40B Mixed Reef Build

[Shockfiend]

Again, pardon my messy room, but here is a picture of everything setup together! I'm using the CFL to get good pictures while I wait for my lights to be shipped

I'll be cleaning up the clutter, and tidying everything up soon. For right now, I'm just glad everything works! I also have a check valve on the return pipe to keep it from overflowing my sump in the event of a power outage.

 

[K. Steven]

View attachment 557754

Again, pardon my messy room, but here is a picture of everything setup together! I'm using the CFL to get good pictures while I wait for my lights to be shipped

I'll be cleaning up the clutter, and tidying everything up soon. For right now, I'm just glad everything works! I also have a check valve on the return pipe to keep it from overflowing my sump in the event of a power outage.

You don't need a light when cycling. It will only cause unnecessary algae to grow once you get detectable nitrate. I made that mistake on my first tank and started behind the 8-ball right off the bat.

 

[LJC6780]

Once I get my own place, I'll get upgrade to a larger tank, and drill that. I do agree that its definitely more peace of mind, and I'd like to be able to drill a deeper hole so I can do water changes without have to use a siphon in a future setup. But, for now, overflow box it is!

Are you talking a separate hole only for water changes or making your overflow hole lower?

If you make your overflow hole lower you'll need quite a large sump to handle the water volume should your pump go out or be turned off for whatever reason ...

It would be interesting to add a lower hole specifically for water changes. I'm curious how that would be plumbed.

 

[Shockfiend]

You don't need a light when cycling. It will only cause unnecessary algae to grow once you get detectable nitrate. I made that mistake on my first tank and started behind the 8-ball right off the bat.

The light is just for the chaetomorpha in my sump and for the occasional picture

 

[Shockfiend]

Are you talking a separate hole only for water changes or making your overflow hole lower?

If you make your overflow hole lower you'll need quite a large sump to handle the water volume should your pump go out or be turned off for whatever reason ...

It would be interesting to add a lower hole specifically for water changes. I'm curious how that would be plumbed.

I haven't thought it through too much lol. I won't be doing it on this tank, but I've seen a few people with large tanks using a similar system. I believe they have it plumbed directly into a utility sink or something of the sort.

 

[Shockfiend]

So I got my Evergrow lights this weekend, and there seemed to be a hardware issue. I contacted Amazon and asked for a replacement. If it still has issues a second time, I guess I'll just have to cough up more cash for a more reputable brand.

 

[Shockfiend]

Here's a pic of the tank with some LEDs I had laying around.

I'm open to any suggestions with my aquascape! I'm horrible at this type of stuff lol

 

[brett_schn]

more caves!

 

[Justin poirier]

more caves!

^^ agreed

 

[Justin poirier]

You have a lot of nice rock you can work with.

 

[Justin poirier]

Also remember if you plan on getting any thing that will dig in the sand to use a large rock to cover deep sand

 

[Justin poirier]

This rock has caves all around it from my pistol

 

[Justin poirier]

If your looking for ideas this is by far my favorite kind of scape. It's the arc or overhang And use smaller rocks to make some caves

 

[brett_schn]

If your looking for ideas this is by far my favorite kind of scape. It's the arc or overhang And use smaller rocks to make some caves

What size tank is that? It’s a really cool tank

 

[Shockfiend]

This rock has caves all around it from my pistol

That looks great! Did you use any adhesive to get your rocks to stay together? Is the rock touching the bottom, or is it laying on top of the sand?

 

[brett_schn]

That looks great! Did you use any adhesive to get your rocks to stay together? Is the rock touching the bottom, or is it laying on top of the sand?

U usually have it touch the bottoms then use the sand against rocks to help support them

 

[Justin poirier]

That looks great! Did you use any adhesive to get your rocks to stay together? Is the rock touching the bottom, or is it laying on top of the sand?

I have it touching the bottom

 

[Justin poirier]

What size tank is that? It’s a really cool tank

60 gallon. Just a little taller then 55

 

[Justin poirier]

That looks great! Did you use any adhesive to get your rocks to stay together? Is the rock touching the bottom, or is it laying on top of the sand?

Unfortunately no I don't have adhesive on the rocks. I do however have it on my corals

 

[Shockfiend]

Lights are here! Tank is still cycling though, so not too much I can do in terms of updates.