Fish's new cube
 

Hello fellow canreefers,

I am upgrading my tank so that my mantis shrimp, Ike, has a little more room to move around. Here is a photo of the two cubes side by side:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...185newcube.jpg



The new cube is a 12" starfire cube. This time around I had the glass shop polish the edges for me and it looks even better! (time will tell though if it was worth the $1/inch polishing cost ) The one-cubic-foot dimensions gives me approximately 7.5gal of volume. I am hoping that the extra room will allow me to create some interesting aquascaping and allow for further coral growth. And of course, it's all about Ike these days . Continuing in the tradition, the bulkheads and intake strainer will be the only equipment visible inside the tank -so this photo of the emtpy tank is as unsightly and cluttered as it will ever get. I have planned an additional modification to the cannister filter and am currently giving some serious consideration to going BB. I would be interested in seeing what people thought on the subject. I have kept both sand and BB and personally feel that astetics (or sand-dependant livestock) is the only reason a person should ever keep substrate. Having said that, astetics is a pretty powerful reason in a hobby where we place so much effort into having everything look right. Since I am so torn right now, a "yea" or "nay" from my peers would really help. I look forward to any comments or questions.

Cheers,

- Chad

I'd go with a little courser sand myself. Not quite CC but bigger than sugar sand.

Haha sorry for such a narrow set of options Ryan. I have updated the poll :razz: . What is your reasoning for coarser sand? I had a fine-crushed-coral (oh, there's another one) in my 2gal cube and found that even a thin layer of that collected a lot of detrius. Are you thinking in terms of preventing a blizzard or allowing me to vacume easier?
Thanks,

- Chad

Reasoning was to prevent a blizzard, but if the sugar sand worked for you in the other tank I could go with that.. :mrgreen:

Chad,

I would go BB with small LR rubble around Ike's home for him to work with in whatever way he needs. You could then siphon out crud in a moment's notice. If you do go BB, the most efficient way to siphon crud is turn off the water flow, gently baste the crud from under the rockwork, then siphon to your heart's content. Rockwork would also have to be set up for you to easily see under the rock (with a flashlight, if necessary) and room around the rock to get the baster in.

Ryan,
Gotcha. I think that since the flow in my cubes is directed from the bottom to the surface, and not the other way around, I have not had problems with blizzarding. However, I haven't flow tested it with the correct sized blades on the cannister impellor yet, so I my be wrong...
Should be about 240gph after losses.

- Chad

I don't see you being happy with bare bottom... So go with a sugar/CC substrate.

Going to skim the new tank?

Andy

Hey Andy,
No I'm not going to skim the new tank. As much as I am a proponent of skimmers, I can't incorporate one into my setup without having equipmet visible...
I am not really worried though. I am going to have pretty much the sme bioload that I had in the 2gal in the 7.5gal.
I may add a small damsel... but I think the LR and chaeto will be up to the task.

- Chad

I'm doing the 2 gal cube with a black starboard bottom.I thought about a coarser shallow sand bed but i think im going bare.I'd vote for your tank coarse sand bed because of the mantis.

Have you thought about maybe using a thin layer of insulating foam and then covering it in fine sugar sand, I am planning on doing it with my nano, you have the asthetics of sand with the ease of cleaning like a BB.

deacon,
That sounds sweet. I think that starboard in the 2gal is a great idea.

- Chad

Corey,
I have heard of people doing this before but haven't really seen any pictures of how it turned out. Definitely somthing to consider...

- Chad

Chad even better than a foam bottom,use black sand and make a resin faux sand bed it looks really natural but its bare bottom! You would have to research on rc how to do it but ive seen them,they look good.

deacon,

I am also considering that. Some of the posts that I have read claim that a resin sand bed looks good at first but after the biofilm grows on it, it can't be cleaned like a BB or sifted like real sand.... ?


Here is an update on my progress. As though one hole inside the cannister filter wasn't enough :rolleyes: , I drilled it again and added a hydor 50w heater.


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...5filtermod.jpg




I went with the hydor because it was the shortest one that I could find and I like that fact that I can just bolt it to the underside of the cannister top out of the way. I have heard mixed reviews on this heater so I will be running it with an electronic controller to manage the temp. I made the holes just barely big enough to squeeze the wires through and then used a hole tube of silicone to seal it all up - cause dang, 7.5gals would not look good on the floor of my office...

- Chad

Tonight I hooked up all the plumbing to the filter to do a leak/ temp test. I was so pleased with the results that I moved everything over to the cube for a couple days before moving it all to work.
Here are some pics I took while everything was still settling:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...85fulltank.jpg




http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...kesnewhome.jpg






http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...185latest1.jpg



I hope you like!

