Bonsai Cube Mixed Reef Build

[thatsruff]

Cleaned up the sump and leak testing two chambers. Looks quite a bit better now.

Nitrite is still hanging around but almost gone.

Starting to get antsy to have this thing alive.

 

[jk_s124]

Cleaned up the sump and leak testing two chambers. Looks quite a bit better now.

Nitrite is still hanging around but almost gone.

Starting to get antsy to have this thing alive.

What did you use to adhere the plastic baffles to the glass?

 

[thatsruff]

What did you use to adhere the plastic baffles to the glass?

I used Dow 995. It is pretty much the standard for use in commercial high strength structural glass applications. When I make my large custom tank it is what I will use to glue the glass panels together.

I know that it doesn't really adhere well to ABS or to acrylic but that is why I made sure to capture the baffles on all sides with the silicone. It will adhere extremely well to the glass.

If this were a very large sump or a big overflow I would not rely on the bond between silicone and plastic, but this is a pretty low stress environment so I am not overly worried about it releasing from the plastic.

 

[thatsruff]

I failed at getting any decent pictures of it, but I did a dry fit plumbing test and it went very smoothly. I am going with flexible plumbing on this one.

Here is what I learned:

Pretty much silent after tuning the main siphon with a trickle down the secondary.

I could probably go with a bigger return pump if I was inclined, had to close up the drain pretty far to get the siphon dialed in. But it did seem like enough flow.

Plenty of overflow space in the sump during a shutdown. I didn't have a check valve installed but I will to prevent a lot of back siphon during maintenance or feeding shut downs.

If the main drain is clogged the secondary is loud before it achieves siphon which is ideal. Emergency drain handles the rest.

The only leak was in one threaded connection in the return line, shouldn't be a problem when I set everything with thread sealant.

I need to get a bunch of clips to route the tubing.

And I need to get to work on the cabinet.

 

[thatsruff]

Covered the whole basement in sawdust, again, but got most of the pieces of the cabinet cut out.

Assembly soon I hope.

 

[thatsruff]

Getting there... Tried to be clever and it is biting me a bit. It isn't perfectly square so I need to do some sanding to get the back to fit in correctly.

Also, as has been my plan, because I am not using live rock I wanted to make sure to add biodiversity in other ways. So I ordered the SurfZone Live Sand Activator Plus™ Featuring WONDERMUD™ from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms.

They are including a free green toadstool leather coral which is a nice touch. That should come next Saturday.

 

[jk_s124]

I had never heard of the wondermud. Looks like a great idea though. So if you’re getting that next week, are you planning on having your tank wet and cycling soon? The stand looks good to me. I like the design you came up. It’s strange you don’t see more stands set up to give more space than the dimensions of the tank. To me the design reminds me of an old stereo console. Very cool!

 

[thatsruff]

I had never heard of the wondermud. Looks like a great idea though. So if you’re getting that next week, are you planning on having your tank wet and cycling soon? The stand looks good to me. I like the design you came up. It’s strange you don’t see more stands set up to give more space than the dimensions of the tank. To me the design reminds me of an old stereo console. Very cool!

Yes, here is hoping that I will have the stand and plumbing, and everything else finished by then! I have been cycling in the background for a while now. I still have some lingering nitrites but I expect that to be gone here soon. If you look in the background of my bad plumbing test picture you can actually see the cycle tank cooking away.

Thanks on the stand, I was going for that type of look! I like having a bit more room around the tank too, plus it was needed to fit the sump I am using. Plus the cat would be impossible if she didn't have somewhere to sit and watch/bother the fish (also why I am going to make a good solid lid).

In the end, I think it will come together to look pretty nice. I sometimes get a bit frustrated with the quality of my tools/workspace but I am making do and just have to accept a touch less perfection than I would otherwise prefer.

I am eager to turn my focus to how the inside of the tank looks!

 

[LivinTheSwreefLife]

Looks awesome so far, following!

 

[thatsruff]

Looks awesome so far, following!

Thanks! Got the last panel glued onto the cabinet tonight. Feet and holes for the plumbing up next.

 

[powers2001]

@thatsruff very nice build. Following.

 

[thatsruff]

@thatsruff very nice build. Following.

Thanks!

 

[thatsruff]

Now we are cooking with grease... starting to look like it could be an aquarium soon.

Came out slightly better than I thought while I was gluing it up, mostly happy with it really. 5 panels made from 3/4 of a sheet of plywood, glue, plus two pieces of 4x4, 4 feet, and 6 screws, that's the whole thing. Still needs doors or a front panel of some kind though.

Cleaning sawdust off everything and actual plumbing next. Hope to get through that this weekend.

 

[jk_s124]

Wow that looks great! Just like the design you mocked up. Very cool!

 

[thatsruff]

Wow that looks great! Just like the design you mocked up. Very cool!

Thank you! I am pretty happy with the way it is coming together, finally.

Went to @LoveTheReef today for the first time since taking down my last tank. Still a lovely shop, saw lots of nice coral that could make their way home soon. I prefer to get livestock locally so they are going to keep an eye out for a few fish I am interested in. They had a couple in stock I would think about too. I wanted to think about it first though and see see what else they get in soon. Plus it is still a bit of a mess downstairs.

Time to go clean up and get ready for plumbing.

 

[thatsruff]

Caulked the seams, oiled the exterior, primer on the inside...

Cabinet needs another coat of oil and primer either tonight or in the morning. I also need to drill a hole for electrical access, waffling on the location.

Cleaned the sawdust off of the work surface, equipment, and tanks. Now I can start assembly of bulkheads and other non cabinet related assembly.

 

[thatsruff]

Might be it's home...

 

[thatsruff]

Got it mostly plumbed in, a few more things to do. Have a switched surge protector coming for the pile of cords. Will need a few more things to get it properly organized in there.

Did a big water change.

Full leak test should be coming soon.

 

[thatsruff]

Well, an unfortunate update.

I got it all together last night and filled it up with tap water. Everything worked fine, no leaks, but I couldn't tune the siphon to make it silent.

When I did my test it was silent. But when I did the final assembly on the secondary drain I could tell that the pieces slid together better than when I did the dry-fit. This meant that the secondary drain ended up ~1-inch shorter than planned.

There is the added complication that the overflow drains directly over that drain. It was fine when the pipe was taller but when it is shorter it increases the noise.

I am going to have to take most of the plumbing apart and hopefully I can get the bulkhead out and replace it. It is going to be very tricky and probably take quite a bit of time.

The skimmer is also quite loud (my wife is very sensitive to humming noises and whatnot) so I will probably have to put that on a timer to only run for a few hours a day. It is rated for 65-gallons in a 15-gallon system so that will probably be fine.

Slow but steady progress up to this point, frustrated by the set-back but hopefully I can salvage it.

 

[jk_s124]

That’s a bummer man. Hope all goes well with plumbing fix. Have you considered running skimmerless? If you plan on weekly water changes, I would imagine that would be enough for nutrient export.