60 gallon (previously 45) cube updated on 8/19/2010
 

Thought I'll start a thread for my new 45G cube tank.
I plan to have this tank skimmerless with algae turf scrubber in the sump.
I'm using a Styrofoam back ground as the overflow divider.
Here are a few pics with the background installed.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC02987.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC02990.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC02991.jpg

My progress has been slow. Keep putting it off. But hopefully I can have it filled with water by end of this week. :biggrin:

Awesome overflow!!!! Stealth mode.. :lol:

Like the background...where'd you get it at?

That background is awesome!!:peace:

I got it from a member on bcaquaria.
I believe the guy brought it back from China.

A couple things that concerns me:
1) Not sure what paint was used on the BG. It doesn't seem to be sealed by anything. But the styrofoam itself is black. I realized it after cutting out the notches. I will let it sit in water for a few days to see if anything leaches out.

2) Not sure if it will withstand the pressure of the water. The styrofoam is about 1.5'' ~ 2'' thick and not that flimsy. But I am still concerned. I plan to have the water in the back relatively high. Maybe that will balance out the pressure?

For sure a great looking overflow but I agree with making sure it does not leach anything into saltwater. May be designed for fresh only?

Perhaps it can be sealed by whatever method others use to make styro backgrounds? I have seen some threads on here with it being used and on RC for sure.

Hmm, it doesn't say it's specific for fresh or salt water..

I read epoxy or fiberglass resin can seal it. But where do I find those?

Well.. found that cold cure epoxy resin should do the job. Industrial plastic & paints sells it.
I'll be taking the background down to apply a coat of that, then add a piece of glass in the back to make sure the pressure doesn't break it.

Again, slow progress, but I've got the background sealed with epoxy resin. Glued a glass behind it for reinforcement and installed the light.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03219.jpg

Next to do is plumbing then I'm ready to add water. :D

Update 3/7/09
 

Finally got the pipes plumbed out.
I've added fresh water to test out everything and flush the whole system.
So far, I've noticed that my pump(Mag 9) is pumping the water faster than my drain pipe can handle if open at full. Maybe I should've gone with a weaker pump. So I need to throttle it down.
Also I need to raise the height of the drain pipe in the overflow so the sump doesn't get overflown with water when the pump is out. This will also allow the overflow chamber to hold more water so that the water splash won't be so loud.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03233.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03237.jpg

what kind of a light is that?

It's the 250W MH fixture from fishneedit.com.
It looks pretty good so far, but I suppose it's too early to tell just yet.

I Thought so. I have been seriously considering trying one of their lights. I am
an electrician, and I know the true cost of ballasts and lights. But soon as you label Marine, or aquarium the price jumps sky high. I think alot more people would get into the hobby is stuff wasnt over priced.

I'll be really interested in hearing your thougfhts on the light, fit, finish, etc.

I think the fixture is pretty good. The case is made of aluminum which is nice a light. Should be good for dissipating heat as well. But there is not cooling fan on the unit.
It comes with a hanging kit, I think it is nice accessory.
The power cord that it uses from the fixture to ballast is a very basic one used by ordinary appliances, not the round one. I don't know if that is good enough for such high output light.
I guess the most important thing in a fixture is the ballast and reflector. I have not comment on those at this moment since I haven't used it long enough.

An update pic of the tank. Got the live rocks and sand in. Just waiting for it to cycled before moving some of my corals in.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03275.jpg

Nice scaping job! Looks really good.

So I got my float switch and built my auto top off system.
For a while I was thinking how I can mount the float switch. I thought about cutting a few pieces of acrylic and mount with some plastic bolt and nuts. But then my boss gave me some simple idea.
So I used a pvc pipe, cut in the middle to clamp it onto the baffle glass.
Mount the float switch onto it and connect it to the aqualifter pump, and done!
I also found a great 6gal container at Can Tire for the topoff water. It fits into a tight space beside my tank very nicely.
So happy I finally got this done :p

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03305.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03307.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03314.jpg

I've only moved 5 corals and some hermits into the tank. Slowly I'll move the SPS from my 75gal into it.
I find the bulb of this light fixture is not too good. I got the 14k bulb, but couple minutes after firing up the unit, it loses the blue tint and become yellowish white.
I will replace it with a phoenix 14K.

My coral are all brownish:sad:. Hopefully they will color up. Can't wait for that day to come.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03311.jpg

I moved more corals into the tank and added a few fish.
A chrub angel, long fin shrimp goby, a couple firefish and a tiny lawnmower blenny.

