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E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:02 PM
I just finished downsizing from a 72 gallon bowfront to a 45 gallon Marineland Cube. There were many reasons for this downsize, but mainly it was to keep everything simple, and use high quality equipment. To me, it's much easier to accomplish these goals with a smaller tank. I'll go into this more when I get a chance.


I love cube tanks, and this is the largest one I can fit in the space of our admittedly small Long Island apartment.

I have a few goals with this tank:

-Have fun!

-Keep everything as simple and automated as possible. This automation will also help keep consistent water parameters which will be crucial when I jump into the world of SPS corals.

-Only buy things that I really LOVE looking at. I’ve spent a lot of money on corals and fish that were only “OK” but not my absolute favorite just because they were cheaper at the time.

-Buy or trade as many corals as I can from other local reefers, thus lessening my negative impact on the oceans. (Also a great way to fulfill the previous goal).

-Do as much DIY as I can. This isn’t just to keep costs down (which is a main reason) but also to force myself to go slow and learn a lot about the whole process. In addition, this gives me flexibility and customization that I wouldn’t get with store bought.

OK, on to the details:


Equipment list. I've put a lot of effort and planning into the equipment stage, including many, many hours of reading, drawing up sketches, and asking silly questions. :fun5:

Tank:
-45 Gallon Reef Ready Cube by Marineland. Dimensions are 24 x 24 x 18h.
-DIY stand and canopy. Painted black.
-20 gallon high DIY sump.

Lighting:
-PFO 250 Watt Metal Halide Pendant with Ushio 14,000K bulb.
-Ice Cap Electronic Ballast.
-2x Current Powerbrite Actinic LEDs

Flow:
-Vortech MP20.
-Marineland Utility Pump 1700 return pump.

Filtration:
-Vertex IN-100 skimmer.
-BRS Carbon Reactor.
-BRS GFO Reactor.
-I’m also going to start dosing 2 part and a carbon source (probably vodka, but no need yet. I need to research this a lot more before it happens though).

Other Equipment:
-Reef Keeper Lite to control MH, LED’s, and heater
-autotopoff.com ATO unit.
-(Eventually) a dosing system.

Livestock List:
-2x Onyx Clowns from Sea Quest Marine
-Purple Firefish.
-In the future, I might get a pearly jawfish or a neon goby and a flasher/fairy wrasse. I’m not 100% set on the livestock, but it must get along with current inhabitants who are extremely peaceful.

Corals:
-My tank will be a mixed reef full of corals. I’m going to have mostly LPS, SPS, and Zoanthids.

E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:04 PM
Here are some pics of the progress so far:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/001-5.jpg

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/004-5.jpg

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/006-4.jpg

And a picture of the sump:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/006-4.jpg

E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:07 PM
Like I said. It's nothing fancy, but so far I am happy with my own work. I used a powerdrill (NICE Christmas present from my future Father in Law ;) ), a hand saw, and Lowe's "craftsman machine saw, doing the cutting for me at the store :lol:" I constructed (and painted) the stand, canopy, and sump in the livingroom (thanks Kerrin!)

It was my first time building a stand on my own. I'll have pictures of the finished product up in a little bit.

I hope you all like it. Feel free to post suggestions/comments/etc. :lol:

E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:13 PM
Here's a pic of my Onyx clowns.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/011-2.jpg

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/008-4.jpg

blindsider
02/06/2010, 07:20 PM
looking good so far, keep up the good work, i myself was looking at that aquarium, now im a little more excited about it. i like that the overflow box does not take up half the tank too!

E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:22 PM
Thanks :D .. I should clarify that those pics of my fish were in my old tank. I don't have the rock looking that hap-hazard and all over the place.

I definitely recommend this tank. It's very well built. Even comes with black silicone standard.

E.intheC
02/06/2010, 07:23 PM
..and I just realized I posted the wrong pic of the sump "D'oh!"

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/002-5.jpg

E.intheC
02/07/2010, 09:46 AM
I really like the skimmer so far. It's got a bubble plate and a really solid design. It works great, and has produced about a cup of nasty skimmate in the first few days of operation.

My only slight issue is the Resun pump that it comes with. Resun doesn't have a great reputation and it's a bit too loud for my taste. Might get a new pump with the tax return funds, but we'll see.

I'm also looking into dampening the vibrations through other means.

E.intheC
02/07/2010, 11:13 AM
Quick question. My entire overflow chamber recently has been filling up, then draining (and creating a loud gurgling noise) then filling up, and repeating the process. Anyone know why this happens, and what I can do to prevent it?

E.intheC
02/08/2010, 09:02 PM
OK so I guess I'll post some updates.

