Daves 75g basement build in thread.

[iseeweed]

Got some rocks in the tank tonight.

 

[bleedingthought]

If I may suggest something, try lowering the right section of the rocks so that if you look through the side it doesn't look like a single wall of rocks.

 

[trido]

Ya, ya. Like he said. Also, the pile is so tall there wont be any grow out room for corals at the top. I would suggest leaving at least eight inches from the rock to the waters surface so the corals can grow before the are literally in the air.



It does look real good though.

 

[iseeweed]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was kinda thinking the same thing about the height of the rocks. I will lower the right side tonight for more room. I really like the look of the center structure though, so I just might leave it high(or maybe knock a little off). I was also thinking about drilling a bunch of holes on the side of the center structure so I can pin some corals in sideways. Has anyone tried this with success??

 

[iseeweed]

I played with some rocks this morning and got the right side down quite a bit(about 8-9 inches from the water line) This will be the side were I will try to grow some sps stuff. I still like the looks of the conncting "bridge" rocks, but I just switched out for some smaller chunks to lower the structure. I will probably break out the chisel tonight and make some final ajustments.
I hope to finish the sump and get some water in this thing over the weekend!

 

[Anonymous]

I was also thinking about drilling a bunch of holes on the side of the center structure so I can pin some corals in sideways. Has anyone tried this with success??

Yes - especially for branching LPS (Hammer, Frogspawn and Hydrophora)

I have not tried it with SPS, but I am sure that this will work too.

Soft coral will "climb" up your rock structure until they are happy.

Another note. Do you expect to want to try some plate coral (Fungai), open brain, or clams that may do better not on the main rock structure?
It does not look like there is much space between the rocks and the front glass.

 

[iseeweed]

I will probably have a clam, but most of the stuff will be on the rocks. I am still going to move some stuff around, so I will make sure there is some space. I kinda wish I had got that bigger tank :roll: but this one is gonna have to work for a while!

 

[Ben1]

Nah 75 gal will be easier to maintain anyhow! Looks nice. My only critisism would be that it looks like a lot of contact between the rock and bottom. I like as little contact as possible to prevent dead spots that get detritus to build up. Either way I am sure it will grow in to a very nice system!

 

[iseeweed]

Ok, so I'm doing some more re-arranging. I moved everything as far back as possible to make more room out front, and lowered the rocks a little more. Thanks for the suggestion Ben, I may cut out some plastic(or something) to raise the rocks a little so some circulation can get under them.

 

[bleedingthought]

I like that better but I like (even) less rock now-a-days.

 

[iseeweed]

I thinned it out a wee bit more, but I do like a lot of rocks! I ended taking out about 25 lbs, and am glad I did. My initial set up had zero room for anything else!
I also figured a lot of surface area may be beneficial because I am going bare bottom??

 

[Anonymous]

At this rate you should rearrange for a 4th time, it just keeps getting better.

 

[bleedingthought]

I agree keep posting pictures and we'll tell if its gets worse or better.

 

[iseeweed]

Ok, so I broke out the chisel tonight and hacked away. I removed a bunch more, and even chopped a few inches off the top center rock. I'm trying to stick to my big rock look, with freeing up as much space as possible(if that make any sense)
I am also drilling literally hundreds of holes so I can pin corals all over the place.
I'm hoping the 4th try is the one?????

 

[bleedingthought]

I like that much better but I don't like the left stack as much as the other two. And how big are those holes? They have to be 1/2" or bigger for most branching LPS.

 

[iseeweed]

Yeh, the left stack is a scewer I made of cheap rock I got off the net. The other rock is nicer stuff I got from my LFS, but it is so much $$$.
As far as the holes, I will drill a small hole on the bottom of the coral "pucks" and epoxy in a small carbon rod. That way I will be able to move the stuff around, kinda like a dartboard. I saw a video on youtube one time of a guy who did it and it looked pretty cool. He could just reach in and swap corals if they needed more lite of flow.

 

[iseeweed]

Here is one of those coral darts I made this morning. If the coral already has a base, I will just drill a small hole and insert the carbon fiber rod. I hope to totally cover all the ugly rocks(to the left) with corals.
In the pictures, this is the same dart just in two different locations.
Ordered some more lights today, Hellolights is having a two day 10% off sale!

 

[Anonymous]

That is pretty cool, but I imagine it will be hard to mount a large branching LPS to a plug.

Maybe you want a couple bigger holes?

 

[iseeweed]

Yeh, the plugs are for small sps frags. I don't have any experience with lps. Where should the holes be, and what would be some nice lps corals for the display??

 

[Anonymous]

Branching hammer or frog spawn is nice.
Can also do the candy cane (what the tang is swimming by in my avatar). They come in several color and shape variety.

Duncanops are neat too, but I have never kept them. Supposed to be pretty hardy. All take the same care.

Mid level, mid to lower light.
Moderate flow.
Like some sot feeding, but not necessary.
Branches ~1/2 in thick (right around finger size)


Another LPS I like is Hydrophora, it can be pretty aggressive - but it does not have sweepers. Looks a lot like a bright green SPS.