Brad's 60 Cube.

[bradreef]

Decided to start a new thread since I am gathering all of the parts needed to get the tank wet.


Tank-24x24x25
Lighting-TBD
Skimmer-swc 160
return pump-hopefully a mag 3 tonight.
chiller- 1/10th aquaeuro
powerheads-TBD
Rocks- don't know how many LBS. mostly FIJI

Here is the tank(ignore the mess)

rock(ill show the setup but I drilled holes through the middle and have pipe to hold it in place.

 

[bradreef]

So for the cycle and starting the tank I have picked up 62 gallons of water so far from UCSD. by a pier in LA Jolla they have free filtered water that they send up to the aquarium there. I will probably switch water when I add coral but this stuff looks good so far.
Thread about it. It's 9 years old so it has changed a bit, skip towards the end.
Scripps Water : Google Map, Quality, Transport

 

[user 26995]

Thats a nice size and shape tank.
Following along on the build.

 

[Krish]

Nice cube!! Looking forward to the build! My favorite tank was my old 38 gal cube.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bradreef]

I almost got the 38 cube. I just went maxed out in size that I want to deal with for now. I did pick up the mag 3 last night. It came with a not working 1inch seaswirl, 802 powerhead(don't need), small heater(probably for QT tank.

I am trying to figure out what I want to do with the seaswirl. I could send it to them and they will replace the motor for not too bad of price. But I might try and sell it for $40. we'll see. But if anyone wants one instead of paying over $200 you could buy used and have them rebuild it.

 

[bradreef]

over the weekend I setup a temp sump and added water to check everything. front right corner was about 1/8" low so I emptied some of the water this morning and i will empty most of it and them shim that corner. Seems like a straight forward thing to do but does anyone have any advice on this. It is basically the one part that isn't next to the wall.


stupid old house.

 

[Peppie]

Just be sure to shim the stand and not the tank. If the stand is sitting on a wood or tile floor just use wood or composite shims for your local box store. If it is sitting on carpet, it is a different story.
Very simple and quick.
You are right to remove the water from the tank first.
Good luck and post some pics!!

 

[bradreef]

stand is now level. shimmed the corner. added a few more next to it to support it. now it is level. Even had my wife check and she is OCD. feel a lot better about it. I have skimmer in a temp 10 gallon tank for a sump . I am going to do a 29 gallon for the sump. I just need to section off the sump at replace the 10 gallon. Dont have a heater in the tank so it is 73-78 degree's . another thing I have to get in the next couple of days.

 

[bradreef]

New sump now running. I have the skimmer chamber around 8.5 inches because everything I read says the best between 8-9 inches. Ghetto light for the chaeto Im about to add.

 

[iroll253]

My skimmer is at 9.5 inches and works great. Nice looking setup.

 

[bradreef]

I changed the blub that was in there to a 5000k raes 27 watt cf bulb. show grow chaeto fine. now I just need to pick some up.

 

[Krish]

Sump looks good! Enjoy the clean look while you can.

 

[bradreef]

Ok lights are up. royal Gramma added (wife wanted a lakes fish?). Chaeto has been in the sump. a couple weeks back I bought live rock and added that to the sump. 5 hermit's(red leg) and a few snails.

bad picks of the lights.

 

[bradreef]

The lights are directly from China. $165. for 55 bridgelux bulb. 30 blue and 25 white. long thread on Rc regarding them. But they shipped me two and I emailed them regarding it. They replied and didn't really say much. just said sorry. So I will wait and see what they want me to do with it.


The light is dimmable and at the lowest setting is still bright. I also was worried about it being too blue but It is less than I thought it would be.

 

[bradreef]

I am thinking about doing just one of the rock towers. What do people think? The problem with both is when corals grow out they will get close to the glass.

 

[dailydriven911]

How do you like the swc 160? I'm thinking of going with the 120 for my 34 cube. Setup looks great! I say go with a medium size island instead of two towers. The corals can grow outward from the island and create overhangs and a more natural look. I think I'm going that route with my aquascape as well.

 

[bradreef]

I got it for $125 and for that price it was a good deal. It is a solid skimmer. I would probably like a bigger one wil more contact time that is fed directly from the overflow. But this will do just fine for the tank. I wouldn't spend full price on one of these but for what I payed it is a good deal.

If I didn't get the price I would have purchases one of the sc skimmers off ebay. you can get a solid skimmer capable of 120 gallons for $115.

 

[dailydriven911]

Good price for sure on the 160 hard to pass up at that price! I looked at the SC skimmers on Ebay and for the $$$ a great buy. They look very cheap imo and that's the only thing holding me back from buying one. I still might give one a shot though.

 

[bradreef]

I actually hear the sc's build is good. I've read better than the bubble magus/ read the super long thread on them. seem like a solid option. and nothing better under $200

 

[Skimmy]

Good price for sure on the 160 hard to pass up at that price! I looked at the SC skimmers on Ebay and for the $$$ a great buy. They look very cheap imo and that's the only thing holding me back from buying one. I still might give one a shot though.

well of course it looks cheap... thats cause it is cheap...
thats the whole point behind that skimmer...
its a cheap skimmer that actually works quite well.
and in reality its alot better than alot of POS skimmers
that are mass produced and shoved onto unsuspecting noobs....
im looking at you, marineland, seaclone, berlin, kent, coralife...

and the sca is 90% as good as a bubble magus or SWC, just a little less glue and acrylic,
but if you show it the care you would show any other skimmer,
you'll be fine.
but please, dont let me deter you from wanting to spend more money on a better skimmer,
because certainly there are better skimmers to be had.