The WB's 70g Custom Acrylic Supersized AIO

[TheWB]

This morning the water has cleared enough for a picture.

That’s basically what this is supposed to look like. I need to smooth out the sand dunes and reposition some of the rocks. My first impressions are that I made the two main structures with caves too large or too tall. I was trying for lots of habitat and places to hide but I’m just not sure, now that I’ve seen it in the tank, that I like it. I’m also wishing I had 2-3 more inches of depth to play with. I’m out in the field doing client meetings today so it’s gonna sit as is until tonight. Then I’ll probably mess around with it a little bit.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Glad to see the water is clearing up!

 

[TheWB]

I smoothed out the sand and reconfigured the scape a little bit so that nothing is too close to a side or back panel.

Now that the water has cleared up and some things have been moved I’m liking how this looks better. There are still some tweaks to come. For example that long skinny rock on top of the cave structure on the left is just sitting up there to be out of the way. It’s supposed to sit on the sand in the front middle but I don’t have as much space in that spot as I initially thought I would. I’m living without it parked in that spot for a while to see if I like it better as open sand. The rock might just end up in the sump for a while.

This is my side view from where the desk will be.

I feel like this scape looks better in person than in my pics. I guess I’m just not a good photographer.

 

[tharbin]

I smoothed out the sand and reconfigured the scape a little bit so that nothing is too close to a side or back panel.

Now that the water has cleared up and some things have been moved I’m liking how this looks better. There are still some tweaks to come. For example that long skinny rock on top of the cave structure on the left is just sitting up there to be out of the way. It’s supposed to sit on the sand in the front middle but I don’t have as much space in that spot as I initially thought I would. I’m living without it parked in that spot for a while to see if I like it better as open sand. The rock might just end up in the sump for a while.

This is my side view from where the desk will be.

I feel like this scape looks better in person than in my pics. I guess I’m just not a good photographer.

I think it looks really good. What did you use to 'glue' your rocks together? Also roughly how many pounds of Stax is that?

 

[TheWB]

I think it looks really good. What did you use to 'glue' your rocks together? Also roughly how many pounds of Stax is that?

Thanks. It's just held together with superglue. Previous experience has taught me that cyanoacrylate works very well with the Stax product. I just apply it liberally to the connected flat surfaces and let it set. The best part is that while it holds together well you can use a flat head screwdriver to wedge in-between and pop it apart if you don't like it or need to remove a small section. I'm not sure exactly how many pounds this is. I had a 40# box but I didn't use it all. I also had leftover little feet and little rox that got thrown into the mix. I'd bet it's about 40# in total but I'm not sure. I should have weighed each piece before I got it wet.

 

[navada718]

Thanks. It's just held together with superglue. Previous experience has taught me that cyanoacrylate works very well with the Stax product. I just apply it liberally to the connected flat surfaces and let it set. The best part is that while it holds together well you can use a flat head screwdriver to wedge in-between and pop it apart if you don't like it or need to remove a small section. I'm not sure exactly how many pounds this is. I had a 40# box but I didn't use it all. I also had leftover little feet and little rox that got thrown into the mix. I'd bet it's about 40# in total but I'm not sure. I should have weighed each piece before I got it wet.

Congratulations on this milestone with the new tank. It's inspiring me to get my 80 gal aio back up & running. The scape looks great.

 

[TheWB]

Congratulations on this milestone with the new tank. It's inspiring me to get my 80 gal aio back up & running. The scape looks great.

Yes you should. If I’m remembering right you had some kind of really cool aqua scape going on in there, didn’t you?

 

[TheWB]

Hey look!!! Occupants!!!

Almost bought a McCoskers Wrasse. Decided to slow my roll instead and just get cheap help to keep the bacteria fed. It’s so easy to get caught up in getting things too fast. Plenty of time for more wrasse later. I need to be patient.

 

[navada718]

Yes you should. If I’m remembering right you had some kind of really cool aqua scape going on in there, didn’t you?

Yeah...I'm currently in the process a making a new one.

 

[TheWB]

Yeah...I'm currently in the process a making a new one.

Right on. Looking forward to seeing it. I liked the last one a lot. Need to look that up again.

 

[TheWB]

I put in those two damsels the other day and when I looked the next morning I'm pretty sure I still saw two of them. I went to work and when I came back only the smaller one was visible. I figured the other one was just hiding somewhere I couldn't see. I fed a few brine shrimp which the one Damsel happily swam around eating up but still no sign of the other one. It continues to be absent. I hope it's just hiding but it's kinda weird that it wouldn't at least dart out for some food. I get that fish sometimes die right away but there's nothing in this tank that would have eaten the body so you'd think that it would be visible somewhere if it had died. It's a mystery for now. Hopefully it shows up at some point.

