Aegeon's 25G Cube Build

[Aegeon]

I've been keeping a build thread on another site, and thought I'd start one here as well in hopes of getting more feedback, especially as I get the tank up and running. A bit of background:

I'm pretty much a noob to reefing, so I'm learning a lot along the way. I tried to get into the hobby way back in 2001, where I got as far as getting a 90 gallon tank full of saltwater and live rock before I unexpectedly lost my job and had to move. Everything was broken down and sold off to cover expenses, my dreams of an exciting new hobby dashed.

Since then I've moved a few times, gotten married, and settled in Chicago. My wife and I had our first son, Andrew, just six weeks ago. With the new addition to our little family I decided to get into reefing in a limited way as something to work on around the house. I also think as our little one gets older this will hopefully be a great hobby that we can share.

I've been working for the last few weeks on starting up my first tank, and thought I'd share the build here. I will say that from what little I remember from my first go-around, it appears that a LOT in the hobby has changed in the 9 years that I've been away. With the demands of a 9-to-5 job and the new little guy, the build is slow going, but progress is being made.

Here's the plan:

18" 25gal Mr. Aqua rimless cube DT, drilled with 1" overflow and 1/2" return from glass-holes.com
12" 7.5gal Mr. Aqua rimless cube sump
Maxi-Jet 1800 return pump
Tunze DOC Nano 9002 skimmer
Jager 75w Heater
JBJ ATO controller
Custom DIY tank stand
Custom DIY LED light fixture, 18 CREE XR-E LEDs, 50/50 mix Cool White/Royal Blue
BRS 75 GPD RO/DI 5 Stage PLUS System
Vortech MP10 Powerhead (eventually)

Since I'm playing catchup to my other thread, I'll have a few posts in a row here... Hope nobody minds.

Comments, suggestions and feedback are always appreciated!

[Aegeon]

Here's the DIY stand I put together for the tank and sump.

It's built from an IKEA 18" base kitchen cabinet. We have a lot of other IKEA furniture, so the finish on the stand matches. The cabinet was initially 24" deep, so I cut down the sides to 18" to make a cube stand. The cabinet was a bit flimsy (all particleboard), so I reinforced the particle board sides, and replaced the stock cross-members with 1x3 solid wood to make sure it'll hold the weight of the tanks.

Since I cut the depth of the stand down to 18", I was able to use 2 additional standard 18" pre-finished cabinet doors as side panels to match the front, instead of having the fake light-wood laminate of the cabinet walls show.

The top of the stand is a 1-1/2" laminated countertop from IKEA. Now that I have the stand reinforced, weight should be no problem. The stand is also on 4" adjustable legs, hidden behind a matching plinth. This will let me level the stand exactly, and I can just pop the plinth off to clean up under the stand in case of spills.

View of the stand with the tank set on top. The box in the tank has the overflow/return kits from glass-holes.com.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/stand_01-1.jpg


Another view of the tank/stand.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/stand_02-1.jpg


Inside the stand, showing the Mr. Aqua 7.5G cube sump. Door is mounted using 153 degree hinges, so access is good even though the cabinet is narrow. Boxes for the return pump and skimmer, and the Jager heater stored inside the tank.

Originally I had a shelf in the stand, with the space below sized for a 2.5gal square bottle I got for an ATO reservoir. The shelf has since been removed because I thought it'd be too tough to work in the sump with it up that high. I'm planning on mounting the reservoir above the sump now, but haven't figured out exactly how to do it yet.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/stand_04-1.jpg


As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[Aegeon]

Managed to get the Mr. Aqua tank drilled using a kit from glass-holes.com. Drilling went surprisingly well. There were no real surprises even though it was my first attempt at drilling a tank.

Here's the tank.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_01.jpg


Tank with the overflow template in place.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_03-1.jpg


After starting the hole using the template, I removed it and build a dam around the hole using plumber's putty. Then I could flood the area with water to keep the bit cool.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_04-1.jpg


The final result.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_05.jpg


Tank with the overflow box in place.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_06.jpg


I repeated the process for the return line. The kit for the return didn't have a template included, so I drilled a hole through the fiberboard template included with the overflow kit to use with the smaller hole saw. I didn't have a hole saw of the correct size, so I just used the glass saw itself. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the best move. Particles from the fiberboard clogged up the diamond cutting surface of the holesaw, and I had to clean it out using water and a toothbrush. In the end, it worked just fine, though.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_07.jpg


The hole for the return. There was a bit more chip-out around this hole than there was around the larger one. I'm not sure if that's because the hole was smaller, or if I went to fast or too slow. In either case, the gasket for the bulkhead completely covers the chip-out area, so I think it's fine.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_08.jpg


Final result with both the overflow and return bulkhead installed.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/drill_09.jpg


Since drilling the tank, I've also painted the back wall black. All-in-all, I think it looks pretty good.

[Aegeon]

Here's the GFCI outlet box I built to go inside the stand. I wanted at least two separate outlets, so if something were to trip one of them the other would still be up and running. I also have two outlets near where the tank will be located that are on different circuits in my condo, so I wanted two cords out of the outlet box. This means I can run one GFCI from each of two separate house circuits, which will help balance the load of the system across two separate 15amp circuits and reduce the possibility that having a breaker trip on one circuit will shut down the entire system.

Parts for the GFCI outlet box. I used two replacement appliance cords I found at a local Ace Hardware, which have a 3-prong plug at one end and bare wire at the other. This way, everything was already color-coded, and I didn't have to cannibalize a standard extension cord and worry about stripping wires, or have to wire up a plug myself.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/gfci_01.jpg


Outlets wired up. The power cables run through clamps to provide strain relief.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/gfci_05.jpg


Box assembled.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/gfci_03.jpg


Mounted inside the stand.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/stand_07.jpg

[Aegeon]

So far, the DIY light fixture has taken the most time to get finished. Before I started, I planned it out a bit on paper and in Google Sketchup.

