Jackson's 115 Gallon Custom Cube 32x32x26

jackson6745

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I have been stuck on cube tanks for the last few years. They are easy to light, compact, and have a clean look. My previous system consisted of a 60g and 30g cube plumbed together. This was ok but I knew that I wanted a bigger tank all along.


I was lighting my 60 cube with a 400w Sfiligoi fixture which is capable of lighting a much larger cube. The plan was to keep the light for the new tank, whatever that might be. After looking around at stock 93 cubes and stands, I decided that it's not worth the upgrade. I didn't want a very low stand, and the sfiligoi can illuminate a larger space.
I called my buddy Mark from Reefomaina in early september and told him that I wanted him to build me a cube 3 sides starphire. After some contemplation, I decided that 32x32x26 would fit the space well and give a decent water volume. The tank Came out perfect! Mark is a perfectionist.

The problem with a 32" cube is that it won't fit through a standard door frame of 29" unless it is built very low. I am 6'2" and don't want bad posture from bending down to see my reef
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. I was left with 2 options. Either I build the stand in the room, or have it professionally built in 2 parts to clear the doorframe. Since I don't have woodworking tools, and don't really know what I'm doing, the decision was easy
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I gave local stand builder and reef member tttony a call. Tony made a bunch of beautiful stands for guys in my area and I was confident in his ability.
I told him the dilemma with the door clearance, and that I wanted it in 2 parts for an overall height of 37". My wife and I also decided to go with a rustic finish, especially after seeing DBarsotti's 105g Cube thread(thanks for the idea). Tony was up for the challenge and ended up building exactly what I had in mind. I know this style isn't everyones cup of tea but it matches our decor. I think it looks cool
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We made the bottom "booster piece" into a draw to optimize usable space. I still have to add hardware but I find it extremely difficult to pull the trigger on something lol


IMG_6502 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

IMG_6501 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

New Tank in Place

IMG_6503 by rich.colombo, on Flickr
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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While the tank and stand was in the works I was deciding on the rock, filtration, and other details. I wanted to go with a branch scape like I did in previous tanks
old 24g

Old 34g


I was able to get 40lbs of branch which ended up being way too much. My buddies made quick work of the excess
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I cured branch and other fiji/marshall rock for 2 months to remove as much po4 as possible.


The latest trend seem to go with minimal rock in the tank. I like that look and decided to go that route. I was somewhat concerned with the lack of surface area for bacteria to grow on so I made a section of sump with an area for rock rubble. Actually I didn't make it
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Jeff from Custom king did. He does great work.



Decided on a Skimz DC controllable SM203. I had the skimz sk181 on my old system and it performed very well, but I felt that a little extra skimming power can hurt.
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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So, it was time to do the transfer. Since I was using all new rock for the new system I was able to take my time. I actually had both systems up and running side by side so it was only a matter of mounting corals into their new home.

This is from Oct 31st 2013. The beginning
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Corals all mounted. Colors are way off at this moment
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Here is the tank today. I made a few aquascaping tweaks to make room for coral etc. i'm sure it will change more over the next few months.

Dec 8th fts by rich.colombo, on Flickr


I still have a lot to do to this system. I underestimated the amount of wires and stuff that i would have to conceal, so for now I have this hot mess
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I'm probably going to give Tony a call to make me a matching piece of furniture to hide all this stuff. The tank is in a spare bedroom so I get lazy fixing it up
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My buddy Kasei (psuedo on the boards) organizes wires meticulously. I'm still waiting on his lazy *** to come help
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It's a work in progress. I'll be sure to update from time to time.
 

revhtree

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Very nice reef! That stand is very cool as well!
 

pooliap

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Beatifull

Very nice landscape , giving me an idea for my future 2nd tank !
 

kingator

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incredible system jackson ....love what you done with this GLW new system
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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Thanks Shippd

pooliap, branch aquascapes always look cool IMO. You get lets of places to glue corals, and lots of open area for growth and flow.

Kingator, thanks man. Much appreciated.
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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Thanks bairdimusprime :)

powers this will be difficult since I don't have LE names on many SPS. Much of the corals are of local lineage. Anyway I'll give it a shot. I'm sure this will change very much in the future as I remove certain corals and add others :)

Fish
- Naoko Wrasse
-Female flame wrasse ,male died :(
-Possum Wrasse
-3 Helfichi Firefish
-Yasha Goby
-Purple tang
-XXL Blue Chromis
-Flame Hawk

Corals (ones I know names of)
Tubbs Stella
Copps Lokani, Tutielensis, hulk milli, myagi tort, roab monti, forest fire digi
Oregon Tort
Blue polyp stylo, stylo pistallata, milka stylo
ora chips, insignis
Blue turaki
Palmers blue milli
Acropora Abrotanoides (had for over a year)
Acro Albrohensis (my favorite stag)
Starburst monti cap, highlight green cap
Sunset monti, neon green encrusting monti
Purple crush
Sunset milli, and various aussie and bali wild millis
Cali tort
Efflo colony
Purple nana
various zoos, blasts, and acans
Blue maxmia clam
Bleeding apple scoly
torch, and duncan colony


Wow there's a lot of stuff in this tank :)
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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Actually I forgot the center piece of the reef :) This is a red table that has been passed around like a $3 ****** in my area. It originated from RC member Mshur. This stays a deep red in the right conditions. I like it better than a lot of the other red tables that i had before. It's starts to look really cool when it gets white growth tips......soon I hope :)

IMG_7068 by rich.colombo, on Flickr
 
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jackson6745

jackson6745

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I finally got all the wires and controllers hidden and organized (somewhat) in this matching rustic cabinet. The inside of the tank is doing very well. All SPS are growing and color is improving each day. I'll post an update of the inside of the tank soon
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IMG_7196 by rich.colombo, on Flickr




IMG_7197 by rich.colombo, on Flickr
 

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