60 Gallon “Lazy Cube” Build

[Wolf8895]

Im going to chronicle my 2x2x2 ft cube build here. I’m calling it the “Lazy Cube” because after years of keeping tanks off and on I know my style. I’m going to try to keep this one simple.

The plan is to run skimmerless and just use a Rubbermaid tub full of my leftover rock that won’t fit in the tank. I’ll toss some macro algae in there if I can find it and call it good.

I have a Reef Angel from the last tank that I’m putting back in service on this one to control everything. I’ve had good luck with it and I like to DIY and tinker so it’s perfect for me.

Anyway, here goes nothing…

STOCK LIST
2 Black Darwin Clowns
1 Royal Gramma
1 Blue Eye Kole
1 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Emerald Crab
Blue Leg Hermits
Dwarf cerith snails
Cerith snails
Nassarius snails
Astrea snails

*** CORAL LIST ***
SBB Pink Panty Tenuis
SBB Green Mushroom
SBB Golden Sand Mushroom
SBB Purple Goni
SBB Yellow and Pink Goni
Green Star Polyp from LFS


*** EQUIPMENT LIST ***
Aqueon 60 gal cube
Eshopps Power Flow 800 HOB overflow
Reef Radiance DM155e light
Mag12 return pump
Orlushy DC pump from Amazon
Jebao WP40 wavemaker X2
Finnex Titanium heater
Rubbermaid 18g tub for a sump
Reef Angel Plus controller to run/monitor everything
AA 9W UV from Petco

 

[Wolf8895]

The stand is a typical 2x4 stand with some outer skin made of cedar fence pickets.

Here it is skinned. Learned my lesson from the last time and made it a little bigger than the tank so I’ll have more room underneath and a cutout for wiring and plumbing.

Here it is in its final resting place.

Tank is a Petco half price special I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t justify the cost of a low iron cube in this size and the glass on this one is 3/8 inch thick so I took a chance.

 

[Nano_Man]

Love the cabinet and tank will look good when set up . Following

 

[Wolf8895]

Here’s all of my rocks drying after a bleach cure. Doesn’t look like much when they are all spread out like this, but there’s over 100 lb here. I’ve got the basic outline of an aqua scape in my mind, I just have to cut and glue them all together.

 

[Troylee]

Looking good! Love the diy!

 

[reef’r]

The stand is a typical 2x4 stand with some outer skin made of cedar fence pickets.

Here it is skinned. Learned my lesson from the last time and made it a little bigger than the tank so I’ll have more room underneath and a cutout for wiring and plumbing.

Here it is in its final resting place.

Tank is a Petco half price special I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t justify the cost of a low iron cube in this size and the glass on this one is 3/8 inch thick so I took a chance.

You running an HOB over flow or did you drill it?

 

[Wolf8895]

You running an HOB over flow or did you drill it?

It’s the Eshopps HOB. I’ll have a float switch on the Reef Angel to kill the return pump should it lose siphon or get clogged. If I have issues with it or don’t like it I can always drill it later.

 

[reef’r]

Right on, reason I asked is because I just bought the exact same tank and was going to drill it. I’ve been told many times to stay away from the siphon based HOB Over flows but have a friend that’s been running one for years no issue with it breaking siphon in power outages

 

[Wolf8895]

Right on, reason I asked is because I just bought the exact same tank and was going to drill it. I’ve been told many times to stay away from the siphon based HOB Over flows but have a friend that’s been running one for years no issue with it breaking siphon in power outages

I’ve never used one, hence the float switch. I used the same switch for years to kill my skimmer if the dump tank got full. Since I’m not planning on skimming for now it was an easy conversion.

 

[reef’r]

Right on just going with a HOB would definitely be easier than drilling but since the tank is empty I’ll probably just stick to that. Any ideas what you’re going to do for lighting?

 

[Wolf8895]

Right on, reason I asked is because I just bought the exact same tank and was going to drill it. I’ve been told many times to stay away from the siphon based HOB Over flows but have a friend that’s been running one for years no issue with it breaking siphon in power outages

Forgot to add that if your tank is like mine, the seams seemed to be bonded well but some of them were missing the inner silicone bead or it was very tiny. I added them to the seams that didn’t have them.

 

[Wolf8895]

Right on just going with a HOB would definitely be easier than drilling but since the tank is empty I’ll probably just stick to that. Any ideas what you’re going to do for lighting?

For now I’m just going to reuse some old Reef Radiance 155 LED left from my previous tank. I’ve been using them as grow lights for lettuce and they’ve worked fine for that so I figure they’ll be good enough for now. I’m currently working on a DIY mount to put it above the tank.

 

[Wolf8895]

Doing a partial fill leak test today!

 

[Reign1]

nice stand . Can you show the inside?

 

[Wolf8895]

nice stand . Can you show the inside?

Not yet. It's disgusting in there for now. I've got a lot of cleanup to do in there before I take a picture of it.

 

[reef’r]

Right on, lighting for me is a big unknown with the tank being 24” deep. Not really sure which direction I should go for LPS and fish to start, but eventually will be wanting to add some SPS

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Doing a partial fill leak test today!

I like the stand!!!

 

[afrokobe]

The stand is a typical 2x4 stand with some outer skin made of cedar fence pickets.

Here it is skinned. Learned my lesson from the last time and made it a little bigger than the tank so I’ll have more room underneath and a cutout for wiring and plumbing.

Here it is in its final resting place.

Tank is a Petco half price special I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t justify the cost of a low iron cube in this size and the glass on this one is 3/8 inch thick so I took a chance.

I was really bummed as I was planning a 60g cube build earlier this year. My local petcos did not have the 60g aqueon on sale (they were excluded), so I took the plunge and just ordered a custom planet (with low iron). Significantly more expensive and I found on that recently they started including the 60g on the half off sale...

Regardless, I ended up roughly in the same spot as you although at a higher cost lol. Love your looking stand, looks gorgeous. Here is mine

Just finished leak testing this weekend

 

[Wolf8895]

I was really bummed as I was planning a 60g cube build earlier this year. My local petcos did not have the 60g aqueon on sale (they were excluded), so I took the plunge and just ordered a custom planet (with low iron). Significantly more expensive and I found on that recently they started including the 60g on the half off sale...

Regardless, I ended up roughly in the same spot as you although at a higher cost lol. Love your looking stand, looks gorgeous. Here is mine

Just finished leak testing this weekend

That's going to be a good looking system! I've always been drawn to the cubes every time I've seen them.

 

[Wolf8895]

I like the stand!!!

Thanks! There's some detachable trim pieces that match the skin that are off of it right now while i see if there are any leaks. They cover the plywood top so you can't see it.