27 Cube Build

[manderx]

So i'm downsizing to a 27 cube. My 75 down in the basement is just too out-of-sight-out-of-mind. i'm kinda amazed anything is still alive down there, very few waterchanges, no dosing, sometimes not even looking at it for 2 weeks at a time...

got the holes drilled today. overflow box in the middle, then 2 return lines (in case i ever wanna scwd or oceansmotion).

i got a cheap cone skimmer off ebay, 80 bucks shipped. it looks like it will do alright, and it's got a super-small footprint and fairly silent.

next i need to sink a few more screws in the storebought stand that came with it (once the cordless drill batteries are recharged), then i'll paint the inside to waterproof and seal it.

then i'll need to get started on a sump, going to make an acrylic sump from scratch. hopefully my tools still work .

haven't decided on submersible vs external return pump. i'm leaning towards an external just cause they don't need anywhere near the maintenance, but dunno if i can afford the extra space under the stand for it.

i have a ton of various metal halides, 175/250 se/de that i'll play with for now, but the ecotech led looks really really cool. i am kinda tired of buying new bulbs, and since i have no AC, halides will be no fun to deal with come summer.

 

[xcorallusx]

that would look nice with a radion over it

 

[ade]

I am with you on the echotech lights. Just hate buying new when the old still work. Thats why I still have a 52" rear projection TV

 

[manderx]

just ordered a radion

 

[ThurlowR]

just ordered a radion

Good choice.

 

[manderx]

got the inside of the stand painted and the overflow box all cleaned up (was too lazy to make another so just stole it off my frag tank)

 

[manderx]

my lights/return pump still haven't shipped yet, and i really want the pump so i can size out my sump before making it and then finding out it's 1/4" too big for the pump/plumbing to fit alongside it. so kinda dead in the water right now.

but it's given me time to think about rock. i have plenty of rock, but it's 10-15 years old. so i'm thinking of starting fresh, either with dry marco rock, or some of that manado rock premium has...

 

[fazio92]

my lights/return pump still haven't shipped yet, and i really want the pump so i can size out my sump before making it and then finding out it's 1/4" too big for the pump/plumbing to fit alongside it. so kinda dead in the water right now.

but it's given me time to think about rock. i have plenty of rock, but it's 10-15 years old. so i'm thinking of starting fresh, either with dry marco rock, or some of that manado rock premium has...

The BRS dry pukani rock is really nice if you haven't checked that out.

-Anthony

 

[vtminter]

+1 on the BRS pukani

 

[manderx]

i was looking at the pukani rock on BRS, and saw the dry tonga branch they have and figured i'd get the pukani and also a few piece of branch to mix in, but now i'm thinking of just branch.

still nothing my LED order (which includes the new pump for the kalk reactor, ade). i added some stuff to it a few days ago, so i know it hasn't just fallen through the cracks.

 

[manderx]

ordered 25# of tonga branch.

 

[manderx]

everything should be here on friday

 

[manderx]

got the radion hanging over 1 side of my 75, with a 6 month old 250w phoenix over the other side. i'm just using one of the presets at the moment, haven't had a chance to hook it up to my pc yet. one of the settings is very close to the p14 but barely dimmer. not really impressed with the whiter settings that i was hoping to use, but will withhold judgement till i have it over the new tank by itself, and play with custom settings. i would love to be able to make it look like the 175w iwasaki 14k i have over my frag tank but don't see it happening.

the dry tonga branch is curing, amazing how nasty the water got in just a day. fairly happy with it, there's 1 nice showpiece they picked out, and the rest are plain branches. a fair amount of breakage in shipping as expected that i may try to glue back together, or maybe i'll be able to work them into the aquascaping.

 

[george albert]

hey matt
any updates it been almost a month
cant wait to see it

 

[manderx]

still waiting for the new rock to finish curing, and still agonizing over sump design. i've never been limited in sump size before, and trying to come up with a design that fits everything i want in the 27's stand isn't working too well.

but it's about that time so expect something soon .

-m

 

[SPSpirate]

Taggin along. Sounds like a great build!

 

[manderx]

finally some progress

got it plumbed, sand, water and rock in. a little test frogspawn head seems perfectly happy so i'm going to move over some zoos next. i split the drain line into a controlled siphon and a regular open drain. very happy with the noise levels/splashing even with 500gph going through it. the sump is just a 20long on the floor next to it while i play with individual components i'm thinking of for the sump.

i have a radion for it, but it actually just died a few days ago while over my 75. looks like the fan died on it, and it is smart enough to not light up without a fan. ecotech was very responsive and is taking care of it. but the led striplight that came with the tank plus copious sunlight (very bright room) should be enough for coralline to get started and some stuff that doesn't need too much light while i get it taken care of.

 

[gary314]

agree

agree

I am with you on the echotech lights. Just hate buying new when the old still work. Thats why I still have a 52" rear projection TV

I keep "updating" my lighting system without actually buying a new one....I'm so cheap.