Cube

Tank pics as of 18/05/06

2006-05-19T19:32:00.000Z

Full tank shots

Refugium (macro algaes and microfauna take refuge here, under 24hr lighting)

Sump and benthic area (sponges and tunicates grow in this light independant zone)

Reef pics

Surge device

2006-05-19T19:11:00.000Z

To add an extra dimesnion of flow to the reef tank i have added a surge device, which basically dumps water on the main tank in a cyclic fashion.

Here is the construction

Parts bought from B&Q (total = £20)

Most expensive part was the flush valve (with flapper style mechanism)
Box = cereal box from ASDA
Piping and fittings are push to fit

38mm drill bit (largest i had, then further opened up with a dremmel). This cereal box is ideal, as there is already a circular 38mm marking on the base of the box, so no need to guess where to put the drill!

Flush mechanism passed through the box and siliconed into place

This is where improvisation comes into place (as does wandering around B&Q opening all the packets seeing if things fit into each other).
The connector below the flush device was 'aquired' from anoother flush device packet, and allows the 38mm pipe to be locked into place. After this there is a 40mm to 32mm pressure pipe coupling, then after that, push to fit 32mm pipe.

The bends are push-to-fit. At the end of the piping in the below pic, i used a T-piece with an end cap. The end cap will have a hole drilled in it. My theory is that air will be released from there when the water rushes past, and hopefully reduce the number of microbubbles in the tank on discharge)

I'm pretty happy, just a few tweaks to make, corals seem to be loving it (especially the sps, gorgs and suncorals)

Some vids:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrBRlTKnBvk - Surge device flush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_2MZgbryc - Tank being dumped on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f5onkbpa9M - Closer to the corals to show them getting a battering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J72sypze6NI - This one is to demonstrate how the water level rises (not much you will agree). The stand pipes can more than handle that volume.

----------------------------
Worked out a few stats for this surge device;-

Fill time = 32 secs
Dump time = 7 secs
Cycle time = 39 seconds
Amount of water dumped per hour = 461lts
Rate of water dump = (equal to - 2571 lts/hr)

Life after the crab

2006-05-19T18:59:00.000Z

To catch the rock i had to break the tank down, this meant i had to re-aquascape. I came up with the following

Mystery crab

2006-05-19T18:34:00.000Z

Found my tube worm and blue gorgonia scampering across the sand. On further inspection, they were being abducted by a mysterious crab!

I managed to nab him and he now lives in the sump

FTS and movement

2006-04-24T19:27:00.001Z

FTS

Water movement

2006-04-24T19:18:00.000Z

All stock has been moved across from nano, and new stock has been added :)

Meet .....

Male and female Synchiropus stellatus (Starry dragonnettes)

Lybia tessellata (pom pom crab)

Purple Gorg

Baby suncoral

Montipora digitata

Plating hydnopora

? Nassarius sp. snail/?babylonia sp. snial (sold as Orange spot snail)

Large Hawaiian feather duster

2006-04-24T19:06:00.000Z

Cube Tank Spec:-

------------------------------------------

(*Note; volumes are before displacement)

Display tank size:- 226lts (50 UK gal) - Partitioned with a false weir at back of tank

Sump size:- 114lts (25 UK gal) - divided into mechanical filtration bays, bubble trap bays, mechanical equipment bays and there is a 'cryptic area' (an attempt to replicate the benthic zone of the ocean)

Refugium size:- 40 lts (8 UK gals) - miracle mud base, with 3" DSB and macro algaes.

Total system capacity = 334lts (83 UK gals)

--------------

Filtration:- Approx 30kg Live RockRefugium with mud and macro algae system TMC V2Skim 600 Skimmer, Cryptic area filter feeders

--------------

Water circulation:- 3500lt/hr OR pump returned to tank via a SCWD and 2 rotating nozzles4400lt/hr Seio super pumpFuture scope for a flush/surge device

Total turn over of water = 7900lts/hr (or main tank water is turned over 35 times every hour)

--------------

Main tank lighting:- 1 x 250W Metal Halide light (20,000K spectrum)1 x 55W T5 compact actinic2 x cold cathode tube black UV lights

Total main tank light = 6.1WPG

--------------

Refugium lighting :- 1 x 18W T8 bulb (reverse photoperiod)

--------------

Stock:- - Softies, LPS future scope for SPS

--------------

S.G. = 1.026

Aquascaping and acclimatisation

2006-04-21T12:27:00.000Z

I spent a night aquascaping and acclimatising stock from my nano.