- Chad

I like!! :cool:

Looks tight,are you going BB or are you gonna add a thin layer of sand?

Thanks deacon. The testing was just done BB, but when I set it up at the office, I am going to put down a thin sand layer.

And thanks Ryan :cool:

Cheers,

- Chad

Sorry chad another question? Is your LR made up of a few peices or is it all one peice? And same question for the 2 gal?
YGPM

It was made of three pieces stacked ontop of each other but when I moved it over to the cube tonight, I epoxied them all into one big piece. I think it will be a lot easier to work with now....

- Chad

Update:

I set up the new cube at my office this morning at 6am. It became immediately apparent that the new, larger bulkheads were not going to fit through the same electrical conduit that the 2gal did (a measurement error on my part). Right now the tank is on the edge of the desk up against one wall - hence no 360degree view :frown:. I believe that if I raise the tank up a couple inches so the bulkheads are off the desk, the hoses will fit through ok.
Aside from that setback, I am really pleased with how smoothly everything went. The flow is just right and the aquascaping turned out better than I imagined. And the look of the tank with the white sand is incredible! Ike actually looks happier and was out quite a bit today - despite the early morning trauma of being dropped on the carpet (he actually started running across the carpet and I caught him by putting down a sour cream container in front of him so he'd run inside :eek: ).
Also with Ike is a handsome little blue damsel and looks great under the 20k bulb. I promise to take a photo tomorrow.
The goals I have right now are:

1 - Moving the tank back to the original spot
2 - Seeing whether or not the single 70watt halide will be enough
3 - Keeping the sand white (I hope it stays like this forever)
4 - Figuring out the proper dosing rate for my auto topoff

Cheers,
- Chad

Hi all,

Here are a couple pictures of the tank set up at work. It doesn't look as good against the wall as it will when I move it back to the original spot next week:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...new_tank73.JPG


I am going to place it on a base of hockey pucks to raise it up enough for the hoses to clear the slot in the desk top. It shouldn't look quite as "Canadian ghetto" as it sounds :razz: . I will have a puck on each corner and one in the middle of the tank and all recessed a bit so that it looks like the tank is floating an inch off the desk on short black pillars.



This shot is to get a general idea of the aquascaping:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...new_tank24.JPG

And nothing says "content livestock" like a damsel yawning:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...new_tank82.JPG



or a mantis shrimp smiling:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...new_tank88.JPG


Hope you enjoy,

- Chad

Looks awesome!

Are you sure you want to levitate via hockeypucks? Wouldn't a nice oak base/surround suit the tank better? Could build it split, thus you could install/remove at will.

Andy

I WANT SOME OF THOSE ORANGE ZOOS UNDER THE YAWNING DAMSLE!!!! they are really nice! the whole tank looks great!

Andy,
Ya, I think that a custom built wood stand would look a lot better. Problem is, I don't have the materials right now... uh, or the tools... or the skill... :razz:

Cheers,

- Chad

Nanoreef,
Thanks man. I can't even offer you a frag because I have had those zoos for a year or so and I don't think they have grown a single polyp :confused:


- Chad

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure there are a few canreefers who are rather skilled carpenters (No I'm not one of them)

Andy

Haha, true enough. If no one stops by here I may post something in theclassifieds section...

- Chad

wow???? try to give them more flow and more light. it will happen slowly!!! good luck, hope you can offer me a frag soon!!! lol

Haha, I don't think that flow or light are the issue. :razz:
The last tank they were in had 35watts of halide/gallon and over 40x's turnover. These are zoos, not sps.
If anything I believe that some zoos do better in a "dirty" aka nutrient rich tank. Moderate light and flow seem to get better results JME. IF they ever do grow enough to frag I will definitley give you a call.
Cheers,

- Chad

zoos tend to do really well when you leave them along and dont move them.

Hi all,
I have moved the tank over to the same spot that was occupied by my two gallon cube. As soon as I figure out how to post photos I will...

- Chad

You may have gotten them from me because I still have some, and can't get them to grow much either.:sad:

Ya, I think you're right Bob. I guess Murphy's Law apllies to the natural world as well...


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...3005121523.JPG

Chad

Looks like I got it working. HEre's the other photos:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...3005121528.JPG



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...3005121512.JPG



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...3005121530.JPG


What do you think?

- Chad

Don't know about the pics Chad but...
Love the Reef Central Banners. :razz:

Dang, worked for me. If you copy and paste it will take you to the photos. What happened to the canreef gallery??

- Chad

The links need to be sorted out yet but here is the direct link to it..


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/


:biggrin:

Great, thanks Ryan!
I will post them properly once I get home.
Cheers,
- Chad