Reef structure from pvc done

[Acronuts1]

Well guys its done and its been 3 weeks since I decided to redo the tank reef structure. Of course it is still a work in progress but now I feel I have room to grow.
I am very happy because now instead of seeing a reef full of live rock, there is more real estate space for corals along the pvc.
Because of the width of the tank my structure was limited. Taking into account for furture growth this bought the structure to a limited height also.

Here are some pics, in a few months I will do a before and after.

This was the fun part trying to figure out where to attach the corals

In 3 weeks the pvc is already showing signs of coraline algae growth!

Well as time goes on I'll keep photos for records.

Thanks guys for all your advice and expertise!

Juan

 

[Anonymous]

That looks very efficient. I'm a big fan of PVC structures in tanks. The flow under/around is awesome. If you ever decide to rearrange - you might be interested in adding some great stuff foam (the red can), a layer of Krylon Fusion paint, and a handful of sand. This is about 20 minutes worth of work and about $10 worth of supplies...it takes about two months of growth before seasoned reefers can't tell it apart from real rock without looking very closely.

 

[Acronuts1]

Wow Mike!
I love it! I actually new about the sea foam stuff but decided against it because of time and I did not have any extra tanks to harbor my corals.
The guys at my lfs did recommend it. They used it on their main display tank. You are right it does look great and it is hard to tell the difference.

Juan

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Mike, how about a more detailed explanation, perhaps in a new thread? I've got to redo my nano, and was wanting to do something better with the rockwork than I have now

 

[MartinE]

Yes the use of tuff stuff foam as an aquascaping tool is an interesting idea. Saw some on another board, turns out looking nice.

 

[Anonymous]

Just a thought...if you guys want to make all these wacky bends and loops with PVC pipe, a pipe heater or heat gun may come in handy. You could theoretically make these shapes with one smooth piece of pipe. I guess the end result is the same, but it may save you some cash.

HTH,
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

I'm months overdue on my photolog or I would post an up to date photo. The gray pipe I used it electrical conduit. You can get all 45* and 90* sweeping bends for ~$1 each. I didn't have a heat gun (picked one up the other day in case I'll ever need it). PaulB on RC has done a lot of awesome work with his heat gun on PVC though. There's also an podcast on Talking Reef on the subject - IIRC, they filled the pipe with sand so it didn't kink upon bending.

 

[SnowManSnow]

no offence, but it kinda makes me hungry, cause it looks like a melted candy bar!!

 

[Sea Turtle]

very cool. I had no idea that yo ucould do this. Might not be a bad idea to use a small section in one or two spot in my tank to add some support and free up space.

Nice job. Looks great.