Wildeone's Newest Obsession

[DJGonzo69]

Duane- Like the eerie looking tank. That center rock looks like someones decapitated head ..lol

[kj_yoda]

Love the "just drop it in" type of aquascaping... it will look great soon enough

[wildeone]

It does look like a head doesn't it! Not for long, I am aquascaping tonight, my water has cleared considerably. Here is a photo of the way I would like my tank to look (only in reverse).



This is a photo off of a aquascape gallery at Reef Central. It was designed by a Chris Guerra. I really like the look!

[Scott]

That is a pretty neat aquascape....I may have to head over to RC to check out thier aquascape pics.

[pham411]

hey wild, what size drill bit did you get on ebay to make that hole for the bulk head. is that a 1" bulkhead? i was going to get a 22mm bit from here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/3pcs-22mm-Diamon...QQcmdZViewItem
also that adapter thingamagig u use with the puddy to hold the drill in place is called what and where can i buy it.
thanks

[wildeone]

That is the same guy I ordered from, but I ordered a 45mm bit. You want to drill a 1 - 3/4 inch hole to fit a bulkhead that will hold a 1" pipe (a 1" bulkhead fitting). 1-3/4" is equal to a 45mm bit.


As for the other thing, I grabbed it off of the workbench at work. I think it came with a Rotozip too to convert the rotozip to a drill, but I found this on E-bay and the price is right.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-CRAFT-DR...QQcmdZViewItem

I guess it is a drill guide for a hand drill. I would suggest you use an electric VARIABLE SPEED drill. I was lucky enough to have a drill that allowed me to "dial" in the speed that way no matter how far I pushed the trigger the drill remained at the same speed. You want to drill at a slow speed, I think around 500 rpm.

Hope this helps!

[wildeone]

Oh, the putty was simply plumbers putty from the hardware, aboiut $1.50 or so a container.

[wildeone]

Scott, here is the aquascape thread. It is 918 posts long and has been viewed over 167,000 times! Enjoy!

BTW, mine didn't come out anything like the photo above. I am much better at landscaping than aquascaping!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ight=aquascape

[Scott]

Thanks for that link! I'm sure it will give me more ideas.

[pham411]

mahaloz wild

[gwen_o_lyn]

Originally Posted by wildeone

Also, I had a prawn in my hand and held it over the tank, but I just couldn't do it, LOL!

ha ha!! ............

[wildeone]

Well I have several photos to share, the water finally cleared up and I was able to move some rock around last night, and then make a few more changes tonight. I am not totally clear, but I am getting close.

First, for anyone interested, here is my tank reading from last night. I hope to find a spot where i can keep this on line in an excel spreadsheet so I can link right to it. That way when i am at work or elsewhere I will have access to it.

Water Temp: 80
Outside Air Temp 71
Specific Gravity: 1.024
Ammonia .05
Nitrite .1
Nitrate 2.5
PH 8.3
Alk 3.4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is a photo closeup of some of the rock. I thought the colors were nice already especially considering it is covered with sand:



Here is an overall photo of the rock after I finished today. I know it looks nothing like the inspiration photo above, but I learned new math when trying to aqua-scape:

INSPIRATION + PERSPIRATION = FRUSTRATION!

It was impossible with the rock I have to make the crescent shape in the 65 gallon tank and keep it 2 inches off the walls. So I went with what is best for circulation and not what is best for viewing.



I did take the time to make some nice hiding spots for all my new little family members:








I took this photo of the substrate. It shows the difference in the Aragamax and the Aragamax Select. The Select is on top (.05 to 1.5) and the Aragamax oolitic ( 0.1 - 1.0 mm.) is on the bottom. I have 120lbs of the oolitic and 30lbs of the select.



One question, if anyone can help, should I use a turkey baster to clean off my LR or just leave then sandy?

Later!

[CarmieJo]

I blow mine off.

[wildeone]

[Rob]

yep.. just use the turbaster to clear the rocks ok..
thats what i do..

[Scott]

the aquascape looks nice, I like all those little hiding spots too.