Chin Lee's 300 gallon cube tank

[Chin_Lee]

Chin Lee's 300 gallon cube journal

Feb 2006
I saw a 300 gallon cube tank for sale by Cody (Stinky) in Calgary on Canreef.
The size was nice at 48"x48"x30".
Price was great.
Location and weight of this bad boy was bad – it probably weighed close to 700-800 lbs.
When I finally decided to buy it, Ruth had already bought it but was very nice to "let" me have it. Thanks Ruth.

April 2006
It was time to drive to Calgary to pick up the tank. A group of very nice people in Calgary agreed to help me move the tank and I will be forever grateful to you all - thank you to the following people that I remembered (if I missed your name, sorry L) Mike (Andestang), Arek (Pokolec), Danny Zubot, Tony (Delphinus), Nate, Paul (JSTR) , Jim (Sergeantpilot).
I am most grateful to my good friend Anthony (Seahorse_Fanatic) who decided it would be fun to drive out to Calgary with me. I haven’t figured out if he’s just crazy or bored J but nevertheless, he was a great help in making this all happen.
I rented a full sized cube van, drove 950 km (about11 hours) to Calgary, loaded the tank into the van, and drove back another 950 km to Surrey all within 24 hours. The tank was unloaded into my garage thanks to TomR, Callum (HockeyNut), and of course Anthony.

The cube van which drank $300 of gas in 24 hours.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/gassinguptocalgary.jpg

Getting the tank all wrapped up ready to be moved up a flight of stairs and into the backyard.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/remoteImage.jpg

A few good fellas waiting for their workout.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/readytomove.jpg

Between April and July, three things were done:
1) I removed the center positioned overflow to the rear of the tank. Because the tank also had euro-bracing at the bottom, the entire overflow was positioned four inches away from the wall. This created a very interesting water movement situation in the tank because there is a space behind the overflow.
2) Sand was glued to the bottom glass to create the look of a sandbed aka Faux Pas sandbed. Envirotex Lite was the two-part epoxy compound that was used to mix the sand into. You mix the epoxy up, pour in into the tank and spread it evenly, then use a coriander to evenly spread the sand on the epoxy. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out as nice for me because I was unable to spread the epoxy evenly enough because I was unable to lift the tank and let gravity spread the epoxy evenly. But with a few more layers of epoxy and sand, I achieved the look that I wanted.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/IMG_9590.jpg
3) The base stand was built in the basement and prepared for the tank move down to the basement.

July 16, 2006
The tank was moved from the garage into the basement thanks to Anthony, Morgan, Mo, Dan (Midnight) and Jason Mckenzie. For both moves up and down stairs, a wooden sleigh was built and used. The tank was strapped to the sleigh and various thick ropes were used to allow multiple people to pull. In both instances, only 2-3 people were able to push but 4-6 people were able to pull the tank with ropes.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/695_9588.jpg

Over the next few months of August – October, I pondered for many hours on how I was going to aquascape the tank. I had ideas of putting all the rocks on PVC structure so they were all elevated off the bottom and various PVC structures to put the rocks on. (these ideas did not work out in the end)
I knew I wanted a shelf on the overflow that I could “hang” some rocks from so I glued together some glass and made two level shelf on the overflow. This idea worked out really well in the end.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/695_9584-2.jpg

The first two fishes to go in the tank
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/695_9595-1.jpg
The faux pas sandbed made it very rough to work in the tank hence the purple striped bedsheet in the tank.

The tank was placed high up and only about 16 inches from the low basement ceiling. This is primarily due to the height of the sump in the back room and the height of the bottom of the overflow. This created a challenge for me to create a canopy that could allow access inside the tank. I took the idea of a moving canopy from several local reefers and I went to Lee Valley tools and bought:
- a pair of 38” two way slides http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=51775&cat=3,43614,43616&ap=2 (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=51775&cat=3,43614,43616&ap=2)
- two over-the-top slides http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=41861&cat=3,43614,43620&ap=1 (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=41861&cat=3,43614,43620&ap=1)
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/DSCN0603.jpg
The over the top slides allow the cabinet door to be lifted and pushed completely out of the way.

[Continue second post as I exceeded limit with one post]

[Chin_Lee]

October 27, 2006
Anthony (again) came over and helped me install the canopy that I had built. Hey…. it swings both ways ….. the canopy I mean….
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/DSCN0606.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/DSCN0608.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/DSCN0609.jpg

November 2006
The finishing plywood was added to the frame, the pre-painted cabinets were sanded down and all wood pieces were stained.
The closed loop was plumbed with the intake from the 2” bulkhead in the center of the tank (previously the center overflow). Pump used is a Barracuda and the output is split three ways – one to the one inch hole in the center of the tank (also from the previous overflow) and two main returns to each back corners of the tank via two Wavysea Plus wave making devices.

