Tropical Fish Keeping banner
Cancel

Pasfur's 58 bowfront build

13921 Views 51 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  DisneyCoralReef, 
Pasfur
5
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
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
Pasfur
So much for the sand NOT causing the water to be cloudy...

Kitchen appliance


Hopefully this does not cause much of a delay. Deadline for moving livestock: 18 days.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
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.
Reply
Save
Like
onefish2fish
what sand did you use? there always seems to be some sort of cloudiness.
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
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.
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
4
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.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
A close up:

Aquarium decor Rock Reef Coral reef Freshwater aquarium
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
onefish2fish
awesome rock work!
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
For anyone who is interested in my son's Turtle tank, I moved it today and took some pics:
http://www.fishforum.com/vivarium-p...urs-20-gallon-vivarium-move-22155/#post179909
Reply
Save
Like
aunt kymmie
The rock work you've done is stellar :)
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
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.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
V
y do you have to have everything moved in so soon?
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
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.
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
4
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
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
willow
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:
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
9
finally some actual pictures

Reef Coral reef Underwater Marine biology Natural environment


Reef Coral reef Underwater Natural environment Coral


Reef Coral reef Coral Organism Marine biology


Reef Coral reef Natural environment Coral Stony coral


Reef Coral reef Aquarium decor Freshwater aquarium Natural environment


Reef Coral reef Natural environment Coral Marine biology


Reef Coral reef Natural environment Coral Organism


Reef Coral reef Coral Natural environment Stony coral


Reef Aquarium decor Freshwater aquarium Aquarium Coral reef
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
E
good to see all is well, hope it stays this way for you.
Reply
Save
Like
willow
i simply love it,i really do.
i hope i will be able to achieve something as beautiful.
Reply
Save
Like
aunt kymmie
Nice job, Pasfur. The tank looks vibrant & healthy. Love the moonlights!

Great tip on using "movers plastic".
Reply
Save
Like
Pasfur
3
I snapped a few more pics just for kicks.

The Toadstool is starting to open. It took 4 days:
Reef Coral reef Marine biology Natural environment Coral


The Hammer is looking great.
Reef Coral reef Coral Marine biology Invertebrate


And a full shot.
Reef Coral reef Natural environment Coral Fish
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Tropical Fish Keeping
forum community dedicated to tropical fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about species,breeding, health, behavior, aquariums, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Open to fish, plants and reptiles living in freshwater or saltwater environments.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Beginner Freshwater Aquarium Freshwater and Tropical Fish Tropical Fish Diseases Cichlids New Member Introductions
Top