Joe's 60G Reef Cube!

[Jflip2002]

So the stand came in today!!! But theyre open 10-6 and guess what... .thats when I work lol. So hopefully they will deliver the stand tomorrow or the day after so I can paint it up.

Well, while moving my rock tub yesterday, I thought it had a crack, so while I was emptying the rock out to see if it is actually leaking, I figured why not do a mock aquascaping, to get me a rough idea of my stock list. So heres what the rock work looked like.

Heres the front view:


And heres the top view:

[Jflip2002]

I may add some more rock, though Im not sure. I think I have it open enough to where i can keep my powder blue tang that I want.

[Jflip2002]

And heres a picture of my overflow/diffuser thing. I made it so the skimmed water will fall into the first compartment, where the superskimmer sponge will be, then trickle into the next, over a baffle. Then after that, it'll go under the baffle, through the grates (where hopefully the air bubbles will rise, and not go through), and then flow into the tank. Where I Will probably place a powerhead near. TO keep the good cleaner water circulating through the tank.

[Jflip2002]

It doesnt look the greatest, but Im hoping it'll work great. I siliconed the crap out of it. But fortunately, you cant see that inside part lol. The outside does look nice and clean though. The coolest part is I made it out of my old overflow I broke, so I didnt even really have to pay for this guy to be made. Except the fact that I gotta buy a new overflow lol.

[Jflip2002]

Wow, so the LFS f'ed up my order on my stand. They made it recessed, and not even large enough of a recess to drop the tank into! So I gotta put some wood under that now.

Im pretty po'd about that.

[Jflip2002]

New 14k bulb came in at least today, woooo. Free = double woooo

[jenajet]

Looking nice. Sorry about the stand but hey at least the bulb was free. Did they discount the stand too? That was a pretty big mistake on their part.

[Jflip2002]

NOPE! No discount. They said "Well I guess you will have to put some 2x4"s in there". Then after the discussion, he offerd to supply the 2x4"s lol. So I informed him I wouldnt buy even water from them if I were burning alive.

So a general question. On this stand, it sits on top of the part thats supported. But only about 1/4 to 3/8" of an inch is on the edge of the wood. Do you think thatd hold up over the long haul? I also plan on filling that space with 2x4s just incase it DOES actually slip. but the 2x4s in the middle cant support the tank I dont think, because the middle piece is just nailed/stapled from the undernead part of the stand, and those nails/staples are th eonly thing holding that wood up.

So that kinda angers me a little that they didnt really care too much about THEIR mistake.

[tims]

if you can take a picture of the top of the stand for me.
if i am seeing it right in my mind. i would att teh 2x4's in the center, then add ply to the top to make it a one solid piece.make the ply wider so you have a lip/ over hang on the wood frame, then add molding to the edge of the ply. this will cover the edging and also give you the support and add to the over look of the stand

[fish.freak]

Originally Posted by Jflip2002

NOPE! No discount. They said "Well I guess you will have to put some 2x4"s in there". Then after the discussion, he offerd to supply the 2x4"s lol. So I informed him I wouldnt buy even water from them if I were burning alive.

So a general question. On this stand, it sits on top of the part thats supported. But only about 1/4 to 3/8" of an inch is on the edge of the wood. Do you think thatd hold up over the long haul? I also plan on filling that space with 2x4s just incase it DOES actually slip. but the 2x4s in the middle cant support the tank I dont think, because the middle piece is just nailed/stapled from the undernead part of the stand, and those nails/staples are th eonly thing holding that wood up.

So that kinda angers me a little that they didnt really care too much about THEIR mistake.

if you bought it by credit card call you company and dispute the charges on the basis of it not being what you orderd, and them not doing anything about it.

As far as the overhang is concerned,im not sure, I had my 20 L on a stand that it overhang by 6"'s on either side and it had no troubles, but it is 1/3 of the weight.

[Jflip2002]

We paid via check. And rachel was gonna cancel the check. But I didnt really want to do them like that. I was gonna cancel it until they made it right, but I decided to just not shop th ere, and to fix it myself.

Tim, I Think youre picturing it right. Thats what I planned on doing. I just literally have NO tools lol. Im gonna do the 2x4s along the borders of the recession, just incase if it does shift or whatever. And maybe some in the center. Then placing that piece of thinner plywood, to disperse the weight evenly. Then getting some sort of trim to disguise it all.

It really wouldnt be too big of a deal if I made it myself, or got a good deal on it. But Rachel paid like $150-$160 for this stand, and I would like to get exactly what I ordered for that kind of money.

[Jflip2002]

And me being the schmuck that I am, I forgot to take a pic of this plain pine stand before I started to stain it. I bought an "ebony" stain, so hopefully this thing gets black, but with some wood grain still showing.

[Jflip2002]

Ok, so while staining it, LIKE AN IDIOT. I thought I would be neat enough to do it in the side family room/den. Well while opening the can, I spilled a huge blob of "ebony" colored stain on the carpet lol. Looks like I'll be searching craigslist for some free carpet soon =\

[tims]

hheehe...
i agree the LFS has dropped the ball big time.

[Casey]

Looks good so far I love cube tanks.