View Full Version : 60 Gallon Cube Build
Well with m stand moving along, I installed my RO/DI Unut from BRS. It is a standard kit... I figured woulod start my build thread....
Here is my stand thread...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1997493
My RO DI install is just temp. I will hard pipe it to my water supply. For now it is istalled over my slop sink. Eventually I will tube it over to my tank which is one floor up. My slop sink is next to my furnass so the watter may be a bit warm. If it is, I will need to move it... However about 30' of tubing should be room temp...
Whats to come
My custom DIY stand
36 LED Light kit from REEFLEDLIGHTS.COM 50/50 white/Blue XPE
Reef Octopus 4 Skimmer
Sump Refuge build (Dome) wirh RDSB Here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1998653)
Aquacontroller
About 40-50 punds of dry rock
10-20 punds of live rock
shallow sand bed
Circulation pumps (TBD)
Hidden circulation closed system (all internal no drilling)
Leak Detection, leak detection and more leak detection with RO/DI shut off and email alerts
kevin28
04/16/2011, 04:19 PM
Good luck I just got done with my 45 cube,http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2003477 look forward to seeing yours
here are some shots of the bracing I put under the floor. The joists in my floor are only 7.25 inches (50 year old house), I ripped down a couple of additional joists and put a header under the tank. Only a 60 gallon tank but since I had a closet under it, it was easy. I did need to shhim one joist but oh well...
Well it had been bugging me since I bought this tank. 1000 Island Aquariums claim they built this tank but it looks like a production tank. It also looks nothing like the other tanks they had in the shop that they obviously made.
Well I know they have CAD Lighting products dirt cheap and I heard the owners son is the owner of CAD lighting. But CAD Lighting only makes a 50g Cube. But it looks exactly like this tank. Except the overflow is not as deep (front to back). After a little searching on the web I found out that the CAD Artisan 50g cube has a 1 inch drain and a 1/2 inch return. They also make custom tanks. This has to be a CAD. The edges are all beveled, the 3 sides starphire glass, the black adhesive back along with that odd 1/2 inch return. Plus the CAD Lighting connection.
The overflow is huge. That is a eheim 1260 in that photo...I am going to hide a closed loop pump in that overflow...
Oh I almost forgot...It was sitting on a Asrtsan 50g stand...
Here is a shot test fitting it on the stand...
strgazr27
04/30/2011, 10:59 AM
Warm RO supply water is a good thing as it cuts down on waste water production raising the units output. I tap off the cold water feed for my hot water heater and the supply water to my RO is about 53 degrees.
So here is the plumbing outlets behind the tank. The tank will be blocking this. I hate it when a 5 minute electrical outlet job takes all day beacause of repeated trips to HD... You can see the tabs peaking out from behind the face plate but since it willbe behind the tank, no onewill see.
The two blue 3/4 inch holes are for the ethernet and the RO feed line. Perhaps some two or 4 conductor hook up wire to add another leak sensor below my RO in the other room.
I am not planning on running any plumbing other than the RO down stairs but I pre drilled the fixture plate and ran some flex PVC in case I change my mind. Dont want to move the tank to get access...
Two GFI's because they are two independant circuits back to the 3000 ups in the basement...
Well I took the plunge and purchased a 48 led DIY kit today. I will probably only use 36 (2:1 White/Blue) for the daytime and possibly use the other 12 royal blues to as a moon light... I like a whiter viewing light but it made sence to buy the additional blues to give me the color control.
Thats a lot of LED's for a 60g cube...
My canopy is quite a low profile so once I get these built I will need to get my hands on a PAR meter to tweak them...
NanoReefWanabe
07/01/2011, 08:57 PM
how are the two outlets powered from the panel? i was always under the impression that NEC wouldnt allow you to have two sources of power to the same device box...just curious how you ran the power...
anyway the build looks great so far...i love the stand/ canopy...surprising how much room a 24" cube takes up though..
i also didnt see a RDSB, do you still plan to implement one?
keep up the great work...
OH GOD
07/01/2011, 09:27 PM
how are the two outlets powered from the panel? i was always under the impression that NEC wouldnt allow you to have two sources of power to the same device box...just curious how you ran the power...
anyway the build looks great so far...i love the stand/ canopy...surprising how much room a 24" cube takes up though..
i also didnt see a RDSB, do you still plan to implement one?
keep up the great work...
I to would like to know how it is wired, i checked my NEC but mine is out of date. I also looked online and two 120 volt feeds can share a gang box as long as there is a secure divider between them and each power source is clearly identifiable.
Well ok then,, Time to consult the reefcentral electrician... Stand by for a ruling...
I have upgraded it since thise and now have 3 circuits. two from a UPS and 1 not on a UPS...
I will tell you that I have has many computer rooms with multiple circuits within one box...
how are the two outlets powered from the panel? i was always under the impression that NEC wouldnt allow you to have two sources of power to the same device box...just curious how you ran the power...
anyway the build looks great so far...i love the stand/ canopy...surprising how much room a 24" cube takes up though..
i also didnt see a RDSB, do you still plan to implement one?
keep up the great work...
I may not have one at all... I can probably do 5 inches in my fige, but the jury is still out on that. Thinking of just some cheato...
how are the two outlets powered from the panel? i was always under the impression that NEC wouldnt allow you to have two sources of power to the same device box...just curious how you ran the power...
anyway the build looks great so far...i love the stand/ canopy...surprising how much room a 24" cube takes up though..
i also didnt see a RDSB, do you still plan to implement one?
keep up the great work...
Well I still have not gotten a reply on the electrical thread but from what I am reading online I can have multiples as long as they are the same voltage. The deviders are for installing low voltahe like phone or speaker in a 120 box.
Almost every place I have aver been to has had a double or tripple switch gang box feed by more than one circuit.
I'm assuming US and Canadian code is pretty similar. You are correct about using a divider when low and high voltages are in the same box, but multiple 120v circuits should be fine. Your kitchen counter plugs are likely split receptacles, meaning the top outlet is on a different circuit than the bottom outlet of the same plug.
NanoReefWanabe
07/03/2011, 07:05 PM
sorry i dont want your thread to go on a tangent..your build is looking good...
i thought kitchen splits were done with 12/3 wire and a two pole breaker (so even though the outlets are separate wires they share the same breaker...and if they are GFCI's then there is no splits, just separate circuits.) ahhh what ever, just make sure everything is really well labeled in the panel...i am no electrician though.
and keep this wicked cube thread going.
You are right about the 2 pole breaker...
Well I figured out the coupling from the metric to US for the reef octopus skimmer...
A "no hub coupler" from lowes and just stretch the rubber over the gate valve and the T fitting...
One of the things with CADlights tanks is the smaller hole will only for a 1/2 inch bulk head (loosely). I bought a $9 diamond grinding bit on ebay and it took all but 10 minuted to make the hole 1mm bigger to accommodate the 3/4 inch bulk head...
While the tank was on its side I noticed a small (very small) chip on the bottom pane of glass. It is only on the surface. Do you all think this is an issue? I am planing on siliconing some plexi to the inside of the bottom anyway to protect from rock slides...If it was to develope into a crack that would probably prevent a blowout... U have seen chips like this on the edge of most store made tanks so I dont think it is a big deal...
Well the stand is in the house. As soon as I finish the spackling around the outlets and painting, I will set it in place. I still need to make the base moldings to conceal any shims...
jcolletteiii
07/04/2011, 03:47 PM
Looking good! Nice job on the finish of the stand as well. Good tip on the return hole as well - I wasn't looking forward to a half inch return line.
