Rob's Cube build

feh · Jul 24, 2014

I've been thinking about the screen top for my tank and I just bought some Honeywell 943WG window/door sensors and wired those in series to a single switch port on the BoB of my Apex. Opening a door when the fuge light is off turns the fuge light on at 75% as a cabinet light. I may tweek the intensity a bit. Also I coded it to send/email and text alerts if a cabinet door is opened while I'm not home. Well as I mentioned I was thinking about the screen top for the tank. I haven't finished it yet. I need to trim it back a bit to fit the rim of the tank and so forth. Anyway, what I was thinking is what if I screwed the magnetic side of another 943WG to the screen top and add it to the series I could get alerts if the top is off too, but I may need to code it separately now that I think about it. No big deal. I wouldn't want to turn the cabinet light on if the screen top is off. I'll have to think on that.

feh · Jul 26, 2014

Got a few more things done. I wasn't able to get all the schedule 80 fittings I needed local to finish up changing the fuge drain. I'll have to order those online. I did get almost all the wiring, the stand pipes, the screen top and a few other little things slipping my mind done. I'm still hoping to leak test it tomorrow. Just want to get a few more things finished before I do. Still have a little bit of wrestling to do with the wires between the sump cabinet and the slide out cabinet.

Longnose Hawkfish · Jul 26, 2014

Looking good!!!

what screen top are you using?

feh · Jul 26, 2014

Longnose Hawkfish said:
Looking good!!! what screen top are you using?

Thanks, I bought a BRS 2ft kit. Was hoping to get out of having to cut the frame myself, but still ended up having to trim 1.5" off to fit the top.

Longnose Hawkfish · Jul 27, 2014

Ok thanks very much. Might need to get myself one for my tank.

feh · Jul 27, 2014

Longnose Hawkfish said:
Ok thanks very much. Might need to get myself one for my tank.

No problem. I'm highly considering lobbing another little bit off to recess the screentop into the glass. I have enough screen left over to redo it if I decide to go that route. Will have to rework the idea on the 943WG sensors if I do. So far no leaks today. Sump and overflow box are silent. Still need to tweak the return line siphon break, but I couldn't be happier with things so far.

jbsmurf · Jul 27, 2014

Amazing build. Im very impressed

fishroomlady · Jul 27, 2014

yes, everything looks fantastic!

YHSublime · Jul 27, 2014

You're happy with it because you took your time and thought it out. Well done, can't wait to see you do the same with stocking!

Raptor72 · Jul 27, 2014

Still following along on this awesome build. Does your screen just sit on the glass without anything keeping it from getting bumped sideways? Just my 2 cents, but you might consider making the frame sit inside of the glass and held up by plastic tabs. I modified my original tabs on my JBJ 30RL to hold up the screen frame. They were originally meant to hold up the glass top that came with it.

feh · Jul 28, 2014

YHSublime said:
You're happy with it because you took your time and thought it out. Well done, can't wait to see you do the same with stocking!

fishroomlady said:
yes, everything looks fantastic!

jbsmurf said:
Amazing build. Im very impressed

Thanks.

Raptor72 said:
Still following along on this awesome build. Does your screen just sit on the glass without anything keeping it from getting bumped sideways? Just my 2 cents, but you might consider making the frame sit inside of the glass and held up by plastic tabs. I modified my original tabs on my JBJ 30RL to hold up the screen frame. They were originally meant to hold up the glass top that came with it.

I've been considering recessing it, but I haven't decided. If I don't recess it the screen top will have some pegs that sit down inside the corners of the tank to keep it from sliding off easily. I'm planning to add an AFS module to the mix and may be modifying the screen for that slightly, but not sure. I'm hoping I won't have to.

feh · Aug 1, 2014

Seems I'm having some issues with my ATO pump. Doesn't want to hold a siphon very well and I've noticed a clicking noise when the pump is on. I've contacted the vendor this morning to see what can be done. This is a critical component to any reef system. This is exactly why I am testing the system with tap water. Anyway I'm waiting to hear back from the vendor. Depending on how things go I may consider using a Tunze replacement pump and wire it to the correct power supply type if I can find what the correct voltage is. I know it is supposed to be low voltage and I believe DC. Will have to do some digging on it.

feh · Aug 1, 2014

Looks like its 9volt DC.

feh · Aug 1, 2014

Found specs on power supplies for the Tunze pumps, but also heard from the vendor my current pump is from with something to try. I'll try that when I get home. The Tunze pumps work with 1000mA at 9V or 1200mA at 12V power supplies.

shred5 · Aug 1, 2014

Very nice. I love the stand and it makes me wish I would have built my own... The one that came with my tank is a little low and has created some challenges like getting the skimmer out of the sump...

feh · Aug 3, 2014

shred5 said:
Very nice. I love the stand and it makes me wish I would have built my own... The one that came with my tank is a little low and has created some challenges like getting the skimmer out of the sump...

Thanks, but this stand isn't that tall. It's 30 1/2" high. I wanted it a little short for easy top down views. Leaking testing is done. Need to ship the ATO pump in for repair. I'm not sure why it has problems holding a siphon. Peristaltic pumps shouldn't have that problem. I'm still tempted to swap it out for a DIY Tunze and have been thinking on how to install it without modifying the sump. It would give me more room for the 2 part dosers where I could spread them out a little, but I'm also concerned on how to replace the Tunze pump if I chose to go that path. There are only 2 holes in the top off water reservoir so I would need a way to be able to fish the pump out in the event of a failure. I've found a few power supplies I could wire to the pump with the right voltage and amps for around $10, but haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. I'm going to give the one I have another try and see how things go.

feh · Aug 6, 2014

So I was removing the ATO pump from the cabinet yesterday and I think I discovered the problem with it not holding a siphon. The roller assembly wasn't completely seated into the pump and when I was unscrewing it and holding it in place it sort of came off. So I finished removing it and took a look and put it back in place and heard it click. So I contacted the vendor and let them know I was going to hold off on the RMA and do some more testing. So far it seems to be holding a siphon. I guess it wasn't fully seated and locked in place when I installed it the first time. We'll see. I'm going to contact them next week after further testing.

Also starting to notice a few bugs in my Apex code I need to sort out. The Apex community has been really helpful so far with getting it set up. I've learned a lot of programming languages in my time, but this one really was a learning curve. I guess it's the way things with with AND and OR statements and such that throws me off due to the reverse logic. Anyway I filled it up with RO/DI this time. The tap water left some hard water marks on the tank and sump and thought I'd run that to help clean that off and sterilize. Still plenty of time to get everything finished up and ready for saltwater, rock and sand.

I've decided to purchase from Tampa Bay Saltwater and going to go with the 50 gallon "package". I might have some rock and live sand left over, but I do want a bit for the fuge. I'm also going to see if Richard will keep the hermits, cucumbers, and brittle star. If not I'll sump them until I can rehome them. I don't think the cucumbers would be a safe choice in my tank and I don't like hermit crabs in my CUC. The brittle star I don't think would be a good fit for a tank this small either. The turbo snails aren't so bad, but I plan to mostly build my own CUC in time so I will more than likely rehome some of those as well. It's not a bad deal though considering the quality. Anyway my plan is to purchase rock around Oct 17th. I'll be taking time off from work the following week to pick things up from the airport when it ships so it's not sitting around in boxes all day. I'm still thinking on my strategy for getting rid of any bad hitchhikers.