New 30g Cube setup

[jcraft]

I posted last week about sump options for my 30g Oceanic Cube- while the vast majority recommended going sumpless, I decided to put one on to give the setup a much cleaner look
heres what I got:

4 holes were drilled into the back of the tank-
a 1" bulkhead for the overflow and (3) 1/2" bulkheads for a CL system(Im going for a very clean look on this one- hopefully I thought it out enough)

For a sump I bought a CPR CR500 wet/dry. So that I could have more room inside the sump, I drilled a hole and installed a 1/2" bulkhead into the side (I have a Mag5 on order) Right now Im using a ViaAqua 2300 as a pump
Im using the BIo Bale that came with the sump right now but do plan on removing it and replacing with live rock rubble for filtration

The CL system will be changed very shortly, since the QuietOne 6000 is cavitating and causing microbubbles in the display. (the 1" input and outputs are being reduced to 1/2" ) Anybody recommend a good pump to use?

I painted the back of the tank and the inside plumbing parts using a Krylon Fusion spray paint - I love the way it all blends into the background (the white pieces you see now are only temporary- I have 1/2" black locline coming for the CL)

the tank is at the moment BB, I cant decide on what substrate to use- a Fiji Pink sand or that Taihitian Moon Sand(jet black) I like the black sand look but have heard its a pain to keep clean

theres about 50lbs of liverock in th tank- lots of caves

for Protein Skimming, I bought a AquaC Urchin that will fit into the sump- should be here later this week, along with the light system I purchased- a AquaMedic Oceanlight 250W MH pendant (I have a 24" PC fixture that I took off my refugium on it right now)

I think thats about it for now- so far Im happy with the results

 

[brainiac]

i like the set up but i think you are going to have nitrate issues. lose the bio-media and set it up as a fuge.

 

[jcraft]

Re: New 30g Cube setup

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6410460#post6410460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jcraft

Im using the BIo Bale that came with the sump right now but do plan on removing it and replacing with live rock rubble for filtration

the Bio bale is in there right now till I go to the LFS and get some Liverock rubble. I plan on putting Chaeto in there as well

 

[surfnvb7]

excellent! :thumbsup:

my only questions...how long has this been set up? cuz i notice you already have sps and other corals in there.

 

[jcraft]

just added water on Sunday

I was downsizing from a 140g, so I filled the new tank up with water from the 140g and just transfered the rock and fish . . . simple thing to do and thats why theres already corals and fish in there

P.S. the Purple Tang in there is strictly TEMPORARY
I had to take out a desjardini and Naso tang from the 140g and placed them in my 72 in the interim . . . the purple tang, as not to fight with the others, went into the 30g. hes a lil guy anyway, so hes cool

 

[surfnvb7]

what purple tang, i see no purple tang. :lol:

 

[Stasher]

Looks like a nice setup. Are you putting a strainer over the inlet for the closed loop or do you want to see if your pump is good at being a blender
As for the cavitation, try getting rid of the elbow on the inlet and run the poly adapter straight out of the union instead. I had my mag9 for my closed loop like yours and had cavitation, replumbed to remove the 90 and have had no problems.
Double check all your connections for tightness with regards to the bubbles.

 

[surfnvb7]

Stasher/jcraft..........can you explain some of the PVC terms for me?

i'm getting ready to do my first bit of true plumbing on my first larger tank...

I understand the thing about the 90degree elbows.

but, what does the poly adapter look like and do?

and what does the union look like and do?

and what is the thing with the red knob called (i do know what the purpose of this is though, lol!)

sorry for the newbie type questions. :lol:

 

[jcraft]

I have a strainer coming for the inlet of the CL. In the meantime, I have a strainer from my ViaAqua pump on it, just turned backwards

the reason for that 90 in the first place is cuz I was runnin outta room under there! I figure it would probably be simpler to get a new pump with smaller diameter inlets/outlets
(been looking at a Gen-X PCX-40 as a replacement (has 3/4" outlets and inlets)

As far as plumbing terms, you want a Union connector before and after the pump so that you have easy access if you ever need to replace or clean it. its a screw-type assembly
the Poly connector is what I call a Barb fitting, where Hard piping can be joined with flexible tubing . . .

 

[jcraft]

double post . . .

 

[surfnvb7]

oh ok, yeah...i know what barbs are, didn't realize they were called poly connectors also, but that makes sense why they are called that. ha!

whats the thing with the red knob called?? ball valve?

 

[jcraft]

yes, thats a ball valve- turn it and it'll stop the flow. they're not as accurate a flow regulator as a gate valve is, but I have yet to see any gate valves available locally

 

[SLOreefer]

sorry for the delay here is my sump'

 

[Carl_in_Florida]

That looks better. Any temp issues?

 

[jcraft]

Update 1/16

Finished setting her up . . .

I replaced the Quiet One 6000 pump with a Gen-X Mak 4 and so far I have been able to keep the microbubbles down to a minimum

I took the Via Aqua pump out of the sump and installed an external return pump- I'm using a Mag 5

With the Submersible pump outta the way, theres plenty of room left for the AquaC Urchin skimmer- its only been in there 3 days and its doin a pretty good job so far!

I also replaced the Bio Bale that came with the sump with about 6 lbs of live rock rubble, then placed some Chaeto in the "fuge". there is no sand

Lastly, I installed the AquaMedic 250w Metal Halide pendant (has a XDM 14k bulb) the fixture is hanging about 14 inches from the surface and there has been no temp fluctuations

here's a few pics:

 

[shouldabenacowboy]

Nice setup

SBC

 

[bowfront26]

i really like the tank, I was thinking about setting up 30 cube. how do you like the size?

 

[jcraft]

30g seems to be a good size- not too big, but not too small so as to limit you in what you can do

it was a bit of a challenge to find a sump that would fit under the stand, but keep in mind many others decide to just do a HOB filter

if the price hadnt been twice as much though, I would have gone ahead and gotten the 58g reef ready oceanic . . . now thats a good size

 

[vest0830]

Wow. I really like this cube! I am planning on doing the same here hopefully sometime soon!

2 things. In the first couple of pics, I see very little surface water movement. then in the last pic, it looks like there is pleanty of surface movement. true?

also, are you getting lots of water movement within the tank now with the CL?

ok, one more thing. any pics of all of the pluming? (a back side pic)
thats the only thing im a little nervous about.

-frank

 

[spf9992001]

Here's another newb question for you all...

What is cavitation?