Cream of the Cube

[ReAVeR]

WELCOME ABOARD!

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First off, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Andon, I'm 22 years old, and a LFS manager right outside Philadelphia. I haven't been one to post on forums or publish my tanks, but with my current build I figure logging a journal and sharing with others can only be beneficial all around. When I was young, I was never one to clean after myself. I depended on my mom for it all, so when it came to owning a pet, it had to be as simple as possible. This meant a fish tank was absolutely out of the question. Reptiles were the only option, and filling up their water bowl and exchanging bark was quite the chore. At 18, I moved from my parents in middle class suburbia to the beautiful city of brotherly love (LOL). I needed to find myself, and I felt the only way was on my own. After my independent hype wore off, I settled down and decided to start a tank. I wanted the perfect size, not too large or small, with girth to learn so I settled on a 40 breeder. My attraction of SPS became almost instantaneous, and I've been hooked ever since.....

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THE 40B

SPECS:
Sunlight Supply Maristar 2x150w 20K Radium 2x39w Geismann Blue & Purple Actinic
20L Custom Sump w/ fuge
Vertex IN-100 Skimmer
Gl*******s overflow and Rio 660 Return
2x Vortech MP10wES
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It was a heck of a first tank. And boy did it fuel the fire.....​

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the UPGRADE:
135G CUBE




Big shout to jverna1 - a friend of mine that found this tank for me. It was exactly what I was looking for to the T, can't thank him more.



SPECS:

36X36X24
ext. Bean Animal overflow to basement​

I knew from the start I wanted to use dry rock and personalize an aquascape. I ordered 100 lbs of Key Largo, 10lbs Key Largo prime cuts, and 10lbs e-400 mortar from Marco @ MarcoRocks.

After sorting through and only putting aside a few pieces, these are the ones I chose. The cardboard underneath is cut to the exact dimensions of the tank.​

I had a few shelf pieces I knew I wanted to use in my 90G flat that I was using as a growout/home for my fish for this build as well. So I went to work. I played with the rocks a bunch as normal, and found a design I thought was unique and fit for my tank; a cylindrical lagoon. So I removed several shelfs, let them dry over night and began to mortar.

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As you can see, this is the foundation. Its much like a slanted "U", hidden behind the 2x4's. I was overall satisfied with the mortar. As long as you mix a good consistency, you're pretty much golden to bond whatever you'd like.

I had a perfect piece for the left side so on it went.

Since I have it hanging off, I had to prop the other side (2x4's). I mortared another shelf right at the base of it and have it flaring right.

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[ReAVeR]

I'm really happy with how the top shelf came out. The mortar held well and it had the punch I was looking for.

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I mortared it all in three pieces, to make for easy installation/maintenance. I used this small piece in the middle to join two sections and create a passageway.

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Here is a view from the right side. I am adding another flat piece above the passageway, and another shelf off the bottom right side. I didn't take pictures of these steps, sorry. Although upon completion, it was ready to set in the tank! :rockon:


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[ReAVeR]

After straining my back, I finally got it set. The bottom right shelf had to be connected via zip tie. Worked like a charm.
Here is a shot with just the reef brites on (all i had over the tank at this point). I'm stoked with it. I used a large flat prime cut on the bottom in the front to accent the lagoon and provide a spot for my DW acro's.

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[ReAVeR]

Build Specifications:


Overflow: ext Bean Animal to 100G rubbermaid in basement
Return: Reeflo Hammerhead 5800gph return
Lighting: 30X30 Sunlight Supply Luxor Reflector w/400w 20K Radium
2X Blue Reefbrite HO
2X 39w Blue+ t5 w/ teK reflector
Circulation: 2X Vortech MP40wES
alt. Filtration: 3L Vertex Zeolite reactor w/ NP Reducing Biopellets
Skimmer: Super Reef Octopus XP2000SSS
Dosing: Bubble Magus Dosing Pump - Ca, dKh, Mg
Top Off: Aquahub Deluxe DIY Top off Kit
RO/DI: BRS Deluxe 6 Stage
Heating: 2X300w Eheim Jager
Tests: NO2, NO3, NH4, Ca, dKh, Mg, K - Salifert
SG - Milwaukee Digital
PO3 - Hanna Digital
pH - HM Digital



Photoperiod:

11:00am - 12:30pm Blue Reefbrite HO ON
12:30pm-2:00pm 39w Blue+ t5 ON
2:00-8:00pm 400w 20K Radium ON
8:00pm 400w 20K Radium OFF
9:30pm 39w Blue+ t5 OFF
11:00pm Blue Reefbrite HO OFF


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Here is a picture from the day I filled it up. The bag on the L is filled with Brightwell
X-Port Bio that I had seeding in my flat for ~4 months.


