Brand New 8 gallon bio cube

living_tribunal · Jan 25, 2020

Magellan said:
Sounds like you’re speaking from experience!

I bet I could fit you into a 90G biocube.

Katrina71 · Jan 25, 2020

Manifolds, PVC, yada yada... Y'all know we would like to plan ahead for additions. UV sterilizer, CO2 scrubber, that kind of thing. What are some things you wish you had planned from the beginning? Is there something that worked especially well? I'd like to add a lot of stuff from the beginning (or plan for it) so it will be almost a literal plug-n-play. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm sure there are things I've overlooked.

Katrina71 · Jan 25, 2020

The doors on the stand are oversized pull outs, so it should help with ease of maintenance.

sfin52 · Jan 25, 2020

Katrina71 said:
Manifolds, PVC, yada yada... Y'all know we would like to plan ahead for additions. UV sterilizer, CO2 scrubber, that kind of thing. What are some things you wish you had planned from the beginning? Is there something that worked especially well? I'd like to add a lot of stuff from the beginning (or plan for it) so it will be almost a literal plug-n-play. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm sure there are things I've overlooked.

Refugium is what I wish I would have thought about.

JoshH · Jan 25, 2020

Running my old manifold off of a separate pump was something that I was REALLY pleased with on my last build. If it fits the space I would highly suggest doing that

Fin · Jan 25, 2020

Katrina71 said:
Manifolds, PVC, yada yada... Y'all know we would like to plan ahead for additions. UV sterilizer, CO2 scrubber, that kind of thing. What are some things you wish you had planned from the beginning? Is there something that worked especially well? I'd like to add a lot of stuff from the beginning (or plan for it) so it will be almost a literal plug-n-play. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm sure there are things I've overlooked.

I went with a dedicated additional pump (Current eFlux) just to run my manifold. It has 5 outlets that feed the following:
• Algae Turf Scrubber
• UV Sterilizer
• Remote Refugium / Frag Tank
• Chiller (something I already had from the metal halide days)
• Large Siporax Reactor (a repurposed Geo Kalk Reactor)

Manifold - All components are attached to the manifold with True-Union Valves for quick shut off. I will have gate valves close to each component that requires adjustable flow. Having the True-Unions, I can switch things around or substitute components if I decide to go to something else. I could have added another extra outlet, but I didn't have the room. I also have extra valves to use for parts in the future. If I need to clean a valve body, I can remove it and replace it with another one while I clean the one that was dirty or needed maintenance. I did that because these valves are not easy to get.

Dedicated Manifold Pumo

Remote Refugium / Frag Tank (excuse the construction mess). The large tank on the bottom is my ATO reservoir - in case I take a world cruise at some point.

It is 29 gallons. The refugium is a 20 long with a BML Refugium light on it at present. You can also see the UV lamp and the Siporax Reactor sitting on the floor. The chiller is way in the back, but you can't see it in this picture.

This is all behind my tank. It sits at an angle in one corner of my living room. I can walk behind the tank and has access to everything. Some things are easier than others to get to.

najer · Jan 25, 2020

Fin said:
I went with a dedicated additional pump (Current eFlux) just to run my manifold. It has 5 outlets that feed the following:
• Algae Turf Scrubber
• UV Sterilizer
• Remote Refugium / Frag Tank
• Chiller (something I already had from the metal halide days)
• Large Siporax Reactor (a repurposed Geo Kalk Reactor)

Manifold - All components are attached to the manifold with True-Union Valves for quick shut off. I will have gate valves close to each component that requires adjustable flow. Having the True-Unions, I can switch things around or substitute components if I decide to go to something else. I could have added another extra outlet, but I didn't have the room. I also have extra valves to use for parts in the future. If I need to clean a valve body, I can remove it and replace it with another one while I clean the one that was dirty or needed maintenance. I did that because these valves are not easy to get.

