xbwolfx's 30g Cube - PICS 3/21

[johnr2604]

Nice build. I have one very similar. If you dont want to use a filter sock stuff some floss between the baffles in your sump and change it when you do a water change.

[xbwolfx]

Nice build. I have one very similar. If you dont want to use a filter sock stuff some floss between the baffles in your sump and change it when you do a water change.

i thought about doing that, but i'm afraid it will cut down on the flow to the pump too much. my pump is too powerful and i already have it dialed back a lot as it is. i'll give it a try though. thanks!

[johnr2604]

I disagree about the lights being on too long. I run a 250 PFO pendant with a pheonx 14k on the same tank for 9 hours and dont have an algea problem. Algea blooms are usually a sign of excess nutrients. I get algea on the glass that has to be wiped down with a mag float every couple of days but dont get it on my sand or my rock.

[xbwolfx]

I disagree about the lights being on too long. I run a 250 PFO pendant with a pheonx 14k on the same tank for 9 hours and dont have an algea problem. Algea blooms are usually a sign og excess nutrients. I get algea on the glass that has to be wiped down with a mag float every couple of days but dont get it on my sand or my rock.

well i was running 12 hours and have since reduced to about 9 hours. my power was out for 3 days and when it finally came back on, my tank was algae free. it has been a week now and there hasn't been a trace of it since. i think it was probably dinos.

[JustReef]

Thanks. I'm not too sure how I feel about the skimmer at this point. The only way I have been able to get the skimmate into the collection cup is by running the air input completely open. This allows the foam to rise high enough to collect in the collection cup. When I do this, however, the skimmate is very wet and is like tea. If I throttle the air back a bit, the neck of the skimmer collects a thick mud, but the foam doesn't rise enough to collect in the cup. The skimmer is definitely pulling stuff out, but it may be too big for my tank.

 

No pics b/c my camera is broken - which bums me out. I don't want to buy a new camera until closer to my honeymoon in a year.

 

How loud is that Tunze? I was thinking about getting the 9005 for my 40BR.

 

Edit: You going to the Cincy frag swap?

[xbwolfx]

How loud is that Tunze? I was thinking about getting the 9005 for my 40BR.

 

Edit: You going to the Cincy frag swap?

The tunze is pretty quiet. With as much water movement as there is in the tank, the sound of all the equipment is minimal. This is my first tank with an overflow, but to me everything seems a lot quieter than i expected. Either I did a good job, or I'm just not experienced enough to know what a "quiet" tank sounds like (well, it would sound like nothing i suppose).

 

I'll probably be at the frag swap. I went last year but didn't take any frags with me. I dunno if I will take any this year either. I do have a bunch of green birdsnest that i need to get rid of, so maybe i will. Are you local?

[glennr1978]

Everything looks great. I think you could cram one more gadget in that stand though .

[nanoty]

Pimp

[xbwolfx]

Everything looks great. I think you could cram one more gadget in that stand though .

thanks, lol. i took out one of the phosban reactors b/c it was WAY too cramped. i also had to put a mini-jet pump in the fuge b/c the flow isn't strong enough and i was getting film on the water surface. the display looks a lot different now. more rock, new coral, and 6 new fish. unfortunately, my camera has decided to stop working. i am getting married in a year, so i'd like to hold out for a new camera until closer to the wedding/honeymoon. hopefully i can get some more pics of the tank though.

 

also, regarding all of the gadgets. this tank is a big reason i am deep in the hole right now (i.e. credit card debt). i'm still relatively new to this hobby, and it is by far the most addictive hobby i have encountered. a big reason i spend a lot of the time in the lounge now is b/c it keeps me from getting ideas about new tanks to set-up and spend an insane amount of money on. hopefully once i get out of law school next year i'll be making a decent wage (but i doubt it).

 

Pimp

i am now seriously considering setting up a 5.5g tank with a neon pink painted background. this is why i stay in the lounge these days. lol.

[glennr1978]

i am now seriously considering setting up a 5.5g tank with a neon pink painted background. this is why i stay in the lounge these days. lol.

 

 

Well you better take off the trim and cut it down a few inches if you want to be able to compete with nanoty!!!!

[bonsaidarrell]

I like you cube, very similar to what I'm now planning!

 

I'm surprised the Mag-5 is too much pump, isn't it rated at 475 gph, and with the head losses, probably around 300? Perhaps I need to rethink my plan for an Eheim 1260 (635 gph, about 400 with my calculated head losses).

 

I also like you sump. The one challenge with the cubes is getting a sump that will fit in the stand. I have even a bigger challenge because I want to place the pump outside (I'm trying to do everything I can to keep heat out of the tank). But if I go with a much smaller pump maybe I can go back to a submersible. Maybe the Eheim 1250 (317 gph at zero head, maybe about 200 with losses), it is only 28 watts.

 

Did you think about putting the Vortech on the back wall? I'm thinking of only having one return, with the Vortech on the other side.

 

-Darrell

[Spoon671]

Today I built a structure to hang my pendant from. <snip>

 

 

I am a huge fan of clean looking aquasystems. Forgive me when I ask, why didn't you suspend the fixture using the aircraft cables that are built into it? Giesemann did a fantastic job engineering that fixture, which is one of the main reasons I have had one for the past few years. You'da saved $40 and ended up with a much, much cleaner display. Sorry also if that has already been asked. Thanks.

 

-Justin

[xbwolfx]

I like you cube, very similar to what I'm now planning!

 

I'm surprised the Mag-5 is too much pump, isn't it rated at 475 gph, and with the head losses, probably around 300? Perhaps I need to rethink my plan for an Eheim 1260 (635 gph, about 400 with my calculated head losses).

 

Did you think about putting the Vortech on the back wall? I'm thinking of only having one return, with the Vortech on the other side.

