Stu

I had this tank set up for about 2 years when I was in law school back in Florida. I have kept my 12g nano cube since then, but I decided it was time to move back to the 30. I originally found the stand about a year ago on Craigs List. It's a cherry armoire that I got because of its taller-than-normal height. I never cared much for the stock stands that usually come with tanks because they are not very tall. The armoire stands just above my waist, so there's not too much bending over. It also allowed for plenty of skimmer, shelf, and frag tank room under the stand. The armoire had formerly sat on casters. I took those out, and built a support frame inside of it with 1x4's. All in all, the supports for the stand are probably overbuilt. This was just for extra peace of mind. I painted the inside of the stand with a tan latex paint, then covered the paint in several coats of spar urethane for waterproofing. I also installed a pvc shower pan liner in the bottom of the stand. This will ensure that in the unfortunate event of a sump overflow, the liner will hold about 4 inches of standing water. I installed two shelves, one to hold a small in-line frag tank, and another for storage. I also mounted a few wire-type shelves on one of the doors. I plan to mount a magnet bar (the kind that holds knives in the kitchen) for forceps and fragging tools on the other door. The frag tank is a custom 7" x 7" x 16" acrylic tank that fits nicely above the sump under the stand. It is fed by a tee off the return line with a ball valve for flow adjustment. I will have 2 t5ho's mounted over this tank, and a 13w 6500k compact fluorescent over the fuge. Both will be powered by an IceCap 430. I also mounted a small $7 fan from Target to act as an exhaust fan for the stand. I find that these fans are very quiet, push a lot of air, and best of all are cheap and therefore easily replaceable. I mounted an American DJ Power Center on the back of the stand, which has 8 switches for 8 plugs. As I don't currently have a controller, this is the next best thing for switching pumps, skimmer, powerheads, etc. on and off. It was also what I think to be a very good deal for $30 at Guitar Center. Tank: 30g Oceanic Cube with Cherry Trim, drilled w/ two 1" bulkheads and 3/4" returns, custom low profile acrylic overflow Stand: Cherry armoire, fully reinforced Lighting: 20" Current USA Nova Extreme Pro, 6x20w t5ho bulbs Icecap 430, lighting 2x20w retrofit t5ho's for frag tank, 13w compact fluorescent for fuge Filtration: ~15 gal. acrylic Reef Mania sump w/ skimmer chamber and fuge w/ remote deep sand bed Vertex in100 Protein Skimmer Flow: Vortech mp20 Mag Drive 9.5 Return Pump ATO: JBJ Auto Top Off System Misc.: American DJ Power Center (8 switch unit) $7 Target Exhaust Fan for stand ventilation I created the rockwork by using a combination of zip ties, pond foam, fiberglass resin, and sand. Here is a thread that shows how I made it: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...c=30924&hl= The rock has been in Sam's (L82Rise) huge refugium for about 2 months, so it should be sufficiently seeded and full of life. Am going to move it into the tank as soon as it's up and running (hopefully in the next few days). This has been a slow work in progress as far as setup goes, and I am excited to transfer my livestock over from my 12g soon. Fell free to comment and offer advice! Here are some pics. Stand front: Power Center: The plumbing's not hooked up yet. Use your imagination: Frag tank: Exhaust fan:

For me, it's just been more of a matter of time. In my experience, they don't start the layered cupping until they get pretty big. Until then, they just grow out in a single plate like you said. I'm sure current has something to do with it too.

"Picture the PC as a t5 bulb bent in half and hook it up accordingly": That's funny; it never occurred to me to think about it like that. Great advice and makes sense. If only everyone explained things this well to the simple folk like myself.

The website says the 2-lamp max only applies to t-5s. The wiring diagrams they give have 4 pc's/vho's wired together, and I used 4 vho's with this ballast for about 2 years a while back. I imagine running 2 small t5's and a 13w pc wouldn't be a problem. I can use my 660, but don't think it's necessary for an application like this.

I have an IceCap 430 that I am planning on using to light 2 t5's for my small frag tank inside the tank stand. I have a separate 13w power compact clip-on light for my fuge. I'd rather just hardwire the pc into the icecap so I have one less plug to deal with. Is there any way to wire both to the ballast? Also, is there a way to configure the ballast so the lights come on at different times (i.e.--the t5s are on during the day and the fuge light is on at night)?

I want to put something under both my skimmer pump and my mag drive return (both in-sump) to dampen the vibration noise. Seems like a mouse pad is the best solution that won't turn into a nitrate factory. While the neoprene is probably inert, I am a little worried about the cloth on the top. I imagine it's glued on there somehow, and I don't know if the adhesive would leach anything into the tank. Anyone used a mouse pad in their sump?

That looks really nice. I am a big fan of doing that with monti caps. I love the way they will plate out in a cup shape from the overflow.

The false wall looks great! Be careful with that heater in the power filter. I did the same thing a few years ago and it slowly melted through the bottom until I came home one day with leaked water everywhere. Just make sure it's not actually touching the plastic and you should be fine. -Stu

I am thinking of installing a check valve on my return line. My sump is large enough that it won't overflow when the return line siphons back down when the pump turns off. The water section rises enough over the fuge overflow, however, that I think chaeto pieces and other stuff will float into the pump section. Basically, I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of putting a check valve on. Will it significantly reduce flow? Enough to warrant not putting one on? Also, I have some scratches on my stand, which is basically a reinforced kind-of-antique armoire. It has a nice cherry finish on it, but the top has gotten a lot of light scratches from moving the tank on and off. I have used one of those stain markers to cover some of these, but I'm looking for something that I can rub on to give it a nice finish and cover the scratches. I've already wiped it down with Lemon Oil, but I heard that shoe polish works well. Has anyone tried this? Will it hurt the finish on the wood?

Thanks for the offer! Will take you up on it when I'm down your way.

Thanks for the offer! Will take you up on it when I'm down your way.

I've also used these for a DIY egg crate frag rack and frag mags. They work great. Let me know if you order some more. I'm in the market for some.

The fuge section in my sump is relatively small (~4" x 10" x 10" deep). I know I can put a DSB in there, but it won't leave much room for chaeto, live rock, etc. This is why I was thinking of doing a DSB separate from the fuge in a separate container.