Brand New 8 gallon bio cube

[NY_Caveman]

Catching up. A couple of thoughts:

Heater: I would not worry about the heater being in the sump. The display will be fine, but throw a glass thermometer in the display to check once in a while, it may run 0.5 to 1 degree cooler than the sump, so you may want to run the heater a degree higher. I would highly recommend an Ink Bird ITC-308 Temperature Controller for $30. That puts all of the wear and tear on the controller, not the heater’s “prone to fail” thermostat.

Cover: I would use a screen cover. Gas exchange is more important than how much evaporates. Also, an enclosed cover can become a real pain with collecting evaporation as well as salt creep.

 

[Fudsey]

Agree with @NY_Caveman :)

My sump is in my basement and so is my heater and heater controller. I have a glass thermometer in my tank for quick checks and it does vary by about .5-1 degree.

 

[Musovski]

Good afternoon

 

[Katrina71]

I won the controller!

 

[Scurvy]

Well that worked out swimmingly didnt it?!?

 

[NY_Caveman]

I won the controller!

LOL, everything is just working perfectly for you.

 

[Fin]

I won the controller!

Awesome! You lucked out (even finding one) there!

 

[Crabby48]

I won the controller!

That’s is good news. Everything seems to be going good so far

 

[Katrina71]

The Reef Gods smiled. I feel very blessed. My husband is not happy about it at all.

 

[NY_Caveman]

The Reef Gods smiled. I feel very blessed. My husband is not happy about it at all.

Did he go with you yesterday?

 

[Katrina71]

Did he go with you yesterday?

No

 

[NY_Caveman]

Was curious since you did say he agreed to help you move it. Wish I was closer. I love setting up tanks.

 

[Katrina71]

I'm pretty sure this will be strickly a hippie kid/mom project. I'm ok with that.

 

[Katrina71]

Lighting mount options...I am not allowed to mount it on the wall or hang it from the ceiling. So what are the options?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Mount it to the back of the stand, or on the glass.

 

[dantimdad]

Definitely mount it to the back of the stand.

Make sure if you get the inkbird controller (or any heater controller) you put the probe in silicone heat shrink tubing. The probes aren't meant for salt water. If you want me to do one, just mail me yours, I have plenty of the tubing.

I will go ahead and print up some corners after you show me a picture looking down at the top of the aquarium once it's plumbed. That way I know where to plan for notches. I am going to assemble my screen this week and I will post pics on my build thread.

 

[Katrina71]

What mounts would y'all use?

 

[Fudsey]

I like the stand mount ones over tank mount. Tank mount is just asking for trouble IMO... ;)

 

[Fudsey]

Someone asked about these and although I have not heard about this company, these look really cool....

https://aqualabaquaria.com/products...it-ultum-nature-systems?variant=8161502953577

 

[Katrina71]

Someone asked about these and although I have not heard about this company, these look really cool....

https://aqualabaquaria.com/products...it-ultum-nature-systems?variant=8161502953577

I can see how those would be nice. I think I'll just DIY something for the short term at least.