Well need some insight

[Reefdaddy1]

In my recent travels I happened accross a LFS closing. So seeing a possible deal at hand I entered the store and found that he was selling off some tanks and other stuff, His pumps were Ok but being my company carries the things I was really only interested in the the things I could dtick in the car and travel another 4 hours to home. So I scoped these 6 tanks that were 2x2x2. I bought 2 of them.

Just trying to think of slick way to do this. My mind has been mush over the course of last 3 weeks. They are gonna be reef tanks thats for sure, I was thinking of making them corner tanks But not sure of that, I also thought of stacking them on top one another. But that is not sure either.

So my question is, "what idea do you all have for a cube tank configuration?" I wouldnt normaly ask this but Iam at a point that what little hair I have is gonna be pulled out. Any help would Be well appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Krish]

Hmm....That's a good one. Are you planning on setting them up totally differently from one another?

 

[Reefdaddy1]

I was thinking of making them mirror eachother, But that is all just spculation. I have them sitting in the LR and looking at them just Pisses me off to no end. They are very cool tanks but I am having reefing block on how to configure them.

 

[Krish]

Ahh...Are you going to just stick with the 2 or get a few more?

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Well just the 2. I dismantling 2 tanks right now, Trying to get to a more managable level. But these should be easier to take care of.

 

[Krish]

They will...Mine is a breeze I think they should work out really nice...Depending on how you set them up, you can probably use a sump the size of the 2 tanks together underneath and have both tanks drain together into the sump and split the return between the 2 so they work as one system. I'm trying to picture some ideas in my head how you can set them up as a nice mirror image or something similar, but all I'm seeing is clouds right now(LOL) I'll keep thinking

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Krish , you see bro this reefing can get block just like writers block, Its amazing I been in this hoby for about 12 years, But never have this occurred. Its truly mind boggling.

 

[Krish]

ROFL! It happens! Our memory is like hair...You eventually lose it

 

[brettandlyndi]

Bob, are these acrylic tanks or glass? If acrylic, a pretty cool thing to do would be to cut a hole in the middle right side of one and the middle left side of the other, then connect the two with a medium length spherical tube. Put live rock and corals on both sides, and stock a lot of small fish, and the fish could swim from one tank to the other. For instance, the tank that they have at the Rainforest Cafe:

http://www.immerse.org/nashville/pages/rainforestcafe_aquarium.htm

 

[brettandlyndi]

another cool thing to do would be the set the tanks side by side, and put live rock and corals and such in both, and have one tank be a seahorse reef tank, and the other be a pipefish reef tank.

 

[Reefdaddy1]

They are Glass, But the idea with tube is awsome. I never woulda thought of that. Kinda like hamster effect for aquariums, Iam gonna reseach some on that idea, I wanted to put them in my office and remove the 75G. The thought of fish swimming through a tube would be real cool. Maybe have the tube in the middle of small waterfall type thing or some kinda display would be cool as all get out. Now you got me thinking.LMao, Thanks Brett or was it Lyndi?

 

[Krish]

Hey Bob! I remember Luke showing how he did that as well (linked two tanks together with a tube) I'll see if I can find it for you if he doesn't chime in before.

 

[Krish]

Wasn't as hard as I thought

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12196

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Yeah that is unique to say the least, But I think I would like to do it from the back of the tanks, Maybe a bulkhead type fitting attached to acrylic Tube. I am going to research this for sure I like that idea most def.

 

[brettandlyndi]

They are Glass, But the idea with tube is awsome. I never woulda thought of that. Kinda like hamster effect for aquariums, Iam gonna reseach some on that idea, I wanted to put them in my office and remove the 75G. The thought of fish swimming through a tube would be real cool. Maybe have the tube in the middle of small waterfall type thing or some kinda display would be cool as all get out. Now you got me thinking.LMao, Thanks Brett or was it Lyndi?

It was me (Brett) who came up with that one. I like the waterfall idea, that'd be neat too! Certainly keep us updated, I'd love to see the progress of this project.

 

[bookofchange]

Yeah that is unique to say the least, But I think I would like to do it from the back of the tanks, Maybe a bulkhead type fitting attached to acrylic Tube. I am going to research this for sure I like that idea most def.

I might be concerned about algae buildup in the tubing or tunnel. We had a situation where our overflow tubing developed gunking and required regular flushing/cleaning. Only thing that seemed to work well, was being able to pull the pipe out and give it a good scrub. Perhaps consider how you are going to clean it, or if you even want to clean it, before starting down that path.

Ideas - I like the idea of the seahorse/pipefish tanks in tandem. Or, if you wanted... you could start a breeding program of some smaller fish. One tank is a nursery, the other is the breeder tank. Drill for the sump, empty into a dual sump/refugium that is twice as large as the two top tanks.

The stand could be an open cube, so two small tanks on top, one large underneath, light the refugium... and then suspended canopy on top? You could put some very attractive (yet muted) decorative art between the two small tanks... to create a kind of visual screen... like a statue of some sort.

 

[Reefdaddy1]

I wonder if Luke had problems with that , (algae) It would seem that if it was out of the light it may not be that bad. HMMM, I will have to check things out , But it will be cool none the less.

 

[bookofchange]

I wonder if Luke had problems with that , (algae) It would seem that if it was out of the light it may not be that bad. HMMM, I will have to check things out , But it will be cool none the less.

People have suggested electrical tape to keep the light out of the overflow hose. The hubby had a much more interesting idea involving my sewing skills and some elastic. He really hates adhesive residue and anything that could gunk up.

:idea:

Make a tube out of black fabric the exact length you need, use regular elastic and bunch sew it into each end. Now you have a removable, moveable, cover for any tubing. You can see in if you need to, little light gets in rest o' the time.

 

[Reefdaddy1]

People have suggested electrical tape to keep the light out of the overflow hose. The hubby had a much more interesting idea involving my sewing skills and some elastic. He really hates adhesive residue and anything that could gunk up.

:idea:

Make a tube out of black fabric the exact length you need, use regular elastic and bunch sew it into each end. Now you have a removable, moveable, cover for any tubing. You can see in if you need to, little light gets in rest o' the time.

That would defeat the purpose of the tube, Concealing it would be counter productive to what I wanted to achieve, But it maybe the only way to Prevent algae build up.

 

[bookofchange]

That would defeat the purpose of the tube, Concealing it would be counter productive to what I wanted to achieve, But it maybe the only way to Prevent algae build up.

Yup, it sure would... maybe you could make a sleeve that is removable. You take it off at viewing time, and leave it there when you want the full display. I don't see how you could possibly get out of the algae cleaning issue... and an elongated tube which you can't remove is going to be a real pain in the glutes. With a sleeve you may have to scrape/clear it less.

Except... with a sleeve... it will become a very popular hiding place for crabs and any rock hiding fish.