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Invic's 150+ Cube BB Build (Cycle Complete!)
The Tank is running well, the ugly stages are dead and gone. Corals are growing fast now, and the fish are happy. I've let the tiny frags grow out with no new additions for 6 months now.
Currently Beating down some algae, as well as lost a few SPS. The tank ran 3 months without really any attention during some Medical issues that limited time and well access to the tank.
Tank is trimming back down and I'll have it running lean and mean again soon! Until then time to Murder some Algae Muahahahahah!
Tank Operation Concept
Its the raw basics, Detritus (waste, poo, dead bacteria) is the enemy.
By the same token I know life gets busy and I get lazy.
So I am constantly looking to improve my setup in regards to time spent in clean up. Any part of the system that is a hassle to work with or clean I try to improve to make it easier. Simply because the easier something is to maintain the more likely we are to keep up in maintaining it.
Cleaning Routines with Time Involved
Every Week (+/- 2) days ~ Time 1 hour
11/30/13 Current Video
Tank Equipment
Tank: 150g Cube 36"x36"x27"
Lighting: 2x AI Vega Color AI EXT Mounting rails
Skimmer:SRO 3000 INT
Sump: Sump 40g Breeder. Placed in adjacent room
ATO: Tunze Osmolator
Return Pump Mag 12
Water Flow! 700gph return, 3x Tunze 6025 Powerheads, 2x Tunze 6055 Controllable Powerheads and 7096 Controller. I tried MP40's but the noise and vibration was to much and to scary, in the end happy where I ended up with the above powerheads.
Rock (Marco Rock, Carbi Rock, Some DIY and some LR to Seed added to finish the cycle)
Substrate None: Bare Bottom 1/2" HDPE Board
Saltwater Mixing 35g Brute trash can, with Mag 9.5 to mix and fill tank. (Serves as back up pump should the return pump fail as well)
RO/DI Storage Tank 35g Brute Trash can with a Mag 7 pump to easily fill ATO and Saltwater Mixing can.
Clean up Equipment 35g Brute trashcan with pond pump and 30' of hose for to siphon out the display into the can and then pump it to a drain. Siphon PVC and braided poly hose DIY Siphon wand.
Reef Tank, planning on LPS but mostly SPS. Also this tank will be BB with a black HDPE bottom silicone sealed to glass bottom.
Current Stocking Do not plan to increase the bioload more then this currently
2x Black and White Ocei Clowns
1x Royal Gramma
1x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Pepe!) (After 6.5 years and a full Life Pepe has passed on)
1x Midas Blenny
1x Firefish
1x Orange Stripped Cardinal
1x Blue/Green Chromis
1x Blue Hippo Tang
1x Cerith Snails
3x Nerite Snails
1x Tuxedo Urchin
Current Corals
Neon Green Candy Cane (LPS)
Frogspawn (LPS)
Pink Torch (LPS)
Pink/Orange Plating Monti (SPS)
Yellow/Green Monti Spondes? Confusa? lol (SPS)
Green Polyp Toadstool (Tyree)
Big Stan The baby Hippo Tang. I go this little guy as a rescue of sorts. He was smaller then a Dime when I got him. Keeping him fed due to his size its hard to feed such a little fish. He's grown fast in a mere few weeks. He has doubled in size about every 3 weeks so far.
Almost 9 Months ago after having him for a week he perked up and fins healed. PVC in the Video is 1" PVC. He was a mysis shrimp hunter from day one lol.
8 months ago, when he moved into the 150g.
Then today....The freight train...
Highlights and Details of Parts of the project.
Rock Work Setup and HDPE Board Installed
Front
Screen Top Cover
Sump in Operation Video
New Sump Video in operation. Its almost silent not that you can tell by the phone mic picking up noises funny lol. That gurgle running water noise is amazingly loud in the video when your at the sump its barely noticeable, Oh duh hahahaha that is the RO system hose trickling water into a Brute can behind me
I am a dork
Sump Setup in Adjacent Room "Sump Corner" The two Brute cans are for water storage, One is for Saltwater Mixing and the other is RO/DI storage. The small Tan Tub is my ATO water tank.
The two Brute cans are for water storage, One is for Saltwater Mixing and the other is RO/DI storage.
To make life easier I built two Pump Rigs that sit inside of the Brute Cans.
RO/DI one is a simple mag 9 Pump and valve with a hose. Simply to shuttle water into the ATO tank, or move water into the Saltwater Mixing Brute can.
The Saltwater Mixing Rig runs a Mag 11. Simple valves to recirculate and mix water, and a hose line to fill the sump during water changes to replace siphoned out water.
The Mag 11 Pump in the mixing Brute is also a backup pump for the 150g tank's return pump. So if the Tank pump fails I have a back up on hand, but I get to use it in the mean time to make life easier. The Mag 9 pump also is capable to push the return on the display if I am super unlucky and lose both Mag 11's at the same time. lol
Sump Design Note: I had the Baffle depth a bit higher then recommend 6"-6.5" which is optimal for this skimmer. I built the sump with far to high of a baffle so built a simple riser to keep the skimmer at 6" depth for best performance.
Filter Sock improvement
Bad picture of the filter sock setup. Basically instead of putting in a baffle to keep the water height high around the sock, I just used a PVC pipe open end cut straight sitting on the bottom of the tank. The PVC diameter is the size of the filter sock Ring diameter so it simply just sits in the PVC pipe. Trick is to cut a small hole or notch to the right size to allow water to leave just fast enough to not overflow. So start small and slowly enlarge it if you have to.
