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Here's a few pics of the 150 (48x30x24) tank I'm building...I'll be using all the equipment from my old 75 gallon:

DSCN0652.jpg


Essentially, it'll be a bare bottom Acropora/Montipora tank with limited fish life. Large skimmer (Deltec AP702), calcium reactor (MTC ProCal), and copious circulation (Sequence Dart, two Tunze 6100's, and Tunze Wavebox).
It's mostly quality equipment and works well. Tank is a Glass Cages 150 (hey, I had to save money somewhere...). Also looking for more swimming room, simplification, and reduction of electrical consumption (current electrical is over $200 a month for tank alone).
There will be zero live rock in the display to start (may add some in the future)... I want a totally custom display but I'm tired of the foam back drop...namely, its porosity (collects detritous and nutrients). I am not willing to put Starboard, cardboard, or even cardboard with sand glued to it in my tank...so I'll be building the entire reef structure/bottom out of sculpted, painted, and thickened resin. It'll look just like rock, except the parts I skin wiith coral texture...those will look like old dead coral...

starting with the model...

From top, rectangles are the stream/Wavebox placement:
DSCN1246.jpg


different angle:
DSCN1247.jpg


d.
 
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Built a nice sump with horizontal baffles, and a large total volume (about 55 gallons...all Polycast):

DSCN1264.jpg


another:
DSCN1263.jpg


Finally a picture of the tank:
DSCN1262.jpg


The Glass Cages tank is suprisingly nice....don't even see any of the excess silicon I hear oof all the time. I will be drilling/adding three 1.5 inch bulkheads and adding a 34 inch PVC sheet overflow on the back...

Still have to build the stand....

d.
 
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gforce6

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Location
Fort Lee, NJ
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Wow, whole new concept.
I can't wait to see your tank up and running.
BTW, about modeling clay, do you mean regular clay? Is it reef safe?
 
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The clay is in a model...it's just to work out the layout...figure out how I want the tank. The actual decor will be built with resin and various additives. It's not really a new concept, it's just the application of design and materials zoos and aquariums have been using for decades.

d.
 

herman

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Location
Weehawken, NJ
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That will look great man. I am doing something simmilar in my tank. I basically use "great stuff" foam. Followed by epoxy resin. That basically takes care of the foam breaking down. I went through alot of manufacturers datasheets to see if any of the products would leach anything into the water. How does the clay cure? Does it become totally inert? What kind of resin are you using?

I have tried to look for polyurethane foamin the us. The exact foam is called 2k-PU foam. That one becomes inert after curing.

Nice project man!!!
 
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Thanks Rich...I could use a hug right now if you like.....

H, regardless of what you coat it with the foam wil move and crack and allow contact with the water. I've got more than a little experience with closed cell poly foam. It breaks down.There are much better products though they are exponentially more expensive and dangerous. The not so Great Stuff is very difficult to sculpt, and clean over spill...forget about texturing it with anything...ever wonder why most of those foam tanks look like entrails?

d.

The clay is just for the model. The rock will be made of thickened resin.
 

nyfireman3097

Senior Member
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Herman tats is a material that Klaus uses in his tanks. it is the same material he uses to make the reef ceramic raocks also I believe

Drew the tank will look sweet bro cant wait to see pics oh yeah get a new cell phone will you lol
 
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Sorry Niick...can't stand having a phone...lol...

That stuff is a sprayable poly-something. It doesn't look sculpted...they just sputter it out like house insulation...don't have to pay the installers...er I mean artists much. Even with a gunite machine and copncrete rock work there is sculpting done...it just looks more like rock than the sprayed on stuff above. It looks like a thicke/harder version of Great stuff.

The Reef Rock from Klaus is fired ceramics...besides lightness, I can't think of a single reason I'd pay their insane prices for it...just go with some nice cooked live rock or have someone build you a custom background for a similar amount of money...
 

derm

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Location
yonkers
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i believe that is gunite, they use it on pools and jacuzzi . you could also make your own texture with aragonite. the g.a.r.f. method
 

herman

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Location
Weehawken, NJ
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Yeah that is actually a pic of Klaus's tank construction. Its polyurethane foam. It is sprayed on. Its not the same as the reef structures. The structures are carbon ceramics, kiln fired.

Derm, its not gunite. Simmilar except this stuff cures rockhard without pores.
 

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