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Cultivated Reef

Dom's Biocube HQI 29 restore/build


Dominator

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Well. Had to re silicon the side cause of a leak. A few more days and hopefully will get to leak test it. I had to cut all the old out and there was a ton of it. There is a huge gap between glass and the back wall. Had to use a lot of silicon. 

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Also. This is what you get when you have a need for your silicon to cure..... my GF face when she first saw it was priceless. Haha.

 

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Leak check done, so far so good. No problems at all that I can see. I left some water in chamber 2 and 3 only to sit for a while and marked the water line. Just want to make sure there are no slow leaks I am not seeing. 

 

However, WOOOOOOT....its all coming together and I am super excited. I am hoping to maybe get everything in tomorrow. I am just worried cause I leave on Friday for Connecticut and will not be back till tues. I think I am just wanting to be here for the first week or so, make sure there are no problems. 

 

 

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Ohhhh boy. It's happened.... 

 

Please forgive my dust storm and the rocks in the front. They are going to the back sump. 

 

Pretty excited. Dumped about a quarter of my sand. Didn't like it so thick so I think it looks better. 

 

Skimmer is installed in chamber one. Omg that was a huge pain to get in there. 

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Christopher Marks

It's holding water! omgomgomg 

 

Nice work, the dust will settle soon. The cloudy water really gives a good sense of where the new light hits the aquascape and how intense it is. Tight squeeze for the skimmer? I bet routing the power cable was frustrating!

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39 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

It's holding water! omgomgomg 

 

Nice work, the dust will settle soon. The cloudy water really gives a good sense of where the new light hits the aquascape and how intense it is. Tight squeeze for the skimmer? I bet routing the power cable was frustrating!

EXTREMELY....Its fitting pretty snug and have it under the water line, but I am going to let it drop a tad more. Yes, also noticed it was nice and easy to see where the light is going. I might have to switch to the L bracket for a cleaner look. 

17 minutes ago, GregEmmitte said:

This is a clean restoration. Bravo

Thank you, it was a long process, but its paying off now....so exciting. I am bursting with fruit flavor =) 

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Day 3. Had some temp issues and some massive condensation with the lid on. Removed the glass for now. Also had some water level issues. Think I got that taken care of for now. Might change the scape a little. 

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Here is a current shot. Have been running without the glass lid, just to try out the benefits of gas exchange and ph. 

 

Might switch to the 12" arm to make it a bit more streamline. Not sure if I like the hump on the 18" even though it does fit the tank perfectly. 

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Tried the topless thing and I could not leave it open with my cats. So I used some clips from my last setup to prop the glass up a bit to allow more venting. I am actually looking into cutting a hole in the glass lid to vent and also to feed. I also tore apart a stock filter and made my own. Basically just cut some filter pads and switch/rotate them every few days. I leave the one in the back open to alllow the water to flow even when they are clogged. If not, my ATO kicks in and fills up the chamber, even though the water is just backed up in the display tank. 

 

 

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Well. Back to open top cause the condensation was just too much with the lid on. Temp also jumped to 80-81. I like keeping my tank a little colder, 77-78 normally. I do notice that the corals and everything seem to be liking the extra light that's for sure. I guess I am going to have to find another way to keep my cats out. 

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22 hours ago, Dominator said:

Well. Back to open top cause the condensation was just too much with the lid on. Temp also jumped to 80-81. I like keeping my tank a little colder, 77-78 normally. I do notice that the corals and everything seem to be liking the extra light that's for sure. I guess I am going to have to find another way to keep my cats out. 

You could try a screen. Get clear window screen mesh,  screen frame, corners and spline online or from home depot. It should be easy to put something together to cover the top while allowing for air transfer.

 

Quick search even found this tutorial https://blog.marinedepot.com/2015/05/diy-screen-top-aquarium.html

Good luck

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That's what I am thinking. Do they sell clear screen? 

