Diving back into the deep end with a 135 gallon cube

[bakbay]

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.

Flow: as you know, I run 3xWAV on the black wall and 2xMP40s on each side. My tank is 3/4” so yes, WAVs and MP40s will work fine. I think gyres might work better but I don’t like cleaning them. MP40s are super easy to clean - I got one spare wet side and just swap them. One of these days, I might consider replacing all with MP40s. I like the flow of WAVs and less power bricks but I don’t clean them more than I should though.

 

[ScottD]

Flow: as you know, I run 3xWAV on the black wall and 2xMP40s on each side. My tank is 3/4” so yes, WAVs and MP40s will work fine. I think gyres might work better but I don’t like cleaning them. MP40s are super easy to clean - I got one spare wet side and just swap them. One of these days, I might consider replacing all with MP40s. I like the flow of WAVs and less power bricks but I don’t clean them more than I should though.

Thanks, I’ll have to check out the WAVs. I’d love to run 4 mp40s as I love the idea of having a spare wet side and swapping them out like you do. Not sure my budget allows for that at the moment. Also I still have some power heads from my last tank that I need to see if they’ll still work and replace stuff over time.

 

[bakbay]

If you ever decide to do MP40, I would hook one of them up for battery backup. I’ve implemented a DIY battery solution that has saved me twice so far!

 

[ScottD]

If you ever decide to do MP40, I would hook one of them up for battery backup. I’ve implemented a DIY battery solution that has saved me twice so far!

Thanks but I’m fortunate enough not to have to worry about that. Our house has a whole house generator that kicks in automatically when we lose power.

 

[quentin17110]

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…

Wow

 

[ScottD]

So a little update, here is my stand for the tank. It’s all 15 series extruded aluminum, either 1515 or 1530. It was cut and machined by Tnutz.com. Everything fit together nicely and assembled pretty easily.
the stand dimensions are 37”x37”x33”. I then will be skinning the stand with 1/2” plywood on the sides and 3/4” plywood on the top. I bought a type of plywood called MDO. It’s an exterior grade plywood that you’ve probably seen everywhere and never knew it. It’s the plywood that’s used on all the temporary constructions signs that you drive past everywhere.

I’ve got a 40 gallon breeder tank from Petco that I purchased after Christmas during a 50% off sale. I got an additional 10% off for ordering it online and picking up in the store. All said and done it was just over $50 after tax.
My plan is to have the sump off to the left side so that I’ll have easy access from 2 sides on it. On the right side I plan on putting some kind of cabinet for all the electrical but still haven’t ironed out how I’m going to accomplish that yet. Also need to figure out where I want to put an ato tank as well under the stand.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

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.

What program or website did you use to map out where you tank should go in your house

 

[ScottD]

What program or website did you use to map out where you tank should go in your house

If you’re referring to the computer sketch, I did that in SketchUp.

 

[bakbay]

So a little update, here is my stand for the tank. It’s all 15 series extruded aluminum, either 1515 or 1530. It was cut and machined by Tnutz.com. Everything fit together nicely and assembled pretty easily.
the stand dimensions are 37”x37”x33”. I then will be skinning the stand with 1/2” plywood on the sides and 3/4” plywood on the top. I bought a type of plywood called MDO. It’s an exterior grade plywood that you’ve probably seen everywhere and never knew it. It’s the plywood that’s used on all the temporary constructions signs that you drive past everywhere.

I’ve got a 40 gallon breeder tank from Petco that I purchased after Christmas during a 50% off sale. I got an additional 10% off for ordering it online and picking up in the store. All said and done it was just over $50 after tax.
My plan is to have the sump off to the left side so that I’ll have easy access from 2 sides on it. On the right side I plan on putting some kind of cabinet for all the electrical but still haven’t ironed out how I’m going to accomplish that yet. Also need to figure out where I want to put an ato tank as well under the stand.

Very cool stand - I actually wanted something similar, wrapped with white panels but things got lost "in translation" and got the current black, wood stand instead. Ugh

Anyway, I too got a Petco special but I went with a 20g breeder for all the "dry equipment". It saved me on several occasions from damaging our expensive wood floor!

