Deja vu - Wazzel's 60 cube build

[Anonymous]

Looking good Randy - that elegance is quite something! What's that in the second pic, nearest the camera - the skimmer?

Thanks. I love the elegance. It's going to be the eventual cause for me getting a bigger tank. I don't think I'll be able to part with it when it outgrows this tank.

The thing in the 2nd pic closet to the camera is a Two Little Fishes Kalk Reactor. You can wee it again in the 5th picture. My top off water passes through the kalk reactor. It pretty sweet. The stirrer operates just on the water flow of the top off water. It's about a simple as it gets and cheap ($65 @ Marine Depot.)

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good Randy - that elegance is quite something! What's that in the second pic, nearest the camera - the skimmer?

Mark - will be checking in on your build from time to time. Once I get back to the UK, this might be about the size I can negotiate with my wife, so will hope for inspiration here! 8)

I hope I can provide some inspiration. I have been pricing out what I will need for this tank and it is going to be a whole lot less expensive than the last one.

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good Randy - that elegance is quite something! What's that in the second pic, nearest the camera - the skimmer?

Thanks. I love the elegance. It's going to be the eventual cause for me getting a bigger tank. I don't think I'll be able to part with it when it outgrows this tank.

The thing in the 2nd pic closet to the camera is a Two Little Fishes Kalk Reactor. You can wee it again in the 5th picture. My top off water passes through the kalk reactor. It pretty sweet. The stirrer operates just on the water flow of the top off water. It's about a simple as it gets and cheap ($65 @ Marine Depot.)

Thanks for posting Randy, The elegence is cool. I saw that reactor at one of the online stores. I will get it at some point. I think I am going to start off with something in my top off water until things start growing. I used the Seachem Reef Builder and Reef Calcium on my last tank until the demand got higher. At that point I made a kalk stirer. I am just going to buy this time. Adding that reactor in line to the top off will be easy.

 

[Anonymous]

I was just using a two-part additive but it's kind of a chore to remember. My coralline growth is way better with the kalk reactor. Coralline algae sure beats the others that will grow when its not present. And of course the corals grow better.

 

[Anonymous]

That is true, I am just trying to spread the cost over time. There are things that I will get in time like a controler and kalk stirer that I do not need to get started. I am looking at asembly in phases.

Phase 1 tank and stand
Phase 2 sump, return pump, plumbing parts and skimmer
Phase 3 rock, salt, top off and 1 internal pump (vortec MP10 more than likely)
Phase 4 lights
Phase 5 second internal pump

Later kalk stirrer, controler, more internal pumps, etc......

I can put off the second interal pump untill later since I have 3 or 4 maxi-jets laying around and until I start stocking I am not to worried about how it looks.

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good Randy - that elegance is quite something! What's that in the second pic, nearest the camera - the skimmer?

Mark - will be checking in on your build from time to time. Once I get back to the UK, this might be about the size I can negotiate with my wife, so will hope for inspiration here! 8)

I hope I can provide some inspiration. I have been pricing out what I will need for this tank and it is going to be a whole lot less expensive than the last one.

A budget build! Even better. I have a feeling I'm going to be closely watched this time.

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good Randy - that elegance is quite something! What's that in the second pic, nearest the camera - the skimmer?

Thanks. I love the elegance. It's going to be the eventual cause for me getting a bigger tank. I don't think I'll be able to part with it when it outgrows this tank.

The thing in the 2nd pic closet to the camera is a Two Little Fishes Kalk Reactor. You can wee it again in the 5th picture. My top off water passes through the kalk reactor. It pretty sweet. The stirrer operates just on the water flow of the top off water. It's about a simple as it gets and cheap ($65 @ Marine Depot.)

Thanks for the link - that looks nifty and reasonably priced. I use the Tunze Osmolator at the moment, but it's passive (no stirring) and I'm not convinced it does much good at all.

 

[Anonymous]

What is the word on the ecotech radon LED fixtures? Ecotech has a control system similar to AI that will control the lights and supposidly the pumps in the near future. Wonder if they will be comming out with a plug module and an interface module for probes? If they do it would be nice to have a uniform system, but if the lights are crap......

 

[Anonymous]

That is true, I am just trying to spread the cost over time. There are things that I will get in time like a controler and kalk stirer that I do not need to get started. I am looking at asembly in phases.

