OK Two new 75 Starfire tanks on the way and lots of possibilities and money.

Basile

Well-Known Member
This is one nice build Basile. Your taste is impeccable. :D

Thanks for the kind works, much appreciated, if and when i'll have my tanks i'll be able to post even better lol. Yes it actually one of the most productive time for me and the most expressive time where its not the fish, the machinery but me who's on display and that will be for everyone to see when they look at the tank. People seem to forget that. They build their tank but the one element that completely is them is the rock work and they don't take any time to think about it or very little time and then 8 months later want to rescape, something that should of been done prior to put water in it. Too impatient .... I'm impatient to get my tank but after that its the process of sculpting. Its easyer to sculpt when you have your tank, because you can relate better with the look and the overall feeling of scale. I'm starting without the tank because i know i wont be finished and i can fix it before i put it in. still, i'm doing it with tape on the floor and only a general idea of the look it will have specially in the corners.
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
It's AMAZING ALREADY....this is going to be AWESOME!! :geekin:
Glad you are sharing your build with us :crowd:
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
On with the show

Ok so i've started my videos on how i do my sculptures, i still have to edit them before uploading them, so in the mean time here's some of the pictures i took of the buildup of the Marco's rock sculpture with PVC and Nylon rods.

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This my drill with a 7/16 diamond coated bit; worth every penny less than 10 second to go through that rock.

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I use a saw for the nylons because the cutters squeezed the nylons and the nuts i used are harder to fit in after so the saw leave the shape of the nylon intack.

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I use a wooden board in a tub with water; i place my rock on the board, and the water cools my bit and also prevent pieces of rock from flying into my eyes and also splashing mud all over the place. When you reach the board, 10 sec later you feel it right away.

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I've align the holes and put the rods and cut them almost flush. I left just enough to twist those two nuts in place. This is all done prior to put the ciment mortar and to make sure your structure looks good . After all this is your only personal touch in the whole system all the rest is bought or will be done by the corals. And you'll be looking at it for a very long time. So you might as well take the time to view and review your designs all day or for a few days because this baby will be there for years to come, and playing with it when you have critters and fish in there isn't doing any good to the stress level of your inhabitants.

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The Bat cave!!


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With nylons and mortar its nice to be able to extend plates and edges, i'm however careful not to take too much room to overshadow the sandbed too much, i do it within reason and the structure will be at its lowest point 1" above the sand to give it waterfow clearance.

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The cave


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The central piece will be the highest so it can carry the stalactite in the end.

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Without the mortar the rock look unstable and are only holding in place because of the nylon; in the end the nylon will be cut to fit under the rock being the ceiling of the cave and the top rock with a nut. At each step mortar will be added and i'll wait that each level is dry and stable to make sure the rocks don't wable under the stress.

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Other kinds of rocks gives you options for other things. it didn't work in this case but i still have a 75 Gallon fuge to do. So always have more to have options to work with.

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Basile

Well-Known Member
Tank updates

A few more pictures, the sump this time and the stands before shipping.

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The 60" high stand with the 83"high extension to provide support behind the refugium tank and to secure it to the wall.

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The refugium stand 48" X 23" wide has a shelf at 30" height for the QT and underneath will be the future fridge feeder and rotifer factory much later.... lol.

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They gave me a board that is suppose to hold a 40 gallons tank like i asked, i'll painted totally black, like the rest of the stand.

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Thats my sump60G; 48"X20X16" with its socket for the socks, the first chamber receives the water from the quiet Herbie, controlled with a gate valve on both the Reef tank and the display refugium and as the water rises it unloads into the socks. Now i may or may not use them there as i find the use of sock before the skimmer unwaranted, i rather use them after. To each is own.

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My sump has 4 baffles to stop the Bubble Blasters micro bubbles to invade my return pumps, like i've heard so many people complaining about, so i've added a extra one.


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Basile

Well-Known Member
Another video

This video is about the progress after drilling holes and placing nylon rods and placing your rocks on the sculpture, not always a good idea to go too fast as you'll discover. Another issue creepedup the weight of the structure became a problem, what to do.

[video=youtube;CLeAqLPwhOw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLeAqLPwhOw&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFdfdxt3LnuihwIJUGqREF5K&index=22[/video]
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
Great vids - cute cat !

Thanks i was suppose to edit than it was getting complicated then i said no i'll put it on like that and put them all in a series so people just have to follow the numbers , thats all why stress over this. I'm no pro at this anyway and the info is there. Yes those cats are my directors, who do you think is holding the camera, the other cat lol . I'll try to speak louder in the next videos lol. But i don't want to scare my cats.
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
Another video

Sorry for the abrupt end of part 4 but i'm not a professional video maker,lol continuing in this one i've constructed a bigger support base to spread the load of the structure, and i'm starting to put the rocks in place with mortar. i also have little side projects on the go that will benefit the tank; a copepods farm using corrugated plastic sheet, found at any hardware store for a few bucks.I also mend a Tonga branch rock that will be used in the second sculpture project later on.





[video=youtube;2M6b0np_rtM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M6b0np_rtM&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFdfdxt3LnuihwIJUGqREF5K&index=23[/video]
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
Photos shoot

Using nylon rods to secure the next level of rocks, mortar will be put in between; do not over screw the nut, you'll squeeze out the mortar, allow a few milimeters of the stuff for better bonding. In addition this mortar is hydrofuge it can be used underwater so it better to wet your rocks( if your doing this dry) to help the mortar to bond better with both rocks.