NanoReefWanabe
07/04/2011, 08:31 PM
looks awesome...and those outlets look much safer now too...i would think that chip is nothing to worry about...is the bottom pane of glass beveled and polished too?
looks awesome...and those outlets look much safer now too...i would think that chip is nothing to worry about...is the bottom pane of glass beveled and polished too?
I do not believe it is... but there is too much silicone to tell... It list looks locs a surface chip... Gonna lose sleep over it...I am water testing the tank tonight...
Well the electrical is done. The one black outlet is non-ups. the other two are...
The two 45 elbows are fun to the basement using flex PVC. These will not be used now, but are there just in case I want to move all my filtration down to a sump room. I figure $50 bucks and some work nbow will save me from having to empty the tank later.
The red cable is network, the blue is RO/DI, the purple is some two wire for the RO/DI emergency shutoff in my utility room. A leak under the tank will shut that down... The company said I can fun it up to 250 feet away from the shutoff...
Passed the leak test. I need to rebuild the overflow. it is a bad silicone job and I may as well do it now...
The front glass bows (when empty or full) about 2mm. Why cant any company have any good quality control anymore...
jcolletteiii
07/07/2011, 02:44 PM
Wow, would not have expected any bow in a 24" glass pane that thick. Interesting. By bad silicone are you referring to the inside of the overflow, or the outside? Picking my CL 60 and 18g. sump up this evening - hope not to have any issues.
Wow, would not have expected any bow in a 24" glass pane that thick. Interesting. By bad silicone are you referring to the inside of the overflow, or the outside? Picking my CL 60 and 18g. sump up this evening - hope not to have any issues.
Inside. the plexi was glued to a glass overflow and king of came off. An attempt to just re-silicone is making it bilge. Probably best to list peal it off and re-do it.
The bow is with or without water. Cant tell without a straight edge so I am not worried...
Here it sits. I need to level it then make the base molding to cover the adjystable legs and shimms...
I just need to wax the other door and hang it...
I left just enough room for a chiller between the stand and the stairs. Just in case...
I received my LED kit (48 XP-E) kit today.
Added a fan to the canopy to blow on the heat sink direct. I will add another to exhaust the hot air...
Finished waxing the left door...
Benson0219
07/09/2011, 09:59 AM
Very nice setup!
Well I got the heat sink mounted today. Very simple method. some 1-1.5" aluminium angle that is 2" longer than the heat sink. Lay it on the bottom of the canopy lid and place the heat sink. Get it all lined up then mark and drill the holes. Once the angle in attached to the canopt the rest is easy...
I used all stainless screws. tapped them into the side of the heat sink. I will glue them in when it is all done to keep them from coming loose and having the heat sink crash down into the tank...
Well, I am ready to wire up the LED's...
With this many LED's on this tank, I should hace great control over the lighting. I will need to find a PAR meter on Longisland to use to adjust it...
Well one mistake lead to some extra wiring. I wanted to have the outer lights in one string (one for white and one for blue) then the inner lights for one string (Same). Well I whould have reverse mouted the opposite sides so I could run the string up once side and down the other. What I wound up with was a zig wire after the first 6 then a return ground after the last. Icould have done it but I wanted to avoid some crazy hook up wire on the top row.
any way, I confused you all but here is the pic... No I do not like to run wires on the top of the head sink.
Well connected up the two drivers and tuned them to 750 MA. I wish someone would put instructions for simple stuff like how to take the cover off the meenwell drivers. Broke the clip in one and cracked the clip in the other... for what reason does a manufacturer have 4 screws that hold something on then mold a clip that holds just as strong as the screws...
leeit2me
07/11/2011, 08:50 PM
Nice LED setup. Now I am thinking, I just got my 36 LED DIY items. Should I went with the 48 instead? thought 48 is over kill for a 60 cube. But looking at your setup, makes me wonder if I should've went with the 48.... are you afraid of spotting since your pretty close to the water with that canopy??
Nice LED setup. Now I am thinking, I just got my 36 LED DIY items. Should I went with the 48 instead? thought 48 is over kill for a 60 cube. But looking at your setup, makes me wonder if I should've went with the 48.... are you afraid of spotting since your pretty close to the water with that canopy??
well I went with the 48 for two reasons...Actually 3 reasons...
1) It was suggested I get 36 but I like my lights whiter for viewing so I wanted a 2:1 White/Blue ratio. The ext set of blues was kind of a safety since most I have seen are 1:1...
2) I wanted a dimable moon light to run on the moon phase settings on my Apex. That second set of blues kills two birds with one stone...Yes 12 Royal blues is a lot for a moon light but I can run them at some low percentage...
3)the 36 LED's with the heat sink, shipping and such was something like $385 or so... I forget. The 48 was $410 to my door.
I am not worried about spotting because I am running no optics. Just a plexi splash shield. I may run optics on the outer ring but I will need to get my hands on a PAR meter before I start tweaking.
The only thing I am disappointed about is the apex does not give you any adjust-ability from the display or without reprogramming it from your PC then reprogramming it again and again. I don't know why they did not put a menu for tweaking the variable ports.
Well I built the drip pan for inside the stand today... It has a 12.5 gallon capacity but with the sump and the reservoir it is probably 1/3rd of that. Just in case any plumbing drips or when I power loss test my sumps capacity I can contain the overflow.
It was impossible to build and then install so I had to build it right in the stand. Unfortunately there is no way to leak test it without risking damage to the floor so I will mask it off and silicone the joints tomorrow, just in case.
I had a bunch of acrylic laying around but nothing was wide enough. I had to butt joint two pieces. The white paint camouflages any seams and once all the gear is in you cant really see much of it.
All soldered up and tested. I may still run the black returns on the heat sink side but I dont know yet. Need to make another trip for more ss screws to the HD. I am not sure why so many people use non ss screws...
Well statrted the plumbing today. I was going to rip out the overflow and rebuild it because it was a bit....off... but I re-siliconed it and moved on to the plumbing
Oversized the Durso to 1-1/4"
Pics tomorrow...
Well I dry fit the 1 inch drain and 3/4 emergency drain today. The skimmer will be jamed in there quite tight...
I did have one issue where my threaded union is stuck in the bulk head. trying to take it out is tightening the bulk head. I will need to throw the durso in there and have someone hold it tight so I can get my dry fit union out of the bottom...
Yes I know I need to put the vent in the top of the durso... just dry fitting today...
jcolletteiii
07/16/2011, 09:41 PM
Hey, I was thinking about doing a splash guard like that on my drain/skimmer chamber as well. Should really help keep salt buildup on the inside cabinet surfaces down. Is that 1/4" acrylic?
that is but once alc the braces are in place it will cover almost all the fuge. Should help cut down on evaporation as well
Drails are done. return is dry fit...
Well I got the wire duct in place behind the return pipe... word of advice.... dry fit all your pipes then get all your wire duct in place before you glue the pipes...
The only place I can fit my meenwell drivers is under the electronics tray. I can put them under the framing but then I will need to extend all the AC cords on them.
Cant find a good space for the 4 meenwell drivers..... I am thinking under the electronics tray (upside down) like under your sock drawer...
