New salty 29g biocube

[siggy]

I have 2 boats and the same could be said about reefs and boats, A fancy new with all the bells and whistles will cost you, a modest used will get you out on the water. NOW I say BUST out the watermelon! I haven't had any sense last summer

 

[Bleigh]

I have 2 boats and the same could be said about reefs and boats, A fancy new with all the bells and whistles will cost you, a modest used will get you out on the water. NOW I say BUST out the watermelon! I haven't had any sense last summer

Yum watermelon! I have one waiting to be cut on my counter!

 

[Bleigh]

So this will be the stand for the new 60 gallon cube. I've been told that it will hold the weight - no problem. What are ya'lls opinions about it needing to be reinforced? I'm assuming that a kitchen cabinet should be sturdy enough to hold 60 gallons of water, but once I add rock and so forth, I'm not sure - I just don't have any knowledge in that area.

The box has a door for the other side too, so the sump will be accessible from two sides. The pipes should run behind the drawer with no issues as well. The smaller cabinet will be great for all the testing supplies and stuff. I need to get a stone top made for it. I don't want to do that until I have the tank drilled, because the pipes will run through the stone and obviously, they need to know where those are to cut those holes. I'm thinking a darker black stone. Any opinions about that?

 

[siggy]

Nice looking cabinets Granite or quartz is my guess. I like the decor, Bucks and Blennies

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So this will be the stand for the new 60 gallon cube. I've been told that it will hold the weight - no problem. What are ya'lls opinions about it needing to be reinforced? I'm assuming that a kitchen cabinet should be sturdy enough to hold 60 gallons of water, but once I add rock and so forth, I'm not sure - I just don't have any knowledge in that area.

The box has a door for the other side too, so the sump will be accessible from two sides. The pipes should run behind the drawer with no issues as well. The smaller cabinet will be great for all the testing supplies and stuff. I need to get a stone top made for it. I don't want to do that until I have the tank drilled, because the pipes will run through the stone and obviously, they need to know where those are to cut those holes. I'm thinking a darker black stone. Any opinions about that?

Dark stone of some sort would be a nice contrast. I like that idea.

 

[Captain Quint]

Nice solid looking cabinet. Do you know the manufacturer’s suggested weight limit? I know most is ~500 to 600 pounds for quality cabinets which is generally on the safe weight rated side.

Depending on the stone weight used and the footprint added to the full tank average of a 60g roughly being +/- around 600 pounds on our old aquarium scale would also be something I would consider.

 

[Bleigh]

Nice solid looking cabinet. Do you know the manufacturer’s suggested weight limit? I know most is ~500 to 600 pounds for quality cabinets which is generally on the safe weight rated side.

Depending on the stone weight used and the footprint added to the full tank average of a 60g roughly being +/- around 600 pounds on our old aquarium scale would also be something I would consider.

They are shenendoah cabinets. I found that the oven shelf support is rated at 300 pounds... and that's just a shelf with 6 pin brackets. Other floating shelves are rated at 15 pounds per square foot. I guess I should probably ask the stone guys about bracing. They won't give the warranty without proper bracing. They had to add extra supports for my kitchen island for that reason. It was too long of an overlap to be covered by the warranty without extra bracing.

So two more questions. 1) I was told that I wouldn't be able to fit a skimmer in the cabinet. Are all skimmers tall? If not, any suggestions for brands? 2) A friend told me that the bottom of the tank is definitely going to be tempered, but I've done all the tests I can find to do, and it looks to be untempered. Here's one of the videos I watched to check. The screen doesn't change at all when I look at my phone through polarized glasses and the bottom of the tank. Is there any chance it could still be tempered?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

How tall is the inside of the cabinet?

 

[Bleigh]

How tall is the inside of the cabinet?

Front opening is 21 inches - due to the drawer. Side opening is full side. I could take out the drawer and put a false front on it. The side would have the full height of working space. Taking out the drawer is fine if necessary. If I do that, I have around 27 inches of clearance from the side.

 

[Bleigh]

Front opening is 21 inches - due to the drawer. Side opening is full side. I could take out the drawer and put a false front on it. The side would have the full height of working space. Taking out the drawer is fine if necessary. If I do that, I have around 27 inches of clearance from the side.

Bottom of the drawer to the bottom of the cabinet is 24 inches. I feel like the drawer would be convenient if I can keep it, if not I won't be heart broken.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Bottom of the drawer to the bottom of the cabinet is 24 inches. I feel like the drawer would be convenient if I can keep it, if not I won't be heart broken.

