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View Full Version : The Coral Cube - Elos MIDI Build


blajoie
11/04/2012, 09:19 AM
So - I am coming over from nano-reef and a Biocube 14 Tank.

Here is a shot of how my Biocube 14 looked the day before I began to break it down.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XApaKc9xGjU/TslAi6EZb1I/AAAAAAAACV8/sv4GEAjlON4/s800/DSC_0004.JPG

And a link to the full build thread:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=242744

About a month ago I purchased an Elos MIDI tank to replace the biocube. The biocube was just getting too full and I was looking for something new. The plan is to move most of the livestock and some of the equipment over to the MIDI to cut back on costs.

I plan to add as many pictures as possible to captures the tank progression over the years to come.

Tank Plans:
Lots of acans, zoa garden and some SPS.
2 clowns + mandarin + tail spot blenny.

-
Just a quick note - As of today (11/04/12) the tank is about 3 months old, fully cycled and loaded with a bunch of frags.
There are still a bunch of pictures I need to post re. the tanks early life progression but I will do so as if things are happening all live until we catch up to current time :)
-

But enough with all the words, its picture time!

Unboxing the tank stand
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uUxtShxEKnE/UFP1qSii5PI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/lRsnEkUdI5c/s800/DSC_0001.jpg

Stand assembled!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rbjG69TuU8o/UFP1t2mEd3I/AAAAAAAAC5o/h9bd6d1Jykk/s800/DSC_0003.jpg

Unboxing the sump
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jAlcEityRxA/UFP1xB9liEI/AAAAAAAAC6A/ZYKbK-lKj3I/s800/DSC_0007.jpg

Here is the room the tank will be going in (4th floor of a condo building).
Ignore the mess :)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-89qJ-ecsFXA/UFP1yZl4jMI/AAAAAAAAC6I/lQ5lgjm5J2k/s800/DSC_0008.jpg

Out with the old, in with the new.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5fx9WBzCgRw/UFP10vLM1xI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/DxCc2uClytU/s800/DSC_0010.jpg

38G of Walmart distilled H20.
I don't use a RODI since I am on the 4th floor and dont want to run the risk of causing a flood, so I just buy walmart distilled water for the tank.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lZ1lPbKvZ4c/UFP11k8OU-I/AAAAAAAAC6g/rfHXSYhttVA/s800/DSC_0011.jpg

Water jugs are now empty
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aQWU6DYgp38/UFP2LHM1Y3I/AAAAAAAAC8Y/HYz4eaUCK58/s800/DSC_0026.jpg

... more soon!

biocube14g
11/04/2012, 09:31 AM
Subbed

blajoie
11/04/2012, 09:50 AM
And......tank filled!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-idFz5gMyxwk/UFP2OqCoYOI/AAAAAAAAC8o/w6wusijZxGA/s800/DSC_0028.jpg

I added egg crate from home depot to the botton of the tank to protect the glass from any falling rocks.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Sw3Jr_2NjJo/UFP2QVqhKwI/AAAAAAAAC8w/aoF3tLYE600/s800/DSC_0029.jpg

Adding some sand
I ended up adding 35lbs (~2 bags) of this sand to the tank.
Bahamas Oolite.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cF2gipnpeuk/UFP2Imb7eCI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/MAVUkYlBi54/s800/DSC_0025.jpg

which of course cause a sand storm.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rkbS3V0bOOM/UFP2VUMrDvI/AAAAAAAAC9I/f8qJynzqsNg/s800/DSC_0032.jpg

now we wait for the sand to settle.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EzsuqAE7n8Y/UFP2Xd_xF1I/AAAAAAAAC9Q/03UGG58SNJk/s800/DSC_0033.jpg

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Initial Tank Equipment
Water flow: I will be using the stock return pump from the MIDI as well as an Ecotech MP10.
Heating: Jager 125W and Jager 75W Heater.
Controller: Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper Lite
Top Off: Tunze Osmolator ATO.

No lights as of yet and I plan to go lightless during the cycle.

biocube14g
11/04/2012, 09:54 AM
that's what happened to my tank as well... It will clear up in 24 hours or so, or at least that's how long it took for mine to settle.

blajoie
11/04/2012, 10:23 AM
It's been about a week now and the sand has settled so it is time to add some rocks!

I ordered a 50lb box of the key largo dry rock from marcorocks.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZnrcRBxncAg/UFP2aYms1XI/AAAAAAAAC9g/GCoYS3132D8/s800/DSC_0035.jpg

Quite the packaging for a BOX OF ROCKS!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kj9uuy5091I/UFP2b6vutmI/AAAAAAAAC9o/Z4hcZqTY094/s800/DSC_0036.jpg

Here they are (this is a pic of the rocks after I broke a few in half)
I thought they were just a tad too large as is, so I broke the larger ones into smaller pieces.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-B1GaVOZp1kY/UFP2dvEwDHI/AAAAAAAAC9w/hV-iasPQrzs/s800/DSC_0037.jpg

To help with the aquascaping, I decided to cut apart the box that the tank came in to recreate the exact dimensions of the actual glass tank. Then I could aquascape and re-arrange the rocks to my hearts extent without worrying about scratching the glass at all. The blue tape was added as a note to myself to keep the rocks at least 3" form all sides of the tank (to aid in cleaning).

