NKT's 30gal Cube Project

[NKT]

Well, here it is...two weeks and counting. I had a couple criteria prior to purchasing:
1. had to be small (~24" in any dimension")
2. had to be quiet
3. sumpless
4. low maintenance

What I ended up with was a 30gal oceanic cube (boy these are pretty and well made!), sitting on a long table that I have in my living room/dining room. Filtration would be a simple AquaC Remora w/ prefilter box, with water movement provided by a wavemaker and two maxijet 1200's. I originally thought 4x40w PC lighting in the form of two Current USA Orbit fixtures would be enough, but quickly decided on MH when I set up the PC's.

I therefore managed to gut one of the fixtures (those who know me know that the letters DIY *do not* exist in my vocabulary!), and slap in a 250w DE, XM 20kk bulb, while preserving the original reflector, fan, and two LED moonlights which I thought were way cool. I'm keeping a close eye on the temperature right now, which seems to be holding steady at 80degrees, but haven't crossed off the possibility of a chiller just yet. Here are some pics of it on the first two days, and one today, at two weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating this thread with news and new pics. Enjoy!

 

[NKT]

....and with the modded 250w DE light in the fixture, at two weeks

BTW the second pic is truer to the actual color...crisp white with a slight tinge of blue.

 

[Jolieve]

Lookin' good!

J.

 

[fungia]

wow! good job. i like the rock aquascape too!

 

[Anonymous]

Nice work, you want to come 'scape my 60 cube?

 

[Anonymous]

This tank sucks...I don't even want to see pictures of it AGAIN.

Peace,

Chip, waiting for the new camera so he can show Nico a thing or two...

 

[ChrisRD]

Looks nice.

 

[Anonymous]

I looks good NKT! Chip is just snorting Angel Dust again :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I am going to tag along on this thread. I just purchased a 30 gallon cube today for my office.

Could you explain how you modified that hood? I am interested in MH and what you did looks awesome. It's very hard to find 20" Fixtures for MH.

 

[NKT]

Thanks for the comments and encouragement guys, esp. chip . Acropora, I agree! There is definitely a shortage of 20" long MH options out there! I'll get some pics tonight of what the inside of the fixture looks like now, but to summarize, here's what I did:

1. removed the two PC ballasts from the inside of the fixture, carefully remove LED's from the reflector
2. removed two spacing brackets in order to mount the MH about 2" higher in the fixture
3. drill holes in the reflector to accommodate the MH bracket/socket
4. replace the LED's into reflector
5. mount reflector back into fixture with pre-existing holes that the brackets occupied
6. make sure all the LED's and fan wiring is intact
7. go to local frame store and buy a replacement UV-treated glass in place of the acrylic shield

and...that's it. This was my first foray into anything remotely close to DIY, so it probably took me a LOT longer than anyone probably normally would...hehe. As I said, I'll try to get some pics up tonight, and enjoy that 30!

 

[NKT]

Also I was initially very concerned that a 250w halide sitting a mere 4-5" over the water would result in a major heating issue. Fortunately that has not been the case so far, with the tank fluctuating between 78-79 for the duration of the day. I'll see how this holds up in the summer, and then possibly consider either more fans or a chiller....

 

[Anonymous]

so NKT,

are you still gonna build-off?

 

[NKT]

Pod, at this time, I don't think so. The nano buildoff originally got me all worked up about starting a tank again, but I came to the realization I'd rather have more/better fish/water volume than try to win a (VERY COMPETITIVE!!!) nano contest... hehe. Good luck to those who are in the running!

 

[NKT]

OK, some fixture pics as i promised:

1. Side by side, an original "virgin" Orbit next to the modded one...viewed at opposite ends

2. closeup of the halide socket/bulb, bulb is 20kk XM 250w DE: note the two LED moonlights beside the socket--in order to preserve moonlights i mounted the sockets slightly off to the side a bit

3. some boring wiring...I was able to preserve part of the original power cable for one of the PC ballasts, so the cord is secure in place and looks a bit cleaner

4. side by side, another view, note the reflector on the modded one now sits much deeper in the fixture

5. with the nightlights on

 

[Anonymous]

What are you going to use for a shield on that DE?

 

[NKT]

Hey there Wazzel, I had a piece of UV glass cut to fit perfectly in the slot on the fixture from a framing shop.

 

[ricky1414]

Coming along quite nicely! If it in any way resembles your other tank, I am gonna be quite jealous. Anything I DIY looks like the bride of Frankentein. I just keep repeating the mantra "at least it saved me money...at least my wife won't take away my charge cards."

 

[Anonymous]

Glad to see you had it already "covered".

 

[NKT]

Coming along quite nicely! If it in any way resembles your other tank, I am gonna be quite jealous. Anything I DIY looks like the bride of Frankentein. I just keep repeating the mantra "at least it saved me money...at least my wife won't take away my charge cards."

Thanks ricky...that 60 is still up and running quite nicely back home in LA...It basically receives no maintenance other than a little B-ionic and topoff once in awhile, but everything seems to be growing fine (no fish deaths in over a year). Ah the memories.... (photo taken 8/2002!)

 

[NKT]

After about a month, I added my first few pieces of livestock...a mystery wrasse and some type of LPS coral...anyone want to identify?

and