My 112G Cube Build Thread. I'm baaaaaaack!!

[reefish123]

Jajaja i know right, Everything I have ordered has tooken for ever to ship except the tank which I got from Socaltropicalfish. Whats left for me is put a brs order for the dual reactor and media as well as the mesh cover.

I resigned the stand to be taller with the height of the tank because I had back problems, therefore I wont be bending to see the bottom of the tank, although I do use a step ladder for maintenance.
Im using a water blaster pump, runs really quiet altleast I cant hear it at the shop although its power blows the sand around in my tank, i wish I would of went with a crushed coral. I know I can deal with it. What I probably wont use for much is the protein skimmer, it needs to have taller water level in order to run in its full potential. I will too consider the SwC 160.
You need to speed it up a notch, just to see if I need to do anything else differently.


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[Anemone]

Hey Kevin. Thanks! Its good to be back. Are you moving the legendary breeding ground for the ever elusive RBTA from way back in the day?

Yep, that's the tank. I guess I didn't quite make it to PaulB status with a 35-year-old reef. This one only made it 19 years.

Kevin

 

[pciscott]

Welcome back Ramon! I have some of your pieces growing out in my Garage tank, hit me up when you are ready for coral.

I would ditch the SWC, the Atman pumps are prone to start up issues and those skimmers did nothing but make me mad! I would hit up Tom for a CS2 with Sicce pump, they just keep going, and going, and going!

Good luck with the new build!

 

[MrSandman]

Nice plans so far. Where in PV did you ended up?

I am running two AI SOL with four 24" T5 over my 145G cube tank (36x36x26) since Sep and the water temp have not gone over 81'F. It was 80'F today because I forgot to open the windows while we were out, no AC in my house.

Thanks Pierce. I ended up across the canyon from Chadwick. What return pump are you running?

Welcome back Ramon! I have some of your pieces growing out in my Garage tank, hit me up when you are ready for coral.

I would ditch the SWC, the Atman pumps are prone to start up issues and those skimmers did nothing but make me mad! I would hit up Tom for a CS2 with Sicce pump, they just keep going, and going, and going!

Good luck with the new build!

Thanks Scott. Good to hear they are still alive. Will definitely hit you up when i am ready. As for the SWC, I ran this one for about 2 years on my last tank and it didn't give me any problems. I'm probably going to give it another run and see how it does. If it starts giving me problems, then its gonna get replaced for sure. I'm trying to stick to my self-imposed budget here.....so we'll see. The CS2 might be too big for my tank. I'm thinking that maybe the CS1 is a better fit and it only consumes 29 watts (compared to 60W for the CS2). I wonder if i could just retro my SWC 160 with that Sicce pump?!? Any idea?

Jajaja i know right, Everything I have ordered has tooken for ever to ship except the tank which I got from Socaltropicalfish. Whats left for me is put a brs order for the dual reactor and media as well as the mesh cover.

I resigned the stand to be taller with the height of the tank because I had back problems, therefore I wont be bending to see the bottom of the tank, although I do use a step ladder for maintenance.
Im using a water blaster pump, runs really quiet altleast I cant hear it at the shop although its power blows the sand around in my tank, i wish I would of went with a crushed coral. I know I can deal with it. What I probably wont use for much is the protein skimmer, it needs to have taller water level in order to run in its full potential. I will too consider the SwC 160.
You need to speed it up a notch, just to see if I need to do anything else differently.


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Which water blaster pump are you running? Looks to be a decent candidate. Also, i have a couple of the BRS media reactors i could sell you if you're interested. I don't plan to use them on this tank.

 

[MrSandman]

Another update. Got the finalized stand drawings from Aaron the other day.

Here are the renderings:

The next decision is what color to powdercoat the stand in. Although the stand will be covered with wood, it would still be neat to have it colored something different. The choices are black, white, red, yellow, and clear. I think there were more choices than those and i'll find out soon. Any opinions? I'm sort of leaning towards red now. :lol:

 

[Celebes]

To add to the SWC160 topic - it seems that ~2 years is the lifespan of reliability of that Atman pump, as most people seemed to have issues with them starting after that point. I know a few people have worked out mods to fit a Sicce psk-1000 into them and they work like a beast. I believe there's even a company that's working on a "kit" to fit one into the 160, but there's been no progress on that recently.

Another thing to consider is that from everything I've been able to find out - the Atman 2500 has been discontinued (I picked up what I was told was the last one).

 

[bullitr]

Looks great Ramon
That stand will be amazing but have you consider getting aluminum stand from
Aaron?

