16g BB SPS cube

[uhuru]

This is my first time starting my own tank thread on RC! I normally frequent NR and PNWMAS but because I got this tank from an RC member who had a nice thread going, I felt it would be nice to continue the life story of this awesome ASD built custom tank. So here is the original thread from Sone:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1097474

My plans for the tank were completely different. I'm a total SPS lover. So here are some pics of how the tank is starting it's new life! The setup is very simple. Sump is a 10g tank, filtration is a patched together Genx 2400 needlewheel skimmer, also I run an HOB AC filter with Phosar due to an algae outbreak that occured when the tank was first started up. Return pump is an eheim 1048. Lighting is 175w Iwasaki 15K + 2x28w PC Actinics. Flow is 2 modded nanostreams + 1 koralia 1 for about 155x's turnover. As you can see, it's not just SPS that like high flow. Hope you guys enjoy and any constructive criticism, suggestions or questions are welcome.

[checkinhawk]

love the rimless tank,what are the dimensions?i have a small cube as well but the flow isnt near what you got,im around 70x.does the tank have an external overflow or is a false wall?anyway the tank looks great and the sps look happy.

[uhuru]

the exterior dimensions are 15x20x16H including the overflow area (it's a false wall). thanks for the compliments! now I'm just gonna sit back and watch everything grow... I'm hoping the zoas will spread and cover all the PVC at the bottom. the ones I have seem to be particularly fast growers.

[slovan]

Hey uhuru! Nice tank bro! I was perusing the nano thread and happened to stumble upon it. I'm subscribed to this thread now so I hope to follow the progress of it. Thanks for keeping the tank going. It looks like you're set!

[uhuru]

Hey Slovan! I will definitely keep this thread updated as the corals grow and fill out the tank. I have to say you took very good care of the acrylic. I already put a couple scuff marks on it during setup. Nothing major but I was ****ed! But I'm not planning to have to stick my hands in the tank much more. Thanks for subscribing.

[reefer1024]

Looks good. Its going to be awsome when the corals fill in.

[nynex]

uhuru now thats a nice cube!! Wish mine would have turned out
like that one...Im actually having mine rebuilt. I might use the glasscages
screwed up cube as the refugium.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

very cool indeed, thanx for sharing!

[Eel-byte]

Very nice!

[uhuru]

Got some new fish yesterday. Captive bred true percs from local breeder (well, one state away):



I've been getting excellent growth and coloration from some of my corals since the transfer. This tabling acro never had purple tips before:



My pink birdsnest 1 week ago:


today:


My RPEs, which started out as 3 have quadrupled:


Another ORA GGB shot, I still can't get my camera to do the green color on this guy justice:


And finally just some mad PE shots:




Okay I lied, one more of the skimmer in action. It's something I put together from broken parts. I'm using a mesh modded Gen-X 2400. I'm planning to upgrade to a recirc soon and have the overflow drain directly into the skimmer - just like how the guys with the big tanks do it

[reefer1024]

I hope you got a discount your clown is missing some stripes Just kidding, very nice. I think this calls for a new full tank shot.

[Jimbo327]

Man, you have acrylic, starboard and raised on eggcrates. Something tells me you don't like substrate.

[uhuru]

Haha, it's not the I don't like substrate, I just love the benefits of NOT having substrate more In retrospect, I should have left out the starboard and painted the bottom of the tank white. Crap tends to get stuck in the edges. The eggcrate I'm hoping will be covered up in time.

[reefman13]

Great looking tank, can we get a newer FTS?

[Jimbo327]

You should paint the bottom like one of those fake coralline rocks some vendor had in their RSM display tank at RAP. It looked real, I had to get close to it to even tell the difference. Paint it like coralline spots of purple and red. That would be sweet if you had those painting skills.

[unda_da_see]

i think those are tear drop ocellaris.

[uhuru]

Originally posted by reefman13
Great looking tank, can we get a newer FTS?

Well, the last FTS was pretty recent but when my mom comes up here to visit she's gonna bring her canon slr so I'll get better pics then! It's really hard getting detail using my cheap point and shoot and the 3/4" acrylic.


Jimbo - I've been manually bringing up my ca/alk/mag as they were all lower than I like, but once I get the levels right I'm going to start automatic dosing 2 part and I think the starboard will be covered in corraline anyways.

unda_da_see - I'm not familiar with all the different types of clownfish, but I got these directly from the breeder (through local club) and these are the parents:



From the breeder: "Male is a PNG (Papua New Guinea) specimen, female is a SI (Solomon Island) specimen. Both wild-caught (for slightly varied genes)."

[Cobalt]

those RPEs are sweet. I like your setup, but it looks a little noisy without a top?

[uhuru]

Thanks! The tank is completely silent. I use a herbie style drain and my return pump is only 100 gph (eheim). All of the flow comes from the powerheads. My lighting pendant doesn't have a glass cover and I don't even get a drop of water on the lights! The only thing I don't like about the open top is I'm always looking to see if I have any jumpers... lost a neon goby shortly after I got it due to jumping. But the heat dissipation is excellent. All I use is a fan for cooling and the temp never gets above 80.5 even during summer.

[Jimbo327]

I see a glass cover on the pendent from one of your previous pictures. Did you take it off?

[uhuru]

yes, over time I lowered the light and removed the glass. We'll see how the growth and coloration progresses over the next few weeks I can still lower the light more.

[reefer1024]

You probably already know this, but just for the sake of anyone who reads this I would to point out that if you have a double ended metal halide you need to keep the glass on because it blocks harmful UV rays. If you have a single ended bulb the glass on the bulb blocks the UV rays and you can remove the glass.

[ealshabaan]

FTS please

[uhuru]

new skimmer:

[reefer1024]

The people demand a full tank shot and you give us pictures of you skimmer. Booooooooooo!