Trey
Active Member
Hi Everyone,
I never post on this Forum, but thought it was awesome that there is a whole section dedicated to Cube owners! As I have been piecing this build together I have discovered that cubes pose their own unique set of challenges. I have had a great time browsing everyone's builds on here and hope you enjoy mine equally as much. I look forward to any feedback, positive or negative!
Equipment list so far:
Marineland Frameless 60 cube
Radion xr30w G3 and mounting arm
Mag 18 for return and manifold
2x Jebao RW8
Reef Octopus 2000xp skimmer
2x Eheim Jager 75w heaters
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO
3x Seaside Aquatics MF100s
Apex Jr
Kamoer Dosing Pump
I had never really built anything designed to look half way decent out of wood before, and am actually quite impressed with what I managed to put together. I did most of the cuts by hand after discovering that a circular saw is near impossible to use precisely. This project really made me want to purchase a table saw and a miter saw! I wish I had taken more pictures of the stand construction process.
I used RocketEngineer's design for the frame and then put a 3/4 inch ply top and bottom on it. After two coats of Kilz primer I skinned it in poplar 1 x boards of varying width, and trimmed it out a bit, another first for me. Here it is with the tank sitting on it for fitment purposes.. I really wasn's sure If the tank was going to fit inside the recessed area I had made for it on top of the stand! Luckily it did, but just BARELY.
So After I figured out that it was going to work, I began priming it AGAIN, three coats later and this is what I got!
I then coated the inside with a white epoxy utility paint that dries hard and is easy to clean stuff off of. And a couple of coats of semi-gloss black on the outside later I realized I should have painted the outside first. Meh oh well!
Here is the tank in what will be its final resting place doing a leak test.
After all of this I forgot to check if it was level, ran to Home Depot in a panic to buy a level and sweating bullets until I got home to find out I had done alright!
All in all I'm pretty happy with how the stand turned out with darn near zero woodworking or painting skills.
While installing some equipment, I realized that there still was not enough room under the stand for what I was planning, So I put a little shelf together to sit next to it and hold some electronics.
I was happy when the sump, skimmer, reactors and plumbing all got put together under the stand and FIT! Drain is a herbie style with over the back return.
Here are a couple of different views, Very tight!
[/QUOTE]
I also plumbed a drain into the manifold and plumbed my mixing station to the sump for easy water changes!
Here are a couple of pictures with the initial rockscape in place. It has been changed slightly.
Over the "Bar"
From kitchen sink
The rock scape has changed and I've added a little decoration around the tank as well. Also have a few fish in there and some hermits. Will have new pictures soon!
I never post on this Forum, but thought it was awesome that there is a whole section dedicated to Cube owners! As I have been piecing this build together I have discovered that cubes pose their own unique set of challenges. I have had a great time browsing everyone's builds on here and hope you enjoy mine equally as much. I look forward to any feedback, positive or negative!
Equipment list so far:
Marineland Frameless 60 cube
Radion xr30w G3 and mounting arm
Mag 18 for return and manifold
2x Jebao RW8
Reef Octopus 2000xp skimmer
2x Eheim Jager 75w heaters
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO
3x Seaside Aquatics MF100s
Apex Jr
Kamoer Dosing Pump
I had never really built anything designed to look half way decent out of wood before, and am actually quite impressed with what I managed to put together. I did most of the cuts by hand after discovering that a circular saw is near impossible to use precisely. This project really made me want to purchase a table saw and a miter saw! I wish I had taken more pictures of the stand construction process.
I used RocketEngineer's design for the frame and then put a 3/4 inch ply top and bottom on it. After two coats of Kilz primer I skinned it in poplar 1 x boards of varying width, and trimmed it out a bit, another first for me. Here it is with the tank sitting on it for fitment purposes.. I really wasn's sure If the tank was going to fit inside the recessed area I had made for it on top of the stand! Luckily it did, but just BARELY.
So After I figured out that it was going to work, I began priming it AGAIN, three coats later and this is what I got!
I then coated the inside with a white epoxy utility paint that dries hard and is easy to clean stuff off of. And a couple of coats of semi-gloss black on the outside later I realized I should have painted the outside first. Meh oh well!
Here is the tank in what will be its final resting place doing a leak test.
After all of this I forgot to check if it was level, ran to Home Depot in a panic to buy a level and sweating bullets until I got home to find out I had done alright!
All in all I'm pretty happy with how the stand turned out with darn near zero woodworking or painting skills.
While installing some equipment, I realized that there still was not enough room under the stand for what I was planning, So I put a little shelf together to sit next to it and hold some electronics.
I was happy when the sump, skimmer, reactors and plumbing all got put together under the stand and FIT! Drain is a herbie style with over the back return.
Here are a couple of different views, Very tight!
[/QUOTE]I also plumbed a drain into the manifold and plumbed my mixing station to the sump for easy water changes!
Here are a couple of pictures with the initial rockscape in place. It has been changed slightly.
Over the "Bar"
From kitchen sink
The rock scape has changed and I've added a little decoration around the tank as well. Also have a few fish in there and some hermits. Will have new pictures soon!
