4ReefCoral Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 This is a project I have been working on as part of the refurbishing of my 300 gallon tank. The tank is in-wall and in the past I had stacked live rock piles to cover the back wall and sides which are coated with a black epoxy. This resulted in a lot of volume in the tank being taken up by rock so this time around I wanted to try this technique. There are two panels that will be siliconed to the tank sides and two panels on the back that are free standing with a gap of about 4" from the back of the tank for the plumbing and fish hideout/caves. I plan to stack a layer of live rock on the two shelves that are created over the caves to help seed the dry rock. There is also a narrow column of rock slightly offset from center and about that gives depth and something for the fish to swim around. The back wall of the tank will also have a sheet of dark blue acrylic adhered to it for added depth, I will park a magnet behind the rock to keep the back acrylic clean. It's been a fun project and I think it will look pretty good once some live stuff (hopefully not hair algae) starts to grow on it. Let me know if there are any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Larry, an old member did a rock wall, similarly though he used crushed LR and made it look more like a solid wall as opposed to caves. It's a neat take on the same idea and I'm sure it'll turn out well as his did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefNewby82 Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 This is a cool idea...and looks like you are doing a great job at it! Looks like a lot of work but it will look great in the end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Wow! That is a great idea! What kind of foam is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ReefCoral Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Thanks guys. I can't take credit for the idea, there are some others that have done some cool stuff on reef central. The foam I used is the one made to use in koi pond building so it is UV resistant and fish safe. Great Foam brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ReefCoral Posted October 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Thanks to PetesFolly, Coralfarm123, and Reefer82 the tank is now in place. Need to trim out the wall surround and get this thing plumbed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Those inserts look way better in person. It'll be pretty cool once you get some corals mounted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesFolly Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 I agree, those rock walls looked fantastic!! My next tank will definitely incorporate that idea! I am looking forward to seeing it again when it has water and livestock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ReefCoral Posted November 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Made some progress over the long weekend if you want to check out the album. The sump build is coming along, refurbished an old 75 and cut my own baffles from HD acrylic. Picked up a used skimmer and pairing it with a new BB skimmer pump. Got everything plumbed and then broke it down to give it a paint job, I guess inspired by the dude that paints everything orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 very cool. Ill definitively be doing this in my next tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ReefCoral Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Finsihed up the plumbing this weekend and started adding water, new photos in the gallery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ReefCoral Posted December 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Filling the tank now and I had one portion of dry rock / foam float to the surface, I guess the rock to foam ratio was not enough to hold it down. I will pile some live rock on it when the tank is full and running. The sides and back are holding down okay, I added a few more dabs of silicone along the top to stick them to the tank better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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