• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

45 Gallon Custom Marinland Cube Tank Build

R

ReeferNets

Its protective tape for drilling the holes in the tank for the plumbing.


Its not a really deep sand bed im not a fan of very deep sand beds. I think they trap too much stuff.

No burrowing critters either i hate sand storms when they first start out.


I cant wait to get the skimmer im stoked for this tank i just need some help with the plumbing from an expert because of the tight spaces.
 
R

ReeferNets

Premium aquatics group buy for macna

but any LFS can order any marineland tank custom built but its a pain in the ass to get it so they dont.
 
R

ReeferNets

Brando check the first page of the thread for the answer to that.

I am now in the midst of deciding on lighting the tree hugger in me wants to go for either an aqua illuminations LED fixtures or a PAcific Sun fixture.

The cost of bulbs for t-5s and less powerconsumption if making me swing to LEDS.
 
E

evoIX

i'm in the same predicament for skimmers. i only have a 7x7 space to work with for about ~80gallon volume. please let me know what you end up with ;)
 
R

ReeferNets

The solution i found was the bubble magus NAC7 cone skimmer.
Evo its still to big for its 9 x 8.5 and the JRWholer the octupus is actually too big and alot more expensive.

The lighting is what is getting me nervous.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Cool glad you found a solution....I just saw it and thought I would point it out.

BTW you need a pic of it setup ;).

Looking really good so far.
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Glad you got the skimmer figured out too. Where are you buying it and how much are you spending on the NAC7 ?

Whatever you decide with the lighting, just try to plan ahead. It's better to buy the best you can initially (IMO) rather than going cheap and then paying even more when you decide you want to upgrade later. Of course you can always sell it to recoup some of the costs, but why not just be happy right from the start?
 
R

ReeferNets

If anyone wants to order a bubble magus skimmer with let me know i got a contact from the company for a ebay guy who they sell to and has american parts.

Lighting im going a little nuts about. Im either going with an Aqauillumination LED system or PAC Sun system from Aloha Corals from MR. Or a 8 bulb t- 5 fixture custommade.

The t-5 fixture is 300 plus bulbs is 400, then to replace those bulbs for 4 to 5 years is about 120 a year = 1000

Thats about the cost of LED fixture, the energy savings and lack of need to buy bulbs is awsome but LEDS to me are still unproven.
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Ahh, so you are getting the skimmer from Ebay? I figured as much, but was just wondering if there was another source in the US. I'm not necessarily in the market for one at the moment, but if I ever replace my EV-120 I might consider one of these.

I understand your your concern with the long-term effect of using LED's. I guess your best bet in getting solid information would be to research the spectrum charts on the LED's and compare them with T5's. I would think you would also need to find out if the LED's will "fade" over time as well. I know they are supposed to have a long lifetime, but is the spectrum going to fade over time or just burn out quickly?

The next thing to consider is feedback from people who are actually using LED's for reef tanks. I'm sure everyone will love them when they first get them. But, how do they perform over time? That's the important question.

The one good thing with T5's (especially with an 8-bulb setup) is that you can have a variety of bulb types to try to cover the whole spectrum. I don't know enough about LED's to say this is possible with them... is it? Is there just a "dimmer" switch to allow you to adjust the intensity?

Ah well, enough of my rambling. I'm probably just making your decision even harder. :eek:
 
R

ReeferNets

yes on the dimmer and some fixture will actually dim automatically to simulate sunset and sun rise.

From what i have read the fading doesnt happen until like 8 - 9 years.

Its crazy, anyone with a LED fixture chime in?>
 
E

evoIX

i believe the nac6a is smaller in footprint correct? i am thinking of getting another tank and just modify it so i can have a seperate location for the skimmer.

i am definitely interested in a bubble magus due to the price and performance. I'll send you a pm!
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
evoIX said:
i believe the nac6a is smaller in footprint correct? i am thinking of getting another tank and just modify it so i can have a seperate location for the skimmer.

i am definitely interested in a bubble magus due to the price and performance. I'll send you a pm!
Click to expand...

NAC6 -
Dimensions: 6.7" x 10.4" x 19.6" (L*W*H)

NAC7 -
Dimensions: 9.2" x 8.5" x 19.6" (L*W*H)

Smaller footprint is true on length, but it's actually larger on width. Also, even though the NAC7 is cone shaped, the top part (collection cup) looks to be about the same size for both. At first, I thought the cone design would make a narrower top, but that isn't necessarily the case for these.

If you are going to make a skimmer chamber in your sump or whatever, then just make sure it's at least an inch or two bigger in both directions. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to make it 4-6 inches bigger, just so you have plenty of water in that chamber to be skimming. ;)
 
R

ReeferNets

Let me know cause im gonna order today or tommorow.


Im excited im doing my plumbing tonight and should have water and rock in by next week or maybe more towards the holidays.
 
R

ReeferNets

Looks like were settling in on the Aqua Illuminations LED fixture. the cost and reduced electricity and need to not buy bulbs has got me hooked. I also just found out that these fixture are upgradeable to fit larger tanks. you can add more units.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top