100gal CUBE in the making....

[Ph4Y5e]

Finally today, my stand arrives for my cube...after running around town for the wooden board and what not...we finally got it into place the stand seems a lil high...at 3ft...so plus the tank at 28 inchs...the whole thing stands a lil under 6 ft... need to get on a chair to access the tank..but i guess its still ok...gives it a sense of granduer...since ure on the same level...not like a kiddie tank..where u look down on it... its also got a very good viewing angle... u can see the whole Aquascape standing up...

Anyway... off to the supply shop...

The list of equipment that i have already bought is as Follows.

1 x 31" * 31" * 28", 1/2" thick all glass eurobraced Aquarium = 800.00 Patacas.
1 x 3 ft stainles steel stand = 800.00 patacas.
120 lbs of crushed Aragonite sand mixed grade = 360.00 patacas
2 x 50 gallon reef crystal salt = 220.00 patacas
1 x 400 watt Hydor Theo Heater = 180.00 Hkd
1 x Red Sea Prizm Hang on Tank Skimmer = 560.00 Hkd
1 x Fluval 405 Cannister Filter = 900.00 Hkd
1 x SEIO 860gph pump = 240.00 Pataca
2 x 1100lph Power heads = 90.00 hkd
20lbs uncured live rock = 240.00 patacas
1 x 6 Gallon bucket = 48.00 patacas
various test kits

stuff i still need to buy.
1 or 2 x light fittings = approx 1000.00 patacas each
another 40 lbs of Crushed Aragonite = 3.00 per lb
approx 100lbs of uncured live rock from hainan island = 12-15 pataca per lb.
some more salt
more test kits and meters.

So... i havent got the fittings for my bathroom tap to run a longer hose yet...so ... i had to fill it by bucket...i figured 100 gallon tank... 6 gallon bucket... 20 buckets...no probs... i didnt actually count how many buckets i had to fill ... but many times did it cross my mind that if i lost my footing and hit my head on the corner of the tank...i would most likely drown in this monster of a fish tank.

In goes the water and the salt...At about half full i start to clean the sand... as i dont wanna fill the tank up to the top and then put the sand in and have water overflowing onto my floor. After washing the sand to get rid of the floaty bits in it goes...unfortunately ...not enogh sand... i need at least 4" of sand but i am getting about 2.5" avg so yeah..another 40-60lbs of sand tommorow. Checking the clock its still only 9 something so i take a quick break and head to a fish shop to buy some live rock just to help start the cycle off.

So yeah... its all set up now...all three powerheads running...plus the fluval... i know a lot of people dont believe in cannister filters in a saltwater aquarium... i dunno..i still tend to like em... ive gotten by with no filters and skimmers before... so yeah... should be a lot easier with so much more equipment this time... probably will get a better skimmer... ive read a lot of bad stuff about the one i bought... but since my tank has got bracing..and i havent got a sump... the choice is quite limited..

need to get more sand, salt and more rocks tommorow...
need glass to be cut for the cover...then i just sit and wait..for 4-6 weeks before i even start to think about putting something alive in it

This will probably stay a Fowlr, with maybe a spatter of soft corals...

[Matt Rogers]

I love cubes. That's a beauty!

Are you going to suspend the lights since you eurobraced it?

[Ph4Y5e]

thought about that...but..dont wanna drill the walls now that the tank is in place...dun wan plaster falling into the tank... i might get another stainless steel light stand made and slide it behind the tank... or... ive seen lights here with little leg fittings...that sit about 6 inches above the glass...i will be getting glass cut for the top...since i plan to keep an eel...ill most likely end up just resting the lights on the top glass....

probably go 2 x 150w metal halides and 4 x 36 actinic PCompacts....the fittings come with one halide and two compacts ...so i can easily buy one..and then another... theyre also made locally..so theyre pretty cheap...

[Malachi]

nice tank, you probably would of not hit your head on the corner as much if you would of saved the absolute till after the water was added :-)

[turbo4603]

Wow, lokks awesome!! Cant wait to see pics of it setup!

[jonathan]

i just did the math and that tank cost under $100 US dollars...that's going to be an awesome tank.

[Ph4Y5e]

Woke this morning and the tank is stil a little cloudy...to be expected...will go get more sand and rock after work today...

yup...100 dollars usd is roughly 800 patacas or bout 780 hong kong dollars... envious yet? hehehehehe raw materials and labour is still relatively cheap here. On the flip side, the sand i bought came in heshin rice bags....bagged directly from some philippine beach lol. The rock i have to order will be ripped straight from the ocean from a place called Hainan island off the south coast of china.

Worse part of it comes when im trying to explain myself to the store keepers. I speak 100% fluent chinese...but when it comes to technical terms and stuff like this...im a retard... so im standing there trying to think of the closest translation possible for stuff im looking for... you wouldnt believe some of the translations they have for stuff here...

[Ph4Y5e]

Another 50 lbs of sand into the tank...thats a total of 170lbs of sand...but man...im still about an inch short in most areas...unless theres a huge mountain of sand in the middle that i cant see cos of the cloudyness... anyhoo..will take a better measurement of it tommorow and decide whether or not i should put more sand in, also put in another 25 lbs of live rock...picked up some pretty decent pieces today..lots of growth..and colour... one of them had an anemone on it which i sure wont survive... will run a water test tommorow to see if there are any changes

The last 50 lbs of sand still wasnt enough...had to pop down to the shop for another 50lbs...the anemone turned out to be one of them majono thingoes...so i removed it... ive had a battle with aiptasia before and i dun wanna have to go through anything like that again... so a total of 220 lbs of sand...to make about 4.5-5 inch sand bed... and a total 45 lbs of live rock to start things off... will put my order in for 40lbs of "Hi Grade rock" next week,which they say is straight from the ocean into a box...then after that the only fun ill be having with my tank will be with the testing kits... and watching them change colour.... wikid...cant wait

[SAW39]

I think that tank is going to look great! Besides the eel (what kind?) what other creatures to you plan on getting?

[jonathan]

Originally Posted by Ph4Y5e

yup...100 dollars usd is roughly 800 patacas or bout 780 hong kong dollars... envious yet?

just a little bit...