60 Breeder home reef tank

[ramfifty]

For Christmas, I’m getting a 60-gallon breeder tank for home and wanted to share an idea I’ve been working on, maybe it’s not entirely new, but I think it could work well. I’ll be running a canister filter on this reef tank since I already have one, but I also want to incorporate surface skimming while hiding the pickup tube, return tube, and heater.

My plan is to use black acrylic or Plexiglas to create an AIO-style compartment that houses the pickup and return tubes, the heater, and the ATO system. The top would have teeth cut into it for surface skimming, and I’d add extra holes near the bottom so water can flow freely. The pickup would draw water over the skimmer teeth and through the lower holes, giving me the surface skimming I want while keeping the equipment out of sight.

I’ve sketched a very basic drawing of what I’m envisioning. The compartment could be placed in a corner or designed as a box in one corner of the tank.

thoughts or improvements?

 

[lapin]

Sounds reasonable. Just remember acrylic does not bond well to glass. It has a tendency to absorb water.

 

[ramfifty]

short update:

Started work on my stand, I'm off this coming week so I should be able to get it done soon.

Stopped by my LFS and ordered a 40lb box of dry rook so I can start my aqua scape design.

Have a friend at work that's going to 3D print me skimmer box (ABS) to fit my needs so that I can hide my canister pickup, heater, ATO, etc.

I've never used dry rock before but from what I've read on this site, I think I will be happy. The choice to go with dry rock was purely a financial one at 7.99 to 9.99 a pound for live rock, the dry rock was 2.99 a pound.

I'll take some pictures and post them later

 

[ramfifty]

I’ve got the main structure finished and fully leveled, so it’s officially ready for the tank. The only thing left is getting the doors built and mounted, which I’ll be working on next.

Really happy with how solid it feels

 

[ramfifty]

Got the stand finished! Progress slowed down a bit, had a minor hand injury that slowed me down, and then allergies hit hard. Feeling better now and back at it. I racked up during Christmas on tank needs. Really excited about my RODI system.

contemplating building a canopy just to finish it off. not sure yet

 

[ramfifty]

Making some solid progress this week, so I figured I’d drop another update.

Got my dry rock in, and my thick superglue is on the way, should arrive in time for me to start working on the aquascape this weekend. Really excited to finally start putting that part together.

I’ve also been working on the controller section of the stand. Got a few controllers mounted already and I’m playing around with different ways to route all the wiring as cleanly as possible.

Picked up a new Fluval canister filter since the old one ended up being way too small for what I need. Might still use the old one as a water polisher or to run carbon if needed.

On top of that, I got the RO/DI unit installed and ready to go. Next step is grabbing some salt and figuring out how to set up a mixing station in the small space under the stairs. It’s a tight area, so I’ll have to get creative with containers and pump placement.

More updates soon once the scape starts coming together!

 

[Kooma]

Making some solid progress this week, so I figured I’d drop another update.

Got my dry rock in, and my thick superglue is on the way, should arrive in time for me to start working on the aquascape this weekend. Really excited to finally start putting that part together.

I’ve also been working on the controller section of the stand. Got a few controllers mounted already and I’m playing around with different ways to route all the wiring as cleanly as possible.

Picked up a new Fluval canister filter since the old one ended up being way too small for what I need. Might still use the old one as a water polisher or to run carbon if needed.

On top of that, I got the RO/DI unit installed and ready to go. Next step is grabbing some salt and figuring out how to set up a mixing station in the small space under the stairs. It’s a tight area, so I’ll have to get creative with containers and pump placement.

More updates soon once the scape starts coming together!

If you are tight for space, a used aquarium works great as a mixing tank as well. I have a 18x36x30 tall tank that was an ATO tank previously and I now use it for mixing up batches of salt water. Just a heater and a 1000gph circulation pump is all you need.

 

[ramfifty]

Working on aqua scape. Very happy. My wife and I worked most the day on it. Still got some 2part to apply.

 

[ramfifty]

Got alot of the support equipment installed. Setup lightes. Very happy

 

[ktran]

Great scape!

 

[ramfifty]

been a awhile since i last posted an update.

the tank has been running since Jan 27th. I have completed the cycle and now entered the brown stage.

just a quick update photo bomb I'll try to do a more detailed update later.

Stock
2 Black Frostbite clowns
1 gsp rock
started my Zoa garden (Blue eye blonds, Fruitloops, and Bam Bams)

the zoas were added when I took the photo so they are not open all the way yet. the GSP was added the day before.

 

[ramfifty]

Build & Stock List​

Posting the current build and stocking list for reference.

---

Tank​

• 60 Gallon Long Breeder – Imagitarium
• Dimensions: 48” L × 18” W × 16” H

---

Equipment​

• FZone ATO
• Hygger Wave Maker – 1321 GPH / 12W
• (2) Smatfarm G3 60W Reef Lights
• 300W Heater
• Fluval 307 Canister Filter (Bio media only)

---

Aquascape​

• 40 lbs Dry Rock
• 40 lbs CaribSea Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand

---

Stocking List (as of now)​

Fish​

• 2× Black Frostbite Clownfish
• 2× Fire Gobies

Clean-Up Crew​

• 4× Nassarius Snails (“Zombie snails”)
• 2× Orange Leg Hermit Crabs

---

Corals​

Zoanthids​

• Zoa Garden Rock started:
  • Blue Eye Blond
  • Fruit Loop
  • Bam Bam

Soft Corals​

• GSP Rock (~1” piece)
• Aussie Green Crown Leather

 

[Gumbies R Us]

been a awhile since i last posted an update.

the tank has been running since Jan 27th. I have completed the cycle and now entered the brown stage.

just a quick update photo bomb I'll try to do a more detailed update later.

Stock
2 Black Frostbite clowns
1 gsp rock
started my Zoa garden (Blue eye blonds, Fruitloops, and Bam Bams)

the zoas were added when I took the photo so they are not open all the way yet. the GSP was added the day before.

Glad to see the tank is up and running!

 

[Dommerguy]

Update

 

[ramfifty]

Quick update on the build and the rollercoaster the last few weeks…

I’ve been fighting a pretty nasty bacterial bloom for about two weeks, but happy to say it’s been cleared up for about a week now. Best guess from my LFS and I is that it was a perfect storm situation. I lost both of my fire gobies, and unfortunately they were deep inside the aquascape where I couldn’t retrieve them and I couldn’t even find them. The tricky part is I had already added pods from AlgaeBarn before I was 100% sure the gobies were gone, and then had a pretty significant die-off of the pods as well. Between the two, it likely dumped enough organics into the system to trigger the bloom and cause the heavy cloudiness.

I’m fairly confident it was bacterial because the cloudiness actually got worse right after a water change instead of improving. I know everyone has mixed feelings about Seachem Stability, but it did the trick to help clear up the bloom.

Good news is everything is stable and clear now. I had the LFS run a full set of tests before adding anything new just to be safe.

New additions:

• Flame Fin Tang (doing great so far)
• Rainbow BTA

The BTA is eating consistently, but it’s definitely still in "finding its spot" mode and moving around the tank. Not surprised, just keeping an eye on it for now. As of now, it seems to really like the rock with my three zoanthid colonies (of course).
I’m planning to run another round of testing tonight just to make sure everything is still dialed in and stable post-bloom.

 

[ramfifty]

Just finished a 20gal water change. Vacuumed the substrate really good. Just got my vac yesterday. The gravel was really dirty. Will have to keep vacuuming very week i think. I do a 20 gal water change every week.

My female clown fish jumped through the only gap in my screen and landed on the screen. Didn't find her until the next day. The male seems to be doing ok, he is still eating and looks to be behaving normally. My LFS is looking for a new mate for him.

The BTA seems to be doing good also. I feed it maybe twice a week.

Finally getting to Vacuum the gravel felt good. Lots of nasty stuff came out. Still dealing with the green hair algae