60 gallon cube, very first tank!

[ams3210]

Hello all! I’m brand new to reefing, and after about a month of research I decided to pull the trigger and picked up a second hand 60 gallon cube off Facebook marketplace. It came with a sump, some filter media, a return pump, some heaters, and old broken skimmer for dirt cheap. After some hardcore tlc (refinishing the acrylic, building a stand out of 2x4s, refinishing some of the plumbing), I’ve currently got it filled with water and going through a fishless cycle!

I threw away the second hand heaters and replaced them with an Eheim 3619 heater plugged into an Inkbird wifi connected heater controller. For filtration, I’ve got a Tunze comline DOC skimmer 9004 DC, about 40lbs of reef rock, bio bale pellets, ROX 0.8 carbon, and will be installing some blue filter pad material to catch large particulate matter. I’m running a Tunze osmolator 3155 for my ATO, and for the time being my return pump and light are second hand and came with the setup and have no clear branding on them.

Let me know what you think of the whole thing! I’m doing my best with the budget and space I have available, and can’t wait to get to the place where I can add my first fish. My goal with this tank is to focus on coral, softies and LPS primarily, though I do aspire to keep some SPS some day. Gonna keep things limited to a few utility fish and invertebrates, and pour all my focus into keep conditions good for coral growth. Excited to go on this journey with you all and see where it takes me!

 

[ryanjohn1]

Welcome. And I really like the tank.

 

[ams3210]

Welcome. And I really like the tank.

Thank you! I appreciate that, I’m really trying to get it set up right from the start.

 

[lil sumpin]

 

[ryanjohn1]

Just make sure you can clean your glass easily. I usually mess that up and pile rock and coral too close and end up with a spot I can’t clean

 

[tsharpe291]

pretty cool aquascape.

 

[TheWB]

Hello all! I’m brand new to reefing, and after about a month of research I decided to pull the trigger and picked up a second hand 60 gallon cube off Facebook marketplace. It came with a sump, some filter media, a return pump, some heaters, and old broken skimmer for dirt cheap. After some hardcore tlc (refinishing the acrylic, building a stand out of 2x4s, refinishing some of the plumbing), I’ve currently got it filled with water and going through a fishless cycle!

I threw away the second hand heaters and replaced them with an Eheim 3619 heater plugged into an Inkbird wifi connected heater controller. For filtration, I’ve got a Tunze comline DOC skimmer 9004 DC, about 40lbs of reef rock, bio bale pellets, ROX 0.8 carbon, and will be installing some blue filter pad material to catch large particulate matter. I’m running a Tunze osmolator 3155 for my ATO, and for the time being my return pump and light are second hand and came with the setup and have no clear branding on them.

Let me know what you think of the whole thing! I’m doing my best with the budget and space I have available, and can’t wait to get to the place where I can add my first fish. My goal with this tank is to focus on coral, softies and LPS primarily, though I do aspire to keep some SPS some day. Gonna keep things limited to a few utility fish and invertebrates, and pour all my focus into keep conditions good for coral growth. Excited to go on this journey with you all and see where it takes me!

Nice to see another Seattle area tank thread. I like your scape. I always think I'm going to do a minimalist one and it always ends up not being that way at all. That's an interesting looking sump.
Following along to see what you decide to stock this with. What's your plan for fish?

 

[ams3210]

Nice to see another Seattle area tank thread. I like your scape. I always think I'm going to do a minimalist one and it always ends up not being that way at all. That's an interesting looking sump.
Following along to see what you decide to stock this with. What's your plan for fish?

Was gonna start with a couple of clowns for something hardy, but ultimately I want very few fish with a focus on utility, so perhaps a tang and a blenny or something along those lines for a CUC. Way more interested in corals and inverts!

 

[TheWB]

Was gonna start with a couple of clowns for something hardy, but ultimately I want very few fish with a focus on utility, so perhaps a tang and a blenny or something along those lines for a CUC. Way more interested in corals and inverts!

Yeah, clowns are iconic but frankly pretty useless. I’m getting rid of all my anemones and am debating whether to exile my remaining clown to the garage holding tank or let him move into my new tank with the rest of the gang. A Tomini Tang would work ok in the cube, I wouldn’t do any other Tang in those dims. You also might need a bigger cave for one. I have one in a slightly smaller tank than yours is but most of my scape is raised up about 4” off the bottom so it has plenty of room to hide out of sight and plenty of room to swim. Or at least it did until the anemones took over.
Have you been to any of the LFS’s on the east side?

 

[ams3210]

Yeah, clowns are iconic but frankly pretty useless. I’m getting rid of all my anemones and am debating whether to exile my remaining clown to the garage holding tank or let him move into my new tank with the rest of the gang. A Tomini Tang would work ok in the cube, I wouldn’t do any other Tang in those dims. You also might need a bigger cave for one. I have one in a slightly smaller tank than yours is but most of my scape is raised up about 4” off the bottom so it has plenty of room to hide out of sight and plenty of room to swim. Or at least it did until the anemones took over.
Have you been to any of the LFS’s on the east side?

