450mm x 450mm Cube Build

[ZoaJack]

Hi everyone.

So with a bit if help and advise from a fellow reefer i decided to go all in on building my own Cube.

I would like to thank @brentch for helping with the measurements and lots of advice.

I went for 10mm opti clear glass panels and black 5mm acrylic. Extras were Bostic Marine Silicone, Acetone and Painters tape.

I went for the DIY build as I could not afford to buy a complete tank. I became a father quite recently and nappies are not cheap!!

Lined my glass out with tape and then found that I made a mistake with one of my glass panels... the bottom panel was a tad to small about 150mm to short! Nway got a piece of glass from Mica to add to the bottom panel, which would be the sump anyway.

Glued the tank and when I wanted to smooth out the seal, the silicone had already started curing...
I decided it looked too sloppy, so I waited for it to dry and then scraped and cleaned the sides for another try at sealing a bit neater.(cleaning took 3 hours...)
Ready to reseal.

At last the tank is done and I am quite pleased with the result. After all the stress and hard work I think i have it done

Stand will be built tomorrow and then I'll need to get some substrate and rocks to start cycling.

Years ago i thought i was out of the hobby for good and so I gave away almost all my sand and live rock. Now it seems I am looking to stock up again!

If anyone has any chipped coral and dry/builder or live rock to sell, please send me a pm. I am in CPT - Uitzicht.

I am watching the for sale thread for a well priced light, if I don't find one within the next month, I might get a new Zetlight 1201 L or take @Royden Church up on his offer to assist with a DIY LED unit.
Bit scared when it comes to lighting DIY as i never know when a light is enough or too much or even what the result will look like. Tried in the past and failed hard

I will post pics of stand and finished setup once up and running!

Thanks again for everyone that helped with advice and info!

 

[JpPaulKruger]

@Royden Church will give you amazing advice on a diy light. Can never go wrong

 

[brentch]

Your silicone work looks great! Really not bad for a first timer. I'm excited to see how this build goes!

 

[ZoaJack]

Finally got the stand done and then did a leak test.
As fate might have it... The first test was a bust.
I think I rushed the process a bit and so the tank leaked just to the right of the acrylic at the bottom.

I built the back sump to fit the original skimmer and pump of my TL550 that broke a few years ago.

I had to empty the tank, allow it to dry for 2 days and resealed around the acrylic back of the tank.
This will luckily be hidden under the chipped coral bed, so I wasn't going to strip the entire tank again, but rather just cleaned the existing silicone really well and went for a thick overseal.
It worked perfectly!

Also got myself the Zetlight 1201 Wifi, which is pretty cool considering it could program the light very easily and it even mimics cloud movement!
Considering the issues I had with the building of tank, I played it safe with the light!

The re-seal allowed me enough time to order the boards and cover the tank with white melamine.
I only still need to attach the door with some hinges.

I popped in my first shrimp!
It's not moving though.

So the tank has now started cycling, I'll take out the shrimp in about 3 days and keep an eye on the Ammonia and Nitrate/Nitrite levels as it matures.

Noticed the sunlight displaying with some pretty colors on the wall as the sun set.

 

[ZoaJack]

Also I have had a few people asking about the pricing in CPT, so i thought I'dd put the price up here if anyone else was wondering.

I got the glass at R1450 from Glass Partners in Beleville South.
Acrylic at R300 from a place in Stickland.
Light from RBM Aquatics for around R2500 I think.
Stand I built and board for the stand was R560 from Cape Boards.

 

[brentch]

Looking very neat. I love the rockwork too!