afboundguy's 35 cube/display fuge/mangrove build thread!!!

[afboundguy]

Just setup sort of an AWC for the "QT" tank that is acting as a breeding tank for two dottybacks I got at FFM. I plan to plumb the tank into the whole system but I had a few extra small dosing pumps kicking around so I set it up to take 400 ml from the main system and put it into the "QT" tank and then drain 400 ml from there back into main system.

 

[afboundguy]

Raised the shelf above the mixing station by one notch so I have more room. Also got some cheapo Temu/AliExpress things to organize a bit.

 

[afboundguy]

Carbon was way over due and from November 2025! It was pretty cool to see the ORP go right up! I am only running ORP as I had a spare probe kicking around that came with a used setup I purchased so I don't take much stock in it but this bump right as I changed the carbon gives me some hope I'll be able to track when carbon needs to be replaced!

 

[afboundguy]

Tackled some small projects today to give myself a sense of accomplishment. I finished one and should be able to finish the second one tomorrow/Monday.

I had an extra canister lying around that was far from good looking and a 2 canister bracket so I hooked it up with the CO2 scrubber and added water to it to keep the media moister instead of having to unscrew and add a little bit of RODI water to the bottom of the CO2 scrubber canister!

I also tidied up the CO2 scrubber line under the sump.

Next I tried tackling plumbing in a line from the mixing station to the sump so I could flip a valve of two to get SW to go right into the sump instead of carrying a bucket over.

I ended up glueing most of the PVC outside and need to grab a union or two before finishing it up!

 

[afboundguy]

Finished up the hard plumbing to fill the sump up with two unions. I now need to add a valve on the other end as I didn't think about how it will come out of the old line for filling at the mixing station

 

[afboundguy]

Ended up finding a great deal on a piston driven air pump to replace the diaphragm air pumps I had and I wanted to create a manifold so I had some black 3/4" PVC pipe lying around that I put painters tape on to get a straight line for the drilling

 

[afboundguy]

Drilled and tapped the two pieces

 

[afboundguy]

Few before and after pictures. Enjoy that it's much cleaner looking!

 

[afboundguy]

I took my crazy way over the top RODI upgrade even further and installed two more canisters by adding a 0.5 micron sediment filter and 0.5 micron carbon block. Yes I know it's overkill but oh well.

I also bought a 4 canister bracket to clean it up even more and changed a few of the canister connections to tidy it up. Tested it out and still had a little over 65 psi without installing a booster pump I also purchased.

I plan to add 3-way valves after each carbon block to flush them when I get new carbon blocks and I got validation I should do that as the TDS after the last carbon block going into the RO membrane was actually higher (400-450) than the TDS coming into the first pre-filter (330'ish).

 

[afboundguy]

Took a quick video while actually just sitting and looking at the tank and remembering how much fun it is to just sit and watch the tank!!!

 

[afboundguy]

Figured it was time to create a torch garden!!!

 

[afboundguy]

Was able to finally swap out the cumbersome Theilen rollermat with a brand new Reef Factory smart roller mat small and it certainly freed up a lot of space! I used a wye fitting so the display fuge/mangrove now feeds into the rollermat.

I also siphoned out a ton of detritus that was in the sump. The new roller mat cleared it up rather quickly!

Before:

 

[afboundguy]

After:

I like it so much I am looking to buy a large style as this build thread may be closing as I have plans to ditch the 8 gallon remote fuge and 10 gallon mangrove tanks and add a 60 cube as main display with a 70 gallon (48"x24"x14") tank that will be a lagoon/mangrove tank and then turn the 35 cube into a clownfish harem tank fill of RBTAs!

Guessing hitting almost 200 gallons would make it not fall into nano territory anymore!!!

 

[afboundguy]

Started back up on the new extrusion shelving addition and added an angled bar to connect the shelves. I ended up taking down the bottom one so I could fit the trashcan there. Was hoping to use it for storage but trash can accessibility is more important!

 

[afboundguy]

Added new upper shelves that will eventually hold the phyto cultures.

I ended up adding vertical supports that are screwed into the joists for extra support to make wife happy since she thought the current phyto shelves are sagging...

 

[afboundguy]

Today I cut some PVC board for the tops

I ended up redoing the top where all my pod cultures are as I forgot to make notches for the vertical extrusion pieces. I ended up sliding the new board under (harder that you would think but there is 10+ gallons of pod cultures there!) and cut the notches out.

 

[afboundguy]

Lastly, added a shelf to the top shelf. Later today I hope to re-route the air lines (3/4" PVC pipe) so I can move the phyto and pods to the new section.

 

[afboundguy]

Was able to move the pods and phyto after reworking the PVC airlines. Still need to plug all the small heaters back in!

 

[afboundguy]

Raised the old phyto shelf and added a bunch of my LEGO car collections

Also setup some black lights and hung a backdrop I purchased a whole ago. I bought 5 or 6 of Temu for a few bucks each and this one looked the best.

Glows when I turned off all the lights!