Aggressive Reef Step by Step setup

[smeese]

Well I got my new tank home today......It is looking nice, but needs some work to be the high end agressive reef tank I am looking to make it into.
I have had this planned for a while and now that it is in the works I figured I would photograph it in stages to see progress in a before and after staging.
Although I am kicking myself for not getting an oceanic....I picked up a 125 AGA with pine stand and matching canopy. (oak finish) Note tank is not in permanent location.....to many windows out there. it will get moved into my livingroom eventually

[smeese]

To start off with the Modifications I figured I mine as well get some eggcrate and eel proof this thing. I got it to fit flush and pretty snug so I do not think more reinforcment is necessary except maybe a screen across the back of the canopy since that is open too. I may put a weight on each piece just in case once it has been taken in and out a few times I am sure it will loosen up a bit.

[Clownnut]

looking good.

[smeese]

Now all I have to do is get Jerry to get down here and drill 3 holes......Hint Hint ( Jerry it is really no hurry I need to put some flooring in where the tank is going anyways.I just had to razz ya a bit)I plan on doing a simple centered overflow consisting of basically a 90 degree elbow of hopefully 2" right into a bulkhead with a flex hose coming off of the back and into the sump below. The return is gonna be an external Gen-X pump mounted on a custom acrylic sump built by Clown-Nut. Thanks again bud! My return pump will be split into two and run up through two 3/4 " bulkheads centered on both sides with about a foot of Loc-Line and an educator on the end of each. I hope that this will be all the flow I need as I do not want pump clutter in this tank. I do have a set of Tunze 6060's on standby just in case. For lights I got a 6 foot aquamedic space light. T5 setup that consists of 8 39 watt bulbs...4 actinic and 4 daylight which will eventually be switched to all daylight, but we'll see. Skimmer is yet to be determined but when I figure it out I will post that info as well.

[smeese]

Live rock and livestock are all in my growout tub and looking good. It is mainly gonna be LPS and of course I will have to experiment with the whole acro T5 thing a little. Lots of sweet lords and enchinos....a few choice euphilias and that red lobo frag D gave me a few months ago. Just Kidding Sorry this is all I have for now. Once I drill I plan on painting the back ocean blue so the unsightly plumbing is not showing, and I will post all that progress when I get there.

[jquigley78]

Where do you get the Ocean Blue paint? I have been wondering this for awhile, just thought I would ask before I forgot again.

[dirk griffin]

If you are really set on having eels, I would have weight on the egg crate for sure. A better way might be to somehow have the part of the canopy which does not move be the support/weight you need. It will be a pain to get in and out, but after a while you will figure out some other short cuts.

Another thought would be to cut your feeding holes in the egg crate out and over the tank. That way there will be more support on the front part of the crate.

Using smaller return pump will also lower the water height in the tank giving it more air exposure to occasionally help train the eels not to like the surface area as much......if that made sense. If the eels get a run along the side of the tank you will need a foot of airspace to keep it in.
The concern would be if the eel/s get spooked or just decide to cruise the glass, if there is not enough to keep the eggcrate down. They are toast.

Finally have a very good size net, box, plastic container/s or whatever to be able to scoop up the largest eel in case it does get out. A panic strickened eel is not any fun. Had to catch a 3' zebra many years ago, it survived but was out of the tank for a least 20-30 minutes. Was not a fun situation. Not having shaggy carpet or no carpet at all, on the floor is a plus too.
A moat around the tank would be best!

[Dwayne]

I've never had an eel tank or any kind of aggressive tank for that matter. Just from reading the posts about these types of tanks, I had the following idea.

Instead of the eggcrate, use heavy (heavy is a relative term here) guage steel grating. This can be powder coated to prevent rusting. Might be heavy enough to not need extra wieght. Given the material, feeding doors with locks can be easily fitted.

If you wanted to go all out, the metal grating could be incorporated into a single top piece that fits over the plastic trim on top of the tank. This would give you the total top weight plus the weight off the canopy to hold down the top.

Not sure if any of this made any sense or if it is even practical.

[latazyo]

smeese, did you need to modify your rock in order to make it more stable for his "caves"....did you drill it out to hollow it out or are you just going to arrange it....or are you just going to let the eel do that on his own since he probably wont use a cave that you make for him anyways...animals always do their own thing, its crazy

I was thinking for an eel tank that if you drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the back of the tank just under the trip and connected a curved pvc elbow to it so that it would look like a smoke stack or something on a smoker, you could then feed the eel its prey through this pvc which would allow you to not have to cut into your protective top

[jeffie]

Nice Steve- Can't wait to see this all come together....

[smeese]

Dirk......definately will cut out a four square hole for feeding, just have not decided where I want it yet. Also yes, it will be a little more secure with weight on it, so considering the price of the eel and fish I am going with it will be worth getting something out to hold it down on the corners.

Latazyo.... have not thought about the rock much yet, but may drill and use pegs to hold it in place (although I will be eating words I have said in the past to Grigor about this method ) I really want to do two cool caves...one on each side, and then have a big open beach area in the middle as I plan on having a shallow sandbed for good looks.

Dwayne...Not sure on putting metal over saltwater, but with a powdercoating I guess it would be possible......good thing I know a powder coater, I will look into some options here thanks for the input.

jquigley78- it was a can of spray paint from menards. It was heavy duty stuff to use to paint lawnfurniture and other stuff that is kept outdoors. I also plan on doing a corat of automotive clearcoat on the back side to prevent it from chipping off when I clean it with a magnet.

Clownut and Jeffie...thanks as usual I can not wait till the meeting so people can check it all out.

[rihanssu]

Originally Posted by dirk griffin

Finally have a very good size net, box, plastic container/s or whatever to be able to scoop up the largest eel in case it does get out. A panic strickened eel is not any fun. Had to catch a 3' zebra many years ago, it survived but was out of the tank for a least 20-30 minutes. Was not a fun situation. Not having shaggy carpet or no carpet at all, on the floor is a plus too.
A moat around the tank would be best!

i had this happen to me with a 2-3 foot tesse and i did not have a net large enough and i aggree with dirk NNNNOOO FUN! eel teeth hurt.... and eel slime and blood get slippery FAST!

[JnS]

lookin good Steve I will make it down some time soon....

[smeese]

Tank is getting drilled tomorrow.

[Irenicus]

What size bulk head are you drilling for?