EternityBC's 450g 12 feet of floating fun

[msjboy]

I recall the tidal garden guy having some youtube reference to a "guy in asia doing a floating aquascape"( don't remember which youtube of his but had some link ) but you can see this show tank he is working on in eps 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3zTB6Fllg . His tank is similar to your except deeper. You can always ask him a question as he is quite receptive..he was on reefdudes not long ago.

[msjboy]

...and from tidalgarden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MfhEFRTgk4, his link is to some guy in korea using marco dust and glue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YabRU1LYDY4 there are some other related links as well from there.

[eternitybc]

Very nice. To bad there isn't a place in Canada that does this. I noticed on BRSTV the host got his rock done down in Florida, but I can only imagine the cost to ship and the border nightmare that would be.

[LifeIsGreat]

You can also glue rocks together using white pure portland cement. The downside is that you have to add at least 2 months to the curing time or the tank's water ph will climb out of control. The plus side is the cement is more chemically natural and cheaper than glue, and will house good bacteria.

[msjboy]

You can just buy the marco rock, slice it up with a band saw, chisel or dremel it and go from there as well... BRS did a video on that. Don't forget to save some costs, but some hydron and put it in a bucket in your sump. It's cheaper than the biofilter blocks yet equally as effective with it's surface area /density. Is the tank going to be SPS or a bit of everything? - there is enough room for it.

[eternitybc]

Now I'm kinda leaning to do both cement and break up a bunch of rock.
As a test I bought a reciprocating saw diamond blade


I forgot to get a before picture but here is what it looked like. This was one of my more dense pieces.


And now in half, took about 30 seconds and was super easy.


For the cement this stuff looks good
https://www.lowes.ca/product/mortar-...ment-mix-10396
Here is a note from the manufacturer:

QUIKWALL® Surface Bonding Cement (No. 123150 – Gray; No. 123050 – White) with QUIKRETE® Concrete Acrylic Fortifier (No. 8610) replacing a portion of the clean mixing water as per instructions would be appropriate if you are looking for a trowelable coating for potable water containment. Two 1/8” thick coats will need to be applied for water containment. Products containing cement, such as QUIKWALL® Surface Bonding Cement, change the pH level of the water with which they have contact during the curing time of the concrete – typically 21 to 56 days. It would be recommended to check pH of the water after 1 hour, and periodically thereafter to ensure that it meets the requirements for potable water. You may view the data sheet for the QUIKWALL® at https://www.quikrete.com/pdfs/data_s...230%201231.pdf. Consult local codes since requirements vary.

I figured I have about 100-200 pounds of mixed marco, pukani and shelf rock. I also have a bunch of branch rock coming.

As for the stocking, I'm going for a bit of everything with a fairly high fish load.

[msjboy]

You should check out recipes for the cement mix for your setup; I am sure there are but the ready mix might have undesirables in it?. I recall Russell of Prince George doing some DYI frag plugs with is cement recipe. Here is a link to his recipe: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ht=cement+frag .

[LifeIsGreat]

I concur with msjboy, the only factory made cement product that is pure enough for reef tanks is portland cement - it is made of baked limestone without the additives. Brock White sells white portland cement if your local big box stores don't carry it. I have successfully used this material for years. Just be sure to fresh water cure in the dark for 2 months, rinse it well, then switch to salt water, and after adding salt water let it sit for a week then test the PH. If the rock is raising the PH then let it cure longer before adding life to the tank.

Nice choice on cutting the rock, those flat pieces are great for stabilizing the base. Rubbing them on the driveway will grind off any ridges.

[eternitybc]

Originally Posted by LifeIsGreat

I concur with msjboy, the only factory made cement product that is pure enough for reef tanks is portland cement - it is made of baked limestone without the additives. Brock White sells white portland cement if your local big box stores don't carry it. I have successfully used this material for years. Just be sure to fresh water cure in the dark for 2 months, rinse it well, then switch to salt water, and after adding salt water let it sit for a week then test the PH. If the rock is raising the PH then let it cure longer before adding life to the tank.

Nice choice on cutting the rock, those flat pieces are great for stabilizing the base. Rubbing them on the driveway will grind off any ridges.

Thanks, yeah finding it was more the issue. I saw a couple posts with people using the quickrete since it was safe for portable water. But if the Portland stuff is tried and tested I will go ahead with that. It looks like there is a Brock White in Burnaby so I will see if they will sell to the public.

[eternitybc]

Moving day has arrived. Thankfully it went off without a hitch but talk about nerve racking!











And it's in!




The RedPath guys were great, in and out in just over an hour!


Got my sand and rock too!