60g Cube

[Rjukan]

Used 60g Deep Blue tank, system started Feb 2018. Cleaned and removed the inside bead and put a new bead of black silicone:

Beginning scapes:

Early on, pile o rocks:

 

[SPR1968]

The tank looks great and so does the sump, and pink lights seem to be popular these days.

Thanks for sharing the pictures with us!

 

[paulsz]

I have the 35g version of this tank. Getting the rockwork to be tall without looking out of place was difficult for me. But you've done a great job on it, very cool!

Any plans for the stocking?

 

[saintsreturn]

Nicely done! Will be following along :D

 

[Rjukan]

Thanks SPR, yeah I think I've turned it more towards the blue side since that pic, seems like that's the preferred spectrum of the grow lamps, big difference from the compact floro flood I used in my first setup.

Thanks Paul, yeah I was back and forth on the scape since my original plan was to do some zero gravity looking shelves etc, but once I started going i was happy with the outcome. Then I started second guessing it a couple months ago lol, but I'm back to liking it again. I'll have several more posts coming up that will bring the tank up to date that will cover livestock, equip, etc.

Thanks saints, I appreciate it :)

 

[NY_Caveman]

Tall tanks are tough, came out pretty good though. Bet it feels great to be back to reefing.

 

[Rjukan]

Old tanks:

 

[Rjukan]

Tall tanks are tough, came out pretty good though. Bet it feels great to be back to reefing.

I appreciate your honesty with "pretty good" :) I know it's not that great, but it's better than it looks. That whole jumble of rocks are on a huge Tonga type cave rock and 2 other pieces that have a good amount of open space under the main structure. I'll get a pic or 2 some time that show you can actually see right through one side to the other.

 

[Rjukan]

It does feel good being back in the hobby, and I missed this aspect of it, the enjoying it with other people who share the same interest. I'm really glad I found R2R, I like the vibe here.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I appreciate your honesty with "pretty good" :) I know it's not that great, but it's better than it looks. That whole jumble of rocks are on a huge Tonga type cave rock and 2 other pieces that have a good amount of open space under the main structure. I'll get a pic or 2 some time that show you can actually see right through one side to the other.

Ha! Was I that obvious. That was my concern, but looking again, I see what you mean. The bottom looks more open that I noticed on first glance. If the flow is good through it I like it a lot more. The top is very interesting the way the shapes poke out. That I really like. It is tough to make different types of rocks look good together and I think you nailed that.

 

[Rjukan]

Old tanks continued:

And the back end:

 

[Rjukan]

Ha! Was I that obvious. That was my concern, but looking again, I see what you mean. The bottom looks more open that I noticed on first glance. If the flow is good through it I like it a lot more. The top is very interesting the way the shapes poke out. That I really like. It is tough to make different types of rocks look good together and I think you nailed that.

Thanks, but you're right. It's not very good.

 

[Rjukan]

Just a few more pics of the old system:

The Ugly:

Then I turned it around:

Some of the nasty things I had to deal with that came on the rock I got from someone in a local forum:

Bubble Algae:

Colonial Hydroids:

Everyone's Favorite, Red Flatworms:

An Invasive Mushroom:

But all in all I had it looking pretty nice by the time I broke it down and sold everything:

 

[Rjukan]

I ended up picking the Kessil A360 and paired it with an H80 and a spectral controller. Money was tight, so this is what I used to pay for them:

Lol, I'm not kidding. I had a big jar of change. There was $630 in there!

This is the tank sometime soon after getting it running:

And a pic of my first corals a month or so after the cycle ended:

 

[NY_Caveman]

That is awesome!

 

[Rjukan]

That is awesome!

Lol yeah, it's usually around 3 years of change accumulation to get that high. Was perfect timing for the reef!

Yellow Coris Wrasse:

 

[Rjukan]

I decided to make some changes:

This set up the next big change... That's a used 7.5 Fluval AIO that's been drilled on the back:

 

[Rjukan]

Edited boring post.

 

[Rjukan]

All plumbed in and water is flowing:

 

[Rjukan]

I put in a few rocks from the sump and rough wired the light so I could see what it looks like...