Phase 1 tank and stand
Phase 2 sump, return pump, plumbing parts and skimmer
Phase 3 rock, salt, top off and 1 internal pump (vortec MP10 more than likely)
Phase 4 lights
Phase 5 second internal pump

Later kalk stirrer, controler, more internal pumps, etc......

I can put off the second interal pump untill later since I have 3 or 4 maxi-jets laying around and until I start stocking I am not to worried about how it looks.

That's the way to do it. You certainly don't need everything on day one.

Just buy things once. I hate upgrading things like skimmers when a high quality one could have been bought in the first place.

 

[Anonymous]

I learned my lesson about buying things on my first reef tank. On that tank I upgraded every thing atleast once. Never again. I am going to get good stuff from the get go and just buy it once. Save money that way.

 

[Anonymous]

I learned my lesson about buying things on my first reef tank. On that tank I upgraded every thing atleast once. Never again. I am going to get good stuff from the get go and just buy it once. Save money that way.

Right on. That's the way to do it.

 

[Anonymous]

The tank arrived at the LFS today. I am busy tonight so I will pick it up tomorrow after work.

 

[Anonymous]

What is the word on the ecotech radon LED fixtures? Ecotech has a control system similar to AI that will control the lights and supposidly the pumps in the near future. Wonder if they will be comming out with a plug module and an interface module for probes? If they do it would be nice to have a uniform system, but if the lights are crap......

the Radions are pretty much top notch, no different from anything else EcoTech has put out...just pricey - My LFS was running them on his display tanks, and from a distance, they looked a bit dim(he ran them bluer), they corals loved them, and the colors the corals had were...incredible. Long list waiting for frags out of his display tanks.

The RapidLED Onyx fixtures seem to be kinda modeled after the Radions - I have had really great service from RapidLED with ordering my DIY set of lights, and I'm actually planning on getting a pair of the dimmable Onyx fixtures to replace my lights with(I built mine in the early days, and want more color leds added)


update- ReefBuilders(I follow them on FB) picked the Ecotech Radions as the best LED fixture in their shootout(comparisons done via reader votes)

 

[Anonymous]

What is the word on the ecotech radon LED fixtures? Ecotech has a control system similar to AI that will control the lights and supposidly the pumps in the near future. Wonder if they will be comming out with a plug module and an interface module for probes? If they do it would be nice to have a uniform system, but if the lights are crap......

the Radions are pretty much top notch, no different from anything else EcoTech has put out...just pricey - My LFS was running them on his display tanks, and from a distance, they looked a bit dim(he ran them bluer), they corals loved them, and the colors the corals had were...incredible. Long list waiting for frags out of his display tanks.

The RapidLED Onyx fixtures seem to be kinda modeled after the Radions - I have had really great service from RapidLED with ordering my DIY set of lights, and I'm actually planning on getting a pair of the dimmable Onyx fixtures to replace my lights with(I built mine in the early days, and want more color leds added)


update- ReefBuilders(I follow them on FB) picked the Ecotech Radions as the best LED fixture in their shootout(comparisons done via reader votes)

Kind of leaning towards the hydra 52. It is a little less expensive than the radions and has a pole mount option. I do not want to do suspended lights from my ceiling. I could get some black anodised aluminum shapes and make my own pole, but that is just more money, time and thought. What ever I do I need to have the bracket mounted to the stand before I put it in place and fill it.

 

[Anonymous]

dats kewl - it was a consumer vote contest, and the Radions have been out longer than the Hydra(which in itself has gotten great reviews!)

My tank has a solid center brace and I think that would creaate far too much shadow if I went with the Hydra...a pair of Onyx fixtures is very similar to what I previously built, but with more than just cool white and royal blue LEDs...

 

[Anonymous]

Look what I got.

 

[Anonymous]

Where can I get a simple sump made. A 20 gal tank is to big for the stand and a 10 gal is to small for comfort. I really hate to go custom because that word usually equals expensive.

 

[Anonymous]

whats the internal dimensions of the stand? eshopps makes a sump(RS-100) that is 24x12x16 and a smaller one(RS-75) the is 18x10x16.

I have the RS-200 in the stand of my 65 gallon reef, and I love it

 

[Anonymous]

22 x 22 I think. I did measure it but forgot the exact and I am not home to check

 

[Anonymous]

22 x 22 I think. I did measure it but forgot the exact and I am not home to check

the eshopps RS-75 would fit
http://www.amazon.com/Eshopps-RS-75-Ree ... B001K5JGCM