2' cube build has officially started!

[jcm2m9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7693551#post7693551 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangreef68
that looks really good. i can not wait to see it with corals. by the way, some of the corals you will be adding look really nice. have you had trouble with the sand getting caught in your loc-line sockets? did you have trouble bending them after you put sand over them?

kevin

Thanks! I have had no sand get caught in the loc-line, they move just as easily now as they did before I filled the tank.

I have a few prized chalices that I have reserved special spot in the sand in the front of the tank. I have two large chalices, one is blue w/green eyes and the other is green with pink eyes. I also have a small frag of and all pink chalice that I love. I need to get some corals moved. I have a ton of zoo frags on the bottom that is restricting my water flow on the sand bed and is causing cyano to form.

 

[jcm2m9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7693567#post7693567 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Timothy01
might wanna take the pump out and clean it, from the photos looks like it was outta commision for a while check your seals and the impeller

I will do that this weekend. Is there anything I should be looking for in particular?

 

[Timothy01]

look for build up on the connects ,ie the ends of the impeller make sure the seals are not worn out, take a small bottle brush and some vinigar and clean it out.

 

[jcm2m9]

I took the pump completely apart and cleaned it. There was a little dirt, but nothing substantial. I am stil having the same problem. Plus, right now I am having a problem with microbubbles or sand. I am not quite sure yet. If I turn off my CL pump they all go away, when I turn it back on they return. I decided to turn the pump on and throttle it way down to see if I am just stirring up sand or am getting microbubbles. I am thinking it is a comnination of both. I think I have a little bit of air trapped in my pump and I am not sure how to get it out. I would have assumed it would blow itself out, but I guess not. I think part of it might be due to the back that the cl pump is mounted sideways and I have the output horizontal instead of vertical. If the output were vertical the air would escape through the return. I am not sure if this is what is happening or now.

I have the pump throttle way back now and am going to see what it looks like when I get home. I have been blowing some sand off the rocks, so I hope that is all it is.

I am still waiting for my cycle to end and am trying to get rid of a little bit of hairalgae in my 29gal while I wait. I need to get the tank cycled so I can take down my 90 gallon and get rid of it. I have a pair of black clowns that I need to move, plus I need to get rid of a Koran angel.

I will post tonight on the results of throttling my cl pump down.

 

[jcm2m9]

I finally figured out where my micro bubbles were coming from. I decided to turn off the closed loop one day and see if the bubbles went away after a few hours. They did not. Then I turned off my skimmer and a few hours later the bubbles were gone. So then I turned the CL back on and the bubbles did not return. Next I turned my skimmer back on and the bubbles returned. I was looking in the wrong diretion the entire time! I figured since my sump was so big I would not have a problem with microbubbles. That is why I did not put a bubble trap in the sump. Boy am I kicking my self now. To slow the bubbles down I put a filter from a mag pump on the skimmer return. It has helped a lot, but it is not perfect.

I think I am going to put two 90's on the skimmer return and then put the mag filter on. This will place the mag filter along the surface of the water and I am hoping this will force many of the bubbles to burst into the air instead of making it into the water. I am not sure if this will work, but I am going to try. Someone successfully did this on RC.

I also was able to move my two black percs into this tank over the weekend. They love it in there. It took them a while to get used to the flow.

I am having a probelm with heat and I am not sure what is causing it. I am wondering if my AC Jr. was calibrated correctly. The tank says it is 84 degrees in the afternoon. I do not think this is possible. The room temp is 74-76 degrees. I guess I need to buy another thermometer to compare the temperatures. Should I just buy a glass thermometer from the petstore?

The color is coming back on my liverock. I am very impressed. I also have a ton of life all over the tank. When the lights first come on there are pods and mysis all over the tank. I am also getting the tunnels in my sand. I just need to get some more livesand from some other people to diversify.

 

[JDrex]

looking pretty awesome, want to build me one

 

[jcm2m9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7817765#post7817765 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JDrex
looking pretty awesome, want to build me one

If you pay for it

 

[ryannat1]

Where did you purchase your sump from? Thanks Ryan

 

[jcm2m9]

I bought the tank from a LFS and I installed the baffle. He had the tanks made for his new store.

 

[chocolateblnt]

How far is it cycling-wise?!

