perpetual98
New member
Stay away from the JBJ nano cubes. There's all sorts of problems with them cracking. The Aquapods are supposed to be much better, but I'm not sure if they're available yet.
Eric
Eric
Updated Photos of 2 Gallon Cube
- Thread starter ninjafish
- Start date
wmfsoll2
Premium Member
Just wanted to say this is a very clean and organized design. And you deserve the recognition that you have received so far.
I have taken the last few hours to read over this whole thread, and found it very interesting. I am intrigued by your ingenuity. I was thinking about the same thing in a 125 gal tank with the filtration lines half the way down the back glass at each end. But your design is obviously a design that allows a 360 degree view. And it makes me wonder if I should change my plans. Thank you for all the work you have done and your etiquette during this thread.
Bill
I have taken the last few hours to read over this whole thread, and found it very interesting. I am intrigued by your ingenuity. I was thinking about the same thing in a 125 gal tank with the filtration lines half the way down the back glass at each end. But your design is obviously a design that allows a 360 degree view. And it makes me wonder if I should change my plans. Thank you for all the work you have done and your etiquette during this thread.
Bill
Last edited:
ninjafish
New member
Ed,
Ike is about 2" long only and probably wont get any bigger either.
I want to give him a bigger tank just because he looks like he could use it. I don't know how much room a little smasher really needs though...
Eric,
Thanks for the advice. After a couple days of planning and researching, I abruptly changed my mind and decided not to go with one of the all-in-one cube tanks. There are a lot of nano reefers that do masterful jobs with those things, but after all of the interest that people have shown towards my current setup, I decided that I should stick with what I know. For that reason, I am building a one cubic foot cube with the exact same specs as my current tank. The only modification that I will need to do, is replace the proper size impellor blades in the cannister filter. That should take me up to 280gph before losses and losses shouldn't be too bad because there is a straight shot from the filter to the tank and the head height is only a foot and a half.
Cheers,
- Chad
Ike is about 2" long only and probably wont get any bigger either.
I want to give him a bigger tank just because he looks like he could use it. I don't know how much room a little smasher really needs though...
Eric,
Thanks for the advice. After a couple days of planning and researching, I abruptly changed my mind and decided not to go with one of the all-in-one cube tanks. There are a lot of nano reefers that do masterful jobs with those things, but after all of the interest that people have shown towards my current setup, I decided that I should stick with what I know. For that reason, I am building a one cubic foot cube with the exact same specs as my current tank. The only modification that I will need to do, is replace the proper size impellor blades in the cannister filter. That should take me up to 280gph before losses and losses shouldn't be too bad because there is a straight shot from the filter to the tank and the head height is only a foot and a half.
Cheers,
- Chad
ninjafish
New member
Bill,
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to tell me what you think of it.
I think that a 125gal tank with everything hidden would be awesome! It may cause more problems for you though. I would suggest having the tank visible from three sides instead of four and putting a false wall on the one side so that the water overflows before going to your intake bulkhead. In a small tank like mine, skimming the surface of the water every couple of days can easily be done with a single paper towel. In your tank however, it would turn in to a major pain in the butt!
Also, it would be neat to be able to hide your exhaust bulkheads under the rockwork in the bottom of your tank but that takes some guts too.
With my tank, if the bulkhead in the bottom of the tank fails or cracks, I have 2gallons of water on the floor and am out only as much livestock as you can put in an 8" cube. If a 125gal tank drained right to the bottom, it could be devastating. Just somethings to think about...
If I were you, I would make the tank viewable from three sides , have an overflow wall in the back, and pump your return flow through a return manifold that runs all along the top of the tank that is hidden by the trim. Or just shoot your return flow through some bulkheads that you have in the false wall... just so you don't have to drill the bottom pane of your tank.
I don't know, maybe I'm just a nano guy that's scared of big tanks now but, Murphy's Law seems to rule in this hobby
.
Good luck and I am sure that whatever you decide, it will be a sweet tank.
- Chad
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to tell me what you think of it.
I think that a 125gal tank with everything hidden would be awesome! It may cause more problems for you though. I would suggest having the tank visible from three sides instead of four and putting a false wall on the one side so that the water overflows before going to your intake bulkhead. In a small tank like mine, skimming the surface of the water every couple of days can easily be done with a single paper towel. In your tank however, it would turn in to a major pain in the butt!
Also, it would be neat to be able to hide your exhaust bulkheads under the rockwork in the bottom of your tank but that takes some guts too.
