~45g Marineland glass box build

[Nick_P]

I hope this post is appropriate and isn't a violation since I am not a current member of S.L.A.S.H. I plan to join the club at some point and thought I would post a build thread. I enjoy build threads and figured others might as well.

I have long been a fan of nano size tanks. I also love cube shaped tanks; however I do not like perfect cubes. I enjoy a tank that is shorter than its length and width. After much deliberation I ended up ordering a MarineLand 45 gallon cube. I realize this isn't a nano, but I wanted a couple more options a nano wouldn't allow.

The 45g is 24x24x18. It has a terrible overflow and drain system. Unfortunately for me I didn't do any research on the tank and ordered it blindly. The overflow is extremely narrow to save space. This feature make it impossible to remove the bulkheads and or retrieve any fish that may make it over the overflow. The overflow also has slits on the lower portion that allows water to enter taking away any efficient water skimming. The 1" drain is located directly above the 3/4" return that come with flex line pre-installed. This makes for an awkward plumbing situation.

Instead of returning it I just went with the flaws and made the best of it. The tank looks nice and has the dimensions I wanted sub $300.00 dollars.

Equipment List is as follows:
DIY Stand
DIY 40b Sump/Refuge
DIY LED Lighting
DIY Rock Wall
Vortec MP10ES
ReefOcto 110 Skimmer
2x250w Visi Therms
Maxijet 400 pro (Refuge Circulation)
Reef Angel Controller
Taam Rio return pump
Custom stacked BRS Eco Rock
Aqualifter pump for ATO
2x BRS Reactors 1x Carbon and 1x GFO

The stand is built so that when I am finely ready to jump to a large tank I can. The next tank will be 48x30x18. The stand is 48x30x36, 2x4 construction built via rocket engineers design. It is skinned with 1/4 sanded luan and painted inside and out with acrylic paint. Eventually it will get doors.

 

[Nick_P]

The sump is a 40B that I paid full price for I used 1/4 acrylic for the baffles. I set the baffles up so I could gain water volume. I didn't want to use a 40g sump and only have 15 usable gallons from it. The way it worked out is basically 15 gallons of sump water and 20 gallons of refuge water.

 

[Nick_P]

The plumbing is nothing fancy. Return pump feeds DT, Refuge, and the Reactors. Crappy ball valves to control the flow.

 

[Nick_P]

Since I wanted to cover the lower vents on the overflow, I created a rock-wall using hydraulic cement and crushed oyster-shells. I put down saran wrap over the overflow (its has a removable front btw) and put down a layer of my rock mix. Once it was dry I silicon-ed it onto the removable part. Now if I need to I can remove the rock wall for cleaning or repairs or fragging.

 

[Nick_P]

I wanted a minimalist look while retaining a good amount of coral space. Using the BRS eco rock and more hydraulic cement I stacked up a structure. This allows the minimalist look while giving plenty of room for corals. Once inside the tank it leaves the front right and rear left corner perfect spots for clam islands.

 

[Nick_P]

For Lights I ended up building my own fixture. I used a 2:1 Royal Blue : Neutral White 3w cree XP-Gs over the main rock structure. I ended up with a total of 16 3w crees over that area. For the clam Island areas each one has 2 3w crees 1 royal blue and 1 cool white. All of this is powered with 2 Meanwell dim-able drivers. No pictures atm, will have some later.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

I'm not a SLASH member either, but your build is looking great so far. My tank is same size, different manufacture.

 

[rackman]

looking good, i like the rock strcuture.

 

[JPhan1]

That's looking really good keep the pics coming

 

[logiktest]

That's a very nice build. What do you think of the Reef Angel Controller?

 

[Tiny7]

I like it a lot! Great job. I'm excited to see your clam set up.

 

[twiggyb]

Awesome looking so far man. Since we're in the same town I'll have swing by and check it out sometime. You should come out to the next pizza night!

 

[Nick_P]

SWINGRRRR: I'm not a SLASH member either, but your build is looking great so far. My tank is same size, different manufacture.

Thank you, Ill have to check out your build if you have a thread.

JPhan1: That's looking really good keep the pics coming.

Thank you, pics will continue.

rackman: looking good, i like the rock strcuture.

Thank you, I hope it turns out decent once it has coral.

logiktest: That's a very nice build. What do you think of the Reef Angel Controller?

Thank you. I am having mixed emotions about the reefangel. The main reason I bought it doesn't seem to work. I liked the fact it had PC logging using the Client suite over USB, however I cannot get it to log anything. I also seem to get random reboots, it power cycles on its own or if I move the plug in number 8 port it reboots. The display unit is ugly, and it has wires coming from the top of the display unit and bottom.

On the other hand I get a lot of functionality for $245.00 bucks including 2 temp sensors, PH probe, 2x float switches and PWM Control. If I want wifi ability its an extra $100.00 which is substantially cheaper then anything else. I just need to get the rebooting and data logging issues resolved.

Tiny7: I like it a lot! Great job. I'm excited to see your clam set up.

Thank you, I too am excited about the clams.

twiggyb: Awesome looking so far man. Since we're in the same town I'll have swing by and check it out sometime. You should come out to the next pizza night!

Thank you, you are welcome to stop by any time. I defiantly need to make one of the pizza nights. I just finished with summer classes so I have some free time again.

 

[jjwill_sdsu]

Sweet looking setup... and there's not even any water in it yet I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Reef Angel controller as well. It sounds like it gives you a little more programming flexibility than the Apex/ReefKeeper modules, and cheaper too if I recall correctly.

 

[Angler02]

Very nice build very clean looking as well. I am excited to see the outcome. I myself have that exact tank.

 

[Wyze]

Looking good!!!!!
Can't wait to see it all together and alive!!!!!!!

 

[Nick_P]

Sweet looking setup... and there's not even any water in it yet I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Reef Angel controller as well. It sounds like it gives you a little more programming flexibility than the Apex/ReefKeeper modules, and cheaper too if I recall correctly.

Thank you. It has a couple issues as mentioned in a prior post. When those issues are resolved Ill be very happy with the controller.

Angler02: Very nice build very clean looking as well. I am excited to see the outcome. I myself have that exact tank.

Thank you. I would love to see what you did with your tank, do you have a build thread?

Wyze: Looking good!!!!! Can't wait to see it all together and alive!!!!!!!

Thank you. I am both excited and apprehensive. Hopefully it turns out well.

 

[Nick_P]

Took a few more pictures of the light setup and showing that it is filled and operational.

So far I am terribly unimpressed with my LED setup. I cannot dial in a color temp I like and the shimmer is ridiculous. Ridiculous in a bad way, I get a lot of color separation even without optics ~5" above the water. The color has the infamous Windex look, even after using neutral whites and royal blues. In all honesty I will probably just get a nice 250w MH pendent and call it good.

The pictures are terrible, my cheap camera pukes on the LED light.

It has been running for 5 days now, 15 total as I did a 10 day freshwater run. I need to get some live rock for refuge seed and then wait for the cycle to complete. Should I be running GFO and Cheato now or do I wait?

 

[JPhan1]

I really like the aquascape looks really good. I wouldn't give up on the leds everyone I've seen looked really nice and I know there are some people on here who run them maybe ask for advice could be the ratio, array, etc.

 

[marco j]

I really REALLY like your rock work. Great Job! :thumbsup