Russter's 34 gallon Cube

[Russter]

After a little over two and a half years enjoying my standard 20 gallon reef tank, it was time for me to upgrade. Some of my SPS corals were constantly in need of fragging because they were growing out of the water and some of them were seriously crowding each other.
Here is a pic of my 20 gallon from last month:





I wanted to put the new tank in the same spot I had the 20 gallon, which is located on a built in entertainment/bookshelf in my basement. This limited the size of tank I could upgrade to with a maximum length of 24" and maximum depth of 22". After exploring a few different custom sizes (and being blown away by the cost of shipping one to me...i live in northern Ontario, Canada), I decided to order a Current USA Solana 34 Gallon SuperBrite Frameless Cube Aquarium that is 20"x20"x20".


I will be plumbing this tank into my current 55 gallon sump that is located in the fish room directly behind the cabinet. I will also be attaching a coast to coast external overflow to the tank and using a beanamimal style plumbing.


All of my live rock that is in my 20 gallon will be removed (some to the sump) and replaced with 25 lbs of Bulk Reef Supply Reef Saver dry rock. I am planning to do a central island-type aquascape with some caves and overhangs. All of my corals will then eventually be transferred to the new tank.


Flow will be by way of 2 Vortech MP10's (need to purchase additional pump).


Lighting will be from one Ecotech Radion Pro.


Controller is Neptune Apex Lite.


Skimmer is RLSS R8-i.


I want to use Tropic Eden Reefflakes sand but it appears to be sold out.


Tank and plumbing should be here tomorrow and rock will be here next week.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Cool and congrats! Looking forward to the new tank!

 

[dough]

Whats your lighting going to be?

 

[skinz78]

The 20g looks great, I can't wait to see how the new build turns out!

 

[Russter]

Whats your lighting going to be?

Lighting is a Ecotech Radion Pro.


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[Russter]

Glass has been ordered for the overflow. I am planning to do a coast-to-coast internal weir that is 1.5" wide and 6" deep. Water will flow over the weir and through three 45 mm holes drilled in the back pane of glass. These holes will empty into an external glass compartment that will house the beananimal drain system.



Also ordered was another Vortech MP10. The plan is to have both pumps on the rear wall near the sides facing forward.


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[Russter]

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[Russter]

This BRS Reefsaver rock is awesome for aquascaping. With the rock being so porous, it seems to be able to fit together in so many different ways. With a little epoxy and zip-ties, you could design any type of rock feature. After playing jigsaw for a couple of hours, I have come up with a 'scape I am happy with. It is a single island with a large cave underneath and lots of top area to be able to place corals. It almost looks a bit like a rock chair. I think it will provide lots of swimming (and hiding) places for the fish yet not seem crowded. Kind of hard to tell and get a good sense of depth without good overhead lighting, but what do you think? Admittedly it looks much better in person than the picture shows.

Also ordered 40 lbs of Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand for the tank. Replacement glass for the overflow (for the piece I broke )will be ready on Monday, so I should be able to get the external box completed and drilled this week too.


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[Russter]

Got the rock in some RO-DI water and going to let it sit for a week or so. Hopefully this will leach out anything that may be in the rocks.

 

[Russter]

Update

Picked up my replacement piece of glass for the outside overflow box and drilled it today.


Time to break out the Dewalt and the 45mm glass hole saw.

One down, two to go.

And we're finished.

Now to silicone this thing together

The box will be left to dry overnight and tomorrow I plan to drill the pass-through holes in the tank. Will two holes be enough or should I go with three?

 

[justgotwet]

Great looking tank!

 

[Russter]

Cool and congrats! Looking forward to the new tank!

The 20g looks great, I can't wait to see how the new build turns out!

Great looking tank!

Thanks!

 

[Zack]

Im not sure what exactly would help with the brs reef saver rock but i didnt do anything but rinse it and i had issues with this strange yellowish algae stuff growing on it for months. Every other day i had to blow off all the rocks, and that was with me running a ULNS. I didnt have algae gtowing anywhere else, i dont even have to clean my glass but every two weeks so its definitley the rocks. Maybe someone on here can chime in on what may help with fixing this problem before you start your tank up and have to deal with what i did.
Once i looked into it i found other people with the same issue. If mine sat in my tank for months and still was gtowing this stuff, one week in rodi water may not do much. Maybe cooking it in muriatic acid would do the trick

 

[Russter]

Due to the new aquarium being almost twice the size of my current tank, I wanted to make sure that the cabinet could support the additional weight. I used 2x4's to add "legs" inside the cabinet and removed the drawers. With an estimated weight of approximately 400-450 lbs, I think this will provide the needed peace of mind that the tank won't end up on the floor.

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[Russter]

Got some more work done on the tank tonight. I have decides to go with three flow-through holes to connect the front weir to the rear overflow box.

Test fit the rear box with beananimal overflow to determine where the flow-through holes should be.

Taped of the tank to minimize scratches while drilling.

All drilled and ready to attach the overflows.

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[JaysonPRreef]

looking good but you need a bigger up grade

 

[Russter]

looking good but you need a bigger up grade

Tell that to my wife.


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[Russter]

Overflows are installed. Here is the rear box.

And the internal weir. I used the supplied glass top that came with the tank for the weir and then painted it with Krylon Fusion paint. I'm not too worried about how long the paint will last, as it will be covered in coralline algae soon enough.

Still need to paint the back pane of glass and then it will be time to get this thing wet.


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[Russter]

Tank side plumbing done.

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[Russter]

Test fit.

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