Kasey's Kube

kaserpick

kaserpick

Keeping it Simple
Introduction: Hello everyone. :) It's been quite some time since I've posted a tank thread. Since my move to Greenville in August '10, I haven't kept a reef tank...or any tank for that matter. Instead, I've been slowly collecting and building the components for the tank that I'll be posting in this thread. I hope you find the information and progress here interesting, educational and hopefully encouraging. Let's move on to the tank!

Tank Info: My work schedule is pretty busy, so I knew that if I started a tank, it would need to be simple and small. I decided to go with the following:

DSC_0001-12.jpg


DSC_0002-16.jpg


DSC_0003-10.jpg


Dimensions: 16" x 16" x 16"
Material: 1/2" Acrylic
Skimmer: None
Heater: Eheim Jager 75w
Closed Loop Pump: Maxi-Jet UP 1100
Additional Flow: Vortech MP20
Lighting: DIY LED's

Idea and Theme: Like mentioned before, the idea of this tank is to keep it very simple. The majority of nutrient exportation will be by means of water changes. The theme would definitely be bonsai. Here's my aquascape inspiration:

bonsai-1.jpg


My rock work (DIY cement rock):
DSC_0005-5.jpg


Random shots of equipment:

DSC_0004-9.jpg


DSC_0012-3.jpg


DSC_0002-14.jpg
 
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I have seen some of your other tanks. You have great ideas! Love the heater placement keeping the tank clean. Can you post a pic of the top of that? How did you install it in there?
thanks
Jason
 
Looks like a good start. But im wondering if I missed something...

I assume this is this going to be a BB tank? I see how you placed your bulkheads for the closed loop and am kinda confused about that :confused:

Any particular reason you wanted them on the bottom of the tank? Or is it simply to have no plumbing showing off the tank? Are you going to install a pvc overflow coming up from the "in" bulkhead?
 
PS:

Also wondering how your going to keep the water level stable w/o an ATO? Are you simply going to top off by hand each day?
 
really nice build, me likey ! can you tell me how you aquired or built the Stand for the lights? where would one aquire the fittings you used to make that? and do you have a link for the build of that? i saw the LED build but didnt see anything about the hanger or stand. Any info would be great ! awesome work !!!!
 
jmking33 said:
I have seen some of your other tanks. You have great ideas! Love the heater placement keeping the tank clean. Can you post a pic of the top of that? How did you install it in there?
thanks
Jason
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words, Jason. :) I'll get a pic for the canister soon. But, for now, I'll tell you what I did. I cut the power cord and drilled the the top with a hole the diameter of the power cord. I then placed the heater inside, threaded the power cord through, and siliconed around the cord (on top and underside of the canister top). After that, I re-wired the cord together and tested it for leaks and power. I hope that makes sense. :p
 
Jadams said:
Looks like a good start. But im wondering if I missed something...

I assume this is this going to be a BB tank? I see how you placed your bulkheads for the closed loop and am kinda confused about that :confused:

Any particular reason you wanted them on the bottom of the tank? Or is it simply to have no plumbing showing off the tank? Are you going to install a pvc overflow coming up from the "in" bulkhead?
Click to expand...

Jadams said:
PS:

Also wondering how your going to keep the water level stable w/o an ATO? Are you simply going to top off by hand each day?
Click to expand...

Thanks! In answer to your first question, no, I'll be using sand. This'll further hide the the bulk heads and the base of the aquascape (to cause it to look like a tree rooted in the sand).

The bulkhead placement was chosen to keep things clean; I'll have to use a strainer for the drain side, but the return (or 'in' side) will be flush with the sand. Hopefully, I'll be able to hide the strainer a bit behind the tree trunk.

For toping off, I'll be doing that by hand at the beginning. I'm working on a dosing system for this tank, but it's still in the works. :p
 
funkehouse said:
really nice build, me likey ! can you tell me how you aquired or built the Stand for the lights? where would one aquire the fittings you used to make that? and do you have a link for the build of that? i saw the LED build but didnt see anything about the hanger or stand. Any info would be great ! awesome work !!!!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! :) I bought the conduit and fittings at Lowes; it's all 3/4". It's like fitting PVC together, very easy.
 
After looking at the heater, I realized it's a 150w, not 75w. :p It was one I had lying around.

I also realized that I forgot to mention the livestock. Here are my plans:

Corals: I intend to keep 4-6 different species of Acropora (in particular, A. Hyacinthus, A. Millepora, and A Prostrata), and 1-2 species of Montipora (M. Digitata's are my favorite).

Inverts: 1-2 very nice Tridacna clams (probably both T. Maxima), as well as the usual snails. I'm not a huge fan of hermits crabs.

Fish: 3-5 Green Chromis, I'm looking for something easy, cheap and uniform.

I don't want this tank to be a collection of a bunch of corals and fish. I want it to contain larger colonies of 4-8 corals; to sum it all up, most likely it'll only contain 6 corals, 2 clams and 4 fish. But, as with all plans, this is subject to change. :p
 
kaserpick said:
Thank you very much! :) I bought the conduit and fittings at Lowes; it's all 3/4". It's like fitting PVC together, very easy.
Click to expand...

is this the regular bendable thin wall conduit, or that thicker heavy gauge type with threads on it? it looks bigger than 3/4 inch in the pictures. also is that type of metal prone to rusting or corroding over the salt water tank that you know of? Thanks for the info !
 
I'm not absolutely sure that it won't corrode, over time, but I know quite a few people use it. As far as the thickness, it's the lighter gauge with thin walls. I'm not sure if the Inner Diameter or Outer Diameter is 3/4"; I just know that it was labeled 3/4" in Lowes. I made sure the 3/4" fittings were the right size before buying, which I highly recommend. If your hardware store is anything like the one in my town, quite a few of the fittings are in the wrong boxes. :p Another route is to use a pipe bender, but I like how this turned out more.
 
Haha, I appreciate your thoughts, Mike. :) Thanks for jumping on board. :p

So, I wired up the lights to see what they would look like. Two things to keep in mind are, I don't have optics on at the moment and the lights are turned way down...around 25% on both channels. As a side note, the color temperature in the pic is pretty true to what it looks like in person. Here's a pic:

DSC_0001-13.jpg


Now that I've seen what they look like, here's my list of things to do for the lights:

1. Install the optics
2. Re-soldering one joint (I'm not please with how secure it is)
3. Install new trim knob on one of the meanwells (the one that was on it was faulty)
4. Lastly, install the acrylic shield

Besides, these last 4 things, the entire build is complete. On the 28th, I'll be checking the pH to see where it stands. (I've been curing the cement rock in the tank) If everything checks out, it'll be time to completely change the water and add salt, sand, and fish. :p
 
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