SPS Cube Plans

TheDean

TheDean

New member
Patience is not in huge supply with any part of my life, but I hope reefing and being a father will guide me to it. To break the lesson, I've decided to change tanks yet again. Although it may be a downsizing, I think I would prefer a cube (60 gallon 2x2x2) much better due to viewing angles. Again, I have decided to change from softies to SPS, and a few LPS.

Flow was of concern for the SPS in mind, but I have been told two Koralia 4's will be more than enough for the volume and dimensions I had in mind.

Second came the lighting. I am stuck between getting another pendant, or maybe going with a fixture like an odyssea or Coralife MH version. 250Watt with 65Watt actinics? Or a 400watt MH running a 20k?

Third is the issue of getting rid of all my soft coral. The cube will be here tomorrow, and again patience is just not there for me. i have plenty of resources(containment) to transfer my coral, but I don't want the burden of putting them back in. Fish as well, as I plan on going strictly wrasses(labout, hooded) and a school of lyretail anthias. Strictly SPS and LPS this around.

Suggestions are certainly welcome, as I have yet go this route. I've seen so many tanks in the last 4 months, and I am extremely impressed with what I've seen. I only dream to see such growth and color in my living room someday. TIA

Concerns:
Flow
Lighting
What to do with the livestock
 
Congrats on your new tank. A 60 cube is a great sized tank.

For flow I would go with two Koralias or a single vortec.

Lighting: biggest concern on a 60 with MH is heat. Make sure you've got fans or a chiller. A single 20k is nice 400w is probably overkill but others here are much more knowledgeable about MH lighting than I am.

Either sell your softies here or bring them to a LFS for credit or bring them to the BAR frag swap on Saturday and get some corals you want. Have an SPS savvy friend hold onto your new frags until your tank is established.

Be wary about the number of anthias you put in a 60. I have one lyretail and he eats a lot (and he's big). Five or so would probably be OK. Any more and you may run into water quality issues.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13097254#post13097254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mikey Donuts
Congrats on your new tank. A 60 cube is a great sized tank.

For flow I would go with two Koralias or a single vortec.

Lighting: biggest concern on a 60 with MH is heat. Make sure you've got fans or a chiller. A single 20k is nice 400w is probably overkill but others here are much more knowledgeable about MH lighting than I am.

Either sell your softies here or bring them to a LFS for credit or bring them to the BAR frag swap on Saturday and get some corals you want. Have an SPS savvy friend hold onto your new frags until your tank is established.

Be wary about the number of anthias you put in a 60. I have one lyretail and he eats a lot (and he's big). Five or so would probably be OK. Any more and you may run into water quality issues.
Click to expand...
i've thought of the Vortech route, but still can't justify it's price. As for the anthias, that might be a good idea to keep them limited. I too have a male I just traded for. He's around 4.5 to 5 inches... :eek1:
 
I would also DIY one of the bird netting tank covers a lot of the guys have. I had my female solar wrasse launch herself out of my tank yesterday as I was doing maintenance. She fell at least seven feet onto a tile floor :(. I would hate for that to happen with a labouti.

Sound like it will be a sweet setup
 
I guess I didn't understand the severity of their jumping... They really do jump out? i find that hilarious! Sad, but humorous at least. like mini colorful dolphins. :D

This birds netting I'm guessing can be bought at Home Depot, right? I'll search Google to see the best way to build a lid. Thanks for the tips on that, otherwise things would get really expensive. To tie into that, I've found a dried out emerald crab under the couch (scared the hell out of me when I dropped a bottle of loctite, it looked like a huge burly spider in the dark underside of the sofa) most likely due to setting live rock on a plastic sheet on the floor during an aquasccape rearrangement. I think I squealed a little. i lost my Man Card that day...:( :D
 
I have a 60 cube same dims. My canopy is open top so i have 1 lumenmax elite reflector that sits inside. I have 250W and run radium 20K, 250W's is plenty you do not need 400W. I have a few wrasse and also have the bird netting as Mik mentioned.