Arkayology
07/20/2011, 09:39 PM
Nice build thread and great info. I am currently building my own 60 cube. I am wondering what type of bulkheads you chose and why? I am trying to decide if threaded or slip is right for my durso pipe and return or not?
madean
07/20/2011, 10:10 PM
Just curious is the electrical up to code next to a water source like that. I remember outlets in a bathroom needed to be gfi protected, but I thought the outlets still needed to be a certain distance away from a water source. Could be wrong, you may only need the gfi protection. Just some food for thought in case anything were to ever happen and an insurance agent needs to get involved.
midTNREEF
07/21/2011, 07:35 AM
Tank looks good check out my 60 cube in the Nano forum! Ultimate Nano
Just curious is the electrical up to code next to a water source like that. I remember outlets in a bathroom needed to be gfi protected, but I thought the outlets still needed to be a certain distance away from a water source. Could be wrong, you may only need the gfi protection. Just some food for thought in case anything were to ever happen and an insurance agent needs to get involved.
Wich water source the RO/DI? or behind the tank? If its behind the tank, this needs to be asked to every signe build thread on fish tanks...Kind of hard to make the pump work without it unless you are running perminant extension cords...
By the RO/DI ... well that is (as all the others) a GFI and the GFI is required when the outlet is within 6 feet of water... It can be right over your bathroom sink without a code issue...
Well I started constructing the electronics drawer. I mounted the apes display and my non controlled power to the front of the drawer. On top of the drawer will be the apex base unit. two EB8 modules (I only have one now) a 4 outlet power strip for the 4 meenwell drivers (so they only take up one outlet on the EB8). I am going to mount the 4 meenwell drivers under the drawer.
This all will keep in neat and tidy...
Well started mounting the electronics today. I still need to make the LED cable from the drivers to the canopy. I also need to install the cable management arm for the back of the electronics drawer...
I hate it when you wind up with an elecrical cord that is about a foot too short. Now I need to make a bunch of little extension cords or cut off the ends and heat shrink on extensions...
light bleeding out of the tank is a bit much. We'll see what it looks like with water...
d0ughb0y
07/31/2011, 10:22 PM
Is that container in right rear for ATO? How many gallons? What is the dimension? Where did you get it?
7 gallons made by ace roto mold and sold at tank depot (I think). I dont have the dimentions on hand but it is about 10 wide by 14 deep (about), The dimentions are on the web site. Much better than a 5 gallon bucket...
TjwBlake
08/01/2011, 07:52 AM
Awesome work.
This sits as one of my favorite tank setups so far. The planning in the cabinet is great.
Thanks, the planning is the key because you get excited to put in a new toy but that gets in the way of something else... It has been 3 months so far and I cant get ahead of myself. All the cabling is the absolute last thing to do because that tray saves space but it gets in the way of moving the reservior in and out or getting to the plumbing...
Well we all know those suction cups never last. They also dont stick to cheap acrylic (that I used for my baffles...1/4 inch but cheap none the less). Also it is hard to fit a 150w heater in a 20 gallon high fuge. So I made an acrylic mount that I attached the factory heater clip to. It holds the heater diaganally on the baffle and is welded to the baffle so it is not going anywhere...
well cut the egg crate for the bottom of the tank, the skimmer table and also made a splash guard for the return side of the fuge...
I am really going to be mad if I need to raise or lower the skimmer much... it is so darn tight un a 60g cube. it will make a real mess if I put water in it. Guess I need to at some point
Well, I cranked out a splash guard for the LED fixture. I got all thee wiring done so I can quich disconnect it for maintenance... All I have left on the hood is the hinge and the rear canopy fan...
Modified the stock JBJ snail guards.... Not quite sure what size snails they were trying to stop with those. probably snails the size of walnuts
I am officially over budget. I have $200 more to but before I can put water in it and I am already $52 past my $2500 budget
Well i replaced those junk snail guards on the JBJ ATO Floates. Fabricated a better bracket and tested. I have it in what I call 'Mode C" with the top float reversed so it acts as a shut off for high water...
Ordered the dry rock today from BRS...40 pounds of reef saver and 20 pounds of branch. My plan is to put the reef saver on top of the branch to allow for water flow. I told them what I wanted to do and took their recommendations. I will post some photos of what they sent me...
creefer01
08/17/2011, 07:53 PM
Great build!
I received my order from BRS... 20 pounds of branch and 40 pounds of Reefsaver. I will post some pics when I get it all layed out and washed...
I will be stacking the reefsaver on top of the branch to allow for water flow. A quick 5 minute set up on my kitchen floor looked pretty good. But if I was ordering it all over again, I would recommend a 50/50 ratio as 40 pounds of reefsaver is huge and will be hard to stack on top of the branch. I will likely be putting some in the fuge as I have enough to almost fill the tank to touch all the sides...
well got the canopy finished and the branch rock... Now I neesd some sand before I add the reefsaver....going to need to epoxy to stop any avalanches
Well, I got the aquascaping done. 20 pounds of branch rock, 30 pounds of aragonite and about 35 pounds of Reefsaver rock. gave them a cave with a few small back doors. a few small shelves. I have a empty area in the back bottom, I am going to point a circulation pump at it... With the rock lifted up by the branch rock, I am hoping for some good flow...
4 tubes of JB water weld...
Spicer
09/04/2011, 06:19 PM
Well, I got the aquascaping done. 20 pounds of branch rock, 30 pounds of aragonite and about 35 pounds of Reefsaver rock. gave them a cave with a few small back doors. a few small shelves. I have a empty area in the back bottom, I am going to point a circulation pump at it... With the rock lifted up by the branch rock, I am hoping for some good flow...
4 tubes of JB water weld...
Wow that looks great!
Nice!
Well, I got am MP10 powerhead yesterday to place on the side of the tank blowing through the hole on the rocks or through the branch ruck undernieth. I need to see how bad of a sand storm I get for final placement... I am not sure how close I can get to the sand with it blowing into the rock. I see most videos showing the send blowing away after it hits the far glass and blows down...
ktkreegs
09/28/2011, 08:05 AM
any updates? I'm getting a lot of ideas from this build.
Thanks
I have been away at work for the past month but I will have some more pics up soom. Should be getting it whet next week.
I got my BRS GFO Reactor and Two Little Fishes kalk reactor, LED Spray, Circulation pumps and I am finishing my electrical. All going in this weekend...
Was drilling a hole in my electronics drawer and I hit the DC power cable on my meanwell driver...
Luckily it was fixable...
Well I am truing to finish up the ATO and electrical today. The electronics tray pulls out and lays down with no disconnections...
I got my RO/DI relay installed and all leak tested...
two little fishes kalk reactor is in as well. I dont like the little rubber elbows it comes with... Gonna need to replace those sooner or later.
I am adding RO/DI water today..... With water in the tank my brother can no longer ask if it is one of those games with a crane and a bunch of stuffed animals...
Here is a pic with the electronics tray removed for maintenance. I am going to add a second DC8 but I am having second thoughts with putting it on the tray. the bundle of cable right now is hige. most of the power cords ebd up being about 2-3 feet too short. I wish everything for your tank would just come with a 10 or 12 foot cord that you can just shorten to length...Why anyone makes a largepump or a large heater with a 6' cord is beyond me. large tanks use these large items and if it is too short on my small 60g, I can imagine how short it will be on a 120...
almost hald way into the DT of water after 8 .5 hours... By the time I wake up, my DT should be filled and the sump should be on its way...
There is also a shot of the underside of the electronics tray. I covered the screw tweminals for the light fixture with some textured plexi...
Well, up and running for about 5 days now.. no leaks... Amonia is even starting to come up (a piece of blue fish from my last fishing trip took care of that)
Not crystal clear yet. I was going to run some carbon in my reactor to see if that clears it up...
Testing my kalk reactor now. Just in case i screw it up, there is no live stock to kill. It runs off my ato at one minute every two hours for the afternoon. Anything more than a minute and the kalk in the reactor clouds up to the top... It does bring my PH from about 7.90 to 8.10...