Here is a picture of the tank. I'm going to change around the liverock and clean everything up.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/008-5.jpg

Here's a terribly blurry picture of my door:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/011-3.jpg

The inside of my canopy:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/018-1.jpg

And a skimmer shot. Vertex IN 100 after 2 days breaking in with a small bioload. (Just the 2 clowns, 2 harlequins, and a few corals)...

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/014-2.jpg

Reefobsession
02/08/2010, 09:10 PM
Great work Eric!!! I love your tank. I am so happy with my 93 marineland cube. I am in the market for soem onyx's in the next month or so. Where did you get yours? I plan on getting some of mitch's booyah clowns, if I can't find a nice pair locally.

E.intheC
02/08/2010, 10:03 PM
Thanks for the complements. I just took a look at the pictures on this thread again.. man.. I need some practice! haha. This weekend there should be some decent updates once I get the LEDs working, the liverock and corals situated to my liking, and a few additions, (as well as my buddy coming down with a much better camera)..... I think I'll be happy with it :lol:

Your tank looks like a big brother to mine! (Not to mention a better dressed big brother, lol).

My Onyx clowns look a lot better in person than in the pics, and I'm sure they'll color up even more as they age. They're already starting to show some pairing behavior. I got them locally (picked them up in Queens, NY) so I can't help you out that way.

I've heard good things about the clowns you've mentioned though.

Take a look at Doni's clowns as well. I almost went with a pair of hers.

dubdlee
02/08/2010, 10:32 PM
Looks great Eric, very nice stand and hood. I like the way it looks and I love your clowns. I wish you the best of luck buddy

E.intheC
02/09/2010, 07:09 PM
Looks great Eric, very nice stand and hood. I like the way it looks and I love your clowns. I wish you the best of luck buddy

Thanks man. It's a work in progress. I'm happy with the hardware, now I just have to get the rock, corals, and fish rockin'.

E.intheC
02/09/2010, 07:35 PM
also, I think I have to raise the skimmer up a few inches to get better production. Looks like it's in too deep.

E.intheC
02/10/2010, 02:47 PM
neat pic with the LED's on. This is my view from the kitchen table.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/004-8.jpg

Reefobsession
02/11/2010, 12:58 AM
:inlove::inlove:LED's:inlove::inlove:
I almost did LED's but I had a hard time getting away from the radium bulb. You have a sweet setup there Eric. :beer:
If you look at the most recent tank pic, it looks like your tank has a built in TV. Man your fish are living it up. I might just live in your tank too. lol

E.intheC
02/12/2010, 11:51 AM
:inlove::inlove:LED's:inlove::inlove:
I almost did LED's but I had a hard time getting away from the radium bulb. You have a sweet setup there Eric. :beer:
If you look at the most recent tank pic, it looks like your tank has a built in TV. Man your fish are living it up. I might just live in your tank too. lol

LOL. My fish are definitely spoiled :lol: They love The Office. (That's a shot of "Michael J. Scott's" head :beer:)

E.intheC
02/15/2010, 04:34 PM
I was finally able to re-arrange my live rock and add a few things. I'll try and post some pictures tonight

spleify
02/15/2010, 05:02 PM
Hey, its looking good! Nice job :thumbsup:

Reefobsession
02/15/2010, 05:08 PM
I don't know what it is about small cubes, but they get me all happy inside. :inlove::inlove::inlove:
If I were to do another tank, which I won't be able to afford, :mad2: I would definitly so something of this size and do some seahorses and pipe fish.

E.intheC
02/16/2010, 12:24 PM
Hey, its looking good! Nice job :thumbsup:

Spleify, thanks! :D

Fig70g
02/16/2010, 12:45 PM
Quick question. My entire overflow chamber recently has been filling up, then draining (and creating a loud gurgling noise) then filling up, and repeating the process. Anyone know why this happens, and what I can do to prevent it?

Have you figured out what is causing this? It almost sounds as if there is a siphon being created in your overflow, so once it is full, there is no air in the downpipe and water rushes down. How do you have your pipe going to your sump? It looks like it goes out the back of your tank, then you probably put an elbow to point the pipe down. If so you may want to drill a small hole on top of that elbow and insert small plastic tubing pointed up, NOTE: make sure the top of this tube is higher than your water!!

I didnt see any pics of the overflow box now that everything is together, so I could be wrong... just wanted to try and help! Good luck!

E.intheC
02/16/2010, 01:38 PM
You know, I actually stopped paying attention to that when the sound went down to almost nothing. I'll have to take a closer look and investigate drilling a hole into the elbow. I'm a bit concerned about leaks though.