December 2006
Lighting was added to the canopy. Two 400W HQI will used to light this tank and light distribution will be provided by a light moving device called a Sun Circle.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture005.jpg
This device is more commonly used by hydroponic gardeners (aka Marihuana farmers) to maximize their lighting equipment to plant ratio. The device will move two lights in a circle continuously with one revolution every 90 seconds. The wiring for the lights are hard-wired within the device which is hard to explain in words but the end result is that the wires do not get wind up and stop the light movement.
Two Luminarc mini reflectors are attached to each arm and I’ve chosen to initially use 400 W 10K Reeflux bulbs for their incredible high PAR readings with HQI ballasts and their nice 430 nm spike of blue.
The lighting is intense but because its always moving, it is evenly distributed. The only downside are the corners do not get as bright as I would have liked but it’s disadvantage is considered very minimal. I introduced the acros to the new lights by using only one light one for a week and then started the second one for a few hours and still increasing,
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture004.jpg
The block of metal attached are counterweights of the mogul socket and metal holder on the opposite side of the reflector.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture008.jpg
In this picture you can see the MH ballast wires running to the top of the Sun Circle, the four black dots are part of the hard wiring through the device, and the wires come out the bottom electrical box to the lamps. The motor on the top attached to the black cable is the motor that moves the lights.

December 15, 2006
So the cabinet is finished, the lights are in, its time to add RO/DI water.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture001.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture002.jpg

The big wind storm and the turbulence in the water didn’t help to move the project along but in the end, 280 gallons of RO/DI was made, salt added, and added into the tank. Along came Anthony again (did I mention how helpful this guy has been… :biggrin: ) and he did all the initial aquascaping for me; the thing was beautiful even without any corals or fish.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture009.jpg
Lighting in this picture are with Radium 20K bulbs. The plan for the aquascaping was established and created.

The move of all my hard corals began and many of the pieces did not like the move at all. I lost a few nice pieces and many are still recuperating. But the majority of them are doing well with nice polyp extensions.

[Continue third post as I exceeded number of images]

[Chin_Lee]

Circulation from the display tank upstairs to the sump was been shut down and the entire transfer took three nights of cleaning, scrubbing, and fragging of each and every piece. The following pictures are of final product as of today.

Right corner view
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture014.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture017.jpg

Left corner view
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture014.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture020.jpg

Canopy fully opened
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture021.jpg

Left side of tank
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture010.jpg

Front view of tank
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture011.jpg

Right view of tank
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture012.jpg

Small school lyretail anthias http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture044.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture043.jpg

My next mini project will be turning my upstairs 165 gallon tank into a LPS/SPS tank.

Thats all folks.,,,,,,,, until I complete the upstairs tank.

SPECIAL THANKS to Anthony for all his friendship, time, dedication, committment to help me out every step of the way - I really couldn't have done it without your help.

[andsoitgoes]

.............

adopt me.

that is the coolest thing *EVER* - holy crow on a stick that's freakin INSANE - awesome aquascaping and simply a wicked tank. just... WOW

[niloc16]

chin you did an amazing job. turned out awesome. definitely keep the pics coming buddy

[Pan]

forgive the language but


Sweet Christ!!

that looks..well sweet christ...

[Mike Olson]

Seeing your tank today was awe inspiring! The pics look phenominal but they still dont come close to seeing it in person! I was truly amazed how the rockwork went together and how open of a design it is. The thought and prep work sure paid off....cant wait to see the tank upstairs now!
p.s. Thanks for the blue mili frag-I was a little worried since it took 3 hrs. to complete my running around and finally getting it out of the bag....its whitish but all the polyps are out tonight-whew!

[EmilyB]

That cube looked sweet even in the back of the van, WOW, what an incredible job ! :biggrin:

[Acro]

Congrats Chin,

Job well done!!

[robzilla]

wOw!!

[Ruth]

Chin absolutely fantastic job. I am glad I didn't have a go at it first as you would have put me to shame. I do have a cube of the same size but it's acrylic that I hope to be able to set up in the next year (I think I better invite Anthony up to help me too :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: )
You guys should be very proud of yourselves.

[Samw]

:shocked!: Amazing tank Chin! Another one to put on my tank tour list! :)

[Chowder]

Awsome tank Chin. I have been waiting to see how this one turned out. Great work . Definetly something you should be proud of. I can hardly wait to buy a house so I can build my dream tank.

[Jason McK]

Holly crap man that is amazing. I can't believe you did all that work in such a short time. It looks just incredable.

