Well the birth of my first child has inspired me to finally build a display tank that I can actually sit back in a comfortable chair and enjoy! Little kids love staring at fish tanks, so it should be something the whole family can enjoy... It has been close to 7 years since I've had a display tank going!
As some of you may or may not know, my day job (Cherry Corals is mostly nights and weekends) is doing tank maintenance, design, and installation. The installation is what really keeps me going, as it much more creative and fun than the sometimes monotonous job of aquarium maintenance.
My office will be the chosen space for the aquarium, and since it is rather small (100 square feet). I've decided on a 60 gallon cube.
Here are the specs:
Tank
Marineland 24" x 24" x 24" cube with overflow and black trim
Stand: Monterey Black
Lighting
Since I plan on keeping mostly LPS, zoas and a few NPS corals, I've decided to go with one Aqua Illumination LED module. I have a PAR meter and I plan on mounting the fixture fairly high in order to get a good even spread of the LED's. The 24" depth will also help. I can do PAR readings right next to a coral that is thriving and then test the PAR in the new tank. I can change the plan if it turns out that I need 2 units. I also plan on routing control lines from my fixture to the basement, where my Profilux II (soon to be upgraded to a PIII) controls one of my basement systems.
Water Flow
I will be using a MagDrive 12 as a main system pump from the basement. Two EcoTech Vortec MP10ES wireless will provide additional flow. I may add another MP10 if needed. I will also be using the EcoTech battery backup.
Filtration
Ok, there will be a bit of cheating here! This will tie into one of my 500 gallon systems already in my basement! This system already has a controller, 500 wt. heater, calcium reactor, dosing pumps w/balling method, and a large ATI Bubble master skimmer. I also do weekly water changes on the system, so it should be very stable.
Design
I would like to do a floating reef design, as I personally do not use sand... I like the look of it, I just don't like it moving around with the water flow and keeping it looking pristine can be a pain! I plan to have the whole reef levitated above the bottom via clear or black acrylic. I will have lots of aquacultured acans and challices across the bottom. Lots of zoa morphs and other eye candy for sure! I plan to be as creative as I can with regards to aquascaping!
As some of you may or may not know, my day job (Cherry Corals is mostly nights and weekends) is doing tank maintenance, design, and installation. The installation is what really keeps me going, as it much more creative and fun than the sometimes monotonous job of aquarium maintenance.
My office will be the chosen space for the aquarium, and since it is rather small (100 square feet). I've decided on a 60 gallon cube.
Here are the specs:
Tank
Marineland 24" x 24" x 24" cube with overflow and black trim
Stand: Monterey Black
Lighting
Since I plan on keeping mostly LPS, zoas and a few NPS corals, I've decided to go with one Aqua Illumination LED module. I have a PAR meter and I plan on mounting the fixture fairly high in order to get a good even spread of the LED's. The 24" depth will also help. I can do PAR readings right next to a coral that is thriving and then test the PAR in the new tank. I can change the plan if it turns out that I need 2 units. I also plan on routing control lines from my fixture to the basement, where my Profilux II (soon to be upgraded to a PIII) controls one of my basement systems.
Water Flow
I will be using a MagDrive 12 as a main system pump from the basement. Two EcoTech Vortec MP10ES wireless will provide additional flow. I may add another MP10 if needed. I will also be using the EcoTech battery backup.
Filtration
Ok, there will be a bit of cheating here! This will tie into one of my 500 gallon systems already in my basement! This system already has a controller, 500 wt. heater, calcium reactor, dosing pumps w/balling method, and a large ATI Bubble master skimmer. I also do weekly water changes on the system, so it should be very stable.
Design
I would like to do a floating reef design, as I personally do not use sand... I like the look of it, I just don't like it moving around with the water flow and keeping it looking pristine can be a pain! I plan to have the whole reef levitated above the bottom via clear or black acrylic. I will have lots of aquacultured acans and challices across the bottom. Lots of zoa morphs and other eye candy for sure! I plan to be as creative as I can with regards to aquascaping!
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