- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
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So, I wanted to start a build thread for my 60-gallon cube.
I have had several aquariums in the past. I just upgrades to this cube from a 20 gallon Nuvo fusion. Before that, I had a 100 gallon. I also had a 80 gallon, and two 50 gallon aquariums. The 100 gallons aquariums failed due to life getting busy. It was built and cycled, but never really got many corals in it. I was excited for that one because it had a sump, while all my other aquariums didn't.
I have had my nuvo fusion for about 5 years. I am finally getting another sump back. I think this is the perfect aquarium for me.
The problem with the 100 gallon was that it was a lot of water to manage, and our sump was way too small.
With this 60 gallon, the sump is plenty large. I have room for a large refugium and a good skimmer.
Anyway, that's my background. On to the specific of my tank.
I bought this tank sort of on a whim from my LFS. I had been wanting to getting a new tank, but I need to save some money. Then, I came across this tank for $1,000. It is a 24"x24"x24" glass cube. It is made by a company called visio and is pretty old from what I can tell. It has thick black bracing around the top and normal glass. It also came with a solid wood stand. While I really like the rimless look of my nuvo fusion and the low iron glass, this 60 gallon tank is perfect for me. I don't mind the brace that much and I never notice that the glass has a blue tint or anything.
The first thing I did when I got this tank was coat the stand in some sort of sealent. I forget exactly what the sealent was. It was my dad's idea. It is something used on boats. So, despite being wood, the stand is pretty much completely sealed and water resistent.
I decided to go with a bare-bottom tank this time around. I had always used sand because I liked the look of it, but I found a way to get that pearly white-sand look and have a bare bottom at the same time. I used some King Starboard, which is a marine-grade plastic, to cover the bottom of the aquarium.
The aquariums also came with an awesome crystal trigger sump.
Here's the equipment I'm running on the tank:
2 Nero 3 powerheads
1 AI Prime 16HD for display lighting
Another AI Prime 16HD as a refugium light
EcoTech Marine Vectra S2 for the return pump
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 protein skimmer
Duetto Dual sensor ATO
ViaAqua 200 Watt heater
As of now, the tank has two fish and all the coral frags from my Nuvo fusion.
The reason I am using only one AI Prime is that most of the corals I want to keep prefer low light. The tank will be an LPS and Softie dominated tank with some montipora at the top and a colony of birdsnest (which is a small frag right now). Originally, I was going to run two AI Primes, but I decided that one is plenty.
As for fish, here is my plan:
A gladiator clownfish and a royal gramma (which are currently in the tank).
Fire fish
Bangaii Cardinal
Sapphire damsel
Tomini Tang
Mandarin dragonet.
At first, I was planning on doing just four fish, but I decided that a few small fish such as the fire fish, cardinal, and damsel wouldn't hurt much. From a space perspective, there is plenty of swim room. As for nutrients, I would say that is more than I would prefer, but I think it will be better in the long run. As I add more corals and the corals grow, the nutrients will get sucked up more.
Everything is running great except for my protein skimmer. It produces a lot of microbubbles, but I'm going to try to solve that issue. If not, I'll probably get a new skimmer.
Anyway, thank you for reading. I will be posting pictures soon.
I have had several aquariums in the past. I just upgrades to this cube from a 20 gallon Nuvo fusion. Before that, I had a 100 gallon. I also had a 80 gallon, and two 50 gallon aquariums. The 100 gallons aquariums failed due to life getting busy. It was built and cycled, but never really got many corals in it. I was excited for that one because it had a sump, while all my other aquariums didn't.
I have had my nuvo fusion for about 5 years. I am finally getting another sump back. I think this is the perfect aquarium for me.
The problem with the 100 gallon was that it was a lot of water to manage, and our sump was way too small.
With this 60 gallon, the sump is plenty large. I have room for a large refugium and a good skimmer.
Anyway, that's my background. On to the specific of my tank.
I bought this tank sort of on a whim from my LFS. I had been wanting to getting a new tank, but I need to save some money. Then, I came across this tank for $1,000. It is a 24"x24"x24" glass cube. It is made by a company called visio and is pretty old from what I can tell. It has thick black bracing around the top and normal glass. It also came with a solid wood stand. While I really like the rimless look of my nuvo fusion and the low iron glass, this 60 gallon tank is perfect for me. I don't mind the brace that much and I never notice that the glass has a blue tint or anything.
The first thing I did when I got this tank was coat the stand in some sort of sealent. I forget exactly what the sealent was. It was my dad's idea. It is something used on boats. So, despite being wood, the stand is pretty much completely sealed and water resistent.
I decided to go with a bare-bottom tank this time around. I had always used sand because I liked the look of it, but I found a way to get that pearly white-sand look and have a bare bottom at the same time. I used some King Starboard, which is a marine-grade plastic, to cover the bottom of the aquarium.
The aquariums also came with an awesome crystal trigger sump.
Here's the equipment I'm running on the tank:
2 Nero 3 powerheads
1 AI Prime 16HD for display lighting
Another AI Prime 16HD as a refugium light
EcoTech Marine Vectra S2 for the return pump
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 protein skimmer
Duetto Dual sensor ATO
ViaAqua 200 Watt heater
As of now, the tank has two fish and all the coral frags from my Nuvo fusion.
The reason I am using only one AI Prime is that most of the corals I want to keep prefer low light. The tank will be an LPS and Softie dominated tank with some montipora at the top and a colony of birdsnest (which is a small frag right now). Originally, I was going to run two AI Primes, but I decided that one is plenty.
As for fish, here is my plan:
A gladiator clownfish and a royal gramma (which are currently in the tank).
Fire fish
Bangaii Cardinal
Sapphire damsel
Tomini Tang
Mandarin dragonet.
At first, I was planning on doing just four fish, but I decided that a few small fish such as the fire fish, cardinal, and damsel wouldn't hurt much. From a space perspective, there is plenty of swim room. As for nutrients, I would say that is more than I would prefer, but I think it will be better in the long run. As I add more corals and the corals grow, the nutrients will get sucked up more.
Everything is running great except for my protein skimmer. It produces a lot of microbubbles, but I'm going to try to solve that issue. If not, I'll probably get a new skimmer.
Anyway, thank you for reading. I will be posting pictures soon.