cwinter00 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 A couple of questions for you, just got my 93 cube and was wondering how many lbs of dry rock did you end up using. Also how deep did the 40 lbs of sand make your sandbed. Trying to get a rough idea of what I need to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 A couple of questions for you' date=' just got my 93 cube and was wondering how many lbs of dry rock did you end up using. Also how deep did the 40 lbs of sand make your sandbed. Trying to get a rough idea of what I need to buy.[/quote'] The dry rock I estimate is about 90-100 lbs...it was a short Brute garbage can full. Sand is about 3-4" deep all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Looking good. How high was the water level in the sump when you turn the return pump off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Looking good. How high was the water level in the sump when you turn the return pump off? Power off water level is about 1/2" from the top of the sump. I had it lower than that originally, but not enough water was getting into my return section and I could not get the return and the herbie to balance unless I added more water. Might be an issue with my baffles, but anyways it is working now and I have turned power off a number of times to double check to make sure there is no DT siphon back...there isn't thank goodness! I am definitely a believer of that siphon hole in the lock line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Micro bubbles issue resolved!! Thank you filter floss and sump sock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 Got my ATO in the mail today and hooked it up. Works great so far! Not sure about keeping the 5gal jug there permanently, but for now it will work fine because I will be easy for me to fill back up right there. Once I get a dosing pump, I will have to move stuff around a bit. My tubing kept wanting to curl up inside the jug instead of staying at the bottom, so I attached a standard straw to the end of it to add just enough weight and now it is pointed at the bottom perfectly! I also drilled a hole through the cap of the jug to assist with same issue. I have the end of the tubing secured to my drain pipe to make sure that it is above the aqualifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 A little update. Decided to get a second Ocean Revive Arctic T247. I want to be sure that I have enough light coverage for the tank for any type of corals I may want to throw in there. Adding the second light to my DIY hanger was a bit of a challenge though because the wire that attaches the wire kit to the fixture is only long enough to orient on the short sides, but about an inch or 2 short of being able to go the long way. So I ended up getting these little copper wire stoppers along with 14" stainless steel wire to be able to make new longer wires to orient the lights the other direction...if that all makes sense. Also, attaching the copper stoppers to the wire was unsuccessful with solder, but I got some super glue and that worked like a charm...I should have just done that to begin with. Anyways, I let them cure up and pulled on them as hard as I could to ensure that they were attached to the wires really well...don't want my lights falling in the tank. AFTER BEFORE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 I am also debating whether to put some black paper or whatever on the back of the tank so that the wires and wall are not visible, but then I will not be able to look in from that back glass if I want to see something from that view. I am ordering longer power cords for the lights so that I can run the cords along the light hanging bar, so it will mainly just be the wall and the powerhead wires that will be seen. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 you could probably connect the lights together first with some aluminum channels or something and only use a pair of hangers. Would look cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 you could probably connect the lights together first with some aluminum channels or something and only use a pair of hangers. Would look cleaner. Where would I be able to pick up said channels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Home depot or lowes I'm sure sells it. Just the flat aluminum pieces. Drill holes in it and spray paint it black too. btw, hows the noise in the overflow with the water cascading in? I got my plumbing all set up and been doing test runs. Found a couple of leaks where the thread connections are. Anyway, the water cascading in is audible. Did you do anything to minimize splashing? or is your backup pipe so high there is no splashing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Home depot or lowes I'm sure sells it. Just the flat aluminum pieces. Drill holes in it and spray paint it black too. btw, hows the noise in the overflow with the water cascading in? I got my plumbing all set up and been doing test runs. Found a couple of leaks where the thread connections are. Anyway, the water cascading in is audible. Did you do anything to minimize splashing? or is your backup pipe so high there is no splashing? Cool I will check HD and see what they have. As for overflow noise, I originally had cut my emergency drain pipe to a couple inches below the wier (sp?) and there was definitely some water sound. So I took some scrap PVC I had the other day and made a little cap extension thing so that the drain is a little taller gain (did not want to shut the whole thing down to take that drain pipe out, hence I just made an extension) and now it is super quiet. I would say the pipe is now about 1/2" below the wier now. Now I just have some humming from my return pump, but I will just have to live with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 I also went to TAP plastics yesterday and got some acrylic trim pieces that I will be using to make some screens for the cube and my nano tank. I got the acrylic from TAP because I want to try to make the screen as invisible as possible. Just waiting for the clear screen mesh to arrive from BRS so I can start. Will update when I get that those together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Vanz I did it! Thank you for the idea. I like that the lights will always be aligned together now and less hooks/wires to look at. Home Depot, 2x 3' aluminum flat pieces, power drill to drill a few holes, bolt cutters to clip the sides, and some spray paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuttleFishandCoral Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I really like the way you did those lights. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Great job Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 you can cut those aluminum strips a lot smaller where they barely connect the 2 lights. looks a lot cleaner with less metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 you can cut those aluminum strips a lot smaller where they barely connect the 2 lights. looks a lot cleaner with less metal. I may just do that. Yeah I guess it just needs to barely be wider than those outside screws huh? I like the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 It has been a bit since I last updated. Tank is cycled and have been filling it up with livestock the past couple of weeks. Everything is doing great! FTS from the front From left side From right side And some misc pics WestsideTricolor Rainbow acan colony Derasa clam Cleaner shrimp and Forest Fire monti Frogspawn colony Yellow torch frag Some kind of spongodes/monti? Acans Purple firefish Octo-frogspawn colony Fire and Ice zoos Eagle eye zoos colony Midas Blenny Melanurus wrasse German blue digitata Purple dottyback Baby ricrodias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hozer21 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Looking very nice man keep it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadams7 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Great job so far!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuttleFishandCoral Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Everything is looking great. Good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XrayGuy Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Thanks everyone! It will be fun to watch everything grow and fill in so the rocks don't seem so bare. Going to keep adding stuff though of course! Special thanks to Jeff at Cuttlefish for hooking me up with some great livestock! Also thanks to matt and ssappington for some awesome stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasasah Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Looks great, can't wait to start mine. I will be going with the ocean revive arctic t247 also but I'm getting 4. I think I'm going to start my tank thread now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadams7 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Looks great' date=' can't wait to start mine. I will be going with the ocean revive arctic t247 also but I'm getting 4. I think I'm going to start my tank thread now [/quote'] Thanks! 4 over a 93? I thought I was overdoing it a bit with the two haha. I'll have to tag along in your thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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