Its cheap, no glass work and best part is its not attached so I can remove it to work or clean the sump ect.
Filter sock holder/Baffle
4" filter socks, 4" PVC pipe 14" length
HDPE Bottom board, Prior to cleanup and final touch ups
DIY long siphon hose setup Revised ($7)
Brute trashcan in place ready for some siphoning!
Noise Level Test Video. 2x Tunze 6055 (On pulse mode ramping up and down. 3x Tunze 6025. I love these powerheads now
The Tank is running well, the ugly stages are dead and gone. Corals are growing fast now, and the fish are happy. I've let the tiny frags grow out with no new additions for 6 months now.
Currently Beating down some algae, as well as lost a few SPS. The tank ran 3 months without really any attention during some Medical issues that limited time and well access to the tank.
Tank is trimming back down and I'll have it running lean and mean again soon! Until then time to Murder some Algae Muahahahahah!
Tank Operation Concept
Its the raw basics, Detritus (waste, poo, dead bacteria) is the enemy.
By the same token I know life gets busy and I get lazy.
So I am constantly looking to improve my setup in regards to time spent in clean up. Any part of the system that is a hassle to work with or clean I try to improve to make it easier. Simply because the easier something is to maintain the more likely we are to keep up in maintaining it.
Cleaning Routines with Time Involved
Every Week (+/- 2) days ~ Time 1 hour
Every 4-5 Days ~ Time 3minWater Change! I wipe down the glass, blow out the rocks and siphon out all the detritus. Water change volume is about 15 gallons of the 180g total system volume every week.
Skimmer Cup/Neck is cleaned and emptied.
Every 2-3 Days ~ Time 5min.RO/DI water Top off storage container filling! Basically its takes 4-7 days for my Top off water storage bin to run low. (depending on time of year and weater) Simply refill and done. Top of water bin is approx 12g of water.
Every 60-90 Dayys ~ Time 15min.Siphon to sock! I change my filter socks every 2-3 days. Prior to changing them I siphon out the display into the sump through the filter sock of any accumulated detritus.
Then I pull out the used filter sock and replace with a new filter sock.
Every 30-45 Days ~ Time 15minWater Storage Cleaning! I run my water storage Brute Trash can empty. Then wipe and clean and rinse them out. Over time bacteria does move into them and bio film growth can start. Basically the trash cans begin to "cycle"
Every Day ~ Time Doesn't matter.Skimmer Full cleaning! Basically I pull the skimmer and fully clean all parts of the skimmer, this is added to a water change day routine.
5/23/13Enjoy the tank, watch the fish interact or the corals grow. Or simply watch the micro fauna go about their little business. Enjoy the amazing peek at some of mother nature's greatest work.
11/30/13 Current Video
Tank Equipment
Tank: 150g Cube 36"x36"x27"
Lighting: 2x AI Vega Color AI EXT Mounting rails
Skimmer:SRO 3000 INT
Sump: Sump 40g Breeder. Placed in adjacent room
ATO: Tunze Osmolator
Return Pump Mag 12
Water Flow! 700gph return, 3x Tunze 6025 Powerheads, 2x Tunze 6055 Controllable Powerheads and 7096 Controller. I tried MP40's but the noise and vibration was to much and to scary, in the end happy where I ended up with the above powerheads.
Rock (Marco Rock, Carbi Rock, Some DIY and some LR to Seed added to finish the cycle)
Substrate None: Bare Bottom 1/2" HDPE Board
Saltwater Mixing 35g Brute trash can, with Mag 9.5 to mix and fill tank. (Serves as back up pump should the return pump fail as well)
RO/DI Storage Tank 35g Brute Trash can with a Mag 7 pump to easily fill ATO and Saltwater Mixing can.
Clean up Equipment 35g Brute trashcan with pond pump and 30' of hose for to siphon out the display into the can and then pump it to a drain. Siphon PVC and braided poly hose DIY Siphon wand.
Reef Tank, planning on LPS but mostly SPS. Also this tank will be BB with a black HDPE bottom silicone sealed to glass bottom.
Current Stocking Do not plan to increase the bioload more then this currently
2x Black and White Ocei Clowns
1x Royal Gramma
1x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Pepe!) (After 6.5 years and a full Life Pepe has passed on)
1x Midas Blenny
1x Firefish
1x Orange Stripped Cardinal
1x Blue/Green Chromis
1x Blue Hippo Tang
1x Cerith Snails
3x Nerite Snails
1x Tuxedo Urchin
Current Corals
Neon Green Candy Cane (LPS)
Frogspawn (LPS)
Pink Torch (LPS)
Pink/Orange Plating Monti (SPS)
Yellow/Green Monti Spondes? Confusa? lol (SPS)
Green Polyp Toadstool (Tyree)
Big Stan The baby Hippo Tang. I go this little guy as a rescue of sorts. He was smaller then a Dime when I got him. Keeping him fed due to his size its hard to feed such a little fish. He's grown fast in a mere few weeks. He has doubled in size about every 3 weeks so far.
Almost 9 Months ago after having him for a week he perked up and fins healed. PVC in the Video is 1" PVC. He was a mysis shrimp hunter from day one lol.
8 months ago, when he moved into the 150g.
Then today....The freight train...
Highlights and Details of Parts of the project.
Rock Work Setup and HDPE Board Installed
Front

