60 Gallon Cube Build

[garrettm]

After much planning and procrastinating I am finally starting my 60G cube build. I have been doing a lot of research on the hardware and pricing for all my components and I have finally made my decision on what I will be using and how I will be setting everything up....well at least for the most part.

Tank: on order
24"x24"x24" cube
Center Trapezoid overflow with 1 1/2" drain
Two holes next to overflow box 3/4"

Stand: on order
36" tall
Standard pine Black

Sump:
I am planning on getting a custom sump made with a seperate space for a little refugium.
Sump I drew up will be 18"x19"

Other Hardware:
ASM G1 Skimmer
GenX-40
Current Outer Orbit HQI/T5HO fixture
Return will be split on a SCWD

Future Additions:
Reef Keeper2
SEO Powerheads
Chiller

The tank should be in around 2 weeks. The only thing I was not comfortable about was the price I paid for the tank and stand. I am thinking about putting a hold on the stand and possibly making my own. I was told not to purchase an MDS particle board stand but I know that would have saved me a lot of money. I am now paying around 300 just for the stand....is this average or high? Any advice on this would be great. Will be updating as soon as there is more to update.

GM

 

[Purple Haze]

What are you planning on keeping? I've got the same size tank. I decided to give myself a little more room inside the stand by making it 30" deep (OD). This gave me 4-5" of free space behind the tank if I wish to run a closed loop--a spot to mount the pump. Additionally, for an SPS tank, the flow through the sump would have been too high with less than 24" to work with. With a little deeper stand I was able to run a larger sump and therefore avoid a micro bubble problem.

For $150 you could build a nice stand. I used a 2 x 4 frame then skinned it with a 8 x 4 sheet of 3/4" Red Oak and still had leftover with a deeper and taller stand than yours. Expect to pay about $40-$50 for a full sheet and have it cut wherever you purchase it.

If you decide to build your own stand, keep in mind the thickness of the ply you use in the overall width of your stand. Ex: 2 x4 frame 22 1/2" w (OD) plus two sheets of 3/4" ply on both sides for a total of 24"w (OD) when put together.

HTH

 

[nanoguy]

You can build yourself a much nicer stand if you do it yourself for less $$$. Because of the small footprint of your tank I would not use the 2x4 framing.....it is not needed. The 2x4's will just take up too much valuble real estate inside the stand. Just go purchase some 3/4" plywood and use rabbet joints and glue them together with a good water proof glue and finishing nails. All the tools you'll pretty much need for a project like this is a table saw and some clamps. If you have access to a router and nail gun it would just make your life that much easier but it is not needed. I just finished construction on mine....check the following DIY link for some info.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1207997


It's really not that hard to do.....it just takes time. I spent under $300 for my stand but I got some nice hardware for it. You can probably get away with just a little over $100 if you just build it out of wood. I went with oak plywood ($50 per sheet) because I am planning to stain it but if you are going to paint it you can go with cheaper ply as long as it is finished on both sides.

 

[garrettm]

I really appreciate the input! I think I am going to stick with building a stand the same dimensions as the tank. I have already consulted a few companies to build a custom sump for me and I have received some pretty good designs from them.

I am going to take a trip to Home Depot some time this week after work and see what they have that I can use. I am really liking the plywood idea but am concerned about the support being enough. I am an amateur at wood-working so I know the stand will need to be something very basic. About how long did it take you to build your stand Nanoguy?

Well I confirmed the order of the tank today with my LFS and it should arrive no later than 2 weeks. After a few bills to pay it is time to start ordering the other components.

 

[nanoguy]

I spent a few hours here and there when I found the time but I would say it's a weekend project at the most for the construction of the stand but that doesn't include the finishing work. You will have to calculate the dry time for the stain and clear coat. I'm guessing another week or so for the finishing work. Try to buy your plywood at a local lumber yard if you can. The quality of Home Depot's plywood is not all that great. You can get better quality ply at a local lumber yard for about the same price.

 

[kysard1]

You should look at building a stand wider than the tank so you can have a bigger sump. Micro-bubbles can be a real problem on short sumps.

 

[garrettm]

I have consulted the advice of Bob Porter at reefmania.com and he has designed a great sump to fit under the stand I will be building. There are three sections: 1) the intake from the tank and also where the skimmer sits 2) refugium 3) return area with a baffle to get rid of any bubbles.

I have recently been thinking of doing something an Oceans Motions sea squirt for the return to the tank. I would be running this on the Gen-X40. I am thinking of drilling four holes in the back of the tank now to take advantage of the flow that the squirt makes. I was thinking of keeping the two holes that I would have originally and running the two other outlets to the front of the tank but I will have an open top and am not sure how ascetically pleasing that would be. If I needed more flow I will probably add some powerheads to the back of the tank.

 

[garrettm]

So I originally though that I was going with the ASM G-1 Skimmer but I just saw this Euro-Reef on Dr. Fosters and Smith. Do you guys think this one will work for the 60 cube?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+18134&pcatid=18134

 

[jimmyPx]

Hi Garrett,

That is the skimmer that I have on my 60 gallon cube tank and it works fine.

In my opinion, for the money, this is the best skimmer to buy for a 60 gallon tank.

Now if money is no object, there are much better skimmers out there: Bubbleking, Deltec, etc.

But if you are on a budget, the RS80 will work just fine.

 

[garrettm]

I ended up buying the Euro-Reef RS100. I think this will be a grea skimmer for my setup. I am alson thinking instead of the SCWD I will buy the oceans motion 2 way. I have heard a lot of things about the SCWD leaking and the Oceans motion sounds like a great product.

 

[Chrisrush]

I'm building the exact tank that you are.

Here's a link to my thread.

50g build

Although my dimensions have changed now to 24" cubed.

I bought a RS80 and I'll probably recirc it to get a little more umph out of it.

My tank should be ready this week and I just met with my stand builder today to talk about the stand. I was going to build my own, but I've got a couple of ideas that I wasn't comfortable building myself. Hopefully the tank will be done in a few weeks.

I've got my sump, skimmer, controller, tunze, etc. Only thing I'm missing is the tank and stand.

 

[garrettm]

Hey Chris, Thanks for sharing your setup with me. It looks like everything is coming along great. How is that RS80 working for you? I am having reservations about the RS100 that it might be too much and the 80 would be sufficient. The 80 is also cheaper and I could use that money to buy something else nice for the tank.