50G SCA build

[SudoGeeks]

Hello all, I am going to be documenting my 50G SCA cube bonsai build.

I will be replacing my 57G Oceanic with the 50G SCA and a 40G breeder as a show refugium. The basic concept of this build came from an amazing 10G competition tank that I came across online(http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/214648-pisces-10g-bonsai-reef/).

I will be attempting to recreate the look of that tank on a larger scale and have a show refugium that will be amazing to look at in its own right.

My plan is to plumb both the 50 and the 40 into a 20L sump allowing each tank to operate independently of each other but share the same water. The refugium will be split down the middle to allow for a xenia garden on one side and a more traditional refuge area on the other with plants and critters.

Today I received the 50G SCA tank allowing the build to begin. Unfortunately the livingroom is being remodeled and the walls that the tanks will be against are not done being painted leaving me with a whole lot of new parts and nothing to do with them.

In the mean time...here are some pictures to get the mood set.

The truck arrived finally 30 minutes late

We decided the best plan of action was to back our truck up to the semi since his lift gate was not operational.

After checking for broken glass we moved the party back to the driveway to unload into the house.

This sump was surprisingly heavy and evidently sharp, my wife ended up getting cut on one of the corners.

Everything is inside, just need to finish paint and trim on the walls then we can get setup.

 

[acolotto]

following!!

 

[tankstudy]

I was looking in to the SCA 50. Let me know what you think of it once you start fiddling around with it.

 

[SudoGeeks]

I was looking in to the SCA 50. Let me know what you think of it once you start fiddling around with it.

Will do, I have yet to even remove it from cardboard. But once we get going on this I will have more to report I am sure.

 

[SudoGeeks]

I was pleasantly surprised after getting some time to examine the new tank more closely. It appears it is triple drilled for 1" bulkheads allowing me to run a herbie style drain and still be able to plumb my return through the bottom.

I believe when I was researching this tank the specs said it only had 2 holes drilled and one was supposed to be smaller than the other for the return line.

More to come shortly, we just finished painting the walls in the living room where the tanks will be going. There are still a few more things that need to be done before they can be setup.

 

[SudoGeeks]

More progress has been made!
We decided that the small feet that come on the stand were not going to get the tank to the height we wanted it so I built a riser out of 2x8 lumber.

Here is a before and after of the space where we are setting up.

The 40 breeder will sit right behind the cube in this space.

We will need to temp plumb the new tank into the sump that it came with to cycle it, once it is cycled I can migrate all the critters and coral from my 57 gallon into the new 50 gallon then steal the 57 gallon stand for the 40 breeder.

I have nearly all the plumbing pieces needed to get the 50G plumbed into the 20L sump that will sit under the 40 breeder, I am just waiting for some gate valves to show up then I should be able to setup the temp plumbing and start cycling.

 

[revhtree]

Looking good!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Cool! Following!

 

[MasterAlgaeGrower]

Really cool idea! definitely fallowing along.

 

[SudoGeeks]

Hmm, lets try this post one more time.

 

[SudoGeeks]

It's been a while since I last updated this thread. The remaining plumbing arrived and I got to work putting together the temp plumbing under the cube and the pieces that came with it.

Gluing the return T together.

After putting the return T together I decided to put the bulkheads in and glue on some pipe nipples. These will work for both the temp flex hose and the hard plumbing that will come later.

Next it was time to start cutting the flex hose to fit. We ran into a bit of an issue as this hose is not very flexible in normal temps. I ended up sticking the stuff in the oven at 150F for 10 minutes or so just to be able to flex it.

After getting the plumbing sorted out I decided to test the bulkheads for leaks before filling the whole tank.

With the bulkhead seals checking out ok it was time to fill it.

Note the unimpressed dogs.

After getting the tank filled with water I played with the valves until the overflow was adjusted to barely trickle into the emergency drain.

We went to work on assembly of our rockscape. We don't have all the rocks to do the whole thing yet but we have all the base pieces.

After figuring out how we wanted it to go we used epoxy to bind it all together.

We ended up finding some nice tonga branches that will work for the top branches of the torch tree. The LFS had them for sale as live rock but their live rock system got infested with some kinda algae and they had them out in buckets to dry them out. We managed to get them as dead dry rock for a reduced price.

After getting them home I decided to boil them to make sure whatever was on them or in them was dead.

I am glad I did this step, there were several worm like things hiding inside some of them and some other hitch hikers. The main thing was that the algae mostly came off which had become dried to it. Sadly after boiling them they were still stained green, so they have been sitting in bleach for a few days. I took them out today and they are nearly bone white.

 

[acolotto]

nice! looks like its rolling along nicely, keep the pics coming!

 

[Jimbo662]

Great idea about building that base to put under the stand.

 

[Jimbo662]

I was looking in to the SCA 50. Let me know what you think of it once you start fiddling around with it.

I've had the 50g and currently have their 66g tanks. Both are great tanks. Never had any issues with either.

 

[SudoGeeks]

I've had the 50g and currently have their 66g tanks. Both are great tanks. Never had any issues with either.

So far I have not had any major issues with it. The overflow did leak slightly, when I filled the tank with water I noticed some in the bottom of the overflow box. It had to have seeped in through the side seals, at least it was not very much and it was an internal leak. After asking some other reefers and finding they have had the same issue with other tanks I was not concerned.

 

[SudoGeeks]

Great idea about building that base to put under the stand.

Thanks, it was pretty much required to not have to bend over to see in the tank.

 

[SudoGeeks]

I've had the 50g and currently have their 66g tanks. Both are great tanks. Never had any issues with either.

Did you find that the tank was too low with the provided stand?

 

[Jimbo662]

I actually prefer them a little low so I can look down on them and easy to reach the bottom without much effort. For me it's just the right height.

 

[SudoGeeks]

I actually prefer them a little low so I can look down on them and easy to reach the bottom without much effort. For me it's just the right height.

I am a bit on the taller side(6'1") so giving it a bit of a boost helps quite a bit.

 

[Jimbo662]

I am a bit on the taller side(6'1") so giving it a bit of a boost helps quite a bit.

ah...I'm 5'10" so it works out for both of us!