The fixture consists of 18 Cree XR-E Leds (9 royal blue, 9 cool white) driven by 3 700ma buckpucks. The pucks are the pre-wired version and come with an external dimming pot. I also decided to wire in individual power toggle switches.

I got 2 5"x10" heatsinks from heatsinkusa.com that the LEDs are mounted to. Everything is housed in a 12"x12" aluminum chassis by Bud Industries that I ordered from Mouser, and cooled by 2 40mm fans.

A few of the initial drawings. Front, nice and simple:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_01-1.jpg


Back, showing toggle switches and dimming pots. The tube extending out of the middle of the chassis is 1" OD aluminum framing tube from McMaster-Carr, and is what holds up the fixture. It's attached to the heatsinks themselves inside the chassis. I'm running aluminum pipe up from the back of my stand, behind the tank, and using a 90deg fitting to position the fixture over the tank. This should let me swivel the fixture out of the way for tank maintenance. I also ran all the wiring for the power supplies through the pipe to keep things nice and clean.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_02-1.jpg


View from underneath, showing the positions of the LEDs. Also visible are mockups of the buckpucks, pots/switches, and the barrier strip I used to help distribute the power inside the chassis. The chassis also has a lip around the opening so I could add a piece of acrylic as a splash guard.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_03-1.jpg


There were lots of holes to be drilled so I created a set of templates like this for the hole patterns. I printed out at full scale so I could lay them directly over the parts to be drilled and not have to measure too much.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_04-1.jpg

[Aegeon]

Took quite a while to get the LED fixture finished, but I think it came out pretty well in the end.

Light fixture mounted. Nice and clean, all the wires run through the support tubing in the back.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_01.jpg
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_02.jpg


View in the back of the stand showing the mounting brackets. These clamp on to the support pipe with set screws, so I can change the height of the fixture over the tank.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_03.jpg


Back of the fixture. Each string of LEDs has individual dimming pots and on/off toggle switches so I can control the output at the fixture if necessary. You can also see the vent holes for the two 40mm fans used for cooling. The top of the fixture has vents holes drilled near the front of the fixture to allow air to flow in, across the heatsinks, and out the back of the unit. The fans are 12V, wired in series with each other, and in parallel to the driver controlling 6 royal blue Crees. The blues (actinics) will be the first LED string on in the morning and the last off at night, so this ensures the fans will always run anytime any of the LEDs are on.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_04.jpg


50/50 color mix.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_05.jpg


Whites turned up.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_06.jpg


Blues turned up.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/light_c_07.jpg

[Sugar Magnolia]

Nice clean build so far! :thumbsup:

[Aegeon]

Managed to get my BRS RO/DI unit installed last night. To maintain the required Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF), I had to agree to keep the unit out of sight. There wasn't enough room under the kitchen sink to mount everything, so I rigged up the unit in the mechanical closet in our condo.

This closet also houses the furnace and water heater, so I think it'll work out well. It's already wired with electrical outlets I can use if I need to rig up a booster pump, and is plumbed with a drain line in the floor, currently used for the water heater and humidifer overflows. The only downside is that the closet is on the 2nd floor, and my tank is on the 1st, which means I'll be lugging buckets of water around. Should only be a real pain for the initial fill of the tank. After that, water changes should only be about 5 gallons at a time, so I should only have to haul a single bucket downstairs each week.

Unit mounted in the closet. Had to be careful running the lines to avoid the hot areas around the furnace and water heater.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rodi_01.jpg


Closeup.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rodi_04.jpg


The closet already had a feeder pipe plumbed out of the wall that I could use for the cold water feed. The other, older saddle valve is for the line that feeds the humidifier on the furnace.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rodi_03.jpg

[Jadams]

Excellent start!

[Aegeon]

Sorry for so many posts in a row. Everything up to this point has taken about two months to complete, so from here on out posts should be spaced out a bit better. I hope to have a box of wet rocks in about two weeks.

If anyone has any comments, suggestions or questions, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

[echopiece]

VERY impressive! Tons of detail, and very well put together! Have you ever thought about putting in 1 or 2 red LED's? Cant wait to see this thing filled up.

[coraltastic]

nice build cant wait to see it with rock in it

[Aegeon]

Thanks for the compliments!

Have you ever thought about putting in 1 or 2 red LED's?

To be honest, I didn't think about adding any reds. Do you think they add to the look? Probably something to consider for v2.0 down the road. At this point, I'm just glad I got it finished and it works. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to complete. Thanks for the suggestion!

[echopiece]

I dont know too much about LED's but I have seen some people put in a few reds. IMO you would just have to try them out and see if you like it. Would it be hard to swap out 2 of the pucks? Maybe some of the more polished LED guys could chime in?

[Aegeon]

A little more of the LED fixture, here's a quick video I made of me playing with the dimmers/toggles. Pretty boring, but there it is. I mainly wanted to figure out how to post video to YouTube. Sorry for the crap quality, I took it with my Canon point-and-shoot.

LED Fixture Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWFeGUwsy4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWFeGUwsy4)

And here's why everything (tank related) takes so much longer than it should to complete:

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/andrew_01.jpg

For not doing much but eating, sleeping and pooping, this little guy sure takes up a whole lot of time.

[Aegeon]

Would it be hard to swap out 2 of the pucks?

At this point, it would be pretty tough to swap out any of the LEDs. I wound up using thermal epoxy to glue the LEDs to the heatsinks. I started out trying to drill/tap the sinks to use stainless screws. I had to do everything by hand since I don't have access to a drill press, and after snapping off three #4 taps on the first three LEDs (and wasting a couple hours) I scrapped that idea and just glued them down.

[SawdustInTank]

Very nice. I like the design of the light fixture a lot. The extra space on the cabinet top will help while feeding and doing maintenance. Good start.

[Aquarist007]

Great build thread---lots of pictures. Love the LED setup

[nvdiz]

Awesome, keep it updating!