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[Aquaph8]

Awesome rockscape Andon, welcome to Reef2Reef. Looking forward to watching your tank grow

 

[revsgirl]

Looks great! Love the scaping!!

 

[revhtree]

Cool build! Like the aquascape!

 

[ReAVeR]

I accomplished turnover on December 1st :roll:. I added ~400g Brightwell Xport-BIO that I had seeding for ~4 months in my flat when the salinity and temperature was 77 & 1.025. I started dosing zeoBAK and MB7 daily. On the 3rd my PO3 was @ 0.26. I added a soccer ball size of chaeto to my sump and started up the pellets.

PO3 12/3 0.26
12/4 0.16
12/5 0.06 and have since stayed at 0.06 - which I'm absolutely cool with for now.

I didn't dip the rocks prior to using so I'm hoping it's not an issue down the road.. All of my other parameters are perfect, and I've got the dosing schedule just right for my current stock. The corals adjusted to the photoperiod pretty well also.

LIVESTOCK:


Like I said, I had been building my fish collection over the months in my 90 flat. This is my current fish stock list:

TANGS
Vlamingii (Naso Vlamingii)
Desjardinni (Zebrasoma Desjardini)
Purple (Zebrasoma Xanthurum)
Chevron (Ctenochaetus Hawaiiensis)
Powder Blue (Acanthurus Leucosternon)
Achilles (Acanthurus Achilles)

WRASSE
Flame (Cirrhilabrus Jordani)
Scotts (Cirrhilabrus Scottorum)
Pulauweh (Cirrhilabrus Joanallenae)

ANGELS
Watanabei Trio - Male, Adult Female, Juvenile (Genicanthus Watanabei)

CLOWNS
Midnight (Amphiprion Ocellaris)
Snowcasso (Amphiprion Hybrid)

TRIGGER
Sargassum (Xanthichthys Ringens)

HAWK
Flame (Neocirrhitus Armatus)

MONTIPORA
Tyree True Undata
Tyree Sunset
Emma's Jedi Mind Trick
UWW Rainbow Starburst
ATL Appleberry
WWC Superman
WWC Northern Lights
DFS Mandarin Setosa
DFS Electric Grape
Chili Pepper

ACROPORA
ORA Chips
ORA Red Planet
ORA Cali Tort
Tyree Blue Lightening Horrida
Tyree Red Dragon
PC Rainbow
Strawberry Shortcake

MILLEPORA
Sonny's Sunset

SNAIL
10 Banded Trochus
25 Astrae
1 Mexican Turbo

SHRIMP
2 Skunk Cleaner (Lysmata Amboinenis)

URCHIN
Blue Tuxedo (Mespilia Globulus)



PLAN:


FISH: First of all, I love them just as much as coral, so I have to keep my cool. Weekly transactions with Cali for the store and being able to get my hands on an array of stock, doesn't help much.. But I've managed. Since adjusting params and getting everything running and perfect, I've added some of my fish: Clownfish pair, Watanabei Trio, and my wrasses. I'm planning to release the tangs around the start of 2013.

CORAL: Collection added to the tank. Although I don't have many yet, I'm an SPS Addict. To the point where other corals just don't do it for me anymore. May be because it's rare to obtain nice SPS for the store, or the fact that their polyp extension & color completely take my breath away. Either way, I've decided this tank will be SPS dominated, with the intention of never adding anything else. My plan is to have most DW acros on the island rock in the front, tables off the sides, bushy mid, and branching back. As for the monti's, I want them to encrust the bare bottom, as well as the back panel.

 

[jverna1]

Thats a good idea to put the deepwater acros alone on one rock.

 

[Singlefin]

Looks like you got it down. Must have access to some nice pieces at work.

