nazerine's 28g nanocube
 

So the time has finally come to setup a new nanocube, my old 24g met it's demise while being moved and got cracked :(

This time I decided to use a big skimmer, even though traditionally never ran a skimmer on my own tank. The dimensions are 15x11x14" (LxWxH) built from 6mm acrylic. Skimmer is a Vertex IN-80 :lol:

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P3280009.jpg

Dry fit, fits inside the stand. There is foam under the sump now for water testing.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P3280012.jpg

The return comes through the false wall with a bulkhead fitting. I put the 90 degree fitting which reduces 3/4" to 1/2", because I didn't have any 3/4" locline handy. Will change soon. Also drilled a hole in the 90 to break the syphon when power is off.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4040002.jpg

You can see how the bulkhead is installed, and the return goes up and over the back. Emergency drain needs to be trimmed about 1/8"

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4040009.jpg

For the drain I went with a herbie style setup (main drain with gate valve, backup drain, and return). Went with lots of unions and some spaflex to make my life easier and keep things clean. The return has the two 45s to move the pipe away from the glass to allow the union clearance, and to align the pipe with the opening in the stand :smile:

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4040004.jpg

Sump shot with water flowing through, another tee on the return for feeding a reactor or such in the future.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4040005.jpg

Overall I'm very happy with how silent the plumbing is, the loudest part is the stock nanocube pumps buzzing, going to have to get 2xMJ1200. No slurping or splashing, and the gate valve keeps the water level in the rear chambers stable.

Hopefully going to finish getting the rock ready this week and fill it with some saltwater :mrgreen:

Dude that looks great love the compact sump too well done

Very sleek.

cool concept turning a nano into a sump ran system.

Thanks for the kind comments guys. Hopefully some rock will be going in tonight or tomorrow.

I've been hoarding some very very unique Vava'u Deepwater rock from Tonga for over a year now, waiting for this project to finally come to light.

Can we all say "bonsai cube" ?? :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

that is what Im going to do too man good luck with the pieces

Did you make that sump yourself? i really like it

oh snap! Bonzai Cube! Totally interested now, and you are using tonga....cool, what are you focusing on for corals then if you are making a Bonzai aqquascape...wiggly LPS and softies or the mezmerizing fuzzy sticks of SPS?

Yeah, it's nice having a work place that sells power tools. Acrylic isn't that hard to work with once you've had some practice.

Mostly SPS, as that's what I currently have in my other tank. Would like to see top half, branching area with stony branching corals, and lower area near sand bed with acans and rics. But we'll see how it progresses. Everything is getting moved over to the 28g nanocube. We'll see what makes the cut, otherwise some lps can go into tank at work. Would like to have some enscrolling montis growing on the back wall.

Managed to find some time tonight and played with rock. Very excited about these pieces. Need to get a diamond blade for my angle grinder tomorrow to finish it off.

That sounds great! I like the idea of the montis on the back wall. What kind of lighting you planning for this baby?

I've been running metal halides for the last 2 years, but recently purchased a Nanocustoms 5.6 LED kit. I'm on the fence about how I like the look and color.

Lucky for me I have two nanocube hoods, so I'm going to retrofit one with LED, and the other with 1 x 150w MH and 2 x 18w PC. I really enjoy the color from a 14k Phoenix.

interesting idea with the LED's. I am also on the fence about LED's, due to the lack of personal experience and the lack of other people's input on thier personal experiences with them. So I would like to know more of what the LED's end up doing for you once you get to that point.

As of yesterday morning water and rock have been added :mrgreen:

Will post some pictures this evening. The rock work turned out pretty damn killer! :biggrin:

Sweet! Can't wait to see pics! :mrgreen:

+1

Turning out to be a nice little set-up. Looking forward for the pics on the rock work. Be interesting to see the difference between the 2 light combos.

"Enter the Dragon"

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4120002.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4120003.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/P4120001.jpg

Would have to say it's about 35-40 pounds, 4 different rocks, stuck together with acrylic rods, epoxy, and black uv zip ties. I think it's going to need a lot more epoxy before I sleep well at night :lol: Had lots of fun playing around with the rock!

Going to have to try and make a video once there is sand and other things in the tank. Pictures really don't do this rock justice. I've been 'cooking' it in the dark for almost a year now.. but I saw a few pod creatures last night.

Lighting is stock cf quad, until livestock from my other tank moves in

where did ya get the rods from man been looking for some of them.

thats going to look dope stocked up

I bought them from Industrial Paints and Plastics, used 3/16" diameter

So, so excited :)

Killer indeed! It's so tight, there's about 1/2" between the rock and glass on the front and sides ;)

Wow, that looks pretty awesome. I was wondering about the clearance. You're gonna need a super low profile cleaning magnet for the glass :mrgreen:

Looking forward to watching this one progress :cool:

Man that looks amazing

That overhang is pretty neat. I like it :)

Very cool Brad!

updates?

Will post some updated pictures tonight due to popular demand. Got some fine sugar sand, hammer coral, green candy cane, and a Falco Hawkfish. Very neat little fish :)

It's been a long while since I lurked back onto Canreef. I took a break from being on here due to the constant threads about politics and arguments over silly BS.

Anyhow, my new nanocube setup has been up and running for almost a year now but sadly not much progress has been made on it. Real life, time, and other hobbies have been in the way. I currently have a 20g long running with all my sps and clams, and the 28g cube with rock, a hawkfish, candy cane lps, and hammer coral.

Over the last 3 months roughly a new algae appeared, and to my dismay each time I tried to remove it the problem got worse. Due to other distractions, I let it get out of control. To my dismay, I recently learned it was Bryopsis that was taking a strangle hold on my tank. Sunday night I started the progress of raising my Mg from 1300 to 1700ppm in the hopes of eradicating this pest. I will admit I'm slightly embarrassed to post pictures of my algae mess, but it's not *that* bad. I took some photos last night, but forgot to email them to work -- but here is one that I did put on Facebook.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s..._4463593_o.jpg

"Spoticus" my Falco Hawkfish