Ed's 60g Cube Build from scratch

[ravenjred]

Well, here we go! I finally got all of my equipment, except the sump that is, which should be arriving next week. After doing tons of research on building a stand I finally made up my mind on how I wanted to build mine. Thanks to everyone, including kevantheman35, for their input on building the stand. This is my first build, so I want to get it right and be happy with the results. I am totally new to saltwater, so I am sure I will be asking tons of questions as I go. If you have any input or suggestions as I go along I would appreciate any and all of them. Here are the first photos of the frame build. I do need some help with how to skin the sides since they are set in some from the frame. Thanks in advance.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[ravenjred]

I will have more photos up soon. I am going to be working on my stand again today and hope to get a lot accomplished. It has been a slow process since this is my first build and I keep thinking about how to build it.
Another question: As I was looking at the 3/4" plywood I cut for the top of the stand I realized that I had to cut holes for the plumbing to go through from the bottom of the tank. There are 2 holes in the bottom of the tank. Do I just cut 2 holes and mount the nut for the bulkhead under the plywood or do I have to cut a whole section out so the nut tightens directly to the glass bottom? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Cut out a big enough section for the bulkheads and lines to fit easily.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Nice looking forward to the next pics

 

[ravenjred]

Finally got around to finishing my stand and now I am in the process of making water. I just have to put the doors on the stand and it will be complete. I will be plumbing the tank this weekend.  I have attached some updated photos of what I have so far.  I have some pics of the dry rocks that I got.  This is my first attempt at aquascaping and I am not thrilled with the first layout.  Any and all ideas are welcome.  I feel lost right now.  Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[AJQ69]

what type of sump are u getting? looking good!!

 

[ravenjred]

Sorry, I forgot to post the picture with the sump. It is a Trigger Systems 20x20 cube sump. A little hard to see right now, but I will have a better photo up when I'm done plumbing.

 

[ravenjred]

Over 300 people view my post and I can't even get one response in regards to help with the aquascape??? C'mob people. Please!!!

 

[rmiles54]

I think it looks pretty good. Fairly similar to how mine ended up. I have 10 fish and there's a lot of swimming room. They all seem to really enjoy their space.

 

[rmiles54]

Couple of pics showing progress. I ended up doing an egg crate rack behind the rock structure because I went on a frag buying frenzy. It lasted until I realized I had to many! I have been moving most of the frags to the structure over the last month. I am pretty much at the point where I will be allowing everything to grow out and fill in space.

 

[ravenjred]

Thanks for the pics. Your tank looks great. It's a big help. What do you suggest as my first few fish and corals when I get to that point? Thanks again.

 

[rmiles54]

Thanks. I went with 2 chromis, 2 cardinals and a shrimp for a while. I Added A Kole Tang And 2 clowns. I wanna say a month or two after that a yellow tang. I wanted to make sure the kole was established before I add the yellow. They chased each other around for about a week. Now all is well. As for the corals I went with zoa, duncan, and bright red mushrooms frags. I let the tank mature for almost 8 months before adding a mandarin dragonette and some sps and other LPS pieces

 

[ravenjred]

Thanks. Do you know how many inches 80 lbs. of sand will get me?

 

[rmiles54]

If I recall correctly, this is 50lbs. I have an inch to an inch and a half throughout.

 

[ravenjred]

Progress

Finally, after several weeks of not getting anything done I finished my stand. I got the doors on and got water in the tank. Here are some pics as of last night.

 

[rmiles54]

Wow, it looks great! I picked up the stand designed for the tank as a package deal, i have limited interior space to work with. You are really going to enjoy having that extra real estate and it looks well organized. Very nice build, you should be excited! Have you made any fish choices? I'm looking forward to seeing your progress! ...Rich

 

[ravenjred]

Thanks. I am going to start by cycling the tank with Dr. Tim's One and Only and a pair of Percale Clowns. I would like to have some blennies. Not sure what else but definitely going with reef safe fish because I will be adding corals at some point. I'm new to this so I will be asking a lot of questions as to what to start with.

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

I would not add the clowns until after the cycle. You can get the same effect by ghost feeding the tank. Everything looks great though! I really like the aquascape.

 

[ravenjred]

I'm not sure what ghost feeding is. Do you mean just put some food in? I thought that the fish would produce the ammonia necessary to offset the bacteria in the One and only.