Andrew's 45 gallon rimless cube build (24x24x20)

AAdkins5944 · Mar 24, 2014

Quick update! Just put the first coat of poly stain on the stand. Looks excellent!

This weekend is going to be the big move. I hope to start the build over the next couple days and will hopefully have it ready to go Saturday.

AAdkins5944 · Mar 26, 2014

Got the stand moved into the basement adjacent to its final location last night and began installing sump components. I'm going to be rinsing the sump out with RO this afternoon and will be doing the final placement of it in the stand after work tonight. In the meantime I got my power hub placed and have the sump lights installed. I plan on going to get digital timers for the sump lights to have a more accurate light schedule for those as the old mechanical ones I had laying around just aren't cutting it anymore lol. In the future I intend to eventually upgrade to an apex controller but for the time being Ill make do with this set up. I am routing the wires to allow for a neat and tidy appearance as I absolutely hate rat nests of wires. I'm using sticky backed zip tie mounts and black zip ties for wire management.

I'm awaiting the delivery of my sol to hydra upgrade kit which should be here any day now. In the mean time I have set up the director so I'm ready to have the hydra running from the get go. So far I'm liking the new interface. Took me under an hour to have it set up and running including the time taken to contact AI support to have them unregistered it from the previous owners account. I had my issue solved in under 5 minutes from the moment I sent the email to the moment I received a response! Now that's what I call customer service!

I am going to begin making water for the new tank tonight. By my calculations it should take 17.5 hours to make 50 gallons of RO. The nice folks at Alpha Aquaculture gave me an awesome deal on a 55g food grade barrel that I will use to mix the water and eventually turn into an RO fill station in the future

Finally a couple pics!

Stand placed adjacent to final location

Stand with the beginnings of the electrical installed. I have 2 IM skkye lights for the fuge lights mounted to the roof of the stand and have the wires routed to provide optimum clearance and protection

Quick test of the fuge lights

thadscottmoore · Mar 26, 2014

now that is a good looking stand!

Genesis Corals · Mar 26, 2014

Stand looks great. Any doors or are you going to leave it open?

AAdkins5944 · Mar 26, 2014

Yes there will in fact be doors! You can see the cut outs for them in the stain application post at the top of the page. I am having to borrow a mitre saw as I don't own my own and wasn't able to keep it long enough to cut out the trim for the doors. This weekend is going to be my only free weekend for another two weeks so I want to make the change now rather than later so I will be making the doors early next week and just run the tank with them off in the meantime. I'm definitely happy with how it turned out!

AAdkins5944 · Mar 30, 2014

Well it took the better part of a day but it's up and running! The plumbing is water tight and I have observed no leaks from the display, sump, or bulkheads. Water params have remained perfect and so far I haven't had any signs of a cycle. I will continue to test daily for the next week or so.

So here's how the upgrade went:
Drained the 16 gallon placing the live rock, corals, and fish into a bucket with a power head, heater, and air stone to await their new home
Moved the 16 gallon and the cabinet it was sitting on to the side
Moved the new tank and stand into position
Made final equipment placements
Added sand to display and sump (I wanted a deep sand bed for this build)
Removed some sand from the display (about 30 lbs worth)
Double checked unions for security
Began adding water
Once filled I added the rock
Added 4oz of dr Tim's one and only to help fight against chance of cycle
Once he tank was up and running I moved the corals over and began to acclimate the fish
Fish were introduced and everything is looking great!

The bean animal is working great! The only downside is that the return pump is a bit over powered so I think I will plumb in a ball valve to tone it back a little. The over flow box also makes a waterfall noise so hopefully that will quiet up a bit once the return is dialed back a little. The water is still hazy from the fine sand particulates but is gradually clearing up. I'll prolly run floss if not clear by tomorrow. I still have some wire management to do as well as adding doors and then the project will be complete!

A note on tropic Eden sand: this stuff is awesome! It was nowhere near as dirty as the Cariibsea stuff, looks amazing, and settles very quickly. Plus it was cheaper to buy and have shipped to me than if I bought caribsea locally. I highly recommend it! Now for some pics!

I'll take some better pics tomorrow when it's cleared up some. Also I am picking up the new clown so expect pictures!

sromero287 · Apr 1, 2014

GOOD MORNING, NICE SET UP, congrats.
Where got the power black main source with the reds on/off switchs? Been looking for one but no idea where.
Thanks, Simon

AAdkins5944 · Apr 1, 2014

It's made by a company called American DJ. The model number is PC-100A. They run about 30 bucks on amazon

Bad Company · Apr 1, 2014

Looks nice man! I'm really interested in replacing my glass top with an elegant screen... I have some nice fiberglass mesh but need ideas on the frame. My jawfish is too active to go topless. Have you built yours yet?

AAdkins5944 · Apr 1, 2014

Get some screen frame from Home Depot or bulk reef supply and make it the exact dimensions of the top of your tank so it sits flush. Then get 4 3m bumpons and put one in each corner of the frame so that it sits on the inside edge of the glass. Should keep it from sliding around and won't detract from the rimless look much. That's what I plan on doing when I make my screen

AAdkins5944 · Apr 2, 2014

My AI sol to hydra upgrade kit came today and I love how it turned out! The upgrade process is very easy to do and the director works perfectly! My corals really seem to like the uv spectrum so far. I can't wait to see what a full day of the lights running will do.

We're adding the new clown on Friday. He's nice and healthy and we haven't noticed any signs of parasites or disease the past couple weeks so expect pics of him this weekend!

AAdkins5944 · Apr 3, 2014

So I'm yet again undecided on what my full stock list for the aquarium is going to be. So far I will have:

Pair of occelaris clowns
1 bicolor blenny

I'm still considering a flasher wrasse as well as possibly a blue spot jawfish however I'm not sure. Does anyone have any good suggestions on peaceful fish that would do well in a 50 gallon cube?