[mkorolev]

Very nice, makes me want to try this setup
Then again...I think my DIY skills stop short at cutting egg crate to cover the top of my tank :P

[Aquarist007]

I made a entry in the capn's log book on cutting holes using your detailed posts. There is a link back to your build site and credit to you

[Aegeon]

I made a entry in the capn's log book on cutting holes using your detailed posts. There is a link back to your build site and credit to you

Thanks! Sorry if this is really noob-ish, but what is the "capn's log book"?

[Aegeon]

Thanks! Sorry if this is really noob-ish, but what is the "capn's log book"?

Nevermind, I found it. Very cool, thanks capn_hylinur!

[Sugar Magnolia]

And here's why everything (tank related) takes so much longer than it should to complete:

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/andrew_01.jpg

For not doing much but eating, sleeping and pooping, this little guy sure takes up a whole lot of time.

:lol: What a cute little frag!

[Aquarist007]

Nevermind, I found it. Very cool, thanks capn_hylinur!

sorry for not posting the link and thanks for providing such a detail account of your progress.

[Aegeon]

:lol: What a cute little frag!

Thanks! He's pretty cool. I'm fairly sure he's responsible for the ammonia spike in our apartment, though.

And sorry to stray off-topic, but you've kicked in my "proud father" mode:

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/andrew_02.jpg

[twelvejewelz]

baby is adorable man :) good luck! The build is coming along great its very clean. I hope my next tank can look that clean! Im sure your going to get vortechs for flow dont put any bulky powerheads in there !! is the room with the RO/di above the tank? if so you can run a line through the wall right into an ATO bucket would make your life so much easier than lugging water all over the place. just do that work when the wifes out and shell never know :P lol

[Aegeon]

baby is adorable man :) good luck!

Thanks!

Im sure your going to get vortechs for flow dont put any bulky powerheads in there !! is the room with the RO/di above the tank? if so you can run a line through the wall right into an ATO bucket would make your life so much easier than lugging water all over the place.

The plan is for an MP10 once I can scrounge the funds. Also, drilling holes in the walls/floors is a no-go with the wife, I'm afraid. I'm hopeful that once the tank is up and running, the water-lugging can be kept to a minimum since regular water changes should be less than 5 gallons at a time, and my ATO reservoirs are only 2.5 gal so they shouldn't be too hard to move around.

[twelvejewelz]

yea with a tank that nice and clean looking you need to go with a Vortech! Im in the market for one myself this way i can remove 3 powerheads its definitely worth it for the look your going for. Thats why i said to do it when shes not home ;) have it patched up before she even knows lol. I know how ya feel though and your right it wont be bad once its setup and running.If you can fit it under there is a product called Nutri-Seawater. It comes in a 4.4 gallon jug that is a perfect size for ATO water you might want to check into it. Its a premixed natural sea water just buy one and keep the jug :)

[Aegeon]

Well, my build has been put on hold for a little while. As it turns out, it looks like we may be moving from our current condo out to the west Chicago 'burbs. My wife works out there, and the hour-long daily commute each way with a 3-month old is just not working out. So, we'll be renting a house close to her office and the daycare we have Andrew in. Unfortunately, this postpones the tank build for a little while until we get settled in the new place. The upside (besides a content wife and baby that doesn't scream in the car for two hours a day) is that the new place should have lots of things our condo does not, like a 2-car garage and a yard for the dog.

In other news, I wound up ordering 30 lbs of dry rock from BRS. The Eco Rox arrived a few days ago, and I'm pretty impressed with how it looks. Very light and extremely porous. You can actually shine a light though several of the pieces, and when viewed up-close, there are millions of little pits and crevices everywhere. BRS was great about getting me pieces at the size I requested, and I think it'll make for a great aquascape. It's pretty chalky/dusty when it arrives, so it'll need to be well rinsed before it goes into a tank, but I think it'll work out nicely. I'll try to get some pics in the next day or two.

I'm hoping the tank build can resume mid-July...

[Aegeon]

I wound up ordering about 30lbs of dry rock from Bulk Reef Supply. The rock arrived last week. Can't wait to get this stuff into the tank. Hopefully, just a few weeks till we get moved into a new place and I can get back to working on it.

The rock.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_01.jpg


Playing around with arrangements.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_04.jpg

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_03.jpg


The rock is porous enough to see light through even the larger pieces.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_05.jpg


And up close, you can really see the millions of tiny pits and crevasses.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_02.jpg

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/rock_06.jpg

[HiImSean]

i love the build. do you have any updates? how did you did you arrange the sump? do you think you could have fit a larger skimmer in it?

[mic209]

I will be getting the same tank, what size glass-holes overflow did you go with? is it the nano, or super nano?

[tprize]

So what is it going to cost for you to build me one of those lights HAHA!

[mic209]

Is you're overflow box flush with the top of the tank? I have the same tank and same overflow waiting to be installed, also, how far from the top edge is you're return drill, i want to have mine as high as possible without cracking the glass.

[Aegeon]

Well, it's been about a year and a half since my build was put on hold. We moved from our Chicago condo into a small rental house in the 'burbs, and I just never had the space, time or money to get back to the tank.

A lot has changed since then. We've had our 2nd son, Jake, who's just over 3 months old now. Andrew, our first, is nearly 2. We've moved again, this time into a much larger (though still a rental) house. The extra space means I finally have some room to put the tank, and we should be staying in the new house for long enough to make setting up the tank worthwhile.

I dug all my aquarium equipment out of storage about two weeks ago, and by spending a few hours a night on it after the kiddos go to bed, I've finally gotten it up and running!

All the equipment was in and tested on Thursday 1/19. The water and base rock went in on Friday 1/20, the live rock was added on Saturday 1/21, and now I'm on day 2 of my cycle. Here's hoping for a short one.

Some photos. The tank, stand and light fixture:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/full-01.jpg

Inside the cabinet:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/full-03.jpg

Filling with water:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/running-01.jpg

Up and running:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-22.jpg

Sorry it's taken so long. Hopefully, this thread will stay on track this time around.

Thanks,

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Bravo! Excellent tank setup and grats on the 'baby build'!

[jgraz]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

[Aegeon]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

Thanks for the link, the reactor looks interesting, and I could probably fit something that size in my sump. Let me know how you like it.

