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Brandon's 20g Custom AIO Cube: Tons of New SPS Goodies :D


bpounds1991

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bpounds1991

So some of you know over the past few months I have been slowly but surely gathering my supplies for my reef tank build, and now that my roommate and I have decided not to move that means I can start setting it up ASAP! I just want to take a moment to thank all of those that have helped me along the way in my decisions, classified equipment sales, and general help about all the painstaking questions I've had (I know the list is long and I don't have time at the moment to name everyone!). So far to date this is my equipment list with a couple more items I need to purchase then I'm hoping to fill it up within the next couple weeks.
Tank:
-Micro-Reefs Tropical 15.5 AIO with stock pump, and custom media basket
Equipment:

  • Cadlights 50 pls pipeless skimmer
  • Mighty Mite 50 GPD RO/DI
  • NeoTherm 75W heater
  • Hydor Koralia Nano 200/600 gph (one for in tank one for mixing)
  • Nano Box Duo with Storm Controller
  • Digital thermometer
  • 160 gallon bucket of instant ocean reef salt
  • JBJ ATO with 5 gallon reservoir
  • Refractometer

All I'm waiting on at the moment is my Florida rock 15 pound reef cleaners order, and then the sand. I'd like to find about 10 pounds of a more fine sand, but of course not at the expense of having a sand mountain in my tank! If anyone would like to offer any suggestions on what type of relatively cheap sand is available feel free to chime in! I'll have some pictures up later tonight of the equipment and I hope to keep the build interesting :D

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bpounds1991

After a few hours of tinkering and assembling, I've got almost everything in the tank! Amazing how much the space fills up and I'll need to do some skimmer height adjustments this weekend, but here's the first few pictures.

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/Newest%20Tank/IMG_2253_zpsfe1fa423.jpg.html'>IMG_2253_zpsfe1fa423.jpg

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/Newest%20Tank/IMG_2192_zps7c99ce93.jpg.html'>IMG_2192_zps7c99ce93.jpg

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/Newest%20Tank/IMG_4323_zps68ee0845.jpg.html'>IMG_4323_zps68ee0845.jpg

 

I'll have a few more once they upload tomorrow

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bpounds1991

Today was an EXTREMELY busy day for myself and the tank! Ran the Cooper River Bridge 10k run this morning then went off to one of the local fish stores to pick up some live sand, went with the CaribSea Fiji Pink for a little more fine sand. Then came back home to solve my pump problem, which involved trying to make a 1/2" output feed into an 1" output of my bulkhead in a matter of 4". One party 10 beers 6 champagne's later I had a hacksaw, superglue, and an idea and went with it and it turned out perfect! (Although not aesthetically appealing). Also picked myself up 2 cabinets stacked on top of each other for organization today for all my reef supplies. Last but not least I finished up by rearranging/lowering my skimmer so I could move my nano box more in the middle of the tank.

 

New cabinets fitting nicely below the tank/next to the outlets

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1849_zps67e6149a.jpg.html]IMG_1849_zps67e6149a.jpg[/url]

 

My crudely constructed new piece

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1850_zpsf8652d8c.jpg.html]IMG_1850_zpsf8652d8c.jpg[/url]

 

All attached!

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1851_zps4483a5fc.jpg.html]IMG_1851_zps4483a5fc.jpg[/url]

 

New skimmer placement

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1852_zpsd6888d41.jpg.html]IMG_1852_zpsd6888d41.jpg[/url]

 

:D

 

 

 

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bpounds1991

Went ahead and got the acrylic piece for the tank top today, although I have to wait about a month or so to drill it due to my dad having the drill back at my parent's house about 3 1/2 hours away! Either way I was able to cut and fit it to the exact size of the tank with the cutouts for the light and powerhead.

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_6738_zps59846332.jpg.html'>IMG_6738_zps59846332.jpg

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_3433_zps3ac1393d.jpg.html'>IMG_3433_zps3ac1393d.jpg

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1241_zpseed57d1d.jpg.html'>IMG_1241_zpseed57d1d.jpg

 

Looking to be wet by sometime next week!

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bpounds1991

The lights are mounted with a gooseneck from Dave with Nano Box. I moved it up to the false wall since the wall in the back was too far away to be even over the tank and too thick (3/8" vs the 1/4" gooseneck)

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bpounds1991

A little update for the night:

Had a minor speed bump with the light but Dave has been more than helpful in assisting with the issue, should have that back by Wednesday as well as my shipment from ReefCleaners! A few more goodies for the tank should be coming in sometime near the middle-end of next week including

 

-Phosphagen

-Chemi-Pure

-Epoxy Putty

-5 gallon ATO Reservoir

-160 gallon bucket of Instant Ocean

-API Master Test Kit

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bpounds1991

Thanks lol. Ended up having to take a hacksaw to the barbs of it to fit it down to size it was definitely an interesting fix

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bpounds1991

I'm hoping that by drilling the 30-something holes I have marked and waiting the air exchange may allow for less condensation? Either way it was only 8$ and there's always egg crate as the back up :happy:

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You're probably going to end up with salt creep in all of those 30+ holes due to evap. My suggestion would be to go with a screen top.

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bpounds1991

Darn, well it's certainly worth a try as I can't return the piece now lol. What type of materials would you recommend for the top? Something at least aesthetically pleasing (egg crate isn't too bad of a look imo)

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Darn, well it's certainly worth a try as I can't return the piece now lol. What type of materials would you recommend for the top? Something at least aesthetically pleasing (egg crate isn't too bad of a look imo)

 

I use Window screen with aluminum frame. I will be building one today as a matter of fact.

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Exactly , then for the frame I spray it with krylon fusion to try and keep the aluminum protected.

 

Keeps the fishes in and doesn't limit the gas exchange.

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bpounds1991

So, thanks to jbb_00, I decided to head to Lowe's to try and pick up some new top design materials. Thinking more about it I didn't want to spend multiple days a week having to clean an acrylic top, so I went with the mesh. I picked up an adjustable 15" mesh screen for a "window" for 5$, and realized after I got home that it was just too big.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_1864_zps60b0b21a.jpg.html'>IMG_1864_zps60b0b21a.jpg

 

So I took it apart, salvaging all the outside pieces, the spool, and the perfectly cut out mesh piece just slightly bigger than I needed.

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_7636_zpsd110a469.jpg.html'>IMG_7636_zpsd110a469.jpg

 

Nothing a little hacksaw couldn't handle B)

 

Finished product

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_6901_zps1e32ad37.jpg.html'>IMG_6901_zps1e32ad37.jpg

 

And on the tank

 

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_3988_zps611237a6.jpg.html'>IMG_3988_zps611237a6.jpg

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/joker577/media/IMG_0586_zps719ebf34.jpg.html'>IMG_0586_zps719ebf34.jpg

 

All for a whopping 5$ plus tax ;):)

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frankdontsurf

Trying to decide..my nano box is white, should I do something with the color of the screen top or leave it? :happy:

I'd spray it black if it was going to be so visible. The LED will make it blue.

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