75g started

[Mizzou]

Right now I'm just waiting for my driftwood and looking for some rocks. Here are a few pics for now I need to use my gf's cam mine is really bad. I'll update once I get the wood and rocks in. Any comments appreciated! Thanks for looking

Fish: Some type of Aulonocara (I think)
Filters: Penguin biowheels - canister filter decision to be made soon
Heater: THEO Hydor 300w at 80 degrees
Substrate: Pool filter sand -100 lbs
Plants: fake
Lighting: (1) 48" Power-Glo 18K - glass canopy
Tank: Glass, egg crate on bottom, black vinyl for background

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/tank.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/tank2.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/tank3.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/fish2.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/fish.jpg

[jlw82]

I like it. I can't seem to find any rock like that around me...

[pl*co]

Looking real good so far. :dive:

[Slappy*McFish]

That's a really cool looking tank you have there.

[Mizzou]

Thanks all -I just found the rock around the house then did the whole boil and test in a bucket thing before I used it. I found a landscape/garden store that sells cheap rocks I'm going to check it out this weekend then hopefully new pics soon once the rocks are ready.

To update I went with the Fluval 405 for my canister.

[wackydan]

You used the egg crate to spread the weight of the rock?

[Star_Rider]

looks pretty good.

I get mixed input on using egg crating for wt distribution .

some say yes..others say no but they recommend placing the rock before the sand..:huh:

[rmcder]

It isn't just the weight distribution of rocks as a whole; it avoids points on the rocks exerting large forces on very small points on the glass and starting cracks (which of course then extend and widen). Your message suggests that you've seen advice contrary to using eggcrate? Can you elaborate on that; I haven't heard any contrary points of view before?

[wackydan]

Hmmm... Using egg crate to avoid points into the glass seems to be logical. I hadn't thought of that. But, going by that, you could put a panel of plexi on the bottom as well, and that would have the same affect.

[Star_Rider]

It isn't just the weight distribution of rocks as a whole; it avoids points on the rocks exerting large forces on very small points on the glass and starting cracks (which of course then extend and widen). Your message suggests that you've seen advice contrary to using eggcrate? Can you elaborate on that; I haven't heard any contrary points of view before?

I thought the egg crate was a good idea and made sense.

however, in a SW tank with deep sand bed and live rock..it was recommended to not use egg crate as it affects the ability of animals that burrow in the sand keeping it healthy.

others mention no need to use egg crate in FW as they felt it was not really needed.

most if not all mention adding the rock then the sand/gravel to keep the rock stable.:huh:

[rmcder]

Hmmm... Using egg crate to avoid points into the glass seems to be logical. I hadn't thought of that. But, going by that, you could put a panel of plexi on the bottom as well, and that would have the same affect.
Yes it would.

[rmcder]

I thought the egg crate was a good idea and made sense. however, in a SW tank with deep sand bed and live rock..it was recommended to not use egg crate as it affects the ability of animals that burrow in the sand keeping it healthy.

others mention no need to use egg crate in FW as they felt it was not really needed.

most if not all mention adding the rock then the sand/gravel to keep the rock stable.:huh:
Hmmm.. Well the egg crate is only 1/4" deep (about), so I can't imagine it makes much difference in burrowing? And it's to avoid problems with rock, so FW vs. SW has no real impact other than that SW tends to use more rock (but it also tends to be lighter rock, so that's kind of a "wash").

Yes, rock should be in first so it has already "settled" to the bottom and won't shift with digging (the sand doesn't make it more stable since the fish are going to be digging away at the sand anyway), but that's exactly why the eggcrate might be needed; because the rock is right on the glass!

Well, interesting, but I don't particularly buy the arguments against, and the possibilty of breaking out the bottom of a tank kind of trumps any argument, imo. The plexiglass idea might be one to consider also; only thing there is that the surface would be "slipperier".

[Mizzou]

Hmmm... Using egg crate to avoid points into the glass seems to be logical. I hadn't thought of that. But, going by that, you could put a panel of plexi on the bottom as well, and that would have the same affect.

I got the idea from people on this website. Lots of helpful people out there.

[Kyohti]

I'm lost... what is all of this about breaking the bottoms out of the tanks? Pressure points? Eggcrates and plexiglass inside aquariums?? Can someone please elaborate. It might be the utter lack of sleep speaking, but I'm totally lost on this line of thought....

And I must say, Mizzuo, I love the tank set-up and the fakes are simply gorgeous. Here here for artificial!!! :D

[Rbishop]

When you rock out a tank with lots of rocks for a specific look, depending on the type of rock you use, you could have it's weight unevenly distributed.

If it has sharp pointed edges, that weight and anything on top of it is concentrated at that point. Not good for glass in general. Knocking off the points is one way to handle it.

Also, stacked designs can become unstable or fish/maintenance can knock them over. Having a layer of the egg crate on the bottom can prevent damage directly to the glass or relieve stress points by distributing the weight.

[geno8701]

Your setup is really good looking. Good job man!

[Mizzou]

I took these pics about 3 weeks ago. I added my driftwood, changed to (2) marineland heaters 150W and added fish. Last week I rearranged the rockwork to give it more height ...... more pics soon.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/th_mikefish005.jpg (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/mikefish005.jpg)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/th_mikefish004.jpg (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/mikefish004.jpg)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/th_full.jpg (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/full.jpg)
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/th_33.jpg (http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/33.jpg)

[Slappy*McFish]

Wow, nice. Great color.

[rmcder]

Very nice look, Mizzou! Understated, nicely balanced horizontally, with some vertical balance as well. Lots of color. Great job!

[Rbishop]

Excellent job!

[jamthoyoung]

Very nice Mizzou.

[Mizzou]

Anyone have tips to keep them from moving so much so I can get a good picture?

[Mizzou]

Some updated pics of the tank added 3 more pieces of driftwood and a lot more rocks. I need to check the camera settings not sure why the pics came out so white.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0670.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0674.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0679.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0666.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0671.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0672.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0678.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0665.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0660.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/3noutmike/blog%20pics/CIMG0659.jpg