Aquascaping
Because the tank is viewable from 3 side (each pane about the same size) i felt it necessary to aquascape in 3 dimensions (i.e. not just thinking about what it would look like from the front). I've always had the idea of a central island look, but the details i was unsure about. I've looked for naturally occuring reef mound pictures and thought about copying that, but i have been influenced by Takeshi Amano who tends to aquascape to recreate things of beauty above water (i.e. a lush green field). I decided to try and aquascape a secluded bay, with rocky overhangs, and surrounding beach, i'm not sure if i have achieved it or not, or whether it will stay that shape, but it will do me for now. I also created a raised platform with the rock and filled it with sand (doesn't blow about in the flow!) - this was a functional thing to act as maybe a 'clam stage' or some where to embedd LPS who prefer to be in the sand, but also need lots of light (torch coral is in there at the moment)

Some pics of Zakynthos (Greece) that made a lasting impression from when i visited in 1999

Keri

Navagio wreck - Smugglers cove

It was rather strange, although i had an idea of what i wanted the aquascape to look like, i was bound by live rock shape and size. As it turned out, the 2nd hand rock i picked up, almost fell into place, creating a scape better than i had planned for!

Acclimatising
I needed to shift the stock from my nano tank into the cube. This was a sloooowww, drawn out, but necessary process, i dripped the water out of the cube into acclimatising buckets for 60-90mins depending on what i was acclimatising.
I started with the more hardy corals, adding Xenia and some zoanthids and monitoring their response to the new conditions. Once they appeared to be happy, i started moving clean up crew and monitoring their response. Later i acclimatised the more potent corals such as the plate and torch. Finally I acclimatised my fish. For those of you who know nothing about my nano ....... meet Puff and Krusty! - Puff (the magic dragonnette) is a scooter blenny with attitude and Krusty (the clownfish) is a special little false perc, who was chosen because he looked little different from the rest of is clown buddies on purchase.

Whilst transferring stock, random frags of live rock were added to the system, either to the aquascape, to the fuge or to the cryptic area. I also took this opportunity to transfer my live sand bed to the cube and the fuge.

My corals don't like me anymore, they were looking as good as they ever have in the nano, but after shifting them they are all closed and spewing mucus out.

'Rock in' ...................... \m/

2006-04-21T12:11:00.000Z

I picked up 20Kg of live rock from a local reefer who was breaking down this beauty tank

Rock was whisked back within 20-30 mins of being removed to reduce the likely hood of a cycle.

I put the rock straight in the tank, without aquascaping. Waited a while to ensure it was fully saturated, took it back out and began the aquascaping process

mmmm cloudy

2006-04-18T23:13:00.000Z

Salty Dog

2006-04-18T22:59:00.000Z

The end is in sight!

I filled her up with 200 litres of saltwater today \0/ just another 200 to go to fill the rest of the tank and the sump .....

Not so Low Bays, moreso 'HiLo Bays' :)

2006-04-18T22:43:00.000Z

Finally i can get that darned LowBay MH lighting unit off the floor and above my tank.

After measuring up, and going into the loft, it was apparent that the hooks would penetrate the ceiling and only be suspended by plasterboard. I decided to pull back the insulation and add some more joists to support the weight.

With that all fine and dandy, it was time to hang 'em and switch them on. The lights come with a hanging kit, which is basically metal chains and hooks, which look bit unsightly, also not very functional if you want to do maintainance. Therefore i decided to get some 'HiLo' hanging basket belts. Basically they can be adjusted to any height, and lock into place with a seatbelt type lock (i.e. when you jerk it, it locks it into place), functional and more aesthetically pleasing.

Here are the results;-

Rest in Peace

2006-04-18T22:37:00.000Z

After all this effort an money i have put into this project, i feel it deserves a good home. For this reason, i decided to redecorate. So over Easter weekend, i whipped everything out of my office (quite a task in itself!), then i laid a new carpet and gave the place a lick of paint.

Here are the results, this is where the tank will live for the forseable future.

Freshwater test run

2006-04-10T01:45:00.000Z

I will be doing a number of freshwater test runs on the system so i can tweak it and test fail safes etc.

