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Simple's 12" Contest Cube of Economical Awesomeness!


simplenough

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simplenough

Alright so as the title states this is my 12" contest cube thread for the Unofficial nano-reef 12" cube contest.

 

GEDC0050.jpg

 

What i have done

-So far i have ordered my aquarium from erickrm.

-I have also bought all the materials for my cubes stand...(well its not really a stand but that will be revealed later)

-I have also completed the lighting fixture for my aquarium. It is a diy 150 watt hqi metal halide with a 20k bulb and done using a $10 home depot halogen fixture. I will post picks of that on monday since i forgot to upload them today, but needless to say i am very satisfied with how it looks and performs. I bought the ballast on ebay for less than $40 bucks so overall it cost me about $65..

 

Future plans

-As for livestock i plan on having a sole pair of mated neon gobies. I live in miami so i might be able to collect these myself, so it is worth a shot.

-I am hoping to keep a mixed reef with mostly easy sps and zoas

-Working on a diy skimmer, that should hoepfully cost me less than $20

 

Basically i want to show that you can have a kick a&* aquarium and still keep your wallet plump ;)

 

Hardware cost:

diy 150 watt mh-$65

diy afjustable fan/ moonlight-$10

contest tank (w/ shipping)- $71

mj 1200 (used from bob21115)-$5

Total spent: $151

 

 

 

Livestock Cost so far: $20

Remaining: $230

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scooternerd
Alright so as the title states this is my 12" contest cube thread for the Unofficial nano-reef 12" cube contest.

 

What i have done

-So far i have ordered my aquarium from erickrm and i have completed my lighting.

-I have also bought all the materials for my cubes stand...(well its not really a stand but that will be revealed later)

-I have also completed the lighting fixture for my aquarium. It is a diy 150 watt hqi metal halide with a 20k bulb and done using a $10 home depot halogen fixture. I will post picks of that on monday since i forgot to upload them today, but needless to say i am very satisfied with how it looks and performs. I bought the ballast on ebay for less than $40 bucks so overall it cost me about $65..

 

Future plans

-As for livestock i plan on having a sole pair of mated neon gobies. I live in miami so i might be able to collect these myself personally, so it is worth a shot.

-I am hoping to keep a mixed reef with mostly easy sps and zoas

-Working on a diy skimmer, that should hoepfully cost me less than $20

 

Basically i want to show that you can have a kick a&* aquarium and still keep your wallet plump ;)

 

 

sounds like a plan. i will be diy most of my stuff also.

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Very nice. Personally not gonna DIY much on my tank, just don't have the time getting into the busy season at work and I don't have a lot of room to work with here.

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simplenough

If i had money i would do the same thing too, but i dont so i have to do what i can with what i have.. Hopefully by the end of the contests my aquarium will give the illusion that a lot of money was put into it :happy:

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simplenough

Okay i got a computer fan today, so i just need to hook it up to a cell phone charger and make a clip for it; that way it will work as my cooling. I even have a way to adjust it's speed, and hopefully, if things go right, i might get it to do so automatically depending on the water's temp...

I'm also working on a diy LED moonlight, also done using an old cell phone charger.

I will post pics of it all tonight..

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simplenough

Ok well here's a pic of the lights. I'm not yet done with the fan and moonlights, but i'll post pics when i finish..

For the light i wanted to have a 150 watt mh. I bought the ballast on ebay for around 35 bucks, and the socket i got for 4 bucks. I bought the halogen light at homedepot for $10, so all in all it was a good deal.

 

Since the tank is going to be pretty small, and i dont like the look of big pendants, i bought a halogen fixture rated for 150 watts, even though i knew it would be much too small for a halide bulb. So, to accomodate this i made two cuts on each side, and on the reflector; pulled out the halogen socket, installed the mh socket by sliding it down from the top, and then put it the bulb. This way i still get 150 watts of mh but i get a smaller sleeker look.

 

And here are the pics.

The light

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Here you can see the new socket, sticking out of the side, although it isnt very noticeable. (holes also help ventilate it)

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Let there be light!

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3783488824_a55b6be139.jpg

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simplenough

Well i know its been a loong time since i last updated this...(sarcasm), but i got to work and i finished the fan. It works pretty well, and i can adjust the speed with a nifty little knob so i'm pretty happy with it. I bought the fan for $9.99 at Tiger Direct, then i used an old cell phone charger as the adapter, so it was pretty cheap overall.

Anyways here are the pics; i'm considering taking off the LED's although they could make for a cool moonlight... but i'll figure that out later.

 

Here are the pics :)

AC Adapter after cutting the wire.

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The knob that controls fan speed.

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Molex connector that i cut.

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Connecting the wires for testing

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tada!

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Now when i get the aquarium i'll make a little stand to hold it in place.

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simplenough
Good job so far Mcgiver lol :)

Yup, now all i need is a paper clip, silly putty and a pencil, and i can turn the fan into a nuclear reactor.

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Yep I am :D and thanks! Blue jaws are awesome...I went ti The Barrier Reef 2 days ago and they had 2 more, Med size..$40

can't wait to see what you do with da cube...I almost entered but I got too much on my plate at the moment :( I <3 contests...so I will be watching :ninja:

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simplenough

Well i got my fish :D

A mated pair of neon gobies. I will post pics soon. They cost me 20 bucks from a local collector, and i picked them up yesterday. Right now I'm holding them until the tank arrives but i'll post pics soon.

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simplenough

Yea it's pretty awesome and it even came with a thing to adjust fan speed manually AND it also has a temperature sensor to adjust automatically, which im trying to see if i can water proof it to work with my aquarium. All for $9.99 :D

Much better than those 50 dollar icecap fans..

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pismo_reefer
Yea it's pretty awesome and it even came with a thing to adjust fan speed manually AND it also has a temperature sensor to adjust automatically, which im trying to see if i can water proof it to work with my aquarium. All for $9.99 :D

Much better than those 50 dollar icecap fans..

 

 

YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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simplenough

Here are my neon gobies. Sorry for the blurry pics but it's really hard to focus on them since they keep moving..

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And i had to include a pic of my dog Nike, who really knows how to chill. ;)

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And just so the other one wont get jealous..

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simplenough

Yea i had a pair before and i loved them. They are pretty outgoing for their size, and when they are mated they share their space and help each other to keep their "home" tidy. Plus they are relatively cheap in Miami, and if i ever get them to breed, they are not too hard to raise...but that's just a bonus, i dont really expect it to happen.

Now i just plan to add a cool invert..any suggestions? I kind of want to steer away from the sexy shrimp trio, i was thinking maybe a small cleaner shrimp would be cool, but im not too convinced..

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fire shrimp (the red is amazing) and pom pom crabs would be cool to watch! I have both in my 24 and are very cool inverts :)

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simplenough

Well i got my mj1200 from Bob....just waiting on the actual tank now -_-

Im also getting two digital timers from bluenassarius for free, from the ROAK thread. :)

I'm almost 100% now that my neon gobies are indeed mated since they wont leave each others side. I've been reading up on them and they seem to be one of the easier species to get breeding, so ill keep my fingers crossed, you never know..maybe if i play some Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - "Let Them Knock" :naughtydance:

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