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

Cool stuff, looks like a very nice design. I appreciate the link as well.

@Aegeon, how is the overflow kit with noise or gurgling?

[jgraz]

No problem. I only bought one and plan to put it somewhere in my sump. Im gonna see how it rums chemi pure like in the video. Hopefully a full review this weekend.

[Aegeon]

@Aegeon, how is the overflow kit with noise or gurgling?

The overflow itself is very quiet, especially after I played around with the height of the airline tube. If I get right up next to it, I can hear almost a low hum, but I doubt you'd notice it from more than a foot or so away.

I replaced the PVC slip elbow that came with the glass-holes.com kit with a hose barb elbow, and drilled a new hole for the airline tubing. Here's a pic:

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/full-02.jpg

The most noise in my system is coming from the sump. Right now, I'm just running black spaflex tubing from the overflow straight down to the sump. The water falls almost vertically and the flex tubing is ridged, so you can definitely hear the water tumbling into the sump, and I get quite a few bubbles. It's not obnoxious with the cabinet door closed, but I'm looking into ways to muffle the sound or "soften" the water's entry into the sump. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Thanks.

[1DeR9_3Hy]

The overflow itself is very quiet, especially after I played around with the height of the airline tube. If I get right up next to it, I can hear almost a low hum, but I doubt you'd notice it from more than a foot or so away.

I replaced the PVC slip elbow that came with the glass-holes.com kit with a hose barb elbow, and drilled a new hole for the airline tubing. Here's a pic:

[IMG]http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/full-02.jpg[/IM G]

The most noise in my system is coming from the sump. Right now, I'm just running black spaflex tubing from the overflow straight down to the sump. The water falls almost vertically and the flex tubing is ridged, so you can definitely hear the water tumbling into the sump, and I get quite a few bubbles. It's not obnoxious with the cabinet door closed, but I'm looking into ways to muffle the sound or "soften" the water's entry into the sump. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Thanks.

I have a tank almost identical to it (17x18x20) that i might put up in my kitchen, but it would be about 5 ft from my bedroom door. Like you mentioned, the WAF (wife approval factor) will dictate that it be silent if its near the bedroom.

I ran a similar setup (50 cube with a 900 gph sump pump). I used socks for awhile to muffle the noise, and that worked perfectly! However the maintenance was a bit of a chore since it was messy and had to be done every 3-4 days. I replaced that with a PVC "T" hooked onto my drain side plumbing @ water level.

The idea was that the water would drain down into the sump without making the splashing noise and the trapt air would escape up into the other side of the "T". It worked pretty well and provided a substantial reduction in noise.

If i remember right, i had to put another section of PVC on top of the T to really quite it down and keep salt creep from getting everywhere, but after that it worked great.

So the glass holes kit comes with an elbow setup to have a piece of air line in it, and you replaced that with your barbed fitting with a hole in it for the air line?

[Aegeon]

So the glass holes kit comes with an elbow setup to have a piece of air line in it, and you replaced that with your barbed fitting with a hole in it for the air line?

Yeah, the drain side of the kit includes a 1" threaded bulkhead and a PVC elbow that is threaded to match on one end, and 1" female non-threaded on the other. There's a hole drilled through the fitting so that if the elbow exits the bulkhead and points down, a piece of airline tubing extends through the drilled hole in the top wall of the fitting and down the drain side about 4-5".

The end of the airline on the outside of the fitting must remain above the tank's waterline, but it allows air to escape the drain side and eliminates most of the gurgling caused by air trapped in the drain. You can tune it a bit by pushing more or less airline tubing down the drain.

Since I went with spaflex instead of rigid PVC I couldn't use the stock elbow, so I replaced it with a 1" threaded/hose barb elbow that could screw into the bulkhead. I drilled my own hole to match the location on the stock fitting. I pulled the airline tube from the stock elbow and used it in my modified fitting. Works great so far.


I ran a similar setup (50 cube with a 900 gph sump pump). I used socks for awhile to muffle the noise, and that worked perfectly! However the maintenance was a bit of a chore since it was messy and had to be done every 3-4 days. I replaced that with a PVC "T" hooked onto my drain side plumbing @ water level.

The idea was that the water would drain down into the sump without making the splashing noise and the trapt air would escape up into the other side of the "T". It worked pretty well and provided a substantial reduction in noise.

If i remember right, i had to put another section of PVC on top of the T to really quite it down and keep salt creep from getting everywhere, but after that it worked great.


Do you mean you put the "T" fitting at the display tank, where the water exited the overflow, or at the bottom of the drain line in the sump? Were you using rigid PVC pipe, or tubing? Trying to get a mental picture of the setup....

[1DeR9_3Hy]

I was using rigid (schd 40) pvc, and the T went on the drain in the sump. I had to play with it a bit to make it quieter. Try and add pieces of PVC to the top and bottom of the T and dial it in.

[Aegeon]

The cycle continues, though I haven't seen much of a spike in anything. 3 days in, here are my levels:

Temp: 78 deg.
SG: 1.025
NH3: 0.25
NO2: 0
NO3: 0

Is it possible with mostly base rock and very cured live rock that was transported quickly (less than 1 hour out of water), there won't be a noticeable cycle at all? How long does it usually take to see ammonia start to spike? I'm running lights-out, and no skimmer or water changes. This is my first time through the cycle, so I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

I also got my JBJ level controller/ATO set up last night, so the SG should remain solid from this point out. I was topping off manually for the first 3 days of the cycle, and noticed the SG could swing from 1.025 to 1.028 in the 24 hours between top-offs.

A couple other cool things. It's amazing that stuff can hide so well inside live rock. On the first night with the live rock in the tank, I spotted a collonista snail and chiton, but haven't seen a trace of either since. Since then, I haven't seen anything on the rock at all. Then last night, I hit the rock with a flashlight to see if anything was around, and spotted this 3-4" bristle worm. Wonder where he's been for the last 3 days?
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/worm-01.jpg

I also figured out I can take pictures through my refractometer with my iPhone. Probably pointless, but I thought it was interesting.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/sg-01.jpg

The cycle continues.... I think.