Well, my ammonia went up to 1.0 and is holding...
My testing with the kalk reactor went well but as I have no live stick or anything to lower my PH it is not going through the roof the past couple of days... Up to 9.5 today It is like my tank is too clean. My skimmer is not foaming either...I am bypassing my kalk reactor for a few days or until I get some like stock in there...
I did a chemical PH test and it was a tad lower but not much.
I think I need a heavier ghost feeding schedule...
Well I removed the filter sock. I hadit in place to catch all the dust from the rock and gravel. Imediately after removing it the tank was overcome by microbubbles. Also my skimmer stopped foaming...
I made several attempts to fix the microbubbles. I adjusted down the drain and they go away but the level in the DT goes all the way up and trickles down the emergency overflow. Thats not gonna work...
Si I added a sump grenade to force all the bubbles up. the problem is the water shoots out the top and comes crashing down into the sump and does nothing. I cant put it any deeper into the sump because I just do not have the room in sump because the skimmer pump is in the way...
I added some rubble between the baffles and that reduced them. I am hoping that once I add some cheato that they will be gone enough...
So the skimmer stopped foaming... strange... so I placed the sock back in and it startes to foam again.... I am thinking the sock is holding on to all the junk. thus dirtying up the water and giving me foam. So I turned off the skimmer to keep that junk (fish flakes from ghost feeding) in the system to get the ammonia to spike. Oddly enough my ammonia is starting to go down. after only 12 days, that sounds a bit fast...
speaking of ammonia, I have one of those ammo alerts with the suction cup. It has been at .050 ppm when my test kit shows me spiking at 1.0ppm. Not sure why the big difference... Now my test kit is coming down to about .75ppm and the ammo alert is down to .025ppm. I think I need to bunp up the ghost feeding. This sounds way to fast for my ammonia to come down...
Nammy
10/17/2011, 03:52 PM
Nice build
Arkayology
10/17/2011, 04:03 PM
If you want to speed up the cycle, you should try out a bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only. I hear it works well and you can add livestock right away.
A shot of the sump with my rotting shrimp.... Ammonia is coming down now. Nitrites are going up....
Another shot of all the junk under the stand.... I recomend a stand with an internal dimension of 24X24 when doing a 60g cube. The stock stands are way too tight.
Well Ammo is now at zero. Waiting for Nitrites to come down so I can deploy the cleaning crew...
Nitrites finally coming down... almost there...
Great job man. Very nice build. I like how you squeezed everything in there so neat.
I bought the Cadlights Cube too. I also am working on a diy led build. I think the optics will help contain the light a lot better. Hope I can get it to look so clean looking as yours. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
Great job man. Very nice build. I like how you squeezed everything in there so neat.
I bought the Cadlights Cube too. I also am working on a diy led build. I think the optics will help contain the light a lot better. Hope I can get it to look so clean looking as yours. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
Thanks... Careful planning and instaling the gear in the right order is the key. The only thing that is really not accessable is the holding tank. So if that pump goes bad I need to remove alot.
Yes, I was told by Bill at reeflights.com to not use optics, but I think I am gonna get some. at least for the outer perimeter of LED's
VoiceInTheDeser
11/04/2011, 07:42 PM
I've not seen such a compact, yet neat setup before. Very cool build.
I've not seen such a compact, yet neat setup before. Very cool build.
Thanks... Ideas on RC threads helped...
everything I put in the tank hides....chromis...wrasses...
Mr.Tan
11/09/2011, 08:58 AM
great build thread and nice looking tank!
How long have the chromis and wrasse been in the tank? I had two green chromis, they hid for the first day or two but then once they were comfortable they were out swimming around, mostly stuck towards the top region of the tank. The wrasse I had was very scared all the time, he was always hiding.
great build thread and nice looking tank!
How long have the chromis and wrasse been in the tank? I had two green chromis, they hid for the first day or two but then once they were comfortable they were out swimming around, mostly stuck towards the top region of the tank. The wrasse I had was very scared all the time, he was always hiding.
The chromis were friendly in the QT until they started dropping like flies... The last two were afraid of each other. They have been in the tank for a week now. The one hides up at the top back nose down and all discolored but comes out to feed and his colors correct in a few seconds...
The other one hid hard for a day. He now associates me with food so he hides in the main cave and comes out when he sees me (kind of).
The wrasse i got yesterday and haven't seen him since. I have read several threads in other forums where people said they hid for the first 3 days to a week before they came out.
He was the most social in the tank at the LFS... go figure. In a week I will declare him $22 crab food.
Well put my firts corals in today (frogspawn, GSP and eagle eye). 55 days old and all the parameters thatshould be zero are zero... Calcium and akl are perfect.
Cheato wont grow with zero nitrates but we should all have that complaint. Bought a RSM Pro Nitrate kit just to be sure I was not getting bogus readings...
Tons of pods but I noticed two isopods. Not sure of they are the harmful kind or not. I see them both day and night. I am told the band kind of isopod will only come out at night...
Well, its been 60 days. Everything is good as far as parameters go. I did have high alk for a while.
No coraline yet...strange because it is growing on the seed rock. I did a bunch of scraping a month ago...
I need to expand the cleaning crew though. The 4 hermits and 3 turbos are not keeping up... just a few patches of slimy alge hear and there and some on the sand... I am gonna expand the crew today. Probably an emerald crab and a few smaller snails...
I bought a Gama 15w UV Sterilizer on ebay cheap... I may hook it up tucked inside the back of the canopy and put it on the apex to run it on a schedule...
The Punisher
12/16/2011, 08:19 PM
Great looking build so far. Can't wait to see this one mature.
need to taim this brown HA problem if I am going to get any coraline to grow
Tank at 3 months
http://youtu.be/mwrzWLuE1-w
Well here is a video of the rock work. Basically 3 pieces of BRS eco rock on a bed of branch rock... Then 3 pices on top with a tennis ball size hole on all 3 sides...I gets pretty good flow all the way through...
http://youtu.be/KEwzQt85pVk
Well I am questioning my use of no optics. When I go to the LFS their tanks do not looked as washed out as mine does. I think the wide spread of light is lighting up too much of the glass and the black back and kind of washing it all out. Mi actual LED's are only about 4" above the water protected with a plaxi splach screen. Should I go with the 60 degree optics?
benjc
12/27/2011, 10:55 PM
Great build. I'm in the process of a 60 cube and I wish I could get my stand that well setup. I feel like I have half the amount of stuff going in and it is still taking just as much space.
Thats why I made my stand with interior size of 24X24 and went a few inches taller than stock... I need to fit more $h!t in a 5 pound bag...
My Dispar Anthis and my Hair Algae.... Second dose of Algaefix marine today...
http://youtu.be/D2bELP-JmgQ
well my Anthis bit the dust... Not sure why...
Spent all his 2 weeks in the DT hiding so he was probably stressed...
Here is the latest video showing the whole system
http://youtu.be/mTxsFCJlen0
ReeVo
01/06/2012, 07:52 PM
What was your average temp of your DT?
Those Anthias dont like anything 78 and above. They do best in 76-77 degree water.
They also have to fed like 4-5 times a day.
What was your average temp of your DT?
Those Anthias dont like anything 78 and above. They do best in 76-77 degree water.
They also have to fed like 4-5 times a day.
good to know...78 stable...
I fed him twice a day...
ReeVo
01/06/2012, 09:43 PM
good to know...78 stable...
I fed him twice a day...
It most likely died due to stress.
78 is too warm for him.
feeding twice a day could also be the cause but the temp is what probably did it.
What were you feeding?
If you are to get another one, anthias go crazy for cyclop-eeze.
