Bioload 75 - Reef Aquarium

[bioload]

My lofty goal of starting a large reef tank is on hold and I can't wait. Instead I'll be working on a more manageable system for the time being. Which will be a 75 gallon that I've drilled some time ago.

Not much to talk about at the moment but everyone will get a chance to see it take shape from the start. The bones of the system is a 75gal Perfecto and metal stand. The stand will be in a second floor bedroom turned office (mine) so providing updates would be a snap.



First thing will be getting it cleaned up and putting on the backing. Rather than paint I will be using a self adhesive vinyl film (black) that I picked up from a local sign shop today @ $15 for 5' x 2.5'. I like using black which adds contrast to the colours in the tank. I haven't used this material for backing before so we'll see how it goes.

[bioload]

Vinyl isn't going on as easy as I thought it would. Looks like it is going to have to be painted. The trouble is getting a large area covered smoothly and working out all the bubbles PITA. Time to get the tank back to the garage for a coat of paint.....oh well the kids had fun making their own decals.

[bioload]

No much to update today. The tank is back in place for now with a fresh coat (x3) of paint.

[bioload]

Did some more work on the aquascape this weekend. Again made use of more stuff that I had stored away. The base is crushed coral which I screened to remove the larger particles leaving particles less that 1mm (yes I have way too much time on my hands at the moment). The sand bed is only 2" deep and probably not deep enough for denitrification but I like the look of the smaller grains. The rock-work is made up of lace, decorative stone, and previously live rock that resided in some of my older tanks. If I were to estimate the amount.....approx 50-60lbs

Took some time but I was able to thread some twist ties through some of the larger pieces to get them to stand together.



I like how this creates open space for livestock to swim in keeps the rock work off the sand for easy cleaning.


Here is an FTS


And from the sides.

[bioload]

I've also placed a sheet of 3/4" MDF 2 coat prime 3 coats paint under the sand. I will later place the sump on this and will make it easier to clean up minor spills. The tank also rests on a sheet of Styrofoam and MDF.

Did I mention that this build would be pic intense!

[cuz]

really like the rock work!!!
nice job!

[bioload]

It will be some time before I get the sump ready. I'm currently working out the details of the design and will take some time. While I'm working on the sump I thought I would get a head start with cycling the tank. I started by capping the bulkheads for the drain and the return. These will be removed once the sump is ready.





The tank has been filled (salinity 1.024) and equipped with a biowheel filter and two Sure Flow powerheads.

Just waiting for the dust to clear for now.

[bioload]

After going back and fourth a few times I've finally decided to remove the sand from my display tank.....It's amazing the things you think of when your tank is cycling. I personally prefer the look of the sandbed, but with the flow I have in the tank the bare patches just kept getting larger and larger, and I'd prefer to keep the flow over the sand....will possibly go remote......maybe some GSP for a nice lawn effect

Here's an updated pic



Thank is still cycling by the way......

[bioload]

I'm actually not missing the sand as much as I thought I would. I can always add it back in slowly afterwards. Figure it would be easier to add rather than remove later on. Funny to see the small amount of sand remaining. It’s actually being picked up from the bottom through a section that I've named tornado alley and then dropped over to other areas…..I’m not in Kansas anymore…..or maybe I’ve just come back……to Berlin.

Fed the tank some flakes the other day (not crazy) to check the flow pattern and after half an hour came back and they were still going round and round, but a lot smaller after being circulated through the powerheads.

As for going bare bottom…….Finding it a really nice change to actually see what’s at the bottom of my tank and cleaning it. A relative of mine recently got a new puppy in the house and had to pull out all his carpet and replace with hardwood. Kind of the same thing I think? Didn’t make sense to get 4-6” deep carpet with the right size fibres and populate with critters that would eventually decompose what Rambo left behind. Both work wouldn’t they.

I was also thinking that I could do away with a amount of live rock. Again, don’t need a large central vac system when a Swiffer will do, but if I do run into issues……that’s what the bio-balls will be for. Yes I said bio-balls

Will be stocking really low to start, and monitoring params frequently to see how it goes. The challenge will be to balance the nutrient import and export, which is no different than any other tank.

Good or Bad, I’ll let everyone know....isn’t the internet great, better than TV. Oh wait it can do that too

Pittsburgh 2 – Montreal 1 http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hock...ncanada/idesk/

[fishytime]

great scape man.......

bio-balls????.....LR is far more effective for colonizing beneficial bacteria and doesn't need to be cleaned...... a no brainer IMO......unless I'm missing something