bshowe
Community Member
Hi R2R! Also greetings Club Cube! I am excited to join the club with my first cube build! :becky:
After moving across the country to the Bay Area for a new job, I talked my first landlord into letting me have a 5 gallon freshwater tank after some intense negotiations. I really missed having fish as they are so relaxing to me. However, it was like pulling teeth to accomplish that. She was questioning my everything such as how many watts the tank used, how much water I would use a month, etc. It was ridiculous! I also missed having a reef tank. So I was able to move and find a place to let me actually have a tank! I can't believe how many places are so anti-pet friendly out here!
Long story short, I was able to pick up a real good deal on a Marineland 60 Gallon Rimless Cube tank and stand from a LFS. So now the build thread starts! The tank is 24" x 24" x 24".
This is my first true build where I am trying to really plan everything out after years of fish keeping experience and building some of my own parts. I hope it goes well! :biggrin1:
The first thing I needed to do was get rid of the overflow. I hated how much real estate it took up. Back East I had a friend try the XAQUA In-Out and I really liked it. I wanted to try it myself so I got one as well straight from the company in Italy. :biggrin1:
I also figured it would give the tank a great minimalist look with less equipment in the tank. After much debate watching videos on drilling tanks, I just couldn't risk doing it myself the first time. Maybe in the future on some cheap $1 per gallon tanks from Petco. Luckily, I found a local glass company that was able to drill the tank for me. I then siliconed a piece of glass over the bottom overflow holes to cover them up. It will disappear once I add sand to the tank.
Here is the difference with the overflow in and out. I got 1/9th of the tank back for aquascaping and the fish!
The next part I just finished was my sump out of 1/4" acrylic. I love that I know how to 3D model and then was able to get the pieces cut locally and had access to a laser cutter for some parts. I designed it where I can move a piece to adjust the water level for the skimmer compartment (I can move the water level from roughly 6-10"). I did add a wet-dry, which I know most people will disagree with. I really like how well they keep fish healthy (really keep my tanks ich free and reduce stress released by the fish) and just could not pass on having one. I basically built an Eshopps WD-100CS into my sump. However, I am using a humongous skimmer to hopefully counter act it. I picked up a great deal on an Eshopps S-200 snow cone skimmer. Here is the sump being built and finished with the skimmer in it. I still need to get more bio-balls (I have one gallon but this holds 3 gallons) and the return pump is on its way in the mail. I am going to use a Rio+ 2100 (694 gph). There is also a small compartment in it that can be a small refugarium to grow cheato and grow pods or hold fish that misbehave. I am looking forward to hopefully keeping a pair of Ruby Red Scooters again in my tank.
I just finished the gluing the sump tonight so I am going to let it cure and then test it with water in a few days! I hope it holds water!
My next step is I want to paint the inside of the stand with some water resistant paint. Off to Home Depot again for more parts!
Additionally, I need to save up and acquire some more parts. Below is what else I want to add to my tank in terms of equipment. I am going to try and do a mixed reef with some SPS at the top and LPS and Zoas toward the middle and bottom of the tank. Hopefully I can get it wet and cycling in January!
Kessil A-360W
Jebao WP-25 or RW-15 (I want to see how well the flow with XAQUA In-Out works first) It would be fun to try an MP-10 or MP-40 if I can find a good deal on one. Putting it on the back of the tank and being low profile would make the tank virtually have no equipment in it! :biggrin1:
Neptune Apex (Would love to try one of these out if I can save up for it.)
BRS RO/DI Unit
BRS Dual Carbon & GFO Reactor
BRS 1/4" DIY Net Top
2x 200W Heaters
I also need to develop some sort of ATO system. I maximized the sump for the stand and might need to build a small side stand to go with the tank. Not sure what to do yet. Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see how this turns out! Looking forward to sharing this build and using the communities advice along the way! :biggrin1:
After moving across the country to the Bay Area for a new job, I talked my first landlord into letting me have a 5 gallon freshwater tank after some intense negotiations. I really missed having fish as they are so relaxing to me. However, it was like pulling teeth to accomplish that. She was questioning my everything such as how many watts the tank used, how much water I would use a month, etc. It was ridiculous! I also missed having a reef tank. So I was able to move and find a place to let me actually have a tank! I can't believe how many places are so anti-pet friendly out here!
Long story short, I was able to pick up a real good deal on a Marineland 60 Gallon Rimless Cube tank and stand from a LFS. So now the build thread starts! The tank is 24" x 24" x 24".
This is my first true build where I am trying to really plan everything out after years of fish keeping experience and building some of my own parts. I hope it goes well! :biggrin1:
The first thing I needed to do was get rid of the overflow. I hated how much real estate it took up. Back East I had a friend try the XAQUA In-Out and I really liked it. I wanted to try it myself so I got one as well straight from the company in Italy. :biggrin1:
I also figured it would give the tank a great minimalist look with less equipment in the tank. After much debate watching videos on drilling tanks, I just couldn't risk doing it myself the first time. Maybe in the future on some cheap $1 per gallon tanks from Petco. Luckily, I found a local glass company that was able to drill the tank for me. I then siliconed a piece of glass over the bottom overflow holes to cover them up. It will disappear once I add sand to the tank.
Here is the difference with the overflow in and out. I got 1/9th of the tank back for aquascaping and the fish!
The next part I just finished was my sump out of 1/4" acrylic. I love that I know how to 3D model and then was able to get the pieces cut locally and had access to a laser cutter for some parts. I designed it where I can move a piece to adjust the water level for the skimmer compartment (I can move the water level from roughly 6-10"). I did add a wet-dry, which I know most people will disagree with. I really like how well they keep fish healthy (really keep my tanks ich free and reduce stress released by the fish) and just could not pass on having one. I basically built an Eshopps WD-100CS into my sump. However, I am using a humongous skimmer to hopefully counter act it. I picked up a great deal on an Eshopps S-200 snow cone skimmer. Here is the sump being built and finished with the skimmer in it. I still need to get more bio-balls (I have one gallon but this holds 3 gallons) and the return pump is on its way in the mail. I am going to use a Rio+ 2100 (694 gph). There is also a small compartment in it that can be a small refugarium to grow cheato and grow pods or hold fish that misbehave. I am looking forward to hopefully keeping a pair of Ruby Red Scooters again in my tank.
I just finished the gluing the sump tonight so I am going to let it cure and then test it with water in a few days! I hope it holds water!
My next step is I want to paint the inside of the stand with some water resistant paint. Off to Home Depot again for more parts!
Additionally, I need to save up and acquire some more parts. Below is what else I want to add to my tank in terms of equipment. I am going to try and do a mixed reef with some SPS at the top and LPS and Zoas toward the middle and bottom of the tank. Hopefully I can get it wet and cycling in January!
Kessil A-360W
Jebao WP-25 or RW-15 (I want to see how well the flow with XAQUA In-Out works first) It would be fun to try an MP-10 or MP-40 if I can find a good deal on one. Putting it on the back of the tank and being low profile would make the tank virtually have no equipment in it! :biggrin1:
Neptune Apex (Would love to try one of these out if I can save up for it.)
BRS RO/DI Unit
BRS Dual Carbon & GFO Reactor
BRS 1/4" DIY Net Top
2x 200W Heaters
I also need to develop some sort of ATO system. I maximized the sump for the stand and might need to build a small side stand to go with the tank. Not sure what to do yet. Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see how this turns out! Looking forward to sharing this build and using the communities advice along the way! :biggrin1:
