My First Reef Tank 60g Cube Build

[thunderreefer]

Thank you for checking out my build! Appreciate any feedback and suggestions. I’m looking forward to the challenge and the learning experience ahead. I’ve been researching reef tanks since this past March after a scuba diving trip in Hawaii and finally decided to go for it and bought a tank in early November. I love the ocean and biology was one of my favorite classes in high school and college (my college and career path took me into a different direction).

This is my first reef tank! I had a saltwater fish tank over 25 years ago when I was in high school as part of a marine biology class. I just remember having a 30g tank with underground and HOB filtration and two fish, a clownfish and blue tang. Yes, 25 years ago was before Finding Nemo and I had no idea at the time just how big those tangs get. Unfortunately, it didn’t last for even a year. I had more problems than I could solve and information was not as easy to find as it is now. Plus, I had the budget of a 16 year-old with a part-time job, so if there was better equipment or something I needed to solve a problem, I didn’t have money to buy it!

I liked the idea and learning experience of a full system with a sump and refugium, so I looked for a set-up large enough for a separate sump, but overall small enough that I didn’t feel overwhelmed by what I’m taking on.

I purchased the tank, stand, sump, and skimmer together used from someone moving across country. I bought all items over the past few months. I haven’t bothered adding it all up and probably won’t. At least I make a little more than I did when I was 16. Crazy to see this list all together and what I’ve bought so far, which doesn’t include much livestock and zero coral. Someone please confirm, am I in the reefing hobby or the equipment hobby? So far, tough to tell, but still hoping I signed up for the reefing hobby!

Let’s get to it, here’s my current set-up (saw this format from another build thread and liked how it was listed out so I copied it):

Tank
Visio tank, 3/8” glass
60g cube (24”x24”x24”)
Internal overflow, right-back corner
Bottom drilled
Durso overflow standpipe

Lid
ClearView Classic custom lid

Stand
Wood, 27”H, 25.5”W, 25”L

Sump
Trigger Systems Crystal Sump 18

Skimmer
Tunze 9006

Other Filtration
Refugium: 20 x 2” MarinePure cubes, chaeto, copepods (Algae Barn refugium starter kit)
Newhouse Lighting 16.5W PAR38 LED Grow Light
BRS mini-reactor with Sicce Syncra 1.5 pump (357 gph) using BRS ROX 0.8 carbon

Return Pump
Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 pump (568 gph)

Tank Circulation
2x Echotech MP10wQD

Controller
Me…reliability?…still in test, but there are definitely software bugs to work out. Some issues are decidedly unfixable, so may need a plan B in the future.

Heater/Chiller
BRS 300W Titanium aquarium heater system
JBJ Arctica Chiller 1⁄10 HP (used)

ATO
Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 ATO
Reservoir: Currently a 5g Lowes bucket

Lighting
Kessil A360x – Tuna Blue
Kessil A-Series Mounting Arm

Substrate
Rock: ~45lbs of Marco Rock in DT
Sand: CaribSea 30lbs, Special Grad ARAG-ALIVE! Reef Sand

Salt Mixing/Water

• Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
• 32g Brute can, with Brute dolly
• Koralia Evolution Powerhead (1150 GPH)
• 150W Eheim Jager aquarium heater
• BRS 6 Stage Deluxe Plus 100 GPD RO/DI System
• 1/4" Aquatec 8800 Booster Pump Kit (my home pressure was below 40psi and my 1st 5g of water took fooorrrreeeevvvvveeeerr. Bought and tuned the booster pump to 75psi and life is good again)
• XP Aqua RO/DI Flood Protector - Electronic Auto Shut Off Valve Kit
• 2 x Glentronics, Inc. BWD-HWA 00895001498 Basement Watchdog High Water Alarm
• 1 under the sink with the RO/DI and one behind the DT stand

Quarantine

• 2x Aqueon 10g aquarium
• 2x Aqueon Quiet Flow 10 HOB filter
• 2x 50w Aqueon heater
• 2x Aqueon hood w/ LED lighting
• PVC fittings
• 50w Eheim Jager heater
• Kessil A80 – Tuna Blue
• Kessil Mini A-Series Gooseneck

Livestock
2x Platinum clownfish

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Great start. I’m looking forward seeing this operating. Welcome to the R2R club.

