raise up this platform by the same 3/8 thickness I laminated the PVC block by - so more gluing and routering ensued.



Gluing the block to the sheet got a little tricky - tough to clamp on a non perpendicular surface, so I temporarily super glued the wasted wedge piece back to the block and clamped it flush.

Then the other side of the sheet was laminated with the 3/8 piece and the whole thing routered flush. Some good news is that this technically let me glue the block to the sheet on 3 sides.


Last step was to pop the wedge back off.



And here’s what I ended up with:

 

[skyrne_isk]

Should have mentioned before all this gluing I wanted to make the PVC block fit within the rock structure with a little more exactness. This step involved wrapping the PVC block with wax paper and then cementing and super gluing rock and sand to the inside of the rock structure to be square to the block.

Wax paper


End product

At some earlier point I also put a skim coat of cement (one side Portland the other E400 because who cares) to give me a very flush seat of the underside of the overhang structure to the PVC sheet.

Checking the final fit (and you can see the fiberglass rods that run through the rock on both sides and the PVC block)

So ALL this keeping in mind that this PVC base needs to be shipped to Planet who is kindly going to glue and clamp this base to the PVC bottom of my new tank. My fingers are crossed that all that part goes smoothly (and for the love of it all they don’t glue it facing backwards). Or the whole structure will tip over - requiring me to prop it up and probably block the return on my closed loop. No pressure!

Probably a bunch of corals break, the major focal point of the reef won’t be anywhere near the visions, AND I’ll probably have to edit the title of this build thread! But I am actually optimistic. I can’t imagine the PVC block coming unglued from the 12” square sheet and Planet now has a square foot of PVC area to make good contact with the bottom of the tank. Now I just need to sweet talk them into Facetiming while they glue the base so I can micromanage helpfully supervise and collaborate on the process

 

[MasterClassReefs]

That is a very different approach from scapes I have seen. Will be interesting to watch this come together. I would have just glued an additional base piece to the leaning side to counter it so it can be moved. Hopefully you never have to take it out. Following along.

 

[skyrne_isk]

That is a very different approach from scapes I have seen. Will be interesting to watch this come together. I would have just glued an additional base piece to the leaning side to counter it so it can be moved. Hopefully you never have to take it out. Following along.

Yup, with the size of the overhang it would have taken a LOT of rock to counterbalance the far end. I am no architect, but believe this is a true cantilever (had to look it up).

 

[rvitko Verified Sponsor]

This is what I would do for pumps here- https://shop.tunze.com/us/search?search=6105.501

3-4 of them with the power supplies upgraded to 24V, 3 pumps you can oscillate and change the flow for specific angles and change the oscillation speed with each pump doing about 4500 gph really should cover teh bases.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Weekend project: getting the lighting canopy started.

All poplar, per usual .

With the size of this canopy being larger than any I’ve built before, I wanted to make sure the corners had proper reinforcement.

I still had a short 2 foot section of milled poplar from my last build in the garage. Kept it because it’s almost black, which is odd for poplar. Worked out perfect - even if I went a little overboard with pocket screws. These corner pieces will give me something solid to anchor into when I get to hanging it.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[skyrne_isk]

Following along!

Please do!

Some more progress on the canopy, yesterday I ripped some plywood on the table saw to complete the internal support structure which serves two purposes:

It will hold the standoffs for the T5 and VHO sockets.

And it will give a platform on which to sit the ballasts and conduit for the wiring to said fluorescent sockets.

First coat of oil based paint - which I maintain smells great (my kids disagree )

 

[skyrne_isk]

Half the inside all done on the canopy.


And some other big news: officially ordered the tank and stand from Planet. Framingtech was great to work with but shipping was 500 and in the end within 100 bucks of the steel stand. A couple other companies including 8020.net wouldn’t even quote the stand. Lame. Their inside sales team said they had a failure on a previously engineered stand on an aquarium and had gotten sued. Who knows….

A 7 year warranty on the tank through Planet was too good to pass up. I had to check the fit of the stand on its side and it’s tight but does fit.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Happy mother’s day! In between the goings on, finished oil paint on the inside and got some stain on the outside. Right now I think the stain is overpowering the grain just a bit - especially on the front end. Might sand at 220 before poly to see if I can reveal it a bit more.

Have to love my fancy paint stands

 

[skyrne_isk]

Painting and poly on the canopy is complete. On the outside I used a tinted water based stain from Minwax and Polycrylic for the finish - lightly sanded at 220 between coats. I should say, the wood was initially sanded at 80 to keep the grain open to get the stain soaked into the wood.

I have no idea if anyone appreciates woodworking details here, but keeping a reef and building stands has really given me a love of carpentry - and I like keeping the details of the canopy because I eventually will finish the stand and want to follow the same process. Here are the materials used to do the inside and out.



One other thing I like about Polycrylic: since it is water based it takes Floetrol which makes getting a mirror smooth finish coat exponentially easier!


I am really happy with how the coloring of the stain still lets the grain come through.



I did end up restaining the end pictured here to give it a bit more fill after watering the stain down quite bit to avoid a painted look.

This is 1/16 by 1 1/2 aluminum angle. I have used a track in the middle of my stands for years now. My current halide fits in a track this size which then led me to ALSO build a cradle for the Reefis to sit in these rails. I always agonize over light placement and over time as things grow the ability to slide lights around to position them to precisely where you need is really nice to have. The cross members are to keep the flexing and distortion down to the lights don’t end up in the tank!

Here is ancient technology recovered to use in this build


Next steps are the fiddle around with ballast placement. You can see the two T5 ballasts at the top and bottom. This should be the layout that minimizes how much wire to run but am not 100% on it yet.