Babycakes Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 So basically I've been dreaming of a cube but I don't want it too tall or too cubish. This isn't even really a real cube, it's 24x24x18 . I'm going to combine both of my current tanks, it'll be tall rockwork in the back w/ SPS, zoos and RBTA (basically everything in my Jebo 10g) and in the front will be my blasto collection and echinatas (everything in my shallow display tank). I'm thinking the acans will go in a smaller PC tank. If I really wanted to go crazy it would've been 36x36x24 but that'll be after I get married and we buy a house. So far, here are my plans. I was hoping for an external overflow but i figured plumbing around it would be too hard and i'm trying to make this as easy as possible. okie here is my diagram doing this on Paint was such a pain.. helpful criticism is needed! Link to comment
pookstreet Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Nice diagram!!! First of all, what are you planning on lighting this one with? I think a 250W with some T5 HO supplement is perfect, altho I would probably make it around 28-30L so you'll get some shade areas on the sides as well. On the CL, is there a particular reason you wanted 4 returns? If it's to increase flow for the SPS, I actually think 2 might be enough somewhere near the middle of the tank, since you already got the 2 returns from the sump. It'll also make your plumbing so much easier, trust me. But if you are planning on using OM, then that's a totally different story. What kind of sump return pump are you planning on using, in sump or external? Most external pumps have 1" fittings so I would make your returns 1" bukheads also. Once again, easier to plumb. On the external overflow, it's not really that hard to plumb around it. And it does give you a lot more space inside. It also looks cleaner. Link to comment
Pili Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Sounds like a good plan. Maybe go to 20" high. Extra water volume and more lower light areas for softies and lower light LPS. Link to comment
Babycakes Posted October 29, 2005 Author Share Posted October 29, 2005 lol, thanks kenny! can you believe i did it all on Paint?!? i had to put a ruler to my screen to make sure things were even, it was pretty gheettoo lol i am going to put use my current 150w MH giesemann nova II (silver) and buy a Finneyx T5- 24" 2x24w from nanotuners.com that or my 2x65w Current USA Orbit fixture i'll be doing this with the lights: blastos and LPS will be in the front and sps in the back. do you think i should do that or buy a second finnex fixture and have one on back and front and the MH pendant in the middle? but that's like an extra $100! ($100 for each fixture) i really want to make the plumbing as easy as possible. What kind of sump return pump are you planning on using, in sump or external? Most external pumps have 1" fittings so I would make your returns 1" bukheads also. Once again, easier to plumb. don't some people do 1" fittings w/ the pump and then they reduce it to 3/4" for the returns somehow? an external overflow is pretty pricey though, isn't it? i'm still waiting on socalcreations to give me a quote. do you really think 4 closed loop returns is too much? i'm still new to do this plumbing and i really don't want to blast my LPS. Link to comment
pookstreet Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 i am going to put use my current 150w MH giesemann nova II (silver) and buy a Finneyx T5- 24" 2x24w from nanotuners.com If you are going to keep your current MH and add only the Finnex T5, then I would probably keep your original dimensions. Are you planning on adding a hood or just hanging the lights? If you are doing a hood and since you are having the tank custom made by socalcreations, adding an inch or 2 to the overall length will make fitting the Finnex in that much easier. An additional Finnex fixture would be awesome but will you have room for it? Link to comment
Babycakes Posted October 29, 2005 Author Share Posted October 29, 2005 Sounds like a good plan. Maybe go to 20" high. Extra water volume and more lower light areas for softies and lower light LPS. thanks pili. do you agree with kenny about too many CL returns? i was thinking 20" but i didn't want the tank to be too cubish. and there's only a 5 gallon difference. 24x24x18= 45g I've been looking at cube tanks and these are my favorite cube tank so far (from RC) and it's 36x36x24 by nanoguy and maxrep12's 49.5x49.5x24 Link to comment
pookstreet Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 i really want to make the plumbing as easy as possible.don't some people do 1" fittings w/ the pump and then they reduce it to 3/4" for the returns somehow? an external overflow is pretty pricey though, isn't it? i'm still waiting on socalcreations to give me a quote. do you really think 4 closed loop returns is too much? i'm still new to do this plumbing and i really don't want to blast my LPS. Yes, you can reduce it but you'll lose some flow due to back pressure. As far as I know, but check with socalcreations just to make sure, pricing is reflecting mostly in the amount of material used. I don't think an external overflow box uses that much more material than in internal one. I think 2 is enough for the CL, just get a good pump. Link to comment