 

[thunderreefer]

Guess I didn't take as many pictures as I thought, but the tank and stand before paint. I thought I was going to have to keep the tank in the laundry room, but my wife was asking why I wasn't putting it in the front room. Worked for me. Only requirement, the stand needed to be white, so, I went straight to the hardware store and picked up some white paint

 

[thunderreefer]

Guess I didn't note that I started all this in November, so finally taking a minute to document progress. Set-up a quarantine tank and picked up some clownfish. Hadn't thought of a quarantine tank. Primarily thanks to R2R and what I learned/read through this forum and posts decided I need to. I tried my best to follow Humblefish's methods. I did have one clown that seemed sick (long stringy white poo and resting on the bottom for a couple days, sometime completely on his/her side). Really thought I was going to lose it, but even though I'm a novice, felt as prepared as I could be with meds ready. I'll keep working on updates and pulling together more pictures, but the clown did make it, so thank you R2R, @Humblefish, @4FordFamily, @Dr. Reef, and many others who posted and shared their knowledge!

 

[thunderreefer]

Great start. I’m looking forward seeing this operating. Welcome to the R2R club.

Thank you!

 

[Katrina71]

Great news on your clown!

 

[thunderreefer]

Not sure if I can load a video, so I'll have to figure that out. My kids thought I should do a time lapse video of the set-up, but here is the base set-up.

 

[thunderreefer]

Great news on your clown!

Thank you! It was a bit stressful and I was only two days in already feeling like I failed.

 

[Dr. Reef]

Happy to help.
Good luck and safe reefing.

 

[Paulie069]

Happy to help.
Good luck and safe reefing.

Was enjoying this thread so much I’m 5 miles off course I’m supposed to be watching the helm, but got hooked up in ur build. This reefing thing really is addicting humm who knew. Good luck I want more

 

[4FordFamily]

Keep up the great work!

 

[Sabdali]

That's quite an equipment list. All the new equipment makes me just as excited as new coral to be honest. Following the build!

 

[thunderreefer]

Happy to help.
Good luck and safe reefing.

Sincere thank you for your help!

 

[thunderreefer]

Was enjoying this thread so much I’m 5 miles off course I’m supposed to be watching the helm, but got hooked up in ur build. This reefing thing really is addicting humm who knew. Good luck I want more

Thank you and stay safe! Your comment reminded me how many reefing youtube videos I've watched and R2R threads I've read since I started on the idea last March. Major binge watching/reading. I probably should have cancelled Netflix

 

[thunderreefer]

Keep up the great work!

Thank you, I really appreciate all your posts helping others and sharing your research and experience. Definitely helped me!

 

[thunderreefer]

Working 7 days a week for the past month it’s been all I could do to keep up with the tanks, so I had to pause on updating my thread. Time for catch-up. This is my QT set-up. Took over the laundry room. My wife has been cool about it, but I was wearing down her (and my) patience with the mess in our front room with the DT. With my RODI setup, one lesson learned (twice) is to have a shutoff. I set an alarm, checked when it went off, need more time, got distracted and didn’t reset the alarm and came back to water on the floor. I got the Guardian, which is great. Optical shut off, but just this past week filling a bucket for my ATO and I hooked everything up but forgot to attached the optical sensor. Water on the floor...again! Now I also put a Watchdog water sensing alarm on the floor. Hoping that was my last overflowing bucket?

 

[thunderreefer]

Fish out of QT and in the DT. 30 days in copper between 1.94 and 2.11. Also treated with general cure. With one fish sick at the beginning, I had them in QT for about 45 days. Kids were excited to finally see something in the DT (So was I)!

 

[thunderreefer]

Here’s a shot of my mess. Equipment and boxes piled up on our computer desk. My wife thought I needed some more storage space (I agreed), so we picked up a couple units from IKEA, Havsat model. One day I came home from work and my wife had them mostly together, which was super awesome!

 

[thunderreefer]

Also figuring out cord management. I already have a lot into the tank and equipment, so couldn’t bring myself to buy a fancy under cabinet control board. I came up with a design that I could mount equipment and easily pass cords through to try for a cleaner look under my cabinet. My wife likes to woodwork a little (she built the table in the background with my stuff piled on it), and she built the box with slots for me.

 

[thunderreefer]

While I was still organizing, I bought my first corals that went into QT! Went with a few in the “deal” area to make sure I can keep them alive. Since I can only handle so much right now, I ended up ordering fish from a quarantine fish supplier. First half of my order was a canary wrasse that went into an observation tank (didn’t put straight into DT just so I could get it use to the food I use and not have to compete right away with my clowns for something to eat. Feed twice a day but they always seem like they’re starving. Also picked up a handful of QT’d astraea snails from the same quarantined fish supplier that went straight to work on the hair algae making a nice home in my sump. I dipped my corals before putting them in QT. Kind of cool to see what comes off! Picked up an acan and a couple Zoas. Looks like I’ll need a camera filer or maybe just turn on the white lights.