My budget Cube

MarvinsReef · May 17, 2010

Hogall said:
Parameter readings are good.

What kind of auto top off are you'all using? There is about a Liter water loss thru evoporation a day.

Got to stop surfing R2R; way too many temptaton of good deal. Just brought a pack from Mr. Coral that shoud fill up the cube quick

looking good...

as for ATO, I would recommend the Tunze Osmo... been using it for a few years with no issues...

Hogall · May 17, 2010

Thanks Marvin; definately will check out Tunze.

I was looking at the CoralVue 12V Electronic Top-off Float Switch. Not familiar with it; but the price point is really good. Anyone with experience on this?

Hogall · May 25, 2010

So far I am within budget. Just waiting for one pack of sps to finish this up. Here is what it looks like after the arrival of zoas
Front

Left

FTS

Pickup a Tunze 6045 cheap. I was going to do skimmerless; but got a great deal on the New CPR Aeroforce Recirculating skimmer. Gonna give it a shot

ReeferRob · May 25, 2010

Very smart and stylish!

Hogall · May 27, 2010

Thanks

It is tough to stay within budget

ReeferRob said:
Very smart and stylish!

Hogall · May 27, 2010

Well, thx to Mr. Coral my cube is furnished. All I need to do now is to grow these out

Closeup shot

Front

Left

Hogall · Jun 14, 2010

My bi-monthly update

Installed CPR Areo Force skimmer last week. The micro-bubble has finally gone away.

The two new residents from ORA (misbar clowns)

Hogall · Jun 14, 2010

Here is a FTS

650-IS350 · Jun 14, 2010

Tank looks good bud.....

Hogall · Sep 22, 2010

It is been 3 months; so much for my monthly update :wink:

Here is a FTS. Can't seem to get rid of the algae on the back wall. So, I setup a cheapy GFO Reactor..

Hogall · Sep 22, 2010

$10 for the canister, $12 for a AquaLifter - my GFO reactor

m and m · Sep 22, 2010

Love this build it is proof you don't need to spend thousands of dollars for a quality tank.

DrTerro · Sep 22, 2010

Just my 2cents. The tom filter canister is going to give you a lot of problems. First is the o ring, and second is build up. I would take it out. Tank looks great. When I first started looking, I was wondering with no skimmer, no sump, or HOB filter how you were going to deal with that, other then a 50percent; water change every 2-3 days. Have fun. Take care

Hogall · Oct 21, 2010

Mistakenly put in 1/2 gallon Kalk top off water during a water change

oh: (**** it was salt water) Lucky for me corals are recovering :neutral:

Here are some pix

Front

Right

Left

Hogall · Oct 21, 2010

Thx DrTerro, just removed the canister. Great call; it was leaking a bit - thanks for the headsup

DrTerro said:
Just my 2cents. The tom filter canister is going to give you a lot of problems. First is the o ring, and second is build up. I would take it out. Tank looks great. When I first started looking, I was wondering with no skimmer, no sump, or HOB filter how you were going to deal with that, other then a 50percent; water change every 2-3 days. Have fun. Take care

Hogall · Oct 21, 2010

I hear u

this hobby can be costly. There are so many wonderful toys; sometime it is tough to resist......

m and m said:
Love this build it is proof you don't need to spend thousands of dollars for a quality tank.

gparr · Oct 21, 2010

Nice cube. Couple of concerns: How are you going to filter the water? Maybe it's the photos but I don't see an overflow. Of course, you can "filter" the water with regular water changes and probably not need any filtration, but you'll have to be diligent. Your rockwork looks to be too close to the sides, making it difficult to clean the glass, particularly when you get some coral growth. Your sand looks rather coarse, meaning it will tend to trap detritus. You'll want to make sure you stir that upper surface when doing water changes to prevent it from becoming a problem.

On the positive side, it's a great looking tank. Cubes are a great configuration. Tagging along on this to see how it goes.

Gary

Hogall · Oct 21, 2010

Hi Gary thanks for the feedback. I am using this skimmer and pulling out about 1qt of dark skimmate a week. Just start Vokda dosing about 2 months ago along with MB7.

I am doing a bi-weekly 4 gallon water change and siphon the bottom once a week. Not too much detritus since the bio load is very low. I am debating whether to pull all the sand or not. There are about 2" of space around the rockwork. Only Zoa/Poly are going on the side; all sps will be in the middle.

I really enjoy this cube; very little work compare to my other tanks

gparr said:
Nice cube. Couple of concerns: How are you going to filter the water? Maybe it's the photos but I don't see an overflow. Of course, you can "filter" the water with regular water changes and probably not need any filtration, but you'll have to be diligent. Your rockwork looks to be too close to the sides, making it difficult to clean the glass, particularly when you get some coral growth. Your sand looks rather coarse, meaning it will tend to trap detritus. You'll want to make sure you stir that upper surface when doing water changes to prevent it from becoming a problem.

On the positive side, it's a great looking tank. Cubes are a great configuration. Tagging along on this to see how it goes.

Gary