The 12 year tank build, 60G Cube

friedwilly · Mar 11, 2015

Yes Ladies and Gemtlemen you have read right, the 12 year tank build and still counting. But the good news is that this 60 gallon cube build will be going live by the end of March 2015.

A little history as to why this build has taken 12 years.

I purchased a TruVu 60 gallon cube in 2002 with the hopes of building my first saltwater/reef tank. In the past I have kept freshwater, brackish and cichlid fish in tanks no larger than 20 gallons. I have always dreamt of having a saltwater tank as I am also an avid scuba diver too. Well life took over and the tank just sat. Since 2002 we have sinced moved into a new house, have two beautiful kids and all the responsibilities that go along with life.

It was in 2013 that my son won some goldfish at a local fair and being the fish fan that I am, we went out and purchased a 5 gallon tank. But as we all know the fish that are typically kept at those fairs are not in the best of health and they passed. So I took my son to the local fish store and we replaced the two goldfish, which are still alive today and are very healthy. Over the past couple of years the goldfish have done well and quickly grew out of the 5 gallon, 10 gallon and now live in a 20 gallon. Needless to say I got bit by the fish hobby bug.

In 2014 I was cleaning around the garage and there sat the my 60 gallon tank, staring at me and begging me for attention. Well I accomodated the tank. Over the past year I have made a real push on getting this tank complete. Not only for myself, but for family to enjoy a small portion of the ocean.

Let's start with some details. The following is my build list:

TruVu 60 Gallon Custom Acrylic Tank
Custom stand and hood (built by yours truly, which took me most of my time)
Next Reef NRS20 Sump
Super Reef Octopus 1000LSS Protein Skimmer
Waveline DC-6000 Return Pump (with a spare backup)
BRS Dual Reactor (Carbon + GFO)
Apex Aqua Controller with Temp, Ph and Leak Detect
Finnex Titanium 300W Heater
APC Battery Backup
Eheim Jager True Temp 150W (Battery Backup)
2 - Tunze Turbelle 6095 Power heads (Battery Backup)
Tunze Controller 7096 (Battery Backup)
BRS 5 Stage RODI 150GPD
AI Hydra26 LED (custom and adjustable mounting by yours truly)
AI Director
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO
Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 (Reactor + Water Changes)

Now some pics of the tank and base cabinet.

Tank Only

Tank and Base Cabinet

Base Cabinet Interior

Currently all the plumbing has been completed and I will provide photos soon. Here is an initial drawing of the plumbing of my tank, but since has changed. I have very limited space below the tank and had to make modifications to accommodate everything.

Plumbing Concept

Currently I am in the process of building the hood, which will house the lighting, all electronics (separate compartment behind tank) and exhaust/ventilation. It was important to me to not just hang a light over the tank and have alot of light just spilling into the room, so I built a pretty nice hood. I also needed it to accommodate all the electronics, which need to be separated from any water sources. Pictures of the progress will be posted soon.

During 2014 I also acquired a small amount (20 lbs) of live rock locally and have been storing with water, heater and power head. The rest of the rock (60 pounds dry rock) I added to the live rock to seed it. But prior to adding it to the live rock I cured with vinegar and soaked the dry rock for a couple months to leach out all phosphates. What a process that was!

A couple months ago I was also able to layout and document my aquascape with photos. This will help me to quickly recreate my aquascape when it is time to add the rock, sand and saltwater. I drew some inspiration from the following photos. I will also post some pics shortly of my aquascape, as it was laid out on my garage floor:

Aquasacpe Inspiration Photo

Thank you for reading my build post. This posting will be updated frequently with updated pictures and information on my tank build.

143MPCo · Mar 11, 2015

Wow, looks great!

friedwilly · Mar 12, 2015

I am highly motivated to get this tank running by the end of the month and have been spending late nights and countless hours getting the stand and hood complete.

Currently the base is complete and the hood is almost done. I spent most of my night last night applying the first coat of polyurethane to the exterior of the hood.

Wide Angle Photo of Hood

This shows the overall look of the hood.

Top Photo of Hood

Top of the hood, which shows an inset for exhaust vents.

Interior of the Hood

The interior of the hood which was sealed with three coats of sanding sealer and two coats of enamel.

My reason for building such a large and complex hood, is for many reasons. The main consideration is light spillage, I did not want my whole basement to be lit up by simply hanging the light fixture over the tank in the open.

The other consideration had to do with a location to mount all the electronics. The space is limited in the base and plus the moisture and water source. So when I built the hood I provided a divided section in the back to mount all the electronics. This area is accessible from a hatch and will be free of any water sources.

Please check back soon, as I am currently also working on building a custom mounting solution for the AI Hydra 26. This mount will also allow me to change lighting easily as needed.

I will also be moving the tank and base into the house this weekend. Once in the house I will be doing a test run of all the plumbing once assembled.

friedwilly · Mar 13, 2015

Well, Last night I put the final coat of polyurethane on the hood. Only to discover this morning I had a small area of drips in the finish, UGH!!!

I guess this what happens when you do this stuff late at night. A small set back, but progress moves on!

I have also been working on a custom mounting solution for my AI Hydra 26 and the mounting solution will allow me to adjust the lighting height and position. I simply did not just want to hang it from wires, as the circulation fan would probably make it sway.

So right now I am starting with some 1", 1 1/2" and "L" brace in aluminum to construct a scissor lift for the light fixture

Materials

I will post more pictures as I progress on this project.

143MPCo · Mar 13, 2015

friedwilly said:
Well, Last night I put the final coat of polyurethane on the hood. Only to discover this morning I had a small area of drips in the finish, UGH!!!

