DvgyCpT
New Member
Morning All,
Ziyaad (everyone calls me Dougy
) here from Cape Town, South Africa.
We are currently under full lock down in South Africa, so decided to start my build thread for my 650mm (+-26inchs, sorry we use the metric system in S.A) reef cube. At the end of last year i was wafting around looking for something to take up as hobby but also add some 'life' to my home. Stumbled across couple reef vlogs on youtube & was hooked.
Researched for the next couple of months, lurking mostly on reef2reef & local forum, MASA.
I ended up finding a pre-owned 650mm (25inchs) cube, it came with a stand & a 400mm (15inchs) cube tank. With start-up costs bit high, i was willing to go the pre-owned route on some of the required items for the build. But in my opinion some parts would need to be new.
My goal for the tank is a mix reef, so ill be setting tank up off bat to hold everything. Think its called future proofing? haha
But also understand the correct cycling of the tank is required, ill be patient.
Lets move onto the build..
Display:
650mm x 650mm x 600mm (h) (+- 25 x 25 x 24inchs) , 12mm Opti-clear glass Rimless + bottom bracing (+-250ltrs / 65gals).
When i purchased the tank i was aware of the dodgy silicone job & was planning on having it redone, really glad i did. The previous owner used some black acrylic to 'frame' the tank & i think hide the silicone job haha. The tank had 20mm return hole drilled, but needed overflow drilled. I got into contact with local tank builder to have everything sorted.
I purchased 2 x 40mm overflows, the 2nd would be the emergency overflow. I'm not sure what style they are called, but will show pics below. I liked the fact they came stop valve so i can control the overflow speed & sound, and small form factor. I was also able to get 25mm hi-flow return nozzle. The back of the tanks backing was some kind of black spray paint, it was peeling & after the rebuild it had flaked off at the bottom. Decided to strip it off & respray with matte black with Plasti-dip.
Sump:
600mm x 300mm x 300mm (h) (24 x 11 x 11inchs) , 8mm glass (+-55ltrs / 15gals).
I was able to come to solid deal with tank builder, with reseal he also built my sump. With all my research the answer was the simpler the better. It made up of 3 main compartments, overflow > refugium > return. The sump was sized according to my stand, so i would have enough space for other bits to be added at later time. I wanted everything enclosed in the stand.
QT:
400mm x 400mm x 400mm (h) (15 x 15 x 15inchs, 6mm glass (+- 45ltrs / 11gals)
With the purchase i received a second tank, think he wanted to use it as sump. With my research one thing that stood out to me was the need for a quarantine tank.
So will set this up as one. Want to clean it up as well.
Stand:
The stand had some surface rust but didn't look to bad. Decided to strip off paint & cleaned up the surface rust. Gave it 3 coats of primer & 3 coats of black acrylic paint. I was planning on painting it with waterproofing once everything was assembled. I had some 18mm shutter-board laying around, with bit of effort on finishing the board can look nice. Proceeded to cut it up to size, with it being lock down i didnt have all the supplies & want to finish what i could. Cut the top & bottom, as well as the 'fascia edging' for the top. Wish i had skill saw haha straight edge + jig saw not the best.
So here's the first hiccup, the top was screwed in place, move to the bottom. As i got to the 3rd last screw, it pulled straight through the metal tubing hahaha it was nearly paper thin from corrosion. Before i got the tank the owner filled tank up for me for a leak test. the stand looked fine supporting it. But with the screw story i decided to bin it cause I'm not sure of its integrity.
Will have to wait until after lock down to see what my route will be. I have high floor to ceiling height so build the stand 1300mm high, will also do some form of lighting support attached to new stand. The lights can then be mounted high enough off the water surface. Shot @Alemoki for the idea.
Mechanical filtration:
BM Curve 5 skimmer - Picked up pre-owned unit for a steal. Already ordered upgraded bubble plate from fellow reefer, @Alemoki .
