Diving back into the deep end with a 135 gallon cube

[ScottD]

Hello everyone,

We’ll start this off with a little history lesson. I grew up with various freshwater tanks including one right outside my bedroom window in the form of a 400 acre lake stocked with a multitude of different fish and animals.

Growing up I visited aquariums over the years and loved seeing all the saltwater tanks.

So fast forward to 2008. I was out of college and had some money to burn and someone in my circle at the time had a salt water tank so I jumped into the hobby with a 72 gallon bow front tank. I always loved the smaller bow front tanks I had growing up. Looking back now I wish I had done things a little differently but that’s the beauty of starting a new tank now.

Unfortunately after about a year of running it I had to break it down due to a job relocation and it was put into storage for another day that I could set it back up again.

Well I’m finally at a point again that I can setup a tank. The only issue I have is that I had to think a little outside the box. I don’t really have a spot in the house where I can put a 4’ long tank. I was thinking about doing a 3’x2’x2’ 90 gallon tank then I came across some cube tanks with a 3’x3’ foot print.

After some convincing of my wife, I pulled the trigger on a 135 gallon cube tank from SCAquariums during a Black Friday deal. Merry early Christmas to me .

Now comes the fun part of getting it all setup and going.

Which brings me to my next point. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn in Albuquerque and have to detour a little as I strained my back and need to heal back up again first. So for the beginning of this journey here it’ll probably be about figuring some stuff out before I can get the stand finished and the tank setup in place. Which having talked to some people is going to be challenging at times.

But it would be boring if there wasn’t any challenge to it…

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Best of luck with your new tank!!!

 

[ScottD]

Thanks Gumby, I look forward to the journey of this tank.

 

[bakbay]

Very exciting to see your build. I’m confident that it will be fun and rewarding! Do let me know if you have any questions since I have the same tank dimensions and can share my pitfalls. Speaking of that, before you start filling water: make sure you leave enough room to get to the back/side of the tank. At 36”, it can be very challenging to reach back there!

Looking forward to it…

 

[Reign1]

Hmm .. following trying to figure a tank size .. I was going to go 3x2x2 or shallow but now my friend offered me a 30x30x30 cube only problem is the stand sump area is small . Good luck were you located ?

 

[ScottD]

Very exciting to see your build. I’m confident that it will be fun and rewarding! Do let me know if you have any questions since I have the same tank dimensions and can share my pitfalls. Speaking of that, before you start filling water: make sure you leave enough room to get to the back/side of the tank. At 36”, it can be very challenging to reach back there!

Looking forward to it…

Thanks, I appreciate it. We’ve talked a little already and I’m sure I’ll be picking your brain a little more as I go along. Luckily the front and 1 side is going to be completely open around it and the other side will be somewhat open as well to help with access.

 

[ScottD]

Hmm .. following trying to figure a tank size .. I was going to go 3x2x2 or shallow but now my friend offered me a 30x30x30 cube only problem is the stand sump area is small . Good luck were you located ?

Yes the sump area is going to be a little challenging with that size. My stand design is going to be 38”x38” which is going to allow just enough room underneath for a 40 gal breeder tank for my sump.
I’m located in Connecticut in the New Haven area. What about you?

 

[ScottD]

Bakbay, have you seen the new AI blade lights? What’s your thoughts on using those on a tank out size instead of your traditional puck style lights?

 

[Reign1]

Yes the sump area is going to be a little challenging with that size. My stand design is going to be 38”x38” which is going to allow just enough room underneath for a 40 gal breeder tank for my sump.
I’m located in Connecticut in the New Haven area. What about you?

Just looked up SCA and looks like they have the tank size I wanted and starfire .
yeah as much as I want to take friends tank it isn’t going to have much room open space underneath..
I am from Albuquerque so was asking ..

 

[ScottD]

Just looked up SCA and looks like they have the tank size I wanted and starfire .
yeah as much as I want to take friends tank it isn’t going to have much room open space underneath..
I am from Albuquerque so was asking ..

You could also look at making a stand that’s wider than the tank say like 42” to give you more room down underneath. Nothing saying the stand has to be the same dimensions as the tank as long as it’s supported properly.

I would also take a look at innovative marines 112 lagoon tank. I would have gotten that one if I didn’t steal the 135 on a Black Friday deal ($995).

I have an aunt that lives in rio rancho, but never been to New Mexico.

 

[Reign1]

You could also look at making a stand that’s wider than the tank say like 42” to give you more room down underneath. Nothing saying the stand has to be the same dimensions as the tank as long as it’s supported properly.

I would also take a look at innovative marines 112 lagoon tank. I would have gotten that one if I didn’t steal the 135 on a Black Friday deal ($995).

I have an aunt that lives in rio rancho, but never been to New Mexico.

Yup I considered just making a 2x4 stand and skinning it .. just feel bad as the stand and sump would be wasted

 

[ScottD]

This is where I’m going to be putting my new tank, right where the cabinet and the 10 gallon tank is. I’ll be able to view it from 3 of the sides which is what made the 3’ cube appealing to me over a 3x2.

I do have some concern with the fact to the right of it is a wood stove about 6 feet away but I’ve talked with a couple other people that have wood stoves and they say it hasn’t been an issue. Could always put up some kind of deflector on the one side if it does become an issue. Or maybe some kind of kindling wood and fire starter rack.

 

[bakbay]

Bakbay, have you seen the new AI blade lights? What’s your thoughts on using those on a tank out size instead of your traditional puck style lights?

Sorry but I don’t personally have experience with those AI blade lights. At first glance, it appears that they might provide good coverage and clean look across the top. I suppose you’ll need to group 3 of them together? I’m not sure about PAR though.

 

[ScottD]

I figured you didn’t have any first hand experience since they just were announced this week. I was just curious if you had seen any of the announcements or the videos trickling out about them and had any thoughts. They seem pretty promising and have my interest piqued. I’m thinking same thing that 3 should be sufficient for a mixed reef tank. The lighting has been a puzzle for this tank that I haven’t been able to piece together yet. The radion xr15 and kessil a500x both are listed as having spreads of 36x36 but have my doubts that they would give strong coverage for that spread. I do like the idea of using bars to give a more even light through out the tank as I was also kicking around that idea previously to the blades coming out.

 

[ScottD]

Yup I considered just making a 2x4 stand and skinning it .. just feel bad as the stand and sump would be wasted

Ya I does seem like a waste of an unless you wanted to do something unique with a sump down below. You could always use the 30x30 as a sump for a bigger cube.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Hello everyone,

We’ll start this off with a little history lesson. I grew up with various freshwater tanks including one right outside my bedroom window in the form of a 400 acre lake stocked with a multitude of different fish and animals.

Growing up I visited aquariums over the years and loved seeing all the saltwater tanks.

So fast forward to 2008. I was out of college and had some money to burn and someone in my circle at the time had a salt water tank so I jumped into the hobby with a 72 gallon bow front tank. I always loved the smaller bow front tanks I had growing up. Looking back now I wish I had done things a little differently but that’s the beauty of starting a new tank now.

Unfortunately after about a year of running it I had to break it down due to a job relocation and it was put into storage for another day that I could set it back up again.

Well I’m finally at a point again that I can setup a tank. The only issue I have is that I had to think a little outside the box. I don’t really have a spot in the house where I can put a 4’ long tank. I was thinking about doing a 3’x2’x2’ 90 gallon tank then I came across some cube tanks with a 3’x3’ foot print.

After some convincing of my wife, I pulled the trigger on a 135 gallon cube tank from SCAquariums during a Black Friday deal. Merry early Christmas to me .

Now comes the fun part of getting it all setup and going.

Which brings me to my next point. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn in Albuquerque and have to detour a little as I strained my back and need to heal back up again first. So for the beginning of this journey here it’ll probably be about figuring some stuff out before I can get the stand finished and the tank setup in place. Which having talked to some people is going to be challenging at times.

But it would be boring if there wasn’t any challenge to it…

Good luck! Love me a cube build and got mine from SCA as well. Good build quality for what you pay. Nice dimensions!

 

[ScottD]

Good luck! Love me a cube build and got mine from SCA as well. Good build quality for what you pay. Nice dimensions!

Thanks. What size is yours? My brother in law has one of their 3x2 90 gallon tanks and loves it.

 

[Wasabiroot]

50g cube. I had a poor experience with SCA, but thinking back, it was at the literal height of covid shutdowns/shortages so in retrospect I think it's likely he was just slammed and it fell through the cracks. I have good results two Nero 3 on each L R back side. (I only say this because flow in cube tanks can be tricky and the SCA overflow is bulky).

As a side note I have a wood burning stove in my house. I would think as long as the combustion gasses were vented sufficiently away (as it's a stove they should be) it shouldn't be a huge deal. I haven't noticed ill effects. Then again the tank top has large surface area for gas exchange so any oils, fats or chemicals that become airborne may get in there potentially, so maybe large carbon reactor is a safe bet, or a hood/lid.

 

[ScottD]

50g cube. I had a poor experience with SCA, but thinking back, it was at the literal height of covid shutdowns/shortages so in retrospect I think it's likely he was just slammed and it fell through the cracks. I have good results two Nero 3 on each L R back side. (I only say this because flow in cube tanks can be tricky and the SCA overflow is bulky).

As a side note I have a wood burning stove in my house. I would think as long as the combustion gasses were vented sufficiently away (as it's a stove they should be) it shouldn't be a huge deal. I haven't noticed ill effects. Then again the tank top has large surface area for gas exchange so any oils, fats or chemicals that become airborne may get in there potentially, so maybe large carbon reactor is a safe bet, or a hood/lid.

That’s too bad you had a bad experience getting the tank, I have good communication back and forth about mine. I do know mine had been sitting in the warehouse for awhile and he was trying to get rid of them so that plays into a different experience with me than you would have in the middle of covid.
I do plan on putting a canopy on my tank as I’ve got young kids and I’m sure that would be a recipe for disaster to leave it uncovered.
I wasn’t too concerned about the combustion of the wood stove more so the fact it’s nearby by and the heat radiating off of it warming the tank to much. I really hate the idea of having to run a chiller to cool down the tank in the middle of winter. Really seems like a waste to me.

Flow I know is going to be another challenge on a cube tank. To add to it, most stuff I’ve seen only goes up to 1/2” thick glass and won’t work on the 15mm (~5/8”) glass. I’ll probably end up with some mp40s or gyres. Still not sure and need to do more research on that. I like the Nero power heads but they won’t work for me I believe.

 

[Reign1]

50g cube. I had a poor experience with SCA, but thinking back, it was at the literal height of covid shutdowns/shortages so in retrospect I think it's likely he was just slammed and it fell through the cracks. I have good results two Nero 3 on each L R back side. (I only say this because flow in cube tanks can be tricky and the SCA overflow is bulky).

As a side note I have a wood burning stove in my house. I would think as long as the combustion gasses were vented sufficiently away (as it's a stove they should be) it shouldn't be a huge deal. I haven't noticed ill effects. Then again the tank top has large surface area for gas exchange so any oils, fats or chemicals that become airborne may get in there potentially, so maybe large carbon reactor is a safe bet, or a hood/lid.

So what exactly was the neg. exp. with them pertaining to procurement of your tank during Coivd?