Fat Al's 93 Gallon Reef Cube

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by fattytwobyfour, Oct 30, 2015.

  1. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I purchased the 93 Gallon Reef cube from Seth tonight. I decided that this would be more practical than trying to get the 350 gallon system setup in my living room. The only thing I really need to buy is sand, rock, and I will probably upgrade the lights. But the tank already has a sump and is plumbed, so I should be good to go. I'll post photos as I start getting things setup. I've got the stand inside, but I will have to wait until my dad comes home tomorrow to get the tank inside.

    This tank is going in my living room, against an accent wall. I think I am going to paint the accent wall a flat black. The tank stand is also black. I think this would really make the color inside the tank standout. And I think the light from the tank will keep the room from being "too dark."

    But I'll try to make this a photo heavy thread as I go. I've got some ideas for stocking that I'll share, and get your input. But buying rock and sand is the next step. So if you have any suggestions, let me know. I usually purchase rock from reef cleaners.org. The rock has lots of holes, and is usually nice. I'm thinking I'll go with them again.

    As far as sand, I know that I don't want anything really fine. I made the mistake of buying the really fine stuff for 28 gallon cube, and hated it. I've got some that's a lot larger in my 33 gallon. I'm not sure if it's crushed coral, or what. I got it from Petco, but it's been 3 years, and I can't remember what kind it was. But it doesn't blow around at all.
     
  2. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    I was at the fish tank this afternoon and they had a couple of bags of the coarser aragonite like I have in my tank.
     
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  3. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I think Aragonite is what I used in my original tank. I think I'm going to order some rock today. I think I already have 30lbs, so maybe 100 more lbs? I know it can vary from tank to tank, and what someone is wanting visually with their tank.
     
  4. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Or maybe I only need to order 65lbs? With the approximate 30lbs I have, that would be 95lbs. It is dry rock that I purchased previously from Reef Cleaners. It is really porous.
     
  5. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

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  6. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Thanks David! I spent all day painting the wall that is going to be behind the tank. I went with black, b/c I think it'll really make the coral and fish pop. Here's the tank. The next step is to get rock and sand in the tank. I am also going to upgrade the light. I'm looking at the radion gen 3 led's. I've gotta research some more though before I drop that much money. Here's a shot of the tank tonight, with no water in it.

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  7. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Just ordered sand, rock, and a heater. I went with enough sand to do a 1.5" sandbed. I ordered 65lbs of rock from reef cleaners. I already have 30lbs from them. So maybe I'll be able to make something interesting out of it.
     
  8. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Sump Help

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    Ok, y'all know I don't have any sump experience. So I have a few questions. First of all, is it good to use a filter sock? I've been reading up on it, and as long as I change it every several days, it shouldn't be an issue. I believe this sump is setup for what they call a "sock it." But my question is, is there a quick way to change the sock out? The only way I can figure it out, is to unscrew the mount from the pipe that is going into the bottom of the tank. I'm afraid if I am doing that every couple of days, it would be a lot of wear and tear on the pipes. And knowing me, I will probably break it, resulting in a flood.


    And sump placement. I dunno if you can tell by the photos. But would it be better to have the sump run from front to back, or side to side? I'm thinking the front to back would give me a little more room. And also, does my protein skimmer and filter sock go in the large chamber, and the return pump in the smaller chamber? Sorry, I am totally new to the sump, and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Oh, and speaking of protein skimmer, this is what I found in mine. Glad that I seen it!

    [​IMG]
     
  9. xystic

    xystic Wrasse

    I personally like them because they remove a lot of organic material. Depending on how much you feed your aquarium though will determine how much you need to maintain them.

    You can adjust the pipe by cutting it so that it doesn't run down in to the sock. This will now allow you to just slide the sock in and out as needed. However, this will now cause noise as water is falling into the sock and splashing. You can fix this by running some type of floss media or even cloth from the pipe in to the sock. This way the water flows down the cloth in to the sock versus splashing down in to the sock.

    It is mainly personal preference I would say. For me, I prefer side to side because in the past, with a lot of equipment down there, its easy to pull things out with out having to cross over a ton of other equipment, especially if some equipment are the height of the cabinet.

    Based on what I can see in the pictures, the pump goes in the small section and sock+skimmer go in one.
     
