It's been a couple years now since I downgraded from having nearly 350 gallons of saltwater in the house to 29.  Being I am nearly done with college I decided to treat myself a bit and blow some of my "hard earned" student loan money on a bigger tank.  Don't get me wrong I love my HQI outfitted 29 gallon Bio Cube but enough is enough!  I simply have too many corals that are getting to big for the space.  I thought about just taking it apart and trying to redo some of the rockwork to achieve a different look but it would be nearly impossible, at least that's what I told my wife.  

I'm a sucker for cubes and Craig at AC&C was nice enough to give me on heck of a deal on a "MACNA used" Maineland 60 gallon cube and stand.  I've been chomping at the bit to get the tank home ever since MACNA and I finally did just last night.  To my surprise the tank was much bigger than it looked during the event, we had a heck of a time figuring out where we going to put the beast but I think we finally found a good spot.  Yes, it's in front of a window but it was either there or downstairs where I wouldn't appreciate it.

So far I have the Marineland Reef ready 60 gallon cube with stand, 2 Vortec MP10's, Aqueon ProFlex Model 1, Current-USA Sunpod with a 250 watt HQI, and 2 Marineland submersible LED's.  I picked up the Alternative Reef's ceramic ledge rock that was displayed in Cherry Corals' massive cube tank display during the show.  It looks great in there!!!

Here is a crappy cell phone shot of the tank with the rock in it. Please excuse the ugly wires.  I just painted the back of the tank black as well.   I am currently filling the tank and it should be up and running sometime tomorrow afternoon.

 



More pics to come as I progress through the build.  I am hoping for a quick cycle and hoping the rock turns purple quickly. 

Wow, I just noticed that the tank looks really small in that picture.

Cubes are always really neat tanks. Good luck with the build!

looks awesome. I really like that alternative rock.

Lets see a picture of the 29 gallon.

looks good bud ... i got mine started too ...

looks good bud ... i got mine started too ...

Posted By thebass on 09/18/2011 12:30 AM
Lets see a picture of the 29 gallon.

I wish it still looked this good but here are some older shots of the 29.

http://www.greateriowareefsociety.o...fault.aspx

Nice!

Very nice tank! I also like the frag rock.

That tank is going to be sick once you get all your corals in there.
-Bill

Finally got a little more work done on my new tank.  I am trying to keep everything neat and orderly including the wiring so it is a little tedious.  I am quickly running out of room under the stand as I added a Korallin Ca Reactor today.  It's the perfect size for my tank but the reactor and CO2 tank take up quite a bit of space.  I also ordered a skimmer today.  There isn't room for the usual "in sump" skimmer but there is a middle section in my sump that would fit a Deltec AP500 perfectly.  I was fortunate enough to find one used on RC for a great price and it should be here sometime next week I hope.  In the meantime I am going to work on tiding up my wiring and plumbing as well as get the Ca reactor plumbed.

There are only a few things left to add like an ATO and my ACIII.  Luckily,  I think there is just enough room to fit a container for RO water under the sump!  I am debating on whether or not to upgrade to an Apex.  I love the features it has compared to my ACIII but I'm not sure if it's worth it at this point.  I am already quite a bit over budget on this build so maybe that will have to wait.  I am hoping to have everything running sometime next week so I can begin the dreaded cycle.

Here are a few pics as of tonight.  I apologize for the crappy quality, taking quick shots with my phone is so convenient.   I promise, once I get some life in the tank I will use my camera and get some better shots.  I still can't get over how small this tank looks in the pictures! 

Looking good!! Keep the pics coming!

Posted By B-Rad on 09/21/2011 04:18 AM
Looking good!! Keep the pics coming!

Thanks man!  I pretty excited about this build.  It is easily becoming one of my favorite setups to date.

Nice. You have *a lot* of stuff in that stand. I really like that rock...and nice use of those LEDs from MACNA.

--AJ

Things were getting a little tight so I decided to use some of the extra space available in the upper area of my stand to hold the CO2 tank.

Very Nice  It won't be too long before you will need to upgrade again...teehee  The corals are just going to love their new home!  Keep the pics coming

Made a little more progress on the build this week.  I added an ATO system to aid in salinity stability, the reservoir is just a rubbermade storage container and am using a float switch and relay setup to control an aqualifter pump.  I also messed around with the Ca reactor a little.  I don't have media for it yet but decided I would see what it took to get it functional.  It's pretty easy to use and should work great.

Oh yeah almost forgot!  I have fish now!!!  Being I am starting completely dry I decided to try to kick start my cycle by using Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria.  Now usually I don't use stuff like this but figured it was only bacteria and couldn't hurt.  I added that along with 8 ml of pure ammonia to the tank and within 24 hours the ammonia level was back down to zero.  I did this again last night and ammonia levels were nearly zero again today so I figured it was time to add a few fish. 

I ended up getting 6 blue/green chromis and so far they are doing well.

Starting a tank with no live rock or live sand is a true test of patience.  Adding things slowly will definitely be the key to avoid major algae blooms. 

Anyway here is a pic of the new top-off system, it's nothing special but it is progress.  The Deltec MC500 should be here sometime this week so I am anxiously waiting for that.  I also plan on trying to do a little more tiding up with the wiring and a implementing my ACIII. I would really love an Apex but have decided it would just be a waste with a little tank like this.  I would just use it for turning on lights and heater anyhow.   Keeping the wiring neat and orderly is becoming nearly impossible with amount of cords and tubing involved in such a confined space.  It still looks far better than the rats nest under my Biocube.  LOL 

As much as I want to start mounting corals to my new rock sculpture I think it maybe several more weeks before any coral goes in.  Again, patience is the key here.

A few more pieces of equipment were installed today.

First off, we have a Deltec MC-500 Protein Skimmer.  Its a pretty awesome skimmer, it was about the only skimmer besides a bak-pak or equivalent that would fit in the space provided.  So far it seems to be skimming well so, so far so good.

Next we have a couple 2 Little Fishies Phosban 150's.  I really had no other place to put these things so in the sump they go.  I sort of like them there as they should be easy to get to and maintain.  I still need to get a feed pump for them so they aren't running yet.  I think I may be able to daisy chain them together and just one pump.  One will run GFO and the other will run Carbon.

About the only thing I need is some media for the carbon reactor which should be here in a couple days.  I am going to run the Arm fine stuff and 10% ZeoMag in the reactor to maintain magnesium levels without the need to dose. 

NO dosing for me!!! 

Anyway here's a shot as of tonight.  There is absolutely no room left for anything....well OK how about an Apex?  As long as I get my Bio Cube sold I think there is room for one. 

Looks good! Nice job of getting everything in there. Keep being patient.