ghiggi Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Okay, I'm finally ready to start rebuilding my 135g reef. It's going to be a complete rebuild from scratch, but using much of the same equipment from the last setup. I have the following to start with: 135g all glass main display (72Lx18Wx24H) 40g all glass sump/refugium (48Lx12Wx18H) 2x400w MH SE 14K 2x96w PC 420nm actinic 2x96w PC 460nm actinic 1x36w CF 6500K (for refugium) Mag 18 return pump SCWD wavemaker (modded for 1200+gph output) 2x 1 1/2" drain lines (1 in each corner overflow) 4x 3/4" returns coming off the SCWD RO/DI filter ATO system connected to home tap water So, that's what I have on hand at the moment. I am planning on doing all of the aquascaping myself using only DIY aragocrete and a little bit of live sand for seeding. The refugium will have both live sand and natural live rock. I have always wanted to do something different than just having a pile of LR or two in the middle of the tank. Here is a concept drawing of what I have in mind: Now, this is just a concept drawing. It is not quite to scale and not nearly complete or accurate. I am going for an ancient greek/lost city of atlantis theme. One side of the tank will have a couple of ancient buildings in various states of decay. The other side of the tank will have a mountain of rocks that seems to be burying the city. I have been playing around with the aragocrete and have made a couple of pillars using pvc pipe as a mold. It seems to work pretty good. I just have to get the aragocrete mixture adjusted so I can get the surface texture of the columns correct. In all, it should be an interesting experiment. And, if everything turns out okay, I should end up with a pretty cool display. I will start posting pictures once I stop playing around and actually start working on the actual components. Until then, any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 How well does the concrete come out of the PVC? I would think that it would stick in there pretty good. Other than that, I think the idea is unique and cool. Are you going to use white portland cement so the pillars look like white marble? I think that would be really cool (until the coraline takes over). dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 While it's not my style of aquarium decor, it looks like a lot of fun to build. http://www.hirstarts.com/ sells silicon molds for tabletop wargaming terrain; they're usually cast with plaster, but I'll bet you could get something going with portland cement if you experimented a bit. It might be worth checking them out (particularly the Roman Temple mold set #62, http://www.hirstarts.com/molds/molds.html). Have fun EDIT: Just realized they're probably too small for your needs :( You could always sculpt your own then make a silicon mold of it -- there are lots of kits out there to do it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 How well does the concrete come out of the PVC? I would think that it would stick in there pretty good. Other than that, I think the idea is unique and cool. Are you going to use white portland cement so the pillars look like white marble? I think that would be really cool (until the coraline takes over). dsoz Yea, the first couple of tests it stuck in there so tight, I pretty much destroyed the pillars getting them out. So I just cut the pipe in half and made a two piece mold that I just rubberband together. I couldn't find any white portland (didn't look very hard though) but I would if it was readily available. Do you know where I can get a bag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 While it's not my style of aquarium decor' date=' it looks like a lot of fun to build. [url']http://www.hirstarts.com/[/url] sells silicon molds for tabletop wargaming terrain; they're usually cast with plaster, but I'll bet you could get something going with portland cement if you experimented a bit. It might be worth checking them out (particularly the Roman Temple mold set #62, http://www.hirstarts.com/molds/molds.html). Have fun EDIT: Just realized they're probably too small for your needs :( You could always sculpt your own then make a silicon mold of it -- there are lots of kits out there to do it... I figure I'll just piece it together as I go. It doesn't have to be terribly accurate. Hopefully it will all get overgrown somewhat and eventually hide any flaws that may show up. After all, how pristine should a 10,000 year old sunken city look? I'm experimenting with the aragocrete mixture now to get just the right texture for the buildings. Something that has definition and yet shows decay. Something like this: more or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 So I got the tank drilled and installed the bulkheads today. The overflow drains are 1 1/2" and will use Stockman pipes. The returns are 3/4" to match the outputs on my modified SCWD. It took me about 15 minutes to drill each hole. It's 3/8" glass. You can see in the first picture, the wood block I used to steady the bit until the cut was deep enough to hold it. I cut it so that I could use it as a measuring guide to make sure all of the holes were the same distance from the trim. Next is to get the overflow walls installed and then start working on the aquascaping and the new stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Started working on the stand this week. I borrowed the design from someone off another forum and made some changes to match the materials I had on hand. The framing is complete, now I just need to start adding the skin, trim and doors. I haven't decided if I am going to finish it in oak or mahogany. I have a bunch of oak trim laying around, so it will probably end up being oak. The framing is all kiln dried 2x6 and 2x4. I used wood biscuts, glue and deck screws to hold everything together. The overall dimensions are 72 1/2" long x 29" tall x 26 1/2" deep. I wanted it deep enough that I could put the stand right up against the wall and still have all of the piping contained in the stand. I made it a little shorter than most stands for two reasons. One, with the 24" height of the tank, the shorter stand allows me to easily clean the tank without a stool. And, two, I am putting the tank in my home office where I spend the majority of my time sitting in a chair, so the shorter stand will put the middle of the tank at my eye level while seated. I'm leaving the back portion of the top open for all of the piping and wiring. The side opening is large enough to slide the 40g sump through. When it's finished, the front will have 4 doors and there will be one door on each end. Eventually, it will have a matching canopy. Next I start working on the sump/refugium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Looking good so far(rock2) Are you going to prime the wood with anything? I know some poeple use Kilz or somethig like that to kind of water proof it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Yea, I have some grey enamel primer that I use to paint all of my shop benches and shelves. A couple of coats sprayed on and it's completely waterproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgrant Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Any updates on this? I used to pour concrete for a living and back then we used diesel fuel to keep the concrete from sticking to the forms (not very earth friendly). Later we used a more earth friendly release agent. Can't remember what it was called and I am not sure it would be good for the water perams but I would imagine if you used a vegetable oil and coated the inside of the pvc prior to filling,it would come out of the pipe a little easier. Another thought would be to coat the insid eof the pvc with a sugar water mixture proir to filling. This will retard the cureing of the outside layer of the cement and may give you that worn look you are going for. The PVC will not absorb the sugar water like wood forms do so you may want to let the cement set for an hour or so and then open the forms and spray the pieces with some more sugar water. A little agitation of the surface with a brush of some sort before you spray will help the sugar penetrate. The cement can not be fully set but must be firm enough to hold its shape. After you have applied the sugar let it set for a while(the time may be something you need to experiment with. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghiggi Posted November 22, 2008 Author Share Posted November 22, 2008 Not much to update at the moment. I kinda put everything on hold for a few weeks while I rebuild the engine in my truck. That takes priority over everything else right now. I do have some of the DIY rock curing now. I made most of the pillars already. I just cut the pvc pipes in half and held them together with a few wraps of twine. I tried using rubber bands, but when I went to pack the mixture in, the rubber bands would stretch alittle, seperating the two halves. After it sets for a day, I open it up and the pillar comes right out. It took alittle trial and error to get the consistancy just right for the look I was going for, but I finally got it close enough. I'll try and remember to get some pictures the next time I do a complete water change on the curing tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgrant Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 Good luck with the engine rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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