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Aquageek's Little Reef (now with video!)


aquageek

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Well no progress tonight. I cannot get that rim off. Using a razor and a putty knife to get under the rum to cut the silicone and it's still not budging. Going to try taking a pair of snips to cut the rim in 2 spots and using a heat gun to get it all nice and warm.

 

Also the silicone I have is clear, I thought it was black. So I need to order some silicone tomorrow so I can get matching silicone.

 

Got my 3/4" hole saw today, so I am ready to drill the tank for 2 returns and an overflow. I would like to have the rim off, the silicone touched up on the seams, and the back painted before I drill.

 

Just need to get this damn rim off lol.

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Thanks xiaoxiy. My brother used a multi max tool to cut the rim in 2 spots and then he just pulled it off lol. We did discover during all of my prying and scraping that I chipped the very top of the back corner seam maybe 1/4". I think the tank should still be solid though. I am removing all of the silicone from the outside seams and going to re apply silicone to make sure it is solid, including putting the piece that chipped off back so you can't tell.

 

Ordering new sand for the tank and silicone now. Should get it tomorrow.

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Sorry for the crappy cell pics, and excuse how dirty the glass is. I haven't cleaned it since I have been doing all of the work. Do you guys think the tank is still good to go? I will obviously do a test outside before setting it up - but what do you guys think? The chip did not go all the way through to the inside.

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141027_211138_831_zpsjv2hkogm.jpg.html'>IMG_20141027_211138_831_zpsjv2hkogm.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141027_211208_889_zpsmugea7bx.jpg.html'>IMG_20141027_211208_889_zpsmugea7bx.jpg

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Woo! Just ordered 20lbs of black sand, black silicone, some more rock (just so I have enough for an awesome new scape), and some reef epoxy. Should have it all tomorrow!

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I think I am going to order my Kessil on Friday. Do you guys think I should go with Sky Blue (10k) or the Ocean Blue (15k)? I am leaning towards the Ocean Blue at the moment.

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The more I look at pictures and videos - the more I like the Ocean Blue Kessil 150. I think I may order it on Thursday so I can have it before the weekend. So excited to get the cube back up!

 

Tonight I will be cleaning the tank and siliconing the outside seams. Tomorrow night I plan on painting the back glass black. Hopefully I can get my brother to take the acrylic to his shop to cut it before the weekend. Then finally, this weekend I should be all set to assemble the sump, drill the glass and start the plumbing! With any luck it should be wet again early next week!

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michaelrzachmann

damn you goin through a lot with this tank haha i want i sump too but prob will just wait till i can completely upgrade tank. The kessils are dope i want to get one of those one day to. This is the first time i checked out your thread and holy shit that aquascape in your first go was awesome were those epoxied together? aka are you keepin the same scape?

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Thanks dude!

 

Yeah, I really like the dimensions of the BioCube, it fits perfect in the space. I just got sick of messing with filtration in the back of it. So I figured why not just remove it and drill it! Then I thought while I was at it, might as well de-rim it and change the lighting! Lol a quick (or so I thought) cheap upgrade got expensive fast.

 

My house is so full of stuff - I don't really have any more room for a bigger tank. I have a wall in my home office that has been dedicated to a 40B that is sitting empty in my basement that my girlfriend and I are going to build together. I need a bigger house for more aquariums lol.

 

No epoxy on anything. Just a lot of patience and careful stacking to make sure it could take a lot of agitation without falling apart. There will be a new scape this time. I even ordered 5 more pounds of rock so I would have a little extra to work with. I want to create something really cool this time and spend a lot of time on it. I did order some reef epoxy for the new scape so I can get a bit more creative with the rock.

 

Almost bought the Kessil this morning - but I thought I'd have a look at the market place here on NR before I placed my order and found some one selling an AI Nano with mount and the older controller for a pretty good price (approx' $50 cheaper than a new Kessil with mount). So I went ahead and grabbed that up instead. The idea of having a controller over not having one with the Kessil 150 was enough to sway me. Have always thought the AI products looked pretty solid and take a little pride that Aqua Illumination is located just 30 miles away from me here in Iowa.

 

I am a little behind on my progress with this tank as I have been working super long days the past 2 days. So hopefully tonight and the rest of the weekend I can make some nice progress! I will post some pictures as I make progress.

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What do you guys think - 1 or 2 returns? I bought my kit from glass-holes with 2 returns without actually deciding if I wanted 1 or 2. Since I will be drilling in the next day or so - it's time to make the decision.

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Woo! I got my AI Nano in the mail yesterday and I set it up to test it and everything seems great! The color is amazing, and the controller is pretty nice. Will be awesome to finally have a light with a controller so I can stop using the old school analog timer. Functionality looks great with ramp-up and ramp-down sunrise and sunset settings, coral acclimation modes, and the gimmicky but always cool looking weather effects!

 

Ordered the light from the market place here on NR from member rkum19. He was awesome to work with and everything arrived in good order exactly as advertised. Would definitely buy from him again.