Regarding the return pump I consider eheim, laguna and Atb but for the price and capability I choose the speedwave.

Also I am thinking of switching my Reeflo dart to DC 10000 too on my main tank.

 

[MrSandman]

Crap...2 years?!? Is SWC discontinuing the 160 cone then? Or did they identify a replacement pump? I wonder if the Sicce psk-600 (which comes stock on the CS1 skimmer) would be easier to mod since the CS1 and the SWC160 have similar heights and footprints.

 

[MrSandman]

Looks great Ramon
That stand will be amazing but have you consider getting aluminum stand from
Aaron?

Regarding the return pump I consider eheim, laguna and Atb but for the price and capability I choose the speedwave.

Also I am thinking of switching my Reeflo dart to DC 10000 too on my main tank.

Hey Lawrence. Yeah, i was actually planning to get the aluminum stand but after some thinking i just couldn't see the benefits other than just looking really cool. Steel was actually slightly stronger, and weight wasn't a factor since the tank is sitting on a concrete slab floor. Corrosion also wasn't a factor i considered since both stands were going to be powdercoated. Is there any other advantage for aluminum over steel?

Thanks for the pump suggestions. The factors for pump selection are they must be submersible, quiet, energy efficient, move at least 800 GPH and cost under $300.00. Looks like i've limited it to the following pumps:

ATB Flowstar 1500 (1500GPH) - 90W - $290.00
Laguna Maxflo 1500 (1500 GPH) - 100W - $199.00
Eheim 1262 (900GPH) - 80W - $190.00
Water Blaster 5000 (1300GPH) - 60W - $230.00
Speedwave DC-5000 (1320GPH) - 40W - $160.00
Diablo DC-5500 (1450GPH) - 50W - $230.00
Waveline DC 5000 (1320GPH) - 40W - $200.00

Any other pumps i should consider?

Those DC pumps (the last 3) are really amazing considering how much water they move, they have built-in controllers to adjust speed, are silent, very affordable and super energy efficient. If only they could communicate with my Apex controller....oh yeah, let's hope they are reliable.

 

[Celebes]

Well, I wouldn't say the Atman has a lifespan of 2 years - I do know people who still have theirs running fine with no issues. But it seems more likely for them to start having them after that. Also, don't quote me on the Atman 2500 disappearing because I don't know for sure, and the Bubble Magus NAC7 also uses this pump - but I was told this by my distributor and I read it elsewhere. Still not 100% sure though.

Regarding the psk-600 vs psk-1000 there's a thread on r2r where they tried both here: http://www.*********.com/forums/reef-filtration/110731-160-cone-option-finally.html

 

[Celebes]

Oh. Apparently I can't link that... and not sure where "clay-boa" came from...

 

[xxvietxjustinxx]

Thanks for the pump suggestions. The factors for pump selection are they must be submersible, quiet, energy efficient, move at least 800 GPH and cost under $300.00. Looks like i've limited it to the following pumps:

ATB Flowstar 1500 (1500GPH) - 90W - $290.00
Laguna Maxflo 1500 (1500 GPH) - 100W - $199.00
Eheim 1262 (900GPH) - 80W - $190.00
Water Blaster 5000 (1300GPH) - 60W - $230.00
Speedwave DC-5000 (1320GPH) - 40W - $160.00
Diablo DC-5500 (1450GPH) - 50W - $230.00
Waveline DC 5000 (1320GPH) - 40W - $200.00

Any other pumps i should consider?

Those DC pumps (the last 3) are really amazing considering how much water they move, they have built-in controllers to adjust speed, are silent, very affordable and super energy efficient. If only they could communicate with my Apex controller....oh yeah, let's hope they are reliable.

Laguna Maxflow 1500 goes for $150 on fleabay with free shipping and only runs at 75 watts. I personally would go with something tried and proven. Water blaster loses head VERY quicky in comparison to some of the other pumps you listed.

DC pumps have a huge electricity advantage but how often do you see yourself changing speeds? Your sump levels will fluctuate when you do so I don't see any benefits to DC pumps as the returns other than the energy benefits. And you're talking about 25 watts when you compare it to the maxflow.

 

[MrSandman]

Oh. Apparently I can't link that... and not sure where "clay-boa" came from...

LOL. Yeah, linking to that forum is restricted here. Anyways, i still got your initial message and was able to find that thread you mentioned. Looks like the Sicce psk-1000 is a good option if someone can make a kit for it to work on the SWC 160.

