(Jordan) 60 gallon cube build by newb.

[Jcouch]

Hey guys,

So, after many weeks of admiring people's tanks and doing research I decided to jump into a 24/24/24 60 gallon rimless cube aquarium. The reason I chose this aquarium is the look. I honestly am pretty idiotic when it comes to aquariums or fish in general. I am extremely excited to get this project started and would love to get any positive or negative feedback any of you see fit. I will try to go through my equipment but since i am not at home right now I do not remember everything.

24"-24"-24 rimless cube reef ready tank
Not sure exactly what my sump is, but it has a sock, area for protein skimmer, refugium, and then area for return pump
Mag 9 return pump
Reef octopus 110 protein skimmer
Heater
Custom stand
Led light ( not sure brand or type right now will probably need another) has blue and white lights.
60lbs. Live sand
80 lbs live rock
15lbs live sand for refugium

Here are a couple of pictures of the tank before and after adding the salt water. The guy from the local fish store stopped by and help me set everything up. Please let me know what you think! Thank you for checking it out!!!

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[Jcouch]

So it looks like I have my rock set up how I want. My nitrites are starting to come down and my nitrates are sitting around 40 down from 80. Ammonia is down to between 0 and .025 hopelly can start getting some fish next weekend or the week after.
Front

Side

Front close

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[rewlee]

I really like your scape! One thing if you are going to do coral you should find out if each LED light is 1 watt or 3 watt. if they are 1 watt led's then you will need to update. Besides that looks like a good start keep it up bud.

 

[Jcouch]

It looks like they are a total of 25 watts and 20 led's. with two of these will that suffice for growing sps?


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[buckeyereefer]

my opinion is no on these lights. you will need a fixture that has 3 watts PER led. especially for SPS

 

[Jcouch]

Alright thanks going to take this light back tomorrow and to the local fish shop. What brand/ light would you suggest no more than $500 if possible.


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[Jcouch]

Hey guys what do you think about this stock list for my 60 gallon cube.
Pair of Picasso clowns
3-5 blue green chromis
Green mandarin
Red mandarin
2 orangestrip pawn goby
2-3 cardinal fish
Orchid dottyback
Pixy/spotted hawkfish added last

Hopefully my tank is larger enough for all these but if not please let me know. Thank you!!!


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[sredzins]

Buckeyereefer: just curious why do the leds had to be 3 watt? Can you just supplement more lighting? Like adding another fixture. It looks as if he has the ecoxotic lights and from what I have read they are 3 watt leds but are driven down to expand bulb life


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[sredzins]

I would say 16 fish will be a lot and it will carry a very high bio load. Also, I wouldn't suggest the two mandarins, they require a ton of pods and don't usually accept pellets or frozen food. You would probably be alright with one in a mature tank


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[Jcouch]

Well the guy at the Lfs is suggesting I should upgrade to the vegas if I'm going to upgrade.
http://www.saltysupply.com/AquaIllumination-Vega-Color-Black-Housing-LED-p/ss534004.htm

Any thoughts? Will this cover a 24/24/24 tank.


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[Rob.D]

Reef Builders just wrote a review: AI Vega Review: the promise of LEDs is available now

 

[Jcouch]

Thanks for the link rob.


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[rewlee]

The 1 watt do not have enough strength. 3 watts is really needed for most corals especially SPS which need strong lighting. Vegas are nice great lights but if you want to go cheaper you could. There is a lot of lights out their that are just as good with better price ranges. I prefer Reefbreeders lights. I have the Programable LED fixture, and I love it. I think they are a sponsor here as well so Reef Breeders LED Fixtures they have a model that is simple on off 2 channels. and a programable which I have where you can adjust by hour. $180 for the simple model which has 55 3 watts I believe, and same for the Programable one but right at $300. Vegas are nice, but so is $200 extra in your pocket ;-).

 

[rewlee]

Hey guys what do you think about this stock list for my 60 gallon cube.
Pair of Picasso clowns
3-5 blue green chromis
Green mandarin
Red mandarin
2 orangestrip pawn goby
2-3 cardinal fish
Orchid dottyback
Pixy/spotted hawkfish added last

Hopefully my tank is larger enough for all these but if not please let me know. Thank you!!!


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Skip Maderians. They require pods and need to be in a very established tank or you have to add pods weekly. 2 in a 60 they would not last a week.

Hawkfish will eat inverts, would go against that. Chromis will kill each other. Gobys can be territorial as well Would go 1 goby 1 blenny. gobys live in sand bed, and blennys are perchers. My LMB is like 4 in and my YWG is not even an inch. the Blenny could kill him in a second but they get along. If you are going SPS make sure you have strong water flow.

you seem like youll be ok, just with fish list be sure you know how they interact.
here is a good fish list (Based on where each stays in the tank, not exactly the fish itself)
-2 clowns.(any OC is ok, plat,picasso, etc)
-Blenny
-Goby-
-dottyback
-basslet(chalik, royal gamma)
-Wrasse any 1 reef safe would be ok just about. Careful with leopards though not easy, and are hard to get to eat.


in that order would be good as well. If you add aggressive fish first it could make it hard to add fish after that.

 

[Jcouch]

Reelee thanks for the help.


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[Jcouch]

Those lights sound like the they will do the job for a fraction of the cost.


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[rewlee]

No problem. Keep us updated on how the tank goes and ask if you need any help

 

[Jcouch]

So I purchased a radion xr30w 2 months used for $400 today. Hung it from the ceiling with the roof mount. Also picked up a couple of frags and a 1 spot fox face.

Still trying to figure out how to program the light any tips would be nice!!!


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[rewlee]

how long has the tank been up?

 

[Jcouch]

how long has the tank been up?

It has been set up for about 3 weeks. I was a little intimidated by all of you reefers since I am so knew. Did not start the thread until I was a couple of weeks into the process, but have been taking pictures since the start of my build. All my levels were perfect acording to the north dallas aquarium employee that tested my water. I started out with 1 foxfish a frogspawn and Duncan's. Frogspawn has doubled in size over night after hanging the Radion rw30 last night. It was quite the pain using that hanging mount.