 

[KoleTang]

Wow, you are a very organized post-er. Great presentation indeed!

The tank is looking great too!

 

[skinz78]

Looking great so far, keep the updates coming!

 

[classklown90]

Hey man, looks great. What is the lfs you manage? I'm 20 min from Philly if that

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

I'm jumping on board. Once I sell my 90g I'm buying a 150g cube which is 3" taller. Bu this will give me tons of ideas. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Mr. D]

How do you like going BB? Or do you like to see it with coralline covering it? It's such a difficult decision for me since I've always had sand.




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[ReAVeR]

Awesome rockscape Andon, welcome to Reef2Reef. Looking forward to watching your tank grow

Looks great! Love the scaping!!

Cool build! Like the aquascape!

Thats a good idea to put the deepwater acros alone on one rock.

Looks like you got it down. Must have access to some nice pieces at work.

Wow, you are a very organized post-er. Great presentation indeed!

The tank is looking great too!

Looking great so far, keep the updates coming!

I'm jumping on board. Once I sell my 90g I'm buying a 150g cube which is 3" taller. Bu this will give me tons of ideas. Can't wait to see more.

Thanks guys

Hey man, looks great. What is the lfs you manage? I'm 20 min from Philly if that

Thank you. The Fish Factory. Bristol, PA

How do you like going BB? Or do you like to see it with coralline covering it? It's such a difficult decision for me since I've always had sand.

I like BB a lot. It makes for a cleaner system;no soaking/leaching (nitrogen & phosphorus in sand bed), fish can clearly see food (no decaying matter), finer detritus becomes suspended and in turn removed via skimmer, and I'm really going to love the aesthetics of montipora encrusting it.

I hear you that it's a difficult decision for you though. Sand definitely has its pros too (higher microfauna diversity, coral placement, aesthetics, livestock selection)

 

[classklown90]

Thanks guys





Thank you. The Fish Factory. Bristol, PA





I like BB a lot. It makes for a cleaner system;no soaking/leaching (nitrogen & phosphorus in sand bed), fish can clearly see food (no decaying matter), finer detritus becomes suspended and in turn removed via skimmer, and I'm really going to love the aesthetics of montipora encrusting it.

I hear you that it's a difficult decision for you though. Sand definitely has its pros too (higher microfauna diversity, coral placement, aesthetics, livestock selection)

I was just in there yesterday

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[ReAVeR]

PLUMBING

The first turnover test resulted in leaks from a 45, and a union ball valve. I have never had an issue using regular PVC cement, but this time it just didn't do the trick. So I had to break most of it down, and redo it. I opted for the blue "Rain-R-Shine" cement instead, due to its thicker consistency. At this point, I wasn't playing any games this time. I absolutely globbed Primer/Cement on both fittings, made 90 degree turns with all, and hoped for the best. Second run was a success.

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SUMP



100 Gallon Rubbermaid Stocktank

L-R: 32" Filter Sock , 1 media bag 150g Xport BIO/Rubble, 1 media bag 400g Xport BIO, Vertex ZeoVit reactor ~300mL NP Reducing Bio Pellets, Super Reef Octopus XP-2000SSS, Cheatomorpha


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WORKSTATION

L-R: Bubble Magus Doser (Ca, dKH, Mg), BlueLine Temp Controller, Inland fragging saw, misc. supplements/additives)


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[ReAVeR]

SUPPORT




Prior to filling up the tank I figured I should support the floor. I made a 2x4 frame and wedged it between the floor and joices. It was able to slightly wiggle. Since filling the tank, it's rock solid.

Although my plumbing is out of sight in the basement, the glue was very definitive. I decided to paint it. I've just started. I just have a few other spots to touch on. The 1" PVC coming off the T to union ball valve is going to be a manifold.

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Congrats to Karen Britain for successfully breeding/rearing Genicanthus Watanabei for the first time.
Here is a my male.

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[Mr. D]

Hey! Well you helped a bit on the final decision on going BB. I have some sand put away in case I change my mind but so far I like it.

Really looking forward to coralline growth. Not sure if I'll encrust montis but definitely zoas and palys.

Please excuse the crappy iPhone pic. With two hydor 550s in this 20 Lon I'm pretty sure dirt is long gone.


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