KozyTRMNDS
New Member
So I had a Fluval Flex sitting around that i had two options with.
One break down. Or two set up a 4th tank…..
Guess which one I went with?
I had this Flex running an about 2 months ago. I shut it down because I didn’t prepare enough for the summer heat wave and it killed a frag tank I set up in my garage.
Well I took it down. And one reason I couldn’t sell is previous owner actually let heater melt a hold between one of the filter chambers and the pump chamber and the display. Making flow for filtration in the flex worse than it already can be.
So I got the idea to make a floating reef out of it since I’ve see some really nice 15g and below versions done. And using the acrylic to cover the hole to the display. And epoxy on the back chamber.
I also have a really nice Sunrise dottyback that I removed from my 75g because it was slowly picking off my fish.
But i don’t want to get rid of it. So i said let’s do it.
I plan to prepare for the heat this time by trying first some fans over the tank, and if not I’ll be adding a chiller before the summer.
So I started with a Caribsea frag box.
Two Acrylic bookshelves, and silicone.
I placed on bookshelf opposite of the other to help support the rocks weight and slightly overlapped them about 1/2” of each other. I then drilled 4 holes to help with flow into the rock structure. And began gluing the bookshelves over the hole. Followed by gluing the first rocks that hold the larger pieces I had curing.
I prepared 2 20lb bags of live sand fiji pink and oolite mix. The plan is to have a deep sand bed near the back for some anaerobic bacteria to help with ammonium.
I also placed as much cured live rubble that i could in the middle “T” chamber of the flex tucked to the side. For more surface area for pods and bacteria also.
Once I placed sand in the tank, I prepared my salt water and filled the tank enough for me to place my live rock on it.
I had a lot of empty space to side of the Tank so I created an Isalnd that will hopefully be home to an anemone that will host my clowns. Here is final results.
I plan to lay some reactor coral media over my sand bed to help with the amount that gets blown away by my wave maker.
I have 3 fans running over the tank rn and have helped keep the tank under 80 degrees so far this hot week. Might still get the chiller better safe than sorry.
More detailed pictures and updates soon! Let me know what you guys think and any questions about my equipment.
One break down. Or two set up a 4th tank…..
Guess which one I went with?
I had this Flex running an about 2 months ago. I shut it down because I didn’t prepare enough for the summer heat wave and it killed a frag tank I set up in my garage.
Well I took it down. And one reason I couldn’t sell is previous owner actually let heater melt a hold between one of the filter chambers and the pump chamber and the display. Making flow for filtration in the flex worse than it already can be.
So I got the idea to make a floating reef out of it since I’ve see some really nice 15g and below versions done. And using the acrylic to cover the hole to the display. And epoxy on the back chamber.
I also have a really nice Sunrise dottyback that I removed from my 75g because it was slowly picking off my fish.
But i don’t want to get rid of it. So i said let’s do it.
I plan to prepare for the heat this time by trying first some fans over the tank, and if not I’ll be adding a chiller before the summer.
So I started with a Caribsea frag box.
Two Acrylic bookshelves, and silicone.
I placed on bookshelf opposite of the other to help support the rocks weight and slightly overlapped them about 1/2” of each other. I then drilled 4 holes to help with flow into the rock structure. And began gluing the bookshelves over the hole. Followed by gluing the first rocks that hold the larger pieces I had curing.
I prepared 2 20lb bags of live sand fiji pink and oolite mix. The plan is to have a deep sand bed near the back for some anaerobic bacteria to help with ammonium.
I also placed as much cured live rubble that i could in the middle “T” chamber of the flex tucked to the side. For more surface area for pods and bacteria also.
Once I placed sand in the tank, I prepared my salt water and filled the tank enough for me to place my live rock on it.
I had a lot of empty space to side of the Tank so I created an Isalnd that will hopefully be home to an anemone that will host my clowns. Here is final results.
I plan to lay some reactor coral media over my sand bed to help with the amount that gets blown away by my wave maker.
I have 3 fans running over the tank rn and have helped keep the tank under 80 degrees so far this hot week. Might still get the chiller better safe than sorry.
More detailed pictures and updates soon! Let me know what you guys think and any questions about my equipment.