  10. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Thanks for your response. I will look into cutting the pipe. I'm very prone to break stuff, and I'm afraid if I have to unscrew the pipe every 3 days, I'm going to run into trouble.
     
  11. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    You don't have to cut the pipe. Just lift the sock up a little and tilt the ring so it will slide straight down and off the pipe.
     
  12. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Thanks David! That works! Now I've just got to figure out my powerheads and lighting. Then I think that'll be pretty much everything to get this tank going. I will probably look at investing in a controller and maybe some automatic dosers in the spring.
     

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  13. xystic

    xystic Wrasse

    Wow, didn't know you could do that with that sock holder. Its nice to know!
     
  14. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Necessity is the mother of invention. You should see how tight it is in my drain chamber with two filter socks and an oversized skimmer. My next sump is going to have one of those set ups like the Trigger Emerald 39 sumps. Makes for easy filter sock change.

    http://www.triggersys.com/test/emerald-specs/
     
  15. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I was debating on actually purchasing one of those for this build. But I may buy one for my other tanks. If I ever convert my 33 gallon to a sump, I'll look at them. I'm also thinking about turning my 28 cube into a frag tank.
     
  16. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Got my work in, and playing around with the design. What are your thoughts on this design? I think it's the best setup for the rock that I got. It allows me sandbed space around the entire tank. I learned that lesson with my first tank. I think it's pretty stable. If I decide on this design, then I'm going to epoxy all the rock together. I am also trying to keep in mind. I do want a larger fish. I think the only tang that would work for this size tank is a khole tang, and I think this design would give it plenty of swimming space, and still allow me to display corals. If I do decide to grow sps, I would have plenty of room to allow them to grow up. I'm trying to think of different scenarios that might come up in the future. Under the arch, is a flat rock that would also allow me to grow some on that level too. I think there is a lot of different nooks all over that could have some interesting coral placement. There is sandbed space, but I still wonder if I will be wanting any more space. But I honestly think that is compact that I can get the rock work.

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  17. whippetguy

    whippetguy Super Moderator

    I like it. I can picture some nice sps corals growing from the top of it.
     
  18. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    Thanks John. I want this tank is in the living room, so I think for the wow factor it will need some good sps colonies.
     
  19. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Looks good! I'm thinking Bonsai Acro or that Key Lime or Deep Blue acros from Unique corals. Better yet all three. Plenty of room for zoas and acans on the lower rocks. Maybe a rock flower anemone?

    Isn't starting a new tank fun!
     
  20. fattytwobyfour

    fattytwobyfour Grouper

    I'm going to research those sps colonies now. I haven't had much luck with a lot of sps in my current tank. I think it's due to the canister filter. I don't change the bio floss like I should, b/c every time you open the filter, it's a battle to get it to stop leaking. I'm hoping that with the sump and socks, I'll be able to keep a lot cleaner water. I think some acans and zoas would be nice. I have never grown a rock anemone. I remember John had some that were really nice. I will look at adding some to my setup. I know that I want a unique bubble tip anemone for this tank. To me, anemones are like the ultimate centerpiece for a tank. I think that they are something that people who are not in this hobby are drawn to as well. So it being in the living room, I'd like a huge brightly colored anemone. I also want to add another clam. My current one keeps growing. It is orange, with some green. But I'm thinking I want a blue one for this tank.

    I'm also thinking that I want to grow something up the back wall. I liked how the monti looks in my current tank. With this setup, I have the entire back wall to fill up. I know a lot of people have done gsp, but the neon ones I got would stand out, and be a really good option. But I am looking for the perfect coral to do that.

    As far as fish, I don't want to keep the stocking low, but I want some centerpiece fishes for this tank. Tangs are my favorite, but I'm thinking the only one I could get is a kole tang. I have seen people keeping yellow tangs in a tank this size, but I'm not sure if it's very humane to do so. Are there any other larger fish that would be appropriate?

    The other fish I'm looking at is a midas blenny, some cool clown (for the anemone), a filefish (b/c aiptasia is going to happen), and a mandarin dragonet (if I can get my pop population up). I wouldn't be opposed to a flame angelfish, but not sure how reef safe they actually are.
     

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