Daniel's 50g Reef Savvy Cube

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#1
I just moved here from Ohio, so I've been without a tank for a few months now. I brought a Red Sea 130 (34g AIO cube) with me that I planned to set up in our new apartment...but I won the Reef Savvy 50g Cube in the MACNA raffle, so now I'm going to set that one up instead! (...who knows...the Red Sea may also get set up before it's over...maybe a seahorse tank...)

Tank: Reef Savvy 50g cube (24" L x 24" W x 20" H)
Stand: Made from the Reef Savvy crate that the tank came in

Planned equipment
Sump: Geo's Reef custom sump with built ATO reservoir
Skimmer: Tunze DOC 9410
Return: Quiet One something something...(I forget the actual ratings...I'll be upgrading to a Vectra M1 at my first opportunity)
Flow: MP10s (still gotta get those)
Lighting: Radion G3
Controller: Puratek Insight 24/7
Also eventually planning to add a calcium reactor of some kind (probably made by @geo as well)...but I won't need that right away.

Substrate and Rockwork
Sand: Mix of mesoflakes and reef flakes by Tropic Eden
Rock: Minimalist scape of some kind...I will be using dead/dry/acid bathed/bleached rock that I saved from my 180. Planning some type of arch or bonsai structure with shelf pieces.

Planned Livestock (this list is a work in progress)
Golden Assessor Basslet
Swales Swissguard Basslet
Diamond Goby
Pair of Black Ice Clowns
Maybe a blenny of some sort...I'm thinking midas blenny

Corals will be a mix of SPS and LPS (SPS dominant)
At least a couple of clams thrown into the mix.

Here are a few pics from MACNA of the tank and soon-to-be converted-to-stand crate.



 
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Thanks everyone! Got the stand started today.

It's fully reinforced. Just got to put the hinges on the door and cut the holes for plumbing and wires.





I'll be staining and sealing the outside and painting the inside white (which should contrast with the black and red sump).

I should also state clearly that I'm only the "helper" on this carpentry work. I've got a friend who is a carpenter and is the master builder on this project. :)
 

Tangwich

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It's coming along nicely. Congrats on winning the reefsavvy tank. I want one but sucks they are so far.
 
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Oops! I need to update this! Here is the stand as we finished up the actual woodworking:





I told you guys that I'm not the master carpenter on this job, here's Jason working his magic. :) (He may be joining the ranks of the reef community soon...he wants an aquarium...thinks he wants freshwater...but I'm wearing him down. :D )





A pic from behind...the back will be detachable, but normally left in place. (Shown without the back on below)



And here's the semi-finished product before staining and sealing the outside. I'm also going to paint the inside.









And then a few nights ago, I got a bit of staining done.





Someone recommended that I glaze it as well, so I'm going to finish staining and then use glaze to give accent to some of the corners and the Reef Savvy stamp.
 
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So...got some more work done on this today... :)

I tried my hand with the glaze. It's my first attempt, but I'm pleased with the outcome.

For the glaze, I mixed transparent glaze by Valspar (bought at Lowe's) mixed it with the stain I had already used on the wood (4 parts glaze to 1 part stain) and then added some black paint to darken it a bit (did that by eyeballing it).



Then applied with the brush as you see in the above pic, wiped excess off with a painting sponge, then rubbed what was left with a towel to blend it.

Here's the result on the door (the panel shown in the above pics).



Here's the finished effect.





Still need to clear coat it, but I feel like I made some serious progress, and I'm super pleased I didn't botch the glaze job. LOL
 
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#15
I completely forgot about this project. I was seriously sick for the first three weeks of September and i never thought back to this.

Besides that, it looks like you got an excellent consultant and laborer to do the work for you. Fantastic job, and it looks already beautiful. Kudos.

Sent using TAPATALK via Android
 
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#16
Wow the stand turn out really nice.
that's an awesome stand. Very creative!
Bro that thing is sick
I completely forgot about this project. I was seriously sick for the first three weeks of September and i never thought back to this.

Besides that, it looks like you got an excellent consultant and laborer to do the work for you. Fantastic job, and it looks already beautiful. Kudos.

Sent using TAPATALK via Android
Thanks guys! I'm really excited about the way that the stand is turning out! Looking forward to finishing it up (this week I hope).
 

ChevelleJason

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#19
Very nice! And I can appreciate the "child proofing" measures taken!! About 2 weeks ago, I was cleaning up a whole bag of Seaweed Extreme pellets.......that had been dumped in my sump!!! My son said "the fishies were hungry"!
 

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