Jaeger's Reef 93gal Cube Build

[jaegers_reef]

Hey guys, just getting started on my 93gal cube build and wanted to share. As of today i have a Marineland 93gal cube that is in desperate need of some cleaning as well as an Aqamai LRM light.

The plan is to build the stand myself but not quite sure yet what the finish will be yet. I will also be removing the corner sump, capping off the bulkheads or sealing them with a piece of glass and drilling the back for a Synergy Reef Systems Shadow overflow and 2 returns(i think).

Beyond that i dont have many plans. I currently have a Fluval Evo 1.5 AIO so a large tank is a whole new animal for me.

This should be interesting...

I want to thank Hydra Aquatics, Hydor Group USA, Prodibio and Aqamai for making this build possible.

 

[dbl]

Good luck with the new build. Signing up to follow the progress. A few gallons of vinegar and a Magic Eraser will be your friend to clean up the cube.

 

[saltyhog]

I love cubes! Look forward to seeing what you have in mind for this tank. Mixed reef? What fish plans?

 

[jaegers_reef]

Good luck with the new build. Signing up to follow the progress. A few gallons of vinegar and a Magic Eraser will be your friend to clean up the cube.

That's pretty much the plan. Picked up a wide glass scrapper also, just need to be careful. Thanks for the support! Saturday I'll be hitting it hard.

 

[jaegers_reef]

I love cubes! Look forward to seeing what you have in mind for this tank. Mixed reef? What fish plans?

Me too, I've wanted a 93 cube since the beginning. Definitely mixed reef, the only fish I absolutely want is a purple tang. Don't know beyond that lol. Any recommendations?

 

[jaegers_reef]

Cleaned the tank up last weekend with a wide glass scrapper and 50/50 vinegar solution. The seals are questionable and 2 panels have scratches.

 

[Davy Jones]

Following along!

 

[DMVReefer]

Man what a difference between cleaning :O definitely following.

 

[jaegers_reef]

Man what a difference between cleaning :O definitely following.

Huge difference! Glass scrapper worked like a charm.

 

[jaegers_reef]

Got a bunch of Royal Nature products from Exotic Reef Imports to use on the 93! I'm going to be trying out their salt. Anyone use Royal Nature?

 

[jaegers_reef]

After careful consideration and discussions with my friends at Hydra Aquatics, we decided to order a new 93 cude without a corner sump.

I ordered a Synergy Reef Systems CL-34 Sump in Atomic Green and am having them cut it down to 32in to fit better in my stand I'm going to build.

Hydor Group hooked it up with a Seltz D 1600GPH return pump. Any using one?

The sump will be similar to this tS-34

 

[JumboShrimp]

Your clean-up seems to have worked well; for anything more stubborn, make a paste out of this, then rinse off well.

 

[jaegers_reef]

Alrighty! Huge update! A lot has happened since my last post, I don't even know where to start haha.

My Synergy Reef Systems CL-34 came in. I ordered it cut down to 32in to better fit my stand I'm building. I decided to add the 4 port probe holder and it is in a left to right configuration. This thing is beautiful, I can't wait to get it glowing under the tank. The quality is second to none and Rick and the team even etched my logo into it! Check it out!

I got that Reef Octopus 200 Int Skimmer for free from a local guy. He had no use for it anymore since he had upgraded to a Nyos.

I ordered a Synergy Reef Systems Shadow Overflow, interal and external overflow piping kits and 63mm diamond hole saw bit with the sump.

Here we have the Marineland 93 cube getting picked up from Hydra Aquatics! Huge thanks to the team at Hydra for it!

Can't forget your top soil!

CaribSea was nice enough to sponsor the build and sent me 120lbs of Aragalive Fiji Pink Live Sand. They will be providing their Liferock aswell for the scape, really excited to get my hands on that!

Since I really don't want to accidentally crack the tank while drilling it, I ordered this drill press attachment to keep the bit level and straight. Got it for around $25 on Amazon.

For black Friday I order virtually all of the plumbing for the build.

Here is what we have:

Red Flag Products
1" ball valves x6
1-1/2" unions x10
1" check valves x2
1" unions x10
1" Tees x6
1-1/2" 90s x8
1" 90s x10
1-1/2" 45s x6
1" 45s x10
.
Bulk Reef Supply
Spears 1-1/2" Gate Valve
Vivid Creative Aquatics 1" RFG nozzles
1" Street 90s x4
1" Threaded adapters x2
1" Green 46" Sch 40 pipe x5
1-1/2" Green 46" Sch 40 pipe x5
BRS Dual Reactor

Now for the stand. I sketched the plan and started building it. We are using pocket holes for this so I purchased a Kreg pocket hole jig to get the job done. The stand is still a work in progress.

