Kasey's Kube

mordibv said:
Glad to see u get ur feet wet again . I always enjoyed ur builds .
Too bad I am not in NC anymore . I lived in Winterville . U gotta go to Marabella's for pizza (imho best in town) .
I recently left Suddenlink after being there 11 years .
If you don't know the LFS's in the area PM me .
Looks like a good start .
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Thanks for the kind words! I've heard Marabella's is great, but I haven't gone...yet. I'll definitely have to next time I'm in the mood for pizza. PM sent.

nemosworld said:
Sweet setup! Congrats on the wedding, takes a special woman to marry and tolerate a reefer.
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Yes, indeed...a VERY special woman. :p It's nice; she's pretty interested with it as well. She likes gardening, so she understand the obsession. Or, she at least thinks she does. :D

mantis1437 said:
Great progress so far. I was hoping to see the first idea go through witht thew closed loop for my own purpose but in reefing there is always something else to do. Tagging along if u dont mind.
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Thanks. :) Yeah, I was hoping I could have pulled off the original idea as well. But, I could get around the ATO problem and the constant build up of oil on the water surface. If I went away for a week, I would have been worrying. Definitely feel free to tag along! :D
 
rehype said:
Love what you've done so far..cant wait to see it filled up.
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Thank you! I can't wait as well. :p

I know I've said it in your thread, but I'm going to say it, again; you're tank is beautiful! It's original and very well done! :thumbsup:

Dr. Fish said:
That is a very nice, clean setup.

Cant wait to see it up and running, lets gooo
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I'm trying! I'm trying! :D Thank you for the kind words.

Quick Prelude:

Before I get the camera out and take some shots, I want to give a quick update.

Last night I filled the tank and began to the run the system. It was beautiful to see it up and running. But, unfortunately, I quickly realized there was a small leak coming from the lip where the overflow box and tank met (where the water spills over). So, I quickly removed the fresh water and went to work with the Weld-On #16.

I've filled it again, and it's running with NO leaks! :D

Now, I'm placing the heater in the 2.5g sump and adding salt; I want to start the bacterial cycle tonight. I'll also be adding the sand, which is actually a fine dry crushed coral. Once the temp and salinity are within proper level, I'll give the initial dose of bacteria and carbon.

My last thing to do tonight will be stopping the return pump, dropping the level in the tank below the overflow lip, and applying black silicone across the overflow seam. This won't be to seal it any further; instead, it will give the appearance a much smoother transition.

Oh yes, there will be pics... :D
 
I'm finally posting them. I would have posted them yesterday, but after adding the sand, it was just a cloudy box. Two of the pics don't have the tank in focus; that wasn't done on purpose. I'm just a poor photographer. :p

FTS (This is what I would consider the front of the tank. Also, the light's not crooked; the picture is. :rolleyes:):
DSC_0198.jpg


Right Side View:
DSC_0199.jpg


Right Side Close-Up (to see the rockwork):
DSC_0200.jpg


Left Side Close-Up:
DSC_0203.jpg


Odd Angle:
DSC_0204.jpg
 
Side Notes:

Crushed Coral
I'm glad that I went with crushed coral. I like the larger grain look, and even with the MP20 at 100%, it doesn't get blown around. That's a HUGE plus! That was a big concern. In order to pull this look off, I needed to have sand to cover the base. But, with high flow for SPS, I was worried I'd never keep the base covered.

Future Progression
The most immediate task on the list is to de-solder the trimming nob on the Meanwell driver and re-solder the new one. After that, I need to solder the last LED into the blue circuit and cover the light with acrylic.

As far as biology goes, I'm starting the biological cycle today (a couple of days later than I hoped). I'll be dosing Prodibio BioClean, a product I've used on multiple tanks. I'm going to be dosing both BioDigest and BiOptum every week. The idea is to create a nice thick bacterial bloom. This tank is starting with dry rock and sand, so the biological filtration needs some time to establish. This will continue for 6-8 weeks; throughout the middle I will taper-off to dosing every 2 weeks. Once the biological bacteria is established, I'll complete a hefty water change and turn on the skimmer (I'm looking for suggestions for that future purchase). Then the fish will come; the lights will be turned on for 4 hours a day at this time. Over a period of 2 weeks, I'll slowly ramp the lighting to 7 hours. I'll be feeding the fish on the heavy side as well; I'm not trying to foul the water, but I want the biological system to have to work. I also don't want the tank to be steril. Finally, once the fish have been in the tank for 2 weeks (during which I'll do weekly water changes), I'll make sure all parameters are within range and stable. At this point, the corals will arrive. That's when the fun begins. :D

Future Equipment
Protein Skimmer: I'm thinking of using a Bubble Magus. It has the desired footprint and the performance, especially for the price point.

ATO: I've always used the Tunze Osmolater in my previous tanks, but I'm thinking about utilizing a float switch this time around. I've heard they're reliable and comparibly inexpensive. I need quality; if that means I need to look at something else, then I'm all ears.
 
Well the wait was worth it.

The rock looks like a hand reaching out like a um zombie's hand.

I was worried that the inner spacing wasn't enough but it looks like there should be plenty of space for growth.

It is pretty cool what is old is new again with the CC. How are you going to keep it clean?

Auto top off sells a double float switch for around $50 and all you need is the aqua lifter so add $15 more.

I have used the single and never had an issue.

So the BM3?
 
KafudaFish said:
Well the wait was worth it.

The rock looks like a hand reaching out like a um zombie's hand.

I was worried that the inner spacing wasn't enough but it looks like there should be plenty of space for growth.

It is pretty cool what is old is new again with the CC. How are you going to keep it clean?

Auto top off sells a double float switch for around $50 and all you need is the aqua lifter so add $15 more.

I have used the single and never had an issue.

So the BM3?
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike. Yeah, it kind of does look like a hand in the last pic. I think I'm going to use a gravel-vac to keep the CC clean. That's what I've always done with my sand. Thanks for the suggestion on the ATO. As far as the BM skimmer goes, I'm thinking of going with a 3.5. I've heard great things about the cone's performance, but I'm not sure if it's much better than the 3+. It's about a $20 difference, something to ponder. What do you think?
 
I have always been a match the equipment to the needs person but since you want to feed heavy that maybe a better call.

You may want to find Mojo's skimmer Q&A thread in the equipment forum and look.

He and a few others can provide better details than I can since I have not looked into equipment very much lately. I do know they have been liking the Skimz skimmers (Warner Marine) but not sure if they have any that are made for such small systems.

Now I have to go look at that thread.
 
Last 7 pages talked about larger systems but on page 133 I think there was talk about the vertex in - 100 for $200.

As with everything in this hobby if you just would spend a few dollars more you can get "the best".
 
KafudaFish said:
I have always been a match the equipment to the needs person but since you want to feed heavy that maybe a better call.

You may want to find Mojo's skimmer Q&A thread in the equipment forum and look.

He and a few others can provide better details than I can since I have not looked into equipment very much lately. I do know they have been liking the Skimz skimmers (Warner Marine) but not sure if they have any that are made for such small systems.

Now I have to go look at that thread.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree; I'm a match the equipment to the needs person as well. That's why I'm leaning toward the 3.5. I like the Vertex, but it's a larger footprint than what I'd like. It's funny; I bought the BM NAC3.5 for a system I was planning in the past. I then decided that to start this current system and sold it because I thought I wouldn't have a sump. It never touched water. :P It's funny how things work.
 
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