JHunt's 30x30x18 SPS Shallow Cube

[fishguy242]

live rock 1st, slowly add one or 2 pieces of dry rock once a month,jmo...

...

 

[Rakie]

So I have a lot of free space. Not sure how I want to utilize it. The original plan was to grow frags in there, but now that I have more basement space...I can always dedicate a cheap tank to that in the future. I could easily put in a 5g bucket refugium or larger brute container fuge. I could also plumb a fuge to a separate tank.

There is a bio plate, old bag of seachem matrix bio media, oxydator model a, and skimmer in there at the moment. I have a bunch of dry ocean rock I acid washed. Plan to use some in the display, but the rest could get dumped in the sump.

What would you do? Nothing is an acceptable answer.

Honestly, I would go with frags myself. You could use it for trade fodder. I'm mostly into SPS, my frag tank was full of all kinds of goodies that I don't care too much about -- but had high value.

 

[Gedxin]

My vote is for a frag tank and a refugium. I really like the idea of growing whatever I want in a separate tank. Also like the fuge because it should eliminate possibly of overfeeding and algae in the display.

 

[welsher7]

Looks great. I'd love to have all of that space, so much room for activities.

Are you going to seal the OSB some how? I always thought moisture and OSB didn't mix well.

 

[jhuntstl]

Looks great. I'd love to have all of that space, so much room for activities.

Are you going to seal the OSB some how? I always thought moisture and OSB didn't mix well.

Thanks! There's a lot of potential moving forward.

No moisture concern. It's really only when it's left outside with no protection that it starts to swell and fail. It will get crusty from salt spills and won't be easy to clean. I'll cover up areas like that eventually. Under the sump really should be PVC or something I can wipe down easily.

It is all very much a work in progress. In a perfect world an extra pallet of 4x8 3/8" PVC sheets shows up and I get to take a bunch.

 

[sphinx15]

Gorgeous set up! I'm really jealous of your basement sump...

 

[jhuntstl]

live rock 1st, slowly add one or 2 pieces of dry rock once a month,jmo...

...

That's a lot of rock! This is all tied into your system or are those just holding tanks?

 

[fishguy242]

That's a lot of rock! This is all tied into your system or are those just holding tanks?

BOTH...
the 2 under the stand will be tied into 400 above approx 540 total gallons,
large tubs, at least 1 will go into that tank, "frankentank" ,is a work in progress...

 

[jhuntstl]

BOTH...
the 2 under the stand will be tied into 400 above approx 540 total gallons,
large tubs, at least 1 will go into that tank, "frankentank" ,is a work in progress...

Ya this is just a really good example of how you can just do whatever the hell you want in an unfinished basement. I want to ask your specific plans, but I'd almost rather just see what unfolds with no expectations.

 

[fishguy242]

Ya this is just a really good example of how you can just do whatever the hell you want in an unfinished basement. I want to ask your specific plans, but I'd almost rather just see what unfolds with no expectations.

SPOT ON, me too...

 

[jhuntstl]

Took a break from the reef projects last weekend and probably wont get much done this weekend. I still have so much on my list.

• finish framing/finishing walls in basement
• relocate existing outlets and add GFIs where needed
• purchase and install new light fixtures(to better light the basement)
• find a big cheap top off reservoir and setup the avast gravity fed ATO(looking at 55g drums, for mixing station too)
• co2 scrubber recirculating setup on the tunze skimmer(need some fittings)
• kalk stirrer
• refugium/biodiversity tank

I have been watching the TM Pro Turkey salt stuff like a hawk. Admittedly I would love a good explanation/scapegoat for my SPS crash after transferring to this tank in early December. I had ruled out a contaminate long ago. But with the increasing reports of SPS specific issues with the Turkey salt, the reports of clay, high levels of iron & manganese, and halting of production at the Turkey facility.... I have to strongly consider it could have been at least a part of my problem.

Basically I've had a tank full of this Turkey salt ever since the transfer. My coral had only been exposed to the German stuff prior. I've gotten much more aggressive with my water changes. I previously had been doing none in an effort to keep nutrients up. I'm using IO purple now. I did a 20g WC this past Sunday and another 20g on Thursday. I cannot deny the significant improvements I'm already seeing. Colors are still utter garbage, but polyp extension is the best I've seen since the nano.

@mdb_talon was nice enough to deliver a par meter direct to my house. Since rebooting, I had intentionally kept the coralcare intensity down. I've been slowly lowering the mounting height and increasing intensity ever since.

I always figured I'd end up running this thing near full intensity over a 30x30. It was very nice to confirm that with the par meter. It opened my eyes to just how little par I was hitting the tank with since the reboot. Mounting height is a HUGE factor.

11" off the surface, 100% intensity, 50/50 whites to blues. Ignore my ****** brown coral.

