Tim's 60 gallon cube

[drawman]

Hi everyone. I've had this tank running for over a year now. I've been on other forums for many years but am rather new to reef2reef. Currently, I have a 30 gallon rimless frag style tank setup at another location. I may write up a thread on that tank later as well.

Equipment:
60 gallon Marineland Rimless Cube and Stand
DIY 15 gallon sump
DC Return
MP40 Quiet Drive
Gyre 130 (yet to be installed)
Vertex 130
Radion G3
1 gallon of SeaChem Matrix in eggcrate containers in sump
BRS Dosing Pumps for Ca/Alk as well as -NP Pro

Stocking List:
Yellow Tang
Bristletail Filefish
Orchid Dottyback
Peppermint Shrimp
Mexican Turbo Snails
Astrea Snails
Nassarius Snails
Fighting Conch
Goniastrea Australensis

I have been using Aquaforest Probiotic Reef Salt and Supplements since early March, 2016. I was really busy planning a wedding and get married this Summer and at the same time trying to manage this tank. I was having very high Nitrate issues which I've finally started to tackle. First step for me was introducing more filtration media in the form of SeaChem matrix which I added in April. Next was making sure I rid my tank of all Chloramines by adding a 20BB canister and Chloramine reducing carbon block between my sediment and carbon block stages in my RO/DI unit. Soon I will be adding a Gyre 130 to help with flow in the tank and may consider going with a different protein skimmer. I did two large water changes in the last 2 weeks to get my Nitrate down to 10ppm from a Salifert test kit. This will be for me a good starting point to see how I am keeping that nutrient in check.

Current Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ca: 405 (I like to run it around 420 and it actually should be closer to that just haven't tested recently)
Alk: 7.6 dKh (tested weekly)
NO3: 10ppm (tested weekly)
PO4: I don't test regularly.

Eventually, once I get nutrients stable I will start adding acros. I finally have the time to pay more attention to this tank and get going on coral. I will likely add a second radion as well. I would love to go with T5s but our 20 foot high apartment ceiling will not accommodate.

All I have now is one crappy cell phone picture but as I get things cleaned up I will have the interest to dust of my DSLR for photos. I get a good layer of brown on the sand from what I believe to be Cyano. I'm hoping the Gyre will help with that.

 

[BummersReef]

Welcome!! this is a great great group ... and what a lovely tank you have!

 

[drawman]

Welcome!! this is a great great group ... and what a lovely tank you have!

Thanks!

 

[drawman]

I added a gyre 130 to the tank over the weekend. The flow pattern is so much better in the tank now it was tough for the MP40qd to do everything with this dimension of tank. Between the two I'm set for flow.

 

[drawman]

Pretty much finished a much needed project last weekend by making this electrical board. Not super clean but a huge improvement over the previous nest of cords. Sadly, this took a couple of hours to do.

 

[drawman]

Got a quick photo of my aiptasia eating filefish "Mr. Peckerwood" today. Next time I'll plan better and get that glass clean

 

[bif24701]

Got a quick photo of my aiptasia eating filefish "Mr. Peckerwood" today. Next time I'll plan better and get that glass clean

Does he eat aiptasia?

 

[drawman]

Does he eat aiptasia?

I can only assume he does. He is always cruising/picking from the rock. Around the time I got him I also got a peppermint shrimp that died about a month ago so I can't really say for sure who was doing more damage. I do have aiptasia in the overflow but the display is essentially aiptasia free and I had a pretty good outbreak. Fingers crossed they don't come back! This one was from Biota by the way not ORA.

 

[drawman]

Well I've had the thought in the back of my mind for sometime now to switch from my single Durso standpipe to a Herbie. There are only two holes drilled on this tank so I will need the return to go over the back. I've actually never ran a Herbie and change can be slow for me so hopefully I will get the motivation to make the move soon. This tank is right next to the my living room TV so it would be nice to quiet things down.

I finally got 2 more liters of Siporax delivered from Germany. It took well over a month to get here and USPS took it on a tour of America before delivering it to me lol. I'm hoping this will help with denitrification over time

 

[drawman]

I've been having some trouble with bubble algae and Nitrates in this tank still so I'm about to change my focus. Insanity is definitely doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I just dipped my coral in a hydrogen peroxide solution to see if I can get the algae to subside. Hopefully that will help things out. As for the Nitrates I have a few other ways I will be trying to export nutrients.

 

[drawman]

I have switched from -NP Pro over to vinegar/vodka dosing 2x daily staring on 3/29/17. Results are looking good so far .

Just tested nitrates today and I'm still at 50ppm but it is early so I don't expect a drop yet. It may not have been quite as dark on my Salifert test so I will be monitoring closely for any drop so I can adjust dosing accordingly.

Anecdotally, the amount of film algae present on the glass is A LOT less. I would get a pretty solid greenish/brown matt over about a week and the amount that has grown over the last week is minimal if any. I'm going to give it a good clean today and I will see what grows over the next week. Skimmer production has also seemed to increase but it is relatively wet (while still being a good dark brown).

 

[Benedetto84]

Nice build!!!

 

[Benedetto84]

What return pump are you running. I've tried running a jebao 6500 D.C. But doesn't seem to be enough.

 

[drawman]

Nice build!!!

What return pump are you running. I've tried running a jebao 6500 D.C. But doesn't seem to be enough.

Thanks! I'm currently running a generic chinese DC pump (I can't even remember the name) but I have a Sicce pump ready to hookup when I get around to it. Replumbing the return is one of those tasks I've had on my list for some time.

 

[Rakie]

@drawman -- Is this your current build/Thread? If so, you're due for an update!

 

[drawman]

@drawman -- Is this your current build/Thread? If so, you're due for an update!

I actually replaced the tank with a RSR 250 a couple months ago. Tank is going through a major ugly stage but you're right I need to get a thread started and I will definitely let you know.

 

[Rakie]

Yeah, the ugly stage is unavoidable. The 250 is a nice size. My only qualm is I wish they made a 250xxl that was 36x24x24. That's the perfect size tank that nobody makes!!!

 

[drawman]

Yeah, the ugly stage is unavoidable. The 250 is a nice size. My only qualm is I wish they made a 250xxl that was 36x24x24. That's the perfect size tank that nobody makes!!!

Agreed! I thought hard about going custom on this one but it won't be my "forever" tank so the RSR250 fit the bill nicely.

I have a pretty nasty strain of cyano so my next aim is to add some biodiversity. I don't care about the uglies but I'm not a fan of red carpet lol.