I did one tonight and it was pretty successful. There are some minor issues that need resolving but apart from that i am really quite happy with the outcome

This shows the kind of circulation i am getting

This is a video of the surface agitation

This video show the hydo flo nozzles in action, They work on alternative cycles due to the action of the SCWD

This shows the fuge being fed from the second overflow and draining at the back right side

Almost finished!

2006-04-10T01:34:00.000Z

Continued plumbing the back of the tank to house the refugium.
Once it was all put together it looked quite neat, and piping etc all fitted inch perfect (thanks to CAD!)

This is viewed from the front with the doors open. Top is the refugium and below is the sump

Refugium

2006-04-10T01:27:00.000Z

Picked up refugium from AC aquatics and it already had overflow and bulkhead installed (bonus!)

All i needed to do was fit a DIY overflow comb and plumb it in.

Pipe is to recieve the inlet from the secondary overflow, this will hopefully stop the DSB/mud bed from being distrubed

Pipe work arrived \0/

2006-04-10T00:44:00.000Z

Finally, pipe work arrived on Friday, so i set to work putting the thing together.

First I drilled 2 holes in the false back to fit the Hydor rotating nozzles through.

The SCWD was then piped into the Hydor rotating nozzles

Next the back piping was solvent welded in place
The pipe on the left is the primary overflow, the middle pipe is the return from the OR3500, the pipe on the right is the secondary overflow, which is also used to feed the fuge with a slow gentle trickle

This is the sump viewed from the front, you can see the cryptic area and the space where the refugium will be plumbed into.

zzzzzzzz all quiet on the North Eastern front zzzzzzz

2006-04-04T22:59:00.000Z

LOOOOOOOOOng wait for piping now from Fish, Feather and Fur .......

Meanwhile i sit here and stare at a 1/2 finished cube .......

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Refugium plans

2006-03-28T11:49:00.000Z

A refugium is defined as: [A separate tank which shares water and filtration with the main aquarium. Used for growing Nitrate reducing Algae, raising live food, and isolating inhabitants from the main tank]

As this is an ideal place for natural fauna to grow and supplement the natural food available for reef tank inhabitants, therefore in an ideal world the fuge is situated above the tank so the critters can be passed down via gravity and do not have to face the wrath of the sump return pump impellor.

However, not having the luxury of an above the tank fuge, i have opted to install a fuge on a shelf, above the sump. The critters will then be returned into the bubble trap of the sump (bypassing the skimmer) and only have to face the wrath of one pump. There will be critter loss, but hopefully some will make it through.

Here are the plans;-

SCWD

2006-03-27T23:07:00.000Z

Tested the tank tonight with freshwater and everything worked well. I am still waiting on rigid pipe to hard plumb the return from the sump, so i improvised with hose.

The water returned from the sump goes ...

OR3500 >> Check valve >> ball valve >> SCWD >> Hydor Flo rotating nozzles (x2)

The SCWD (Switching Current Water Director) pronounced ("squid") acts to flip water flow between the two rotating nozzles, giving me a maximum random waveform flow pattern.

Below is a video of the SCWD in action, i have attached one rotating nozzle so you can see how it compares with the normal linear outlet jet.

<< Clicky

Blackout

2006-03-26T22:43:00.000Z

I used Wicks Black non-drip Master gloss to paint the outside of the cryptic area and also to paint the overflow section of the cube, thereby hiding all the guts.

Please ignore the mess, and items in random places ;)

Sump (cryptic area needs a roof now)

Tank

Sump build

2006-03-25T22:21:00.000Z

Picked braceless sump tank up from AC aquatics today, great service as usual :)

In accordance with the sump plans i constructed it.

It was really helpful using the CGI model i created with Sketch-up, as i could refer to it to determine dimensions, and rotate, zoom etc to get a better perspective. I would defo recommend it!

Sump with stuff in.

Sump plans

2006-03-15T17:34:00.000Z

I wanted a 'cryptic area' for the back partition of the cube, however, this was not feasible and i have decided to incorporate it into the sump.

The water will enter a bubble trap baffle and flow out in 2 directions. 1 to the skimmer bay and the other towards the cryptic area. Only a proportion of the water will flow through this area as it will be low flow for light independant filter feeders such as sponges etc to do thier thing. The water will exit the other end of the cryptic area and be returned to the main tank via an Ocean Runner 3500. The water that passes into the skimmer bay will be filtered by a V2Skim 600 then pass through the bubble baffle trap to the ocean runner 3500 to be returned.