 

[jcm2m9]

I should be done, but I am going to take it easy for a bit. I ordered 250 nass snails on ebay and they should be here today. I am going to put 50 in the cube, 50 in my 29 gal and the rest I am going to split between the two sumps. I might move a few corals over this weekend and see how they do.

I am very very impressed on how this tank turned out. I just need my calcium reactor and things will be ready to rock.

 

[jcm2m9]

I have finally transfered over some livestock from my 29g. Everything has been doing well for the last several days, but I am going to keep watching things.

I orderd some RPE's for the new tank off of RC. I got them for $33 shipped. I can not wait to see them!

I am still trying to solve my micro bubble problem from my skimmer.

 

[jcm2m9]

My nano calcium reactor should go into construction very soon. The company that is building it just finished the design and I am going to be the local tester. Here are a few pictures and details.

have utilized the high quality/reliable eheim pump vs going towards the cheaper powerhead solution and it is hard plumbed in 3/8" PVC in every area where it was feasable to do. I did have to resort to flex tube between the pump and reaction chamber input due to the cost of the adapter bushing required to make the jump from the 1/8 FPT pump output to 3/8 PVC. It was only available in TFE material and cost $29 so I found a way around it. I have included the purge valve to eliminate manual filling, the integrated bubble counter, and have also included an in-line ph probe port (that took some doing !) so that the smaller guys can enjoy the same benefits of automation and safety as the larger ones in this aspect. It also utilizes all of the same nice swivel push connect fittings and check valve. The only component difference is the micro ball valve vs the needle valve on the large ones. I observed the effluent to be VERY steady with this valve. I don't believe that there are any features from the larger reactors that I haven't been able to include in this design so I am very pleased at this point.

Here are the specs
footpring - 6.75 x 7
overall height 15"
Reaction chamber dia. 3"
Media capacity - 1.75lbs - 2lbs max (schuran style media)
suggested feed pump - maxijet 400
suggested tank size - max 75 gallons (initial recommendation subject to revision)

I am going to use a reeffanatic regulator and a 5lb tank. This is also goign to be connected to my AC Jr.

 

[bamann345]

I think I am going to be getting the reactor in the picture next week!!!

I will post more pictures of the unit when I receive mine

 

[CamBarr]

sweet tank post an updated fts

 

[Wayner2]

Seems that alot of people now are going with acrylic cubes over glass, have they come out with a scratch resistant acrylic?, if they haven't, wouldn't glass be a better choice?., I 'd be so worried scraping coraline on an acrylic tank.

Beautiful work by the way.

 

[jcm2m9]

It is definitely not scratch resistant at all. You just have to be very very careful. I try to wipe the inside of the tank down everyday to minimize the coraline buildup. Where I do get some i gently scrape it off with an old credit card.

I picked an acrylic tank because it looks so much cleaner then a glass tank. Plus acrylic is much clearer then glass. You do not get the green tint to everything.

 

[jcm2m9]

Here are some updated pictures of the tank. Everything is up and running and doing well. The only problem I am having is flow with my closed loop. I have good flow around the outside around the acrylic, but at the sandbed and the top center the flow is pretty weak. I am not sure what to do. I thought with 980gph with my closed loop would be good enough. I would like to buy a squirt, but can not afford one right now. I just quit my job becuase of school. I may put back some money if I thought it might help. If I could get alot more flow from each return in short bursts it might help. Any suggestions/opinions?

Besides this everything is doing really well. Especially my red acan. It is eating like a pig and has had lots of tissue growth since I moved it.

 

[jcm2m9]

I fianlly moved everything out of my 29 gallon and in to the cube, I also put up my 250w pendant. It has a 250w XM 15k which I really do not like. I would like to replace it with a 20k soon.

My plan is to locate my 29 gallon near my cube so I can plumb the 29g into the cube sump. This way my reactor will feed both tanks and my ATO can keep all my water topped off. I am thinking about turning the 29 gallon in to a frag tank, but I am not sure. I might make it an all zoo tank too. That would be pretty cool. I fragged one of my chalices last week and not it is not doing so well. Most of the frags have died and the parent colony is not doing so well either. I am not sure what happened of what to do about it.

Everything from the 29g is doing awesome. My blastos, brains, trumpet and candy cane are larger then I have have seen them. My calcium is at 430ppm and alk is 12.5 dkh. I am just waiting for my reactor so I can keep some steady parameters.

Anyways here are some updated pics.

 

[alien9168]

Looks good!