[1DeR9_3Hy]

lol nice refractrometer photo, i thought that was cool.

As far as the cycle goes, id be surprised if you get any cycle. I added 20 lbs of cured rock that i had to drive an hour each way to get, to my existing tank. I didnt get anything bad out of it, not even a algae bloom.

How long has this rock been in the tank? If over a week, id say your ready to rock and roll (assuming it was really cured, and not just put in water for a week or two).

[Aegeon]

I got the live rock from a LFS who had it in one of their softie frag tanks, not in a live rock curing tank/bin. I was told it had been in their system for about 6 months, so I think it's pretty well cured. I added it to my system about 6:00pm Saturday night, so its been in mine for about 3 1/2 days at this point.

In my previous post, I listed the ammonia level at 0.25, but it might actually be a bit less than that. I test my water when I have time at night after the kiddos go to bed in a room with crappy yellow incandescent lighting. It's a bit tough to differentiate the faint yellow colors that appear when using my Salifert NH3 kit, so I've been erring on the side of caution when recording the NH3 level. What I think is very faint yellow (0.25 NH3) might just be colorless but cloudy water (0 NH3) in a room with yellow lighting.

I'm planning to leave my system alone for at least a full week to see what happens. Do you think I should spike my tank with an ammonia source to see what happens, like some fish food/shrimp or something like that?

BTW: What brand of test kits do you guys use/recommend? I think the Salifert ones seem a bit hard to read. They use just 1-2ml of water, not a full test tube, so the colors are fairly difficult for me to make out.

[Augustus]

Saw this link responding to your other post and wow. You have done a spectaculer job my friend. Very nice setup and very well planned out I almost don't believe this is your first saltwater tank ;)

I have a 30 gallon nano and put 45lbs of LR in it and 20lbs of live sand and it still took almost a month to cycle. Though after reading this whole thread I can understand if your a little impatient!

Keep updating I want to see how this turns out!

[Willster]

Tagging along :)

[jgraz]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

I threw a little review up in my build thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2103759&page=2

[Aegeon]

It's been six days since my last update, and everything seems to be going well. On the recommendations of fellow reefers here and on another board I started feeding the tank a bit of flake food twice a day on Jan 26. I also started the lights on a daily 10 hour cycle (10am - 8pm) on the 26th.

I saw a slight ammonia spike (0.5 on my Salifert kit) on Jan 27, which dropped back to 0 on the 28th. No sign of any nitrite spike at all, but a little nitrate appeared on the 28th and remained level for two days. Early in the morning on the 30th I did a 5 gal water change and fired up the skimmer. So far, the skimmer hasn't done anything yet, but I expect it'll take a while to break in, and there's still not very much in the water to skim out yet, so I'm not worried.

I've also heard that the Tunze 9002 I'm using takes some tweaking to get dialed in, so I'll have to fiddle with it, I'm sure. I think the water level in my sump is just a touch low for the skimmer, too, which I may have to address by upping the water level in my sump by about half an inch. I don't have a lot of headroom left in the sump for back-flow, so I'm hesitant to do this unless I have to. We'll see.

After 5 days of feeding the tank and running the lights with no apparent ill effects, I added my first livestock late in the evening on the 30th. I purchased two nano Ocellaris Clownfish, each about 1.5", and acclimated them over a 30 minute period, then dropped them in. They ate right away, and seem to be doing fine today. I'll let these guys hang our for a week or two and continue to monitor water parameters to see what impact they have on the system.

I also submitted a CUC design request to reefcleaners.org. I'm still waiting to hear back, but now that I have a little bio-load in the tank I think the CUC will be the next thing to go into the tank, maybe next week.

I'll try to get pics tonight. Feedback is always welcome.

Thanks!

[Aegeon]

Another day, and the clowns seem to be doing fine. Water parameters still look good, 0 ammonia and nitrite, and just starting to see a bit of nitrate building. I'll do another water change in a day or two to bring those down. The Tunze skimmer has just barely started producing some skimmate, about 1/8" in the collection cup over the last 24 hours, the color of very light tea.

Latest FTS from 1/31/12:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-31.jpg

And here are the first two inhabitants, a pair of tiny (1.25" ea) Ocellaris Clownfish. I've realized that taking pictures of fish is really, really difficult. I probably took 40 pictures, and these two are the only ones even clear enough to post. I don't know how you guys get all those fantastic photos of yours. I just have a crappy point-and-shoot, so any tips are appreciated.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-31b.jpg

Took this one with the tank lights out, using just the camera flash. Trying anything I could think of to get a clear shot. These guys have pretty much stayed in the back corner, behind the return loc-line. Do clownfish typically stay close together when added to a new tank, or do they typically separate? These guys are never more than a few inches apart. If one wanders off to a different area of the tank, the other follows right behind. They also rub up against each other constantly. Could they be pairing up, or this this just ordinary behavior?
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-31c.jpg

Also, I rearranged my sump a few days ago to get the skimmer in and running and add a backup heater. I removed the temporary Tetra heater I had in the DT and replaced it with a 50w Aqueon in the sump as a backup to the 75w Jager. Now in the sump are a thermometer, the two heaters, the Tunze 9002, the Maxi-Jet 1800 return pump, the ATO float switch and a 3.5lb chunk of live rock. Not too bad for only about 4.5 gallons of usable volume:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-31d.jpg

Top view:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/chicago121p/Aquarium%20Build/2012-01-31e.jpg

As always, questions/comments/suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

[reefsahoy]

Love the diy stand. You got the sku # for the stand from ikea? I've been looking for a stand that dimension but as you probably know is hard to find. Love the build too. You get any micro bubbles back into the tank? What size return pump are you using?
Thx

[Aegeon]

Love the diy stand. You got the sku # for the stand from ikea? I've been looking for a stand that dimension but as you probably know is hard to find. Love the build too. You get any micro bubbles back into the tank? What size return pump are you using?
Thx


Thanks for the compliment.

