80G Cube of Doom

[Onebaldman]

No special processing of these photos, just raw shots from my phone:





Since I had everything under a different light source for the past month, I put the Radion's back on a two week acclimation period, starting at 50%. As mentioned before, I run them in shallow lagoon to mimic a more natural light than the more blue that everyone tends to run.

Nothing is set, but I believe the 2nd photo is where I want the rock to be. The first picture is still a work in progress.

 

[fishroomlady]

looks really natural

 

[Onebaldman]

Today I was able to plumb the water return line to the sea horse tank today:









I now need to buy the 1" line for the drain back to the sump. I also want to have a plastic heatsink 3D printed to run the return through to cool the water down before it gets to the tank.

 

[Onebaldman]

I also worked on my rockscape again, I think I am now happy with it all:

 

[Onebaldman]

I was able to dial in the protein skimmer:



At first it was running too many bubbles, but now I'm quite happy with the results.

 

[Onebaldman]

As for the tank, the brown truck stopped by this week with some new fish:

Trio of bartlett's fairy anthias (all female)


and a Pink Bar Goby/Red Banded pistol shrimp pair:

 

[Onebaldman]

Things to do before Christmas (the wife's deadline):

• Finish the panel doors for the tank (in progress)
• Finish the instrument panel (in progress)
• Start on the shelves and spots for my dosing pump/containers/chemicals/carbon reactor
• Paint the return and drains

Things still on the list that can wait till after Christmas:

• Replace the panel doors with stained glass doors
• Finish the seahorse tank
• Wire up the semi-auto water change system

 

[Onebaldman]

I must have a very boring build...

Progress on the doors. I now need to position the magnetic catches to keep the doors closed and magnetic switches to control the lights when I open the doors.

 

[Onebaldman]

This weekend's progress has been working on the dry side of the stand. I was able to get my module door done and mounted and my dosing pump shelf added. Tomorrow I plan on finishing the panel doors for this side and mounting them.

 

[Onebaldman]

Let's see, what has happened over the past few days:

The pink bar goby decided it wanted to walk with the humans and I found it about 4ft from the tank...apparently forgot to put on it's water breathing device. I tried reviving it in the toilet, but apparently the swirling of the water did no good as it went down the hole...

The 5 gallon desk tank is now completely plumbed in and I have water traveling to and from it. I still need to put a silencer on the drain, but it is currently tolerable (unless I am on a phone meeting where I need to talk).

While I was placing my toolbox back in place, I yanked the water line that fed the 5 gallon tank from the return of the main tank. I must say that the Jebao pump has a lot of force when there is an open hole in the return pipe. Luckily I have everything on a GFI and it tripped. That was fun.

I did finish the doors on the dry side of the tank, but I now have to modify my control panel swing door because it hits the main door.

Over all...I'm still making progress, and that is all that matters.

 

[Presto2345]

I think your fish have a drinking problem there...lol

 

[bairdimusprime]

everything looks wonderful!

great job!

 

[Onebaldman]

Thanks, it's good to get feedback on a build.

 

[Wiinberg]

Love the module door, pretty clever. And your aqua scape is great

 

[fishroomlady]

I agree, everything looks great! you've made a lot of good progress throughout your build!

 

[benzc01]

Nice man, stand internals are cool

 

[Onebaldman]

My clowns have started spawning again, so at least I know they are happy! I would be too if I was able to lay in a soft bed all day.

 

[Onebaldman]

In the evenings, while I'm still compiling code, I have been working on a design for the stained glass that will replace the inner panels of the doors. It is still a work in progress, but here is the general idea:

This will be on the wet side of the stand. I still plan on adding some macro algae and the trident, but I thought I would try to get some feedback. There are a lot of little pieces, but in the end...it's just time.

I am hoping to layout a kraken attacking a ship on the dry side of the stand. I have started laying it out yet, but I'll post pictures after I have made some progress.

As for the current setup, things are going well. I received my refreshed cleanup crew from John at Reefcleaners. It takes patience with the snails in a rimless tank, but after a few days they realize they need to quit trying to clean the outside of the tank.

I also was able to caulk the cracks around the tank in preparation of painting.

 

[Onebaldman]

Can't drop off the front page...

I now have two coats of paint on the stand. I went weight a shaded lighter than the interior:

Cleaned up the cup today...love me some protein...

That is all for now, carry on!

 

[LILBUDDHA]

I like what u did in post # 70 with the hinged door ? for the equipment rack . Are you going to use wide duct panduit ( network cable management ) to finish it up ?