Scavo's 60 cube

[scavdog]

Might as well start somewhere...

Diving back into the hobby after about a 8 + year hiatus.

60 gallon custom starphire cube. This little guy was assembled at a club diy meeting back in the day. I acquired at an auction and it's sat ever since.

Stand is near complete. Going for a contemporary look. No lip. No trim. No rim.

Lighting is an XR 30 pro.

The majority of the flow will most likely be provided via DC return pump located in the basement @ the 75 gallon sump. Looking on pump advice. Looking at a Neptune 1500gph option.

Still trying to decide if I should drill and install a ghost overflow. Not thrilled about the exposed plumbing though. I'm leaning towards keeping it simple and drill the bottom, install center or corner overflow utilizing a durso with emergency drain. Is a ghost really all that?

I'd live to hear some feedback from you cube nerds out there. I'm on the fast track to catching up on the state of the hobby. All comments are welcome.

Best

Joe

 

[CAPSLOCK]

That stand is really cool!

One of the benefits of the ghost or other "through the back" style overflows is the small amount of in-tank real estate you use. That being said, if you prefer the totally contained look then the traditional overflow would probably be more aesthetically pleasing. In that case, I think I'd opt for the center overflow unless you want the tank in a corner.

 

[s_kelley]

Love the look of that stand!!

 

[scavdog]

Thanks guys. I originally did a design in Google sketchup. Pretty satisfied on the how accurate it came out - especially for me

 

[Chris A.]

Good job for a non handy man lol

 

[scavdog]

Good job for a non handy man lol

Indeed! Getting handier since I domesticated myself

 

[Chris A.]

Lol

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

View attachment 132285

Might as well start somewhere...

Diving back into the hobby after about a 8 + year hiatus.

60 gallon custom starphire cube. This little guy was assembled at a club diy meeting back in the day. I acquired at an auction and it's sat ever since.

Stand is near complete. Going for a contemporary look. No lip. No trim. No rim.

View attachment 132286

Lighting is an XR 30 pro.

The majority of the flow will most likely be provided via DC return pump located in the basement @ the 75 gallon sump. Looking on pump advice. Looking at a Neptune 1500gph option.

Still trying to decide if I should drill and install a ghost overflow. Not thrilled about the exposed plumbing though. I'm leaning towards keeping it simple and drill the bottom, install center or corner overflow utilizing a durso with emergency drain. Is a ghost really all that?

I'd live to hear some feedback from you cube nerds out there. I'm on the fast track to catching up on the state of the hobby. All comments are welcome.

Best

Joe

Love the stand and welcome back chief. It doesn't take much to get bit by the bug! LOL
Almost looks like a butcher block design LOVE IT!
Good luck with build and following.

 

[Sboarderk03]

Very nice! Center overflow I think would be the most unique especially if you have it somewhere that you can view it from all sides. However if it has to be against a wall I would without question drill the back and have an overflow like an eshopps eclipse or ghost. The pipes wont be visible as it is against a wall anyways and it makes it that much easier to work on. You can drill another 3/4" hole and put in a bulkhead and loc-line for the return or you can just run a simple return over the top, they dont look too bad over the top honestly. You dont want to have to deal with bulkheads inside of a custom stand like that. Just my 2 cents, whatever you decide good luck its coming along nicely!

 

[scavdog]

I am finally going update the worlds slowest build thread:

I worked on this tank on and off throughout the pandemic. My mind has been back and forth on the approach to take on the build.

The final criteria:

• Clean look and fee - No holes in the floor. No clutter under the stand.
• Ability to easily deal with water changes using NSW in most cases.
• Remote sump in an enclosed porch basement.
• Modularity - Provide for future expansion for basement office tank.

The tank was originally built by BRS past president and member @Dave McReeferson. It had never seen water and has been in storage for quite some time. The entire tank was constructed from starphire glass.

I ended up settling on a ghost style overflow. I scrutinized the type of overflow that I wanted and finally settled on a Modern Marine 16". The overflow oversized for the 60, but I wanted options. The 16 gave me a ton of surface skimming ability. The box has 3x 1" drains for my Bean Animal setup. The 2x 3/4" returns are supplied from a 1.5" main that is fed by a variable speed pump. The build quality is the best I have seen and it's dead silent, since setting up.

Plumbing was something I dreaded. I was not looking forward to the task to get through the wall and into the basement. It had to look clean. To accomplish this I decided to use a washing machine outlet box. With a little modification, it fit the bill nicely.

 

[SteveDola]

Looks great!

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Let's see the pics of the water and sand @scavdog

 

[s_kelley]

Great idea with the washing machine box, doesnt get cleaner looking than that!!

 

[scavdog]

Great idea with the washing machine box, doesnt get cleaner looking than that!!

Thanks. It really worked out better than expected.

 

[scavdog]

Journaling a bit more (slightly dated) progress. The tank is currently about 7 days into a "fishless" cycle. Here are a few more plumbing shots:

I hopped in a "time machine" and hit up the Home Depot for some sand . Yes. It's a Deep Sand Bed. I had great results in the past, so I am sticking with what I know. I have plans to add in a DSB / RSB Fuge in once things start to mature.

 

[scavdog]

So I was messing around viewing old posts and found the birthday pics of this tank. Pretty wild:

https://bostonreefers.org/forums/in...meeting-cookout-pics.98039/page-2#post-893668

 

[php1775]

hey Joe, good for you. just restarted a few smaller ones i had in storage as well.been about 12 yrs but so happy im back in it.

 

[scavdog]

hey Joe, good for you. just restarted a few smaller ones i had in storage as well.been about 12 yrs but so happy im back in it.

Nice to see you're still around Pat!

 

[php1775]

You too Joe! MISSED THE HELL OUT OF IT.

 

[this is me]

Journaling a bit more (slightly dated) progress. The tank is currently about 7 days into a "fishless" cycle. Here are a few more plumbing shots:

View attachment 167701View attachment 167702




I hopped in a "time machine" and hit up the Home Depot for some sand . Yes. It's a Deep Sand Bed. I had great results in the past, so I am sticking with what I know. I have plans to add in a DSB / RSB Fuge in once things start to mature.

View attachment 167707View attachment 167706




View attachment 167708

Whatttttt. SouthDown sand? Nice!
24x24x24?