Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Pasfur's 58 bowfront build

15K views 51 replies 19 participants last post by  DisneyCoralReef 
#1 ·
The time has arrived. Last night I began the set up of my 58 bowfront, which for the next 6 months or so will be a reef aquarium. After my 180 is mature and the reef is moved, my eventual plans are to use this as a FOWLR tank, perhaps as a species tank for a Pelewensis or Pearscale Butterfly.

Here is a full shot of the 58 bowfront.
Product Plastic Cylinder Glass


Here is the sump that my brother made. Great design, but there is one big problem. It doesn't fit.
Display case Glass Transparency Plastic Transparent material


Given that I am up against the clock and have to get my 38 reef moved into this 58 bowfront within 3 weeks, I decided to use a 10 gallon tank as a sump until my brother can build another. Here is a sump pic:
Aquarium Machine Metal


I would strongly suggest that anyone planning a reef tank not buy a 58 bowfront. The inside of the sand is ridiculously small. The only option I have for additional sump size is to make a triangle shaped sump, which most people do not have the skills or free glass to design.

Here is my overflow with a Durso:
Glass


Here is the skimmer system I am using currently.
Games Machine Glass Metal


A point of clarification. The skimmer you see is a CPR double skimmer, with biomedia left inside. This goes against everything I normally recommend. Here is the distinction... in this skimmer design ALL WATER first passes thru the skimmers BEFORE entering the biomedia. In effect, the biomedia serves as an effective bubble trap and very little biological processing of organic waste will occur.

On the plus side, eventually I will remove a large portion of live rock from this 58 to place into my 180. At that time, the biological capability of the biomedia chamber will serve as "insurance", in the event that some organic acids are not skimmed out upon the skimmer pass.

Bottom line, if this was going to be a permanent reef system, then I would not have the biomedia. But because this will eventually be a FOWLR and have a limited supply of live rock at that time, I decided to leave the biomedia in place, under the condition that no water enters the biomedia without first being skimmed.

I plan to add sand and live rock today. More pics to come tonight.
 
See less See more
5
#3 ·
Sorry guys... more pics will come when this water clears up. Every time I move the live rock around the aquarium gets so cloudy you can't see anything.

I will NEVER use this sand again, I can tell you that. I'm glad I learned this lesson on the 58 and not the 180.
 
#5 ·
I used CaribSea, which is extremely common in the pet shops. I normally use aragonite, rather than aragonite sand, and trust me when I tell you my 180 will not have CaribSea substrate.

By my count this is the 22nd marine aquarium I have had in my personal fishkeeping career, and I have never had any experience as horrible as this substrate. I will be having a discussion with the LFS owner and with the manufacturer. The directions and claims on the bag are completely misleading.
 
#6 ·
FINALLY! The water has cleared up enough to post some pics. I am still struggling with the camera... having a hard time getting the depth to show up in the pictures. Here is my best work:

Freshwater aquarium Aquarium decor Aquarium Fish Rock


Freshwater aquarium Rock Aquarium Organism Aquarium decor


Aquarium decor Rock Reef Organism Freshwater aquarium


Rock Aquarium decor Freshwater aquarium Organism Reef


I think some of the cloudiness may have been a bacterial bloom. I tripled the amount of live rock in the tank last night and the cloudiness was gone this morning.
 
#11 ·
The diatom bloom hit overnight Thursday. Here is a pic for anyone wondering what this looks like:

Aquarium decor Rock Freshwater aquarium Mineral Reef


The top rock on the left is covered with a brown diatom. The other rocks has a light coating. To me, I consider the diatom bloom to be a very important step in determining the maturity of an aquarium. When this diatom bloom goes away, within a couple of weeks I should begin to see some coraline algae growth.

Remember, this tank will be an upgrade from my 38 reef. I need to have all the livestocke moved in 8 days! I may move a few corals today for observation.
 
#13 ·
I have to be out of my apartment this weekend. My 38 gallon reef is there, fully stocked. I think it is less risky to move the reef into a larger aquarium that to try to move the reef and set it back up same day. I plan to add some of the live rock from the 38 into the 58, removing some of the rock in the picture above and placing it into the 180.

I took off work tomorrow to accomplish this task. I have been testing the 58 daily and it should be ready. Remember, the live rock in my 58 has been curing for almost 60 days total.
 
#14 ·
the morning after...

So, it turns out that moving a reef tank is not a fun experience, despite the rumors you might have heard. I did make a pit stop at my local Hooters, but otherwise yesterday was a lot of work.

I took a quick picture of my moving buckets. I highly recommend that you do something similar should you have to move an aquarium. I purchased some "movers plastic", which is the plastic that movers wrap your furniture in on a rainy day. This plastic is awesome because it stretches and is somewhat sticky, making it very easy to tie around a bucket.
Automotive lighting Automotive exterior Auto part Mid-size car Car


I am a couple of hours away from the white lights coming on, but here is a picture under the moons:
Blue Cobalt blue Light Violet Lighting

I love the moons. If your light fixture does not have moonlights, you need to get some. You get an entirely different viewing experience late at night when the fish don't know you are there.

A close up under the blues:
Reef Coral reef Blue Natural environment Coral


A full shot under the blues:
Aquarium lighting Reef Freshwater aquarium Natural environment Coral reef
 
#15 ·
wow!
you certainly hav e had your hands full.
i totally love the rock work,it's awsome.
the moons look cool,i really look forward to seeing the next set of pictures.
well done you.:thumbsup:
 
#22 ·
The bowfront provides great flexibility of aquascapping, as there seems to be so much space to place rocks. Visibly, there is a slight appearance of depth that is accentuated by the front curvature of the glass. I like the appearance and enjoy the diversity of options that the design permits.

As i was setting up my 180 for a brief moment I regretted not getting a 120 bowfront instead. Then I changed my mind. I think if you are buying a tank less than 6 feet in length, then go for a bowfront. But as soon as you reach 6 feet in length, such as the 125, the fish will appreciate the added swimming distance and just seem to behave much more naturally than they do in smaller box shaped aquariums, and even in bowfronts.

I like them both.
 
#25 ·
I am afraid my plans have changed. This 58 reef is so beautiful that I just can't break it down. It will be a permanent reef. Check out the growth:

Reef Coral reef Coral Underwater Natural environment


Reef Coral reef Coral Natural environment Underwater


Reef Coral reef Aquarium decor Freshwater aquarium Stony coral


It is hard to believe that this kind of growth can occur in only 4 short weeks. Amazing.
 
#28 ·
{sigh} This decision has been horribly difficult. I can not imagine having this 180 without corals, but I so badly want some fish with questionable reef comparability. For example, i really want a Pomacanthus asfur, the Asfur angel. I may settle for a Blue Girdled Angel, which has mixed reef success and just roll the dice. I also want a butterflyfish, but I could just settle for the Copperband and give it a go. Even some of the Tangs I want, such as the Achillies Tang, are known to sometimes be nippy in reefs. It is so frustrating.

Bottom line, yes. The 180 will be a reef. I will restrict the 180 to fast growing easy corals, perhaps growout from the 58.

Time will tell exactly what. I have nothing but patience.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top