launchnukes' small one. 75g custom rimless semi-cube sps build

[launchnukes]

Nice build. Following along.

really nice!
the stand is fantastic and goes really nicely as a compliment to the the fireplace.
can't wait to see this baby stocked.
nice and simple.. even the rockwork.
i like it!!

Thanks so much

I love the manifold off the side of your return line with ball valves for your carbon and GFO reactor. This is a nice touch. One less pump taking up space and throwing off heat in your sump.

Thanks. That's exactly what i was going for. With this build i'm trying to keep everything as low profile, functional, and simple as possible, including the plumbing.

Did you send the stand out for finishing?

I did. i built the frame and had a professional woodworker finish the stand. I am VERY happy with the final product, he did an incredible job.

 

[launchnukes]

We have water

oh, and the razor fixture will be hanging, i just had it sitting on the legs to see what it'd look like.

 

[launchnukes]

sand is in the tank, lights are almost hung, and most of the electrical stuff is just about there.

I went with 20 lbs caribsea Bahamas oolite live sand and 40 lbs of the arag-alive live reef sand and mixed it up.

 

[launchnukes]

tank is still cycling. looks like I have about a week left. other than that, i'm ready for life.

after building enough of these i'm getting pretty good at building screen tops. threw this together in about 10 minutes. lol.

I was afraid that a top would kill the rimless look but I was pleasantly surprised, it looks good. can't even tell there's a top on there. please excuse the bad phone pics.

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

saw this on bars this morning. looks great. love the finish on your stand. almost time for livestock. pm on the woodworker.

 

[FsuNole]

What do you think you'll add first when you finish your cycle?

 

[Constrictor6090]

The stands you get are always amazing! Very nice tank btw

 

[launchnukes]

saw this on bars this morning. looks great. love the finish on your stand. almost time for livestock. pm on the woodworker.

The stands you get are always amazing! Very nice tank btw

Thanks

What do you think you'll add first when you finish your cycle?

My stock list is looking like the below now. not sure of the order yet.

pair of flame fairy wrasses
orange back fairy
kole tang sm/md
royal gramma basslet
pair of helfrichi firefish
o. clownfish
cleaner shrimp and a clean up crew

and seriously considering taking a shot at a blue spot jawfish again. that fish was just too cool and I think i'll have a good chance if I add him first or at least with the first batch of fish.

I swore to myself no expensive fish this time around and this is what I come up with. ugh. lol. my lfs offered me a great buy on a pair of earls yesterday...a really good buy....I almost gave in, but didn't. i'm proud of myself for not giving in to the temptation. lol.

 

[Showdizzle]

Following. That's a really nice set up with an awesome aqua scape. Gonna have to try dry rock for my next build.

 

[dkeller_nc]

I have -almost- the tank that you have. In my case a true 24X24X24 rimless cube.

The reason I mention this is regarding flow. My tank is a 3/8" thick starphire glass build, so I went with 2 MP10w ES vortechs. Both are positioned on either side of the overflow on the back glass. They stay in "reef crest" mode, with one master and the other set to anti-sync slave.

What I find is that driving both of these pumps in this tank at 100% is vast overkill - the approx. 2" sandbed forms dunes, and the fish get blown around the tank (the strong swimmers - threadfin cardinals).

So, These pumps typically stay at 40-50% of full-scale for max flow. My tank has considerably more rock than yours, and is arranged on a three-ridge diagonal configuration that divides the tank into thirds along the corner-to-corner axis.

Thought I would share if you are on the fence as far as an additional MP10 vs. MP40.

 

[launchnukes]

Following. That's a really nice set up with an awesome aqua scape. Gonna have to try dry rock for my next build.

Thanks. I'll never use live rock again.

I have -almost- the tank that you have. In my case a true 24X24X24 rimless cube.

The reason I mention this is regarding flow. My tank is a 3/8" thick starphire glass build, so I went with 2 MP10w ES vortechs. Both are positioned on either side of the overflow on the back glass. They stay in "reef crest" mode, with one master and the other set to anti-sync slave.

What I find is that driving both of these pumps in this tank at 100% is vast overkill - the approx. 2" sandbed forms dunes, and the fish get blown around the tank (the strong swimmers - threadfin cardinals).

So, These pumps typically stay at 40-50% of full-scale for max flow. My tank has considerably more rock than yours, and is arranged on a three-ridge diagonal configuration that divides the tank into thirds along the corner-to-corner axis.

Thought I would share if you are on the fence as far as an additional MP10 vs. MP40.

thanks for the heads up. I agree. I had 2x mp40s on my 24" deep oceanic tech tank 120 and it was too much flow pointing straight at the front glass. I went with a more coarse sand to help prevent a sand storm and i'm happy a mp10 works on the 1/2" glass because I didn't want to spend the extra $ for a mp40 just to run it at 25%

 

[launchnukes]

Finally got some life in the tank. 30 blue legs, a pair of o.clowns, orange back fairy, and kole tang. I've had just about every type of designer clown out there and I have to say, it's hard to beat nemo. and with a 3 & 4 year old, I didn't have a choice. lol.

tank got a bit cloudy after feeding, i'm assuming from a bacterial bloom. I'm running carbon and i'll skip a few feedings hopefully it'll clear up.

 

[Chipie]

Beautiful setup launchnukes. Nice picture taking too. Can you tell me what you used to attach the American DJ in your stand ? I have one and i'm not too sure how to go about attaching it like you did.

 

[footballdude2k3]

Good stuff so far! Love that tank and stand, how long until you get some corals in there? Are you looking for a lot of little corals or a few big ones?

 

[launchnukes]

Beautiful setup launchnukes. Nice picture taking too. Can you tell me what you used to attach the American DJ in your stand ? I have one and i'm not too sure how to go about attaching it like you did.

Thanks. I mounted wood blocks on the side of the stand and screwed the strip to the blocks.

 

[launchnukes]

Good stuff so far! Love that tank and stand, how long until you get some corals in there? Are you looking for a lot of little corals or a few big ones?

Thank you. I'm waiting on test kits (ordered them the other day,). Test results will determine how soon corals are going in. I'm planning on going with unique sps so larger colonies will be difficult. Gonna stick with larger frags.

 

[FsuNole]

starting the structure

adding more shelves

getting there. box represents the tank size

added a few pieces here and there to make ledges larger and to fill spots that looked empty

changed the top rock

adding one more piece...

What exactly did you use to bond the structure together? Can i get it at Home Depot?

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

any updates?

 

[afishionado]

LN. Any updates ? You didn't sell the entire system again lol ...

 

[BartenderSteve]

Is the rimless alive?