I am getting quite a bit of green hair algae. The lawnmower is only 1 inch, tiny little cute fish. He'll have to work double overtime :lol:

Here are more pics.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03326.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03335.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03324.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03323.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03330.jpg

Looks good Sam!

Just need to change that bulb ;)

Those Firefish are so nice! I want one but I am not sure how they would do in my tank.

Ya, I'm waiting for the Phoenix 14k bulbs. Hopefully will be here soon.
I actually cheated on the photos a bit by using a different white balance. The actual color is a bit more yellow.
I want a couple of the "purple" firefish as well. They are so cool.

Got my Phoenix 14k bulb tonight.
Wow, what a difference in the bulb color. This is so blue.
I love it!!!

Here's a couple update pics:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03362.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03364.jpg

Looks great Sam!

That angel is soooooo cute! Both those fish are so little :)

So maybe I missed it an I apologize if I did but what are the dimensions on the tank?

Dimensions are 24x24x18.
The overflow background is about 5 inches from the back, so the actual display dimensions are 19x24x18.

Haven't updated this thread for 2 months.
Here is what my tank looks like now.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03559.jpg

Moved many corals from y 75G to it and also bought some new ones.
I've lost the blue tang during the 2 weeks I was away in April.
Last weekend got myself a blue spotted jawfish.
I am loving this little guy. So actively burrowing the sand, stacking rubbles to make his home.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03563.jpg

Looking great!

your tank is filled in very nicely. i love that fish too, why does it have to be so darn expensive though. maybe take a few pictures of all your corals for us :biggrin::biggrin:

Thanks guys.
I crammed as many corals in there as I can. haha
I will post some coral shots later if I can get any good ones.
Ya, the jawfish costs quite a bit, but do many other fish. I think the price has come down a bit.
I am very happy that I got him. He is so fun to watch.

looks nice! that cherub angel must be a little camera shy?

good job on the BSJF too. is he eating well?

Ya, the little guy is eating mysis and brine shrimps. He even took a bite on a little pellet, but not sure he swallowed it. I can't believe how fast he darts out for the food.
So far he has move his home 3 times. He dug 3 holes in the back rock for a few days and now moved to the area at the front island. I guess he wasn't happy about his other holes.

Seen this tank in person & Sam's done a really good job with it. Love the jawfish & nice collection of corals too.

Anthony

I signed up for this forum for the sole purpose of commenting on your tank. It's very nice!
I'm looking at installing four tanks the same size as yours in the near future. I like the backing, but would have had reservations about putting it in my system. It seems to be working out for you though. Was that attached to some sort of backer board or did you install just the foam piece? Also, did it come with the strainer cut outs or did you cut them out?

Again, very nice. Thanks for the ideas!

Thank you for the compliment.
I have a piece of glass behind the foam background. If not, I don't think the foam can sustain the water pressure.
I cut out the strainers myself.
If the styrofoam is not sealed, make sure you apply many coats of epoxy resin.
I only applied a thin layer. I found that something has been scraping of my background. Either the snails, hermits or just the saltwater itself doing the damage.
I recently moved the tank from my bedroom to the living room and added a skimmer. I will update some picctures later one when I have time.

I'm planning two different possibilities depending on how I position the tanks. If it's a flush mount, I plan to use a piece of 1/2" acrylic and re-surface the show side with rubbel rock and portland cement.
If I decide to position the tanks at 45 degrees from the wall, I will use a half piece of 12" PVC pipe for the overflow/false back and surface that the same way I would have done the acrylic.
The epoxy might work better than the portland cement for my application. I would become encrusted with corraline faster too.

Can't wait to see the new pics!

A couple of updated FTS after the move.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03573.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/DSC03587.jpg

The corals didn't look too good before and during the move. I Lost a SPS due to lack of care during the week that I had the sump out. :(

I am quite excited to get the calcium reactor setup last night.
The tank is almost in auto pilot now. So no more excuse for my laziness, and hopefully my corals will start doing better. :lol:

They look all right to me:biggrin: Nice stand BTW.

looks great with the blue kelvin bulb man, i like it alot

Thanks guys. I do like look of the bluer light. But it may not bring out some color spectrum too well.
I like how the stand looks now too. It is actually the same stand as before but I added the panels to enclose the stand. I'll be building a small stand next to it to hide the calcium reactor as well.

Very cool background idea! Too bad something is damaging it though. I was going to make one of those for a cichlid tank I had back in...oh a long time ago anyway! But, I never did get around to it since I was scared about it getting damaged. Oh, and I'm lazy when it comes to DIY.

is that a Vortech mp20 or 40? I have a tank with the same dimensions and was wondering which one to go for.

Tank looks awesome!