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To repair a rock like this Tonga Branch rock soak the branch 30 min in water the apply the mortar . If its a prefect fit tilt it or twist it to make a gap so the mortar can have room and a chance to bond between the two pieces.


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Wrapping it gives it time to really bond better by controlling the humidity, drying to quickly is not good. the next day unwrap it and let dry naturally.

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Only mix what you need this stuff bond fast; they say 15 to 20 min but in less than 5 i couldn't pull my nylon rod , it had already bond and i had to leav it like that. So progress one rock at a time.

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Dont scrape ciment its looks bad and sloppy, instead sprinkle it with crushed coral it looks much more natural and blends in very easy.

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Sometimes contrast can be an eye soar or a point of discussion in any case, it'll start a conversation; and thats the point, you don't want people to indifferent to your creation do you....lol. Notice the crush coral , now what could that mean...


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Starting this sculpture i realised that the weight was going to be superior to what i was expecting in my original plans. So to accomodate that and disperse this weight i've extended the feet into an elaborated tubing structure to diffuse that weight in a larger area of the tank, otherwise the whole weight of the sculpture would of been focused on those four small point and potentially ruptured the tank floor. So be aware of that if you make a support for a solid rock structure.


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Changing one rock to a different , darker rock, both for mechanical and esthetic reason brought me to a change of direction in the design, so completing your sculpture too quickly is not always a good thing.

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The second sculpture is about an often misused rock; the Tonga branch rock.
Here i'm doing a artificial root system with pvc, egg crates, wrapping the branches with Zip ties and foaming the feet. The structure will of course be under the sand you'll only see the branch as a tree as it should be.


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Remember the mended branch? The reason for this sculpture is that it will be covered with Green star polyp, which with a wavebox movement will be awsome to watch. When ever you make a sculpture ; Have a purpose for it, nothing worse than a useless piece that takes space in your tank for no particular reason.

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Each foot of each branch goes through the egg crates , for two reasons. Stability of the branches, and so i can apply a first layer of foam and make a sort of perimeter where the cement will be poured in .

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Using foam to glue my branches on to the pvc is easyer than cement in this particular instance, but the feet will get cement to lock them together.After the foam has harden the zip ties will be cut and the foam will receive a coat of resin and sand to better hide and blend it in.

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The sand will cover all the egg crate and cement only the the branches will be visible

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Basile

Well-Known Member
Videos again

The Tonga project;

Tonga branches are a real problem for most people. No one seem to know what to do with them.So on this video i'm giving you a way to make a great sculpture that's not really hard to do cost very little and look amazing, well i think it does. The difficulty with the tonga branches is that they have no way to support themselves, so i give them an artificial root system with pvc and egg crates, coupled with zip ties for temporary holding and foam for support, its quickly becomes a self standing sculpture that can be part of your aquascape, for a few buck.


[video=youtube;Io9E6rmhdx8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9E6rmhdx8&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFdfdxt3LnuihwIJUGqREF5K&index=24[/video]
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
More video

To use mortar you have to be quick and know where your going or mistake can happen i found that out last night. They say you have 15-20 minutes to of work with the cement but sometimes the material bond much more quickly so be aware of that. So have a plan and a back up plan. you'll see what i mean.



[video=youtube;J-_peMIS-ow]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_peMIS-ow&list=PLk_Pw-jAYdFdfdxt3LnuihwIJUGqREF5K[/video]


I'm not a professional video maker so if it cuts abruptly follow in the next on, i rather not waste time editing lol
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
Photos shoot

A bit of directional phots shoot to see where this is going with a bit of intrusion from the directors....


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Director # 1 taking a leasurely approach to the job and in charge of plumbing

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Director # 2 opening every boxes, opening everything in sight to make sure it ok on set

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Basile

Well-Known Member
Its Christmass time!!

Its Christmass time!



You like my Tunze family?

The mud is only used for medicinal purposes, i still do my weekly water changes. The bacterial count of the mud and its composition is the only thing that interest me for my refugium; i do my own miracles, lol.


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I have 2 Razors at 16K 27" and 2 at 10K one 27" and 20" for the refugium


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The octopus is rated for a 300 g tank i have a 150+75+65=265 total.

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Its christmass time the tanks are arriving tomorrow and i'm ready for them; The whole thing cost.....$ 450 + 0
 
Man those Tunze heads are horrible.... may as well send them my way lol :wave:

And I'm with ya on the mud. Don't care how it does what it does but if it works use it right?

Grats on the cache of goodies!!
 

Basile

Well-Known Member
Sculpture set up

Here's the room where the sculptures go; not quite done yet but in their real positions with the backwalls. The green tape is the tank edges the middle green tape is the wavebox trajectory and mid tank mark 12"

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The cat wall will be behind the refugium tank stand which is almost 7 feet tall.Those are the panels going in the refugium.Only 3 are necessary.

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Eye level

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Left to right perspective

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Right to left perspective

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This is what i was explaining in the videos about having your tank as a refference for scale. You can see now my feet are too big and large, one of the sculpture could be too wide and i may have to break some feature of my ceramic wall to place one of those sculptures. The green tapes are just a refference, it could all ok but only when the tanks are here will i truely know, dangerous game to play without all the pieces. The middle green tape indicate the wavebox trajectory.

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$ 1 700 worth of German ceramic on this wall i got it for $ 333., it was a good catch that day.

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How can i forget, the inspector clawless....

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