Overflowing Cube

[kinktao]

This tank would not be up without the help of James (aznshyguycv), Jasper (Jas0863), Todd (wulfhound), Dana (dj9264), Marty (therapy), Mitch (phishphood), Nick (lucubrator), John (crstjohn), Eric (Eric_F), Chris (DaChrisDude), and especially Russ (RussM).

The tank is a 35 gallon cube. The dimensions are 23x23x15".
All four sides are starphire 1/2" thick glass with diamond cut edges.
The return tray is a custom design tray that is 27x27x3" that lifts up the tank 1.5".
The tank is lit by a 150 watt mh sunpod, which provides decent lighting for a 35 gallon.


http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTcorner.jpg
The corner shot, what I consider the best part of the tank.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTfront.jpg
The front tank shot.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTtop.jpg

The new tank is an improvement from the last tank which can be found here: Overflowing Cube (http://www.sdreefs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19688).

[kinktao]

The sump is a 20 gallon that has been modified with 4 baffles.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTsump.jpg
I use an american dj to allow easily on and off function of my pumps and equipment. You can also see my fuge which is populated with pods.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTsumpSide.jpg
This is a right side shot of my sump and dosing pump. I'm doing 2 part B-ionic. You can also see my 4 way ocean motions squirt which handles 1200 gallons from my iwaki.

It's hard to see but I have a phosban reactor and a carbon reactor within the sump. The flow inside these reactor comes from the main pump which is slowly let in with ball valves.

[kinktao]

The tank is lifted off the tray 1.5" so that the bottom of the tank isn't cut off from the tray.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTisland.jpg
Here you can see the island that lifts the tank up. Supposedly the island should be flush with the tank so that it doesn't impede the water flowing down, but I couldn't get it perfectly flush. Without having it flush some water can be heard splashing as it hits the tray.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTdrain.jpg
To drain the water that overflows the tank, I built a rectangular hole that would hide a 2" bulkhead.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FtDrainBulkhead.jpg
Once the water enters this rectangular hole, it will enter an external durso return. Note that there is no girgling sound at all (thank god).

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FT_CornerSump.jpg
Here is a wide shot of the left side of my sump.

[kinktao]

I will never have to top off my water, nor refill a bucket to top off my water. Everything is taken care for me using a timer, an auto top off switch, solenoids, and RODI system. Some people think this is foolish since I could potential flood my house, but everything I'm using has a kill switch incase something goes wrong. Also, my auto top off system is on a timer that only allows it to refill my tank 4 times a day, for 5 minutes at a time to ensure that if something does go wrong, I'm there to notice.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FloatSwitch.jpg
Here you can see my double float switch. When water levels drop one switch will activate, signaling my solenoids to open to allow RO water to be trickled into the sump. Note that the second float switch is an emergency switch incase the first switch fails to shut off, the second switch will kill the first switch.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FTsumpAutotopoff.jpg
This picture contains the two solenoids. The solenoids remain closed when off, but once the float switch activates them they both will open up to allow water to pass through them. Note that two are used to ensure that one will at least be closed when they are not powered on.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/RODI.jpg
I run a line directly from my tank to my kitchen which contains my RODI unit.

[kinktao]

Keeping my water clean involves a euro-reef protein skimmer, phosban reactor, carbon and mechanical filtration with a sock.

To keep the water temperature in check I'm using a 200 watt ebo jager heater and a current USA 1/3 Prime chiller (which is probably overkill since my tank + sump is only 55 gallons. Also, my tank naturally keeps itself cool since so much water evaporates from the overflowing effect.) My tank is normally at a constant 78 degrees.

For trace elements and additives I use 2 part B-ionic with a dosing pump. I left room in my tank for a possible calcium reactor but may decide against it.

[kinktao]

I'm going to add how this tank was build and pictures when I find the time. This reply will be edited.

[kinktao]

This will also be edited later. This will contain the difference between the old overflowing cube and the new overflowing cube.

[kinktao]

Sorry about all these "will be edited later", but I'm going to save this box for another thing too. I'm just too tired to add them right now (5am) but will do so later.

[DaChrisDude]

wow, very nice John! Looks very well thought out. Aquascaping looks tight! I love that you've built it up vertically, makes the tank look really tall and well stocked.

I notice the water doesn't flow quite evenly around the corners... is that still in-progress or is that as good as that's going to get?

[RussM]

Love it! Great job, John.

[stuck1972]

That is SWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEET

[kinktao]

I notice the water doesn't flow quite evenly around the corners... is that still in-progress or is that as good as that's going to get?

Oh, that will take care of itself. Once the biofilm develops the water will go around evenly down the sides. My last tank had that problem when it first was setup but after leaving it alone for about 2 weeks or less the water went around the corners.

[limestro]

Looking good John.

[Nick_Kun]

bravo. Looks good, hows the saltcreep?

[kinktao]

bravo. Looks good, hows the saltcreep?

It's not so bad. The only noticable area though is the tray. But than again I wipe it down like every other day. My salinity doesn't fluctuate that much, but then again I'm using a cheap hydrometer so it's not very accurate.

[TripleP]

that is some pimp sh*t

[aznshyguycv]

lol... dude you should take a video and show it to us. :)

[reefmedic]

That is a really cool setup. Never seen anything like it!!

