Shallow Reef

[EMUreef]

this sentence alone will explain what i did....

my credit card is melting.... but boy was it fun

things i just got done ordering.

-Reefkeeper, with ph probe, advance lighting control module to control leds.
-50lbs of macro rock
-55lbs of special grade sand
-heater
-my stuff for the DIY leds

the only thing that remains as a large purchase is the mp10.. but no hurry for that just yet, gonna let my card cool down.

still need to do work on the actual tank before i can use any of the fun toys lol. this weekend/week i hope to atleast get it skinned and hopefully how im gonna hang the fixture figured out.

[Heidi]

So Russ let me say this is a sweet build! I hope it brings you much more joy then the nano did. Oh and btw, you gotta shut the underwear drawer before you take the next pictures lol.. I had to go there sorry . I remember teasing you last year about your toiletries being out in front of the the nano hehe Regardless, I will be following along on this shallow reef, I really like the thought of this tank.
Heidi

[EMUreef]

So Russ let me say this is a sweet build! I hope it brings you much more joy then the nano did. Oh and btw, you gotta shut the underwear drawer before you take the next pictures lol.. I had to go there sorry . I remember teasing you last year about your toiletries being out in front of the the nano hehe Regardless, I will be following along on this shallow reef, I really like the thought of this tank.
Heidi

i only did it for you heidikins

on another note the rock has been shipped looks like im getting it saturday.... i got 50lbs of key largo from macro rocks. On there website it says "hand picked" by people who have aquariums and know what people want....

but for fun in the comments section of checking out, i said "keep in mind when hand picking peices, that this is for a 24x24x12 tank" so will see what they do lol

[EMUreef]

My Macro Rock Experience


I ordered 50lbs of the key largo rock on Wednesday. Free shipping. Made a note of the kind of tank these rocks would be in to see if that effected anything.

The box arrived today...boy was i excited. Opened her up, put a trash bag down for easier clean up as i laid the rocks out to see what i got. Each rock was individually wrapped in bubble wrap. Still there are some rubble pieces but hey i got more rock than i need so no complaining here. I also got a free 1lb bag of rock mortar they have, thought that was pretty cool.

Got some great pieces, dunno if me mentioning the size of the tank effected the picking of the rocks. But either way im pretty happy with the selection i got. oh and since its dead, its pest free, maybe a bit longer of a cycle but i can wait.






and a little size comparison

[creefer]

Very nice rock for sure.

[EMUreef]

The Tank

Added a black background to it. Got a sticky vinyl back for it from Joann fabrics... dunno if ill do it again and just go with painting it since there are some noticable airbubbles.. oh well coraline will eventually cover it anyway. With the reef keeper and sand on the way, i can start filling it up sometime this week.

The stand

Made a lot of progress on the stand today. Got the paneling i wanted along with some other stuff to try to get it finished up. Today i got it all cut and basically tacked in place. Tomorrow ill be staining. Coming from a guy that doesn't have any wood working experience, im pretty happy with it. I do notice some things off with it but ill live, since its in my room i dont have to worry about to many people seeing it.
For a door i just made a removable panel and it works wonderful.

I do wanna try to make the sump area as quiet as possible, sometimes hard with the drain. so im gonna get some sort of sound deadening material to help out.





The Light

The LED's also came so after the stand was tacked in place, i got to work on the LED's. Got a temp dimming POT so i could atleast get it all ready for the reefkeeper. I got a power cord from work that actually splits into 2, so i only have to take up one space on my reefkeeper now instead of two to turn them on. Everything went pretty smoothly just very repetitive and time consuming. I HATE glueing the Lens's, its very nerve wrecking for sure. So now i just gotta figure out how im gonna hang it.

[bigbill]

very nice set up

[creefer]

Nice job Russ. I was right....your tank will be wet before mine.

[EMUreef]

Made some progress with the stand, its complete. Its not the best job in the world but hey im not a professional wood worker. So it'll do.

I'm suppose to be getting the RKL, sand and heater today. On my way home from work im stopping into lowes to get the last of the plumbing, just need to get the vinyl tubbing for the drain. Need to see if i can get this pump i have working, need to get a fitting for it but can't find anywhere what site it might be, looks like 1/2" to me. Than i also gotta get something to hang the fixture, so im sure most of my time is gonna be spent wandering around lowes trying to figure that out.

not that anyone cares about any of that crap lol. But ya might start playing with aquascaping today. so i might be posting a couple pictures for opinions. than once i decide on a good aquascape i can start filling.

FYI 50lbs is a bit much to work with in a tank this big, leftovers are going in the sump and what ever is leftover from that will be going in to the big tank, possibly the frag tank to try to manage this algae i have growing in it.

[MizTanks]

Russ that's a very neat an sweet stand. You did good! Love the look