I use this one all the time and they go knuts.
If you could find this at your LFS, get it. Great food for corals too.
This is the only site i know that sells it. Very hard food to find but it's great.
http://www.baysidecorals.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=91
big cats
01/07/2012, 03:26 AM
If you are still wondering about the optics for your LED's...
If you plan on keeping them that high off the water still then I would go with the 80* optics. This will spread the coverage of the light without getting any spotlighting. Most people usually run them at least 8" off the water, but under a canopy you can only do so much..I'm gonna have mine about 8", I will get some pics and send them your way if you would like for reference?
It's really a nice tank! Cool to watch it all come together.
If you are still wondering about the optics for your LED's...
If you plan on keeping them that high off the water still then I would go with the 80* optics. This will spread the coverage of the light without getting any spotlighting. Most people usually run them at least 8" off the water, but under a canopy you can only do so much..I'm gonna have mine about 8", I will get some pics and send them your way if you would like for reference?
It's really a nice tank! Cool to watch it all come together.
Thanks, I agree and I already ordered the 80 degree optics.
After 100 days I finally have the first site of colaline on the back of the tank...Now that I got my algae under control, maybe I can get some on the rocks
Snootch
01/14/2012, 01:06 PM
I found the Cyclop-Eeze Frozen bar that ReeVo recommended 2 posts up in one of my LFS the other day. Bought a bar to try and my fish go nuts for it as well.
MHG, awesome woodworking skills. I gotta give ebonising a try on my next stand.
It looks great but the process seems a little complicated.
KC
BTW. my LFS sells it $5 cheaper than the webside in your link.:fun4:
Not too complicated but woth it. I did notice that my favorite finish chips off the ebonized finish on the corners pretty easy... Probably need a light sanding with a scotchbright pad before I apply the clear...
Well I just ordered some more lighting. I will post some pics when I get it built.
The new optics are causing shadows in the front of the rock work so I ordered the following to install across the front of the canopy.
18X1 Heat Sink
4 RB XP-E with 80 degree optics
2 CW XP-E with 80 degree optics
3 Violet 420nm 3 watt LED's (No optics)
I should be able to eliminate the shadow accross the front and provide some 420nm for the clam I am getting.
Well here it is 5 months later. Only a few more frags. Still light acclimating them so they are all on the bottom...
Well 6 months later and I finally have a PAR meter to use. After taking reading, I have one suggestion to anyone building a tank with anything custom about the lighting (DIY LED, Low Profile Canopy, Mixing LED's and MH or T5's) Get a PAR Meter before you put anything in the tank (Except water)
I recently cut back to 36 LED's in the main unit (24 RB's and 12 CW's). I turned off 12 Cool Whites. Good thing I did because I have no issues reaching 500 PAR on the top of my rock pile... Thats at 70%...
I do have 9 LED running across the front (3 UV, 3 RB and 3 CW) to fill in some of the shadows cause by the rock work and the 80 degree optics...
I will post a photo when I have time to put one together...
Right now I am running at 45% and I am getting 250 at the top of the pile and between 50 and 125 on the sand bed...
Too bad in the 6 months I cooked all the coraline off my seed rocks... It is finally coming back...
You are right about the 2 pole breaker...
Well I figured out the coupling from the metric to US for the reef octopus skimmer...
A "no hub coupler" from lowes and just stretch the rubber over the gate valve and the T fitting...
Well I am getting rid of this.... I think it leaching something into the water....to this day I have very very little growth in anything except my green birds nest. :headwally:
Some frags I picked up at the club meeting Friday (front row). Other than the red millie on the right, ORA Purple Stylo in the back left, Rose mille next to that (more like a brown milli) I dont know what the rest are... Some purple acro with brown polyps, some peach and purpla acro, some acro that looks like a stalk of banannas and some other blue acro...
The 4 in the front are spectacular so I am gonna place them arounf the front and top. The other less colorful ones will go in the back.
I have way too much rock... Oh well in 5 years I can do an upgrade when I move...
http://images.myreefstats.com/4925_4949.png[/URL]
hmmmm. Tries the reefstats.com but it displays temp as red at 78 degrees. it shows density even theough I unchecked the box... Go figure...
So I have been using Pohls XTRA Special for two weeks as well as their Coral Vitalizer. Three of my unknown acros ( all from the same colony) have changed from brown to now having green highlights... My frogspawn is also turning more green....no other changes....
Well no updated photos as my growth has been slow... I did go away for work for two weeks and while I am away snails knocked 4 frags off my shelf now laying face down in the sand and I can see them on my web cam but powerless to do anything.... Guess I will have some dead frags when I return....
Well no updated photos as my growth has been slow... I did go away for work for two weeks and while I am away snails knocked 4 frags off my shelf now laying face down in the sand and I can see them on my web cam but powerless to do anything.... Guess I will have some dead frags when I return....
neuro
10/15/2012, 05:53 PM
Can you comment on the exact lighting setup you're using now? It'd be great to post a pic too of your canopy innards (if you are willing).
I'm setting up a 60 gallon cube also, and am unsure how many leds i'll need, and what colors to achieve what you're getting, and lastly at what height i'll need it at.
great looking setup!
oh and lastly, what are your water change schedule & amounts? do you consider the sump you're using big enough?
Can you comment on the exact lighting setup you're using now? It'd be great to post a pic too of your canopy innards (if you are willing).
I'm setting up a 60 gallon cube also, and am unsure how many leds i'll need, and what colors to achieve what you're getting, and lastly at what height i'll need it at.
great looking setup!
oh and lastly, what are your water change schedule & amounts? do you consider the sump you're using big enough?
Here are the shots of under the canopy...http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19024154&postcount=39
I have a 48 led kit but it was cooking the top of the reef. Turned off one section and now I run 36 led"s giving me 500 PAR at the top of the rock work at about 70% (B2:W1 ratio). However if I did it all again, I woud do 1" heat sink bars rather than the big block in the center. If I did that I could probably use all 48 led"s and have 3 units spread more evenly over the top...
I do a 10% once a month but I am upping that to twice a month...
With the load I have and running biopellets the size sump is no problem....
Some New Acquisitions
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xzqG_Ch30nQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As I am not going to do the full 6 week qt thing (water changes every 2 days and the hole process is way too stressful for my taste) my first fish went into the DT two days ago. He looked great and was eating well. My lawn mower blenny "the rock" made the transition well. After two days he began mowing...
Today it is my 6 line wrasses turn....of course as I was netting him my lyretail got mad that the Midas blenny took his hiding place and attacked... I can't see any bight marks but it sure look like he got him... So I guess the Midas will be last to make sure he is not injured... "f"in 49 dollar fish.....
Sweet... My lyretail is taking to pellets......it took a few days
So My Male Lyretail is a complete bully... He scared my Midas Blenny and my 6 line into my overflow... well that was an hour of my life I will never get back... So I made this cover to stop this. Although with my luck they will jump up there and dry up before they get into the water...
The latest video at 1 year 62 days...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B-TiizwRMJo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So most of my frags were stuck in existing holes.... Some were pretty close to each other. Only 2 or 3 inches apart. I think I need to split them up now as they will eventually start to battle.... Since I have had such horrible luck with growth I nd a few with color issues I hate to move the ones that are looking good. My "rainbows in Spain" is at the top and can be moved without too much concerns over lighting issues but I would need to cut the base off the plug....that's a bit more handling than I like....
Well I put the kalk back online today and stopped the alk.... My ph has been slowly dropping as we are into the winter with everything closed.... I stopped the alk because when I dose bothy alk shoots up. I wanted to see where it goes with the kalk first and then re-adjust the alk dose later....