[kinktao]

More and more pictures:

So after breaking down my tank and rebuilding everything, my corals seem to be recovering. My orange monti cap was totally dead a month ago but now you can see it's recovering nicely.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1463.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1477.jpg

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http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1462.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/Top.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1473.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1468.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/FrontShot.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1474.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1455.jpg

[kinktao]

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1476.jpg
I let my snails climb either side of the walls. On the right of this picture, you can see one of the snails climbing the edge of the tank. On the left side, you can see another on the outside of the tank and a few in the collection tray.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1478.jpg
I love to hand feed my fish and shrimps. It's gotten to the point where they totally trust me.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1481.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1482.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1484.jpg
I use a turkey baster to spot feed my corals.

[DaChrisDude]

Very nice John! tank looks really good!

Out of curiosity, why are your clams on pvc pipes?

Lost anything to flowing over the sides?

[kinktao]

I find that it helps the clams stay up and not tip over. Normally when I put them on rocks or the sand they always find a way to fall. It might not be clean looking but it sure helps them stay put. Do you have any suggestions chris?

I've lost two peperment shrimps, a pistol and a six liner due to the fact that the tanks completely open top. The only coral that I've ever lost was a ricordea which floated away and away.

[DaChrisDude]

Get a relatively flat piece of LR rubble and bury it 3/8" under the sand and place the clam over it, wiggling him down onto the piece of rubble. This way he can plant his foot on it and feel secure, but still have the flexibility of sand so he can move a little bit....

At least, that's what's worked for me....

[sacredfire]

Very cool, Thanks for directing me to this post.

[kinktao]

The cube has been moved up to Valencia.

A bulkhead broke during the move and I had to special order it from Marinedepot so I had to temporarily setup a tank to hold everything. It wasn't fun at all, especially to those that died during the transfer. May they rest in peace.

[Daniel]

Updates? Did you re-setup this tank?

Sucks that you had to go through a mishap during the move. I hate moving, especially moving a tank... but it can't be helped sometimes. It's been a few months now, just wondering if you got this setup up and running again.

[ChristophHolmes]

has to be one of the coolest tanks i've ever seen

[Retzius]

If anyone wants to see this tank in person, Fish Haven has one exactly like this. Also, they are using the SOLARIS led light set-up which looks neat. My g/f really liked this tank. It is very catchy when you see it in person because the overflowing water makes it look very clear.

[sandiegan]

John, you still alive up there?

[kinktao]

John, you still alive up there?

Lol, still alive. Just don't check the boards as frequently. I'll post pictures to update eventually, but all in all I haven't really added anything new to the tank in a while so I think it will be basically the same.

[amphib.allan]

i want it!

[kinktao]

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1778.gif

It has been over two years since this tank has been up and I want to give an honest testament to my failures and joys of this tank.

First, this tank has moved three times: SD -> Valencia -> Irvine. Moving a fish tank is incredible hard. This tank alone takes me about 6 hours to break down. Half of the problem is the intricate design and plumbing.

Originally, the tank overflowed all four sides. But when I was moving from Valencia to Irvine, a side panel of glass got a hairline crack at the bottom. Instead of replacing the panel, I decided to shorten the glass an inch. Now my tank only overflows 1 side. I like how it only overflows one side because it allows a clear static view of the other three. However, I had to decrease my flow.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1777.gif
You can see how much shorter the panel that overflows is compared to the other three.

My anemone has replicated over four times, but after my tank move to Irvine, they started to bleach (I had them in an emergency rubbermaid 35 gallon container for over a month while I repaired the broken side). The four of them have been bleach for over 11 months. I thought they would die at one point, but they haven't yet.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/DSC03882.jpg
This is what they looked like in their prime. If you look at the picture before this one, you can see the bleach anemone under the Idaho Grape. Also note that the glass panels in this picture are all the same height. This is how my tank originally looked like when I built it.

This tank has relentlessly killed clams. I originally built this tank for clams. But I have yet been able to keep one a live longer than 3 months. I leave a dead clam shell inside my tank as a reminder to never buy another.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1783.gif
You can see the dead clam on the right. The picture before this one, shows how many I use to have.

I have a battle with aptasia that I can't seem to win. I have probably been fighting this since the birth of my tank. My advice to anyone that gets live rock: Cook the hell out of it. Kill everything, even the hitch hikers. Or else you will be fighting this battle till the end of your tanks' life.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1773.gif
I have even tried peppermint and berghia.

Overall, I like how my tank has little maintenance from me. I let things live and fight for themselves. I like my messy landscape. Evey thing just breeds everywhere.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1791.gif
The green mushroom is battling the organe montipora. They have been at it for over 2 months. I originally thought about moving the montipora, but I notice the tips growing faster. I think he's going to be okay.

The greatest part of this tank is my maroon clown. I love the guy. He's been with me for over four years. I had him since the start of my reef keeping experience, two years before this tank was built. I got him from octopus garden, thank you Ron.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1771.gif

I have found out that Idaho grape cannot grow out of water. Mine touches the surface. I got the Idaho grape from a trade and it was originally the size of a quarter.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/WaterFTS.gif

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http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z120/kinktao/IMG_1788.gif

[sacredfire]

Fantastic update!

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[aanntthhoonnyy]

God damn I love this tank.

[chazzman]

Wow, I love this kind of tank. I will have one someday but it will either be because my toddler is old enough not to drop stuff in it, or my wife kicks me out of the house before then. Very very sweet look.

[smirkis]

amazing. looks good with the 1 side overflow. nice easy solution. i love how wild it looks haha. nice job

[kinktao]

Thanks for all the compliments. I hope this helps those who are struggling with their tank. Most people that post yearly updates have pristine tanks. This is definitely not one of them but at the same time I believe it's a very beautiful and natural tank.

My trick to never give up is to just focus on one thing on your tank and as long as that's still striving, everything's okay. My maroon clown is the only thing that I'm ever worried about.