New build in progress - 60g cube

WiscoFishNut · Oct 1, 2019

Finished the electronics cabinet. The actual end table/cabinet was picked up from wayfair.com. The wife approved of the rustic design and there was just enough room for what I needed to stash in there. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out other than the big hole I had to cut in the back to run the MP10's thru.. Everything is attached via heavy duty velcro in case I need to rearrange or upgrade things later. The lights have a remote control with a rave/disco function Ran out of steam, so the other cabinet for the ATO reservoir will happen tomorrow morning. Then the real fun begins, hard plumbing the tank. Not gonna lie, I'm really nervous about it.

jk_s124 · Oct 2, 2019

Looking good fellow Wisconsinite! Nice looking corals and clowns! The electronics cabinet turned out great too. Good luck with the plumbing!

WiscoFishNut · Oct 3, 2019

jk_s124 said:
Looking good fellow Wisconsinite! Nice looking corals and clowns! The electronics cabinet turned out great too. Good luck with the plumbing!

Thanks, I really appreciate it! I think I have the plumbing plan sorted out, just need to get it done now. All of the other 100 things on the list have dragged out the process lol. After lunch I plan on leak testing the sump and testing the ATO system since I've not used one before. After that its time to assemble the scape and then finally tackle the plumbing.

Here's a couple more pics of the progress. On the sump I had to cut out a portion of the top of the return pump area to make it more of a complete rectangle shape to allow the pump to fit. Made a real nice mess of plastic shavings doing that..

WiscoFishNut · Oct 21, 2019

Almost done!! Finally ready to get water in the tank. Lugging 70 gallons of SW up from the basement is gonna be lots of fun ;Woot Once I get it filled I'll work on calibrating the temp sensors and return pump rate. And lastly, mount the light and 2 x MP10's. My "oh @#$%" plan is to have a brute trashcan and a spare return pump with a long vinyl hose on it in case I need to drain it quick. I did leak test the overflow/return section and sump at least. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I'll try and make a checklist before I add water.

TheKingInYellow · Oct 21, 2019

Great sump setup!

WiscoFishNut · Oct 21, 2019

TheKingInYellow said:
Great sump setup!

Thanks! Can't wait to finally get it filled and start cycling. I've had a pair of clowns and a 6-line wrasse waiting patiently in their un-medicated QT tank for 3 weeks while I finish up the last pieces. Once I have the DT filled and all systems checked I plan on putting them through 2 weeks of Copper Power and then transferred to another QT in the basement for a couple rounds of General Cure. I'm hoping that's enough time to get enough bacteria established in the DT, but I made add another week or so gap after the copper treatment/transfer to stretch it out a little.

TheKingInYellow · Oct 21, 2019

My LFS runs copper and hypo in all their displays, but yeah I get super careful with my QT procedures as well. Keeping the Clowns and sixline in there isn't a terrible thing anyhow.

WiscoFishNut · Oct 24, 2019

It's alive!! Tank is full and all systems are running. Just about 63 gallons in total. Started the cycle with a bottle of biospira and dosed ammonia. The skimmer is off for now, but I did forget to remove the filter socks, so I ordered another bottle of bacteria just in case.. Hoping the bacteria will take hold in 3-4 weeks so I can move the fish over from the QT's without too much delay. As soon as the first batch is done with copper I plan on starting a second batch ASAP.

WiscoFishNut · Oct 24, 2019

I'm also looking for recommendations for a super quiet return pump. Currently have a Jebao DCT4000 in there and running at 1/10 it still makes a decent bit of a whine.

TheKingInYellow · Oct 24, 2019

What are the dimensions on the tank? It's tall for a cube, but depending on your coral choices it has amazing potential to use that vertical space

WiscoFishNut · Oct 24, 2019

TheKingInYellow said:
What are the dimensions on the tank? It's tall for a cube, but depending on your coral choices it has amazing potential to use that vertical space

Its basically 24(w)x24(L)x25(h). My original aquascape had the bigger island taller, but I kinda messed up during the assembly lol. I'm hoping to put some "taller" corals on that peak.

TheKingInYellow · Oct 24, 2019

Yeah I think it should work well. In mine, I know my rock is too high, but I don't want to remove anything and potentially hurt the bacterial filter. Having that extra vertical space is great.

WiscoFishNut · Oct 28, 2019

Everything is finally put together! I do need to do some more work on the cable management as I didn't account for a few things initially. Definitely need to break out the label maker as well

TheKingInYellow · Oct 28, 2019

Does any reefer every really do cable management?

WiscoFishNut · Oct 28, 2019

Another thing I learned during this build is label all the parts you get as soon as you get em.. 3-4 month build time showed me how bad my memory is about what power adapters go to what stuff lol. Famous last words - I'll know where everything should plug in to.. ;Facepalm

WiscoFishNut · Oct 29, 2019

Started the copper power treatment on the QT tank this morning. Basically splitting it up in 2 doses per day over 5 days to get to 2.0PPM. I'll test the levels tomorrow morning using the hanna checker and see if the concentrations are as expected and adjust if needed. The one smaller clown was showing some swimming issues last week, but it seems to have been cleared up. Everyone looks healthy and has been eating up to this point, so I'm hoping they come thru the process unscathed.

The DT has been running for about 6 days so far and everything seems to be running smoothly. I do need to adjust the heater control temps and may have to move the one in the corner overflow section to the main portion of the tank. Slight design error on my part I think lol. There's one 300W heater in the overflow area and another one in the skimmer section in the sump.

The coral QT has been hit and miss and has a case of the uglies lol. I delayed breaking in the skimmer because of laziness, but I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I'm pretty sure it was the cause of the fungia and lobo dying tho. The fire shrimp and peppermint shrimp are doin fine. The two turbo snails are doin their job, but the 2 trochus snails I had died rather quickly. I'm hoping the newly added emerald crab gets motivated and starts eating some algae off the frags. I'll try and post some pics of the corals tonight to show how they're doing. Out of the bunch I'd say I like the torch the best. I could see doing a tank with just those and nems lol

TheKingInYellow · Oct 29, 2019

I went skimmerless on my coral QT. No fish, minimal feeding, I figure a few Marinepure balls will do the job. Sounds like you have everything well planned out though!

WiscoFishNut · Oct 29, 2019

TheKingInYellow said:
I went skimmerless on my coral QT. No fish, minimal feeding, I figure a few Marinepure balls will do the job. Sounds like you have everything well planned out though!

I think I amplified things by not having the skimmer going, feeding the shrimp and snails pellet food, and reef chili every other day for the corals lol. Nitrates would get up to 50 some times before WC's. With the skimmer everything is basically at zero except nitrates at like maybe 1-2. I may start the coral food up again, but at half dose and see what happens.