 

[NanoJHB]

That scape is great! It's got so much depth and character

 

[TheWB]

That scape is great! It's got so much depth and character

Thank you. The more I've been looking at it the last few days the more it's been growing on me. I loved it on the workbench while I was putting it together but when it first went into the tank I had some doubts.

 

[TheWB]

Found the other Damsel. It wedged itself into a crack in the rocks pretty good and got stuck. Died in that spot. I'm bummed because I prefer to have pairs of fish. I guess I can grab another one.

I have found an LFS that is willing to take all 17 of my RBTA's and give me store credit. If I can get the water mixed to do a change on the old tank to make up for the volume of stuff I am removing I will take them there today. If not then it will be tomorrow. Pretty excited to get this done and get the old tank stripped of the things I need to transfer to the new one.

 

[TheWB]

Went to Sea-King in Bellevue today and traded in 15 RBTAs for a very nice livestock credit. Much more than I was expecting, I was very impressed. Picked up a very small Yellow Coris Wrasse and a smallish McCosker’s Wrasse. Still have more than half of my credit left which might grow a bit if I can get the last two (maybe 3, looks like one is splitting) nems out of the Lagoon 50.
The Lagoon looks way different as you would expect without all those nems in there. I think if I ever set that tank up again it’s going to be a very low scape, it looks better to my eyes that way. I’ll get pictures once the water clears. It’s not arranged in any way but still kinda looks ok. Truthfully I’ll be very happy to get it cleaned out, transfer the fish over to the new tank and shut the 50 down.

 

[navada718]

Went to Sea-King in Bellevue today and traded in 15 RBTAs for a very nice livestock credit. Much more than I was expecting, I was very impressed. Picked up a very small Yellow Coris Wrasse and a smallish McCosker’s Wrasse. Still have more than half of my credit left which might grow a bit if I can get the last two (maybe 3, looks like one is splitting) nems out of the Lagoon 50.
The Lagoon looks way different as you would expect without all those nems in there. I think if I ever set that tank up again it’s going to be a very low scape, it looks better to my eyes that way. I’ll get pictures once the water clears. It’s not arranged in any way but still kinda looks ok. Truthfully I’ll be very happy to get it cleaned out, transfer the fish over to the new tank and shut the 50 down.

Nice selection of fish, for the new tank. Especially from credit.

 

[TheWB]

Some pics of the new residents.

The Yellow Coris wrasse is tiny. The damsel and Neon Dottyback are proximity bullying it but no actual violence yet.

I had hoped to spread any initial aggression by having another fish but so far the McCoskers is just chilling in a rock crevice and is basically being ignored so the little guy is taking on all of the attention

The bioload is still very low so I’m thinking about bringing over the Lubbock’s wrasse or Royal Gramma from the Lagoon 50 just to provide a bigger fish that might calm down the minor aggression of those two. Yellow wrasse seems to be holding its own though. It’s picking away at the sand foraging even while being stalked. Hopefully the McCoskers comes out of its hole soon and gives them something else to think about.

 

[navada718]

Some pics of the new residents.

The Yellow Coris wrasse is tiny. The damsel and Neon Dottyback are proximity bullying it but no actual violence yet.

I had hoped to spread any initial aggression by having another fish but so far the McCoskers is just chilling in a rock crevice and is basically being ignored so the little guy is taking on all of the attention

The bioload is still very low so I’m thinking about bringing over the Lubbock’s wrasse or Royal Gramma from the Lagoon 50 just to provide a bigger fish that might calm down the minor aggression of those two. Yellow wrasse seems to be holding its own though. It’s picking away at the sand foraging even while being stalked. Hopefully the McCoskers comes out of its hole soon and gives them something else to think about.

Nice additions...I'm in the process of acquiring a used IM 20 gallon, that I intend to use as QT. I've learned my lesson the hard way.

 

[TheWB]

These three are pretty much together all the time now, not that this picture is a particularly good example.

The McCoskers is being bullied a bit by the dottyback and does not come out too much. This is a little surprising because it was in a tank at the lfs with lots of active fish. It’s also bigger than the dottyback. I expected it to be more assertive.
On the other hand I was worried about the tiny yellow wrasse with the dottyback and the damsel but after some initial posturing they all seem to be friends now. You just never know with fish compatibility.

In other news today I turned on the skimmer to start the break in period. Just letting it overflow right now to add some oxygen to the water. I haven’t moved over my Apex yet so no idea what the ph is currently but but a little oxygen never hurt anything.

 

[TheWB]

I was able to easily capture and transfer the Aiptasia Eating File Fish to the new tank. The rest of the Lagoon 50 fish, with the exception of the Clown, are going to be much harder to catch. I think it’s going to involve draining down the water and removing the rocks in order to get the rest of the gang moved over. It’s just too easy for them to evade the net.

There’s not a lot in the 50 anymore but there’s still plenty of places to hide from me.