My rebuild of a 50g cube

Very nice Bilk!
just be careful with that Kessil A350 so close to the tank... start both channels around 30%. More than that and the corals will burn, its a very powerful light and at that distance... :rolleyes:.
 
Thanks both. LOL small footprint is a pita. You have to get very creative to fit everything under a 24x24 cube.

Yeah I have been following the thread on the Kessil. No corals in the tank and won't be for a while. It's just hanging out for now :)

Will finish the ATS later today and post the results. Everything this time around needed to be modular and easily accessible. The only thing I need to figure out is the hose from the overflow to the sump. It kinks when the sump is pushed back into the stand. That obviously doesn't work. The return hose is 1/2" and works just fine. The overflow hose is 3/4" and a bit stiffer. Doesn't curl on itself and retain shape like the smaller hose. I'm looking for an alternative if anyone has a suggestion.
 
I have one that goes right on a 1'' PVC pipe, they can be cut shorter just leave the other end so you can slide it over the barb fitting, I got mine at a LFS. Check out HD, Lowes etc.
 
LEDs installed and operational. :) Now to salt the tank and to get the cycling started.

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Made one modification to allow the screen assembly to be removed without having to take the whole unit out of the sump. Cut slots instead of holes to support the pipe. Now I can just unplug the hose and pull the pipe with the screen attached, for cleaning.

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Wiring cleanup inspired by Drummerreef :)

It's a pita having very little space to work with for a small footprint tank, but I think I got it to work where everything is accessible, yet out of sight and out of the sump cabinet where the humidity is higher since putting gaskets around the top and sides of the doors. The Aquabus was inside the cabinet and I felt it should be moved so there are no issues. I left the bottom of each door without the gasket for some air exchange. The compartment isn't really hermetically sealed, but it is definitely more quiet. Now all I hear are the Vortechs LOL

I think I am going to reroute that top off line through the bottom ................. another day. :lolspin:

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Tank is finally starting to cycle. Simple rock structure with plenty of room between it and the glass for grow out and easy cleaning. Only 1" sandbed as well.

I hope my equipment configuration improvements help make maintenance easier too. Each component is more easily accessible and the whole system is much more quiet.

I'm also confident the ATS will be very beneficial to the system health. Was a Berlin reefer, DSB and Jaubert reefer. All had success and some limitations. I'm looking forward to seeing how the ATS compares.


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Have lunch and cycle a tank :)

Bought some blue claw crab meat to make a salad for lunch and stole a few bits from it before mixing. I drilled a few holes in this little plastic capsule and have it floating in the tank this way I won't have to fetch out the remaining decay once it's spent and has done it's job.


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Where is the return pump? Is it external?
Last chamber of the sump. It's a Tunze 1073.40. Very quiet. Actually pretty much silent. I have it connected to a piece of 1/4" plexi via suction cups so it sort of hovers above the glass of the sump LOL Hard to explain, but there is a thin film of water below it (it's not attached to the glass) and it acts as a sound break. With the pump attached directly to the sump glass there was a bit more vibration.

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I bought a Eheim hose (5/8" i.d.) which is working perfectly for the overflow to the sump. I have it set at 5 times turnover from the tank which I think is fine. I can dial it up to 10, but I'm going to try even less than 5 eventually. The hose is very flexible and moves with the sliding sump without kinking. I'll probably replace the pump hose with it but that really hasn't had the problem with kinking the larger diameter silicon hose did.




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Thanks Bolo and Sneek. It is a tight little package for sure.

An unavoidable truth about this hobby is, no matter how large or small the system, from 5g pico to 500g monster, corals and livestock in those tanks need the same water chemistry and parameters in order to thrive.

When initially building this the first go round, I figured I'd make it a reasonable size so water changes weren't too big, energy consumption would be less and just in general, it would be somewhat more manageable than a larger tank. Ha! No such thing. They all require the same maintenance and having a small footprint, it somewhat makes that a little more problematic.

So in order to ensure what I put together is easily serviced, maybe I should have taken a second look at the design. It's easy enough to put a system together, plumb it and get everything going. It's another to then have to utilize it and realize things you did, though work ok for the ecosystem, don't work for you when performing maintenance. Then the tank inhabitants end up suffering because it becomes a real chore or life throws a curve and time ends up being at a premium.

Not lecturing anyone but myself by the way :) I love the hobby. In my last house I had a fish room and it made the whole experience very different and in some ways more enjoyable. Everything was done behind the scenes with little to worry about as far as water drips, spills, etc, in the living area. Last fish room had a floor drain which is a real luxury imo. I don't have that now so things have to be buttoned up and modular.

Oh one more thing. I originally designed the system the first go round for Zeovit. I believe this was the magic that would make tank maintenance easy. Well it's a good system and obviously has proven itself, but it's not any less work or any easier than other systems and in fact, in some ways it requires more attention because of the dosing regimen. I'll be using some of their products, but not the whole system.
 
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