I stared with an IKEA AKURUM kitchen cabinet base (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/94382010/#/14381910).

I selected the 18" width (you can get them from 12" to 36" wide, the 18" width is $31.00) to match the width of my DT. They all come 24" deep and you can't select different depths, so I had to use a circular saw to cut the side, top and bottom panels down to 18" deep so the stand matched the dimensions of my cube tank. It cut pretty easily. If you do need to cut these, be sure to put masking tape on the panels where you're going to cut. The panels are laminated and without the tape the laminate will chip off when you run the circular saw through them.

I reinforced the cabinet (which is just laminated particleboard) with 1x3" solid pine boards inside to better support the weight of the tank. I'm not sure I'd trust the stock cabinet to hold the weight of a full 25 gallon tank.

I also bought the NUMERÄR countertop (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00155191/). It comes in a few lengths, I bought the shortest, 49" long for $59). They're all about 25" deep, so again I had to cut the countertop down to size to make it square. I have enough left over after cutting that I could make another stand, or replace the top on my current stand if it gets damaged. Just like the cabinet base, be sure to use masking tape over where you're going to cut to prevent chipping the laminate.

The whole thing is held together with wood screws & glue.

Also got 3 NEXUS doors to use as the side panels of my stand as well as the door in front (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10198147/#/40197698), a LANSA door handle (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60138759/), a set of INTEGRAL hinges (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50105863/), a set of AKRUM plastic legs (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30076319/) and a PERFEKT NEXUS plinth kit (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90197733/)

The legs are adjustable, so I can level the stand and tank without using shims. They're rated to hold about 275lbs each, so I figured they'd be strong enough to hold all that weight. So far, they've been fine. Using them was a good idea in my opinion, the house we live in is about 90 years old and all the floors are sloped or warped. It would have been next to impossible to level the stand using wooden shims.

The plinth is a strip of wood that matches the door and clips onto onto the plastic legs to hide them from view. When it's installed, the stand looks like it's sitting directly on the floor, instead of on ugly plastic legs. I don't have it installed yet, so you can't see it in my most recent photos. I think you can see it in some of the earlier pictures in the thread.

The 1x3s, wood screws, etc. are from home depot. All in, it probably cost about $150 to do the stand.

I'm using a Maxi-Jet 1800 as a return pump (http://www.marinedepot.com/Aquarium_Systems_Premium_Maxi_Jet_Utility_Pump_Up_to_500_Gallons_Per_Hour_Submersible_Water_Pumps-Marineland-AS1311-FIWPSBUF-vi.html). It's rated at 474gph at 0 head, so I get a bit less than that.

I do get microbubbles in the display tank currently. I'm not sure exactly how bad it really is, though. The tank is still settling in, and I'm still moving things around a lot, so I have a lot of small particles floating in the water. It's tough to tell how much of what I see floating in the water are actually bubbles, and how much are sand particles, detritus, etc. I'm going to run it for a few weeks and see what happens. Might try running some carbon or floss, too, to filter out the particulates in the water and see if the bubbles are still enough of a problem that I need to address it.

I did notice that they got worse when I added the Tunze 9002 skimmer. I don't have any baffles in my sump currently, it's just an open tank. I may wind up adding some eventually to cut down on the amount of bubbles I get back in the DT.

Thanks!

[reefsahoy]

wow! thanks! that was very detail info and i appreciate that!.

i have a couple of suggestions on your tank.
1. you may want to put a divider baffel in the sump area where you can keep your water level constant for yur skimmer otherwise you'll be constantly adjusting the skimmer because the level keeps changing. that way it will be set and forget it.
2. for the return you may want to consider building a rack/shelve using the fluoresent light diffuser so you can put a filter pad for the return. this will stop any noise of water splashing and reduce micro bubbles.

again thanks for the info

[Aegeon]

wow! thanks! that was very detail info and i appreciate that!.

No problem. Glad to help.


i have a couple of suggestions on your tank.
1. you may want to put a divider baffel in the sump area where you can keep your water level constant for yur skimmer otherwise you'll be constantly adjusting the skimmer because the level keeps changing. that way it will be set and forget it.


The sump is baffle-less at the moment, which means that with the return pump on, the water level in the entire sump is stable. I have an ATO set up, too, so under normal operating conditions the level in the sump never fluctuates.

The only time this is not true is when I turn off the return pump, and the water level in the sump rises due to the backflow from the DT. The skimmer and return pump are on the same power strip, though, so when the return pump is off, so is the skimmer.

The sump is really small, which is probably the biggest thing I regret in the build. If I had it do do over again, I would have built a bigger stand to use a larger sump tank. To catch all the backflow without overflowing, I can only keep the sump about half-full. With the low water level and all the equipment stuffed in there, I hesitate to add baffles to further section it off. It wouldn't take much of a miscalculation to have the return section run dry.

In my current setup, I have an anti-siphon hole drilled in the locline of the return inside the DT, near where it exits the bulkhead. With the hole in the position it's currently in, I get about 3 gallons of backflow with the pumps off.

I'm working changing the design of the return line to get the anti-siphon hole up closer to the normal waterline, so there will be less backflow before the siphon is broken. This should let me add more water volume to the sump because I'll have to leave less empty volume to account for backflow. If I can do this, I might be able to add a baffle into the sump somewhere to help stop the bubbles and run a higher water level for the skimmer, which I think it needs.



2. for the return you may want to consider building a rack/shelve using the fluoresent light diffuser so you can put a filter pad for the return. this will stop any noise of water splashing and reduce micro bubbles.

again thanks for the info

I'm considering doing exactly this. Right now, the drain line just dumps into the sump, which creates a lot of turbulence and bubbles. I'm thinking of building a small acrylic "tower" that the drain line could run through, with a shelf for filter floss or pad to help deaden the sound and catch some of the bubbles. I think it would also help clarify the water in general, especially if I could rig it up to hold a bag of carbon when necessary as well.

