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xbwolfx's 30g Cube - PICS 3/21


xbwolfx

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Well about 2 weeks ago I ordered a 30g Oceanic Cube to replace my current AP12 but my LFS has still not received it from Oceanic (there is some sort of complication, I think it may be back-ordered). Well, in the meantime, I have been making purchases in preparation for the upgrade. Because I'm still waiting on the tank and I can't do much until I get it - I thought I'd start my tank thread. Here are my plans thus far:

 

Equipment:

  • 30g Oceanic Cherry Cube with Oceanic Cherry stand
  • Glass-holes.com 700gph internal overflow with 1.5" drain and two 3/4" locline returns.
  • Custom Acrylic Sump/Refugium
  • Geisemann Nova II 250w Metal Halide Pendant w/Phoenix 14k bulb
  • Deltec MC500 protein skimmer.
  • Eheim 1260 return pump.
  • Tunze Osmolator.
  • Vortech MP20.

Livestock:

  • 2 True Percula Clowns
  • 1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
  • Emerald Crab
  • Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
  • Peppermint Shrimp
  • Various snails and a few hermits.
  • Mixed Reef - SPS, LPS, zoas, and rics.
  • 10+lbs marcos tonga shelf + 14lbs Fiji rock from Premium Aquatics

 

Now for pics of some of the equipment that I have already acquired (with prices so I can keep track of my spending on the equipment so far):

 

What the 30g will be replacing ($113 for the tank):

IMG_2916.jpg

 

Geisemann Nova II 250w ($220 shipped):

IMG_2897.jpg

IMG_2900.jpg

 

10+lbs marcos tonga shelf + 14lbs Fiji rock from Premium Aquatics curing in a 30g acrylic tank ($120 total):

IMG_2910.jpg

 

Thanks for looking! Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated!

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eklikewhoa

Nice upgrade!

 

I have noticed quite a few of us are upgrading from the 12g to the 30g cube! I love mine and 250w MH is the way to go!

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Oceanic 30g

Nice. You went all out. I just started a thread for the same tank last night. Check it out. I really like the light you chose. Top Notch!

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Nice upgrade!

 

I have noticed quite a few of us are upgrading from the 12g to the 30g cube! I love mine and 250w MH is the way to go!

 

Well since I already had the stand, I figured that I may as well make use of it! And I want more fish...

 

I wanted something greater than 150w, but I was afraid to put a 250w fixture like a sunpod that close to the water. I also didn't want to have to hang a pendant - but I decided to go this route anyway when I found the great deal on the fixture. Thanks for the input!

 

Nice. You went all out. I just started a thread for the same tank last night. Check it out. I really like the light you chose. Top Notch!

 

I didn't really intend to go all out - but as you can see I got some good deals that I just couldn't pass up. I mean, these deals were good enough that I felt confident that I could get my money back in full for any of the items if I decided I didn't want to use them. That light was more than half-off the price for a new one and it seems to have very little wear-and-tear. I'm not sure what brand the ballast is b/c its electronic and I was under the impression that Geisemann shipped these with magnetic ones - but even if I changed out the ballast I would still be saving a good chunk of change. Thanks for the input!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, it has been a while since I updated my progress on this tank. My LFS finally got my tank in from Oceanic last Friday and this week I spent the days drilling, painting, and making final decisions on the plumbing. Because I am in an urban apartment, I have to drive to my brother's "suburban home" everyday to use his garage to do all of the plumbing, etc...

 

I decided to go with a glass-holes.com 700gph overflow because they are cheap, really simple to install, and supposedly really quiet (the customer service was absolutely amazing, btw). What I like most about the overflow is the fact that it is small and you don't have to silicone it to the glass (I suck at silicone work). I have also chosen to go with a Vortech MP20 instead of the closed-loop. After discovering how easy drilling holes really is, I considered going with the closed-loop. However, I will likely be moving in a year and if I don't like the Vortech I can always drill for a closed-loop when I move since the tank will have to be emptied anyway.

