60 Gallon Cube build

hijinks · 02/13/2014, 11:30 AM

Well my 30 gallon cracked while cycling so I went on craigslist and found a 60gal acrylic cube for only $100 so I said why not upgrade!

So here's what I'm planning

Own so far
----------------
- 60 gallon cube (2x2x2)
- 20 gallon long sump
- Reefbreeders NOve a4 LED light
- 2 two little fishes reactors
- 2 heaters
- Powerheads: wp25 and a wp10
- Air Water Ice RODI
- 70lbs of live sand
- 70lbs of reefsaver rock from BRS
- Neptune Apex controller

Need to buy
-------------
- Skimmer
- Return pump.. I'm thinking about using a dc6000
- Need a ATO solution. I have the breakout box for the apex so I'll just buy my own and probably make my own acrylic hanger for them

Good news about the crack is now most of the BRS rock is cycled.. around 50lbs of it. I have another 25lbs coming in the mail that I'll add to the container.

Tank is drilled in the overflow area for a herbie overflow and the return also. It came with only 1 hole in it which I patched up and then drilled 3 new holes.

hijinks · 02/13/2014, 11:35 AM

Here's a 2 minute video of my stand frame that I built over the last week.

The short is its all 1x4's from poplar and pine (mostly poplar) that I had laying around in the garage. It's also heavily braced since I live in an earthquake area. So there are steel braces on all the legs. Joints were made with the Kreg Jig which I also had. So far the only thing bought for the stand was the steel braces. I need to buy 1/2 inch pine plywood and enough pine boards to make a top which I plan soon.

So here's the video

hijinks · 02/18/2014, 03:52 PM

Built the top of the stand. Used 3 pieces of laminated pine I got at Lowes. Glued and joined them with pocket joints. I'm not sure I'll keep the top since the panels on the stand are hardwood and not sure how the finish will match up. So we'll see

Bottom panel in place to hole the sump

Here's the top

hijinks · 05/04/2014, 08:01 PM

So I finally got around to skinning my stand. I used a 1/2 inch hardwood and a pine top. I put some trim on it to make it look a little better. I just need to make the door which will come later.

If there is one thing I learned over the years is make the wife happy. So while I wanted to gel stain the stand my wife wanted color in the room where it's going to be. So she won out.

The stand is over built to allow a 20 gallon long sump under the tank. For what I want to do with the sump a 24 inch long sump wouldn't do.

turbo2oh · 11/09/2014, 04:38 PM

how's the tank?

02/13/2014, 11:30 AM	#1
hijinks Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 505	60 Gallon Cube build Well my 30 gallon cracked while cycling so I went on craigslist and found a 60gal acrylic cube for only $100 so I said why not upgrade! So here's what I'm planning Own so far ---------------- - 60 gallon cube (2x2x2) - 20 gallon long sump - Reefbreeders NOve a4 LED light - 2 two little fishes reactors - 2 heaters - Powerheads: wp25 and a wp10 - Air Water Ice RODI - 70lbs of live sand - 70lbs of reefsaver rock from BRS - Neptune Apex controller Need to buy ------------- - Skimmer - Return pump.. I'm thinking about using a dc6000 - Need a ATO solution. I have the breakout box for the apex so I'll just buy my own and probably make my own acrylic hanger for them Good news about the crack is now most of the BRS rock is cycled.. around 50lbs of it. I have another 25lbs coming in the mail that I'll add to the container. Tank is drilled in the overflow area for a herbie overflow and the return also. It came with only 1 hole in it which I patched up and then drilled 3 new holes.

11/09/2014, 04:38 PM	#5
turbo2oh Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: MD Posts: 458	how's the tank? __________________ Well, animals are not like people, Mrs. Simpson. Some of them act badly because they've had a hard life, or have been mistreated...but, like people, some of them are just jerks.

02/13/2014, 11:35 AM	#2
hijinks Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 505	Here's a 2 minute video of my stand frame that I built over the last week. The short is its all 1x4's from poplar and pine (mostly poplar) that I had laying around in the garage. It's also heavily braced since I live in an earthquake area. So there are steel braces on all the legs. Joints were made with the Kreg Jig which I also had. So far the only thing bought for the stand was the steel braces. I need to buy 1/2 inch pine plywood and enough pine boards to make a top which I plan soon. So here's the video

02/18/2014, 03:52 PM	#3
hijinks Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 505	Built the top of the stand. Used 3 pieces of laminated pine I got at Lowes. Glued and joined them with pocket joints. I'm not sure I'll keep the top since the panels on the stand are hardwood and not sure how the finish will match up. So we'll see Bottom panel in place to hole the sump Here's the top

05/04/2014, 08:01 PM	#4
hijinks Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 505	So I finally got around to skinning my stand. I used a 1/2 inch hardwood and a pine top. I put some trim on it to make it look a little better. I just need to make the door which will come later. If there is one thing I learned over the years is make the wife happy. So while I wanted to gel stain the stand my wife wanted color in the room where it's going to be. So she won out. The stand is over built to allow a 20 gallon long sump under the tank. For what I want to do with the sump a 24 inch long sump wouldn't do.