I'm by no means tied to clowns, its just the main fish I've heard recommended as a hardy first fish. From what people have been saying on here I think im gonna try to find a way to add another bigger cave or two, its not something I gave a thought to while aquascaping. Definitely focused more on form over function.
Yeah, I've visited both the LFS that I'm aware of on the east side! I love to go in to look at their selection and dream about being able to fill my tank.

 

[TheWB]

I'm by no means tied to clowns, its just the main fish I've heard recommended as a hardy first fish. From what people have been saying on here I think im gonna try to find a way to add another bigger cave or two, its not something I gave a thought to while aquascaping. Definitely focused more on form over function.
Yeah, I've visited both the LFS that I'm aware of on the east side! I love to go in to look at their selection and dream about being able to fill my tank.

Clowns are a hardy starter fish for sure but there are other good options. I actually really like them but if I got them again it would be a species only pair of one of the Maroon variants with a bunch of anemones and that would be it for the tank. Maroons are big bullies.

There are three shops on the east side worth visiting. Saltwater City, Barrier Reef and Sea King (who have changed locations and it’s much better now IMO, hated their old shop). I’ve had good luck with buying from SC and BR. Sea King always felt kinda used car sales lot to me but I was just at the new location for the first time the other day and it’s a big improvement.

 

[ams3210]

Clowns are a hardy starter fish for sure but there are other good options. I actually really like them but if I got them again it would be a species only pair of one of the Maroon variants with a bunch of anemones and that would be it for the tank. Maroons are big bullies.

There are three shops on the east side worth visiting. Saltwater City, Barrier Reef and Sea King (who have changed locations and it’s much better now IMO, hated their old shop). I’ve had good luck with buying from SC and BR. Sea King always felt kinda used car sales lot to me but I was just at the new location for the first time the other day and it’s a big improvement.

I'll look around for something other than clowns then, they don't really fit my aesthetic goals for the tank. Ive been to SC and SK, I didn't know about BR. Theres also one called the Fish Store in Lake City, but I from my admittedly newbie perspective it looked pretty poorly maintained. I've been going to SC since their prices for equipment are typically a good bit cheaper, but when it comes time to buy livestock I like the look of SK's more. Still a ways off from coral though, right now in the middle of a fishless cycle and still testing pretty high nitrite levels. I really appreciate the insight from a fellow PNW reef keeper!

 

[SaracensRugby]

Nice start, a 60 cube was my first tank and I enjoyed it a lot. If possible maybe paint the back two panes of glass so you don't see right through to the back wall, just an idea. Good luck!

 

[TheWB]

I'll look around for something other than clowns then, they don't really fit my aesthetic goals for the tank. Ive been to SC and SK, I didn't know about BR. Theres also one called the Fish Store in Lake City, but I from my admittedly newbie perspective it looked pretty poorly maintained. I've been going to SC since their prices for equipment are typically a good bit cheaper, but when it comes time to buy livestock I like the look of SK's more. Still a ways off from coral though, right now in the middle of a fishless cycle and still testing pretty high nitrite levels. I really appreciate the insight from a fellow PNW reef keeper!

Happy to help a little if I can. If you’re more into corals and inverts than fish I’d say be picky and only get fish you really want. I started my current tank with two clowns and two zebra barred dartfish. In hindsight I would have gone with just the dartfish, they are a favorite of mine. Get what you really want from the beginning, whatever it is, as long as your tank is ready for it. The fisess cycle is good. I ran my tank for four months before anything alive went in. That’s too long, don’t do that, lol.

Barrier Reef is farther south down 405 in Newcastle. Other side of the freeway from the Seahawks practice facility. It’s a total hole in the wall you will never find if you didn’t know it was there. It’s in the same strip mall as the McDonalds. It’s the very southwestern corner of the strip mall and the sign on the door is small. Look it up before you go.

I think that place in Lake City only has freshwater, or at least that’s all it had last time I was there. It’s been a long time. There is also Blue Sierra in Renton and Aquarium Paradise in Lakewood but IMO the others will have bigger selections of both fish and coral.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hello all! I’m brand new to reefing, and after about a month of research I decided to pull the trigger and picked up a second hand 60 gallon cube off Facebook marketplace. It came with a sump, some filter media, a return pump, some heaters, and old broken skimmer for dirt cheap. After some hardcore tlc (refinishing the acrylic, building a stand out of 2x4s, refinishing some of the plumbing), I’ve currently got it filled with water and going through a fishless cycle!

I threw away the second hand heaters and replaced them with an Eheim 3619 heater plugged into an Inkbird wifi connected heater controller. For filtration, I’ve got a Tunze comline DOC skimmer 9004 DC, about 40lbs of reef rock, bio bale pellets, ROX 0.8 carbon, and will be installing some blue filter pad material to catch large particulate matter. I’m running a Tunze osmolator 3155 for my ATO, and for the time being my return pump and light are second hand and came with the setup and have no clear branding on them.