With my tank, if the bulkhead in the bottom of the tank fails or cracks, I have 2gallons of water on the floor and am out only as much livestock as you can put in an 8" cube. If a 125gal tank drained right to the bottom, it could be devastating. Just somethings to think about...
If I were you, I would make the tank viewable from three sides , have an overflow wall in the back, and pump your return flow through a return manifold that runs all along the top of the tank that is hidden by the trim. Or just shoot your return flow through some bulkheads that you have in the false wall... just so you don't have to drill the bottom pane of your tank.
I don't know, maybe I'm just a nano guy that's scared of big tanks now but, Murphy's Law seems to rule in this hobby
. Good luck and I am sure that whatever you decide, it will be a sweet tank.
- Chad
Last edited:
ninjafish
New member
gman,
Much appreciated! Make sure you stick around to see the new tank too. I plan on having almost the same amount of rockwork but building it up into a single pinnacle surrounded by nice white arogonite and lots of swimming room. I would like to add, Ike-willing, a small percula clown. As long as it stays off of the substrate it should be safe from a smasher (and the fact that it isn't wrapped in a shell, or offered between two chopsticks helps too).
- Chad
Much appreciated! Make sure you stick around to see the new tank too. I plan on having almost the same amount of rockwork but building it up into a single pinnacle surrounded by nice white arogonite and lots of swimming room. I would like to add, Ike-willing, a small percula clown. As long as it stays off of the substrate it should be safe from a smasher (and the fact that it isn't wrapped in a shell, or offered between two chopsticks helps too).
- Chad
Cheers Chad,! I always imagined him to be a bit bigger! I guess that's because he looks so big compared to your tank 
So what are you going to do with the 8" cube when you upgrade? How about plumbing it inline to a bigger tank? You can't get rid of it, it's a part of reefing folklore!
I must say I'm in agreement about the big tank, 4 sides approach... UNLESS, you had a spire of rockwork in the middle with an overflow pipe hidden in it. That was what I was thinking of doing before I saw this thread! You wouldn't completely avoid the risks but they'd be decreased a bit.
Ed
So what are you going to do with the 8" cube when you upgrade? How about plumbing it inline to a bigger tank? You can't get rid of it, it's a part of reefing folklore!
I must say I'm in agreement about the big tank, 4 sides approach... UNLESS, you had a spire of rockwork in the middle with an overflow pipe hidden in it. That was what I was thinking of doing before I saw this thread! You wouldn't completely avoid the risks but they'd be decreased a bit.
Ed
ninjafish
New member
Ed,
Thanks bud, and good point about the central overflow pipe. I did consider it when first building this tank because that would have allowed me to have surface skimming as well as the fact that a sump gives you more flexibility and lets you use less-expensive solutions to auto topoff and macro algae 'fuges. At the time, I ruled it out because I didn't want the noise or the risk of an overflow. However, if I made a larger cube tank that was at eye level (so you weren't constantly looking down an overflow pipe) I would definitely set it up like you described.
As for the original 8" cube, no one is as big a fan of it as I am, but the new tank requires money and... let's just say that my wife isn't a student of reefing folklore
- I am selling the cube to a local reefer for $50 to get some money to put towards the new tank. The real story behind this thread isn't the innovation of the tank... it's the innovation in the face of severe opposition
- Chad
Thanks bud, and good point about the central overflow pipe. I did consider it when first building this tank because that would have allowed me to have surface skimming as well as the fact that a sump gives you more flexibility and lets you use less-expensive solutions to auto topoff and macro algae 'fuges. At the time, I ruled it out because I didn't want the noise or the risk of an overflow. However, if I made a larger cube tank that was at eye level (so you weren't constantly looking down an overflow pipe) I would definitely set it up like you described.
As for the original 8" cube, no one is as big a fan of it as I am, but the new tank requires money and... let's just say that my wife isn't a student of reefing folklore
- I am selling the cube to a local reefer for $50 to get some money to put towards the new tank. The real story behind this thread isn't the innovation of the tank... it's the innovation in the face of severe opposition - Chad
perpetual98
New member
You could also encrust an overflow with DIY live rock to hide it too.
Eric
Eric
deacon hemp
New member
This tank is not going to die! just to let you all know im going to keep this legend alive,it will be in the nano-reef.com pico contest and im loading it up with only the finest of canadian frags! lol Im even replicating his ATO and putting a 70 MH over it.
diordivasarah
New member
Wow. This is amazing! I really wish I could plumb stuff like that but I am just a teen Anyways..what is your current stock for your cube?