Screen Top Cover

Sump in Operation Video
New Sump Video in operation. Its almost silent not that you can tell by the phone mic picking up noises funny lol. That gurgle running water noise is amazingly loud in the video when your at the sump its barely noticeable, Oh duh hahahaha that is the RO system hose trickling water into a Brute can behind me
Sump Setup in Adjacent Room "Sump Corner" The two Brute cans are for water storage, One is for Saltwater Mixing and the other is RO/DI storage. The small Tan Tub is my ATO water tank.
The two Brute cans are for water storage, One is for Saltwater Mixing and the other is RO/DI storage.
To make life easier I built two Pump Rigs that sit inside of the Brute Cans.
RO/DI one is a simple mag 9 Pump and valve with a hose. Simply to shuttle water into the ATO tank, or move water into the Saltwater Mixing Brute can.
The Saltwater Mixing Rig runs a Mag 11. Simple valves to recirculate and mix water, and a hose line to fill the sump during water changes to replace siphoned out water.
The Mag 11 Pump in the mixing Brute is also a backup pump for the 150g tank's return pump. So if the Tank pump fails I have a back up on hand, but I get to use it in the mean time to make life easier. The Mag 9 pump also is capable to push the return on the display if I am super unlucky and lose both Mag 11's at the same time. lol
Sump Design Note: I had the Baffle depth a bit higher then recommend 6"-6.5" which is optimal for this skimmer. I built the sump with far to high of a baffle so built a simple riser to keep the skimmer at 6" depth for best performance.

Filter Sock improvement
Bad picture of the filter sock setup. Basically instead of putting in a baffle to keep the water height high around the sock, I just used a PVC pipe open end cut straight sitting on the bottom of the tank. The PVC diameter is the size of the filter sock Ring diameter so it simply just sits in the PVC pipe. Trick is to cut a small hole or notch to the right size to allow water to leave just fast enough to not overflow. So start small and slowly enlarge it if you have to.
Its cheap, no glass work and best part is its not attached so I can remove it to work or clean the sump ect.
Filter sock holder/Baffle
4" filter socks, 4" PVC pipe 14" length
HDPE Bottom board, Prior to cleanup and final touch ups

DIY long siphon hose setup Revised ($7)

Brute trashcan in place ready for some siphoning!

Noise Level Test Video. 2x Tunze 6055 (On pulse mode ramping up and down. 3x Tunze 6025. I love these powerheads now