afboundguy's 25'ish cube build from 2011

[afboundguy]

In November 2020 I added an inkbird heater controller. I figured my luck of 20+ years without a catastrophic heater failure was about to run out so I should do something about it! I don't have any other means of controlling the tank and currently the tank sits rock steady around 76.5 degrees as I have the 2 heaters set for 78 and the inkbird set to 75.5 on and 76.5 off I believe...

 

[afboundguy]

A few weeks ago I ended up getting my #SecretSanta2020 gift and it was a cell phone filter kit so I could take much better kits that weren't all washed out! Can you tell which is which?;Happy

 

[afboundguy]

I also purchased a RO membrane upgrade kit from BRS during their weeklong black Friday event. My town's water rates are redonkulous so it'll save money in the long run. I also added a whole house filtration/water softener kit as the wife's bathroom is getting redone and I didn't want to spend all that money only to have it scale up. Loving the twice as fast water production and halved waste water aspect!

 

[afboundguy]

Pretty much caught up to date so far. I'm in the process of pricing out options for a new tank as the wife stupidly said I could look into it. I earned $500 bonus from work after passing a physical fitness test and plan to use that and the holiday money towards that so hopefully I can have a true build build thread on here!!!

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Consider venting the canopy. Passive evaporation will cause you problems over time. You won't need much.

 

[afboundguy]

Consider venting the canopy. Passive evaporation will cause you problems over time. You won't need much.

I have considered adding a small fan to the back side of the canopy but haven't gotten around to it yet I'm sort of crossing my fingers at this point that after the holidays I'll get the go ahead for a new setup.

 

[fishlover1478]

looks good
any tips on going skimmer less?

 

[afboundguy]

looks good
any tips on going skimmer less?

Thanks... I will say the oversized refugium that I give the most credit too (3ish gallon on a 25ish gallon cube). Natural Sea Water water changes have probably helped as well but I should be going back to normal mixing salt with RODI unless I create a fancy water collection contraption to get water from the beach front...

I also attribute some success to my thriving microfauna population (daily BBS additions and pod cultures) and phyto dosing. Microfauna eats detritus and phyto out competes the nuisance algae IMO/IME. Even with my mandarin in my too small of a tank to really have one without busting one's keister like I do I still have tons of pods on my glass.

I literally feed at least a full cube (sometimes two) daily and 10'ish ml of phyto and 5-10ml of freshly hatched BBS 1-2 times a day and only do water changes every month or two.

 

[afboundguy]

Decided to up my magnet cleaner game and got myself a nano flipper float and have to say it's a nice upgrade from my old one. Glad I splurged the extra $5 for the floating version as well!!!

 

[afboundguy]

Moved some of the euphyllia around in the center and reorganized some of the gorgs on the right side as the one in the back was pretty much not getting any light...

 

[afboundguy]

Wife was complaining about all the salt creep on the HOB filter and it possibly ruining the walls and floor so I spent all day yesterday cleaning it and taping some cardboard to the sides as a quick fix to make her happy... Happy wife, happy'ish life I always say!!!

 

[afboundguy]

Before...

 

[afboundguy]

After... And yes those are ziploc and cereal boxes custom made ;Wacky

 

[afboundguy]

Wow it's been a little since I've last logged on... Busy with work and life which unfortunately meant tank didn't fair to well and I had a mini crash and lost a fair amount of corals but the worse was my mandarin that as fat and healthy

After I lost the mandarin along with the blenny and one of the cardinal fish I was only left with my two clowns that are pushing 15 years at this point probably and the old cardinal fish and I really lost interest in the tank and it was basically a tank full of flowing algae that you couldn't even see into...

This was a decent day for the tank back in Nov 2021 unfortunately...

 

[afboundguy]

Water change didn't help much...

 

[afboundguy]

Buutttttt.... Back in Sept 2021 I did purchase a new tank!!! It's a 35 gallon cube that is essentially the same dimensions as my current tank just a little deeper and higher... Had it drilled for an Eshopps ghost overflow I already had...

 

[afboundguy]

I totally screwed up the template and the holes were too high so I lost interest...

 

[afboundguy]

Yesterday I went to the FFM in Storrs CT and was really bummed I couldn't buy anything for the tank but it got me motivated today!!! Made some customization on the inner side of the ghost overflow to allow the bulkheads to come up the needed 1 inch...

 

[afboundguy]

Plan to use the cutouts to get better support for when I secure it...

 

[afboundguy]

Mounts much better now!!!