DIY Concrete Aquarium 5,000 gallon - Anderson Family Reef

[GBRsouth]

Can the wrasse still swim to the bottom? Worried in case it's a swim bladder issue.

 

[dca22anderson]

Can the wrasse still swim to the bottom? Worried in case it's a swim bladder issue.

Yes he can and he’s been doing that since we set it up so like 6-7 months ago, I have another one in the sump that does the same thing… super strange ‍

 

[GBRsouth]

Yes he can and he’s been doing that since we set it up so like 6-7 months ago, I have another one in the sump that does the same thing… super strange ‍

Then my guess is they are feeding on something microscopic.

My only other guess is that they are trying to increase water flow over their gills, as if a parasite was there, or a lack of oxygen in the water. But this seems unlikely if this has been happening for 6-7 months.

 

[dca22anderson]

Then my guess is they are feeding on something microscopic.

My only other guess is that they are trying to increase water flow over their gills, as if a parasite was there, or a lack of oxygen in the water. But this seems unlikely if this has been happening for 6-7 months.

Good thoughts, there is also a dwarf golden Morey eel in there he may be running from

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Looking good! I can’t wait to see this sucker filled.

 

[dca22anderson]

Received this back on the EcoBlox: The Ecoblox are made from recycled HDPE. HDPE is the plastic most commonly used in food grade plastics but being recycled may cause the plastic to become unsafe. I am attaching an article prepared by the FDA with regards to HDPE for further explanation.

I'm now looking for a better option for the backbone of the reef structure. Maybe cinderblocks or new Milk crates.

Thoughts?

 

[McPuff]

I've used half cinder blocks in the past with no ill effects. But you'd have quite a few of them. Maybe you can soak them a while first and see if they leach anything?

 

[Garia666]

There is always boss above boss ,this is like public aquarium kind of size, this is just insane!
you can probably sell tickets from your front door

If I win the lottery I’ll do something similar. What is more epic then need to do scuba diving in order to do tank maintenance .

Anyway I am following

 

[dca22anderson]

There is always boss above boss ,this is like public aquarium kind of size, this is just insane!
you can probably sell tickets from your front door

If I win the lottery I’ll do something similar. What is more epic then need to do scuba diving in order to do tank maintenance .

Anyway I am following

It's a fun challenge for sure!! Thanks for following along!

 

[dca22anderson]

I've used half cinder blocks in the past with no ill effects. But you'd have quite a few of them. Maybe you can soak them a while first and see if they leach anything?

I think a few others have used these cinder blocks under their rock work to help build it up a bit. It's on the list of things to consider!!

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Amazing.

and helpful. Fiancé said one day SHE wants a tank big enough to swim in.

just going to keep working on my 120 and take detailed notes of what’s going on here lol

 

[dca22anderson]

Amazing.

and helpful. Fiancé said one day SHE wants a tank big enough to swim in.

just going to keep working on my 120 and take detailed notes of what’s going on here lol

120 is a great size!!

 

[dca22anderson]

Few more renderings for the rock work and a first pass at the closed loop!

 

[dca22anderson]

It won’t be that squared out and will have some cool shelf rocks sticking out. We will play with it and make it look amazing!!

 

[NautiTang]

Received this back on the EcoBlox: The Ecoblox are made from recycled HDPE. HDPE is the plastic most commonly used in food grade plastics but being recycled may cause the plastic to become unsafe. I am attaching an article prepared by the FDA with regards to HDPE for further explanation.

I'm now looking for a better option for the backbone of the reef structure. Maybe cinderblocks or new Milk crates.

Thoughts?

Dave o2manyfish, dont know the exact screen name, did something with fiberglass grating in his tank

 

[NautiTang]

Now being a somewhat frugal reefer I am always looking for reasonable ways to save money. For example in my old 125 I had built an acrylic shelf that ran the back of the tank about 10" high
and 40" long to stack live rock on top of. This saved me a ton of money in live rock, and allowed for more flow through the rock pile. I was very happy with this technique and wanted to incorporate
this concept into the new tank. But with some massive pieces of live rock selected for this tank (several rocks greater than 50lbs each) an acrylic shelf wasn't going to handle it.


So my friend Con (Cmagallon) who built the stand had left me with some Fiberglas grating. Used for walkways and decks it's like mega egg crate. It's about 1.5" squares and strong enough
to support a car. So taking the scraps he had given me I built a super duty shelf to support my live rock pile on the left side of the tank. It cuts using an inexpensive blade on a circular saw
and the pieces can be adhered to each other using krazy glue, or any other reef safe adhesive. One mention, when cutting this stuff it makes a real mess, and its a nasty fiberglas dust, so
definitely wear protecting mask and eyes and work outside. Lots of friends have used this technique, and surprising there are places online which will sell scraps (it comes in 3x10 sheets for approx $400).

This gave me a super strong structure to just set my live rock upon and against. So now my giant pile of live rock is only one layer thick. So on the left side of my tank there is probably
almost 75-90g of open swimming structure for the fish. I put a pump in the far left corner which blows water underneath the rock work to keep detritus from settling.

So that handled my rock pile on the left side of the tank. Now to get to the open style aquascaping. In line with the right hand edge of the tank is my couch in my living room. So after lowering
a wall, from my couch I had a 33x24 viewing panel down the length of the tank. So I wanted a rock island that the fish could swim around on the right side of the tank. So using my fiber grating
I built a free standing island.

 

[dca22anderson]

That's perfect! I have some plastic grating from Aquatic Eco Systems I bought back in the day I can use for the horizontal framework! (can order some more fiberglass grating too) Great idea NautiTang!

 

[dca22anderson]

Ended up grabbing some of these for the framework:

Thinking these two should do the trick!

 

[Sltloser]

Ended up grabbing some of these for the framework:

Thinking these two should do the trick!

Have you looked to see what type of plastic they're made of and if they break down or leach anything in saltwater?

 

[dca22anderson]

Have you looked to see what type of plastic they're made of and if they break down or leach anything in saltwater?

They are new plastic, not recycled, have used them for skimmer platforms/stands in past systems without any problems… many people use their new plastic containers to hold their water for water changes too… fingers crossed but pretty sure they will work perfectly… anyone ever have any problems with them??