New 110 gallon cube

[danny zubot]

Just picked up the new tank from Bow Valley, looks really good. They also had an old Petland tank there that would work well as a sump, so for a few bucks I picked that up too.

Cube is 36x36x20", 110 gallons.

Sump is 36x16x16", 40 gallons.

I'll post pics as soon as I can get into my basement.:turn-l:

[robzilla]

looking forward to watch the build on this tank :)

[Delphinus]

Ditto ... Danny let me know if you need a hand grunting that thing down the stairs..

[danny zubot]

I might try to bribe one or two of my neighbors with some beer to get a hand with it. I'll call you if they aren't around.

[danny zubot]

Got the tank down stairs and resting in it's home for now.

The tank:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP1784.jpg

The sump:http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP1785.jpg

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Looks awesome, Danny. Love the industrial setting :wink:

[danny zubot]

I'll have to be very careful about where I end up putting this tank. If I position it correctly it will become an in-wall system when I develop the basement.

[wickedfrags]

Sharp looking tank, like the size, did you get starphire glass?

What are you planning for the overflow, I see you did not go with an external overflow. Are you going to have the overflow in the centre of the tank??? I love this design, and you can have electrical conduit going up and down as well for your power to keep it nice and clean looking.

What is planned for the lighting?

[MikeP]

Looks good Danny, are you planning a larger version of your 65g reef or something different?

[danny zubot]

I didn't get starfire, couldn't afford it. I haven't quite decided what to do for the overflow yet. I'm leaning towards building external overflows/fuge . Everything from my old tank (65 gallon) will be moved into this one, minus a couple of boring fish. The lighting will remain the same as well, which is currently 1 400 watt MH with 2 36" HO T5 actinics. The reason I chose this size of tank was so that I could utilize all of my existing lights, livestock and filters etc. The only things I will have to buy for this is the pump & plumbing for the closed loop.

I wanted to revert back to the "bommie" reef style that I once had, and really liked. So the rock work and corals will be centered under the lighting, and I'll leave lots of room around the edges for the fish to swim.

[Delphinus]

What's a bromie?

Edit: Oh ... ok by your description I'm guessing you mean "bommie". Sorry never mind :razz:

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Soooo...what the heck is a bommie, then?!!?!

[Delphinus]

I think the origin of the term is Australian. Anyhow, the best definition I've found is a "tower-like coral structure sticking out from a sandy bottom."(*)

(* - Since I'm quoting a page, the reference link is: http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=2799&sc=&ac=d )

[Neil]

similar to my cubish tank i had built just before xmas. moved my 65 into it as well :) chose that because of my lighting- hey this story sounds familiar. Cant wait to szee the pics of this running. might give me some new ideas for aquascaping

[Josh23]

what ever happened with this tank. I would like to see an update?

[danny zubot]

There isn't really anything to update right now. I haven't even built the stand yet. I'm going for the 'Tony' approach to this tank build. talk to you again in 2009. :razz:

[Skimmerking]

yup take the tony way its the slowest and the safest way to go ....

[Aquattro]

I'm going for the 'Tony' approach to this tank build. talk to you again in 2009. :razz:

Danny, did you want me to correct your year reference and change one of those 0's to a 1? :)

[Delphinus]

:rofl: oh dear... oh dear.

[Joe Reefer]

Maybe that will get your arse in gear.

[Delphinus]

You have kids Lando? ... just curious. :p

[Joe Reefer]

Leave my infertility out of this. :razz:

[danny zubot]

You have kids Lando? ... just curious. :p

That about sums it up.:biggrin:

[Delphinus]

I guess maybe Dan & I need to just show up at each other's places to shame ourselves into getting progress on the tanks. Err, I mean, help each other out with the build process. :mrgreen:

[danny zubot]

Looks like this might take even longer than I expected it to take. The family and I have decided to move to BC, so it's been bumped to an even lower rung on the priority ladder.

[Delphinus]

Wow, big step! Sorry to hear you're leaving town .. where will you guys be moving to?

[danny zubot]

Built the stand today. Just the frame any way, I still have to finish it with panels and paint etc.


http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2843.jpg

With the sump inside.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2844.jpg

[danny zubot]

Oh ya, moving back to BC has been put on hold for a while. So thats why I've started to work on this project again.