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ac-TyH4qCVE/UFP2fqHccZI/AAAAAAAAC-A/V9QxMVs4a8k/s800/DSC_0039.jpg

And here is an initial aquascape.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sZDYd8cy20s/UFP2lr9UHwI/AAAAAAAAC-g/Yxl-XjhO5FI/s800/DSC_0044.jpg

Side shot.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9XZFE3v2aTM/UFP2nDI36LI/AAAAAAAAC-o/z3U-CS6R7zs/s800/DSC_0045.jpg

And another variation

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TjW6RMiCrhk/UFP2zooFImI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/4JKy-dND1Ec/s800/DSC_0052.jpg

another side shot.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Yx5aWGnFaOI/UFP27OSbiGI/AAAAAAAAC_w/RRy_OnGCHUw/s800/DSC_0055.jpg

I had initially planned to then cement the rocks into place before transferring to the tank. But that was just way to difficult/time consuming for me to do.
So I then just manually transferred each rock to the tank and tried my best to replicate the design...

And the finished product..!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nFxL41W7nFw/UFP3MIMKJRI/AAAAAAAADBI/1TVmR6PIxfs/s800/DSC_0067.jpg

I hope the empty light mount does not spoil the surprise of my future lighting plans...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0-Ax8-YE6UQ/UFP3KbqmOiI/AAAAAAAADBA/m45pOP3orZs/s800/DSC_0066.jpg

blajoie
11/04/2012, 10:37 AM
Sigh...

So I noticed there was quite large scratch on the front of my tank.
I am not sure where it came from...it could have just been from the factory or could have been something I did, but regardless the plan is to somehow buff it out/remove it.

Here is a shot of it, it is probably about ~2" tall.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YFGwAI1OIvQ/UFP29r-OcwI/AAAAAAAAC_4/Nm1127N0o2E/s800/DSC_0056.jpg

And another.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tG668W5otvE/UFP2-iXbNQI/AAAAAAAADAA/5lpTfEnojdk/s800/DSC_0057.jpg

Luckily it is not hugely noticeable from a distance..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GOOpHgFlCqk/UFP2_uu8IFI/AAAAAAAADAI/PPrnaW96I9A/s800/DSC_0058.jpg

After some reading about buffing out scratches from glass, I initially lost all hope, hah. But I read a few success stories from people using cerium oxide and a dremmel/buffer to buff out the scratch. So I decided to give it a shot.
I certainly did not want to ruin the rest of the tank by creating new scratches or cloudy spots, so I first tried no the sump glass, and then very delicately started to buff some small parts of the tank itself to look for any adverse affects.

I found some cerium oxide on ebay.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bDmMxJbPxK0/UFP3ARRMxGI/AAAAAAAADAQ/DECtkVPzw8w/s800/DSC_0060.jpg

And bought a buffing ball for my drill from autozone.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6-3KT14X06o/UFP3BniO9JI/AAAAAAAADAY/NaF14b4H7m0/s800/DSC_0061.jpg

Then the buffing began..

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o1KTtnzR4ps/UFP3FrVb6fI/AAAAAAAADAo/25KKDVbqffo/s800/DSC_0063.jpg

And after 30 minutes of buffing.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VAnlhm1iegc/UFP3G_LCQKI/AAAAAAAADAw/gh7nqT6X874/s800/DSC_0064.jpg

Some quick observations. I can notice some very subtle improvements in the scratch. It appears to be thinning a bit and and when run over with a fingernail no longer catches. I think it is one of those things that will just take lots of time to completely buff out (as others had mentioned). As of now, I have probably buffed for a good 30 minutes total. Over the new few weeks I will try to keep buffing 30mins at a time until the scratch finally is difficult to see.

biocube14g
11/04/2012, 10:41 AM
Oh.... I didn't realize that the scratch was on the outside... I'm dumb!

SaltwaterSensei
11/04/2012, 01:51 PM
Awsome stuff so far. I'll defiantly e watching. How do you like the rock from macro rocks? I'm in the planning stages of a build and was thinking about using Marco. The rocks look a lot cleaner then the BRS stuff. Do you know of theSe rocks have the same issues as the BRS stuff (leeching of phos and such)?

blajoie
11/04/2012, 06:37 PM
Awsome stuff so far. I'll defiantly e watching. How do you like the rock from macro rocks? I'm in the planning stages of a build and was thinking about using Marco. The rocks look a lot cleaner then the BRS stuff. Do you know of theSe rocks have the same issues as the BRS stuff (leeching of phos and such)?

I have a feeling the rocks may be leeching a bit of something...but need to look into this more. I have a bit of cyano growing now, but def no hair algae. I have some phosphate test kits, may start tracking it to know for sure. Also running chemi pure elite to absorb any excess phosphate should it be leeching out.

There seems to be no other alternative if you want to start sterile. All dry rocks seem to end up leeching a bit (based on individual experiences). I def like the shape and how porous rocks the marcorocks are though!

TMS
11/04/2012, 07:39 PM
WHOA! We can buff scratches out of glass, this changes everything.

I knew I was going to home depot this week just didn't know why

Indiana Reefin
11/04/2012, 08:37 PM
WHOA! We can buff scratches out of glass, this changes everything.

I knew I was going to home depot this week just didn't know why

Not very easy to do. It will take hours to get that scratch out. If it is deep (you can feel it when you brush your finger across it wont come out. I would call elos

blajoie
11/04/2012, 10:04 PM
Not very easy to do. It will take hours to get that scratch out. If it is deep (you can feel it when you brush your finger across it wont come out. I would call elos

Yeah I totally agree. A scratch in glass is not an easy fix. I would have called them and put up a fuss, but in reality this is my second tank. First one was damaged in shipping which was a total loss. Then the second one I inspected at the distributor before accepting. I either missed the scratch or caused it myself somehow later on. I'm hoping with enough effort and time, the scratch can be minimized to the point that is not as noticeable.

leodb89
02/19/2015, 06:02 PM
does anyone know why this stopped all of a sudden? was going so well and then nothing?