 

I am also having the owner of my LFS make me a custom acrylic sump that I designed. Once that is finished, I'll be ready to set the tank up. He said he's going on vacation for the 2nd and 3rd weeks of July and was hoping he could finish it before he left....otherwise it wouldn't be done until August 1st! I'm crossing my fingers that he finishes it before he leaves b/c I am soooo ready to set this tank up.

 

Well, here's a pic of the sump I designed:

 

Sumpclear.jpg

 

 

age.png

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Reef Aquatics

On the lighting I was the same way when I set up my Oceanic tank..

I was afraid 250 watt was going to be too much.. But thought 150 watt

was going to be enough. I ended up running a 250 watt 14,000k with

two 65 watt true actinic PCs and for the depth of the tank..its perfect...

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On the lighting I was the same way when I set up my Oceanic tank..

I was afraid 250 watt was going to be too much.. But thought 150 watt

was going to be enough. I ended up running a 250 watt 14,000k with

two 65 watt true actinic PCs and for the depth of the tank..its perfect...

 

Awesome. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run any PCs unless I build a canopy...but I'm sure I'll love the light nonetheless.

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Fishfreak218

If you havnt already ordered it, I suggest you dont go with the magdrive 7

Mine was very loud, it made the whole sump vibrate and it only got worse as time went on. It was actually one of the main reasons I broke down my 30g. oceanic cube so that I could restart the tank with better equipment. I read mixed reviews on the mag drive pumps and the queit one pumps so I wasnt sold on going with the quiet one either. While working at a lfs I noticed he was using OceanRunner pumps and I noticed that they were very quiet. I liked that (since my tank is in my bedroom). So I ordered an OceanRunner 2500 for the return pump to my 30g. oceanic cube. It is very quiet and Im really happy with it. It also didnt affect the temperature at all!

HTH

a little bit

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If you havnt already ordered it, I suggest you dont go with the magdrive 7

Mine was very loud, it made the whole sump vibrate and it only got worse as time went on. It was actually one of the main reasons I broke down my 30g. oceanic cube so that I could restart the tank with better equipment. I read mixed reviews on the mag drive pumps and the queit one pumps so I wasnt sold on going with the quiet one either. While working at a lfs I noticed he was using OceanRunner pumps and I noticed that they were very quiet. I liked that (since my tank is in my bedroom). So I ordered an OceanRunner 2500 for the return pump to my 30g. oceanic cube. It is very quiet and Im really happy with it. It also didnt affect the temperature at all!

HTH

a little bit

 

Yeah....I already bought it and I doubt I have the receipt. I have also heard mixed reviews about the Mags, but I seem to hear mixed reviews about everything these days. Perhaps it is a hit-or-miss kind of thing. Maybe I'll see how I like it and sell it off if I don't like it. Changing out the return pump doesn't seem to be too demanding a task even after the tank is set-up. I have heard good things about the Ocean Runners lately, so I'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the advice!

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Fishfreak218
Yeah....I already bought it and I doubt I have the receipt. I have also heard mixed reviews about the Mags, but I seem to hear mixed reviews about everything these days. Perhaps it is a hit-or-miss kind of thing. Maybe I'll see how I like it and sell it off if I don't like it. Changing out the return pump doesn't seem to be too demanding a task even after the tank is set-up. I have heard good things about the Ocean Runners lately, so I'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the advice!

Yeah, its not too hard of a job... the only reason why I broke down my whole tank was because of a bunch of contributing factors but the noise level (mainly from the mag 7) was getting a little too loud for my taste. Well, good luck.. hopefully your mag 7 isnt too loud and your happy with it

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Ugh......I tried aquascaping yesterday and failed miserably. I tried to drill the rocks so that I could stick acrylic rods through them and create two pillars.....instead, I now have a ton of small rubble because the figi rock literally fell apart when I tried to drill. So it's back to square one on the aquascaping. I don't want the typical wall of rock, but aquascaping this thing is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would.