Dedicated Manifold Pumo

Remote Refugium / Frag Tank (excuse the construction mess). The large tank on the bottom is my ATO reservoir - in case I take a world cruise at some point. It is 29 gallons. The refugium is a 20 long with a BML Refugium light on it at present. You can also see the UV lamp and the Siporax Reactor sitting on the floor. The chiller is way in the back, but you can't see it in this picture.

This is all behind my tank. It sits at an angle in one corner of my living room. I can walk behind the tank and has access to everything. Some things are easier than others to get to.

Nice oxydator!

Thank you, I love your manifold and I'm not really an equipment person, very easy water changes connected to that but what I really love is the siporax reactor, that is a great logical idea and I will try this at some point, thanks!

Fin · Jan 25, 2020

najer said:
Nice oxydator!

Thank you, I love your manifold and I'm not really an equipment person, very easy water changes connected to that but what I really love is the siporax reactor, that is a great logical idea and I will try this at some point, thanks!

I will have a large ceramic Oxydator somewhere in the display and two of the smaller ones in the sump and remote refugium. Really looking forward to putting those to use. For those that are not familiar with them, they contain a higher percentage of Hydrogen Peroxide (like around 9%) and a catalyst (or multiple ones) that release oxygen into the aquarium water in a time-release fashion.

This is the "Siporax Reactor" that I made from a GEO Kalk Reactor that I never used. I think I got about 6 liters of media in there. I wanted the additional bio-surface area because I am planning on only using about 75 pounds of Pukani rock in the display. I wanted less rock in this tank than what I have had in the past. I still have probably 200 pounds of old dry Fiji rock laying around if I need to add more.

I drilled the holes in the top out to accept 1/2" bulkheads. I have hose barbs in this picture, but it will be hard plumbed to the manifold. George at GEO saw these pics in another thread and gave me a thumbs up for the mod.

najer · Jan 25, 2020

Fin said:
I will have a large ceramic Oxydator somewhere in the display and two of the smaller ones in the sump and remote refugium. Really looking forward to putting those to use. For those that are not familiar with them, they contain a higher percentage of Hydrogen Peroxide (like around 9%) and a catalyst (or multiple ones) that release oxygen into the aquarium water in a time-release fashion.

This is the "Siporax Reactor" that I made from a GEO Kalk Reactor that I never used. I think I got about 6 liters of media in there. I wanted the additional bio-surface area because I am planning on only using about 75 pounds of Pukani rock in the display. I wanted less rock in this tank than what I have had in the past. I still have probably 200 pounds of old dry Fiji rock laying around if I need to add more.

I drilled the holes in the top out to accept 1/2" bulkheads. I have hose barbs in this picture, but it will be hard plumbed to the manifold. George at GEO saw these pics in another thread and gave me a thumbs up for the mod.

I believe if I seed the siporax in the big tank I could run the puddle with little or no macro!

najer · Jan 25, 2020

Fin said:
I will have a large ceramic Oxydator somewhere in the display and two of the smaller ones in the sump and remote refugium. Really looking forward to putting those to use. For those that are not familiar with them, they contain a higher percentage of Hydrogen Peroxide (like around 9%) and a catalyst (or multiple ones) that release oxygen into the aquarium water in a time-release fashion.

This is the "Siporax Reactor" that I made from a GEO Kalk Reactor that I never used. I think I got about 6 liters of media in there. I wanted the additional bio-surface area because I am planning on only using about 75 pounds of Pukani rock in the display. I wanted less rock in this tank than what I have had in the past. I still have probably 200 pounds of old dry Fiji rock laying around if I need to add more.

I drilled the holes in the top out to accept 1/2" bulkheads. I have hose barbs in this picture, but it will be hard plumbed to the manifold. George at GEO saw these pics in another thread and gave me a thumbs up for the mod.

I remembered I had this from a lot of years ago, watch this space!