Let me know what you think of the whole thing! I’m doing my best with the budget and space I have available, and can’t wait to get to the place where I can add my first fish. My goal with this tank is to focus on coral, softies and LPS primarily, though I do aspire to keep some SPS some day. Gonna keep things limited to a few utility fish and invertebrates, and pour all my focus into keep conditions good for coral growth. Excited to go on this journey with you all and see where it takes me!

Nice looking aquascape!

 

[ams3210]

Nice looking aquascape!

Thank you! Trying to figure out a way to add more caves and hiding spots now without changing the overall look too much.

 

[ams3210]

Big tank update! So after some good advice on here, I decided to switch out the small island in the front of my tank for a bigger cave structure I built out of a busted up piece of dry rock.

Which is great, because yesterday I finally added my first livestock to the tank! I got three damsels: a jewel, a domino, and a neon blue velvet. As well I got an emerald crab and two snails, which you’ll have to forgive me for forgetting what kind. So excited to finally have movement in the tank and to see the fruition of all my research and hard work come together!

Not the best photo of the fish, but they’re still pretty shy so I couldn’t get too close. The damsels are already spending a lot of time in the cave, so I’m really glad I added it and I’m considering building another smaller one for behind the main rock structure.

Another nice development, though more cosmetic, are the panels I built for the aquarium stand. While I do enjoy seeing my sump, I managed to find some of those noise reducing panels at the goodwill and with an old bedsheet and some poster board, I made some nice panels that quiet the noise of the sump considerably that attach to the stand magnetically.

So there’s my update! Lots of exciting developments, super happy to have the tank in the process of maturing and being one step closer to the corals I’ve been dreaming of :,)

 

[TheWB]

It's always great to get some l

Big tank update! So after some good advice on here, I decided to switch out the small island in the front of my tank for a bigger cave structure I built out of a busted up piece of dry rock.

Which is great, because yesterday I finally added my first livestock to the tank! I got three damsels: a jewel, a domino, and a neon blue velvet. As well I got an emerald crab and two snails, which you’ll have to forgive me for forgetting what kind. So excited to finally have movement in the tank and to see the fruition of all my research and hard work come together!

Not the best photo of the fish, but they’re still pretty shy so I couldn’t get too close. The damsels are already spending a lot of time in the cave, so I’m really glad I added it and I’m considering building another smaller one for behind the main rock structure.

Another nice development, though more cosmetic, are the panels I built for the aquarium stand. While I do enjoy seeing my sump, I managed to find some of those noise reducing panels at the goodwill and with an old bedsheet and some poster board, I made some nice panels that quiet the noise of the sump considerably that attach to the stand magnetically.

So there’s my update! Lots of exciting developments, super happy to have the tank in the process of maturing and being one step closer to the corals I’ve been dreaming of :,)

It's always great to get some life and movement going in the tank. What made you choose those particular damsels? I only ask because they are among the biggest (all can get over 5") and meanest of the damselfish and you could end up with some aggression issues between the three of them, with each other and any other new additions later on. They are each going to want to establish and defend a territory in your tank. I would definitely get some more hiding places in there if you are planning to keep all three.

 

[ams3210]

It's always great to get some l

It's always great to get some life and movement going in the tank. What made you choose those particular damsels? I only ask because they are among the biggest (all can get over 5") and meanest of the damselfish and you could end up with some aggression issues between the three of them, with each other and any other new additions later on. They are each going to want to establish and defend a territory in your tank. I would definitely get some more hiding places in there if you are planning to keep all three.

I picked them on aesthetics, and the dude at Sea King didn’t mention anything about the size or aggressive tendencies. I did my research once I brought them home and found out my mistake, the blue velvet especially has me stressed since everything I found online were very adamant about how aggressive they are. Not sure what I’m going to do, I did add one more cave structure I built and there are more hiding spots than I realized which is a nice surprise the fish have revealed to me. For the mean time they’ll serve my goal of getting the tank maturing, up and running. Definitely a beginner’s misstep.

 

[TheWB]

I picked them on aesthetics, and the dude at Sea King didn’t mention anything about the size or aggressive tendencies. I did my research once I brought them home and found out my mistake, the blue velvet especially has me stressed since everything I found online were very adamant about how aggressive they are. Not sure what I’m going to do, I did add one more cave structure I built and there are more hiding spots than I realized which is a nice surprise the fish have revealed to me. For the mean time they’ll serve my goal of getting the tank maturing, up and running. Definitely a beginner’s misstep.

It’s not really a big deal right now. They will serve their purpose and you can always re-home them later. I just be careful on the impulse livestock buys going forward and you’ll be fine. I think Sea King should have recommended different damsels though. Or something utilitarian like an Algae Benny that would serve a purpose. Selling you those particular three damsels wasn’t really very cool at all.