Anyways..what is your current stock for your cube?
ninjafish
New member
Thanks! This is just going off of memory but I have:
purple birdsnest
brown digitata
green digitata
orange monti caps
frogspawn
candycane
pulsing xenai (2kinds)
zoanthids (5 or 6 colors)
button polyps
mushroom (4 kinds)
rigordia (2 kinds)
devils hand
green star polyp
mantis shrimp
the things the mantis shrimp hasn't eaten yet
When I move to a larger tank, I will probably add a frag of torch coral, an open brain (if I can find one), and a yellow tail blue damsel.
Cheers,
- Chad
purple birdsnest
brown digitata
green digitata
orange monti caps
frogspawn
candycane
pulsing xenai (2kinds)
zoanthids (5 or 6 colors)
button polyps
mushroom (4 kinds)
rigordia (2 kinds)
devils hand
green star polyp
mantis shrimp
the things the mantis shrimp hasn't eaten yet
When I move to a larger tank, I will probably add a frag of torch coral, an open brain (if I can find one), and a yellow tail blue damsel.
Cheers,
- Chad
MalawianDude
New member
WOW is all i got to say, i've been just following this thread from beginning, very cool! How do u keep the glass so clean?
Also, i just can't figure out how u get that light to stay under the water in the canister filter, where did u get it?
Also, i just can't figure out how u get that light to stay under the water in the canister filter, where did u get it?
ninjafish
New member
Thanks! The glass is naturally nice and clear and the chaetomorpha in the filter keeps the algae growth down - I do run an algae magent over it every few days too just to make it sparkle.
The light in my cannister filter is a submersible pond light (5w halogen). I drilled a hole in the top of the filter to string the light through and then sealed up the hole. I hope this makes sense...
- Chad
The light in my cannister filter is a submersible pond light (5w halogen). I drilled a hole in the top of the filter to string the light through and then sealed up the hole. I hope this makes sense...
- Chad
Joes_Taverne
New member
Hi Chad, really a great cube. Absolute fantastic. Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread, it's just too much, especially for me because my english isn't so good.
What hasn't the mantis shrimp eaten yet? I got one in my 6g cube too. But he's really shy, not like yours in the video (also great!). I've only seen him once in total and every 2 or 3 day I get a look at his eyes, that's all. I'm really afraid to put anything else into the cube like other shrimps or small fishes.
Will you catch him out when you move to a bigger cube? Otherwise your damsel might get a problem.
Cheers, Richard
(Sorry for my errors. It's not only my englsh, my keyboard drives me crazy too.)
ninjafish said:
What hasn't the mantis shrimp eaten yet? I got one in my 6g cube too. But he's really shy, not like yours in the video (also great!). I've only seen him once in total and every 2 or 3 day I get a look at his eyes, that's all. I'm really afraid to put anything else into the cube like other shrimps or small fishes.
Will you catch him out when you move to a bigger cube? Otherwise your damsel might get a problem.
Cheers, Richard
(Sorry for my errors. It's not only my englsh, my keyboard drives me crazy too.)
vtcoconutcream
New member
your inspiration has been great!!!
your inspiration has been great!!!
I have read the entire thread and would love to start my own little piece of heaven...I have a 15 inch cube on order and would love to do a sump under it so that I could include the skimmer. You mentioned in a post earlier about a member on the board named Herbie who posted about how to have a completely silent overflow that is safer than most. I would like to find out more information on this as I am new to this hobbie and I need to know where and how many bulkheads to have cut into my new tank!!! Would it still be possible to have the tank visiable from all four sides? I planned on doing the overflow in the center and aquascaping around it. Let me know what you think.. And I really only want to have corals with maybe in the future a manderine. I'm still working on what to do about lighting but need to start somewhere!! Again any advice would be greatly appriciated and keep up the AWSOME work!!
your inspiration has been great!!!
I have read the entire thread and would love to start my own little piece of heaven...I have a 15 inch cube on order and would love to do a sump under it so that I could include the skimmer. You mentioned in a post earlier about a member on the board named Herbie who posted about how to have a completely silent overflow that is safer than most. I would like to find out more information on this as I am new to this hobbie and I need to know where and how many bulkheads to have cut into my new tank!!! Would it still be possible to have the tank visiable from all four sides? I planned on doing the overflow in the center and aquascaping around it. Let me know what you think.. And I really only want to have corals with maybe in the future a manderine. I'm still working on what to do about lighting but need to start somewhere!! Again any advice would be greatly appriciated and keep up the AWSOME work!!
Similar threads
