Fortunato's 150G Marineland Cube

[reefs4life]

Hey guys, so I figured this would be a good time to start a tank thread even though I have not gotten anywhere with the setup aside from actually getting the tank, stand and canopy. I have a 150G Marineland Cube. I am downgrading from a standard 210G AGA simply because I would like to finally have the tank in the living room rather than in an ugly unfinished basement where no one, except me, gets to enjoy all the hard work I put into it.

I found a great spot for it where it will definitely become a center of attention for anyone that walks in the house. I'll try to post pictures tongiht. I decided to reinforced the factory stand with some 2X4s and most likely rebuild the canopy since the factory one is a bit thin in terms of trying to fit an led fixture at a proper heigth without it showing from the top.

One thing that has become a challenge is, finding a way to properly level it given the way the factory stand is built. Any ideas?

 

[albano]

FINALLY!!! Congrats '4-2' ... Can't wait to see it set up!

 

[usctom]

Nice. Can't wait to see some pics.
Shims should help with leveling.

 

[d5332]

If its an original marineland stand it's probably solid on the bottom, like 5/8" plywood but it did not stop me from using shingles shims.

Do a dry measurement, this way you can mark with a pencil exactly where you need to cut, you remove, cut, and reinstall.

If what you are concern about is whether you wrap entire bottom with shims or not, you can...or you can just add shims on the corners and centers.

 

[kingator]

great u finally found what u was looking for ............following along

 

[TommyP]

tagging along as well... good luck with the build. I'd go with shims as well

 

[thirty6]

interested to see what you do with yours, mine just went through a major overhaul...someday ill get around to a thread myself

 

[reefs4life]

There it is for now, empty but it will get there. Thinking of repainting the stand first while I'm at it and like I mentioned, I need to build that new canopy as well

 

[Tonyscoots84]

tank looks awesome but looks like its going to suck to service it or do a water change

 

[reefs4life]

tank looks awesome but looks like its going to suck to service it or do a water change

Nah filters and sump will be in the basement so it will just be a matter of getting inside the tank that will kinda suck but it's worth having it where it is.

 

[thirty6]

what lights are you going with?

 

[reefs4life]

what lights are you going with?

Well since it's been impossible to sell my Pacific Sun fixtures, I figured I'll just run those. Two should work on the 150, if I ever do SPS I'll consider running all 4

 

[Tonyscoots84]

Nah filters and sump will be in the basement so it will just be a matter of getting inside the tank that will kinda suck but it's worth having it where it is.

i have a yankee basement so it sucks for me to have anything down there. its 5 ft high. i wish i had a full basement :irked:..

 

[FocusReefing]

Nah filters and sump will be in the basement so it will just be a matter of getting inside the tank that will kinda suck but it's worth having it where it is.

Agreed. Its always better when the tank serves as an unobtrusive part of the decor. Plus the wife/partner/mom wont have a reason to whine...

Looks awesome there. Gonna be sweet! taggin along.

 

[reefs4life]

i have a yankee basement so it sucks for me to have anything down there. its 5 ft high. i wish i had a full basement :irked:..

Funny thing you say that because my basement isn't all that much better. I'm at max 6ft (even lower where the heating pipes run) and it's completely unfinished which is the major reason for this downgrade. It's been in that basement for the past 3 and half years so you can imagine the neglect it gets from everyone aside from me. So since I see no improvements in sight for my dungeon basement, it's finally time to move the tank. Luckily it will serve the purpose of holding my sump and things that are better left out of sight anyways and give me the ability to have beautifully displayed DT upstairs

Agreed. Its always better when the tank serves as an unobtrusive part of the decor. Plus the wife/partner/mom wont have a reason to whine...

Looks awesome there. Gonna be sweet! taggin along.

Yeah no kidding on mom whining, funny thing she's actually been cool about it and got me to put it there. Dad on the other hand is so worried about water spilling on the floor and drilling the wall to run the pipes between floors.

I'm also contemplating whether I should repaint it black like it is or paint it to match the furniture in there, although I don't think I'll be able to give it the same effect as what's in our living since it's more like stained wood and the stand will just be painted. I would need a paint to make it look like the piece of furniture below, any ideas?

 

[reefs4life]

Wonder how this would do
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...ansformations-263231/203921566#specifications
-or-
If I should just go with good ol' regular paint
http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Pre...-Exterior-Paint-585301/203420323#.UoMVXvmsim4

 

[dubs]

hey buddy u found a tank u still keeping the hobby going lmk if u ever need a hand gl with the build

 

[thirty6]

i have a yankee basement so it sucks for me to have anything down there. its 5 ft high. i wish i had a full basement :irked:..

Id fit perfect down there!

 

[reefs4life]

Hey guys so I repainted the stand a new color and tomorrow I was planning on building a new canopy. Does anyone know if it's ok to use pressure treated wood for this application? I know it has some sort of chemical in it so I'm just asking to make sure it won't be dangerous to my tank

 

[tttony]

I would use 1/2" birch plywood , very strong and light enough . I would paint the inside of the canopy gloss white. What kind of pressure treated wood , are you going to have doors in the canopy ? Or have it lift up ?