60G LPS Cube
 

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while since i had a tank, but I finally got back into the hobby this year and have decided to start with a 60G cube and make it all LPS. Here are the pictures so far. I started with a Versa series tank, stand and sump. I am using the Hydra 26 HDs and a Koralia in the back corner for extra water movement. Here are some pics so far:

First Day
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First Coral
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Favorite Coral
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Poor plate that was attacked by some unusually aggressive peppermint shrimp
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Frog that fell off into the sand one night which led to BJD killing off half of it. The remaining half is recovering nicely
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Most recent FTS from all three sides of the cube
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Very nice so far. I'm in a similar boat - away from reefing for a while and starting up a 60gallon cube again very soon. I like the LPS theme and have been thinking of going in that direction.

Your aquascape is cool. I like the cave from the side view!

Thank you very much. I like the cube because there is so much depth to work with from all sides. I tried to make as many caves/holes as I could in the rockwork, and the fish seem to appreciate it. Having an open top, I wanted to minimize the risk of a spooked fish which may jump so I created lots of hiding places.

Good luck on your setup :)

Looking good. The aquascape works well. I've always liked the cubes... maybe I'll do a small one as coral/invert qt tank.

A fellow Utah reefer! What part of Utah? Just curious where you're getting your corals from.

I also like that aquascape. Nice and open.

Thank you both. The aquascape came out pretty well I think. I have over 50% of the sandbed open (lots of it under the rocks) and I know the fish/shrimp like the ability to swim in and out of all the rockwork.

I'm in Sandy, so I get most of my stuff from a new store called Rusty's Reefs. If you are ever down south a bit, you should check it out. The owner is awesome and helpful.

Ah, ok. That's about an hour south of me (Ogden area) so I haven't ventured in yet. When I set up my new system I'll definitely be checking out stores in the SLC area.

Update
 

Here are my most recent photos (took them last week). I've had a few fish deaths and a couple corals died while I was in the hospital, but mostly things have been going well. My current fish list includes a yellow tang, 2 clowns, cleaner wrasse, leopard wrasse, ruby red dragonet, pajama cardinal, banghai cardinal, yellow goby, and a cling fish (so cool).

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4461/...65bcf654_c.jpg
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Things are growing well and I'm pretty happy with how things look especially at the top.
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Top down.
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Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions.

Great tank! It sounds like you were in the hospital. I hope you are feeling better.
I am currently setting up a 60g rimless cube and was wondering what you are using for filtration? Sump? Skimmer?

Thanks. I'm as good as can be after breaking both hips. I have a 20 gallonish sump where I run carbon and grow chaeto. I light it 24/7 and that's it for filtration. I harvest a lot of macro and replace some carbon every 2 weeks or so. I like to keep it simple and feed heavily. I love watching lps eat... more so than the fish.

Wow, one hip is hard, but both. That must have been some serious trauma.
Thanks for the help with the filtration. Hope you don't mind me picking your brain some more in the near future.

And good luck with the recovery.

Yeah it was not fun. Still can't walk but will be able to in a few months. Fingers crossed. I'm always happy to help. Ask anything that comes up as you go

October Update
 

Quick update. I'm excited to share my tank as I've now accumulated nearly 40 different LPS. I went on a bender this month.

Also, these will also be the last of my crappy phone camera pic updates. I just ordered a new camera! Hopefully, I can get some better pictures up soon. Thanks for looking and enjoy!

This is my view from my work desk and is still my favorite even thought its not technically the front of my tank. Go cubes!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...e1a1dffa_c.jpg

I also realized I've not shared any pics of my sump. Its basic, so nothing fancy, but it should be documented.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4449/...532b24fe_c.jpg

Finally, a few of my corals that are doing much better than my last pics. These two acans finally found a spot where my yellow clown goby (aka Hitler) leaves them alone.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4463/...0d2c8058_c.jpg

Side view of top. Anyone know what the orange mouthed coral is in the middle bottom? I think its a leptastrea, but can't be sure as the LFS told me it was something different. Its encrusting, very fuzzy and seems to be growing extremely fast (again sorry for the poor pic quality).
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4444/...8c83d0b3_c.jpg

Scallop and new chalice to the left.
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Back of tank which is my euphyllia area. Since the colors are crap, the back one is a bluish purple short tentacle torch, middle is a standard green with purple tips hammer, and front is my new favorite... gold frogspawn!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...cf8a2da9_c.jpg

New Camera
 

New camera has arrived. I got it yesterday and couldn't resist trying it for a few minutes before lights out (the trick-or-treaters had to be handled by the wife). I did a little bit of editing and realized I have a lot of learning to do, but I like the pictures a lot better than my camera phone mostly because the coloration is much truer to how it looks in person.

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I'm open to all tips/suggestions. I have a D7100 with a 35mm standard and 105mm macro lens. I feel like these are decent images for having the camera for less than a day, but I know I have lots of room for improvement.

Looks sweet!
Really like your rock work. Did a good job avoiding the brick wall landscape.

Thank you. I tried to be unique with my rockwork. Fish love all the hiding spots but I'll never be able to catch any of them

Slowly getting some pics here and there. Here are few I took today.

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Well I've had some corals randomly dying. I may have stocked a bit too much too quickly. So I'm increasing water changes and harvesting more chaeto until things even out. However, I did take a couple of cool pics of my leopard wrasse and a battle between my frogspawn and acan. The frog lost big time, and I'm sure this isn't the last time they tango. Enjoy!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...aea10d7f_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4756/...7a5d36dc_b.jpg

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Hi, I've really enjoyed your thread so far!

I was worried you were stocking too quickly, but it really looks like things are doing great. Water clarity in the latest pictures is noticeably better too. New camera was a great purchase, the macro shots look amazing and that interaction between the frogspawn and the acan is awesome to see. Thanks for sharing!

Do you leave it open or have a top?

Thank you. I think a couple things may have gone too fast and I know better. But, patience has never been my thing. I'm glad you like everything!

I'm a gambler and have left it open top. This has caused me to lose a very pretty wrasse and anthias, but everyone else has been staying in the water.

Beautiful tank. I used to have some of those orange and turquoise scans. Yours are gorgeous!!

I'm just getting a new tank built. I'm planning on a 90g LPS dominant tank.

Ty. I love lps and need to get some updated pics. Lots of changes but still all lps :hmm5: