Kalmed's 25 gal 2011 Nano Contest Tank

[whitetiger61]

that is sweet..can you post the materials you used on this project please....very nice corals too.. might be pming you on a canister filter idea i have also..still need to find some room for that..lol

Rick

[Kalmed]

Lets see...

• Black Light grate
• 2 Cans of Waterfall sealant

What I bought was made by Tetra from Lowes At 12.99 can. I have heard you could buy it cheaper but I was unable to find it local for less. I understand you can use the regular foam but why take the chance. Also the black made some areas shade differently and created more visual texture.Use gloves when using this as its difficult to get off your hands, and you will get it on your hands.

• Caribe Sea Bermuda Pink or simular size
• Caribe Sea Pink Reef Sand or simular size
• Fiberglass Resin

Depending on what you read, you can use fiberglass resin or finishing resin. Chemically I didnt see any difference in the product. Fiberglass resin is thicker than finishing which I though was beneficial. Fiberglass resin is also about 1/4 of the cost, use your own judgement.In the end neither produce will leach chemicals into your tank after being submerged

Thats about it. I used a wire brush/wheel on a drill to smooth out and change the texture of the foam before coating with sand. After spraying the foam wait 5-10 minutes for the foam to form a skin and collapse the foam so it dosent over expand your rock. It will also free extra air so the background dosent become a PFD. Before installing, I rinsed it in my tub, and confirmed my rock to foam ratio. I did make a rock formation to sit infront of the wall, but in the end, I didnt use it beacuse of space. The foam was very useful to adhere rocks together and form stable structures. Again just trim the foam after it is dry, and cover with the sand product of your choice. I could'nt tell it wasnt one peice of rock. Do a search and you will find numerous threads on this.


Thanks for looking and the comments!

[Kalmed]

So I woke up this morning to the smell of smoke and a whinning dog. After comming around the corner I found the tank on the floor with 25 gallons of standing water. The dog was huddled on her bed and was whinning and barking because she was getting wet and was unable to lap up all the water before it soak into her bed. Fish, snails and crabs were a mix of walking wounded or long ago dead. Those still walking were being batted around by the cats in a feline game of soccer. The skimmer, still running, was spinning around the floor spitting foam on anything it bumped into. HeY! why is the skimmer spinning on the floor, this isnt right, wait, what the H...!?

My day is shot, I hate waking up to dreams like this! When I came around the corner for real...all was well with only a gentle hum of the skimmer and obnoxious snor of the Great Dane on the floor.

So do you think Im taking this "hobby" a little too seriously? Im sure thay have medication for this.

[jolson10450]

So I woke up this morning to the smell of smoke and a whinning dog. After comming around the corner I found the tank on the floor with 25 gallons of standing water. The dog was huddled on her bed and was whinning and barking because she was getting wet and was unable to lap up all the water before it soak into her bed. Fish, snails and crabs were a mix of walking wounded or long ago dead. Those still walking were being batted around by the cats in a feline game of soccer. The skimmer, still running, was spinning around the floor spitting foam on anything it bumped into. HeY! why is the skimmer spinning on the floor, this isnt right, wait, what the H...!?

My day is shot, I hate waking up to dreams like this! When I came around the corner for real...all was well with only a gentle hum of the skimmer and obnoxious snor of the Great Dane on the floor.

So do you think Im taking this "hobby" a little too seriously? Im sure thay have medication for this.

man you had me freaked out for a mintue but seriously i have them all the time, just 2 nights ago i had a dream that my sump cracked and i didnt know what to do and my water started turning green and fish dieing but then magically out of nowhere little baby porcupine puffers started hatching in my little 29g tank so i was really freaking out so i hurry up and tried to patch the sump and get it going and i was out of salt to make some fresh saltwater to add back to the tank then when i looked back at the tank everything was dead and then..... i woke up lol

[jolson10450]

I use 2 different sizes of crushed coral/sand. After sculpting the foam I used epoxy resin to adhere the coarse crushed coral. I let that cure for 24 hours and then painted on another coat of epoxy resin use fine sand, letting that dry for 24 hours. When I put the panels in the tank I use the resin and sand to fill the seam. Over all it was really easy to do and would have only taken 3 days if I didn't have to go to work. Those are the nems I got from you in front of the Bam Bams, I now have 4.

ohh nice!!! i didnt even notice them there! thats sweet though!

[2pairs]

Son of a gun, You had me going.
My hart was racing stomach in a knot started to choke, few it was just a dream.

It took me back 2 years ago when at 5:00 am I went in to the fish room and had this funny little feeling you know squish between the toes. But it wasn't a dream! I had one of several tanks all hooked together crack in 4 directions and this gave me about 100 gallons on the floor.
So be glad it was only a dream some of us haven't been as lucky.

[Kalmed]

I do so hate dreams like these.

So be glad it was only a dream some of us haven't been as lucky.

I agree, I think all of us could tell a terrible tale if you've been in this hobby long enough.

[Kalmed]

I do so hate dreams like these. Jolson I now have 5 of those nems. Did you sell me new fangled sea weed!?

So be glad it was only a dream some of us haven't been as lucky.

I agree, I think all of us could tell a terrible tale if you've been in this hobby long enough.

[MizTanks]

I think I will put in a small arch coming one of the middle rocks, but I've changed their world enough for now. Where you at in the UP? My brother is in Skandia and daughter is in thew Sault.

Marquette! Actually Harvey which is closer to Skandia that dream reminds me mine-it was so bad I woke and had to check-thank God I did cause I had put a small piece of filter floss in front of the return and it slowed the flow so much that my fuge was about to over flow-bad dream with good results
I love your new scape! Iv only seen this done with FW.

[Kalmed]

Well I hope to post some newer pics this weekend, really haven't added anything to the tank, no wiggle room really. I have taken item out to allow for growth and those that I never intended to keep in this tank. Things have settled and getting good growth over all. SPS growth could be better, but I didn't choose fast growers for a reason. I am trying to rehab my Setosa as it fell in a group of zoo's and I didn't get to it until I was home from work, so that may count against me in the end.