Aegeon's 25G Cube Build

[Aquarist007]

I made a entry in the capn's log book on cutting holes using your detailed posts. There is a link back to your build site and credit to you

 

[Aegeon]

I made a entry in the capn's log book on cutting holes using your detailed posts. There is a link back to your build site and credit to you

Thanks! Sorry if this is really noob-ish, but what is the "capn's log book"?

 

[Aegeon]

Thanks! Sorry if this is really noob-ish, but what is the "capn's log book"?

Nevermind, I found it. Very cool, thanks capn_hylinur!

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

And here's why everything (tank related) takes so much longer than it should to complete:

For not doing much but eating, sleeping and pooping, this little guy sure takes up a whole lot of time.

:lol: What a cute little frag!

 

[Aquarist007]

Nevermind, I found it. Very cool, thanks capn_hylinur!

sorry for not posting the link and thanks for providing such a detail account of your progress.

 

[Aegeon]

:lol: What a cute little frag!

Thanks! He's pretty cool. I'm fairly sure he's responsible for the ammonia spike in our apartment, though.

And sorry to stray off-topic, but you've kicked in my "proud father" mode:

 

[twelvejewelz]

baby is adorable man good luck! The build is coming along great its very clean. I hope my next tank can look that clean! Im sure your going to get vortechs for flow dont put any bulky powerheads in there !! is the room with the RO/di above the tank? if so you can run a line through the wall right into an ATO bucket would make your life so much easier than lugging water all over the place. just do that work when the wifes out and shell never know lol

 

[Aegeon]

baby is adorable man good luck!

Thanks!

Im sure your going to get vortechs for flow dont put any bulky powerheads in there !! is the room with the RO/di above the tank? if so you can run a line through the wall right into an ATO bucket would make your life so much easier than lugging water all over the place.

The plan is for an MP10 once I can scrounge the funds. Also, drilling holes in the walls/floors is a no-go with the wife, I'm afraid. I'm hopeful that once the tank is up and running, the water-lugging can be kept to a minimum since regular water changes should be less than 5 gallons at a time, and my ATO reservoirs are only 2.5 gal so they shouldn't be too hard to move around.

 

[twelvejewelz]

yea with a tank that nice and clean looking you need to go with a Vortech! Im in the market for one myself this way i can remove 3 powerheads its definitely worth it for the look your going for. Thats why i said to do it when shes not home have it patched up before she even knows lol. I know how ya feel though and your right it wont be bad once its setup and running.If you can fit it under there is a product called Nutri-Seawater. It comes in a 4.4 gallon jug that is a perfect size for ATO water you might want to check into it. Its a premixed natural sea water just buy one and keep the jug

 

[Aegeon]

Well, my build has been put on hold for a little while. As it turns out, it looks like we may be moving from our current condo out to the west Chicago 'burbs. My wife works out there, and the hour-long daily commute each way with a 3-month old is just not working out. So, we'll be renting a house close to her office and the daycare we have Andrew in. Unfortunately, this postpones the tank build for a little while until we get settled in the new place. The upside (besides a content wife and baby that doesn't scream in the car for two hours a day) is that the new place should have lots of things our condo does not, like a 2-car garage and a yard for the dog.

In other news, I wound up ordering 30 lbs of dry rock from BRS. The Eco Rox arrived a few days ago, and I'm pretty impressed with how it looks. Very light and extremely porous. You can actually shine a light though several of the pieces, and when viewed up-close, there are millions of little pits and crevices everywhere. BRS was great about getting me pieces at the size I requested, and I think it'll make for a great aquascape. It's pretty chalky/dusty when it arrives, so it'll need to be well rinsed before it goes into a tank, but I think it'll work out nicely. I'll try to get some pics in the next day or two.

I'm hoping the tank build can resume mid-July...

 

[Aegeon]

Dry rock arrived.

Dry rock arrived.

I wound up ordering about 30lbs of dry rock from Bulk Reef Supply. The rock arrived last week. Can't wait to get this stuff into the tank. Hopefully, just a few weeks till we get moved into a new place and I can get back to working on it.

The rock.

Playing around with arrangements.

The rock is porous enough to see light through even the larger pieces.

And up close, you can really see the millions of tiny pits and crevasses.

 

[HiImSean]

i love the build. do you have any updates? how did you did you arrange the sump? do you think you could have fit a larger skimmer in it?

 

[mic209]

I will be getting the same tank, what size glass-holes overflow did you go with? is it the nano, or super nano?

 

[tprize]

So what is it going to cost for you to build me one of those lights HAHA!

 

[mic209]

Is you're overflow box flush with the top of the tank? I have the same tank and same overflow waiting to be installed, also, how far from the top edge is you're return drill, i want to have mine as high as possible without cracking the glass.

 

[Aegeon]

Back from the Dead

Back from the Dead

Well, it's been about a year and a half since my build was put on hold. We moved from our Chicago condo into a small rental house in the 'burbs, and I just never had the space, time or money to get back to the tank.

A lot has changed since then. We've had our 2nd son, Jake, who's just over 3 months old now. Andrew, our first, is nearly 2. We've moved again, this time into a much larger (though still a rental) house. The extra space means I finally have some room to put the tank, and we should be staying in the new house for long enough to make setting up the tank worthwhile.

I dug all my aquarium equipment out of storage about two weeks ago, and by spending a few hours a night on it after the kiddos go to bed, I've finally gotten it up and running!

All the equipment was in and tested on Thursday 1/19. The water and base rock went in on Friday 1/20, the live rock was added on Saturday 1/21, and now I'm on day 2 of my cycle. Here's hoping for a short one.

Some photos. The tank, stand and light fixture:

Inside the cabinet:

Filling with water:

Up and running:

Sorry it's taken so long. Hopefully, this thread will stay on track this time around.

Thanks,

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Bravo! Excellent tank setup and grats on the 'baby build'!

 

[jgraz]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

 

[Aegeon]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

Thanks for the link, the reactor looks interesting, and I could probably fit something that size in my sump. Let me know how you like it.

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Aegeon, I saw in another thread that you were planning on using a BRS reactor, but could not fit it. Not sure if you have the room in the sump but I ordered one of the new CPR Nano Reactors to give it a try. Should be in today and it is pretty small. That just might work for you.
Here it is. http://www.amekaaquatics.com/productinfo.html?product_id=826

I'll give a full review one I get it going.

Cool stuff, looks like a very nice design. I appreciate the link as well.

@Aegeon, how is the overflow kit with noise or gurgling?