 

I have moved the clips a bit more and found a new way for it to sit. This allows the whole lid to sit about an inch to 1.5" above the top, which also allows it to vent enough.  I have had it on all day and last night and there has been no condensation on the glass lid at all.  

 

Tank is is starting to come together nicely. Skimmer is doing its thing. I got my ATO setup and working, but need a reservoir badly. Only using a gallon pitcher and that only lasts me 2-4 days tops. I need something that's about 2-3G to let me go a week between full ups. 

 

Here is a current tank shot. Really love the cube tbh. It gives the rock scape depth. 

 

Let me know now what you guys think. I am almost there. Few little tweaks here and there, considering removing the tab on the back wall between chamber 1-2, but I am afraid it will mess with the water line in the display portion of the tank. So it's intact for now. 

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5 hours ago, Ralgo said:

You could try a screen. Get clear window screen mesh,  screen frame, corners and spline online or from home depot. It should be easy to put something together to cover the top while allowing for air transfer.

 

Quick search even found this tutorial https://blog.marinedepot.com/2015/05/diy-screen-top-aquarium.html

Good luck

Ral, I have not forgot about you. I did not see any GSP that has broken off, but I am going to remove some in a couple weeks. I will certainly save you a chunk to add to your 29. 

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1 hour ago, Dominator said:

That's what I am thinking. Do they sell clear screen? 

 

I have moved the clips a bit more and found a new way for it to sit. This allows the whole lid to sit about an inch to 1.5" above the top, which also allows it to vent enough.  I have had it on all day and last night and there has been no condensation on the glass lid at all.  

 

Tank is is starting to come together nicely. Skimmer is doing its thing. I got my ATO setup and working, but need a reservoir badly. Only using a gallon pitcher and that only lasts me 2-4 days tops. I need something that's about 2-3G to let me go a week between full ups. 

 

Here is a current tank shot. Really love the cube tbh. It gives the rock scape depth. 

 

Let me know now what you guys think. I am almost there. Few little tweaks here and there, considering removing the tab on the back wall between chamber 1-2, but I am afraid it will mess with the water line in the display portion of the tank. So it's intact for now. 

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Ral, I have not forgot about you. I did not see any GSP that has broken off, but I am going to remove some in a couple weeks. I will certainly save you a chunk to add to your 29. 

I appreciate it. Thanks. As for the screen, I'm not sure if HD has the clear screen mesh. and I believe it would be cheaper to get the white mesh online. Its less than $12.00 on amazon. The frame, frame corners and spline might be cheaper there too.

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Well, i broke down and pick up a couple little frags from my LFS......they looked so lonely....had to give them a good home. 

 

1- Not sure, maybe Creamsicle?

 

2- Eagle eye for sure.

 

3- Melon/Stripped rhodactus, I think. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

No loss for me, had a battery pump and a generator for my tank. I did switch out some stuff in case this happens again. I got a MP10QD and a battery back up for it, but need to figure out a trigger system to click on an air pump when my power goes out. Used frozen water bottles in a plastic bag to keep my tank cool. Also took a turkey baster and blew into the tank every few hours to keep the water aerated. 

 

What did you lose? 

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I lost My blue cloves and my Xenias and my green Leather took a significant hit but seems to be recovering. been working on water quality since then and it seems to be boucing back great.

 

 

FTS from just a few minutes ago

 

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The GSP and pipe organs up in the top right haven't opened up since the power went out but im hopeful they will come back

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Yea, mine did not open for a few days, but ended up opening back up. I went a few days without light. Just with my return pump on with an air stone. 

 

I have some new GSP that has not opened up yet since. I am hoping it will be ok. Just a small patch that spread in the past few weeks. 

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  • 2 years later...

Just thought I would check in and post a pic. 
 

Removed most of the GSP on the right side rock to give my buttons a breather. Got the intank setup in the back and the same skimmer doing its thing. 

 

Added a MP10 to the side and removed the nanos. 

 

The creamsicles have grown out quit a bit on the  bottom right and added a small piece of kenya tree.
 


 

 

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