 

The only problem I have is since I want the mounting arm to be in the middle, I will not be able to put my overflow box there :/ . So I am thinking about having the overflow box off to the side, and the return bulkhead and nozzle off to the other side. Do you guys think that would be ok? Just want to get that locked down before I drill. My brother is cutting my acrylic today in his shop - I ended up not having enough panels but he said he may have some extra laying around so we will see.

 

Here is a pic of the light above my empty tank:

 

IMG_20141103_182233_213_zpsibzw5pvs.jpg

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Change of plans on the skimmer. Was talking to a few members of my local reef club and they suggested instead of the Bubble Magus 3.5, that I take a look at the SCA-301. I'll be damned if that thing doesn't look like a carbon copy of the BM 3.5! I think they may even use the same pump! It's about $100 cheaper than the BM 3.5 as well which is awesome. I was going to hold off on getting a skimmer since it's so close to the holidays and I've already spent a bunch of money on the fish tank lately - but with a price like that, I think I can squeeze that in! :D

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I have everything I need to finish this baby off. I just did a leak test of the sump and it passed! I just need to cut my PVC to length and plumb it up and I am ready to get it wet! Might get started tonight.

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141112_181011_353_zpsppfjzy9p.jpg.html'>IMG_20141112_181011_353_zpsppfjzy9p.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141112_181112_718_zpskz3kinj3.jpg.html'>IMG_20141112_181112_718_zpskz3kinj3.jpg

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Well moving at a snail's pace here. Got the sump drained and put into the stand last night. I ran the pump in it for 24 hours to make sure no leaks (success!). I cut my holes for the plumbing in the back of the stand with a reciprocating saw last night and the vibration was so intense it actually tore the back wall out completely lol - so I had to make some slight modifications there to get the back wall into place to prevent the stand from racking.

 

Also picked up my new ATO reservoir yesterday which is just a 5G jug that is tall and narrow that should fit next to my stand nicely. Will have to saw the top off to get the pump in there and then seal it back up - should be no problem. Also just pulled the trigger on the SCA-301 skimmer so I should have that early next week. Tomorrow is the big day, I will be plumbing tomorrow morning and putting my scape together! So exciting!

 

Here is a picture of my ATO reservoir in case any one was curious.

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141113_201459_035_zpsykazxxkk.jpg.html'>IMG_20141113_201459_035_zpsykazxxkk.jpg

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Thanks! I am still messing with it a bit. Trying to get places for coral from the viewing sides as well as keeping in mind flow and places for fish to hide lol. I forgot how tedious this can be :). I really need to get a camera as the phone isn't doing it much justice lol.

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Thanks, MrReefer! Yeah the DIY route was definitely fun and a lot cheaper. I couldn't find anything with the dimensions I wanted to fit in the BioCube stand any way, so that was my only choice. I think it's going to work great though!

 

The tank is wet, and no leaks! It's been running since Saturday night, the water is still a bit cloudy and my camera still sucks lol! I am probably going to have to make a custom mount for the Nano, with the stock mounting arm the light sits a bit too far back since I removed the entire stock sump area. It will work for now as long as I stick to keeping the lower light corals in the very front of the tank. My skimmer should be here tomorrow which is very exciting - my first big boy skimmer!

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141116_123953_897_zpswcflrxbx.jpg.html'>IMG_20141116_123953_897_zpswcflrxbx.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141116_124408_960_zpsbdiaqauy.jpg.html'>IMG_20141116_124408_960_zpsbdiaqauy.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141116_124332_806_zpsigdxnzkj.jpg.html'>IMG_20141116_124332_806_zpsigdxnzkj.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141116_124316_268_zpsz0xabgu4.jpg.html'>IMG_20141116_124316_268_zpsz0xabgu4.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141116_124006_997_zpse3ejzj45.jpg.html'>IMG_20141116_124006_997_zpse3ejzj45.jpg

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Got my skimmer today! Unfortunately it looks like one of the legs broke clean off of the base in shipping. The break was perfect, looks like the glue or whatever they used to attach it to the base just came loose. Other than that, it appears to be in good order. Instead of shipping it back I am just going to fix it - you'll never be able to tell.

 

I've got my fuge setup and my fish transferred back. I'm expecting a small cycle since I used new sand and added some new rock - most of my rock is from the previous setup and I was able to keep it wet so I am hoping if there is a small cycle it is quick. I'll keep an eye on the params over the next few days.

 

Until then, here are some pictures. Downloaded a white balance app for my phone so maybe the pictures a just a bit better lol.

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141118_182144_130_zpszarcoi4w.jpg.html'>IMG_20141118_182144_130_zpszarcoi4w.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141118_182350_139_zpsd66vdvk2.jpg.html'>IMG_20141118_182350_139_zpsd66vdvk2.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141118_182841_354_zpsnfmkxgni.jpg.html'>IMG_20141118_182841_354_zpsnfmkxgni.jpg

 

http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/jskyn/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141118_183015_808_zpszcvoqcty.jpg.html'>IMG_20141118_183015_808_zpszcvoqcty.jpg

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