As I said, the sump is really tight, so I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do this yet. Most of the rock in the DT is base rock, except for one piece of live rock, about 4 lbs. I have another 3.5lb piece of live rock in the sump to help seed the system that I didn't want to put in the DT. My hope is that eventually, the base rock will be sufficiently "live" that I can remove the chunk of rock from the sump to free up some space, and use it instead to seed another system (it remains to be seen if my wife will go along with a 2nd tank, so the live rock may remain in the sump permanently).

Thanks for the suggestions!

[reefsahoy]

One of the things you might want to do is use a hang on power filter like the whisper 40. Hang it on your sump and fill the filter bag with carbon and rowaphos. This will save space in the sump, give you mechanical and chemical filtration and is easy as heck to change the mechanical and chemical media by simply pulling it out and refilling with a new one. It's also cheap to get the refills.

Im seriously considering this route to save sump space.

[reefsahoy]

Btw was the nexus a solid piece of woor or is it particle board too? Thx

[Aegeon]

One of the things you might want to do is use a hang on power filter like the whisper 40...

Sounds like a good idea. I might look into this, thanks!

Btw was the nexus a solid piece of woor or is it particle board too? Thx

The Nexus doors are laminated particle board. They're laminated on all sides, though, so none of the particle board is visible unless you drill/cut them.

[reefsahoy]

How much gals of topoff would you say you need in a week to maintain your tank?

[reefsahoy]

or to save space you can have your return run into one of these. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLa89Lbshco
http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29-Package-Deal-BC29-Bundle.htm
i'm probably going to make one myself.

[Aegeon]

How much gals of topoff would you say you need in a week to maintain your tank?

I keep my top-off water in 2.5 gal containers, and I swap them out about every 6-7 days when they run low, so I figure I'm loosing about 2.5-3 gallons/week to evaporation.

or to save space you can have your return run into one of these. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLa89Lbshco
http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29-Package-Deal-BC29-Bundle.htm
i'm probably going to make one myself.

This is similar to what I'm thinking of building. An acrylic "tower", about 3"x3"x12" tall that could clip over the edge of my sump. The drain line could be held inside the tower, directing water flow over filter pad/floss and a bag of carbon or gfo. Just need to find the time to work on it.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[reefsahoy]

This is similar to what I'm thinking of building. An acrylic "tower", about 3"x3"x12" tall that could clip over the edge of my sump. The drain line could be held inside the tower, directing water flow over filter pad/floss and a bag of carbon or gfo. Just need to find the time to work on it.

Thanks for the suggestions!

yeah, this is good because one less power cord and less heat into tank!

[Aegeon]

It's been a few days since I've posted an update. I finally got a cleanup crew into the tank on Friday. Also, I had my first official tank emergency Saturday night. So, in the last few days I've learned a couple things:

Thing I learned #1: John at reefcleaners.org is awesome.
I purchased my cleanup crew through them, and he was great working with me to get the package delivered to my local post office and held until I could get there after work to pick it up. Everything came through with flying colors, I don't think I had a single loss.

Thing I learned #2: Order less than you think you need from reefcleaners.org.
John really over-delivers when you order, especially on the little things. The crew I ordered was supposed to include 20 dwarf cerith snails, but the package probably included more than 50. I also ordered 6 blue-leg hermit crabs, but a dozen or more arrived.

Everything in my list showed up in quantities more than double what I paid for. This is awesome, but now my concern is keeping everything alive. My tank is pretty empty and sterile since it's new. Not knowing what to do with all the extra cleanup critters, they all went into the tank, so now it looks like a snail farm in there. I think some of them will have to find new homes eventually.

Thing I learned #3: Nerite snails like to leave the tank.
Every morning since I added the crew, I've found at least 2 of the nerite snails on the floor near the tank. You can see a trail on the glass where they crawled up out of the water, down the outside of the glass, across the stand and then off the edge. I drop them back in when I find them and so far they've recovered just fine, but I may have to look at adding a screen or lid to the tank to keep everyone contained.

Thing I learned #4: Cerith snails are really, really attracted to light.
We keep a light on overnight in our front hallway, near the dining room where the tank is. Every morning, I find dozens of cerith snails stuck to the front glass of the tank. They disperse during the day, but it's sort of disconcerting to wake up every morning to the "wall-o-snails". As I said before, I have way more of these guys than I probably need, so I might need to thin the herd a bit.

And finally, a little excitement Saturday night...

Thing I learned #5: A Maxi-Jet 1800 utility pump is more than capable of pushing 7 gallons of water out onto your dining room floor.

We have a 4 month-old baby at home, and I got up with him at about 2:00 am Sunday morning. On my way to his room, I heard a grinding sound coming from downstairs. I immediately thought, "The return pump is running dry. That can only happen if the sump is empty. Not good."

Running downstairs, baby in arms, I find our dining room floor is one big puddle with our stupid dog wet, but still asleep, in the middle of it. About three hours of emergency tank maintenance and cleanup ensued. Fun, fun!

Thing I leaned #6: There are some things you just shouldn't jury-rig.
I use a Maxi-Jet 1800 as my return pump, which comes with a return line hose barb that will take a 1" or 3/4" clear nylon hose. My return line is 1/2" spaflex tubing. To make the connection, rather than finding an appropriately-sized hose barb for the pump, I spliced together a homemade adapter from a section of 1" spaflex coupled to the 1/2" with a reducer bushing, and forced the 1" spaflex side onto the Maxi-Jet's stock barb and held it in place with plastic hose clamps. Bad idea.

As it turns out:
1. The nylon hose barb fitting on the maxi-jet is not made for spaflex tubing.
2. Cheap plastic hose clamps are also not made for spaflex tubing.
3. Using silicone will not magically fix #1 or #2 above.

So, sometime overnight, my homemade adapter came loose from the Maxi-Jet's hose barb, allowing the pump to spray water straight up out of the sump and into my stand, where it ultimately ran out onto my floor. Lesson learned.