 

Because I've been doing all of the work in my brother's garage, I keep forgetting to take my camera with me. I think I'm going to be bringing the tank to my apartment soon and I'll take pics of all of the progress so far. Hopefully my LFS finishes my sump before he goes on vacation because I am getting very anxious to set this up. Otherwise, I'm going to have an empty tank sitting around for another month.....

 

I forget whose tank this is....but this is what I was ideally trying to model my aquascape after. Let's just say that I failed pretty badly at my attempt:

 

This is not my tank, it is what I was trying to make mine look like.....I failed and gave up...

shelfrock.jpg

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i hate aquascaping... i'm still hating mine... but it's too late now.. my tank is just running too well to make those changes... damn...

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i hate aquascaping... i'm still hating mine... but it's too late now.. my tank is just running too well to make those changes... damn...

 

I actually really like your rock-work. I think it is just difficult to do anything other than a wall of rock on these cubes, unless you have a big enough sump to put most of the rock in....that way you could just put a small island of rock in the display. I think I may drive up to premium aquatics tomorrow and buy some of this rock http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...y_Code=Liverock

 

Since all of my current rock is so brittle, I need some strong stuff to use as a base. I've seen this rock before and it seems very solid and dense. The Fiji rock I have is too porous and doesn't provide the stability I need.

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i like how you layered it...

 

one on the left should be a little higher.

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my post....but that pic is not of my tank. That is what I was trying to make my aquascape look like...I don't have pictures of mine b/c I gave up on it yesterday and decided to wait until I have the tank home to mess with it.

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Haha.....I wish I could remember whose tank this was. I could probably find it, but I'm too lazy to search...

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need a picture... it would help

 

have you ever thought of using tonga branches. i saw a setup with tonga branches... it looks really good.

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bucknellreefer

Those overflows look pretty nice, let me know how it works out. I have an empty 33g cube I am still trying to setup (or sell, dunno yet) so I'll following this with interest.

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OK...I finally got the tank out of my brother's garage and into my apartment. Today I built a structure to hang my pendant from. It is made of 1/2" galvanized steel pipe and cost roughly $40 to make (including the brackets, screws, etc... to attach it to the stand). I think it turned out pretty well and just needs a bit of tweaking to make it perfect. After purchasing the galvanized steel pipe, I discovered that it is not particularly easy to paint. I have found a few products that can be used, but still haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. Tomorrow I'll be heading to the paint store to see if I can find what I'm looking for and then I think I'm going to clean the pipe with vinegar and sand it or wire brush it so the primer and paint sticks better.

 

Now for some pics....finally!

 

FTS

Oceanic30001.jpg

 

Close-up of light (I just threw this together quickly, so it needs some tweaking, leveling, etc...):

Oceanic30002.jpg

 

Light mounted on back of the stand - not final, need to replace the brackets. I was stupid and bought oak, which is a pain in the arse to drill screws into...if I did it again, I would have used a softer, cheaper wood:

Oceanic30005.jpg

 

Overflow, returns, and DIY net cover (sorry about the poor quality of this pic):

Oceanic30003.jpg

 

Plumbing (this plumbing is from the water test that I did - so it is far from complete...still have some ball valves to put in):

Oceanic30004.jpg

 

And lastly, I broke down the AP12 and moved everything into a standard 10g temporarily:

Oceanic30007.jpg

Oceanic30008.jpg

Oceanic30009.jpg

 

Moving everything into the 10g was probably premature and I should probably add more live rock for biological filtration. I noticed today that some of my zoas look awful....but the SPS is doing fine....explain that one to me...haha...

 

Thanks for looking!

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You're almost there, very nice. I just saw a thread where somebody used EMT or electrical conduit pipe to make a light pole like that and it looked pretty sharp once it was all painted.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I considered using the conduit....but the galvanized pipe is all threaded and has tons of different fittings and pipe sizes that it is a lot easier to work with. You can buy pipe between like 1"-72"....also, if you need something custom, the pipe can be cut and threaded for free at Lowes. You could also use black iron pipe...but most of it at my Lowes was kinda rusted.

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