My blue tinius has stopped PE .... Not sure why... Been that way for a week....too bad. It's one of my favorite....
So I removed the light fixture today to get better access for cleaning and noticed one LED had melted the lense... The LED still functions fine..... crazy....
Kawi9_cf
02/03/2013, 01:23 PM
Good looking setup. Where did you get that container for your ato and how much does it hold I really like it.
Good looking setup. Where did you get that container for your ato and how much does it hold I really like it.
Thanks...The container is an "ace roto mold" container. It is 7 gallons. and you can get it online at many places....
The Latest Video...
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T2WPM8IXiMw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Kawi9_cf
02/07/2013, 08:00 AM
Looking really good :thumbsup:
Kawi9_cf
02/07/2013, 08:12 AM
Is that 2 mp10's that you went with or 2 40s?
Bought a Crocea clam on a huge shelf rock with some zoas and palys.... Unfortunately the clam fell off the rock in transit. Only left a few threads behind so I hope he makes it...
Is that 2 mp10's that you went with or 2 40s?
Two MP10's on the back wall. Can not justify twpo mp40 that cost more than the tank (each)...
I would like to get more flow so I may add a third...
Shallow Planet
02/09/2013, 03:28 PM
I had a 60 cube with 2 MP10s and it was more then enough flow. I had to turn them down in order to not blow sand everwhere.
I have the large aragonite and it almost never moves...
Bought a Crocea clam on a huge shelf rock with some zoas and palys.... Unfortunately the clam fell off the rock in transit. Only left a few threads behind so I hope he makes it...
I really hate white balancing reef photos... They never come out right for me. I had been a pro photographer for years and have used wb adjustments often. Can get these right and I hate it...
Kawi9_cf
02/11/2013, 09:37 AM
Two MP10's on the back wall. Can not justify twpo mp40 that cost more than the tank (each)...
I would like to get more flow so I may add a third...
Cool thank you. Hopefully I can eventually upgrade to the vortechs.
bikeboss11
02/12/2013, 08:59 AM
Great build man, my next build is going to be a cube for sure.... Also what kind of camera are you using to video tape it
Well the clam has attached himself. I can see his foot and some strands under him with a flashlight so I guess he is happy where he is at....he was leaning against my blue tinius so I went to rotate him slightly and he felt heavy. Looked under him with a flash light and you can see where he is attached. It is pretty cool...
ChrisOaty
02/15/2013, 06:46 PM
Sweet build, I love cubes. My dream tank is a 360 degree viewable, center overflow cube (maybe 36 or 48" all the way around). Good growth pics, everything looks nice and healthy, I'm sure the clam will like its new home.
Well today I finally have some detectable nitrates... I know is he crazy?... I am at .50 and my corals are looking better than ever. Gonna try to keep them around that level to see if I get some better growth. I do like not having to worry about my alk as much as when my nitrates were zero... 6 months ago if my alk went up for any reason RTN would take a bunch of frags...
I have also been vacuuming my sand for about 3 weeks and it may have been trapping and leaching some phosphates. Because my frags have responded well to that as well...
Some Updates Photos. Growth is slow but color is good...
Arkayology
05/15/2013, 11:38 AM
You are getting some awesome colors out of that acro!
Thanks... My palmers blue Millie and Jesus stag are still almost white. But finally growing....overall this high end stuff grows crazy slow...
The new Frag Tank has arrived...
Got the frag system set up and running.... ATO and skimmer are online.
An updated FTS and two new frags. Avengers and a Bottlebrush
The white balance is not perfect but the colors are not that far off...They are crazy from the top down...
FishSticks86
06/27/2013, 12:22 PM
Where you get the frag tank from? I've been looking for something similar.
Nice build btw!
Where you get the frag tank from? I've been looking for something similar.
Nice build btw!
Acrylic Creations on ebay...
Added a Neptune Apex WXM and VDM Module... I needed the VDM because I am at 5 Channels on my LED's. But it was cheap enough so not a big deal. I love the WXM Some folks say it is a huge waste because all it does is sets the mode of your Ecosmart pumps (Vortech MP10,40 and 60's). But it does a bit more.
First the MP10 has an issue with the long pulse mode. Weather that issue is I am an idiot and cant figure it out, or it is just too complicated, I can not get any of my pumps to do a 5 second pulse. Well with the WXM it is a few clicks of the mouse, tell it at what percentage and time of day and you are good to go.
The best feature with the WXM is you can change modes at different times of days. I personally hate most of the ecotech modes, but with this flexibility I can get it a little closer to reality. many people like the wave motion but I spend a lot of time on the ocean and I can say most waves have a period of about 5-7 seconds. Not 1 second. So I set mine for an antisync 5 second pulse most of the day, an short pulse at a lower power in the early morning and late afternoon, and a gently low power reefcrest mode at night.
After about 3 days of this my Alk and calc dropped drastically. It took me a couple of weeks to get it right but I am now dosing twice as much every day to maintain 8-9 DKH. Growth is much more noticeable. So my corals must love it as well.
The only thing I wish the WXM did was not just simply set the mode and power but rather have direct control over the power head so you can ramp up and down into a pulse at a custom rate. I am sure it is more a function of the MP10 and not the WXM that would allow this, but I think you can really create a lifelike rhythm...
texasreefguy
07/21/2013, 06:17 PM
What size is the sump area in width and also what brand and size is the skimmer in the sump area ? How did you set it up can you post a pic
The frag tank is just shy of 30 gallons. They were supposed to Give me 24x24x12 but gave me only 10 inches high. They made it right in the end so I am happy... The rear chamber is 5 inches from front to back. The skimmer chamber is 8 inches wide. He will make whatever you want...
YoungREEFA
07/21/2013, 08:44 PM
When you take these photos what intensity are your leds at
I run my 12uv, 24royal Ble, and 12 cool whites at 50% which gives me about 380-400 par on the top of the rock work... I also have a supplemental fixture around the edge of the tank that I run a 70% to get some light in the shadows...
YoungREEFA
07/22/2013, 08:12 PM
Do the uv help color up all the corals? Thats alot of uv it seems like
I like it...The corals like it...
Also the drivers I already Had in place need to do at least 9 led's...I was replacing an un used set of 12 whites... I runthem at50%
YoungREEFA
07/27/2013, 07:03 PM
So you now only run 3 uvs?
17 uv's... Need to change my signature
mallard
07/28/2013, 10:25 PM
Wow, great build. Can you point me to any threads about the techniques you used to finish your stand? I really want to take some of your ideas and incorporate it into my upcoming build.
FISHUNT-72
07/29/2013, 05:56 AM
This is from the beginning of this thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1997493
FISHUNT-72
07/29/2013, 06:03 AM
One of the things with CADlights tanks is the smaller hole will only for a 1/2 inch bulk head (loosely). I bought a $9 diamond grinding bit on ebay and it took all but 10 minuted to make the hole 1mm bigger to accommodate the 3/4 inch bulk head...
I have the 1st generation Artisan 50,been sitting in the box for a few years. I'm going to run a Herbie drain and want to enlarge the existing return for my emergency drain.When you did yours,did you use water or just grind it dry?
Wow, great build. Can you point me to any threads about the techniques you used to finish your stand? I really want to take some of your ideas and incorporate it into my upcoming build.The build thread for the stand is in the first post. Basically wet it all down with tannic acid and let it dry. Then wet it down with the vinegar that you let steel wool rust in for a day or two. Turns the wood black. Apply a little black stain to get it really black and you are ready to clear coat it. Just black stain by itself only makes it grey...
