The Dragon’s Nest 120G Cube

[Tobias9413]

Howdy! This is my build thread for my 120g tank that I will be setting up in my new house in July. I am getting the tank ready in my garage so that when I move I can just assemble this tank there and it’ll be ready to go. I plan on making it a mixed reef tank that I will move my current 29g tank into.

My current tank is a 29g standard size tank. I drilled the tank my self and made my own sump. I enjoy DIY projects and though I’ve made a few errors here and there I think it’s going great. Currently I am using JBJ Sl-100 lights I bought on sale but besides that, no major fancy equipment in this tank. Just some small wavemakers and a powerhead I bought on amazon for cheap. I keep mainly LPS but have a bit of everything. I enjoy doing research and keeping a reef tank requires plenty of research. It’s definitely kept me busy after college and I love it.

The Tank

Because I will be moving at the start of July this year, I decided that I needed to upgrade my tank. I found what I considered a great deal on a 120g reef ready cube tank (36”x36”x24”). The tank and stand were $200. The tank was dirty so I filled it up the first night I got it in my garage and poured in some vinegar to help clean it.

After scrapping the tank for a few minutes every day after work I finally got it cleaned. There are water lines which I cannot seem to get rid of (open to suggestions. help?) but overall it’s a good tank. The stand is home made but it looks good. I plan to add laminated removable panels on three sides that will give me access to the whole bottom of the tank and make the stand look more modern.

Why Dragon’s Nest?

Did I really name my unestablished tank? I guess so but to me it just made sense. It comes mainly from the rock work. To me, the structure on the right looks like a dragon coming out of the tanks bottom and once there is sand there it will hopefully look better.

Album with more pictures of structure. https://m.imgur.com/a/5giLc

It needs a bit more work to make it look more of a dragon but it’s a start. The nest is the bowl shaped rock/island on the left that the dragon is surrounding. I initially had a different idea for the rock work for this tank but when I saw that big bowl piece in the pile of rocks I bought I knew my idea would change. I want to give the nest the illusion that it’s floating so the bowl is sitting on some rocks which lift it up. To make sure everything stays stable and doesn’t get knocked over I plan on either using rods or super glue or something else(suggestions?).

So far, this is my build where it stands. I plan to do updates weekly since this tank won’t get fully set up until July when I move and I only get one day a week to work on it. However, I do want to have everything ready so that I can just transport this tank and set it up right away without problems. I will have two weeks to move into my new house. Second day I have access to the house, this tank will go in and get filled with water. By day 12 of moving my current tank will get moved into this one. Hope y’all stick around for my build!

Thanks!

 

[Reefaddict305]

Following along this looks great

 

[jason.kennedy.98478]

Nice, im upgrading to a 120 as well just not a cube. That rock work will be sick if you can pull off the dragon look

 

[Tobias9413]

Nice, im upgrading to a 120 as well just not a cube. That rock work will be sick if you can pull off the dragon look

It’s my first time with a cube tank. I was a bit worried about the aquascape but I think I’m off to the right start. I may chip away at the “jaw” of the head to make it more defined. The corals will probably hide the dragon once they start to grow but I know it’ll be there. Almost want keep it as a FOWLR but corals are too awesome.

 

[jason.kennedy.98478]

It’s my first time with a cube tank. I was a bit worried about the aquascape but I think I’m off to the right start. I may chip away at the “jaw” of the head to make it more defined. The corals will probably hide the dragon once they start to grow but I know it’ll be there. Almost want keep it as a FOWLR but corals are too awesome.

Just do encrusting corals then and a arange them like scales

 

[sfin52]

That’s a really cool idea

 

[HolisticBear]

There is a R2R thread on cube aquascapes. With 3 foot depth, you can really create a amazing depth look.

This is a famous photo from the aquascape thread, but this could only be done on a deep tank.

Will be fun to follow the thread

 

[Fudsey]

Following along

 

[LadyMac]

Awesome name and footprint and rock work. I’m a huge dragon lover and an artist so I can’t wait to see this take shape!

 

[Tobias9413]

Just do encrusting corals then and a arange them like scales

That’s not a bad idea actually. Encrusting on the dragon for scales, maybe a nice torch at the mouth for fire??? And the nest can be a mix of corals. Growing those encrusting corals would take a while though.

 

[Tobias9413]

There is a R2R thread on cube aquascapes. With 3 foot depth, you can really create a amazing depth look.

This is a famous photo from the aquascape thread, but this could only be done on a deep tank.

Will be fun to follow the thread

I did check that thread out and saw a lot of cool aquascapes there. I think that image you linked works great because it looks like a scape that would be at eye level. My tank however is only about 5.5’ tall and the depth would be lost since you can see the whole thing from above too. Maybe if the dragon doesn’t work out I’ll change the stand too and make something like this

 

[Tobias9413]

Awesome name and footprint and rock work. I’m a huge dragon lover and an artist so I can’t wait to see this take shape!

Thanks! I hope with the pictures labeled others can see what I’m seeing with the whole dragon thing lol. I promise it looks like a dragon in person! XD

 

[LadyMac]

I can see the dragon and the best too! I think it’s going to look amazing

 

[Sorcha2]

You could even get some round corals for eggs in the nest. The type of coral to use would depend on the size. You could also put some taller spiky sps corals along the spine of the dragon. You'd probably want to keep them trimmed though.

 

[Tobias9413]

You could even get some round corals for eggs in the nest. The type of coral to use would depend on the size. You could also put some taller spiky sps corals along the spine of the dragon. You'd probably want to keep them trimmed though.

I like that idea of SPS as spines. Maybe bird nest sps. I may do zoas on the rim of the nest and other round shaped coral in the inside. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Tobias9413]

Quick update! Started working on curing the rock!

I’m using a 30g brute container. I put the rock in the trash can in sections. That along with pictures should make it easy to re-assemble the rock structures when it’s time.

I’m doing a bleach bath first with 2g of bleach for 3 days. On the third day I’m going to rinse the rocks and sun dry them. That night I’m going to put them in new water with a lot of prime to get rid of bleach. Will probably do two prime baths over 4 days before I start to put the rock in saltwater and start curing/cycling.

I bought about 360lbs of rock for $160. I only used about 100lbs on this tank. I have a lot of rock left over.

 

[Tobias9413]

Rinsed rock and put it in freshwater with prime to remove the bleach. A lot of pieces look much cleaner than before

Will probably let it sit in prime for two days, rinse the rock and another prime day. Monday next week I’ll start cycling/curing.

 

[Tobias9413]

Got some new things in the mail today! 2 36” T5HO fixtures and JBJ ATO

This is my first time using T5s and will be using my current LED fixture in the tank as well. Each fixture holds two bulbs. Any recommendations for bulb combinations? I believe the fixture holds euro size bulbs.

 

[Fudsey]

If that is the Helios, it uses standard T5 bulbs according to Amazon

 

[Tobias9413]

If that is the Helios, it uses standard T5 bulbs according to Amazon

It is the Helios fixture. The packaging mentions Euro sized bulbs. Not sure if that’s any different from “normal” size bulbs? First time with T5s heh.