Marinland 60gl cube

[waldoz]

Picked this up few weeks ago, more of impulse buy and it came with sweet Razor!

This was how it was sitting when we picked it up.

It needs to be cleaned up, but it should be decent.  

What I don't like is the overflow, so trying to figure out if we are going to use as is or modify.

Yeah pretty dirty on the inside.

As far as the drain, I think we are going to go with a herbie setup.  Right now it's blank sheet and I am open to suggestions. 🙂

This should be a fun ride, come along if you like...

[mcarroll]

22 hours ago, waldoz said:

Right now it's blank sheet and I am open to suggestions. 🙂

A 60 cube is a great shape tank!  👍

 

That drain/return works great as-is if you've never used it that way.  👍  

 

Your drain will only have to carry anywhere in the vicinity of 120-240 GPH to do what it needs to do.  The built-in system will handle that beautifully and in silence.

 

[waldoz]

I am worried about the drain getting plugged some how.  When the weather gets better going to clean it up and check to see which glass is tempered.  This is our first large tank so trying to take it slow.  LOL   Tank is going to be in my sons room so it needs to be dead silence.  I am picking up a  used Reef Octopus 110 int Classic today for the tank and we can get started on the sump.  That size should be the correct as far as I can tell.  I wanted to go with a DC  skimmer but  this is a budget build. 

 

[mcarroll]

47 minutes ago, waldoz said:

I am worried about the drain getting plugged some how.

It's designed against plugging in several ways.  MANY MANY tanks have been sold, set up and never ever have one single drain problem.  

 

The #1 problem an aquarium drain used to be able to have was the overflow siphon breaking.  

 

Drain designs like the drain in your tank are pure gravity drains though – no intermediate siphon making it work as there is in an old school overflow box.

 

Gravity is the main force powering it.  Pretty reliable. ∞

 

Plugging the drain and return holes and using that chamber as an "All In One" back-sump is another legitimate option if you're REALLY worried about overflows from a plugged drain.....like maybe the floors under the tank are really expensive or something.  I would have the least complicated plumbing possible in that scenario....ideally none like the AIO design.  Something to consider.  You could always convert it to a sump-based system later without breaking anything significant down.

 

49 minutes ago, waldoz said:

Tank is going to be in my sons room so it needs to be dead silence.

Lower flow, smaller gear will always more more silent than larger counterparts.

 

So when you build the return setup, use larger pipes and a smaller pump for the most silent operation.  Shoot for the lower end of that flow range I mentioned....around 120 GPH...for the most silent drain operation.

 

Use an Eheim, Quiet One, Sicce or similar for the quietest results.  Select the correct size pump, not one that needs to be throttled back very much.  (We can help with this.)

 

52 minutes ago, waldoz said:

I am picking up a  used Reef Octopus 110 int Classic today for the tank.[....]I wanted to go with a DC  skimmer but  this is a budget build. 

Good choice for used.   For the next iteration I'd suggest a Tunze 9410....used or new.  DC is still optional vs necessary.

 

 

[waldoz]

Going DC for the pump from reef breeders. We had pretty good exp with the power head.  Might be some other options if I can find used, but I would rather have this new if the budget allows.

[waldoz]

So today it was nice and sunny, so it was time to clean the tank!

Stole some white vinegar from the pantry along with a green scrubbing pad.

We are going to take off the black plastic.

Pretty messy 😃

Lots of crusties down the overflow.

 

Spent quite a lot of time scrubbing it clean.

Most of this pipe is probably going trash but keep most of it just in case.

@spectra @righttirefire@Matteo

[waldoz]

Now finished it up.

Overflow nice and clean.

Hooked up the Razor just to see how it looks. Not sure if I will run the Hydra or not.

 

 

Still lots of pictures to come. On to the next post.

[waldoz]

So I posted this on local forums and got some feed back on drilling. Not sure how to handle this. I want to run Herbie drain on the overflow. I tried to find some polarized sun glasses but out of all the pairs we have and friends no one has any.  Want to check the tank to see if I can drill the bottom or not.

You can see in the picture I would have enough room but there seems to be a 2x4 in the way. I would assume that since it's drilled in the bottom it's not tempered?

Now the stand. I finally had a chance to look it over. I think its way over kill.

There is the 2x4 in the way. They also used 1" ply on top.  Not complaining but that leaves little room on the inside.

The outside has 1/2 ply I think.

I picked up a Reef octopus 110 into classic used and promptly dropped the lid.🙄 

 

 

 

 

[waldoz]

The bottom of the stand and bottom is 3/4 ply.

There is only two ways to fit this 20 high in.

Front way.

Or sideways.

Now you can see why I want to take out the 2x4s. As I was looking at it the welder in me thought maybe I could gut it and build a square frame and use the wood to reskin it.😅

[waldoz]

Not much in the back, but I would almost cut the back off and have it flush with the back of the tank.

That's about all I have for now. A lot of posting lots of pictures. Sometimes when I post on here gets me to think about it a bit more.☺️ As for the sump not totally committed to the 20 high.  I can't really think of another way of doing it with out spending a bunch on a sump.  If you have anything please post. 😁  Nothing is set in stone and open for some suggestions.

[MrP]

51 minutes ago, waldoz said:

I would assume that since it's drilled in the bottom it's not tempered?

If the bottom is tempered, it was drilled prior to being tempered. Proceed with caution.

[waldoz]

You would think it would have sticker on it that would tell you.  It still has the person who made the tank sticker on it.

[righttirefire]

Hey waldoz! Looking good. Personally I run a full siphon drain and a trickle overflow / emergency drain. So 2 holes, no problems in 5 years. It's just a matter of your emergency drain being sized larged enough to handle full flow. That way it runs silent under normal operation, but is a noisy bitch if there is a problem.

