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AquaNewb1

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Hi Guys,
I'm new here to the board and I had a few questions for you all.

1. I'm in the market for a 60gallon cube aquarium. And was wondering before I order the tank. Can someone lead me onto the right path for plumbing the tank properly.So I can have enough flow to make a reef system thrive. I plan on having a sump/fuge setup too..The main thing is a guide on where to have the holes drilled. so I can tell the aquarium folfs where I want them.

The tank is going to be a reef setup with corals,softies,a few fish, And
If I have enough lighting a clam.

2. I would also like to have a closed loop setup for added flow.
I understand kinda how that will be plumbed ,again hole placement is still a mystery to me. For my overflow to sump and fuge how big is needed to get good turnover? (Size and placement of bulkheads)

Well that should help me get the tank ordered. And I can get started on the stand.

Btw: Does anyone know of a place that sells ready made 24x24x24 tanks? All I have seen Is custom places. Also I would really like to have a acrylic tank. Just Because I like the way they look.(please don't start telling me why I Don't want a acrylic tank. I have heard them all.)

Thank You all for the great info on the site. Hope I can get this baby up and going. If and when I start I'll Be sure to have lots and lots of pics.
 

smontanus

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Can't really say on the tank. I'm partial to acrylic also though. Turnover is a function of a lot of factors ie; pump, head pressure, area of overflow, plumbing diameter, and inline fittings. When I was researching my nano design I read that turnover for a reef should be at least 10x to 15x per hour. I wrote a spreadsheet in excel to do all the calc that might help you. Its on my nano reef buildoff thread or IM me and I'll send it to you if your interested.
 
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Anonymous

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I have a 60 Cube. Some helpful hints. Make the stand larger than the 24x24 footprint. That size does not have much room for gear. Try to minimize the overflow box size. AFAIK no one makes an acrylic cube in stock. I got mine from envision acrylics and was really happy with it. Check the link in my sig for the birth and death of my tank. Right now it is in my garage waiting to be reset up.
 

AquaNewb1

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Thanks guys.

Wazzel. Hope the family and friends are all getting life back to normal.Sorry to hear about your losses.
Thanks for taking time to help me out. How many holes did you have them put in your tank? did they install the overflow? Can you tell me what size sump you were using?

smontanus,
I'd be very interested in that calculator. I am as my name says a newb.
I had a tank about ten years ago, just a basic salt water.55 gallon. Had a penguin bio wheel. and some live rock some very cheezy lights. Just plain bad setup. Would like to actually do one right this time.
 
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Anonymous

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I had 4 holes in the tank. 3 for 1.5in pipe and 1 of 1in pipe. I was using a 10gal tank for a sump, but found that it was not big enough. I had no rome for any thing bigger. Find a way to use a 20 gal tank for a sump is you can. Unless you get one custom built. The 1in was for the drain.
 
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Anonymous

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A 20 g extra tall has the same footprint as the 10 g - might be hard to reach the bottom though.
 

AquaNewb1

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Got my first quote back for haveing the tank made this one is from So Cal creations.

"our standard 24 cube is priced at $350, for the additional external
overflow and colored acrylic back you're looking at $395. This would also
include any holes you would need drilled. Shipping to Indiana is going to
run $150 for FedEx ground, or we could do a freight shipment and you're
looking at about the same charge, you would just have to go pick up the
pallet at the freight terminal. If you have any more questions please feel
free to ask!"

Randy Schneider
SoCal Creations

Wow didn't expect that price. But maybe thats the going rate. I guess the main thing is the shipping. I'll have to save up more coinage right now. X-mas is draining my pockets fast.

Wazzel did you have a fuge in the sump also with a skimmer? Your link is hard to see your sump. Also where do the returns come from in your tank?{is that the pvc up top? 2 for CL and 2 from sump? Sorry to have such basic questions.

Hope to keep this thread going.
Thanks,
 
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Anonymous

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No fuge just a skimmer. The 4 returns in top is the 4 out lets from my ocean motions squirt. The return from the closed loop comes from the bottom into the center of the rock pile into a maniflod. Just for reference I paid about $600 for mine shipping included.
 

AquaNewb1

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Hey Wazzel,

I don't relly understand the three holes in the bottom deal. Why is there three? Whats with the manifold "dohickey"? can you get by without it or is it a secrect weapon to get more flow?

One other thing, I can't seem to remember if you had a bare bottom or a sandbed. I'm going to go with a shallow sand bed. So will that manifold work with it?

Thanks
 
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Anonymous

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I purchased my 24 inch cube from a LFS for $77 plus another $30 for 2 holes. It is a glass Great Lakes Aquariums tank. The glass is not as thick as I would like but that is my only complaint. I had the holes drilled in the top back corners and built a “sump’ on the back. (We were moving to an apartment for several months while our new house was being finished and I wanted to eliminate as many overflow risks as possible and this set made the most sense.) I also built the hood and stand to fit into a a second doorway from the kitchen into the pantry of our new house.

Tank and stand (with cat viewing shelf!)...


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The built on sump and hole locations...

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My Great Stuff and rock wall to hide the sump...


site1018.JPG



The built in overflow box and Tunze stream cave in the building process (I am using a mag drive 9.5 for the return and a Tunze Stream 6000 on a single controller for circulation)...

site1020.JPG
 
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Anonymous

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AquaNewb":p6jhwnf5 said:
Hey Wazzel,

I don't relly understand the three holes in the bottom deal. Why is there three? Whats with the manifold "dohickey"? can you get by without it or is it a secrect weapon to get more flow?

One other thing, I can't seem to remember if you had a bare bottom or a sandbed. I'm going to go with a shallow sand bed. So will that manifold work with it?

Thanks

The two holes in the back are for the suction on the pump. The one near the middle is for the return. My manifold turned out to be just a pipe with lots of holes in it. The idea was to have lots of flow without lots of velosity. It was a bare bottom tank. I'm sure a manifold would work for you. I had holes right at the bottom to help keep things stirred up. You may want to skip thoes holes if you are going to have a sand bed.
 

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