My 30G Cube Money Pit

navyav8tr

navyav8tr

Premium Member
I thought I would start posting some pics. This is my 30G Oceanic cube I have been working on for the past couple of months. The details of it are as follows.
Lighting Aquamedic 250W DE MH 14K w/ PC actinic supp
I will be running a CLS powered by a Velocity T3 and hanled by a OM squirt
The sump, arriving today, was custom built by Doss at acrylicsumps.com which will contain a fuge and Urchin pro skimmer
Also incorporated is a Reef Keeper II to handle all the timing and other wiz bang stuff.

I will be posting more pics as this thing nears completion. I am hoping to start staining the stand and canopy this weekend.
116761cube1.jpg

116761cube2.jpg


And yes that is a stormtrooper outfit in the back :)
 
I see that the front of the hood opens. Does the hood come off?

Are you gonna stain or are you going for the ash look?

Looks like you could have a garage sale and set up a 180 ;)


Carl
 
Thanks for the comments. The canopy and the canopy "top" all come off. The back portion comes off as well so that I can get to plumbing. I designed this so that it would be quiet and hardly any plumbing would be visible.

I am planning on staining everything the same color as the tank rim, cherry oak. HOPEFULLY I can get staining it this weekend but that is always subject to approval from the wife and kids.

As far as the garage sale our neighborhood is having one this weekend. Maybe I can get rid of some stuff.

Here is another pic of the inside of the canopy. You can see how the lighting hangs in the canopy. The squirt will have 4 returns in the top bracing, only two returns are plumbed in the pics. Also missing a fan. Basically it is half done :)

116761insidecanopy1.jpg
 
Wanted to throw up some more pics. got some work done on the plumbing today. Here is a pic of the back of the tank with the enclosure on.

116761back_of_stand.jpg


Here is a pic with it off, my plumbing spider web.

116761plumbing_back.jpg


A pic of the inside with my newly created sump from Doss at acrylicsumps.com . He does some awesome work.

116761sump1.jpg
 
Here are a few more shots of the inside of the tank where the overflow is. The overflow box is acrylic and was siliconed to the glass and seems to be holding very well. I used a "liberal amount" of silicone and masked the area 1/4" around the box. After curing for two days I went back and trimmed the tape off with a utility knife. This gave a real clean look on the glass.
The two black return pipes running down each side are return lines from the sump. My plan is to create flow at the bottom of the tank to keep any "funk" buildup. BTW I am going barebottom on this one.

116761inside_of_tank.jpg


And here is just another shot of the squirt return plumbing coming through the top brace. I still need to build up another return line for the back left return. Once I get it done I am going to paint them black like the other return lines. For some reason I felt the need to paint the pvc black. :confused:

The retun line from the sump is coming up the left hand side in the picture. It is T'd off at the top and comes down the sides of the overlfow box in the other pic above.

116761top_view.jpg


One last pic. This is the shelf I built up to hold the CLS pump as well as the ballast for the lighting. I have unions and ball valves everywhere. I pray this thing works and more importantly doesn't leak.

116761plumbing1.jpg
 
I'd stick another fan in by the ballast and the pump as both will put off a good amount of heat in a closed stand like that.

Everything looks really awesome. Especially the Storm Trooper.
 
I am actually looking at this 10 dollar wal mart fan that someone put up on a thread the other day. It is super quiet and you can direct alot of airflow. I probably will do some more "venting fans" in the stand to keep the airflow coming in.

BTW the stormtrooper outfit is fully functional as well. I wear it every Halloween and of course to weddings, funerals, holiday parties, etc..... :)
 
I'm jealous.

I looked online last night and most of them seem to be DIY or they are handmade. Did you makes yours or buy it?
 
the setup looks awesome but i would recommend against putting any electronics in the stand after a few months they will be corrosion city at least take the ballast out
 
Tank looks awesome (so does the Storm Trooper). I'm thinking of doing a simmilar tank and copying some of your designs. Any update pictures? What are your plans for stocking?
 
If anyone needs cooling fans newegg.com has all kinds and they start at 1.99 for the same fan you pay 12.99 for at radio shack.
Just to let you know.

Great set up. And again love the storm trooper.
 
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