Peter's 45g Marineland Cube

[JR-Tanked150]

I like all of the doors on the stand, it looks great.

[PK3]

I LOVE IT! It matches my 75 stand. You really need to make another one (for my cube:) Very nice work

 

Thanks. Yeah, I saw your stand in your thread and ours definitely match. I went with this white beadboard look to match certain other parts of our house. 

 

I like all of the doors on the stand, it looks great.

 

Thanks. I designed it this way because I know how annoying it can be trying to maneuver in tight quarters under a stand. This way I have maximum access! 

 

Stand looks awesome, good job.

 

your work looks great, peter - keep it up!

 

Looks good!

 

Thanks guys. I hope to one day get my tank to look as nice as all of yours.

[PK3]

Ok, another update here. I spent the past week working on my plumbing. My time is relegated to a couple hours late at night once my kids are asleep. Then I sneak off into the garage for a couple hours, which my wife doesn't mind because then she gets to control the remote.

 

Anyways, I wanted to install a Herbie drain system on the tank for two primary purposes: 1) Fail-safe against flooding in case of drain blockage and 2) Completely silent overflow.  

 

The Marineland 45g RR tank has two holes on the back of the tank: a 3/4" bulkhead a few inches below a 1" bulkhead.  Instead of using one as a drain and one as a return as intended, I used the 3/4" hole as the main siphon drain (controlled by a gate valve for fine tuning) and the 1" hole as an emergency drain (run completely open). Using an emergency drain that is larger than the siphon drain provides an additional buffer against flooding.

 

I drilled two holes for 3/4" bulkheads in the top corners of the tank for the return line, which is 1" pipe reduced to 3/4" at the bulkheads.  The return runs through a 2-valve manifold, then tees off to each side of the tank.

 

All of the visible plumbing was then painted with Rustoleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2X Semi-Gloss black spray paint.  Man, is it hard to spray paint or is it just me?  It was a little sloppy but came out good enough for my needs.

 

 

 

 

 

[PK3]

I water tested it and no leaks! So everything will be broken down and moved into its final resting spot in the house.

 

Oh, and for those that have been following along, in the last set of pics you can see that I removed the braces from my sump. After racking my brain on how to do it and posting up for suggestions, I came across the easiest solution possible.  After a few failed attempts, I was gripping one of them in frustration and tugging on it when it snapped right off very cleanly.  Afterwards, I found out from Adam that because they were just strip braces, they were simply direct welded instead of being pinned, which is why I was able to get such a clean removal.

[DCReefer1964]

Looking good Pete. Nice and clean. It appears that you have planned this buld well. Tagging along.

[DCReefer1964]

After taking another look it appears that yourreturn only has 1 valve to control flow. Most of the return water will take the path of lest resistance which is straight vs 50/50 at the T- PVC pipe. JM.02

[PK3]

Looking good Pete. Nice and clean. It appears that you have planned this buld well. Tagging along.

 

Thanks for tagging along, Haywood. And thanks again for the heater and powerheads. They were pretty crucial in keeping the live rock alive for a couple days while my tank was being set up.

 

After taking another look it appears that yourreturn only has 1 valve to control flow. Most of the return water will take the path of lest resistance which is straight vs 50/50 at the T- PVC pipe. JM.02

 

Good observation.  I had initially thought of this and was going to put valves on both "arms" of the return to control exactly how much is flowing to each side; however, I didn't want to buy another valve and didn't really have a ton of space to work with anyways.  Maybe I just got lucky, but as it turns out, there is in fact a bit more flow to the straight arm as opposed to the teed off arm, but it's not that significant of a difference.  The bigger issue I have is that I seem to be getting decent flow through the sump, but the velocity of the water coming out of the returns is very low.  I think it may be the result of either a) having an under-sized return pump or b) having too many return outlets into the tank.  I'm using a RLSS Waveline DC-4000 (rated for 1056 GPH) through 1" pipe up 4-5 feet.  I would've thought that this pump would be plenty.  

[PK3]

It's alive!  I've set up the tank in its final resting spot - right by the entrance of the living room, which is right next to the foyer/front door/entrance of the house.  It ended up fitting perfectly into that corner.

 

 

 

Installed an 8-switch American DJ Switch at the top of the front cabinet door.  I've been considering getting an Apex Jr or Lite, primarily to control temperature and the Kessil A360W light (w/ a VDM module).

 

 

[PK3]

I must confess.  I am a chronic aquascape tinker-er.  So this aquascape will likely change in a couple months, then change again a month after that, then perhaps revert back to what it was initially, and so on and so forth.  But here is a close up of what I've got so far.  My wife says she likes it but I'm not 100% satisfied (probably why I keep tinkering).  Any suggestions on how it could be improved?  Btw, I love the 24" depth as it gives so much room to work with.

