My Dream: 160 Oceanic Cube Build!

[glxtrix]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, thats awesome! If you dont want to drill the LR, you could always buy predrilled ones or make it yourself.

 

[stroid]

drill away buddy nothing wrong with that

 

[flyingarmy]

Stroid;98791 wrote: drill away buddy nothing wrong with that

So mining on Zoanthid Island is the concensus? If I strike oil I'm not moving to Beverly, Hills that is!

 

[stroid]

Do It!

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[purplegorilla]

Sweet looking tank..!

 

[flyingarmy]

Made some changes in coral and clam locations. Some corals were not liking where they were placed and the croacea and squamosa wanted to be switched. I also finally recieved the educators, these things are bigger than I thought but they deliver a great flow patten. Here are a few shots of the tank and some close-ups!
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[glxtrix]

awesome man, lookin good! Yeah those clams look a lot happier now. Hey hoe are those zoos doing?

 

[flyingarmy]

dawgdude;100340 wrote: What difference in growth have you noticed with the VHO/Halide combo in relation to the other lighting you have tried?

Not for sure yet, time will tell. But I know the corals are a lot happier now! Everything is much bigger than they were in the 30 Cube or frag tank!

 

[flyingarmy]

I am redesigning my return. I am going to use a Little Giant 3-MDQSC (700GPH) for my return to the frag tank and refug. I'll split off the return and use a ball valve to send around 200GPH to the refug and around 500GPH to the frag tank. I am going to use a Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC (1325GPH) for my return to the 160 Cube. I am hoping with that the increased pressure will really make the educators push some water! I am also going to take the overflow from the frag & refug and plumb them into the overflow for the 160 Cube. I need to make one more trip, fingers crossed, to Lowes for the rest of the build items. Here is a picture of the return pump section, grey disk are quick disconnects and red boxes are ball valves.
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[glxtrix]

sweet man, that should work out nice.

 

[haninja]

can't wait to see it

 

[flyingarmy]

Are you coming by this weekend with Loren? I don't know if I'll have it done by this sunday or not, but possibly so. I know my refug is not ready to be put on the system yet, still need to rid it of bubble algae.

 

[haninja]

<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Yes, I’m planning to. I might bring my son with me and teach him the “green emerald” game, see who can pick up more bubble algae.</span></span>

 

[flyingarmy]

haninja;100976 wrote: <span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Yes, I’m planning to. I might bring my son with me and teach him the “green emerald” game, see who can pick up more bubble algae.</span></span>

I am sure with the amount of bubble algae in that refug we would all come out winners! Loren is coming over Sunday around 11 just FYI!

 

[flyingarmy]

After doing some thinking and analyzing the return pump section, this is the newer design. I had the quick disconnect before the ball valve when it first came out if the sump. I changed the valve before the disconnect. If I want to disconnect all the pumps I have to be able to cut off the water flow somehow. That's why I use a CAD program so I can study the design and visualize everything. Amazing how seeing it helps you figure things out, even in a basic format.
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[flyingarmy]

This weekend was a busy one with the 160 Cube. I re-designed the return as mentioned in a previous post. I am now using a LG 4 and LG 3 for returns. The LG 4 pushes some serious flow into the 160, especially with the eductors. Amazing difference compared to the MAG 12. The LG 3 is pushing water to the frag tank and soon it will be "T'd" to the refug. I also added my power management strip. Great way to control pumps while feeding, skimmers, etc. I picked up a 500W titanium heater from Sammy @ Aquabuys with my chiller as the controller. There is no thermostat on the heater, it was designed to plug into a controller. I took my skimmer off to re-seal some small leaks and will put it back on tonight with a MAG 5/MAG 9.5. Not for sure which pump will be needed to drive this skimmer. I bought a Copperband Butterfly and small percula from chrisjet, excellent fish and prices. They are doing well and getting along with all the other inhabitants. Here are a few pictures, and one with the moon lights.
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[glxtrix]

awesome Mark, everything is looking good!

 

[flyingarmy]

Thanks Lee...I had to re-drill the bulkhead since this was a bigger bulkhead. I only had a 2 1/4" hole bit so I had to enlarge it with a dremel, not a job for the skiddish! Talking about pucker factor!:wow2:

 

[flyingarmy]

Question for the Beckett Skimmer Experts:

I switched my pump out that ran my Aquatecture Beckett Skimmer from a Gen-X 3 to a MAG 9.5 and my skimming performance declined drastically. I know the beckett needs a pressure pump. I was thinking about "T'ing" off my LG 4(I need to reduce the return into the tank anyway). Would the LG 4 be enough to drive the beckett skimmer and provide good flow back to the main tank? The LG 4 is rated at 1325GPH. Are there any advantages/disadvantages in doing this? Thanks for the help!

 

[flyingarmy]

I picked up a MCR CR-1 Calcium Reactor from leveldrummer(previously owned by Tony) for the 160 Cube. This is my first experience with a Calcium Reactor and from what I can see this is a well built simple reactor. Does anyone have any experience with these? And any advice, tips, recommendations in Media? Thanks!
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