I'm actually running an Eheim 1260, not a Mag 5 (i was originally planning on a Mag 7 though). I think the Eheim 1260 is too much flow through the sump. Once I dialed it down, it works fine - but it is dialed down quite a bit and it probably would have been better just using a smaller pump.

 

The vortech wouldn't have worked as well on the back wall with my overflow b/c it would have either been to close to the sand, stuck behind rocks, and not centered. When you walk into my kitchen, the first thing you see is the tank's left and front glass...the right glass isn't really visible so that's why I placed the vortech there.

 

I am a huge fan of clean looking aquasystems. Forgive me when I ask, why didn't you suspend the fixture using the aircraft cables that are built into it? Giesemann did a fantastic job engineering that fixture, which is one of the main reasons I have had one for the past few years. You'da saved $40 and ended up with a much, much cleaner display. Sorry also if that has already been asked. Thanks.

I don't really know what you mean by aircraft cables - the cables that I have are what came with the unit when I bought it used. I didn't hang it from the ceiling b/c I am temporarily living in an apartment until I graduate. It is an old apartment, so I don't really trust the ceilings and I just didn't feel like messing with that. Also, I like the fact that I can use the "swing-arm" that I built into it to move the fixture out of the way when I feel like it. I can also take the fixture down easily, which is also convenient.

[Lalani]

What are you doing out of the lounge?

[xbwolfx]

What are you doing out of the lounge?

Defending my set-up from noobish comments lol.

[BKtomodachi]

Wow, I like this tank. What material exactly are you using for your mesh top, and where did you get it? My guess is that its a screen door frame kit, but the mesh itself I can't seem to think of.

[xbwolfx]

Wow, I like this tank. What material exactly are you using for your mesh top, and where did you get it? My guess is that its a screen door frame kit, but the mesh itself I can't seem to think of.

Thanks....too bad my camera is broken and I can't update with new pics. Oh well.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=817485

 

The netting: http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-602-Bi...t/dp/B00004RA0O

 

I bought mine at Home Depot. It is bird netting and I found it in the outside garden center. It was only $7. I actually think I like the black netting I have better than the clear stuff the guy uses in the RC link. I think the black is less noticeable.

[SeeDemTails]

I disagree about the lights being on too long.

 

As do I. I run my lights 12 hours a day!

 

I also feed a lot, and dont have much algae. If I start to get any I just up the water changes to either larger amounts or more frequently.

 

Tank is pretty sweet! Nice equipment.

[xbwolfx]

As do I. I run my lights 12 hours a day!

 

I also feed a lot, and dont have much algae. If I start to get any I just up the water changes to either larger amounts or more frequently.

 

Tank is pretty sweet! Nice equipment.

Thanks. I don't think that 12 hours is generally too much. I just think it caused a problem when i set the tank up initially. I'm not sure my marcos rocks were fully cured, etc.. I wanted to set the tank up for a while without livestock to let it fully cycle, but unfortunately my sump took forever to finish and by the time I got it I was back in school and had to do everything in essentially one night. After my power was out for 3 days, the algae cleared up and has not returned since. I am eventually going to work my way back to 10-12 hours, but I'm going to do it slowly.

[bonsaidarrell]

I'm actually running an Eheim 1260, not a Mag 5 (i was originally planning on a Mag 7 though). I think the Eheim 1260 is too much flow through the sump. Once I dialed it down, it works fine - but it is dialed down quite a bit and it probably would have been better just using a smaller pump.

 

OK, for some reason I had it in my head you were using the Mag 5. I wish the Eheim 1250 was just a little beefier, though, at 4 ft of head it is rated at less than 200 GPH, which seems too low.

 

Thanks!

 

-Darrell

[BKtomodachi]

Thanks....too bad my camera is broken and I can't update with new pics. Oh well.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=817485

 

The netting: http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-602-Bi...t/dp/B00004RA0O

 

I bought mine at Home Depot. It is bird netting and I found it in the outside garden center. It was only $7. I actually think I like the black netting I have better than the clear stuff the guy uses in the RC link. I think the black is less noticeable.

I think I'll be doing black as well for mine.

Thanks for that!

[xbwolfx]

OK, for some reason I had it in my head you were using the Mag 5. I wish the Eheim 1250 was just a little beefier, though, at 4 ft of head it is rated at less than 200 GPH, which seems too low.

 

Thanks!

 

-Darrell

I absolutely agree. I think a mag 5 would actually be a good choice. I choose eheim b/c they are so reliable and quiet....it just sucks that they don't have a pump in-between the 1250 and 1260.

 

I think I'll be doing black as well for mine.

Thanks for that!

no problem. i can ship you some netting in an envelope if you give me the dimensions (for free, of course). i have a TON left over, so you can have as much as you want.

[Tbone675]

as far as the length of time the lights are on, I do a short light cycle when the tank is new and going through algae blooms and when it matures you can ramp it up...IMO

 

also i wanted to make a top for my oceanic 70.....is the frame plastic? if metal do you think metal safe? my lfs sells pond netting looks looks the same stuff so that wont be a problem.

[rbeirne]

I have favor to ask. Can you tell me what the inside dimensions of your Oceanic 30 stand are? I need to know how large of a sump I can fit in there. I have a cube sump that I am pretty sure will fit but need confirmation. There are none locally I can measure. Thanks!

[xbwolfx]

I have favor to ask. Can you tell me what the inside dimensions of your Oceanic 30 stand are? I need to know how large of a sump I can fit in there. I have a cube sump that I am pretty sure will fit but need confirmation. There are none locally I can measure. Thanks!

my sump is 18"x15 3/4" and it fits perfectly in the stand (i had to take the door off, put the sump in, then re-attach the door).