 

 

[monkiboy]

i like the aquascape with that deep cave from the one angle. i also like that the placement does not encumber the living space. it is visually in balance as it tucks within the outside corner of the small partition wall being just the right size. good work and look forward to your next few months of excitement as things come alive and you start seeing all kinds of neat things and additions.

[YHSublime]

What monkiboy said! It looks great IMO! Get an apex, it'll make life easier.

[DCReefer1964]

Change the scape what do those 2 know. LOL

Here

 

 

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[surf&turf]

i like the aquascape with that deep cave from the one angle. i also like that the placement does not encumber the living space. it is visually in balance as it tucks within the outside corner of the small partition wall being just the right size. good work and look forward to your next few months of excitement as things come alive and you start seeing all kinds of neat things and additions.

 

What monkiboy said! It looks great IMO! Get an apex, it'll make life easier.

 

+3. I like it.

[DCReefer1964]

Inspiration! !

 

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[DCReefer1964]

 

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[surf&turf]

Man, you better clean that mess up!!

[DCReefer1964]

Man, you better clean that mess up!!

LOL

[PK3]

i like the aquascape with that deep cave from the one angle. i also like that the placement does not encumber the living space. it is visually in balance as it tucks within the outside corner of the small partition wall being just the right size. good work and look forward to your next few months of excitement as things come alive and you start seeing all kinds of neat things and additions.

 

What monkiboy said! It looks great IMO! Get an apex, it'll make life easier.

 

+3. I like it.

 

Thanks for the analysis. I think I'll keep it this way for now.

[PK3]

Haywood, that bonsai-like aquascape is super clean looking and your rock structure looks really nice as well.  The only reason why I don't want to tie all my rock together is that I won't be able to rearrange the rock without having to take it all out again.  But the picture of that tank you posted is already making me rethink whether I should try to replicate that type of design.  

[DCReefer1964]

Me to

 

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[cbashaw]

You do some awesome work. I love the look of your stand.

 

That same bonsai tank picture was my inspiration to have an overhang in my 93 cube and I'm really happy with it. It's the first time I've ever had an aquascape that I didn't feel like I needed to change.

[PK3]

The tank has been cycling for the past couple weeks, but the cycle was very short/small as I used a lot of live rock from a long-established tank.  The tank naturally went through a diatom bloom and massive amounts of hair algae.  I'm still combating the hair algae, but the trimming has helped.  I added a bunch snails and an emerald crab, and other than a few snail deaths, they've been doing well for the past week.  I plan to add a larger cleanup crew and perhaps a fish or two this weekend.  I also have a bunch of hitchhiker Kenya Tree corals and what appears to be a group of fairly large-polyped Palys (?) that have been doing well from Day 1.  Not sure if I really want these in the long-term, but will keep them for now considering there's nothing else in the tank right now.

 

   

[YHSublime]

careful with the Kenya tree and the palys. I'm battling some palys in my tank right now that I didn't even introduce from my last tank. They are fun at first, but once you get growing the stuff you really like, they start to choke them out, and you might hate the fact you ever considered keeping them. Just 2cents taking the future of your build into consideration!

[PK3]

On the equipment side, I bought a Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO, which was far more expensive than other more commonly used ATO units, but the reliability of the technology and peace of mind it provides me justified the cost.  So far, I am very happy with it.  Now, I'm on the hunt for a nice ATO reservoir.

 

I also ditched the Hydor Slim Skim Nano and bought a Bubble Magus NAC 3+ protein skimmer, which has a very small footprint and fits perfectly into the tiny skimmer section of my sump.  It is a little louder than I would like, but it creates a ton of bubbles and has been skimming very well.  So far, I am happy with it, but I will have to figure out a solution to reduce the noise level.

 

Lastly, I bought a Neptune Apex Jr and VDM module!    I have never used a controller, but the prospect of controlling the temperature of my tank and dimming my Kessil LED is exciting.  The main problem is I have no clue how to set it up and it's been sitting on my table for a week.    Haha.

[PK3]

careful with the Kenya tree and the palys. I'm battling some palys in my tank right now that I didn't even introduce from my last tank. They are fun at first, but once you get growing the stuff you really like, they start to choke them out, and you might hate the fact you ever considered keeping them. Just 2cents taking the future of your build into consideration!

 

That's what I figured at first too and was about to get rid of them, but I kind of like the look of them now (maybe I'm being sentimental since they are my "first corals", which is totally weird because I am NOT a sentimental person haha).  I'm willing to take on that battle if the time comes, but I definitely appreciate the advice.  Just tell me "I told you so" a year from now when I'm ripping out my hair trying to get rid of these corals.