aquariansaltwater Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Scored a really cool old school Oceanic Cube tank off CL for $50 with stand not too long ago. We decided to build it into our new frag tank. The little 15 gallon just doesn't have the footprint we need. When I got the tank it had no holes in it. I drilled a single overflow and a single return hole and installed bulkheads in them and loc-line on the return. I couldn't find a decent sump in the proper size to fit under the stand and over the back filtration wasn't going to cut it for this system. So, I built a custom sump to fit the stand. Thanks MattV for the Acrylic donation and cutting service!!! The only piece of acrylic I bought was the front clear panel. I had some small clear scraps around that I made the sock chamber out of. All the white acrylic was donated and cut for me by MattV. Then I employed my girlfriend Stacy to help me glue the panels in place. As you can see from the pics in the following couple posts. The sump came out awesome! I'm totally stoked to get this thing fired up and filled with stuff. I have pics of the build up to this point. I will be back in a couple weeks to post pics of it with stuff in it and up and running. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariansaltwater Posted September 24, 2010 Author Share Posted September 24, 2010 Here's a shot of the sump in the stand. The top of the stand is currently removed so that the door could be taken out to get the sump in place. The door is smoked glass and the sump was designed to fit in just far enough back to clear the glass as it opens and closes. Before final assembly the tank will get a painted back panel to hide the plumbing and the stand will get a new paint scheme. I will be sure to take photos of the entire process. Tank capacity is 33.8 gallons and the sump is 28.4 gallons. THe sump will probably be run with approx 15 gallons in it. Making the system just shy of 50 gallons up and running! Gotta love that old school super green glass!!! =0) Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold B Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 What a great deal Really nice little project Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancecobb1 Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 That is a nice set up! Nice find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefrun Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Dang that's a sweet deal! I loved my Biocube... still don't know how I let Alex talk me into selling it (sad) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Nice job! As for plumbing if it is gonna be in a living room I would do a couple of 45 instead of 1 90 elbow where you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Looks good Matt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerv503 Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Nice cube Matt good job on the plumbing work, you can always count on Mattv he's so talented! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariansaltwater Posted September 30, 2010 Author Share Posted September 30, 2010 Just a little update on the 34 gallon cube build. Tonight I have photos of the back of the glass tank after I painted it. The tape is still on the trim in the photos...don't worry. The trim still looks the same. =0) Then I decided that I needed an overflow box in the upper corner to raise the water line above the bottom of the trim. So a quick trip to Tapp Plastics and $1.75 later I had acrylic. The Box measures 5" wide, 4" tall, and 3" front to back. It is made of smoked acrylic so that it looks black, but you can see if anything is in there. It was unintentional...I wanted black...but I really like the idea once I saw the acrylic box done. There is a pic of the raw acrylic with the paper, then a shot of it all taped up and partially papered, and finally a finished shot of it all glued up. If you look closely at the last shot you can see the seams are darker than the rest of the box showing that it is see through. I just siliconed it in place and will waite 24 hours to run a water test. Tomorrow evening it should all be up and running. =0) The last phot is of a phosphate reactor I got for it...it's used, but just right for this little system. I'll toss up a few shots of the skimmer and the system when I get it filled up and running. Then a shot when I get the light mounted and finally one of the system with stuff in it when I get there... THanks for watching. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariansaltwater Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 Here are some shots of the tank with live rock in it. I will be moving corals in shortly. Hope you all like the pics. First shot is of the front corner, second is of the side, and last is of the face. Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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