[robzilla]

looking good! what do you plan to use for trim? i'm going to build a new stand for my 120 and would like more ideas.
be sure to keep us posted with pics.....

[SeaSerpant]

bummer moving away eh?

[danny zubot]

I'm thinking of MDF panels with some sort of trim around the top and bottom, sort of a base board and crown molding effect. I'm also thinking of attachong them with rare earth magnets for easy removal.

bummer moving away eh?

It is a bummer, thats why we've decided to stay a bit longer.

[Skimmerking]

looks good Tony i like making stand with the basic's and then do the fancy stuff to the outside.

[danny zubot]

So I had to take the tank back to Bow Valley to get some changes done. As it turns out I wasn't able to drill the holes for my closed loop into 3/8" glass. I had them put a 1/2" glass panel on the back of the tank. I also figured I'd have them drill it since they had it there. So here it is, with 2" bulkheads for the closed loop, 1 1/2" overflow and a 1" retrun.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2918.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2915.jpg

Here is most of the parts required to build the closed loop.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2914.jpg

Here is the return to the Sequence dart. I used 2" PVC all the way down to prevent pump cavitation. There's a 2" valve and a union for easy removal when pump servicing is needed.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2920.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2923.jpg

Here is the return via a split manifold. I also have a valve and union on the return side. I ran 1.5" PVC up to the split, then reduced it to 1" for the actual manifold. This should give me good pressure through the 6 x 3/4" locklines I will eventually use.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2921.jpg

I must have been tired the night I was working on the manifold because I messed it up a bit. I intended to put a split before the valve under the stand with another valve that I could open for water changes. I forgot to do this.

The water change valve was instead placed higher up behind the tank just before the split for the manifold. It should still work, but will instead be more gravity fed than anything else. Oh well, my water changes will take a bit longer. You can see where the water change valve is in the picture below.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2922.jpg

I still need to locate the lock lines from somewhere. I'll probably end up ordering them from J&L because I can't find them locally. Once I've tested the closed loop I'll get to work on the sump plumbing.

Oh ya, I painted the back of the tank white. I've seen tanks with white backs before and like the clean look. Eventually, you won't see much of the back wall anyway.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2925.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2924.jpg

[SeaSerpant]

did you move or not? jj. looks great.

[danny zubot]

No we opted to stay for a while. After going out to BC we decided it would cost us a bit too much right now. After this project is finally completed I think i'll want to stay put for a while anyway.

[SeaSerpant]

thats great to know. i wasn't sure if it was you or someone else who was going to move.

[Zylumn]

Danny I have a manifold on my tank and wished I had put more outlets on. I would consider a minimum 8 with preferably 12 manifold outlets with your setup. Looks good though. BTW why did you have to change to 1/2 glass?.
Looks great it will be a nice setup.
Kevin

[danny zubot]

Danny I have a manifold on my tank and wished I had put more outlets on. I would consider a minimum 8 with preferably 12 manifold outlets with your setup. Looks good though. BTW why did you have to change to 1/2 glass?.


The reason I had to upgrade the back panel to 1/2' was so that I could sleep at night. Bow valley told me that 3/8" may have been ok, but 1/2" is certainly not going to break.

What was the flow rate of the pump you used for your manifold Kevin? The sequence dart offers 3600 ghp, which will work out to 600 gph per nozel. (not factoring in head loss of course) My thinking when I chose 6, was that I should be able to achieve the chaotic flow I like without using power heads. Do you think 600 gph is too much flow out of a 3/4" nozel? it really takes nothing to add more nozels to the maniflold.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I guess it would be relatively easy to cap some nozzles as opposed to adding more later. That's one way to look at it.

[Zylumn]

Danny Wow 600 per 3/4" is very strong in my opinion. Try 12 + as I found with a light flow you can then target corals or dead spots reasonably. I am running about 120 gph through 1/2" and it is perfect for keeping corals gently moving without being abusive and it doesn't blow the #### out of a fish if it hits the stream. All my tanks I build from now on will have a manifold with multiple outlets. What are you going to use to skim the top water in the tank?. Maybe consider 4 strong ones mixing up the top water of the tank and 6-8 on 1/2" lock-line for spot targeting.
Kevin

[danny zubot]

Since I haven't ordered the lock lines yet I could simply get the split lines. So My 6 nozels will become 12 @ 300 ghp through 3/4". I think that will be better.