I have the 1st generation Artisan 50,been sitting in the box for a few years. I'm going to run a Herbie drain and want to enlarge the existing return for my emergency drain.When you did yours,did you use water or just grind it dry?
I only needed to grind away 1mm so I was just dipping the grinding wheel into a glass or water every so often...Worked like sand paper on wood... goes fast. But any larger than 1mm I don't know...
Purple Stylo after about a year and a half..
http://youtu.be/5MnBqk4D_So
Purple Stylo after about a year and a half..
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YoungREEFA
07/30/2013, 07:30 AM
On post 171 what is the 2nd picture of? The aqua blue sps
Hawkins Enchinata.... Finally encrusting... slooooow grower...
bob1435
08/01/2013, 06:31 AM
What crazy attention to detail.... Some day this tank should be a TOTM...
gmyers0203
08/03/2013, 07:25 AM
Beautiful tank! And cord management!
You know I am finally getting to the point where I need to frag to keep things from touching.... Sometimes they do battle and sometimes they don't. Unfortunately if this growth keeps up the RC MODS will slow down my ability to sell. Well I guess we should all have that problem... I can always donate them to the club to sell. But its nice to supplement the hobby...
Biggest contributors to my growth was keeping the nitrates in the detectable level and putting my MP10's on a 5 second anti sync long pulse mode...
Since them I am fragging about once every two weeks...
Maybe time to do a new video...
YoungREEFA
08/11/2013, 04:48 PM
Yes FTS video pleaseeeeeeeeee
Here ya go...
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2FMTQNrNbZ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I love going away for w week ang looking at my tank for the first time....I think my growth is finally on track...
Took the top off for some maintenance... Here is a top down sun light shot. Sorry it is a little out of focus. Too dark in the room...
tombone86
10/19/2013, 10:42 PM
Thays cool I also have a 60 vube that I just got done with. Im looking forward to getting corals soon.
Love the cube. Wish it was way bigger though...
blackchicken
10/31/2013, 06:21 PM
Hehe bigger, as always :beer: beautiful setup and nice sps growt. Good luck.
My frag system has Dino. Time to try the process i used when my DT had it....
Chemi clean
Manual cleaning
Carbon
Dosing Pohls coral snow with mb7 daily...
Worked like a charm on my DT...
Day three of the Dino battle. Big water change, manual cleaning, added carbon and started coral snow/ mb7 treatments last night... Looks good so far....
Well avoided a disaster today. Alk ran out and was at 4.... Thank god no RTN. Anyway, getting the alk back on track and decided to pause for some pics...
mr9iron
11/24/2013, 06:08 AM
This is a sweet looking tank and is giving me lots of ideas for my next build. I just looked at a 60 cube yesterday.
This is a sweet looking tank and is giving me lots of ideas for my next build. I just looked at a 60 cube yesterday.
Thanks... love the 60 cube. Two suggestions to all who want one. Put most of the rock in the sump because there is no room with all this rock I the DT... Also make the stand wider to accommodate more junk. My stand holds a 20 high...
Video Update...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4qEh_qxDSfA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Day three of the Dino battle. Big water change, manual cleaning, added carbon and started coral snow/ mb7 treatments last night... Looks good so far....
No more Dino. Worked like a charm...
So my APEX has been having issues. Anyone who has seen my tank knows I am a "control freak" and it runs everything. It has been locking up but in a false state of 18 degrees and 2.6 PH... and of course just before it locks up the heater outlet turns on. It will do this 5 times a day of one every 5 days or somewhere in between. Whatever it wants...
So after looking at the log files Neptune Systems wants it to come in. Now they have great great customer service and were even communicating with me on weekend... But the one thing they don't have is an advance replacement program. They will discount the purchase of a new base unit so I opted for that. The only down side is waiting. Apparently they use UPS rather than USPS priority so it is taking a week to get it rather than 3 days to get it... I am guessing UPS gives them a huge discount.
So I reprogram some outlets to remain "ON" when they lose contact with the base unit. My heater (and chiller in case the heaters go nuts), my lights and my skimmer. I cant do the same with my BRS Dosers so that sucks. But last night I turned my skimmer off before I went to bed and dosed reefbooster. Well in the middle of the night the system crashed and the skimmer turned on. Anyone who uses reefbooster knows it will overflow your skimmer. And overflow it did... No alarms because the unit was locked up...
So now I am laughing at all the people who said why put a tub in the bottom of your stand "how much can that possibly hold" they said. Well I will tell you... It will hold an inch of skimate...And thank god it did. So this morning I am in there cleaning this out and drying it up. Thank god the ATO did not dilute the salinity...
mr9iron
11/24/2013, 09:58 AM
Absolutely stunning. Could you post an updated video of your sump? Also, any thing to make the sump easier/more functional?
Absolutely stunning. Could you post an updated video of your sump? Also, any thing to make the sump easier/more functional?
I will once I clean up from my disaster last night....
Easier in a 60 cube stand? I don't think so. Everything is a pain under the tank. Just installing my new PH probe is gonna take an hour...
I always said that if I have great success with this tank I will build a sump room (well, sump closet) in the basement under the tank. I pre ran all the plumbing when I built the tank. But that's a whole different ball game when it comes to pumps that can handle the head height loss. I also did not run any tubing for my emergency over flow.
Since the $$$ to do this are considerable, I want to wait until both me and my wife feel it is worth the investment.
MontyJack
11/24/2013, 11:27 AM
No more Dino. Worked like a charm...
Still like following this threat. Good job bro.
So the replacent apex head unit is installed. Had a few issues but Neptune was able to remote in and take care of it all in like 50 seconds... Upgraded to the latest firmware with the slider controls on the variable ports... Nice...... I will sleep better tonight...
mr9iron
11/26/2013, 05:16 PM
Thanks... love the 60 cube. Two suggestions to all who want one. Put most of the rock in the sump because there is no room with all this rock I the DT... Also make the stand wider to accommodate more junk. My stand holds a 20 high...
How much wider would you go? I can't remember the dimensions of your stand right off hand.
How much wider would you go? I can't remember the dimensions of your stand right off hand.I made the inside dimensions 24X24 so I can fit a 20H sump in there. It does not sound like much but it is a bunch of room compared to the stock stands...
The latest Acquisition. A juvenile Kole tang. Right now after 3 hours of acclimation he is in the frag system for observation. It tool 3 hours because the LFS runs their salinity at 117... He is eating right away the prepared foods I feed to my clown and immediately started grazing. I did notice a few bumps on him. Not sure if they are parasites of not. I will try to get some pics...
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mr9iron
11/30/2013, 10:57 PM
I made the inside dimensions 24X24 so I can fit a 20H sump in there. It does not sound like much but it is a bunch of room compared to the stock stands...
Cool, thanks for that. I want to build my stand bigger so that I can fit other equipment like reactors and such in it.
redive
12/01/2013, 11:14 AM
Hi MHG!
Cool thread, man. Very informative and inspiring. I am about to start putting the 2X4s together for a 60 cube stand. One question I have for you is, how high is your stand? ID and OD. Thanks, and I will be following along.
Mark
Thanks... The outside height is 3 feet. The inside is 24X24. Whatever that makes the outside come to I don't recall not did I really care. I just wanted room to fit a 24" sump inside. Those were the only two measurement I cared about. Everything starts with those numbers.
bob1435
01/24/2014, 09:34 AM
Any updates? This is one of my favorite tanks...
sahin
03/17/2014, 06:06 PM
Would love to see updated photos and a top down video (if thats not too much to ask :lol:).