Other bits and bobs arrive \0/

2006-03-15T17:17:00.000Z

V2Skim 600

SCWD

Tank and stand unite!

2006-03-15T17:08:00.000Z

The tank stand and open top surround were delivered on Sunday, i had to drill in the top of the stand almost immediately so the bulkheads and associated hard piping could pass through. Once that was done the cube was placed on the stand as so .....

This is a comparison of the original CAD drawings and the actual final result

This is a pic of the cube in comparison with my nano

It works!

2006-03-15T16:54:00.000Z

Preliminary testing the overflow system was promising, the primary overflow didn't make a sound once it was submerged and the secondary overflow kicked into action when i simulated a tube blockage by closing the primary overflow outlet valve (which is nice!)

'Sipping' action of the secondary overflow

These photos show the blockage protection for the first overflow, made out of cable ties and eggcrate.

This is the blockage protection for the second standpipe

Installing the overflow piping

2006-03-07T00:33:00.000Z

The tank was drilled and bulkheads installed with the intention of using Marley piping from B&Q ....... mistake #1! It is very difficult to get anything other than bog standard fittings for the Marley pipe, and I had ordered some 40mm ball valves for the primary overflow ...... needless to say the Marley piping didn't fit the ball valve :(

To solve the problem i turned down the outer diameter of the marley piping and the inside diameter of the ball valve, this lead to a perfect fit, they have been solvent welded together and the join looks as safe as houses.

The left overflow is the primary overflow, eggcrate protects the inlet :) the right overflow is the standby/backup, the 90 degrees knuckle bend is just to keep things neat :)

The middle hole will house the return pipe from the sump, and has been fitted with a reducer so the pump line can be soft piped

Further progress with stand

2006-03-06T21:33:00.000Z

Neil at
MNS Designs is being very kind and supplying me with progresion pics for the blog :)

Beginnings of the stand

2006-03-04T22:49:00.000Z

One of the reasons i didn't buy an AquaMedic Chromis tank (which was my inspiration for a cube btw), was due to its naff stand. i decided to go all out and get a wooden stand built to my own spec. Neil at MNS designs was more than happy to oblige, and has agreed to send me photos of the build as it progresses for my diary.

Here is the most recent pic:-

(it's like seeing an ultrasound of your first newborn! :) )

Testing, testing!

2006-03-04T22:29:00.000Z

I thought i had better give the seals on the tank a test run (i also wanted to give the Seio pump a run out)

Tank was intact and the seio generates a great flow!

Here is a pic of the tank:-

Here is the Seio in action:-

Adding the back weir

2006-03-04T22:15:00.000Z

I visited Amari Plastics on the Team Valley and picked up a couple of sheets of 6mm engineer grade, black PVC sheets to make into a weir.

Using the comb size of the AquaMedic over flow comb, i managed to carve the top section of the weir into a decent full length comb.

Tank has arrived

2006-03-04T22:09:00.000Z

Tank spec = 2ft x 2ft x 2ft cube, with a glass baffle at the rear to act as an overflow compartment. The glass is 10mm thick and the whole think is very heavy!. Took two grown men, making grunting noises, to carry it from the car.

The tank was built by AC Aquatics after recommendation from Coral Island Aquatics. The tank was built to spec in a couple of days, highly recommended!

Anyway it is here and this is what it looks like

Bits and bobs start to arrive \0/

2006-03-01T16:06:00.000Z

To date lighting and water pumps have arrived

250W 14,000K bulb

Lighting unit and ballast

Let there be 250W of light!

Reflectors

Lighting from Marine Lighting (Fast Light)

Seio pump (1100) in action - click pic for video

2006-03-01T15:52:00.000Z

Here is my plan to date.

Images drawn in 'Sketch-up'

Goodbye freshwater, hello salty stuff

2006-02-16T13:55:00.000Z

Well, its time to sell up my F/W community tank :( ......... to make way for a brand spanking new custom 2ft cube project \0/

The idea was born out of the realisation that i spend 90% of my time looking at my 22lt nano and 5% looking at my 170lt trop tank (I spend the other 5% looking at other random things).

So it all begins here (well actually it has begun already).

Read on for more.