Thanks for the help!

Navymedic
02/28/2010, 02:46 PM
Eric i like your setup- there is a member here in florida who might sell their cube so it got me into researching.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu321/EricFish1234/006-4.jpg

My question is this-

If you look at your pic it has the return lower than the drain, is this how Marineland suggest to do it? and couldn't you place a "Y" in the return so you can branch and have water spilling from both sides of the overflow? just some ideas... keep it coming bro..

E.intheC
02/28/2010, 04:50 PM
thanks for the compliments. I agree, it's a bit weird that the return is lower than the drain, but IMO shouldn't affect things too much. You can definitely put a piece of Y piping back there, but it's a very tight fit. I wouldn't try it, IMO... I like that it's a slim overflow because I was fine with the return piping coming back on one side, and you get a lot more room in the tank for corals and rock, etc.

This is also a good tank (IMO) for taking off the overflow box and making/buying your own. That way you'd have more options. It'd be tougher to do that if the standpipes went all the way down to the bottom of the tank.

E.intheC
02/28/2010, 05:13 PM
I also want to add that you can change which side the return pipe comes out of. I like it on the one side so I have more control over flow. One side of the tank can be lower flow corals like LPS, and the right side can be SPS, etc.. Hope this helps.

nanoman31
03/08/2010, 05:19 AM
love this tank! any updates? subscribed by the way

E.intheC
03/09/2010, 08:33 PM
thanks nanoman31. I don't have too many updates. Taking things slow.. (whether I want to or not, lol.)

I just traded a few zoanthid frags for a greenish/yellowish BTA. It was kept under PC's, and I have a 250 watt MH so I need to keep the light screened off.. Clowns are completely ignoring it, but the 'nem is settling in fine for now, and although it's a bit bleached, I think it will recover.

nanoman31
03/27/2010, 02:08 PM
thanks nanoman31. I don't have too many updates. Taking things slow.. (whether I want to or not, lol.)

I just traded a few zoanthid frags for a greenish/yellowish BTA. It was kept under PC's, and I have a 250 watt MH so I need to keep the light screened off.. Clowns are completely ignoring it, but the 'nem is settling in fine for now, and although it's a bit bleached, I think it will recover.
you like your skimmer? I'm going to get one for my 75g. I know the feeling, about wanting to get new stuff, but having t wait for it

Footbag
03/27/2010, 02:20 PM
Interesting thread. I'm two weeks in to my 45g cube build. Can't wait to start stocking.

Navymedic
03/27/2010, 03:24 PM
Interesting thread. I'm two weeks in to my 45g cube build. Can't wait to start stocking.

I just mine from another member, but couldn't get it to fit in the car :blown:

Hopefully I can pick mine up SOOOOON :love2:

Question- Mine came with a 150w HQI and I believe 2x 65w PCs...

my plan is to go SPS and maybe add a clam in the future, should I upgrade the Wattage to a 250w HQI and/or maybe T5s?

your tank is great! thanks...

Footbag
03/27/2010, 03:50 PM
I just mine from another member, but couldn't get it to fit in the car :blown:

Hopefully I can pick mine up SOOOOON :love2:

Question- Mine came with a 150w HQI and I believe 2x 65w PCs...

my plan is to go SPS and maybe add a clam in the future, should I upgrade the Wattage to a 250w HQI and/or maybe T5s?

your tank is great! thanks...

I'm asking myself the same question right now. In a recent post in the lighting section, I was advised that if I was going all Acro, 250w would be best. But... Since I'm going to have a mix, I'll most likely just keep the Acro's on top and some lower light SPS in the middle. Don't know about clams. Had one do very well under this same light in a 7g, but that's only 10"h.
I don't have any supplementation yet. But will probably add some to prevent any shaded spots on the corals.
If you've got some sort of all-in-one hanging hood, I'd keep what you have.

E.intheC
03/28/2010, 02:39 PM
you like your skimmer? I'm going to get one for my 75g. I know the feeling, about wanting to get new stuff, but having t wait for it

I do like my skimmer, definitely. Do I think there are better skimmers out there? Of course. But, this has performed very well for me and has quieted down quite a bit.

E.intheC
03/28/2010, 02:42 PM
I'm asking myself the same question right now. In a recent post in the lighting section, I was advised that if I was going all Acro, 250w would be best. But... Since I'm going to have a mix, I'll most likely just keep the Acro's on top and some lower light SPS in the middle. Don't know about clams. Had one do very well under this same light in a 7g, but that's only 10"h.
I don't have any supplementation yet. But will probably add some to prevent any shaded spots on the corals.
If you've got some sort of all-in-one hanging hood, I'd keep what you have.

