Carey's 60g Rimless Cube Build

[chrono1081]

I was at my LFS picking up a fish so I figured I'd take a shot of my new tank and stand.

Thats an awesome tank! It almost looks like my frog tank (except there is no mini rainforest or red eyed tree frogs inside )

I wish I had shops like that where I live.

 

[RJT]

Congrats Carey!! I am really excited about this build. The tank and stand look great. So many things you can do with it.

 

[Flreefer]

Looks like a really nice tank and sounds like a great stocking idea. It should look impressive! I've always wanted a cube tank, and probably will down the road for a specific setup.
Anyway, have fun with it, and good luck!

 

[carey]

Just found out today that a good friend of mine picked up the eshopps skimmer for me, so that task is now complete. ALSO just checked on my led's and they are set to be delivered today!! And my BRS order came today too, so I have the phosban screens to use for biopellets on this setup.

Now to just get off my duff and go to lowes and get the paint and plumbing stuff. LOL

I'm still not sure what i'm gonna do with respect to the rock. I want the structure to be tall in the tank since its so deep, just not sure if the rock I intend to use will work for that. I was looking at Tonga branch rock but didn't get any this order. I did get some epoxy so I can attach some rocks to each other.

off to play with my new biopellet reactor on the 125g! Finally got one!

 

[carey]

Got my plumbing parts and paint last night. Got the back painted, went with 2 coats and it looks ok so i think thats done. lol Was easier with spraypaint than by hand, don't believe I haven't used it before, so much easier. lol

I picked up ball valves for both input and return and a bunch of pvc parts. Also got a check valve too. Now I just have to get everything to fit underneath, theres not much room between the bottom of the tank and the sump. LOL Might also need another bulkhead, I was going to go with hose but now I think I want to try pvc with unions. Soooo back to the lfs this week I guess. lol

 

[Qube]

Looks good!!

 

[redsea]

Nice job

 

[dlongbeach]

Got my plumbing parts and paint last night. Got the back painted, went with 2 coats and it looks ok so i think thats done. lol Was easier with spraypaint than by hand, don't believe I haven't used it before, so much easier. lol

I picked up ball valves for both input and return and a bunch of pvc parts. Also got a check valve too. Now I just have to get everything to fit underneath, theres not much room between the bottom of the tank and the sump. LOL Might also need another bulkhead, I was going to go with hose but now I think I want to try pvc with unions. Soooo back to the lfs this week I guess. lol

Nice! Hang on, I'm pulling up a chair.

 

[carey]

You guys are great! lol I am planning on doing the plumbing later today, that should be fun.

Paint came out nice and neat and very clean.

 

[carey]

Ok, so I am gearing up to do some major work tonight! LOL I need to tear down the 20g rimless so I can move the biocube over into it's spot so I can fit the 60g! This means moving the fish that are going into the 60g to a 10g I am setting up right now in the kitchen and also moving the lawnmower blenny into the 125g and the engineer goby is going to the 90g tank! So confusing LOL

I figure it will be a week or two tops before I have the 60g up and fish ready so the 10g will be like a little vacation home for them I hope. I will move most of the live rock out of the 20g and put that in the 10g. So I will have 2 clown gobys, a neon goby and a barnacle blenny in the 10g. Shouldnt be too stressful on them. Bet catching these little buggers is gonna be tough though.

Anyway, thats the plan for tonight. I will update what I finish if anything. hehe....I'm really really wanting to get it all done so we will see....

 

[carey]

I'm quite proud pf myself! I got all the fish out of the 20g and in their new homes. Just have 5 corals that need a home now and I can move forward. I'm hoping to have the 20g rimless all cleaned up today so I can list it on Craigslist this weekend.

here are some shots, first is the now vacant 20g and 2nd is the 10g home away from home for the few fish. ( and a mushroom and a small toadstool)

 

[redsea]

Nice job, sounds like you have been working very hard!

 

[carey]

LOL, yep it kinda sucked catching all the fish and setting up the 10g but it's all for the greater good! LOL

I just need 2 2X4's to mount the light bars onto the back of the tank and I can get this show rolling! Stupid stand has a lip that extends over the back wall of the stand so the long bars can't be attached to it without making the area level. grrr.... oh well, kinda figured that would be an issue.

I'm still spending alot of time staring at the empty tank trying to figure out how I am gonna do the rock. I'm thinking high rock at the back and around the overflow and maybe two smaller mounds towards the front. I want alot of sandbed real estate for the corals I wanna put in. I also want a nice open scape for the fish to dart through, in this tank less will be more as far as rock. i took a similar stance with the 90g and really really like the rockwork in there.

Also decided on some chromis for this tank. I was thinking 4 regular blue chromis, maybe 5, not sure yet. But I really think a schooling fish will look great since the rest of my stocking picks will be mostly sandbed or rock fish.

 

[Qube]

Wish I lived in Florida so that I could take advantage of your upgrade sales!!

 

[carey]

LOL, I wish some of you guys lived closer too. I always have tanks for sale. hehe....

Almost have the 20g clean and ready for pictures, forgot about the two peppermints in there so moved them to the biocube.

So far so good. Am debating saving the 4 bulb t5 just in case the leds go out, be nice to have the extra light if I need it. But it would also be nice to have the cash! lol

 

[carey]

Still waiting for the b/f to help me with the lighting LOL. But in the meantime here are some shots of the future inhabitants chilling in the 10g.

 

[redsea]

Cool! They must be easier to photograph in the 10g than 20g.

 

[carey]

Just got in from the garage and the lights are mounted and hung!!! Here are some pictures below of the lighting on the cube. They hang a little closer to the water than i would have liked but we could only get them hung like this.

This is the taotronics 120w 3w led panel that is available on ebay and amazon. It looks like it will have decent coverage for the 2 foot by 2 foot tank so two of these units would work well on a 55g or a 75g. My tank is also 2 feet deep and it looks like the light will penetrate to the sandbed sufficiently. I hope so anyway LOL

Just have to scooch the 20g and the biocube and we can move it in the house.

 

[Qube]

Looks great. Can't wait to see it filled up!!

 

[Ibrahim]

Looks great. A tip to get an amazing shimmer is to get a really cheap water pump and place it along the top of the water and the waves will cause the light to disperse everywhere giving you better spread and a super cool shimmer.