Cubed, a 60 gallon Experiment
I've been a member of Reef Central since 2004. I have had a total of 3 saltwater tanks. Like many of us, I have been in and out of the hobby since setting up my first tank.
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/.../coralreef.jpg After setting up the 55 gallon, I felt limited by the space and choice of fish. I then decided I was ready for the big leagues and ordered a Oceanic 135 gallon. http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...cember2010.jpg This tank provided many challenges that I and my budget was not ready for. I broke it down once and sold all of the live stock and took a 1 year break from the hobby. I then came up with the idea of a FOWLR tank. I bought all of the supplies I needed and cycled my tank. On my first trip to the LFS I noticed a mushroom rock that I could not live without. The FOWLR tank idea soon vanished and I was hooked again. This tank had 3 halides and 4 VHO with a sump/fuge filtration. While it was a very viable setup I soon became frustrated with the challenge of keeping softies, LPS, and SPS in the same tank. I decided I needed to downsize and stick with one type of coral. I sold everything and started from scratch. This proved to be a pivotal moment for me as my focus had now changed from keeping all of the corals I wanted to designing a system to keep corals I like alive. My first attempt was a 26 gallon bowfront for my softies. http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1174.jpg This tank is still up and running and I am proud to report is flourishing and easily maintained. This brings me to my next and so far most challenging build. I have always loved LPS corals. I decided to build a state of the art tank exclusively for LPS corals. After looking at various sizes I decided on a 24x24x24 cube. Since I was going to build this tank from scratch I decided to take my time and save up for every part I had always wanted. I purchased the cube in February of 2012 and began making a list of wanted equipment. These are my final decisions: Tank : Deep Blue 60 with factory stand Sump: Eshopps R75 Skimmer : Bubble Magus 5.5 Light: 1 AI Sol Blue Return Pump: Tunze 1073.2 Powerhead: Tunze 6055 with 7092 controller Controller: Reefkeeper Lite Other Filtration: 2 Nextreef reactors running carbon and Matrix 45lbs of live rock and 60 lbs of live sand 2 Magrocks |
Here are some pictures of the build:
Lighting mount using LCD monitor mounts attached to a custom backdrop http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1202.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1207.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1211.jpg Custom rock stand using a carbid hole saw and PVC http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/DSC05176.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/DSC05174.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/DSC05175.jpg Skimmer http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1013.jpg Plumbing completed (1st attempt) http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/DSC05179.jpg Manifold for reactors http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/DSC05181.jpg RKL and AI controller mounted on right side of tank backdrop http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_1227-1.jpg |
Live rock in frag tank waiting for water
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1137.jpg Water in tank for the first time http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1241.jpg Live rock added http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1243.jpg |
Plumbing (2nd attempt)
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1341.jpg First coral added http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1314.jpg Acanthastrea http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1325.jpg Lobophyllia http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1326.jpg |
Did water tests today
Ph 8.4 Nitrate 0.5 Phos .02 Mag 1300 Calc 400 Pretty happy with those results as I have been over feeding my two new clowns. I added a small Starburst Anthias today from FAOIS in Oldsmar. I also added a small Wellsophyllia from Eco-reef in Venice. I am very happy with my choice in equipment and my wife is happy that the aquarium is barely audible. |
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great setup so far. I have a cube also and did the same thing with the rock. drilled and stacked. i just like the depth that is gives. I have a sunburst anthia on my future fish list.
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I am happy with the look it gives but I think I should have gone a little shorter as I was only able to get a 7 gallon water change before exposing coral. Not a major deal, just means I'll be doing small more frequent water changes. Thanks for the reply
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Sweet setup you got there cabbage. :thumbsup:
I’m planning to build exact same setup and actually I started a build thread yesterday. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2195757 Can you plz tell me about you equipment list. Especially what is your light system? Are you planning to keep across? Are you happy with your skimmer? I never use Bubble Magus before but I was thinking about going with BM NAC7. But after seeing ya tank I think I also go with 5.5. Let me know about your lights plz. Again it’s a very nice setup you got there... I really like the colour of ya LED. |
Thanks osi, I am using 1 Aquaillumination SOL as my primary source of light. It is rate to cover a 24x24 area but I have notice some downsides with the center pillar and shadowing. This will be ok if I stick to my plan of only LPS and Monipora. The NAC 5.5 is pulling some nasty stuff out of my water. It took a while to break in and I had to put a mousepad under it to reduce the vibration noise but other than that I am very happy with it. Good luck with your setup I'll checkout your build thread
Jack |
Meteor Shower Cyphastrea
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1390.jpg |
Hollywood Stunner Chalice
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1389.jpg |
This is my plan for coral stocking. Any suggestions are welcome
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/POA60gal.jpg |
Does the pump still have enough return power after being split like that? How are you liking the stand? I'm looking into buying the tank/stand like you have but not sure if the stand is tall enough.
What's your noise level with the stock drain pipe? |
U sure the acan can withstand that much light being on top?
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[QUOTE=cabbagehead;20483726]Here are some pictures of the build:
Lighting mount using LCD monitor mounts attached to a custom backdrop Looking good! http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1207.jpg |
Vpham97: If I could change one thing at this point it would have been the stand. The stand really limited my choice of filtration methods. I originally wanted to have a Fuge but due to space constraints I was not able to incorporate that into my sump. I chose a Tunze return pump which is extremely quiet. The flow from the return is reduced significantly from the manifold design but with the 6055 powerhead flow is not a problem. So far the Acans are tolerating the high light well. I only have the AI at 40% and plan to slowly work my way to 80%. Thanks for the response and good luck with your build.
MX175: Thanks, I spent a lot of time troubleshooting the lighting mount. Luckily I have a great LFS with plenty of spare acrylic. |
What great lfs are you working with? Nice setup!!!
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Eco-Reef in Venice is my LFS. They have great customer service and are always willing to help with custom projects. I also visit Epic Reef and Coral Connection in Sarasota.
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Got some new additions at Coral Connection today
http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1409.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1410.jpg http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1411.jpg Full tank shot http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1400.jpg |
I have been keeping track of my water parameters using an app on my Ipad called aquaPlanner. It has a few bugs but has been helpful in setting up reminders and charting trends in water chemistry. Tonight's tests had the following results:
Temp: 79.5 Nitrates: .25 Ph : 8.0 KH : 9 Salinity : 1.024 Calcium: 450 Phos: .02 Mag: 1500 Last week I noticed a spike in phosphate. I determined that it was a result of over feeding. I purchased a Sunset Anthias from FAOIS two weeks ago and I had some issues getting him to eat. After trying a variety of foods, he finally started eating and all is well. I added some Phosguard to my MR1 media reactor along with a new batch of carbon and did a 15 gallon water change. This seemed to help as phosphate levels are coming down. I was also given a Next Reef food strainer from my LFS (Eco Reef) and have been using this for all my feeds to help reduce the phosphate going into the tank. |
Some new additions:
Orange Plate http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1459.jpg Duncan Colony http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1545.jpg Green Bubble http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1461.jpg My favorite addition: Orange Wall Hammer http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/...w/IMG_1450.jpg |
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I bookmarked this thread to tag along and I'm going to "incorporate" some of your ideas :thumbsup:
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Quote:
I had fun incorporating many of the ideas I found on Reef Central. I had a few MacGyver moments throughout the whole process ; ) |
What a great thread. outrageous tanks! I have a 50 g tall, and wanted to maximize space, drill and stack would be perfect! I really like the latest livestock, specifically the orange plate and duncans
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