25 Gallon rimless cube

[InsideJoke]

Alan,

congrats on the new piece of equipment.

Looks nice.

Thanks Lynn, I'm still stoked that I was able to get my hands on one of these.

Looking good!

I didn't see it in the original post, what type of lighting are you running?

I'm running 150watt MH, FishNeedIt fixture, 20k stock bulb. For the price of these fixtures, its an awesome little thing. I do want to replace the ballast eventually as it gets a little warm, but nothing that a fan running over it doesnt fix.

Looks pretty complicated:bigeyes:, but very cool. I like it a lot. Same sump won't work for me. My NPS nano is very high polution and waste producer:furious:, but will be great for most systems.

I was scared I was going to crack the glass adjusting the vinyl tubing until I warmed them up in hot water. Then it just slid together. Its actually a pretty simple device its just the small and compact footprint makes it look complicated.
My sump is going to suck, its a little 5.5 gallon tank that will pretty much be housing some sort of skimmer that'll fit, the heater, ato and other equipment. I need to find a place to get some chaeto growing in there once its up and running.

Cleaning this thing is going to be fun.

 

[happysak]

I need to find a place to get some chaeto growing in there once its up and running.

Cleaning this thing is going to be fun.

No needs, save space. Did you get overflow installed?

 

[InsideJoke]

Soon. Its been sitting on the counter while I was looking for pumps and I'm pretty sure I found the one I'll be using. I just need to order one since I cant seem to find one around here.
I plan on making a pretty decent size order from Marine Depot here soon. Possibly including a LED Nanocube for the fiance so she can get a proper tank going.

 

[InsideJoke]

The MAME is installed. This thing is pretty cool, its loud in its current state and I have a bit of work I need to do on the fish tank set up to get to the point where I decided if I keep it or not.
We got my fiance a 28g HQI nanocube for a really good price from Dr Foster and Smith. I may go that route depending on what happens with the MAME. Its either that or picking up a pre-drilled tank.

I forgot to turn my music off for the video. But proof that its running.

 

[happysak]

Hi Alan,
How much flow is going through your overflow?

 

[InsideJoke]

In its current state, I think its probably like 600-700gph or so. I have a flow control valve deal on the Rio and as I get a chance to play with it more I'm going tweak it.
I also need to pick up some eggcrate to create a lit and tube control for the sump.

Edit:
Taking the suggestion from another user, I lowered the return flow on the overflow and the gurgling is gone now. Had to much flow going through the overflow.

 

[InsideJoke]

This has been a pretty bad week for me in terms of fish loss.

I had a small tank set up that was the temp home for a dwarf lion and a clown. Both died, salinity as a bit high in the tank (1.029), had a bit of nitrates but other than that the water was fine.
Lost a shrimp in my Fiances tank due to a bad tank mate, and then today her Lawn mower blenny died. He was super skinny and I dont think he was eating.
And now I just had my male B&W clown die. I dont know if he wasnt getting any food or what, he was having problems swimming and breathing.

I'm half expecting to wake up to find another fish or two dead.

 

[Mylilreef]

only thing i can guess is maybe a heater that keeps getting stuck in the "on" position for too long. if you dont have one, you might go and pick up one of those digital thermometers with the high temp alert built in. just a thought.. i've experienced that before. it's like the corals can handle it but the fish can't.

also maybe a bad batch of food if you just recently bought some.

 

[InsideJoke]

This is across three different tanks. The 10g had all its fish die, so that maybe the heater in it wasnt working or warming the water up. Cause it didnt feel hot or very warm, but they had been fine for 2 weeks or so.

The Lawnmower Blenny just wasnt getting any food, he was super skinny. The rest of the fish in the tank are fine. The shrimp was killed by the bi-color dotty back we added, didnt know it ate shrimp at the time we bought it. The two clowns, sand shifting goby, and the dottyback are all fine.

The clown in my tank, I have no idea. The other clown and 6 line are fine. Never noticed anyone being aggressive to him and everything else is fine.

*shrugs* It sucks, but its part of the hobby I guess. Mystery fish death right? Might be old food. Part of me is leaning towards something in the water or lack of something.

 

[InsideJoke]

It appears I can never be happy about a tank. I should have went with my original plan on drilling the tank. The MAME is pretty cool and a neat device, but I've had a snail almost overflow my tank by getting stuck in it. I'm also not looking forward to having to clean it. My stand is way to small inside for a sump/fuge. The little 5.5 works, but I cant fit much else in there besides the heater, return pump and thermometer for my reef-keeper. I have some chaeto in there as well. But with the size of everything its just not allowing me to have space to add any sort of extra equipment.
Plus I'm tired of finding snails all around the tank due to the rimless nature of it. Then there is this...

The mess of cords next to the tank. Thats the nature of picking things up piece by piece or not planning ahead.
So I'm contemplating another cube tank like this, but one of the pre-drilled marine land tanks, or waiting until Petco does the dollar per gallon sale and pick up a 40b or 20L and setting one of those up.

 

[Oklahomareefer]

Hey Alan if you hear when the next dollar sale is will you please let me know. I am going to pick up a 40b also. I just love the look of 40b reef tanks.

 

[InsideJoke]

I will, they had one in January so I'm not sure when it'll happen again.
We put together my fiances 28g nanocube and man those things are nice.

 

[Oklahomareefer]

I currently have a 12g aquapod and love it but know that it is only a matter of time until I out grow it lol I should have bought the 40b at the last sale but did not have the money at that time. Love to see pics of the fiance's new nano

 

[cody6766]

You could always build a secondary stand to house your electronics and/or a larger sump. Next to my 40 breeder I have a smaller stand that houses my ATO reservoir, powerstrips and a few other odds and ends. The 40br stand holds the sump and chemicals. You end up with less mess and more storage.

 

[Lytehouse]

Sorry you are frustrated,

Cody said what I was thinking. I've seen pics of this solution on small tanks and large tanks. If snails are going to cause a tank flood, is it an option to cover the intake with the mesh they use to make window screens?

Lynn

You could always build a secondary stand to house your electronics and/or a larger sump. Next to my 40 breeder I have a smaller stand that houses my ATO reservoir, powerstrips and a few other odds and ends. The 40br stand holds the sump and chemicals. You end up with less mess and more storage.

 

[InsideJoke]

The fiance and I talked about it last night and we're going to see about getting me a new stand. Something with more room in it to fit a bigger sump, a bit more head-room for me and an enclosed cabinet attached to it for the electronics. That will solve the problem with the electronics and tiny stand I hope. I've thought about a secondary stand, but I'm just worried its going to look awkward and out of place. So if I can get this new stand taken care of, I think it will eliminate a lot of my problems that I'm unhappy with.

The snail didnt actually climb over and into the overflow. He managed to get into the sump after falling out of the tank, into the overflow tube and climbed all the way up. With the new stand I plan on doing something a guy on a nano forum did for his.

I have a good idea on how I want the stand to look, hardest part will be getting some help building it.

 

[InsideJoke]

Tank Rebuild Plans:
New Stand, something with a little more room for equipment and an electrical cabinet.
Painting the back black
Reconfiguring the MAME to a cleaner look
Modding the light fixture for fans and LED Moonlights/Actnics.
Plan ahead for all the equipment, set out spots for it and the electrical cords for them.

If anyone can lend any carpentry skills, please let me know.

 

[happysak]

Alan,

Your plan is great. Randy(rhoades), I belive, is carpenter. Try to contact him, if not LMK if I can be any help.

 

[happysak]

updates????

 

[InsideJoke]

At this point really none. My work hours have been kinda of crappy and coupled with my car needing expensive repairs and sort of falling a part on me mechanically wise, we traded it in for something different and now have a car payment on our hands. Kind of threw some of my plans out the window.
I'll be doing one last water change on the Nanocube then transfering everything over. Kind of had an accident which prevented us from doing it sooner. I accidently cooked the tank by leaving the thermometer that controlled the heater outside the tank. It ended up killing two clowns and a sea slug. So I've been letting it do its thing for a month or so before moving any livestock over. Once that happens a few things will be done with my tank. The plan has changed above a bit.

The back will still be painted black, I will be keeping the current stand and getting a new sump. A 7.5 gallon Mr Aqua cube will fit in the stand and allow the sump equipment to be arranged better along with allowing me to put my job skimmer on it. While its all down I'll be arranging the cords and electrical components to be a bit "cleaner and streamlined." I'm essentially going to have to make due with what I got.

Hopefully after that, new corals will be introduced into the tanks.