I actually found your Youtube videos and posted on one of them...then decided to search for a build thread. Found it here. :D
You've done amazing work on this build, and you've brought the tank to greatness. :thumbsup:
I've seen you post on various threads but never knew you had such a beautiful tank...guess its been hidden in the DIY forum rather than the SPS forum. :)
Thanks for the kind words.... I had placed it in the DIY section because I was building my own stand, light, canopy and sump and this was not some turn key system bought and put together. I guess I never really started a thread on the sps side. but I probably should. I will get a new video up soon....
A quick video at 2 years 6 months...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1wNoDkaKSeA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
sahin
03/29/2014, 05:45 PM
The video above, and the top down video on your YouTube channel just made my day! :thumbsup:
Your tank is brilliant. I hope one day soon my tank looks half as good as yours. :)
Many thanks for asking the time to record the videos. Post more if you wish. :D
turbo2oh
11/09/2014, 08:54 PM
Great tank, any updates?
Tank is doing poorly and I don't know why. Most sps is dead or dying. Two colonies are growing like weeds. All parameters are stable. Nothing new added in months...
turbo2oh
11/18/2014, 02:32 PM
Tank is doing poorly and I don't know why. Most sps is dead or dying. Two colonies are growing like weeds. All parameters are stable. Nothing new added in months...
That sucks to hear, your tank is a favorite of mine. Any guesses as to what's going on?
kevantheman35
11/18/2014, 05:49 PM
Dang sorry to hear. Your tank is one of my favorite cubes
Thanks guys. I don't know. I have an independent system in the basement but it is not very mature yet. Most of the colonies with issues I think are too stressed to survive in either tank.
Water changes seem to help. But all of a sudden. another one will have burned tips. Some other ones are starting new growth so who knows.
I am guessing some bug I can not see that was dormant for at least 3 months and woke up one day and started eating my acros. My other guess is maybe they just don't like the LED's any more... But that's probably BS because the color is fine, it is just dying.
If I lose all my sps I may redo my rock work and start over. I never liked the aquascaping anyway. Or maybe go all anemones. My RBTA's in my other system keep splitting...
turbo2oh
11/18/2014, 08:57 PM
Hope they recover. If they don't it seems like you can at least take that as a chance to mix things up. Stay positive!
sahin
11/19/2014, 12:30 PM
Thanks guys. I don't know. I have an independent system in the basement but it is not very mature yet. Most of the colonies with issues I think are too stressed to survive in either tank.
Water changes seem to help. But all of a sudden. another one will have burned tips. Some other ones are starting new growth so who knows.
I am guessing some bug I can not see that was dormant for at least 3 months and woke up one day and started eating my acros. My other guess is maybe they just don't like the LED's any more... But that's probably BS because the color is fine, it is just dying.
If I lose all my sps I may redo my rock work and start over. I never liked the aquascaping anyway. Or maybe go all anemones. My RBTA's in my other system keep splitting...
I was having similar issues with random stn. Restarted the tank with new rocks. Lost many corals, but saved some by giving them to friends. Got the survivors back and they are doing alright.
Hope you get the issue sorted out.
well my frag system is maturing nicely and alk intake is increasing. Whenever I move colonies that are half dead they seem to continue dying. I think they might already be too stressed. If my frag system continues to improve I am debating a restart on the DT... but if I never found the issue, I don't know how much success I will have...
Vadafallon
11/25/2014, 12:42 PM
How do you keep the cube looking so clean and crisp with no algae? It just looks so pristine. Do you run a UV light?
Oh its not that crisp looking as far as its inhabitance. I use a mag float cleaner every few days and scrape once a week. The kole tang keeps the algae down on the back wall and overflow pipe and a konch keeps the gravel looking good.
sahin
11/25/2014, 03:30 PM
well my frag system is maturing nicely and alk intake is increasing. Whenever I move colonies that are half dead they seem to continue dying. I think they might already be too stressed. If my frag system continues to improve I am debating a restart on the DT... but if I never found the issue, I don't know how much success I will have...
This is more or less the issue I was having...I suspected my issue was due to someone spraying air freshener near my tank. However, the RTN issues did not start immediately. They took a while...one coral after another...
I sent all my corals to a couple of buddies tanks. Some of the more stressed out stuff died in their tanks. I got some of my nice pieces back...but lost many others.
I chucked all the rocks away. I usually dry out rocks and keep for future use...but with these rocks I just had a bad feeling.
I completely clean my whole system in vinegar and restarted with new rocks and sand and all is well again.
turbo2oh
12/22/2014, 04:12 PM
Still having issues? Do you have a list of your fish stocking?
Yes I am.
Fish
Lyretail an this
Midas blenny
Fire fish
Kole tang
Foxface
6 line
Pair of ocilaris clowns
Here is my 90% sps crash...
sahin
12/23/2014, 01:16 PM
Here is my 90% sps crash...
That sucks so badly. :( I feel for you man. Sorry about all the coral loss.
luckily I have frags of most in my FT downstairs...well maybe not most but several...
sahin
12/24/2014, 09:41 AM
luckily I have frags of most in my FT downstairs...well maybe not most but several...
That's good.
Has the tank now stabilised, or will it require a new set of rock etc?
Don't know yet. Waiting for the last few colonies to be dead for sure before I try some cleaning and re aquascaping... Seems like once they stress out to a point they just don't recover even if I move them to my frag system
sahin
12/25/2014, 01:19 PM
Don't know yet. Waiting for the last few colonies to be dead for sure before I try some cleaning and re aquascaping... Seems like once they stress out to a point they just don't recover even if I move them to my frag system
Thats exactly how mine were...seemed liked some of the acros gave up...even after being put in a couple of buddies systems most of the Acros that looked like they had given up died many weeks later.
The only that lived and I still have today, are mostly the Aquacultured ones; stuff I grew from tiny frags into colonies...these I still have.
Anyway, hope your system recovers. Happy New Year to you. :)
well, I finished the new aquascaping and gravel cleaning. Two pieces of the branch rock were frozen in place, Some brute force was making some noise I did not like. I think it was fused to the egg crate under the sand and lots of the sand solidified. This dictated what I could and could not do with the aquascaping.
905 of the rock in buckets and I broke out my canister vacuum and went to town on the sand. Not too bad. I always had good flow so there were only a few pockets of detritus. Put all but 2 pieces back in the DT and broke up some to put in the sump. Freed up a lot of space in the DT. The fish seem to like it. I will take and post a video in a few days...
One remaining sps colony still looks happy. 90% of my palys are gone. Gonna need a majano wand to get the rest...
Put one of my BTA's in the tank. I had 3 of them in my frag system. Figure I would let him find a home for a week before I put any test frags back in there...
sahin
01/13/2015, 02:01 PM
Look forward to the video. Hope all goes well. :)
renato120
01/14/2015, 09:43 PM
Happy for you that everything working well. Love your kole tang! Lets see the video :)
well here is the latest video. One frag of purple stylo was added to see if it survives. My remaining SPS colony is thriving (Copps Hoek)
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cB_uqgCrFvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
sahin
01/19/2015, 03:50 PM
Not bad at all. Glad the tank is still up. Hope all goes well from here on. :)
major stare
03/09/2015, 04:02 PM
Stunning tank and then a crash. I'm sure you'll be back to a fantastic display very soon.
One question....... how on earth are you managing to keep a kole tang in that cube. Everyone I speak to says I can't do that (and a kole tang is a fish I desperately want)?
Thank you... Kole tangs are typically listed with a minimum tank size of 70 gallons. So 60 gallons is not much of a stretch. He has been there for 3 years now...
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