 

That wouldn't leave room for a return, but I believe lily pad some awesome glass tubes and since it's pumped no concern with overflow.

 

I'd toss that 20H I believe a 10 is the same foot print but will give you a workable height in your cabinet. 

 

Best of luck to you guys, good luck with the build I'm sure it will be amazing like the first one!

[spectra]

Just drill the back glass for a return and use the two holes for the drains........ simple and easy........

 

I had a cube years ago and only had one drain and it had no issues for 2 years I ran it.......

[Matteo]

Looking good! 

[waldoz]

So picked up a 15gl at Petco it was the only one in Vancouver. Those sneeky guys charged sales tax on full price not the sale price. 🙄.

Anyways the 15gl is same foot print as the 20 high.

The skimmer fits the same but now we can put a drain in skimmer cup.

Bit more room to get in there.

Have not figured out what material going to use for baffles but thinking maybe some white ceramic tile.😲

[righttirefire]

I called the local glass shop and gave them dimensions 1/8" more narrow than the tank so I could have 1/16" silicone between the tank and baffle. Make sure to have the edges polished so you don't cut your hands working around the edges. Like the 15g more than the 20tall think that's a wise direction.

[waldoz]

I think I tracked down some polarized sunglasses.  I might use the 20 high  cut that glass myself if its not tempered.  I am trying to come up with a layout that has some sort of refugium  but not much room  in the sump.  So far I think I will have about 6gl of overflow using 8" wall on the skimmer and 7" on the rest.   I am going to do the card board layout on this one over the weekend and mess around with it.  That skimmer takes up like almost 8" a 1/4 of the tank. 😛

[waldoz]

Looks like the bottom is not tempered.  Still little worried about it so focused on sump for now.  Been looking at thousands of sumps and reading a ton.  From what I am getting need larger area for pump and evap.  Son wants a fuge but don't think there will be enough room for stand alone.

 

This is what I have come up with, no socks only floss.

What you guys think?  Also I  realized I have a 20 high I can use for glass. 😁

 

[righttirefire]

I have some concerns, but nothing I can address while at work. I'll send you pictures of my sumps, of I can find my original, I've used 20H, and no skimmer, so I have no creditable advise on that, except I think you want the refuge before the skimmer so all the yummy nutrients get a chance to be eaten before the skimmer locks them in the cup.

[righttirefire]

Here we go. The benefits of a build thread.

 

My original sump. It's a short 4 page read of my ideas when I first got into reefing.

 

 

[paulsz]

I started reading this your thread and I could swear i was re-living my first tank. My first reef tank (3.5 years ago) was a marineland 35g cube. Got it used, it was dirty just like yours. The old owner was running a durso overflow too. I built a stand out of 2x4s and painted it black. Then used a 20 gallon high as a sump. Bought the reef octopus 110 INT skimmer from another guy on kijiji and I also dropped lid on the way back to the car. It's wild how similar your first few posts are 😂

 

Your set up looks like it coming along well. The 20L would definitely be better than a 20H (from my experience).  20H had a tight footprint and the top rim was too close to the top of the tank stand. Made it a paint to get equipment in and out. Espeically if removing the skimmer for a deep clean. 

 

I always found floss more convenient than socks. Just toss it out every few days and put another piece in.  

[waldoz]

1 hour ago, paulsz said:

I started reading this your thread and I could swear i was re-living my first tank. My first reef tank (3.5 years ago) was a marineland 35g cube. Got it used, it was dirty just like yours. The old owner was running a durso overflow too. I built a stand out of 2x4s and painted it black. Then used a 20 gallon high as a sump. Bought the reef octopus 110 INT skimmer from another guy on kijiji and I also dropped lid on the way back to the car. It's wild how similar your first few posts are 😂

 

Your set up looks like it coming along well. The 20L would definitely be better than a 20H (from my experience).  20H had a tight footprint and the top rim was too close to the top of the tank stand. Made it a paint to get equipment in and out. Espeically if removing the skimmer for a deep clean. 

 

I always found floss more convenient than socks. Just toss it out every few days and put another piece in.  

The other tank is not a 20L its a 15G.  It has the same foot as the 20H but 12" walls instead of 16" walls.  Yeah kind of at a cross roads with the durso might run it as is in the grage and see how much noise it has.

 

3 hours ago, righttirefire said:

Here we go. The benefits of a build thread.

 

My original sump. It's a short 4 page read of my ideas when I first got into reefing.

 

 

Thanks I will check that out. Will look forward to your concerns that you have with the current layout. I know I have a lot right now but its good to have someone else out side the box. 

[spectra]

Durso will be quiet if done right...... I agree with RTF when I had my 100 main drain went into the fuge first and then the skimmer chamber had the emergency into that after the fuge.......

 

You might as well feed the fuge if your going that rout.......

 

If room is an issue I could set you up with a steel stand........ 1" will work fine for that tank 1 1/4 is over kill.........

[waldoz]

1 hour ago, spectra said:

Durso will be quiet if done right...... I agree with RTF when I had my 100 main drain went into the fuge first and then the skimmer chamber had the emergency into that after the fuge.......

 

You might as well feed the fuge if your going that rout.......

 

If room is an issue I could set you up with a steel stand........ 1" will work fine for that tank 1 1/4 is over kill.........

Thanks for the offer might take you up on that if we can't get where we need to be. Lets face it not much room under a 60 cube. 😂  As for sump order have to play around with it some more.  All my reading I have done says want as much water volume for evap in the pump chamber. Feeling like I want a 60 AIO 😆 and skip a sump but everyone I talked to says they will never go back.😲