50g Cube Build

[TheEngineer]

Well, the brown stuff is all over everything now so I'm gonna pull back on dosing until it subsides. Got the skimmer back online and I'll check back in a few days.

 

[TheEngineer]

Still waiting for the brown stuff to clear out, but it is subsiding. My snails seem to like eating whatever it is.

 

[TheEngineer]

My lights aren't on yet, so I can't see where I am in the algae battle today. I took a couple of pictures to show someone how you can bring your plumbing up and over the back if you decide to use your reef-ready holes for a herbie style drain. Here are the two snaps:

You can see it is quite unobtrusive. I could have kept the "over-the-top" component closer to the glass, but I wanted some space to route wires if needed.

 

[drstratton]

Very nice build! I love the Zoa's, I want to get more for my tank! How are you liking the black sand? I've seen quite a few tanks with black and I think it looks really nice. If I ever do a smaller tank I might also use black!

 

[TheEngineer]

I like the black sand quite a bit. It hides detritus very well, it makes the colors of the corals stand out and I just like that it is different.

 

[drstratton]

Where are you planning on placing that ATO container that we're going to virtually build together?;)

 

[TheEngineer]

Where are you planning on placing that ATO container that we're going to virtually build together?;)

Right in front of my sump (seen here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/50g-cube-build.210308/page-2#post-2632290)

It will be as wide as the sump, as tall as the baffle, and then come out 3.5 inches. Total of 2g. (That was complete luck)

 

[drstratton]

Right in front of my sump (seen here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/50g-cube-build.210308/page-2#post-2632290)

It will be as wide as the sump, as tall as the baffle, and then come out 3.5 inches. Total of 2g. (That was complete luck)

That will work out really nice! I have no room under my stand, so for right now mine will be sitting beside it!

 

[TheEngineer]

Here's mine as of right now:

Edit:
Pardon the mess

 

[drstratton]

Here's mine as of right now:

Edit:
Pardon the mess

Lol! That's not a mess, mine is a mess! Soon to be remedied! I like yours much better than my 5g bucket! How much do you top off each day? I add about a gallon!

 

[TheEngineer]

It depends on the day and if my skimmer is running. We finally got our whole house humidifier installed (A YEAR LATER THAN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!!!) so it's gone down a bit. I'm usually around half a gallon daily. This 2.5g jug lasts me a few days typically.

 

[TheEngineer]

Algae is mostly gone. Some stringy stuff on my frags at the bottom though.

 

[drstratton]

That's a beautiful Zoa, I love the color! What kind is it?

 

[TheEngineer]

Thanks. Those are rastas

 

[drstratton]

Thanks. Those are rastas

Thanks! One day I will know these things!!! I'm going to have to find one for my tank!

 

[TheEngineer]

I like them. They're mini polyps though. I was surprised when I saw them in real life. That's a 1" frag plug they are on for reference.

 

[drstratton]

I like them. They're mini polyps though. I was surprised when I saw them in real life. That's a 1" frag plug they are on for reference.

Believe it or not, I have a zoa that's even smaller than that! Here's a link if you'd like to check it out! I don't want to hijack your thread with my pictures!:)
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/renes-75g-journey.216485/page-6#post-2681941

 

[TheEngineer]

I'm working on a UV boost for my tank. I'm going to do a separate DIY thread but here's the concept.

The led will be controlled by the daisy chain output of the Kessil. (In theory) or just the dimming output of my RA.

This first mockup didn't work how I wanted, too short, so I'm going to make another.

 

[TheEngineer]

I'm messing around with WB settings on my camera. I think I found settings I'm happy with on the camera. Now I just need to work on getting better focused shots. This one wasn't too bad.

 

[TheEngineer]

The algae is now 90% gone from the tank. Some stringy stuff is still hanging off an old acan frag and there's a little left on my rastas and a patch on the sand. I checked my nitrates and they're back down to zero. Only way to tell if the dosing caused it is to start again! I just dosed 2mL (gonna go slower this time) and I'll measure the levels this afternoon and then keep an eye out for algae growth.