My biggest mistake so far was underestimating the size of the stand in my living room. After many arguments with the wife on location, we agree to this spot. The pic shows it being against the wall but I plan to rotate it so you can view all 3 sides.

 

[jaegers_reef]

Here is my list of items for the build. Am I missing anything?

[ ] Marineland 93 gallon cube
[ ] Synergy Reef Systems CL-34 Sump in Atomic Green(cut to 32")
[ ] Synergy Reef Systems Shadow Overflow
[ ] Synergy Reef Systems Overflow Internal Pipe Kit - black
[ ] Synergy Reef Systems Overflow External Pipe Kit - black
[ ] BRS dual reactor for GFO and Carbon
[ ] 63mm Diamond Holesaw bit
[ ] 48mm Diamond Holesaw bit
[ ] 2 - 1" Schedule 80 threaded x threaded bulkheads
[ ] 2 - Vivid Creative Aquatics 1" Random Flow Generator
[ ] 1 - Spears 1 1/2" Gate Valve slip x slip
[ ] 6 - 46" Green 1 1/2 " Schedule 40 Pipe
[ ] 6 - 46" Green 1" Schedule 40 Pipe
[ ] 2 - 1" Schedule 80 male pipe adapter
[ ] 4 - 1" Schedule 80 Street 90
[ ] 8 - 1 1/2" Schedule 80 90
[ ] 6 - 1 1/2" Schedule 80 45
[ ] 10 - 1" Schedule 80 45
[ ] 10 - 1" Schedule 80 90
[ ] 6 - 1" Schedule 80 Straight Tee slip x slip x slip
[ ] 10 - 1 1/2" Schedule 40 Union - gray
[ ] 10 - 1" Schedule 40 Union - gray
[ ] 2 - 1" True Union Flapper Check Valve
[ ] 6 - 1" True Union Ball Valve - gray
[ ] Reef Octopus 200 int skimmer
[ ] ADJ power strip
[ ] Aqamai LRM
[ ] Aqamai mounting arm
[ ] Hydor Seltz D 1600GPH return pump
[ ] 2 - Aqamai KPM wave makers
[ ] CaribSea Aragalive Fiji Pink Sand - 100-120lbs
[ ] CaribSea Liferock 80-100lbs
[ ] Jebao DP-4 doser
[ ] Dosing container
[ ] Heaters
[ ] Aqua UV 25watt UV Sterilizer
[ ] XP Aqua Duetto ATO
[ ] Synergy Reef Systems 5gal ATO Container

 

[jaegers_reef]

After talking with Robert over at Hydra Aquatics and showing him the progress on my stand. He recommended that I reconfigure the top so that there is wood supporting the entire perimeter of the tank rather than just in the middle. The outer square is 40x40 and the inner square is 30x30.

 

[jaegers_reef]

CaribSea has graciously sponsored the 93 build and provided me with 120lbs of Fiji Pink Sand, 40lbs of Liferock shelf rock, 20lbs of Liferock Shapes and 20lbs of Liferock original rock. I am really looking for to seeing what the shapes look like. Anyone using them?

 

[jaegers_reef]

Frame is put together. I'll be using 3/4" sanded birch plywood for top and bottom panels. Skin panels and removable doors will be made from 1/4" sanded birch.

 

[jaegers_reef]

Well a lot has happened since my last post, some good and some bad. Here's the scoop:

Finished building the stand, I decided to order custom doors since I was running out of time.

It ended up looking really good!

It was time to drill the tank for the Synergy Shadow overflow and 1in bulkheads. What a nerve racking experience, I hope I never have to do that again. They certainly are not perfect holes but I don't think I will have any leaks. I used a 63mm diamond hole bit for the overflow holes and a 43mm bit for the return bulkhead holes.

So here is where it hit the fan...

The wife absolutely hated the size of it in the house and honestly I wasn't too crazy about it either. I really underestimated the total size of the stand. It was just too big for my living room.

Rather than giving up, I decided to build another, smaller stand.

I couldn't use the factory stand because my Synergy CL-34 sump will not fit. The sump is 32x15x12.

 

[jaegers_reef]

The new stand dimensions are 34x34x32. This stand went together much faster and turned out even better!

 

[jaegers_reef]

Got the stand in the house! It looks sooooo much better. I ordered custom doors again from Doormark. I'll take some pics of them soon. I wanted to have the tank on an angle in the corner but the wife won that battle.

I debated leaving the back glass clear but in the end decided on black. I had some Gila black privacy tint laying around so I figured I'd give it a shot. I think it came out great.

Started the plumbing and where better to start than the Synergy Reef Systems Shadow Overflow. I used the 1.5" external pipe kit from Synergy and added the unions.

Just some random pics