24" should be enough room. For the sump, you just have to be sure that the skimmer will not need to be on a stand. Take this with a grain of salt, as everyone has their own preferences. I prefer Reef Octopus skimmers and have used them for years. I know that a classic 110 will work in 22". it is a little tight, but there is just enough room to get the cup off and then back on.

The biggest thing is to make sure the skimmer is not more than 20-21" tall. You only need a little room to get the cup off, but of course more room is always better.

So in short, figure once the sump is in there, you have 23" from hitting the drawer, provided the skimmer sits on the bottom of the sump and not on a stand. To make is safe. Say, a skimmer no more then 20" tall should fit. It will be enough room to remove the cup, but tight.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

24" should be enough room. For the sump, you just have to be sure that the skimmer will not need to be on a stand. Take this with a grain of salt, as everyone has their own preferences. I prefer Reef Octopus skimmers and have used them for years. I know that a classic 110 will work in 22". it is a little tight, but there is just enough room to get the cup off and then back on.

The biggest thing is to make sure the skimmer is not more than 20-21" tall. You only need a little room to get the cup off, but of course more room is always better.

So in short, figure once the sump is in there, you have 23" from hitting the drawer, provided the skimmer sits on the bottom of the sump and not on a stand. To make is safe. Say, a skimmer no more then 20" tall should fit. It will be enough room to remove the cup, but tight.

I forgot, you need to make sure that the chamber your skimmer is going into will allow for the cup to be removed, the skimmer tilted and then able to be taken out. This does not need to be too much room, just enough.

 

[Bleigh]

I forgot, you need to make sure that the chamber your skimmer is going into will allow for the cup to be removed, the skimmer tilted and then able to be taken out. This does not need to be too much room, just enough.

So sounds like I go with what I like best around 20-21 inches tall. And If I'm struggling to get the cup out, I can take out the drawer and put on a false front then.

 

[Bleigh]

I forgot, you need to make sure that the chamber your skimmer is going into will allow for the cup to be removed, the skimmer tilted and then able to be taken out. This does not need to be too much room, just enough.

Is there anything else involving height in the sump that I should be taking into account? The nice thing is, the cabinet is wider than the tank, so I have a little bit more room to play around with configurations.

Nice to have a smaller project to play around with. I know when I build the bigger tank cabinets, to take them to the ground rather than having the toekick space for as much height as possible.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So sounds like I go with what I like best around 20-21 inches tall. And If I'm struggling to get the cup out, I can take out the drawer and put on a false front then.

That drawer will be handy though. You showing that pic of the cabinet has made me look into the adding some to the tanks in my bedroom. I have room lol. It would be nice to have the extra storage.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Is there anything else involving height in the sump that I should be taking into account? The nice thing is, the cabinet is wider than the tank, so I have a little bit more room to play around with configurations.

Nice to have a smaller project to play around with. I know when I build the bigger tank cabinets, to take them to the ground rather than having the toekick space for as much height as possible.

If you plan to use any reactors, or any other equipment think of those. When doing a setup, I like to get some graph paper and map it all out. Almost everything sold for our hobby has dimensions listed, so it makes it easy.

 

[Bleigh]

I've never really had a good look at all of that stuff. I'm going to one of the reef convention things this weekend. I hope to see a lot of that so I can get some ideas on the sizes.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I've never really had a good look at all of that stuff. I'm going to one of the reef convention things this weekend. I hope to see a lot of that so I can get some ideas on the sizes.

That and make a wish list. If you line out what you want to do, you can browse through the stuff on BRS and they have dimensions listed out in the open. It has been very helpful with some of my stand builds since some are very minimal and fill a small space.

 

[JDowns]

If you are going to drill the bottom of the tank then the drawer would be in the way.

Like you said you could either false front it, or take the drawer down in depth. You most likely don't need the full depth drawer, and could halve it. That would still give you a lot of drawer storage, allow for a taller skimmer towards the back, and plumbing to and from the tank.

 

[Bleigh]

If you are going to drill the bottom of the tank then the drawer would be in the way.

Like you said you could either false front it, or take the drawer down in depth. You most likely don't need the full depth drawer, and could halve it. That would still give you a lot of drawer storage, allow for a taller skimmer towards the back, and plumbing to and from the tank.

I thought about shortening the drawer too. There's a 2 and a quarter inch clearance behind the drawer and the back of the cabinet already. Would that not be enough for pipes? I was assuming they're normally about an inch wide, but I may be wrong.