300 gph through 1/2" is what a maxi jet 1200 does, so 3/4" will have less pressure. Thanks for the heads up Kevin.

[danny zubot]

Can anyone offer a link or diagram of an external overflow design. I'm trying to wrap my head around how to build an external overflow that would alow me to raise or lower the water level in the tank. I don't want an ugly box inside of the tank, I'd much rather have something outside that isn't an eye sore.

My initial thoughts were to build a box with another bulk head on the bottom. That way I could build a sliding stand pipe to raise and lower the water level. Input anyone?

[Skimmerking]

Danny you want to raise the water level in the over flow or the tank.. why would you want to raise the water level in the tank. I dont think that a external over flow will allow you to raise the water level in the tank ..

[danny zubot]

i want to raise the level in the tank because if i don't, there will be like 2.5" from the top of the water to the tank top. i only have a 20" high tank so i need it as high as i can.

[danny zubot]

Well, I went up to Gold's to see if they had the lock lines I needed. After seeing how big the 3/4" lines were, I decided to try just the 6 lines with flares instead of buying "Y" adaptors etc. This is how they worked out.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/Cube%20build%20up/IMGP2988.jpg

My first test yielded a couple of small leaks in various joints of the closed loop, which are repairable.

The flow coming out of the flare nozels was moderate to feel, not as thrusty as I thought they would be at 600 ghp each. So I'll stick with them.

[Zylumn]

Looks good.
Keep up with the pics.
Kevin

[danny zubot]

Today I picked up the Lumenarc reflector, and installed it. What an awesone reflector, i've got coast to coast coverage across the entire tank. :wink: A special thanks to Ryan and Steve for making that happen!

So now that I had lights I got the ich to do he swap right away, and I did. Didn't finish until 3 am. I'll take some pics tomorrow, I'm going straigt to bed. :redface:

[digital-audiophile]

Awesome!!!

I can't wait to see how she looks :)

[michika]

Subscribed!

[danny zubot]

Ok, as promised, here are a few shots of the complete setup.

Please keep in mind that this tank will eventually become an inwall tank. So nothing really had to be that pretty, it just had to be functional. Enjoy!

The back side of the tank while running. The wife thinks it looks like some kind of bio-mechanical machine, and I said it is!:lol:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3110.jpg

The sump. Nothing fancy, just a chamber for the skimmer, a couple of baffles, and a chamber for live rock. There's plenty of room to add macro algae if I want to build a refugium down the road.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3111.jpg

The lighting structure. This posed the biggest problem for me, just look at the venting I had to work around. The lumenarc is actually hanging from a rail structure so that I can move it out of the way when I need to get my hands wet. Like I said, it's not fancy but it does work well. The T5's are simply screwed to 2 x 4's to raise them up above the closed loop manifold.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3112.jpg

I messured like 12 times before placing the tank here just to make sure that I got it right. Over the next while I'll build the walls around it. There will be a door to the right of the tank to access the back of it, as well as the house utilities. I chose this area because I'd have to build a wall around the furnace and HWT anyway, so as to prevent the rug rats from messing around wih everything. They are 2 and 1 year old, so building a wall is way easier than chasing them every where.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3113.jpg

[danny zubot]

I love having 3 feet of depth to work with. Here's some shot of the inside of the tank. Things might change a bit regarding coral location etc. but they alway change don't they.:razz:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3119.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3118.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3116.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3115.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/tank%20build%20up/IMGP3114.jpg

[Jason McK]

Freak'n Sweet tank. That White background looks Amazing. WOW just looks Great

J

[Sebae again]

That looks fantastic! Looks like you've got some serious flow happening.

[Delphinus]

Looks awesome Danny.

[robzilla]

great job! :)

[digital-audiophile]

The white background turned out really well, it pulls your view back into the tank :) Great Job!

[Chowder]

Tank looks really great. The white back ground makes the appearance of a shallow reef.

[muck]

Awesome Danny!! Tank is looking fantastic!!
Are you running a 400W in the lumenarc reflector?

