60G Cube Build

[Greybeard]

Very nice! Really like the border and tile work on stand. I am going to start my 75g cube build soon and will definitely be following along.

Thanks! Credit for the mosaic tile work goes to my youngest daughter, Kaitlyn. Her idea, her design, all I did way pay for the tiles. I was just going to paint the shelf black... I have absolutely no artistic talent. She does. I offer exhibit A)

A sketch she did... #2 pencil on typing paper.

 

[Marinus]

Very nice! I'm guessing she's not a little girl anymore.

I wouldn't sell yourself short either; tank choice, stand dimensions and design (even without the awesome mosaic), light choice and aquascape... that's definitely artistic.

People around here are awesome and get all excited about a new build and will genuinely say anything looks awesome... It's pretty funny actually; empty tank put a rock in it and "wow, I love your aquascape". Hahaha

Sometimes, however, it is pretty cool even after the initially excitement. Some people (me) over complicate things and it just doesn't look natural at all. Your's is pretty cool though, especially when you only have a 4' square footprint to work with and require x amount of rock. Nicely done.

Cheers

 

[Greybeard]

Thanks

Well, she's still my little girl... Kaitlyn is 20, and engaged to be married in the spring. [sigh]

Thanks for the feedback. I think it's a good look. Works in the corner I had open. Right at the moment, what is inside it doesn't look so great... going through the algae blooms that are fairly normal for a new tank. I'll get it stable through the winter, and really start getting the reef going in the spring. No hurry.

 

[Greybeard]

Finally got around to adding a skimmer. Was going to buy an Eshops, but found a very good deal on a slightly used Reef Octopus. Kinda fills the skimmer compartment, but there's enough room for a small feed pump, for the GAC and GFO reactors that I'm eventually going to be adding. I set it real dry, so it wouldn't flood the cup overnight, and it's already puling gunk

 

[Spearfisher88]

that is an awesome setup. I like the way you added the accent tile on the stand. that really adds a lot of character to the setup. Great job

 

[RedStangGA]

For your top, get window screen frame and use four extra corner pieces to account for the light mount. Might need to trim down the length of the plastic 90 degree corner pieces to make it fit. You should still be able to cut screen to fit it and with aquarium clips get it to sit just inside of the tank making it look seamless and practically invisible.

Love the stand. The stock stand is extremely limiting for space.

 

[Greybeard]

that is an awesome setup. I like the way you added the accent tile on the stand. that really adds a lot of character to the setup. Great job

Thanks

Yeah, the tile turned out very well. Thanks to Kaitlyn, my daughter, for that. Stand design gives me a lot more room under the tank, as well.

Tank is healthy, I'm getting a little growth on the small SPS frags I bought, and a little GHA growth... expected, at this stage, that's why I added the skimmer. GFO/GAC reactor, probably the cheap one from BRS, will be coming soon.

I need to re-mount the power strip, I mounted it temporarily with a couple of unpainted blocks, and never got around to mounting it right. Also need to clean up some power cables.

 

[Greybeard]

For your top, get window screen frame and use four extra corner pieces to account for the light mount. Might need to trim down the length of the plastic 90 degree corner pieces to make it fit. You should still be able to cut screen to fit it and with aquarium clips get it to sit just inside of the tank making it look seamless and practically invisible.

Love the stand. The stock stand is extremely limiting for space.

Thanks Not sure, at this point, that I'm ever going to put a top on it. I cut eggcrate in a 4" strip, allowing for the light mount and return pipe... I _could_ use a rectangular screen to cover the rest, but honestly, I like the open top look. Fish were always going to be minimal, I'm more interested in corals and clams, really. I know, always a chance of carpet surfing without a top, but I really like the look.

 

[Greybeard]

Little Leptoseris frag I picked up, just to see how corals would like the lighting and water conditions of my new tank. 3 months ago, it was barely starting to encrust the plug it was glued to... Seems like it is happy

 

[Flatlandreefer]

Great looking tank, will check back in for updates

 

[dt204]

You've managed to make great use of the space you have available in the stand! Are you planning on internally or externally mounting your reactors? I may have missed your pump, what kind of flow is thing rocking?
60 gallon cube is a real good size to do just about whatever you want in it. I too am a little more interested in the corals and inverts than fish!

 

[dt204]

How is all that rock working for you btw? It was mentioned it was a bit much for a 60 for maintenance and growth. How have you found it? Still haven't finalized my scape for my cube yet

 

[Greybeard]

How is all that rock working for you btw? It was mentioned it was a bit much for a 60 for maintenance and growth. How have you found it? Still haven't finalized my scape for my cube yet

Cut it down some... not much. Fairly happy with it at this point.

 

[Greybeard]

You've managed to make great use of the space you have available in the stand! Are you planning on internally or externally mounting your reactors? I may have missed your pump, what kind of flow is thing rocking?
60 gallon cube is a real good size to do just about whatever you want in it. I too am a little more interested in the corals and inverts than fish!