Babycakes Posted October 29, 2005 Author Share Posted October 29, 2005 If you are going to keep your current MH and add only the Finnex T5, then I would probably keep your original dimensions. Are you planning on adding a hood or just hanging the lights? If you are doing a hood and since you are having the tank custom made by socalcreations, adding an inch or 2 to the overall length will make fitting the Finnex in that much easier. An additional Finnex fixture would be awesome but will you have room for it? the MH i'm going to hang, the T-F will be on legs on top of the tank. the MH is 8" wide, the t-5 is like 5" wide, so i think yeah i could have room for another one in the back. hmm...i don't think anything's stopping me from going 30x30x18 but then i couldn't mount the finnexs over the tank. okie so i'll take out 2 CL returns on the end. i'm going to put the sump returns in the farther into the top corners and.....i'm going to go watch some football now. Link to comment
Sebea Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Ha! So you decided to go ahead and start your cube?! Plans look awesome. Even if you have 4 CL returns, flow to the front of the tank will be limited because the depth is 24". That is why I put holes in the euro-bracing for 2 CL returns in the front. This may work to your advantage if you want to keep your lower flow corals towards the front. Link to comment
Pili Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I personally think that the more outlets for a closed loop the better. It gives you all the more ability to adjust flow and make sure that there are no dead spots. If i dont do a surge system in my next tank i am going to do a dual-squirt set up so that is at least 8 outlets and i might put a Y on some of those. Link to comment
Von digity Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Throw a luminarcIII over it and call it a day. Link to comment
Maeda Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I'm not crazy about all the returns just because I don't think it would look very tidy... How about a loc-line spray bar on top? You won't see it in the tank and you can adjust the flow anywhere. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 id say stick with the original size and keep the 4 returns but put two in the bracing int he front. man i wish i had a nice place to build a bigger system! i hate you right now ha ha Link to comment
Babycakes Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 dang..i just realized something. am i going to have to buy a calcium reactor? and what's the best one for a good price since i'm trying not to break my back here on this upgrade lol, sloreefer! you shouldn't be jealous, your tank is awesome yeah if i had my way it would've been 36x36x24 (135g) okay, how hard would it be to mount a 24" fixture on a 30" long tank? bc i've been thinking of making it 30x30x18 (70g) or 30x30x20 (78g) or just keep it 24x24x18 (45g) BUT the main problem is, i live in a condo and on the 3rd floor. do you think a 375lb (45g) tank will be okay? if i step it up to 70g it's going to be 583lbs! and that's not even with refugium volume considered. :o :o yeah, i'm trying to keep the flow lower in the front since a lot of my lps will be there. but imo blastos love a good flow. also, should i ditch the swcid and go for an OM squirt for the closed loop? 4way? i am really lost when it comes to what constitutes for a good flow for the tank. Link to comment
dchisenh Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Hey Babycakes, I wasn't gonna say anything since you're a Texas fan and y'all will likely steal our shot at a national championship (Va. Tech alum here), but I can't help noticing the similarities between your proposed tank and the one I'm having built for me right now. I'm getting Scott at Aquatic Systems Designs to make me a 20x20x12 cube tank, since I just moved down here to Florida, I want something smaller so I could move it if I have to. If you're still in college, mobility is a very nice thing. It was a pain taking down my old 54 corner tank up there in Blacksburg, so until I actually buy a house and get a generator and some serious storm-proofing, I'm sticking with medium sized to small nanos. Oh, you should also check out Scott's work and talk with him about a quote. He's already gone above and beyond while working on my tank to brainstorm ideas with me and explain things about tank construction I know little to nothing about (I'm a molecular biologist....I don't have a clue about building a tank or workin with acrylic ) As soon as I get the tank, I'll start posting some pictures and get a decent thread going hopefully. But, the main reason I was replying to this is because a kalk reactor might be cheaper for ya. Plus, don't forget to take into consideration the volume of your sump when you're calculating the possible weight of the system, and the stand, and random buckets of salt, and a lot of other crap...I think the whole lot of it will be pretty heavy and if the apartments I used to live in are anything like yours, there might be a tank-size or weight-limiting code or rule or something. At the very least, I'd find out what will be located directly underneath it in your downstairs neighbors house. Hopefully it won't be overhead of their bed or their kid's/baby's bed or even a very expensive tv or stereo or something. Just sayin' Good luck! -Dan Link to comment
pookstreet Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I agree with dchisenh, if you are renting right now, stay with a smaller tank. Moving it later when you buy your own home will be much less hassle. On the Ca reactor, I would forgo that if you are getting your original tank size. Using a kalk reactor or dripping kalk with a dosing pump will be much easier and does pretty much the same thing. Ca reactors IMO are a little too complicated for a small system, not to mention the extra space it'll take up. I am dripping kalk for my makeup water and the water parameter are doing just fine. If you use a good dosing pump ($110-$150), you can drip 24/7 and it'll basically serve also as the ATO if get the dosing rate right. If you are still planning on using your existing 150W MH, I don't think you should go with the extra height. Light penetration will be pretty poor I think with even those 2 extra inches. Link to comment
Maeda Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 After researching the SCWD a bit i'd go with the OM. Spend a little more for the OM and save on the pump or have a bigger pump and run a SCWD.... That is assuming you're shopping for pumps too... If you already have a beefy pump laying around the SCWD would be good though. Link to comment
bogart Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Wow these are some nice plans babycakes. I hope it turns out as nice as the shallow tank and the Jebo, which Im sure it will. Link to comment
Babycakes Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 thanks, bogart! i hope it does too. hey dan! yeah i hope my tank doesn't fall through the floor, or else i'm gonna get an earful from some drunk college kids. i live like 2minutes from campus. okay, yeah, i should keep it small for the apartment. David (bf) has a 40g jebo in his apt and it's not falling throught the floor! so that's a good sign. Lol. VA.tech! i think UT's dropping to BCS #2 spot today (booo) you're right kenny about keeping it small and 18" tall, with a 150w i can only do so much w/ the light penetration. a 24x24x18 should be good enough for me. so i've decided OM super squirt ver. 3 for the closed loop 4 returns and ditch the swcd on the sump return. and i guess no Ca reactor for me so i'll try to figure out what dosing pump to get for my ATO/kalkmix i'll draw up a new plan for my tank tommorow w/ a external overflow considered, right now it's time to TRICK OR TREAT! happy halloween everyone Link to comment
Sebea Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Cool. I'm glad you chose the OM over the SCWD. 24x24x18 sounds perfect with the geissman on it. Happy halloween to you to! Link to comment
Babycakes Posted November 2, 2005 Author Share Posted November 2, 2005 new plans w/ an OM Super Squirt and an external overlow do able? Link to comment
calvin415 Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 Looks good to me... Doing a 24*24*20 myself. Have a link on my sig. Link to comment
pookstreet Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 do able? Yes, definitely. You better start saving up Link to comment
Babycakes Posted November 2, 2005 Author Share Posted November 2, 2005 saving up?? gah i think i'm setting aside $1500 for this project so the bulkhead placement and size is all right? Link to comment
pookstreet Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 Are you going bare bottom? On the tank, that is If not, those CL drains are awefully low. Don't want to suck sand or anything into the pump. Ouch!!! I am still not a big fan of so many outlets for your CL, since you are keeping a fair amount of LPS. Sometimes, it's not so much the # of outlets but the capacity of your pump that matters. I guess I like that clean look w/o all the nozzles and such encroaching on the view of the mini-reef. I finally got the Quiet One 4000 for my CL and will plumb it this weekend. I'll let you know how it does in terms of providing the proper amount of turbulant flow in my tank. Link to comment
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