Reefermike's 45 shallowcube

[ReeferMike]

heres a little breakdown of my latest project- a 24x24x18 cube tank. just last fall i downsized my 110gallon sps reef to a 15gallon nano, keeping alot of my monties and zoanthids but pretty much getting rid of everything else. then last month decided the nano was too small and that i wanted something in between. thats when i decided i wanted to do a cube.

my goals for the tank were that i wanted a mixed reef, and that i really wanted to emphasize simplicity. i dont want corals that are extremely demanding, nor do i want a fully automated tank. you'll find no reactors or controllers or refugiums... just light, flow, sand, rock, and a skimmer.

keeping with the "back to basics" ideology, i built the tank sumpless with with a custom in-tank surface skimmer/bubble reducer box that i built for it. the heater, thermometer, skimmer, return pump, and ato sensor all fit back there.

theres about 1-1.5" sandbed with approximately (i honestly have no idea but guessing) 30pounds of figi liverock.

livestock:
sunset monti
superman monti
rainbow monti
green, purple, and red monti
pink smoothy digi
purple digi, red digi
fuzzy blue acro
light blue staghorn
green trumpet
plating hydnopora
frogspawn
bambam zoos
fire and ice zoos
carlitos alein eyes
tubs blues
purple deaths
stinky pinkys
aogs
blue ricordia florida
orange ricordia florida
sure i missed something......

ocelarris clown
banded shrimp (oldest living inhabitant... had him since i started in 99)
emerald crab
snails

equipment:
sundial 4x24w t5ho fixture
remora skimmmer
ato with reservoir
powerheads.

[ReeferMike]

heres a few pics of the build-up. first a couple old pics to show what most of the corals have been through in the last few months.

my old 110 in its glory:
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/fts020809.jpg

the 15gallon nano:
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0682-1.jpg

the 45gallon homecoming;
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0031.jpg

getting to work on it.... gluing up the in-tank sump.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0032.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0754.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0759.jpg

[ReeferMike]

got the back and the acrylic cover painted, and a frame built for the stand
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0763.jpg

then started finishing the stand. the dresser in the first picture is what im using as inspiration...sort of. it wont be as elaborate, but hopefully will look similar when im done. still a work in progress!
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0771.jpg

im using red oak stained with 2coats of red mahogony and 3 coats of satin polyurethane. got the door built and installed
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0816.jpg

underneith the tank is home to the ato reservoir, ato unit, and an aqualifter. besides that is storage and i can fit just about everything under there.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/under.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/ato.jpg

[ReeferMike]

heres the rear "sump" section in action
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/sump1.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/sump2.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/sump3.jpg

[ReeferMike]

and finally a few full tank shots:

from the front
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/fts92509.jpg

left side
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/leftfts92509.jpg

right side
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/rfts92509.jpg

front again
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/92509.jpg

[Mike]

Nice tank MIke

[thefishgirl]

Not only are the contents of the tank beautiful, but what a great build! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

[jojo22]

Thought I already posted here BUT:

That's one heck of a build!!

[ReeferMike]

figured id make a little update to show the tank after a year. theres been no changes at all to the original equipment and livestock that i started out with. only a couple waterchanges, and not much maintenance besides cleaning the glass and top-offs(with tapwater). needless to say the tank is not prestine, but does still seem rather healthy. in the last few weeks ive been bitten by the bug again and i have a few ideas to turn this little tank back around.

surprisingly ive gotten some growth, even though color has faded and the growth has been extremely slow. its kindof cool though you can pick most of the corals out in the 110, then in the nano, then when this tank was started, and how they look now.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0018.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0019.jpg

sunset monti versus purple digi= sunset won
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm122/reefermike1/IMG_0020.jpg

[jimsflies]

Looks great! Thanks for the update!

[cg5071]

yeah, looks like lots of growth. what is growing on the sides? gsp or xenia? how did you get it to do that? i want something similar but i am not sure about glueing frags to the tank.

[ReeferRob]

Um, you dropped your shot glass!? Nice update by the way. Looks like you've got some nice growth going on!

[ReeferMike]

yeah, looks like lots of growth. what is growing on the sides? gsp or xenia? how did you get it to do that? i want something similar but i am not sure about glueing frags to the tank.

its blue xenia, and grows like weeds in my tank. i just set a couple of rocks with the xenia on it up against the back corners on the sandbed and let it do the rest. ive had to trim it back with a magnet cleaner a few times lol. ill have to give away some unmounted frags next time i have to do that...just rubberband it to a rock for a few days and you're good.

[ReeferMike]

Um, you dropped your shot glass!? Nice update by the way. Looks like you've got some nice growth going on!


i guess i got a little carried away with my vodka dosing... lol. nah actually i helped a buddy of mine move his tank last weekend and acquired some breakage of a pretty nice piece. once i got home i realized i was out of superglue so i threw it in a shotglass so it didnt get lost in the sandbed. which reminds me i still gotta glue that damn thing lol

[Sir Patrick]

Great looking tank! Very nice growth too!

Itchin to re-upgrade it yet??

[ReeferMike]

yea this tanks just too small to be my main tank... its destined to become a prop tank, or something in support of the new tank im planning. its just too easy of a tank to maintain to get rid of it... either way im officially done with my little hiatus... time to go big again!

[cg5071]

if we lived closer i would take you up on the xenia frags. i have had it shipped 2x's and lost it both. also got some pulsing from the lfs 2x's and it melted away. the surviving patch i have is my first coral ever,lol. it is nice as it mats but just sort of a pinkish color and doesnt pulse.

[ReeferMike]

Wow 4 years later... This tanks long gone, with all my corals and equipment....kinda depressing I'd love to have those zoas and rics back, so dissapointing that I left the hobby completely like I did.

BUT Im picking up a 180 this weekend- Here we go again!

[MizTanks]

Yahoooo for you!!! And for us too! Great to have you back :)


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.