I guess this what happens when you do this stuff late at night. A small set back, but progress moves on!

I have also been working on a custom mounting solution for my AI Hydra 26 and the mounting solution will allow me to adjust the lighting height and position. I simply did not just want to hang it from wires, as the circulation fan would probably make it sway.

So right now I am starting with some 1", 1 1/2" and "L" brace in aluminum to construct a scissor lift for the light fixture

Materials

I will post more pictures as I progress on this project.

Sometimes, "good" is good enough... but I never learned that... lol

friedwilly · Mar 16, 2015

This weekend was a very productive weekend. I was able to get the tank moved into the house, which I never thought would happen.

I was also able to clean the tank and stand. The plumbing has been fully assembled and I was able to test all the plumbing by running RO water thorough the sump and into the overflow, via some temporary tubing.

Stand Installed and Leveled

Tank Installed on Stand

Plumbing Connected and Tested for Leaks

This coming weekend (March 20 - 23) will be the weekend to get this tank fully operational. So check back soon for many updates.

kevantheman35 · Mar 16, 2015

Hey looking great. I have a 60 cube myself. That dc6000 should be plenty to run your return and reactors both on a manifold if you wanted to go that way. I use a sicce 3.0 as my return for the tank and have to turn it down some or it over powers the overflow.

...nevermind i see thats what your doing, i had just read the first post

friedwilly · Mar 17, 2015

Well last night I spent a lot of time laying out equipment in the base cabinet, which included wire management. This took me the most amount of time.

Plus not too mention that I am very limited on space in the base cabinet, so it took a good portion of my evening getting the skimmer properly positioned. This included the fabrication of an egg crate stand for the skimmer.

On another note I have changed my initial design for mounting my Aqua Illumination Hydra 26. I originally was going to build a scissor mount, but after considering cost, materials and time I have gone another route. So I am using the Aqua Illumintaion Hanging Kit with my own made mounting, about $25 in materials from Lowes.

I couldn't see spending $50 for two Ext Rails, which is what is required to use the hanging kit for the Hydra 26.

AI Hydra 26 Mounting for Hanging Kit

Please check back often as this build is moving quick.

friedwilly · Mar 17, 2015

kevantheman35 said:
Hey looking great. I have a 60 cube myself. That dc6000 should be plenty to run your return and reactors both on a manifold if you wanted to go that way. I use a sicce 3.0 as my return for the tank and have to turn it down some or it over powers the overflow.

...nevermind i see thats what your doing, i had just read the first post

Kev,

Thanks, my initial design was to "T" of the return pump and use flex tube. But after installing unions and valves, I quickly ran out of space.

I will now be supplying reactors, UV (later if needed) and water changes with a Sicce 3.5

kevantheman35 · Mar 17, 2015

Oh i see. I ran out of space myself im using a sicce 1.5 to run my manifold for reactors

SeahorseKeeper · Mar 17, 2015

I love that stand!! Looking forward to seeing this come together!!

Oldude · Mar 18, 2015

Wow 12 years is a long time to be sitting on an empty tank. Best of luck with your project.

friedwilly · Mar 18, 2015

Oldude said:
Wow 12 years is a long time to be sitting on an empty tank. Best of luck with your project.

It sure is, but life got in the way.

friedwilly · Mar 18, 2015

Update - March 18, 2015

Once again another late night and a lot accomplished. Mostly wiring the sump and the hood.

My wiring projects were:

General wire layout for powerheads

Wire layout and install of Apex

Switches for automatic shutoff exhaust and supply fans

Wire layout an install of Hydra 26

Sorry no pics today, but check back soon for more pics

friedwilly · Mar 19, 2015

After a long night/morning, I could say that most of the physical installation is complete.

I was able to finish up all the minor plumbing details, all the wiring and install the hood permanently.

Wiring of Main Electronics

Final Installation, Ready for water!!!

All I need to do is scour and clean the sump and tank. Plus tonight starts water production.

Final this tank will have water in it by no later than Saturday March 21st.

revhtree · Mar 20, 2015

Killer job so far!

friedwilly · Mar 23, 2015

After a very busy and sleepless weekend I was able to get the tank complete setup and dialed in.

Here are all the pictures documenting the process of setting up my tank.

Water Production

I started water production first, as I knew this was going to take the longest.

Clean Sand

Rinsed all the sand with RO water to lower the amount of cloudiness once the tank was filled.

Finishing touches on electronics

While the water was being made and getting the temp up on the water. I was able to connect all the electrical and wrap up all the finishing touches on the electronics.

Getting rock ready

Once the water was complete and the proper salinity, I started preparing the rock to go into the tank. I had acquired live rock about a year ago and cured and treated dry rock. All the rock was then stored together for about 9 months.

Installing Rock

Now to install the rock. Installing the rock was very involved, as I had to epoxy putty all the base rock. Then I used gel super glue to mount most, but not all of the secondary rock. I did not mount pieces that I knew I may have to move.

Tank being filled

Once all the sand and rock were installed, it was time for the water.

After a very long night and morning I had all the rock, sand and water installed. I soon discovered I had some leaks, so after fixing all that I went to bed @ 3am.

So here is the tank 24 hours after being filled and all the minor plumbing issues fixed.

Now it is time to wait for the cycle to run it's course. My initial readings after adding the proper amount of ammonia to start the cycle were as follows:

Salinity - 1.025
Temp- 77.8
PH - 8.28
NH3/NH4 - 2.0
NO3 - 0
NO4 - 0

I will update this post with some other projects I did during this build process.