44g Cube Addition - Build Thread

[ikon]

gettin closer...added the RO saltwater and 80lbs of live sand, half in the tank and half in the fuge..also got the fuge drilled for the overlow into the sump, and the plumbing finished. currently im running some powerheads to try to get the water to clear up a bit before i turn the pump on and get the whole system running and mixing..how long should i wait before doing so? till the water is clear? next comes 60lbs of base rock that hopefully will get seeded from the LR in the 110

 

[@ombomb]

To say I'm jealous would be something of an understatement.

Awesome build, will keep watching this!

 

[Ter]

you move fast buddy
Ter

 

[ikon]

turned the return pump on last night and 4 tanks became 1; 240 gallons total! some may be skeptical about what ive done but in reality its the equivalent of a 35% water change (which was overdue anyway), not to mention the added benefits of 80lbs of live sand and a thriving heap of chaeto being added to the current system. so anyway, here are the pics! added a couple cleaners to the new tank (no need for cycling because the water in the new tank is 70% established)...also added 100 lbs of base rock! i might take the lights off the fuge and put them on top and put diff lights down there because as you can see the display tanks dont match, lighting wise.

wedged another compartment in the fuge for chaeto (should have done that before i filled it!)

 

[sianeds]

That looks great! I agree that swapping the lights would look better.

It seems alot of base rock in your tank....Is it the same amount as you would put in as live rock if it were a stand alone tank?? Have you put any rock in the sump??

 

[ikon]

its 100 lbs...so thats a little over 2lbs/gallon which is almost the norm. i dont plan on putting any in the fuge unless someone convinces me otherwise, and there is already a good 30 lbs in the sump.

 

[sianeds]

Personally if it was my tank I would have as much in he sump as I could to give the fish more swimming (and viewing) room possible, but it's all down to personal preference. Looks great either way

 

[ikon]

two new updates..

i moved the current retro off of the refugium to put on top of the tank for more light, but since i dont have the canopy yet, and they are retro fit, i did a little DIY fixture...took two 24" plastic standard flourescent fixtures i had laying around and gutted them to just the black plastic housing, then installed the reflectors inside, and ziptied the bulbs in. you can see how much brighter the tank is now!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

heres a pic of one retro fitted fixture:

do you think i should worry about heat? i will be watching them closely to make sure nothing melts but so far so good..


next update..went to the lfs and picked up three fish; 1.5" panther grouper, 2" dwarf fuzzy lion & 2.5" niger trigger. before you bash, i know the grouper will outgrow the tank, but that will just give me an excuse to build a bigger one! theyve all been acclimated and put in the new tank..

and the new skimmer's kickin..

 

[sianeds]

looks good. anyone with healthy lionfish gets my vote though

I notice you have 2 urchins in there too. Are they some from your other tank or are they new?? Also do you feed anything to them, as I'm guessing in a new tank filled with base rock there's not much for them to eat.

My urchin nearly stipped my whole tank of coralline within a month and I had to move it to another tank as I was scared it might starve, so any supplimental feeding ideas would be good

 

[SkiFletch]

Lighting speed. Nice work on the skimmer there, what pump are you supplying it with? Great bubble formation

 

[ikon]

funny you said that..i just made a post about how i did it:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=180592

its being powered with a small jebo powerhead i picked up used, and the re-circ pump is a mag 5..but thats not where the bubbles are coming from