Updated Photos of 2 Gallon Cube

[ninjafish]

Hey James,
If I remember correctly there is about 30x turnover in the tank. The reason that the sand doesn't get blown around is that the current hits the surface of the water and then breaks into a random turbulance that sweeps throughout the while tank. I think I would have had trouble with sand blowing around if the flow was more concentrated on one spot.
Thanks!

- Chad

[deacon hemp]

Chad i am definetley setting up the cube again! LOL As of right now i can run it one of two ways.It can be set up to run like before but with a closed loop on the bottom w/ heater and mag2,or as a zero edge tank that overflows itself. Im still in the collection stage of parts to run it zero edge,i need a top off switch,and i really want an aquamedic 70w to hang over it.

Either way this tanks coming back to life soon! Deac

[ninjafish]

Deac,
That sounds awesome brother. Either way you set it up, I would highly recommend a dosing pump like the one that I had on the tank. It can pump into a pressurized system like a closed loop without risk of backflow (rated to 100psi!!!) and is super accurate. You can set it to dose anywhere from 0.4ml per hour all the way up to 30gallons per day. I litteraly set it to dose ro/di water at the exact rate that it evaporated in my setup - 0.75ml every three minutes.
If you were interested, I know the lady that has it now is considering selling it for $180Can. Not too bad for a piece of kit that goes for $700.
Either way, I can't wait to see what you do with the cube.
Cheers,

- Chad

[deacon hemp]

Wow wicked respose chad ty,i have stuff to think about now.The zero edge method is pretty unique and i have the tray already made,it also allows me to run a sump and cheap top off and also a small skimmer if needed.Thats IS one hell of a deal tho for the dosing pump........Expect a PM in a few days....... cheers deac

[ninjafish]

Sounds good buddy, the current owner is a Canreef member too.
I am half-hopeing that you will go with the 0-edge - just 'cause I want to see it in action! Best of luck.
- Chad

[deacon hemp]

Its amazing that u can still see clearly through the overflowing panes!Also i dont even think zero edge brand tanks use starfire glass,so it should be cool.I think with all the plumbing and stuff ive already bought its going zero edge.i can also use the 2 holes both for returns and run a scwd in there.Either way i'm like within days of getting it going......I just tracked down a float switch too ($5)

The hard part will be making it as cool as when you owned it.

[sandlot13]

just curious, but is there a link to what you used for a dosing pump? I would like to set up an ATO similar to that for my tank at college. Thanks ninjafish!

[ninjafish]

You can see the pump in a couple of my videos - when I was designing my project, I had to go outside of made-for-hobby equipment in order to have something that I could really trust.
It is a laboratory/industrial grade diaphragm metering pump. Mine is made by Advantage Controls but other big names are LMI, Milton Roy, and Pulsatron. Iwaki makes a metering pump as well but it doesn't seem to have as many options as the other brands.
The model that I went with has a fully digital display that allows me to toggle between "strokes/minute" to "strokes/hour" for really low dosing rates - as I said, it was taking care of my 2gallon cube... I'd just fill the resivoir bucket with ro/di water and could go three weeks before I needed to fill it up again. It is the only pico tank that I have ever heard of that never experienced ANY variation in salinity - even my 90gal wasn't that stable.

Here is a link to the one I had:
http://cannonwater.com/Products/adva...controls1.html
I had the 'A series' and it was really nice because of the digital display. HTH.

- Chad

[AIMFish]

Originally posted by ninjafish
Here is a link to the one I had:
http://cannonwater.com/Products/adva...controls1.html
I had the 'A series' and it was really nice because of the digital display. HTH.
- Chad

Would it be safe to assume that "Call for a quote" is fairly expensive?

[louist]

AIMFish,
They retail for $800+ easy for the basic models.

In fact, some of these companies are not even interested in selling to you unless you are representing a company/institute/university etc.

I have seen them on Ebay on more than a few occassions. I would look there if I were you. I would have got one myself if it wasn't for the ~$100 of shipping to Australia.

Chad: I remember reading this a few months back. I read it now, and I am still amazed at its beauty. Now you have tempted me to setup a second tank!

[ninjafish]

Thanks Louis! I say go for it... I mean, who couldn't use another tank?

And you're right. I have seen some of these pumps listed for as much as $1000 US .
I lucked out and bought mine from an engineering firm that had extra.

Cheers,

- Chad

[sandlot13]

man, i would really like to get one of these metering pumps, as it would make my life real easy when it comes to break....... anyone know of a place that I could get one for fairly cheap (im a college student, so budget is limited! ) Thanks!

[ninjafish]

Hey bro...
I got one word for you: Ebay.
The digital models are pretty rare on ebay but the regular models with a knob to adjust stroke length and a knob to adjust frequency will be just as accurate and are pretty common there. There are some good deals to be found. I would reccommend going with the lowest-dosing models you can find. They will still be more than enough for even the largest reef but they will be a little more compact and the noice made when the piston fires will be a click instead of a clunk. They really arent a problem though, I had it under my desk and never heard it until I made a consious effort to stop and listen for a couple minutes until I heard it.
HTH

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that I have started a new project and have a thread going on it here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...=&pagenumber=1

Best of luck in all your reefing endeavors,

- Chad

[autofish]

Chad, man. It's 3:30am and I've spent the last 2 hours reading your thread. I have to get up for work in 4 hours. Hah, get up - haven't gone to bed yet! Read through to page 17 and had to skip to the end after that to post some comments.

Truly inspirational. Love the cube. Love the videos. Love the Sylver song, just picked up two of their albums after hearing it. The entire presentation is simply magical; You're a class act in every sense of the word and I feel privileged to have stumbled upon this thread.

Thank you for all of this. You've moved and inspired me in ways that reach far beyond reefkeeping.

[ninjafish]

autofish,

Thank you for the amazing compliment - it is really gratifying to hear that this made an impact on someone. I have really grown to regret tearing down the 8" because, of the two sizes, it really seemed miraculous.
I am pumped that you took the time to read through the thread and watch the videos. I hope that you aren't hating me for it later today when you're falling asleep at work .
I have started a new project if you want to check it out. I have to warn you though, it isn't as inventive as my work with the cubes, nope, everything just fell into place with those... they will probably always be the highlight of my time in this hobby.
Thank you again,

- Chad

[GS-Rock]

really nice set up you got going on