I took down my tank about three weeks ago to start over and I thought Id post some photos of the restart. Id been planning the move for a while, and had bought around 120 pounds of rock in September and had been curing it. Once I took everything out, I let the tank sit for a couple of days, did some cleaning, and then transferred over all the new rock and sand.
One of the reasons I took the tank down was that I originally had a metal halide fixture and the rock was placed beneath each of the bulbs. I never really liked the look, and I didnt like the dead areas along the sides which didnt get much light or flow. I upgraded to Radions back in September, so with the new setup, I could put the new rock where I wanted to, and move the Radions along with them. I also didnt like how I had the rock set up in the old tank, there wasnt enough open areas for corals.
After looking at a lot of tanks online, I decided I wanted to make the rockwork with tiered layers of shelf rocks, so there would be lots of room for corals. I got a bunch of bulk rock from Marco Rocks, and some shelf rock from Bulk Reef Supply. I got two really nice shelf pieces with bases, so I made towers with them. I drilled a couple pieces of bulk rock, attached them all together with acrylic rods and cement, and used PVC fittings to make a base at the bottom. I also used the acrylic rods and cement to make an arch and some other features.
I put the two main rock piles on each side of the tank, and just put a single small boulder in the middle. I want to keep the sand bed open for clams. My old tank was a mix of softies, LPS and SPS, but Im planning on going with more SPS now, with just a few LPS and softies. Ive just got a couple snails in now to help keep it clean.
Original tank just before I broke it down.
New setup.
Left side.
Right side.
Detail of construction of column of rock.
Another detail of the column.
Detail of the arch and another small feature held together with rods and cement. You can see an acrylic rod and nut at the top of the rock in the center.
One of the reasons I took the tank down was that I originally had a metal halide fixture and the rock was placed beneath each of the bulbs. I never really liked the look, and I didnt like the dead areas along the sides which didnt get much light or flow. I upgraded to Radions back in September, so with the new setup, I could put the new rock where I wanted to, and move the Radions along with them. I also didnt like how I had the rock set up in the old tank, there wasnt enough open areas for corals.
After looking at a lot of tanks online, I decided I wanted to make the rockwork with tiered layers of shelf rocks, so there would be lots of room for corals. I got a bunch of bulk rock from Marco Rocks, and some shelf rock from Bulk Reef Supply. I got two really nice shelf pieces with bases, so I made towers with them. I drilled a couple pieces of bulk rock, attached them all together with acrylic rods and cement, and used PVC fittings to make a base at the bottom. I also used the acrylic rods and cement to make an arch and some other features.
I put the two main rock piles on each side of the tank, and just put a single small boulder in the middle. I want to keep the sand bed open for clams. My old tank was a mix of softies, LPS and SPS, but Im planning on going with more SPS now, with just a few LPS and softies. Ive just got a couple snails in now to help keep it clean.
Original tank just before I broke it down.
New setup.
Left side.
Right side.
Detail of construction of column of rock.
Another detail of the column.
Detail of the arch and another small feature held together with rods and cement. You can see an acrylic rod and nut at the top of the rock in the center.