I'm happy with these numbers. And generally impressed with the spread the coralcare is providing. I'm sure I'll end up supplementing a 24" bar or t5s front and back. But it's more than adequate for the time being.


If you didn't notice, I have Tunze pumps in my tank now. @Rakie was right. My MPs and Neros were not suited for this cube. The difference using just two Tunze 6095s compared to two Nero 3s and two MP10s is blowing my mind. I actually ordered three 6095s, but they only delivered two due to stock. I'm pushing less GPH, but the flow pattern in my tank has drastically improved.

In other news...

Picked up a Blue Eye/Two Spot Bristletooth Tang recently.

Some other cool stuff.

 

[Jaredtexas]

The Stand

Overbuilt is a bit of an understatement with this stand. I used only what I had laying around and available to me at no expense. Which is kinda of a lot.

The frame is all reused 2x4 with even some 4x8 doug fir in the mix cause why the heck not. I used all 3-5" structural screws and wood glued everything other than the tongue and groove. It is skinned in a Brazilian hardwood called Tigerwood. It is unbelievably heavy. The dimensions are 30x30 and my basement door without weather stripping is about 29". I didn't feel like removing the frame, so I did as much work as possible before having to dolly it out the basement door and up to my front porch. My front door is just barely over 30" wide. I finished it on the front porch on thankfully a beautiful day. Belt sanded the top down flat. Sanded everything other than the tongue and groove sections up to 220. Oiled her up in butcher block oil and in the house she went.

I used tongue and groove for the top, which I do regret. It made for a lot more work flattening the top. Plywood would have been a much smarter choice.

I see you like to use your stand as a bomb shelter. Can never be to safe

 

[jhuntstl]

I see you like to use your stand as a bomb shelter. Can never be to safe

If you're stand isn't rated for bombs and/or major natural disasters, you're a bad reef keeper.

 

[Gedxin]

That flow looks pretty pretty awesome.

Love your gifs of all the action in the tank. What do you use to make them? Videos and you splice a section or burst shots?

 

[mdb_talon]

Enjoy that bivalve for now...I plan to steal it someday for sure.

For those who didnt notice in the bottom two pics/gifs that bivalve just looks like a large rock when closed. First time i saw it he said it opens sometimes and i could not even have imagined it until i saw the gif.

 

[jhuntstl]

That flow looks pretty pretty awesome.

Love your gifs of all the action in the tank. What do you use to make them? Videos and you splice a section or burst shots?

It's an Android or maybe just a Pixel thing. When I take a photo, there's a motion feature. A bunch of photos are taken at once and I guess all combined it'll make a 2-3 second gif if you export it that way. It is very nifty and takes no effort on my part.

 

[jhuntstl]

Enjoy that bivalve for now...I plan to steal it someday for sure.

For those who didnt notice in the bottom two pics/gifs that bivalve just looks like a large rock when closed. First time i saw it he said it opens sometimes and i could not even have imagined it until i saw the gif.

I figured you thought I was probably a crazy person. "I'm tellin you dude, this rock is actually aliiiive maaaan".

I had been making an effort to get some good shots haha.

 

[Rakie]

Glad the tunze pumps are working out

 

[jhuntstl]

Added some dry ocean rock and did some rescaping recently. Needed more room for frags! It's been 4 months since the SPS crash. Finally got the nerve to add some new acros. They colored down in shipping, but that just means they better match the post crash survivors. =P

Lots of life popping up in the last month. Some good, some not so good. The tank felt too sterile for a while there, so I welcome the extra diversity. Feather dusters, sponges, spaghetti worms, macroalgae, aiptasia =o

 

[jhuntstl]

I am experimenting with some supplemental lighting. Aquarium Essentials "Add a Light" 50w 440nm and 20k lamp. You can find these lights on ebay and 21led also sells their own version. They are being advertised as metal halide LED replacements. It's a single 50w epistar, which is a cluster of LED's afaik. 120 degree lens. They also come in 10, 20, and 30w. They cannot be dimmed or controlled.

I've hung two so far. 440 in front, 20k in back. Side by side, they blend very well. Not so much with the separation I've created in this setup. I'll be ordering one more of each and will pair them up on each side for a better blend.

The shimmer is fantastic and something I didn't realize I missed so much with the flatness of the CoralCare. First day impressions are good. I got these wholesale, but even at $60 these could be a serious steal if they hold up. 2 year warranty, but tbh I can't even find an Aquarium Essentials website, telephone number, or email. So ya..as mentioned before- 21led has something identical, made in the US, with a 2 year warranty.

They were blinding me, so I created a temporary cardboard canopy.

And some coral pics. After months of looking at a colorless tank of surviving SPS, it's nice to see some PE. Feels like I'm back on track.