Sphinx's 60g Cube

[sphinx15]

Well after years of lurking, plotting, planning and dreaming it's finally time to start a reef tank! We recently moved into a new house which seemed like a perfect excuse to get things going.

I've always loved cube tanks so when the LFS had a rimless 60 on sale I couldn't pass it up (nevermind that it sat in our guest room for 4 months while we were buying a house ).

I'm sure this is all been done before and nothing too special, just a mid sized mixed reef tank. But it should be fun nonetheless so stick around!

 

[sphinx15]

This post save for someday having cool stuff like tank and livestock pics...not a lot to see just yet...

 

[sphinx15]

First shot of a tank without a home

After spending a bit of time poking around, I felt pretty dissatisfied with the available stand options. I decided to build a stand with a few things in mind. 1: I wanted as much interior space as possible to alleviate cube tank space issues... And 2: I really dislike how short many stands are, I hate having to bend down to see in. So this would be a taller stand, 38" to the base of the tank.
Admittedly, I didn't do a great job with pictures for this part but I essentially followed this guide: http://www.reefedition.com/diy-building-an-aquarium-cabinet/
I did take one shot of the frame, should be plenty stout.

 

[sphinx15]

Did some (a bunch) of shopping and got most everything else for the tank. Thank goodness for holiday sales...

Anyway, quick list of what's going in the tank:

Trigger Systems Sapphire 20 sump
Octo Essence 130 skimmer
Octo Varios 6 return
Tunze 6055 powerhead
Aquatic life T5 Hybrid
Radion XR15
A few other odds and ends...

Starting to pile up...

 

[sphinx15]

Up until this point I was pretty negligent on the whole pictures thing, too busy/excited with the new house I guess

 

[Rjukan]

Congrats! You purchased the best size and shape tank there is! ...and I'm not at all biased

I love the stand so far, you were smart to build your own and maximize the interior dimensions. I'm not as sold on the extra height since it's hard enough reaching the bottom with a stock stand and I'm 6' tall. But I'm sure it will turn out looking really nice with the added height.

Equipment list is looking good, the hybrid fixture with the radion should work out ok. I ended up switching from a kessil A360 to a 6 bulb T5 unit since the single kessil was struggling to get enough light to the bottom. That sump is so sick looking, I love it. Having the drain not run directly into the sock is something I wish I had thought of before I got mine.

I'll follow along for some updates, enjoy the build process!

 

[sphinx15]

...and I'm not at all biased

Surely not

I love the stand so far, you were smart to build your own and maximize the interior dimensions. I'm not as sold on the extra height since it's hard enough reaching the bottom with a stock stand and I'm 6' tall. But I'm sure it will turn out looking really nice with the added height.

Yeah, I figured the 24" depth was going to be tough regardless or stand height so my little 2 step step-stool was part of the plan from the start.

Equipment list is looking good, the hybrid fixture with the radion should work out ok. I ended up switching from a kessil A360 to a 6 bulb T5 unit since the single kessil was struggling to get enough light to the bottom. That sump is so sick looking, I love it. Having the drain not run directly into the sock is something I wish I had thought of before I got mine.

Funny you should mention the light...I was on the fence on doing just a single A360x. I love the way they look hung from the ceiling but was worried about light output.

I love the sump, it's beautifully made and does an excellent job for having such a small footprint, I just wish I had access to 3 sides. As it's setup right now I have to reach around the skimmer and through some plumbing to get to the return chamber.

 

[sphinx15]

I honestly wonder what delivery drivers think about the crazy people who literally order boxes of rocks...

Oh well, no time to think about that!

I was worried scaping a cube would be kinda tough but as soon as I got going it went pretty smoothly and I think it turned out pretty good.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Nice start! Welcome to R2R!

 

[Hemmdog]

Super sweet build. You will love that eSsence on a 60g.

 

[sphinx15]

Nice start! Welcome to R2R!

Thanks!

Super sweet build. You will love that eSsence on a 60g.

Thanks, I'm hoping it's a little easier to tune once there's something for it to skim...right now it's kinda all over the the place

 

[sphinx15]

FTS with the (mostly) finished stand

Still need to finish the doors but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[sphinx15]

The plumbing went as expected, that is to say, it sucked. I honestly can't imagine plumbing a decent sized sump in a "normal" sized cube stand.

My tank was drilled with two holes for a durso standpipe and a return. After some thought I decided to go with a herbie overflow. I didn't really feel up to drilling the tank so the return runs up the outside of the tank. Since it sits in the corner of the room it's not terribly noticeable and I'll make a cover to go over it at some point.

Just so quick pictures to give you an idea of the plumbing. (Excuse the mess, still tidying up wires etc.)

 

[Hemmdog]

The plumbing went as expected, that is to say, it sucked. I honestly can't imagine plumbing a decent sized sump in a "normal" sized cube stand.

My tank was drilled with two holes for a durso standpipe and a return. After some thought I decided to go with a herbie overflow. I didn't really feel up to drilling the tank so the return runs up the outside of the tank. Since it sits in the corner of the room it's not terribly noticeable and I'll make a cover to go over it at some point.

Just so quick pictures to give you an idea of the plumbing. (Excuse the mess, still tidying up wires etc.)

Clean!!

 

[sphinx15]

Time to hang the lights! I love the idea of hanging the lights from the ceiling but lofted ceilings kinda throws that out the window... Instead I went with some cantilevered hangers that I think turned out really nice.

I used some heavy duty, toggle style wall anchors and despite my worries the supports seem quite sturdy. Otherwise it was fairly simple, just some 1.5" x 1.5" oak that I stained and sealed to match the trim in the rest of the room. The hanging kit is just the one that came with the Aquatic Life fixture.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Wow! Really like that!

 

[Katrina71]

Clean lines and no fluff! Very nice!

 

[sphinx15]

Wow! Really like that!

Clean lines and no fluff! Very nice!

Thanks!

Still need to get doors on it but for now disco mode is kinda fun

 

[NY_Caveman]

I say keep the disco look, LOL!

 

[OutsideBrian]

I like it. I really considered getting a cube when I was purchasing my tank.
Instead of doors some guys are using magnets for removable panels.
Food for thought, that water level looks really high if you were to have much wave action in the tank.