Thanks. Likely use a single, full size BRS reactor, with both GFO and GAC, mounted outside the sump, to a stand wall... near where the photo has my power strip now, which I'm going to relocate next to the door.

Return pump is an Eheim 5000, flow rate is pretty much maxing out the corner overflow and the sump, but I haven't had to throttle it back. The sump I'm using puts the return pump in a compartment at the rear, in the center... you can't see it from the front. Not my favorite feature, but aside from that, it's ok.

Yeah, smaller tank means no angels or tangs, open top means no wrasses or dartfish... limiting, but that's OK. I'm adding a scribbled rabbitfish in on Sunday Everyone is going to yell at me, but it's small, I'll trade it out when it gets bigger.

I had a larger system, 180g display, total volume about 300 gallons. Shut it down over 10 years ago. Maintenance was a major factor in shutting it down. I'm staying small this time around. 60g is big enough for what I want to do, doesn't risk humidity damage to my home, keeps the price reasonable... I did my research. Happy with it all so far. Really liking the Halo LED. The few corals I've put in, mainly to see how they like the conditions, are happy, and coloring up nice. Give me a few months and I'll start posting tank photos again

 

[Greybeard]

Quick update: After having a juvenile snowflake clown jump on me, I finally decided I had to cover the tank. Always looking on the bright side... fish selection just became a whole lot easier

So... how about a quick review of BRS 4' railed screen top kit:

Arrived in good condition, on time. Kit contains 4x 4' aluminum rails, 8x plastic corners, spline tool, 1/8" screen material (plenty...) and spline (plenty)

I was thinking, when I ordered it, that I'd cut the rails so that I had an inlet in the rear, to account for the light mount and return pipe. That's why I ordered a kit with 8 corners, and far more rail than I needed. Didn't think that through very well... it doesn't work that way. Oh well. I've got enough left to do another 24"x24" tank... and then some.

I ended up cutting a strip of eggcrate for the rear of the tank, custom fit around the light mount and return pipe, sandwiched a bit of filter pad just so it's nice and tight. That gives me a straight edge for the back of the screen. I bent some stainless wire into clips to hold this to the rear glass... that's not going to work long term, I need some plastic clips, have to hunt something down. They're not in the water, but too close for my comfort. Short term, it's fine, but i don't like steel, even stainless, around my tank.

The 4 plastic J clips that support the top came from Amazon, they have many sizes, they seem fairly well designed, and quite sturdy.

Back to the screen, I used 2 rail sections, cut it quick and easy with a jig saw, used their spline tool to mount the screen... no problems, turned out well. If you've never stretched screen, there's a bit of a learning curve... unfortunately, I'm an old hand at this. Took me less than an hour, even screwing around with the eggcrate.

End results:

 

[dt204]

Looks like you did a great job on the install. That's exactly what I'm going to be looking at doing for my cube. Enough for another 24"x24" tank eh? [emoji6]

 

[Kbel1969]

Nice tank, and nice design. How are you liking the light? What brand is it, and where did you purchase it?

 

[Greybeard]

Nice tank, and nice design. How are you liking the light? What brand is it, and where did you purchase it?

Thanks, I'm happy with it. If I had it to do over again, I'd put doors on both sides of the stand... Oh well.

Light is an Aquaticlife Halo. So far so good... light, compact, energy efficient, runs cool, built in timers work as expected, easy to increase/decrease intensity, fade blue/white, I really like the mount, hides the cables, sturdy, simple, goes with the look I was trying for.

What few corals I've got under it appear to be doing well. Just a handful of SPS frags, at this point. Growth rates seem good, colors look good... One $5 brown acro frag I picked up has colored up real nice. Long term? Don't know yet, ask me in another year.

Light was purchased from Amazon. I live in the stix, it's an hour drive to anywhere, I order _lots_ of stuff online.

 

[Kbel1969]

Thanks for the information. I'm glad your happy with the lights. I'm still researching lighting options, and about to pull my hair out. I like the Kessils, but the lights and the holders for yours look very clean. And then I was looking at a pacific sun fixture which is a hybrid, led/t-5. It is also very nice, but very expensive. Keep up the excellent work, and I hope those lights do wonders for your corals.

 

[Greybeard]

Thanks for the information. I'm glad your happy with the lights. I'm still researching lighting options, and about to pull my hair out. I like the Kessils, but the lights and the holders for yours look very clean. And then I was looking at a pacific sun fixture which is a hybrid, led/t-5. It is also very nice, but very expensive. Keep up the excellent work, and I hope those lights do wonders for your corals.

The mount for the Aquaticlife Halo actually says it can be used with 'other' companies lights... I suspect it'd work fine with a Kessel. Kessel uses an M10x1.0 mounting bolt. Should bolt right up.