My 30g cube build log

BuaidhNoBas

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Hi guys, it was nice to meet some of you at the meeting last week. For those I missed, sorry and hopefully we'll get to talk next meeting.

I wanted to start a thread to chronicle my tank setup. I'm getting back into the hobby after a few years out. Because this tank will be the first reef tank I will have set up since I got married and had a child, I'm aiming for this to be as quiet, automated, and safe as possible (and have as little sitting around outside the cabinet as i could).

Basic details:
Oceanic 30g cube (roughly 19 inches square - old style, not the new biocube) with custom stand and canopy
Ghost-style 12" overflow from Modular Marine on Ebay running Bean Animal style plumbing
One drilled return (was the old overflow) w/ 1/2" Loc-line
Sump: custom acrylic w/ built-in refugium
Return pump: Sicce 2.0 or Eheim compact 3000
Skimmer: Vertex Omega 130
Wavemaking: Maxspect Gyre 130
Lighting: Kessil 360W
Other filtration: two 4" filter socks, reactor running carbon +/- GFO
Automation: Neptune Apex
ATO: Osmolator running through a homemade Kalk reactor
Rock: all dry, a mixture of the Fiji I bought from Defective_Weeble and Pukani from BRS
Sand: Ocean Direct original grade

My aim for this tank is for a mixed reef, with some soft corals, LPS, and a few SPS. Livestock is still up in the air but will include a pair of clowns and a Randall's goby.

I'll update this thread with some pics soon. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
 
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Hard-plumbed my RODI:


I've got my rocks cooking. Ammonia is high, haven't checked nitrates yet. Changing water every couple of days.
 
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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I'm heading to my in-law's house in east TN this weekend to take advantage of my father in law's shop so I can get the sump built. Here's a mockup:



Water will come in on the top left (one drain on full suction, one as a trickle/backup), flow to the front (black mat is where skimmer will sit), then flow left to right through an opening in the baffle (that is not shown), back through the refugium to the back right, which is the return chamber (one bulkhead for return to tank, the other is for emergency drain from the Bean Animal). Here's another shot with the skimmer sitting in there:
 

bknapp

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Nice! Be sure to keep posting pics! Should have plenty of rock .
 
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Drilled the tank with no huge disasters! I did notice a couple of small slivers that came off the inside of the tank. Still okay???
 
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BuaidhNoBas

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Got the sump put together today. Curing tonight and need to flush trim the edges tomorrow. Joints are not great and I think I'm going to lay down a bead of #16 on the structural parts so I can sleep better at night. Glad I didn't start my acrylic adventure building a display tank!

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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Flow from the tank enters the sump on the left with space for two 4" filter socks. After the skimmer compartment, it drains through that rectangle cut in the black baffle into the fuge area - gonna put a magnafuge light on the side. Then goes through the bubble trap back into the back right, where the return pump will sit. One bulkhead hole on the right is for return plumbing, and one is for the emergency overflow from the bean animal - figured a short tube dumping into the pump area would be loud and a nice simple alarm that something is wrong. What do you guys think?
 
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Following from East TN here!

Nice craftsmanship on that sump! Got any stand/canopy pics?

Everything is packed in my car right now - will take some pics once I get back to Nashville and get it unloaded. Stand and canopy were made by me and a friend back when I set the tank up the first time.
 
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BuaidhNoBas

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Too tired to set everything up right now but here is the stand and canopy. Made from yellow pine frame, oak-veneer ply and oak doors ordered off the internet. Not too bad for my first try at building furniture. Custom water resistant electrical in the back.
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Clearly, the canopy was initially built for a metal halide setup. I think I'm going to rotate it so its on the wall with the chairs so you can see three sides, but here it is.
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Leak testing the sump as we speak - looks like the sump itself is holding water but the baffles need some #16. Going to let it sit with water overnight and see what it looks like tomorrow.

Hopefully, I can work on some plumbing tomorrow. Other than a short run of silicone tubing to isolate the return pump, planning on all hard-plumbed. Have some sweet black PVC from BRS and all schedule 80 fittings so it should look nice.
 
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Welp, I got this far before deciding that the space is too cramped for hard plumbing. Got some flex PVC on the way

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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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Finally got my flex PVC in - got everything dry fit tonight and now I'm going to start gluing!

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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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What do you guys think about this bean animal setup? Far right is two 3/4" 90 elbow streets put together for the full suction line. Middle is the emergency drain. Far left is a one inch elbow to serve as the trickle line. Think that will work? I'm gonna try it tonight.
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BuaidhNoBas

BuaidhNoBas

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All right, she's runnin', and only one small leak that was easily fixed.

I ended up taking the trickle drown down to a 3/4" elbow because I think the increased flow through the one inch elbow was not letting the main drain achieve full suction. This bean animal setup seems pretty finicky.

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