I think if you're going entirely SPS from top to bottom with clams and other high light loving corals, a 250 watt setup would be fine.

However, if you're doing a mixed reef (like I am..) then you can go with the 150 watt bulb and PC actinics. I think that would look great on this tank.

If you have the cash, an ATI Powermodule (6 bulb would be required) is also an option that will work great.

I'm looking into a higher Kelvin bulb because right now my 14,000K Ushio is a bit too strong and is definitely too white.

E.intheC
04/02/2010, 03:25 PM
well.. last night I came home to find only one of my Onyx clowns missing.. After frantically searching around for a few minutes, I realized he jumped into the back of the overflow. Man, this is going to be tough getting him back out!

(any suggestions will be appreciated ;))

jonnybravo22
04/02/2010, 11:55 PM
Hi E! long time no talk! hope you're well. dont know how i've missed your thread until now.

Nice build!

re: clown, glad he's at least in water! i had the unfortunate incident of a hardwood floor surfing clown that didnt make it and the 2 i have now have both seen the floor and been saved. they've also been in the overflow area more than once so i know the frantic search all too well.

i think low light helps (i've turned off all the lights in the room and used a flashlight (covered with my hand to just let enough light through so i could see the fish) and netted him if in a tight space. i just try to creep up on him really slow so he doesnt see the net then make a really quick grab and plop back in dt. (guess you've already gotten it out by now though :)

hey btw did you ever get that "item" you were considering?

i recently got a gigantea anemone for my tank and i'm happy that it's doing well after about 2 months.

any future plans for the tank?

moondoggy4
04/06/2010, 07:49 PM
Nice setup, how is the return pump doing?

E.intheC
04/21/2010, 03:50 PM
Hi E! long time no talk! hope you're well. dont know how i've missed your thread until now.

Nice build!

re: clown, glad he's at least in water! i had the unfortunate incident of a hardwood floor surfing clown that didnt make it and the 2 i have now have both seen the floor and been saved. they've also been in the overflow area more than once so i know the frantic search all too well.

i think low light helps (i've turned off all the lights in the room and used a flashlight (covered with my hand to just let enough light through so i could see the fish) and netted him if in a tight space. i just try to creep up on him really slow so he doesnt see the net then make a really quick grab and plop back in dt. (guess you've already gotten it out by now though :)

hey btw did you ever get that "item" you were considering?

i recently got a gigantea anemone for my tank and i'm happy that it's doing well after about 2 months.

any future plans for the tank?

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond... not sure where my subscription to this thread went.. hmm. Hopefully it'll work going forward :)

Thanks for the tips on the clown though, and too bad about your clowns 'hard wood floor surfing'

..I had to do some work on my sump so I turned the pump off and drained some water out.. for whatever reason (could be b/c the water level in the overflow area went down quite a bit) the clown went into the sump! Took the little trip down. He was fine. I scooped him out of the sump and put him back in the display. Thinking he'd learned his lesson, (haha....) and also thinking "what are the odds that he'll jump into the tiny overflow again.. I didn't rush to cover the overflow..

STUPID MOVE! :rolleye1: Of course, 2 days later, he's back in there again. :hammer: And the overflow is sooo thin that I can't even fit my hands down there (or a net because of the overflow piping)...

That's great about the gigantea. I'd like to see some pictures!! Hopefully it's still doing well?

I'm sorry, but I don't remember the 'item' you were talking about :sad2: my memory hasn't been the greatest lately.

E.intheC
04/21/2010, 03:53 PM
Nice setup, how is the return pump doing?

moondoggy4, thanks for replying, and for the complements. :beer:

I'm very happy with the return pump. These MJ Utility pumps are quiet and (so far, anyway) very reliable. Will they last as long as, say, an Eheim? I'm not sure yet, but they're also not nearly as expensive. IMO, the MJ's are as quiet as the Eheims though, so far at least.

E.intheC
05/09/2010, 09:18 AM
Just a bit of an update.. I'm getting a few things delivered over the next few days ;)

On Monday I should be getting a BRS Reactor that will be used for Carbon/GFO. I ordered the ROX carbon as well..

Also, I plan on (finally) pulling the trigger on an ATO system, but I have to make a decision regarding another piece of equipment first.......

jbanks
05/15/2010, 08:29 PM
Looking great E! I'm looking forward to seeing your tank progress..

renato120
07/07/2011, 09:29 PM
Any pictures of the tank now? I have almost the same setup.

E.intheC
07/08/2011, 10:01 AM
Thanks for the inquiry. Unfortunately I took this tank down a while back.. Currently have a 90 gal going.