60 gallon cube build (1 Viewer)

[reefer]

This is an upgrade to my 40 gallon that I have slowly lost interest in and that caused me to mostly get out of the hobby. I will be doing another mixed reef with Lps and sps.

I was at fjw yesterday looking for a used RR tank when Dennis told me about this brand new 60 gallon RR Cube and stand that he had. After some discussion and Dennis being as awesome as usual he gave me a deal that would make me an idiot to pass up.

I got the tank, stand, and overflow kit.

There are things I have decided on for this build and there are a few things that I'm not sure about yet

The for sure:
I am going will all quality products this build, no DIY.

Lighting is going to be handled by the new kessil a360w full spectrum. I chose this light for the sleek look and also the ability to control it with an apex.

I will be obviously using an apex for control and monitoring. As far as flow goes i will be using an mp10 and a mag 7 return pump.

I have decided to go with black live sand because it's always something I have liked the look of as far as the way it makes the colors of everything else pop. I know the difficulties of having black sand and I'm willing to take that chance.

The undecided:
I have not chosen a sump or skimmer setup. I am going to go with a simple yet effective system. 3 chamber sump and oversized skimmer.
I would like some assistance with dosing options because I have never dosed but have been converted to a believer. My biggest fear is live rock placement, I am one of those that always ends up with a wall no matter how hard I try to avoid it.

I am going to stretch this out to a 1 month build. Will update with photos as I go.

 

[Traclly Le Tran]

very nice. can't wait for more pics.

 

[dave00gt]

ive used a bubble magus doser with three pumps and kept all my parameters safe, I know theres new ones out there, but don't know much about them.
for a skimmer ive done the over skim thing and if I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't go with an oversized one, a skimmer that is just the right size will should pull more stuff
than a big head oversized one.

 

[steveb]

I have been using the marine color dosing unit for many months now and it has kept my Alk pretty close to 8.5.


Nice looking tank by the way! Glad you got it and decided to stay in the hobby. Sorry you had to wait while I was babbling to Dennis about coral & fish.

 

[reefer]

I have been using the marine color dosing unit for many months now and it has kept my Alk pretty close to 8.5.


Nice looking tank by the way! Glad you got it and decided to stay in the hobby. Sorry you had to wait while I was babbling to Dennis about coral & fish.

Thank you. We all try to find a reason to hang around the LFS more than we should so thanks for giving me my reason. Lol

 

[reefer]

Hopefully next time I take a picture I will have finally gotten around to fixing that spot on the wall where the paint started peeling from when my return cracked and sprayed water all over it.

 

[reefer]

Just got home from picking up my custom sump at fjw built by trigger systems. It is a 3 chamber 18 inch cube.

 

[reefer]

Will get a better picture once I get it in the stand.

I also picked up my new black live sand.

Now I just need to decide on a skimmer.

 

[steveb]

Looking REALLY nice so far. I like the sump and can't wait to see the tank with sand in it.

 

[reefer]

Got the plumbing done and found out that one of the new bulkheads I have is cracked so that's getting out off till tomorrow but the ups guy did leave me a little gift today.

 

[reefer]

Brand new reef octopus classic 160.

 

[reefer]

Sooooooo the cube got a lot of attention this weekend.

Did the very complex and life altering plumbing for the sump. Many will look at it and wonder how I came up with such a design. Trust me...... It comes with the experience.

Seriously though I did want to put a lot if attention into the rock work and I feel bad because the pictures don't do it justice like seeing it in person

.

I kept all the water from my current tank and used turbo start to keep from having a big cycle and ammonia spike since I was adding about 30 more gallons of new water.

As far as equipment goes I used the reef octopus classic 160 come skimmer. It is large but I have always had good luck with RO skimmers.

For flow I am using my old mp-10 and my return pump. I plan to eventually upgrade to a new mp-10 once I get my controller system setup and get all the wiring done. I am going to run all the wiring in vinyl turbo and mount it to the inside of the stand for a cleaner look. I will update with more next week.

I have had the new kessil A360w for two days now and I really like it. I love the simple clean look and how powerful and the color spectrum available. I do need to keep playing with it some more and I will go even more in depth once I get my apex.

 

[Wbattles]

Nice rock design. I have the exact same tank (rimless, corner RR) and I love it. Its my reef seahorse tank and its doing pretty well. Ive been manually dosing because I designed its undercarriage poorly. I have a 20 gallon sump under there plus a 5 gallon freshwater top off and just didn't leave enough room for the dosing pumps. I also made it wonderfully hard to replace the filter socks because they are in the back and I only have access to the front ........... uuuuuuubbbbeeerrr facepalm on my part. When spring classes end and before summer class, im going to resign underneath and keep this in mind, nice looking tank.

 

[Ccscorpion200]

Nice setup. How do you like the Kessil light? Do you have the apex controlling yet?

 

[reefer]

Nice setup. How do you like the Kessil light? Do you have the apex controlling yet?

So far I like the light. It shimmers nice and the control knobs on top are very fine tune able. I have not ordered my apex yet but when I do I am going to play with the light and see what I can do.

 

[cacarnold3]

So, did you decide to go with the apex? Your tank looks nice. I really like the rock design.

 

[reefer]

So, did you decide to go with the apex? Your tank looks nice. I really like the rock design.

I was gonna go with the apex but at the last minute another member said he was getting out of the hobby and sold me his reef keeper for a very good price. Even got some nice corals and some freebies from him.

 

[reefer]

Took some more full tank shots now that I have gotten the lighting adjusted where I want it and the water has cleared up.

Now is time to get this thing stocked with more coral.