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schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - restarting…again


schgr.cube

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schgr.cube

Here is an updated full tank shot.

 

 

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I need to adjust one more thing with the plumbing before fully securing the rock, but I am pretty happy with things overall. Once the plumbing and powerhead are covered in coralline, this will return to being a pretty invisible build! I am going to run the wiring for the powerhead down through the overflow, so you won't see the cable for that soon.

 

 

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schgr.cube

I got a new orange filter for my camera that works well! I'll be able to take decently accurate blue-light photos now.

 

I also picked up two things yesterday, a Mind Trick Zoa and a nice blue and green Lord. I don't have a photo of the Lord, but I grabbed a shot of the new Zoa and that struggling Rhodactis mushroom I saved a bit ago that is starting to color up nicely!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
schgr.cube

Good news and bad news.

 

Bad news:

I had an ATO failure that nuked my whole tank, with the only survivors being my clowns and my Rainbow Hologram Hammer. I'm not sure how I lucked out on that particular coral, but everything else is completely gone. I had picked up a brand new Waterbox 110 for dirt cheap due to a tiny little chip in the glass that I began setting up, but I just don't have the space in this house to make it work so I bailed on that.

 

Good news:

I decided to set this tank back up with some of the equipment I had acquired for the WB 110, and am going to keep things a bit simpler. I will be using a Radion XR15 Blue G6, a Vectra S3, and an inline heater. There will be NO chemical or mechanical filtration beyond live rock, although I will be dosing 3-part and Red Sea AB+. I will be keeping this tank in its original location in our kitchen, but due to my partner really hating the blue light spilling into our living space, I opted to create a hood to minimize light spill. I will use this to my advantage and mount the ATO sensor coming down from the hood, eliminating the need for my rockwork to touch the surface of the water.

 

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Testing the fit of the hood I built.

 

Although I hate the idea of having a nano rimless with a hood, I think this will be a great compromise and will still look amazing. Stay tuned, I hope to have it wet again within the next few days!

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mitten_reef

sorry about the crash.  where are the survivor staying?  

 

The concept here is always very intriguing, look forward to seeing the full shot of the revised system.  

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schgr.cube
19 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

sorry about the crash.  where are the survivor staying?  

 

The concept here is always very intriguing, look forward to seeing the full shot of the revised system.  

They are staying in my friends 120 gallon, where I moved everything into after the crash happened. There were quite a few pieces that looked rough but I thought might make it, but ultimately everything melted (except for the hammer).

 

The nice thing about this revision is that my aquascape won't be quite as dependent on the plumbing, so I will be able to keep it a bit more simple. I will also be stacking piece of shelf rock with holes in it to slide over the plumbing, so I think it will be easier to add coral as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
schgr.cube

I've made some progress on the stand!

 

I had built the stand itself a few days ago, but had been busy so I didn't get a chance to finish things up. I am mostly done on the stand itself, but I need my router which is currently at my dads house. I should be able to get it back on Sunday to finish things up.

 

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The first stages of the stand come together.

 

I also built two little pieces for the dosing setup; a bin for the dosing bottles (drilled into the top of drinks I got from Whole Foods. I wanted squarish sides to the bottles and they were the first I found with what I wanted), and a cradle to hold the doser itself.

 

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Doser cradle, before filling and sanding.

 

As of now, I have mounted most everything and drilled a few holes to route cables through. I have a bit left to drill, but I am likely going to finish that tomorrow. I need to redo the plumbing a little bit for the new stand, and I am working on creative ways to use this inline heater.

 

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Drafting the guts of this build.

 

One last thing! I added some black channel guards to the lighting mount. I know, I care too much about details no one will ever see. 😜

 

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Lights and mounting situation.

 

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  • schgr.cube changed the title to schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - restarting…again
geekreef_05

Stand is sweet. 

 

I like the clean dosing setup and electrical wiring. Essential to have it all mounted when its a nano stand.

 

Well done dude. Clean build. 

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schgr.cube
On 6/20/2024 at 2:31 AM, Kev1n said:

Your stand is really neat.

Thank you!

 

On 6/20/2024 at 4:57 PM, geekreef_05 said:

Stand is sweet. 

 

I like the clean dosing setup and electrical wiring. Essential to have it all mounted when its a nano stand.

 

Well done dude. Clean build. 

Thank you! I am still trying to sort out how I will plumb the doser tubing into the closed-loop, but I have a few ideas.

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  • 2 weeks later...
schgr.cube

Two bits of progress:

 

I had some leftover lighting diffuser in the basement, so I decided to use it as a 2-for-1 solution: A "lid" to help cut down on evaporation and keeping fish/saltwater contained in the glass itself, as well as providing a more even distribution of light through the tank. I know it is pretty close to the water and may get salt buildup, but it is super easy to remove and rinse off. It shouldn't be any different than using polycarbonate/acrylic/glass for a lid.

 

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Second, I made final progress on cable/tubing organization. I decided to run the doser tubing through the back of the stand, where it fill feed into a manifold (along with my ATO supply), with the one clear tube running back in to plumb into the closed loop (with a check valve).

 

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I'm going to try to finish up the plumbing itself today, but need to wait until I acquire rock before I can finish up the interior plumbing. I have some special plans for the inside plumbing 😜.

 

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schgr.cube
On 7/3/2024 at 3:39 PM, Reefkid88 said:

Take the rockwork old school like your tank from like 10yrs ago !!! 

 

I have a plan for the rockwork, but I can't find the rock I need locally. I am crossing my fingers that my local shop will get some soon like they keep telling me 😂

 

On 7/3/2024 at 10:13 PM, ml86743 said:

Cabinet looks great!

Thank you!!

 

 

I have to redo some of the plumbing I started, as I messed up a bit. I am going to try to get that wrapped up today so that I can leak-test everything. Assuming I can get the rock soon, that means this tank will be cycling in the very near future.

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schgr.cube

The plumbing is all done! I had to do quite a bit of reworking to get things to fit properly, and while it doesn't look quite as clean as I hoped, it works just fine. I ended up painting everything (including the heater) to a semi-gloss white, so it matches the Vectra pump a bit more cleanly.

 

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The final interior layout.

 

There is one heat probe plumbed inline, and the other is routed through the hood to hit display water so I get two points to work off of. The doser and ATO tubing is all managed by a manifold on the back of the stand, but I need to get some check valves sorted out to ensure it works properly without potentially back siphoning.

 

I still haven't sorted out my rockwork, as I can't find the rock I want in person, and I don't really want to order online. I am getting to the point where I may have to go with a plan B for rock.

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