You are more than welcome to have a look if you would like
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13097552#post13097552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kdblove_99
I have a 60 cube same dims. My canopy is open top so i have 1 lumenmax elite reflector that sits inside. I have 250W and run radium 20K, 250W's is plenty you do not need 400W. I have a few wrasse and also have the bird netting as Mik mentioned.

You are more than welcome to have a look if you would like
Click to expand...
i may take you up on that, thanks. Have you posted any pics of it on the forum before?
 
60cube with 2x k4, that's a lot of flow....plenty if you ask me. I have my new cubish (18x20x20) frag/sps tank up and I'm running only 1 vortech mp40w on it, and man, I have to dial it back to 50-60% power, and it's a BB, sand would never stay put if I went that route. in a cube, flow is a lot better imho, cuss they bounce around and go everywhere. with 2x k4 it'll be hard keeping sand on the bottom (if you're going with sand that is).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13097844#post13097844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jthao
60cube with 2x k4, that's a lot of flow....plenty if you ask me. I have my new cubish (18x20x20) frag/sps tank up and I'm running only 1 vortech mp40w on it, and man, I have to dial it back to 50-60% power, and it's a BB, sand would never stay put if I went that route. in a cube, flow is a lot better imho, cuss they bounce around and go everywhere. with 2x k4 it'll be hard keeping sand on the bottom (if you're going with sand that is).
Click to expand...
i'd love to go Bare Bottom, but I don't know what I'd do as far as a denitrator without the sand bed. The sump can only be 18x24 at maximum size below the stand. i have to get rid of my CPR AquafugeM now. Big waste of money for me.
 
I might have posted Pics not sure. Its nothing great. I like to keep it low profile.

Your always welcome buzzard. getting the 2 female flames for my big boy tomorrow.

I can PM you some pics Bearded. I will also take some of how my canopy and how i have the light on it tomorrw and send to you!
 
Looks I took the day off for no reason, and am halfway through the tank breakdown. The tank will not be here today apparently. I sure wish people would think first before setting a scheduled delivery. My business will now go elsewhere.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13097920#post13097920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeardedTridacna
i'd love to go Bare Bottom, but I don't know what I'd do as far as a denitrator without the sand bed. The sump can only be 18x24 at maximum size below the stand. i have to get rid of my CPR AquafugeM now. Big waste of money for me.
Click to expand...

How deep of a sand bed are you planning? 90% of sand beds in a display have very little Nitrate reducing capabilities. You need at least 5-6" and it should never be disturbed, that means no sand sifting gobies,stars,snails etc. If you want a DSB for Nitrate reduction try a remote one in a 5g Bucket or have a small glass/acrylic one built.

Also for an SPS cube I would go with a Closed loop so there is no need for any power heads in the tank. Cubes are easy to do this way due to the short demensions of length and width.

Cubes are nice tanks and fairly easy to design and set up for optimal flow!!!

I have a 100g cube myself and the only thing I don't like is seeing all the power heads and cords when you view it from the sides.
 
I may go bare bottom in the tank then, as I have seen a few on here encrusted with LPS and SPS, and they look GREAT! I think I will run the fuge with a 6' sandbed. Plenty left over from the 80 gallon, plus the orioginal sand bed of 3 inches in the fuge already. As far as the flow and lack of powerheads, I will look into drilling more for more bulkheads. I like the idea of a closed loop.
 
I also agree about a CL on a cube. If I ever got a cube, that's exactly what I'd do. Cube's are so appealing because of the many different viewing angles. Why would you want to look at your PH from a bunch of different angles?! Be sure to take some pics when you set this thing up
 
The guy delivering my cube called back stating he was going to be way late, around 8-12am tonight... I have the tank broken down seeing as how I was told he would be here around 6. it was a trade plus cash. I have a feeling this is falling through. I am now planning to sell off all my stuff for cheap. i'll start new tomorrow and spend some cash on some new gear. lighting, sump, stand, tank, coral, rock, and sand ready to fly out the window. This sucks.

As for the closed loop idea, I agree with you guys, maybe starting fresh will give me a ton of time to get a custom tank built. This may be the best route.
 
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