Help me put together my new Mr. Aqua Cube 7.5G

[El_Guapo]

Hi Guys,

 

Well, after some consideration I have decided to take on my second SW tank. I previously had a an Ecosystem Mini 14P, but after my daughter started crawling/walking she decided to start slamming on the tank routinely so I decided to get rid of it before she had an accident. So a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to start another tank this time only a tank half the size so I could move it to an area where the baby (now 2y/o) could not get to it, plus I told my wife that when I get my own office at work I will take it with me.

 

I started out wanting a 2-5g tom's pico tank and quickly found myself looking at an 11g tank, but then finally settled on the Mr. Aqua 7.5g cube, the dimensions are 12x12x12 from Marine Depot. The tank arrived last friday, that day I also found a really nice Ikea cabinet on CL that I picked up for $40. As far as the rest of the tank goes I am open to suggestions.

 

Plan on setting it up with mostly corals and maybe a fish or two.

 

 

I would really like to get Evilc66's PicoLamp, but do you guys have any other recommendations? I would really like a nice looking fixture.

 

Would modding a AquaClear 50/70 be enough for this size of a tank?

 

What circulation pump would you recommend?

 

Any other misc. items would you would recommend?

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

[Mitch619]

A hob filter would defeat the purpose of having a rimless cube. I suggest that you drill the tank and add a nice sump to it. As always, circulation wise, you can't beat vortech. For the light, I'm not really into LEDs so I'd recommend halide. Seriously though, look into drilling this tank. I can tell you many people wish they would have drilled their tanks for the benefit of a sump.

[El_Guapo]

A hob filter would defeat the purpose of having a rimless cube. I suggest that you drill the tank and add a nice sump to it. As always, circulation wise, you can't beat vortech. For the light, I'm not really into LEDs so I'd recommend halide. Seriously though, look into drilling this tank. I can tell you many people wish they would have drilled their tanks for the benefit of a sump.

 

Thank you for the response, the only reason in want to go with a HOB over a sump is because of the simplicity in moving the tank from one area to another ie. daughter going after the tank or if I move it to the office I am dreaming about.

 

Another idea that I was given was using a canister filter along with an inline heater. Person who recommended this to me told me that it may be overkill for such a small tank. I don't think I am ready just yet to drill into the tank, mainly being because it is glass, and it scares the hell out of me.

 

As far as MH lighting goes, the only fixture that I have found that is nice in my opinion, is the Ecosystem setup, but that is pretty pricey as well. Do have any nice MH/fixture setups that you can recommend?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Ivan

[Quokka]

I have an 8.5g rimless and use a Rena XP1 canister on it and love it but wish I drilled it for a sump haha. Honestly, I agree with Mitch on the HOB ruining the look of a rimless. As for other options, I'm loving my XP1 with the inline heater setup. Maintaining it isn't hard at all and a weekly filter floss change really takes like 10 minutes.

[teamschreiba]

Agreed on the canister+inline heater setup. You just have to make sure you clean the canister out every week to prevent detritus from building up in it. I just do that as a part of the weekly water change. Good luck!!

[Quokka]

Agreed on the canister+inline heater setup. You just have to make sure you clean the canister out every week to prevent detritus from building up in it. I just do that as a part of the weekly water change. Good luck!!

 

+rep for the R32 . Envious MKV GTI owner here ;P

 

[El_Guapo]

Hey guys,

 

I sent a reply to a seller on CL yesterday who was selling a 20" Sunpod 150W with the lunar lighting and it turned out the seller was an old friend of mine. I ended up getting the light off of him tonight for $30, it is a bit crusty, the fan is out, and some of the led's are out as well. I took the light apart a few hours ago and will be doing the necessary repairs in the coming weeks.

 

 

I was telling him about my planned setup and he was telling me to skip going with a filtration setup all together, what he recommended was going with a thick sand bed, lots of live rock, and a good pump. He did say I would have to do weekly water changes, but it would be much cleaner setup, being that it is a rimless tank.

 

Do you guys recommend this type of setup to someone who only has about 1yr experience with SW?

 

Which would be a better pump to go with?

 

Tunze Turbelle NanoStream Pump 6025 (New Generation with Titanium Alloy Shaft) (660gph)

 

Tunze Turbelle NanoStream Pump 6015 (476gph)

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

Ivan