J

[Tom R]

Hi Chin

Thank you for the Blue Acro. I did not realize that your tank had progessed this far. If I had known I would have been over in a shot. By the way Anthony can Aquascape my tank any time (yours looks fantastic). Just let me know when you are ready for the Green Frogspawn.

Tom R

[Chin_Lee]

Thanks all.
When things were going, I had to move quick to get things done. I had many many many late nights over the Xmas season cuz that was the only time I had to work on the tank ... after the kids are off to bed. So my time to work would be around 9pm to 3am +/- 1 hr. Then I would have to wake up by 6am to get to work :sad:
The aquascaping was challenging but was well done by Anthony. All the hours I spent pre-planning seemed like such a waste but the few things that panned out worked out really well. Its hard to see in the pictures but there are so many spaces in and out of the rocks and the center of the rock work has plenty of swimming room for the fish.
Tom - If you don't mind, i'll pick up the frogspawn when I set up the 165. It should be done within a few weeks...... (famous last words but I think its completely do-able)
chin

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I just got the same feeling looking at your tank that I do when I'm driving along in my Ford Focus and I see a BMW Z4 roll by.

All that to say...fantastic! As a beginner in the hobby, definitely something to shoot for. Keep the pics coming!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Chin,

The pics are great but it really doesn't show how spectacular this tank is when you see it in person. I have a feeling you will be having many more visitors who pop in to check out this bad boy.

And you are very welcome. The trip to Calgary was lots of fun, if tiring. Plus I love to do woodwork & aquascaping. So, again, you are welcome but that's what friends are for.

TomR, just let me know when & I'll come on over to help with the reaquascaping.

Ruth, cover our transportation costs to come up North this summer & my wife & I will gladly do a road trip to help you set up your new cube tank. Cubes are cool because you have the extra width to build the rock work and skip using pvc parts because it was virtually impossible to hide it with the rocks, which is why we ended up not using Chin's premade pvc structure. Be sure to stop by my place when you come down & I'll take you out to see this & other beautiful tanks in the area (ie. TomR's 180g & 125g).

Anthony

[vanreefer]

Looks AMAZING Chin... I am waiting for my invite

Cheers
Dan

[dirtyreefer]

Chin, the tank looks awesome, great job to you and all those who helped! :) Definitely inspires me to change some things on my 94g cube, what an inspiration!

I'll also be waiting for my invite, I'll bring the fragging tools :D

[butters88]

Chin,
All I can say is WOW....your setup is freaking amazing. Congrats on an awesome job!
I can't wait to see it in person :)

[andestang]

What a super job you guys have done ! :shocked!: Even the detail in your journal. Gives inspiration when working on mine. Look forward to future pics and also pics of your next project.

[untamed]

Very nicely done. I'm sure it seemed like forever, but in my books you did that pretty fast without cutting corners. Some of my first design plans were for a cube tank. As you can probably tell, I love the multi-sided viewing!

[Skimmer Juice]

Chin the tank looks awsome! I am glad to see I sold it to the right guy.I really like the aquascape, I think I will try to make an arch similar to yours.Congradulations

[Doug]

Outstanding Chin. Very nice. Great shaped aquarium.

[briansmyth]

Thank you for documenting your story - I'm sure everyone has learned from your experiences.

[Snappy]

Chin,
That is a great looking set up. Before seeing this there have been very few cube tanks that I was impressed with, but yours is very impressive. Handy to have a guy like Anthony around, he did a great job. You have some spectacular pieces. Next time I'm in the area I will try to coax Anthony to take me for another tank tour. Unfortunately you weren't available when I was there in August but hopefully will be next time.

Anthony,
well done buddy!:lol:

[christyf5]

Wow thats impressive!!! Can't wait to attend the next reef meeting at your house :wink:

[AndyL]

Looks amazing chin, Extremely well done! Cant wait to see it progress as it matures!

[cprowler]

Very nice Chin, it's come a long way since I was over last. Can't wait to see it in person.

[kuatto]

Very well done,looks great.

[Delphinus]

Spectacular!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OCDP]

What else is there to say? Fantastic :mrgreen:

[clipperfish]

It is a wonderful setup you have there Chin . I Can't imagin what it cost you . And i love the way the top opens .You have given me some idea's how i am going to make my new top come summer when i move . .keep up the good work . can't wait to see the 165g . will be watching for it .

[wayner]

Very Very Nice, well done!

[muck]

Hey Chin,

Any updates forthcoming..?? :mrgreen:

[fishwave]

Holy smokes! awesome aquascaping, Awesome tank!