Deciding on filter socks or filter mat, any recommendations?
Biological filtration:
Cheato in the fuge
Bio-blox / brick, any recommendations?
Will be looking at adding live rock.
Pumps / Flow: (still to get)
Return pump - Jebao Dcp-3000 Water Pump or the Dcp-4000. The norm seems to be 10x tank turnover, but i might run it slower. Giving food better chance of staying in the DT water column.
Flow - Undecided about this, either get multiple small wave makers or get 1 or 2 Gyre type wave makers.
Lighting: (still to get)
This is my biggest sticking point hahah I am so undecided about which route to go.
I have access to purchasing an ATI T5 6x24w dimmable fixture, with me wanting a mix reef, lighting it would need to be able to maintain SPS. T5 sure does the job both with PAR & coverage. With that said the color pop of the corals would better with LED supplementation. But then its buying another 2 fixtures i.e LED bars.
To get the coverage i want with LED lights i would have to go for proper lighting, 2 x hydra26's or something similar. Or the diy route, theres a gent locally in process of manufacturing his own brand of light. But i have time to decide on this.
Id appreciate some input on this.
Others: (still to get)
UV sterilizer - when i plumb up the tank allowance will be made for this.
STC1000 temp controller
2 x Cooling Fans - will linked up to controller.
2 x 150w heaters - will linked up to controller
That's it for now, unfortunately nothing i can do or get for the build until lock downs done, another 2weeks atleast. As my title read - Rise of the Reef, im bitv of geek & will be adding something to tank as my 'geekout' piece haha also have couple ideas for my aquascape.
Please see pics below...
When i collected the tank... dreary state of the silicone..
Overflows + return nozzle...
BM Curve 5 stripped for a clean
DT back from the builder..
Backing peeling off & resprayed...
Stoked with the finish.. glass will be thoroughly cleaned once all work is done.
Here pic of the stand & the sump..pity about the stand tho..
Thank you for reading, i know its long one hahaha
Appreciate any comments as I'm here to learn.;Happy
Ziyaad (everyone calls me Dougy
) here from Cape Town, South Africa.We are currently under full lock down in South Africa, so decided to start my build thread for my 650mm (+-26inchs, sorry we use the metric system in S.A) reef cube. At the end of last year i was wafting around looking for something to take up as hobby but also add some 'life' to my home. Stumbled across couple reef vlogs on youtube & was hooked.
Researched for the next couple of months, lurking mostly on reef2reef & local forum, MASA.
I ended up finding a pre-owned 650mm (25inchs) cube, it came with a stand & a 400mm (15inchs) cube tank. With start-up costs bit high, i was willing to go the pre-owned route on some of the required items for the build. But in my opinion some parts would need to be new.
My goal for the tank is a mix reef, so ill be setting tank up off bat to hold everything. Think its called future proofing? haha
But also understand the correct cycling of the tank is required, ill be patient.
Lets move onto the build..
Display:
650mm x 650mm x 600mm (h) (+- 25 x 25 x 24inchs) , 12mm Opti-clear glass Rimless + bottom bracing (+-250ltrs / 65gals).
When i purchased the tank i was aware of the dodgy silicone job & was planning on having it redone, really glad i did. The previous owner used some black acrylic to 'frame' the tank & i think hide the silicone job haha. The tank had 20mm return hole drilled, but needed overflow drilled. I got into contact with local tank builder to have everything sorted.
I purchased 2 x 40mm overflows, the 2nd would be the emergency overflow. I'm not sure what style they are called, but will show pics below. I liked the fact they came stop valve so i can control the overflow speed & sound, and small form factor. I was also able to get 25mm hi-flow return nozzle. The back of the tanks backing was some kind of black spray paint, it was peeling & after the rebuild it had flaked off at the bottom. Decided to strip it off & respray with matte black with Plasti-dip.
Sump:
600mm x 300mm x 300mm (h) (24 x 11 x 11inchs) , 8mm glass (+-55ltrs / 15gals).
I was able to come to solid deal with tank builder, with reseal he also built my sump. With all my research the answer was the simpler the better. It made up of 3 main compartments, overflow > refugium > return. The sump was sized according to my stand, so i would have enough space for other bits to be added at later time. I wanted everything enclosed in the stand.
QT:
400mm x 400mm x 400mm (h) (15 x 15 x 15inchs, 6mm glass (+- 45ltrs / 11gals)
With the purchase i received a second tank, think he wanted to use it as sump. With my research one thing that stood out to me was the need for a quarantine tank.
So will set this up as one. Want to clean it up as well.
Stand:
The stand had some surface rust but didn't look to bad. Decided to strip off paint & cleaned up the surface rust. Gave it 3 coats of primer & 3 coats of black acrylic paint. I was planning on painting it with waterproofing once everything was assembled. I had some 18mm shutter-board laying around, with bit of effort on finishing the board can look nice. Proceeded to cut it up to size, with it being lock down i didnt have all the supplies & want to finish what i could. Cut the top & bottom, as well as the 'fascia edging' for the top. Wish i had skill saw haha straight edge + jig saw not the best.
So here's the first hiccup, the top was screwed in place, move to the bottom. As i got to the 3rd last screw, it pulled straight through the metal tubing hahaha it was nearly paper thin from corrosion. Before i got the tank the owner filled tank up for me for a leak test. the stand looked fine supporting it. But with the screw story i decided to bin it cause I'm not sure of its integrity.
Will have to wait until after lock down to see what my route will be. I have high floor to ceiling height so build the stand 1300mm high, will also do some form of lighting support attached to new stand. The lights can then be mounted high enough off the water surface. Shot @Alemoki for the idea.
Mechanical filtration:
BM Curve 5 skimmer - Picked up pre-owned unit for a steal. Already ordered upgraded bubble plate from fellow reefer, @Alemoki .
Deciding on filter socks or filter mat, any recommendations?
Biological filtration:
Cheato in the fuge
Bio-blox / brick, any recommendations?
Will be looking at adding live rock.
Pumps / Flow: (still to get)
Return pump - Jebao Dcp-3000 Water Pump or the Dcp-4000. The norm seems to be 10x tank turnover, but i might run it slower. Giving food better chance of staying in the DT water column.
Flow - Undecided about this, either get multiple small wave makers or get 1 or 2 Gyre type wave makers.
Lighting: (still to get)
This is my biggest sticking point hahah I am so undecided about which route to go.
I have access to purchasing an ATI T5 6x24w dimmable fixture, with me wanting a mix reef, lighting it would need to be able to maintain SPS. T5 sure does the job both with PAR & coverage. With that said the color pop of the corals would better with LED supplementation. But then its buying another 2 fixtures i.e LED bars.
To get the coverage i want with LED lights i would have to go for proper lighting, 2 x hydra26's or something similar. Or the diy route, theres a gent locally in process of manufacturing his own brand of light. But i have time to decide on this.
Id appreciate some input on this.
Others: (still to get)
UV sterilizer - when i plumb up the tank allowance will be made for this.
STC1000 temp controller
2 x Cooling Fans - will linked up to controller.
2 x 150w heaters - will linked up to controller
That's it for now, unfortunately nothing i can do or get for the build until lock downs done, another 2weeks atleast. As my title read - Rise of the Reef, im bitv of geek & will be adding something to tank as my 'geekout' piece haha also have couple ideas for my aquascape.
Please see pics below...
When i collected the tank... dreary state of the silicone..
Overflows + return nozzle...
BM Curve 5 stripped for a clean
DT back from the builder..
Backing peeling off & resprayed...
Stoked with the finish.. glass will be thoroughly cleaned once all work is done.
Here pic of the stand & the sump..pity about the stand tho..
Thank you for reading, i know its long one hahaha
Appreciate any comments as I'm here to learn.;Happy
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