Build Thread - My 150g Cube Journey

Hello all - just sharing my journey as a fellow "reef addict". I've had many tanks over the years but so far, my latest 150g (combined water volume) is my pride & joy. Tank: 36" x 36" x 24", 3/4" low-iron glass on 3 sides, euro-braced bottom Sump: 20g glass with 3 compartments: filter media...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ScottD]

Very cool stand - I actually wanted something similar, wrapped with white panels but things got lost "in translation" and got the current black, wood stand instead. Ugh

Anyway, I too got a Petco special but I went with a 20g breeder for all the "dry equipment". It saved me on several occasions from damaging our expensive wood floor!

Build Thread - My 150g Cube Journey

Hello all - just sharing my journey as a fellow "reef addict". I've had many tanks over the years but so far, my latest 150g (combined water volume) is my pride & joy. Tank: 36" x 36" x 24", 3/4" low-iron glass on 3 sides, euro-braced bottom Sump: 20g glass with 3 compartments: filter media...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks, I wanted something that I felt confident will hold up long term. Was hoping originally to use smaller series aluminum but settled on this design which in the end wasn’t much smaller than 2x4 construction but I know this won’t change over the years.

I’ll keep in mind having something for the dry equipment, not sure the 20l will work as it pretty much takes up the rest of the room underneath with the 40 breeder next to it. At the very least I plan on bringing the sides up 2” on all sides and sealing the bottom joints to form a tub.

On another note, trying to figure out what I need to leave for a control cabinet area. Anyone have thoughts on space needed for it.

 

[ScottD]

So here are a couple more renderings of my stand/sump. The left and front are going to have full access to underneath. The right side I’ll be able to put a small door on that side which I’m planning to put some kind of control cabinet there for the future.

 

[Wasabiroot]

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

I ordered it with a pump, received it after checking with no updates for a few weeks. The sump provided was too wide to fit under the stand. The pump was not included. I didn't get charged for the pump but his way of letting me know he didn't have it was to just remove it from my order without telling me. Never did get a replacement sump despite him saying he would send it out. It's been over two years so not the end of the world, and I have heard lots of positive feedback, so I forgive and forget and move on.

 

[Wasabiroot]

I like the addition of the side door! Looking good!

 

[Reign1]

Well looks like I am joining the club and may have to make a build ..
my friend gave me a screaming deal on this tank .. I was going to scrap the stand but idk that I can it’s too nice .
I think I am going to just cut out the back out just enough to fit the sump
Cheers

 

[ScottD]

Well looks like I am joining the club and may have to make a build ..
my friend gave me a screaming deal on this tank .. I was going to scrap the stand but idk that I can it’s too nice .
I think I am going to just cut out the back out just enough to fit the sump
Cheers

Looks like a nice pickup. Can’t wait to see what you do with it.

 

[ScottD]

Nothing really to update. This winter has been a doozy with some health issues and my son injuring his toe. Hoping to get back into the build here shortly after I finish a couple other house projects.
About the only thing I’ve accomplished is I was able to get my little 10 gallon freshwater tank and cabinet moved so that the space is now open for the big tank. Maybe this weekend I’ll get the stand frame brought in to see how it looks and plan some more on it

Heres one of the house projects I need to finish up. It’s a couple drawers and a pull out shelf that going to go on a stand I built to raise our washer and dryer off the floor for easier use and give us some extra storage. The stand was put into place and use a couple years ago but just haven’t finished it up. Needless to say the wife is getting impatient and need to get it done.

 

[ScottD]

So here’s a small update. Got the stand frame moved into place over the weekend to see how it looks and slowly get my wife prepared for what she agreed to. As expected the kids loved climbing all over it so the stress testing period has also begun on it.

 

[Reign1]

So here’s a small update. Got the stand frame moved into place over the weekend to see how it looks and slowly get my wife prepared for what she agreed to. As expected the kids loved climbing all over it so the stress testing period has also begun on it.

What are the dimensions again? cost ? as you may have just convinced me to go this route.

 

[ScottD]

What are the dimensions again? cost ? as you may have just convinced me to go this route.

It’s 36”x36” and 24” tall

 

[ScottD]

What are the dimensions again? cost ? as you may have just convinced me to go this route.

Sorry just realized I missed the cost question. That’s a little tricky since I got a steal on it for a Black Friday deal.
Here’s a link to the tank I have.

135 Gallon Starfire Tank with Center Overflow 36x36x24'' 15mm

www.scaquariums.com

You could always try emailing them and seeing if you could get a better price. I know last fall when I first emailed about that size he didn’t have it on the website and quoted me lower than what it’s listed now as he was trying to get rid of his inventory of that size tank.