[Chin_Lee]

Hey Chin,

Any updates forthcoming..?? :mrgreen:

Patience little grasshopper :biggrin: Actually i've lost about 75% of my original acropora livestock from the move. They didn't like the new setup too much and those that lived have the most incredible polyp extension I've ever seen from them. Thankfully my biggest colonies made it OK and it was mostly the smaller ones that died ..... I'll recycle their skeletons into my calcium reactor so I can put them into good use one more time.

I've been happy with the growth on the existing acros with the circular moving light so far. I can't comment too much yet since its only been 2 months but so far their grown are quite even and round. The only downside is I have to wait 10-20 seconds for the light to go over a coral to get a good look at it if I want to scrutinize something.

I've finished setting up my original 165 tank into a LPS tank and I'm in the process of stocking it with the right fishes.

Pics to follow in a few weeks.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Goodness, now I'm going to have to take a hammer to my stand and start all over again. That cabinetry work is gorgeous, very very nice job...wow it's nice..

Doug

[Fish]

Awesome. I love the dimensions of the tank and the aquascaping! You have a bright surface world with a mysterious area underneath it.

- Chad

Oh, and that rotating lighting - genius solution for a big cube tank!

[DocReefer]

Chin,

May I visit if I am in the area?

Laurence

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Hey Chin....any updates on this tank?? Pics? :smile:

[mr_alberta]

Wow Chin, I dunno how I missed this thread!! I'm so jealous! Tank looks fantastic!

[danny zubot]

Just found this thread, I know, where have I been.

Sure brings back memories though.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Some loser with nothing better to do must have dug it back up....:rolleyes: :mrgreen:

[niloc16]

anything new lately chin? what about an updated FTS?

[muck]

hehehe... Im with Colin.

Ryan...[patiently waiting for an update]

[michika]

I'm tagging along too for an update.

More photos!

[Chin_Lee]

OK here's an update to my tank. I lost about 80% of my initial livestock that I had in my 165. I suspect my water wasn't aged enough before doing the transfer which resulted in the loss. The remainder barely survived.
The cube has matured well and is doing well now. The pieces that did survived are triving and i'm getting very good polyp extensions on the acros.
Using the revolving light mover unit, I wasn't getting good lighting intensity in the corners of the cube tank and the corals in the corners weren't getting good color. So i've switched out the revolving light mover and changed it into a light rail system that moves 2x400W HQI in Lumenarc mini reflectors back and forth. Here are the pics of the raiils and the modifcations I made to the motor to mount the reflectors.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture102.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture101.jpg
The two metal tubes on either side of the rail is to ensure that my plywood is perfectly flat and level. Due to the 4x4 span, the wood warped slightly with the weight in the middle. So i added two 1" square steel tubes to both sides.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture105.jpg


http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture106.jpg

Here are the lights mounted onto the rail.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture107.jpg

Lights on
To the back:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/Picture177.jpg

In the middle:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture178.jpg

To the front:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture179.jpg

Front view:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture025.jpg

Left view:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture036-1.jpg

Various pics of different corals:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture131.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture132.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture027.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture065.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture069.jpg

[Chin_Lee]

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture075.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture079.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture146-1.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture148.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture168.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture171.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/Picture107.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture127.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture122-1.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/chin_lee/300%20Gallon%20Cube%20Tank/Picture118.jpg






Thats all for now. My next big project is a new skimmer......... bigger and badder ...... i mean better.

[Veng68]

Awesome looking tank.

Are you going to build your own skimmer?

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

[Jason McK]

Looks amazing Chin. I really have to get over there with some Clippers :)

J

[Snappy]

That light set up is a really cool idea.

[Chowder]

The tank is looking great Chin....

[fkshiu]

Nice looking light rail setup.

What brand is the light rail? Is it the Gualala?

And did you have trouble balancing the two reflectors?

[Tom R]

Hi Chin

The tank looks great. Have you started work on the skimmer?

Tom R

[Chin_Lee]

Thanks guys. I'm using the Light Rail 3 and I shortened the 6' rail to 3 feet.
I am going to build my own skimmer. I just picked up my acylic blade today so work on it will start ...............soooooooooooooooooooon.

[Delphinus]

Wow the yellows in particular really pop. Very nice!

[ClubReef]

Very nice! the corals will have lots of room to grow in the 300.

[danny zubot]

I may have missed this info, but where did you get those reflectors Chin?

[christyf5]

Wow Chin, the tank is looking great! I love the light rail idea. Time for a tank tour at your house :wink:

[michika]

The tank looks great Chin!

Christy, your icon is cute!

[Mathijs]

One of my favorites, it is really looking good!

I hope to see some new pictures.:redface:

[andestang]

Just looked through this again, its looking really good. Also like the light idea.

[marie]

Yup, it's been a year definitely time for an update :mrgreen: