hmm thats pretty cool, i kind of want to do that, but i want to make a column going straight up the middle in the back that would hide equipment and could either stack or attach rock all the way up it
47 Tall, Questions, build thread
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If you go up the center I would advice making a PVC frame then coating it with the foam to hide the PVC. That will give it much more strength and stability than just making a foam tower.
Thats a really good idea, didn't think about that, will have to start planning on that, and I was wondering if the media containers that came with the filter would be good to use for phosban media and or the "nitrate sponge" stuff by kent marine
As long as you put the media in a bag and pre-rinse it then it should work great in those media containers. I would fill the back of the filter with as much live rock rubble as you can as well. Purigen is also another good media you could put in there and is actually reusable by soaking the bag in 10% bleach/water to "recharge" the media then rinsing in clean water with dechlorinator after bleaching.
Oh ya, since I don't know much about seahorses I want to make sure to give you this warning, GFO media like Phosban WILL lower your alkalinity when first put in the tank. It can drop it into danger areas for a reef tank if not monitored/corrected. I don't know if seahorses are affected by fast alkalinity changes but thought I would give that warning just to make sure.
Oh ya, since I don't know much about seahorses I want to make sure to give you this warning, GFO media like Phosban WILL lower your alkalinity when first put in the tank. It can drop it into danger areas for a reef tank if not monitored/corrected. I don't know if seahorses are affected by fast alkalinity changes but thought I would give that warning just to make sure.
Ok thanks. Yea I will look out for that, i plan on hopefully setting the tank up within the next week or two, so I am going to be watching everthing
carefully for a good while before i add them.
was thinking about the pvc pipe structure, and what if i just make a "rack" type structure with the pvc so i can just sit the rock on it, that would provide good water flow through the rock and would prevent me from messing with the foam
carefully for a good while before i add them.
was thinking about the pvc pipe structure, and what if i just make a "rack" type structure with the pvc so i can just sit the rock on it, that would provide good water flow through the rock and would prevent me from messing with the foam
That is actually more common than using foam. One of the newer trends for aquascaping is to drill holes through your rock and use acrylic rods to hold them together. Here is an example of someone that used rods to make a "bonsai" reef as he calls it.
And another example of someone using acrylic rods to make columns.
And another example of someone using acrylic rods to make columns.
thats actually pretty cool too, hmm ill have to experiment and see how it goes, i just bought some conduit pipe, its flexible but it holds its form, so im gonna play with that and see, that acrylic rod method might be the best bet for me though, what do they use to drill the rock with? would a drill press work?
Usually just a regular drill like a Makita with the longest masonry bit you can find (reasonable, just make sure it can go all the way through the rocks you want to drill). If your drilling wet rock out of your tank rinse off your drill/bit with fresh water when your done so it doesn't rust.
sounds good, ill have to give it a try, think i could use anything else besides acrylic rod, thats not really readily available here, unless you know somewhere i could find some, hobby lobby maybe?
Ya, hobby shops is the most common place to find them locally. I haven't really heard of a substitute for acrylic rods because of the strength required by the rods to hold the rocks securely. PVC is obviously a little large to drill holes in rocks that big, and smaller diameter PVC is usually too brittle to support that type of weight.