EDIT: LOL nevermind..read your sig. after posting this. :lol:

[danny zubot]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I still need to tweak a few things here and there, but all in all I'm pleased with the new setup.

[Reefhawk1]

Nice tank ! Would you like to come and build a setup for me :mrgreen:

[danny zubot]

Nice tank ! Would you like to come and build a setup for me :mrgreen:

Not a chance:razz:

A lot of people have commented on the white back round. I'm surprised more people don't use this color for it's reflective properties. I think you get better light dispersment with a white back ground. We'll see if the corals respond.

[Marlin65]

Looks great really like your plumbing nice and clean.
You must of moved all those corals out of another tank no??

[kwirky]

A lot of people have commented on the white back round. I'm surprised more people don't use this color for it's reflective properties. I think you get better light dispersment with a white back ground. We'll see if the corals respond.

i also like how tanks painted white make it real easy to see the detritus. makes sure that nothing is left behind when cleaning.

[danny zubot]

Looks great really like your plumbing nice and clean.
You must of moved all those corals out of another tank no??

Yes, all inhabitants came over from my 65 gallon tank. Hopefully with little stress.

[danny zubot]

It's been a while since I posted an update. The tank over all is doing well with the exception of a battle with a couple of RTNing acros. I've had to treat for cyano, and there's been a bit of a GHA problem for a while. Thankfully I've got a pretty diverse reef crew to help with that. I added two tuxedo urchins and a cyano eating conch to help battle those problems. I'll post an updated pic soon.

[danny zubot]

After over a year for the t5's and more than that for the MH bulb, I finally got some new lighting. I was promted to do this because of the lack or loss of color in some of my corals. That and I think my old lights might be contributing to my algae and cyano problems.

Here's the tank before and after pics. Both pics were taken on the exact same camera settings. Pretty much everything was set to auto.

Before:

1x 12000k Reef Flux, 400 watt, with 2x Geismann German pure actinics.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/cube%20pics/HPIM0761.jpg


After:
1x 14000k Aqua connect, 400 watt, with 2x 39 watt Fiji Purples
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/cube%20pics/HPIM0762.jpg

The difference to me was in the actinics. The Fijis aren't as "actinic" as the Geismann's, and because of this they has greater PAR. The Aqua connect I found to be brighter but only my wife can see it as being more blue than the Reef Flux.

What do you think?

[Skimmerking]

what you have there now is alot better more crisp looking

[Chaloupa]

I like it with the new bulbs.....very nice!

[fishytime]

I agree newer is better. Both looked good though.

[michika]

That is quite the change between the two photos. I really liked the color of your original set up, but the brightess of your new lighting is great. Will you post an updated photo in a month or so after all your bulbs have burnt in a bit please?

[danny zubot]

Ya, I'll post a pic in a month, along with some pics of the corals.

Where is everyone looking to see such a difference? Is there a specific spot or object that stands out to people? I'm just not seeing that much of a change.

[marie]

The lights in the second picture show off the pinks and reds better. As far as i'm concerned the colour in the second pic is a lot nicer, the first one is too blue for my taste

[Zylumn]

The lights in the second picture show off the pinks and reds better. As far as i'm concerned the colour in the second pic is a lot nicer, the first one is too blue for my taste


Agreed
Nice setup Danny happy to see you found some bulbs.
Kevin

[Chaloupa]

Yep I agree with Marie....it is a prettier color to all of the corals....and I am trying to get away from the really blue bulbs...and having a hard time deciding soooo I think this may be the way to go! Keep posting pics as it will be interesting to see how your corals react!

[michika]

I was looking at the caps, leather, and the back wall to compare photos.

[danny zubot]

Oh man *sigh*. I was just browsing through this old thread with some remorse. For those of you who don't know I had to sell the tank because I'm moving to BC. Which is where I am right now. The tank is gone, and i downsized to a 24 x 24 x 20" cube to accomodate the move. It's not as high tech as the bigger one but at least I still have all of the corals. Yes, ALL of the corals. There's not an inch of room in this little cube that isn't being taken up by something. Well, I guess I'll leave this thread alone and start up a new one for my current tank.

Thanks to everyone for looking, bye bye!

Danny