ReeVo's Reef 50G Rimless Cube

[ReeVo]

This build is incredible....love the attention to detail and all the custom work youve done so far. How many gallons is your ATO Reservoir?

 

Thanks Rehype

It'll hold 7 gallons if filled to the brim but I will be keeping it around the 5-6 gallon range. I could have made it bigger but if by any chance my ATO would have failed and started dumping water in my sump, it wouldn't overflow it.

[Rehype]

Thanks Rehype It'll hold 7 gallons if filled to the brim but I will be keeping it around the 5-6 gallon range. I could have made it bigger but if by any chance my ATO would have failed and started dumping water in my sump, it wouldn't overflow it.

 

Np...you did a great job.

[Giga]

I would have if it was sitting over my tank and not my fuge lol

 

Super fuge? And by the way, all your acrylic stuff is bonerific, yep went there

[ReeVo]

Super fuge? And by the way, all your acrylic stuff is bonerific, yep went there

 

Haha thanks bud. Took the thread to another level. Might have to change the title to NSFW

[ReeVo]

I'm pulling the trigger on a Giesemann Spectra 250W with 4 T5s and electronic ballast. Anybody want to stop me?

[BattleAthletics]

I'm pulling the trigger on a Giesemann Spectra 250W with 4 T5s and electronic ballast. Anybody want to stop me?

No! Go right on ahead. Have you tried aqua medics yet?

[ReeVo]

No! Go right on ahead. Have you tried aqua medics yet?

 

I haven't but i keep contemplating if I should get that or the eballast by Giesemann.

It's one of those decisions that make you punch yourself in the head.

 

I've read quite a bit about both and they both have their pros and cons.

I just don't know which cons id rather live with.

 

Which would you prefer and why?

[BattleAthletics]

Ask ReHype, hed tell you aquamedics because of the price difference.

[Giga]

all this talk of metal halide make me want to get one for old times sake

[ReeVo]

Do it! Do it!

[Rehype]

all this talk of metal halide make me want to get one for old times sake

 

You know you want to....take the mangroves to the next level

[urbaneks]

Great equipment choices. I think you will really like the BP reactor. I have been running the same reactor for over a year now.

[ReeVo]

Great equipment choices. I think you will really like the BP reactor. I have been running the same reactor for over a year now.

 

Thanks urbaneks

I really can't wait to use the reactor. I got a question. When you first ran the reactor, did you have the output fully open or dialed down?

[ReeVo]

I got wood

[Kauai]

Awesome build. Enjoy all the pictures too!

[ReeVo]

Literally, I got wood

Yesterday I picked up the 3/4" Oak plywood that I had cut for me from one of my local wood shops. If anyone is around the Los Angeles area, House of Hardwoods is amazing. They can cut and make anything with top notch quality. I was a bit worried that my cuts wouldn't be even but i was I very pleased how they came out. They even gave me the scraps, which were some pretty big pieces. I'm going to have these guys build me a stand for my next future upgrade.

The Kreg Jig is my new favorite tool. So simple to use and drills amazing angled holes. You guys can see I drilled a few pieces already. They came out great. Those are all the holes I need to put this stand together. I also need to get some plugs to cover some of the holes so they wont be such an eye soar.

Not sure if I'm going to work on the stand tomorrow because its Christmas but the day after, I'm going to drinkin a few cold ones and get to work. I'm calling this build/stand the Bio-Mech Control Unit.

I also finished up my return line. I shorted the pipe so I can use a piece of silicone tubing. I got a feeling this thing is going to be dead silent. Well, at least I hope so.

Here's a shot of the tank since I haven't posted one in awhile. I've been keeping her clean and wrapped up so she doesn't get dirty. Yes its a she, leave me alone

 

 

 

Awesome build. Enjoy all the pictures too!

Thanks Kauai Nothing like a thread with a load of pictures. Just wait till it starts getting stocked up. Pictures galore!

[ReeVo]

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas fellas. I hope you all enjoy the season to be jolly

[ReeVo]

Bio-Mech Control Unit Update!

First of all, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. Hopefully you got some new goodies for your tanks and more

Finally, the thing I've been waiting for to get my tank to the next level of being complete. It's so close to being finished but I still need to wait for a few more things to come in the mail. The stand is basically done. All that is left is to install the hinges for the top and front doors. I want to use Euro Hinges on the front door but all the jigs that cut those holes are like $200+ and I'm not going to fork over that much doe for 2 holes. So I bought a cheapy one that I hope will do the trick. Wish me luck on not f###ing up.

After that is done, I'm going to stain it as close as possible to my DT stand. It's a dark walnut laminate, so I bought dark walnut stain. Might have to give it a few coats though. Then I'm going to paint the inside of the stand white with exterior paint and go over it with a polyurethane coating to give it an extra seal.

Before I paint it, I need to retrofit all my electronics into their places, drill my holes for wire management and plumbing.

Here's some of the progress I made today. Built the stand and placed it where it's going to be. I retrofitted my ATO reservoir, dosing containers, and bio pellet reactor to see how everything fit. I also ran into a problem I didn't think about when I was designing the placement of my equipment with SketchUp. I wanted to have my carbon/GFO reactor in front of my bio pellet reactor but then realized it was completely in the way of all the plumbing. So i was pretty frustrated. It must have happened for a reason because I found a much better place for it and the back pressure wouldn't such an issue. I actually like this spot much better in my DT stand.

Sorry about the inside of my stand being a bit dirty guys. I'll give it a nice spit and shine once everything is in place.

[Rehype]

Dude....this looks so good.

[ReeVo]

Dude....this looks so good.

 

Thanks man, i appreciate it

I'm going to order the Giesemann Spectra on Monday with the Aqua Medic ballast. I'm really glad you you helped me make the right choice. I was dinging up some more info on it and it's definitely my type of ballast. It's good to know that if it ever does fail I can fix it myself instead getting a whole new ballast. Thanks again mate!

[4x5]

So slick. How long till it's filled?

[ReeVo]

So slick. How long till it's filled?

Thanks bud....I'd say in another 2 weeks

I'm also in the middle of construction at home, so I can't really dedicate as much time into the tank as I would like to.

[ReeVo]

BioMech Control Unit Update Pt.2

Just finished staining and painting the stand today. I still need to get some grommets for the wiring holes, a wire management box, and some hinges for the doors. Once I get those, I'll start arranging my Apex and all the other goodies.

The piece that's hanging off the shelf is a bracket that's going to hold the BRS dosing pumps. It is sitting directly over where my dosing containers are going to be. It's also going to hide some of the wiring for a cleaner look. It's my favorite part of the stand.

The stand is lighter in color compared to my DT stand but it really isn't that bad in person. I can't even tell when the light in the room is off ( which is always off ) and the light fixture on the tank is on.

Overall, I'm very pleased how it came out. My first time building anything like this from scratch.

Enjoy the pictures

[ReeVo]

BioMech Control Unit Update Pt.3

So the stand is starting to look like something instead of just an empty box. It's not quite done yet but about 80% complete. I still need to get the grommets for the holes. Haven't been able to find any at my local home stores but I ordered some from Amazon that should be here by next week. I also need to mount the Votech Controllers and Apex Leak Detection Module. Other than that, the stand is basically done. Once everything is in place, I'm going to organize the wires in a wire management box which will be mounted on the back of the stand.

I've already plumbed the dosing pumps and the Reef Dynamics bio pellet reactor. I used John Guest fittings and bulkheads to give the stand a cleaner look and easy accessibility for maintenance. If you guys can see the red tube that goes into my ATO reservoir, that is the fill port I had mentioned earlier. I will be able to top off, through siphon, from outside the stand. I'll show you guys how that will be done. Just one of those set it and forget it kind of deals.

Just for extra assurance, I put locking clips on the fittings so i get a nice seal and prevent leaking.

My next update will be when this is complete and ready to run

Time to start working on my aquascape. Got 50lbs on reef cleaners dry rock and I got some really nice pieces. John knew exactly what I wanted and that's what I got. Time to get messy.

[Reefmaster1996]

I had the exact same idea for the outside fill port but I also wanted to do it with my future doing containers which I want to hid in an area behind the false wall of my stand. Take a look at my build, I used bulkheads too, for the same purpose, just more than you