Fin · Jan 25, 2020

Years ago I had this idea for quick water changes. I would hook a 5-gallon container (with a DIY inlet and outlet on quick auto shut-off disconnects) to a dedicated small pump in the sump and drain it back to the sump. This would just continue to cycle water through the container until I wanted to do a water change. Then I would just disconnect the container and replace it with another identically outfitted container with 5 gallons of fresh saltwater. Dump the old container and refill it with fresh saltwater, ready for the next water change. If I have room behind my tank, I might implement this on the new system. I actually have a couple of containers all ready to go.

sfin52 · Jan 25, 2020

How was your last day working for the MAN

Fin · Jan 25, 2020

sfin52 said:
How was your last day working for the MAN

You talking to me? If so, I still have a couple of work days and a retirement luncheon on Wednesday. After that lunch I am done. They are picking up my company car and computer equipment.

Then I have a bottle of 1993 vintage Dom Perignon in the wine cooler that we will kill - if it hasn’t gone bad.

It has been stored well though, so we will see.

LadyMac · Jan 25, 2020

Katrina71 said:
@LadyMac needs to illustrate that!

Oooh what am I illustrating?

living_tribunal · Jan 25, 2020

Katrina71 said:
Manifolds, PVC, yada yada... Y'all know we would like to plan ahead for additions. UV sterilizer, CO2 scrubber, that kind of thing. What are some things you wish you had planned from the beginning? Is there something that worked especially well? I'd like to add a lot of stuff from the beginning (or plan for it) so it will be almost a literal plug-n-play. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm sure there are things I've overlooked.

My uv sterilizer has been clutch many many times. Other than that, a lot of biodiversity (get yourself a big order from ipsf for all of their bacteria, pods, and full invert package. Never had to deal with algae yet and I think it’s because of this) and other bacteria from anywhere you can get your hands on.

I have had a lot of success seeding purple helix as well. Some aren’t eager to get Coraline though.

I also got some phyto pod and copepod external culture kits recently, I love these things! Sometimes it pays not having to learn stuff the hard way.

living_tribunal · Jan 25, 2020

Fin said:
I went with a dedicated additional pump (Current eFlux) just to run my manifold. It has 5 outlets that feed the following:
• Algae Turf Scrubber
• UV Sterilizer
• Remote Refugium / Frag Tank
• Chiller (something I already had from the metal halide days)
• Large Siporax Reactor (a repurposed Geo Kalk Reactor)

Manifold - All components are attached to the manifold with True-Union Valves for quick shut off. I will have gate valves close to each component that requires adjustable flow. Having the True-Unions, I can switch things around or substitute components if I decide to go to something else. I could have added another extra outlet, but I didn't have the room. I also have extra valves to use for parts in the future. If I need to clean a valve body, I can remove it and replace it with another one while I clean the one that was dirty or needed maintenance. I did that because these valves are not easy to get.

Dedicated Manifold Pumo

Remote Refugium / Frag Tank (excuse the construction mess). The large tank on the bottom is my ATO reservoir - in case I take a world cruise at some point. It is 29 gallons. The refugium is a 20 long with a BML Refugium light on it at present. You can also see the UV lamp and the Siporax Reactor sitting on the floor. The chiller is way in the back, but you can't see it in this picture.

This is all behind my tank. It sits at an angle in one corner of my living room. I can walk behind the tank and has access to everything. Some things are easier than others to get to.

So you’re one of those guys with a dream set up. Sheesh it’s pretty man

Magellan · Jan 25, 2020

Fin said:
Years ago I had this idea for quick water changes. I would hook a 5-gallon container (with a DIY inlet and outlet on quick auto shut-off disconnects) to a dedicated small pump in the sump and drain it back to the sump. This would just continue to cycle water through the container until I wanted to do a water change. Then I would just disconnect the container and replace it with another identically outfitted container with 5 gallons of fresh saltwater. Dump the old container and refill it with fresh saltwater, ready for the next water change. If I have room behind my tank, I might implement this on the new system. I actually have a couple of containers all ready to go.

I feel like half the value of my water change is using the siphon to suck up detritus from the bottom. I’ll turn my flow off, grab the turkey baster, and blow off my rocks and sandbed to get everything to one spot. Then siphon from there. Obviously that isn’t as feasible to regularly do on a larger tank though, and the concept of an easy water change is very appealing!