amyxagl
New Member
Starting a new tank (Planet Aquariums 70 Edge) and I got an apex. I wanted it advanced and compact. I didnt want anything spilling out of the stand as this will be my main display in my living room.
This meant I HAD to have everything inside the cabinet including ATO.
I have plenty on tanks already (mostly freshwater) and REALLY didnt want to add to the lifting. So im making it ULM:
auto ato fill up and salt mix fill up with apex solenoids, auto water change with DOS, autofeeder, calcium reactor, ect.
Im probably shooting myself in the foot for later.
Being a carpenter meant i had access to different materials and a CNC. So i decided to figure out my max dimensions and run with it. Im still tying things up, but i had to get a few extra cables, adapters or make my own once i started putting this together.
I will be adding a Trident on top once i have it running for a year and corals grown out and start to be an actual cal/alk vacuum.
Let me know what you guys think.
My thought was to be able to access it by sliding it out and putting a hinge on it so i can open it up. I took a page from a cnc and decided to use a cable drag to nicely organize with being able to bend the wires safely. sorry dont have a pic of that at the moment.
Doing a cable drag meant a longer distance my wires had to run. I had to buy extensions for my gyres, DC Skimmer which i had to source on ebay for outdoor lighting, Make my own Apex 24v wires (wasnt going to pay $20 an extension) which was needed to make the bend between modules. 90 degree headphone adapters for FMM, 90 degree USB extensions for Aquabus, 90 degree power cable adapters for FMM and 1Link, 90 degree BNC adapter for PH monitor.
i quickly realized how many f*ing wires this was going to take. Also how close i mounted my Apex modules to each other.
Running cables through the Cable drag was a great idea for the first half.
my future self will thank my past self for using the label maker
theres more work to do but heres what it looks like as it sits:
Incase anyone wondering, I will be hanging a skinny 7.5 lb co2 tank up front near the "ceiling" of the stand
As i said, Trident will sit on top of the cabinet and is how i based the max size of it. Its not as sexy as some controller boards on Pinterest but its the most compact someone will ever do.
Also not pictured for future buy: Ozone. I will not stay on top of carbon, ill fall behind on that so ozone will be shelved over the return pump and ran thru the skimmer.
Questions, comments, concerns are welcomed, or ignored. Ill try to get more pics. my goal is to fill the tank by the end of the year to start cycling.
This meant I HAD to have everything inside the cabinet including ATO.
I have plenty on tanks already (mostly freshwater) and REALLY didnt want to add to the lifting. So im making it ULM:
auto ato fill up and salt mix fill up with apex solenoids, auto water change with DOS, autofeeder, calcium reactor, ect.
Im probably shooting myself in the foot for later.
Being a carpenter meant i had access to different materials and a CNC. So i decided to figure out my max dimensions and run with it. Im still tying things up, but i had to get a few extra cables, adapters or make my own once i started putting this together.
I will be adding a Trident on top once i have it running for a year and corals grown out and start to be an actual cal/alk vacuum.
Let me know what you guys think.
My thought was to be able to access it by sliding it out and putting a hinge on it so i can open it up. I took a page from a cnc and decided to use a cable drag to nicely organize with being able to bend the wires safely. sorry dont have a pic of that at the moment.
Doing a cable drag meant a longer distance my wires had to run. I had to buy extensions for my gyres, DC Skimmer which i had to source on ebay for outdoor lighting, Make my own Apex 24v wires (wasnt going to pay $20 an extension) which was needed to make the bend between modules. 90 degree headphone adapters for FMM, 90 degree USB extensions for Aquabus, 90 degree power cable adapters for FMM and 1Link, 90 degree BNC adapter for PH monitor.
i quickly realized how many f*ing wires this was going to take. Also how close i mounted my Apex modules to each other.
Running cables through the Cable drag was a great idea for the first half.
my future self will thank my past self for using the label maker
theres more work to do but heres what it looks like as it sits:
Incase anyone wondering, I will be hanging a skinny 7.5 lb co2 tank up front near the "ceiling" of the stand
As i said, Trident will sit on top of the cabinet and is how i based the max size of it. Its not as sexy as some controller boards on Pinterest but its the most compact someone will ever do.
Also not pictured for future buy: Ozone. I will not stay on top of carbon, ill fall behind on that so ozone will be shelved over the return pump and ran thru the skimmer.
Questions, comments, concerns are welcomed, or ignored. Ill try to get more pics. my goal is to fill the tank by the end of the year to start cycling.