I shut down the pump, moved the heaters and live rock up into the display tank, and started making up a new batch of saltwater. The tank ran sumpless overnight, and on Sunday I went out to find the part I should have used the first time around. Now I have a real, appropriately-sized, correctly-installed reducer bushing installed directly into the Maxi-Jet. I added a real 1/2" spaflex hose barb, held to the spaflex tubing with real stainless steel hose clamps.

Since the sump was already offline, I took the opportunity to break it down completely and clean it out along with all the equipment. Looks much better than before, and the equipment is laid out better as well. Refilled the system with new saltwater, and we're back up and running. I have yet another batch of SW mixing now, so I'll do another 5-7 gallon water change tomorrow, and keep an eye on my parameters.

Also, the dog survived.

[Willster]

Based on your review, i believe i will be making an order at reefcleaners! :) hope everything works out on your tank!

[Aegeon]

Based on your review, i believe i will be making an order at reefcleaners! :) hope everything works out on your tank!

Thanks, and I'm glad to help! I don't think you'll be disappointed with reefcleaners.

My only complaint (if you can call it that) is that too much stuff arrived. I'm not sure my system can keep everything alive. Also, I'm using mostly BRS base rock which is still very white, and I don't really like the look of it covered in so many tiny black snails. It won't be an issue once I start getting corals in, and the rock starts to darken up, but it looks kind of nasty at the moment.

After I added the crew to the tank, my wife walked up and looked in at all the snails and said, "Gross." Not the reaction I'm looking for. Oh well, just need some time.

[pbradley0]

Do you happen to remember the part number for your light enclosure?

[ange062]

Glad the dog (and tank) survived the ordeal!! Floods are never fun, but glad you had a lesson learned from the ordeal! :)

[Aegeon]

Do you happen to remember the part number for your light enclosure?

I got it from Mouser. Here's a link to the one I bought: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bud-Industries/AC-1424/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsrGrAVj6eTvYS1u0w%2f6Pn8HFh3E9ns6%2fo%3d

It's a Bud Industries AC-1424 aluminum enclosure, 12"x12"x3". It arrives as bare unfinished aluminum. Mine had a protective plastic clingfilm on the surfaces. Because it's not finished or anodized it scratches REALLY easily, so be careful. I wound up sanding mine down a bit to remove scratches and painting it black using Krylon Fusion spray paint.

The walls of the box are fairly sturdy, but they will bend/dent if you press too hard on it while drilling. Be sure to directly support the underside of the panels with wood or something similar when drilling. I didn't, and by the time I was done with all the vent holes the top was bent up pretty bad. I managed to straighten it out pretty well but you can still see it if you're up close.

Also, you can't tell from the pictures on their site but the box is made from a single sheet of aluminum bent into box form. Because of this, there are gaps at the corners that will let light out if you use it for a light fixture. Mine were covered up by the heatsink so it wasn't an issue, but depending on your design you might have to seal these corners.

It also does not come with a lid/cover, so I made my own from a 12"x12" sheet of 1/8" Lexan.

Hope this helps!

[Aegeon]

A few more days, and some good news and some bad.

The good:
I finally have corals! After 12 years, I finally purchased my first frags. On Sunday I got 2 Ricordias (Ricordia florida), a 3 head Aussie Duncan frag (Duncanopsammia axifuga), a 3 polyp green and white Acan (Acanthastrea echinata), and a tiny $5 Monti Cap frag (Montipora capricornis). The Duncan frag also has what looks to be the start of a bud along one side, so hopefully it'll sprout a new head before too long, too.

I got everything home, acclimated and placed in the tank. One of the ricordias had separated from the plug it was attached to during the drive home, but I got it re-attached to a small piece of live rock rubble and into the tank with no problems. Everything looks good. Within 24 hours, all the corals were nice and full, good color, with feeders out in the water. I fed the corals a bit of cyclopeeze last night, and everything looks good.

I'll try to get some pics.

The bad:
I spotted a tiny hitchhiker crab last night while watching the tank. It's tiny, a bit smaller than a dime. All white with tiny black/brown spots that almost look like freckles. Not particularly hairy, but it does have black-tipped claws. It was tucked under some rock, picking through the sand, so I couldn't get to it. So far it doesn't seem to be bothering anything, but I'm wondering if I should try to capture/kill it?

Also, my clownfish have some sort of fungus. I noticed about a week ago a tiny white spot on the side of one of them, along the lateral line about halfway between the pectoral fin and tail. I didn't think much of it at the time and it didn't seem to grow. Last night, however, I noticed that it had doubled or tripled in size. It looks like a tiny cotton ball stuck to the fish's side. I also noticed a similar "puffball" on the other clown, near its gill.

Looking around online, it sounds like a fungus. Guess I get to set up a hospital tank. I have a spare 10 gallon and some PVC fittings I can toss in, along with a spare heater. What else do I need? Can anyone recommend a medication? Freshwater dip?

Thanks!

[Tahlequah]

A long time ago I had a clown get a fungus. I will try to see if I still have the bottle, but the stuff inside was blue. I mixed it in a slightly saline water and dipped her in it for about 3 minutes. I was sure she was going to die by the way she was acting, but I figured if I didn't kill the fungus she would die anyways. I did this 2x a day for 3 days (if memory serves me correctly). In the end the fungus fell of, and I still have her today (5 years later).

Good luck!

[pbradley0]

I got it from Mouser. Here's a link to the one I bought: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bud-Industries/AC-1424/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsrGrAVj6eTvYS1u0w%2f6Pn8HFh3E9ns6%2fo%3d


Perfect. Thanks!

[Tahlequah]

A long time ago I had a clown get a fungus. I will try to see if I still have the bottle, but the stuff inside was blue. I mixed it in a slightly saline water and dipped her in it for about 3 minutes. I was sure she was going to die by the way she was acting, but I figured if I didn't kill the fungus she would die anyways. I did this 2x a day for 3 days (if memory serves me correctly). In the end the fungus fell of, and I still have her today (5 years later).

Good luck!

FYI the medicine was methylene blue.

[Crazy_Beaver]

great build!!!!