Laguna Maxflow 1500 goes for $150 on fleabay with free shipping and only runs at 75 watts. I personally would go with something tried and proven. Water blaster loses head VERY quicky in comparison to some of the other pumps you listed.

DC pumps have a huge electricity advantage but how often do you see yourself changing speeds? Your sump levels will fluctuate when you do so I don't see any benefits to DC pumps as the returns other than the energy benefits. And you're talking about 25 watts when you compare it to the maxflow.

Where did you read 75W? The manufacturer's website says 100W. http://www.lagunaponds.com/lagunaeng/maxflopumps/maxflo1500.php?link=141
I like the changing speeds because its nice to have that option in case i don't want to run at 100%. 40W vs. 100W is a huge difference.

 

[cali_reef]

I am using two Waveline DC5000 on my cube tank, one for return and one for a closed loop. The waveline/diablo/speedwave pumps are being discontinued and replaced with a version that's controllable via 0-10v input. I was told that's oneof the reason it took 3 weeks to get a warranty replacement for a failed pump.

I picked up Toan's 225g setup few weeks ago, the stand from SPS store is really nicely built.

 

[solitude127]

The next decision is what color to powdercoat the stand in. Although the stand will be covered with wood, it would still be neat to have it colored something different. The choices are black, white, red, yellow, and clear. I think there were more choices than those and i'll find out soon. Any opinions? I'm sort of leaning towards red now. :lol:

IMO, I wouldn't go with white. If by chance, something does rust, it'll stick out like a sore thumb

 

[cali_reef]

IMO, I wouldn't go with white. If by chance, something does rust, it'll stick out like a sore thumb

I agree, the stand I have is powder coated white and the water/moisture collected in the diagonal to vertical legs turns into a brown pocket of crud.

 

[MrSandman]

Thanks for the input. I think the red will probably blend better with the rust while still looking unique. Red it is!

Pierce,
How do you like the waveline on your tank as the return? Are you running it full throttle? Pretty quiet?

 

[cali_reef]

Thanks for the input. I think the red will probably blend better with the rust while still looking unique. Red it is!

Pierce,
How do you like the waveline on your tank as the return? Are you running it full throttle? Pretty quiet?

I am running full power. It's very quiet, my skimmer pump, Vortec, and overflow makes the Waveline unnoticeable.

 

[jadette]

Yay! Glad to see you back in the game.

Hit me up when you're ready to restock.

So you're sticking with T5s, eh? How many hours/day did you have them on with your old tank?
I, too, am not completely sold on LEDs as a long term main source of light, but I think they work beautifully as supplemental lighting. I have 3Wx48 CREE LEDs driven at 50% that are on 12 hours a day over my 60"x30"x18" and my tank 'looks' fully lit with it and that's only 74 watts! I just run my MHs for 5 hours a day to give the SPS the PAR injection it needs. Wonder if they have LED strips that will cleanly attach to an ATI PM for supplemental lighting. Hmm.

 

[MrSandman]

I am running full power. It's very quiet, my skimmer pump, Vortec, and overflow makes the Waveline unnoticeable.

Thanks Pierce. I think that helps narrow my pump choices down to at least a DC model. Just gotta figure out which brand. If i hold out long enough maybe the new models you mentioned will be out.

Yay! Glad to see you back in the game.

Hit me up when you're ready to restock.

So you're sticking with T5s, eh? How many hours/day did you have them on with your old tank?
I, too, am not completely sold on LEDs as a long term main source of light, but I think they work beautifully as supplemental lighting. I have 3Wx48 CREE LEDs driven at 50% that are on 12 hours a day over my 60"x30"x18" and my tank 'looks' fully lit with it and that's only 74 watts! I just run my MHs for 5 hours a day to give the SPS the PAR injection it needs. Wonder if they have LED strips that will cleanly attach to an ATI PM for supplemental lighting. Hmm.

Hey Shirley! Will definitely hit you up when i'm ready.
On my previous tank, i had the actinics on about 12 hours a day and had all lamps on about 5 hours a day. I had more than enough growth.

I'm with you about supplemental lighting with LED's as it also gives it a nice shimmer effect too. The new PM's from ATI have LED's integrated: http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/le...e/36-2x75w-led-8x39w-t5-led-powermodule.html#

They sure are tempting too. LED strips for retrofitting existing PM's would be cool too but i'm not sure they have some powerful enough and small enough to mount onto a PM's without looking really odd. If you come across any, please let me know! For now i think i'll stick with the PM's. Maybe next year, or if Reefgeek has some refurbs on the LED/T5 PM's i'll switch sooner.