25 gallon cube build

[Spartanman22]

Well the tank is finally up and running so I figured I would I share the build process with everyone. Build threads are personally my favorite things to see on RC so I figured I should contribute!

I had a 5 gallon nano in my dorm room last year that housed mostly collector Z's and P's. this year I have a place of my own and it was about time to setup a bigger system again.

Tank: 18"x18"x18" cube ~25 gallons

Lightning: 20" halide T5 combo fixture

Skimmer: SCA 302 skimmer

Flow: Vortech MP10Wes

Mechanical filtration: 2x TLF150 reactors running GFO and carbon

Dosing: 2xBRS dosers for calcium and alkalinity

This tank will be a mixed reef focusing on SPS and Zoas. Now for some pictures!

I got a new phone midway through stand construction so I lost the earlier pictures. The stand is 40" tall so that I don't have to hunch over to look into the tank.

Whole cutout for RKE display

 

[Spartanman22]

After three coats of stain and three coats of poly I brought the stand inside to its final resting place.

I also lost all my photos from the sump build but it's just a 20 long with a skimmer section on left, return in the middle, and fuge on the right

 

[Spartanman22]

I wanted to create a nice open bonsai/minimalist in aqua scape. So I found three nice pieces from my collection of stored dry rock and came up with this

The tallest rock has a nice flat platform for SPS and the other small ones will be used for zoas, softies and LPS.

 

[Spartanman22]

After figuring out my rock setup I added in the overflow box. I opted to make it myself instead of ordering a kit. I just got the glass from a local glass shop and put it together. It's not perfect but it'll be good enough.

And this is where I made my first big mistake. First off I painted the glass in krylon fusion so that you wouldn't be able to see through the box, but the paint didn't adhere well to glass and started peeling off the overflow box. Secondly, I installed the overflow box too close to the top of the tank and the water level was within a 1/4 of an inch from spilling over. So I had to drain the tank, dismantle the overflow box, and reinstall it 1.5" lower.

 

[Spartanman22]

I wanted to have a clean and organized plumbing setup so If I ever were to leave on vacation it would be easier to understand by those taking care of the tank, plus I'm just a neat freak!

The return plumbing has a manifold with three gate valves to feed reactors and then pours into the fuge.

Pre-paint

Post-paint:

And here it is installed. A little cramped but works well

 

[Spartanman22]

I was also very adamant about a clean electrical setup and after several zip ties later I was able to get it pretty organized.

 

[Spartanman22]

Now for some livestock photos!

Unfortunately just before transferring everything over from my 5 gallon to my larger tank I had a crash and lost most everything. On vacation my roommate WAY over feed. It took 5 water changes to get most of the uneaten pellet food out.

I was able to save a few frags but everything else died

 

[Spartanman22]

But I got the new tank filled and transferred over what was still alive

 

[Spartanman22]

Once the cycle (which was short due to all the established rock I added to the sump) finished I added the first, and my personal favorite fish

I've had two in the past during two different time periods. Both were over a year old when I lost them to the two tanks moves I've had to do.

I also picked up some frags from another reefer.

And a current FTS

 

[Spartanman22]

All that's left to do is to order some loc-line for the return, some clear netting to make a screen top, and some space saver jugs for my calcium and magnesium.

The planned fish list for this tank is:

Potters angel

Pair of clowns (likely Picasso or black ice)

Golden dwarf moray eel

Blue slot jawfish

And maybe a wrasse or two

 

[josh1182]

no pics showing up

 

[Spartanman22]

Really? I did it all through tapatalk so maybe there's an issue with doing it that way

 

[josh1182]

yeah just the very first post. it had the tank pics but no pics after that

 

[ct_vol]

The stand looks nice.

As do your favorite dish and tank.

Too lazy to copy paste all your other pics.

 

[Spartanman22]

Thanks ct. I don't know why they don't show up I can see them on all of my devices. I'm finding myself a bit too lazy to repost them at the moment as well I'll try to do it from the computer tomorrow.

For some tank related talk, anyone have some suggestions for some colorful active fish? I'm really tempted to pickup a golden dwarf moray eel but dont know if I want to drop that much on one fish at the moment

 

[Spartanman22]

 

[Spartanman22]

 

[Spartanman22]

 

[Spartanman22]

 

[Spartanman22]