60G CUBE

60g Anemone Cube

melev — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 20:09:03 +0000

60g Anemone Cube melev Thu, 07/02/2020 - 23:09

Probably the most popular tank I've ever kept, the 60g rimless tank made by AGE is filled with bubble tip anemones and clownfish.

Quick facts:

24" x 24" x 24" Starphire glass on three sides
PVC bottom drilled for an internal overflow
Plumbed into the sump under the 400g reef
Lit with a Radion Gen2 fixture
Flow provided by a Vortech Mp40wQD with a Battery Backup for power outages.
2" sandbed with 30lbs of live rock
Eheim autofeeder for a daily snack
Feed frozen food every night to the fish

All the clowns are tank-raised. There are 17 total. This tank has about 30 anemones total, with species acquired in 2003 and 2007, or later.

This is a Starphire Glass AGE tank, 24" x 24" x 24" with an internal overflow box I built myself. The base of the tank is PVC, so the overflow box is four-sided with a solid bottom. Two holes were drilled through the bottom of the overflow as well as the PVC, heavily siliconed and held in place with two 1" bulkheads for the drain and the return.

The back of the tank has black vinyl applied for a clean background. The stand is made with 1" steel EZ-Tube, reinforced with 3/8" plywood panels to avoid racking.

Livestock is lit with a Ecotech Radion Gen2 LED fixture that is controlled via ReefLink for WIFI accessibilty. I can use EcoSmart Live via my iPhone App or with a browser to adjust the lighting spectrum, intensity and lunar modes. Firmware is automatically updated by Ecotech, and if customer support is needed, the people at Ecotech Marine can do so remotely.

This tank was set up on November 10th, 2013, and is tied into the sump under the 400g. Flow is provided via the return line and a Ecotech Mp40 wES Vortech pump with a foam sponge to keep the anemones out.

The plumbing passes through the wall into the fishroom and into the sump.

The return line is fed from the manifold's Dart pump. The orange handled valve controls the flow rate.

The 60 cube is next to the 400g.

December 2014:

Some of my blogs about this build:

Steel Stand: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28946-60g-cube-stand
and http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28970-Strengthening-the-steel-stand
The Internal Overflow: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28962-The-60g-cube-is-on-its-stand
Black vinyl background applied: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28968-60g-Black-vinyl-applied
Plumbing it in: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28971-Silicone-the-overflow-into-the-60g-cube-and-plumbed
Hanging the Radion light: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28972-Hanging-the-Radion-fixture
Radion Light review: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/417-That-perfect-lighting-schedule-what-you-need-to-know
Radion Programming screenshot: http://melevsreef.com/pics/15/9/wmx-radion-schedule.png
Radion Programming EcoSmart Live: http://melevsreef.com/articles/radion-schedule-described-detail

My Tanks

60G CUBE

Applying a black vinyl background

melev — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 20:05:10 +0000

Applying a black vinyl background melev Thu, 07/02/2020 - 23:05

The one thing I always recommend to anyone is to apply a background to their tank. You can use a reef scene if you like, or a solid color. You can paint the back, you can build an interesting back-lit shadow box like a friend of mine, or you just use vinyl. The nice thing is it's inexpensive, easy to apply, and later it is just as easy to remove without any damage to your aquarium.

Some people like a blue background, but I don't. I had a piece of blue vinyl and put that sheet behind the tank just to see what it would look like, but it was a no-go. I already have colorful walls in my home, and honestly the best backdrop for a coral reef is black. Just like the black velvet they use when they showcase diamonds in a jewelry store -- it just looks clean and the gems sparkle. Similarly, if you keep the back panel scraped clean, corals will pop against that dark backdrop.

Here's the blue background picture. I also checked what lighter blue would look like, which reminded me of the inside of a swimming pool.

I applied the black vinyl sheet to the back of the 60g. The back pane of the tank is 24" wide and 24" tall, and the piece of vinyl was larger than that.

I cleaned the back of the tank with Windex and newspaper since that doesn't leave lint or smudges. Next, a spray bottle was filled up with tap water with a drop of Dawn dish detergent. I sprayed the back of the tank to get the entire surface wet.

After peeling off the paper backing to expose the sticky side, I sprayed down the vinyl. With the glass and the vinyl wet, the piece can be moved around and positioned exactly where it needs to be.

Here it is, just placed on the back of the tank. Air bubbles and slight wrinkles are normal.

Using a credit card, I worked the top edge first, then made a full pass down the center. Then using the plastic card from the center, I smoothed outwards to smooth out the vinyl and force out any trapped air. Some liquid came out the edges as well as along the bottom.

All that was left to do was trim the edges, since the panes have chamfered edges. I don't want the vinyl to have any spots where it could peel off, so cutting away the excess leaves the vinyl only on the glass where it has been adhered. The first picture shows where I started.

That's it. It will cure for the next few days, but that doesn't affect setting up the tank. Nice clean background done.

The next step involved securing some wood to the steel stand so it wouldn't rack, so it would be safe and sturdy. That will be in a different entry.

My Tanks

60G CUBE

My Radion Schedule Programming

melev — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 19:55:51 +0000

My Radion Schedule Programming melev Thu, 07/02/2020 - 22:55

Explaining the Radion schedule isn't that simple, unless there's some trick I'm not aware of. I've had quite a few people ask me for the schedule I use over the 60g Anemone Cube. Since November 2013, I've had a Radion Xr30 Gen2 over that tank. If you want to download that file, here it is:

MelevsSavedRadionSchedule2015-12-08.etg (right click, save as to your harddrive)

My light is set 8" from the surface of the water, hanging from ceiling with the adjustable hanging kit.

You can start with a brand new schedule. In EcoSmart Live, find your Radion fixture. Then on the right side of the screen, click on Schedule Options, and then "Load from template". I like Radiant Color - my favorite. Set the starting time, ending time and intensity, and click Set.

What you can see on the left is the lights are set to a maximum of 80% intensity. The light cycle begins at 1:00pm and runs to 9:30pm for a total of 8.5 hours per day. I like running lunar mode that matches the phases of our moon on a daily basis.

Here's another showing the various color channels visible in the graph.

Here are the various setpoints, as schedules. See the blue circles in the images above? You can drag these left or right to the exact time you want. Double click a blue circle and you'll see this menu on the left side of the screen. I don't use Cloud or Storm options.

1:00 p.m.

As you can see, everything is off. This is the starting point of the new day. The aquarium has been lit with ambient light shining into the room, but the Radion doesn't come on until 1:00 pm in the afternoon.

2:03 p.m.

No whites are used yet. It's a soft blue hue.

2:46 p.m.

Note the percentages, how they are gradually changing with the Radiant schedule from screenshot to screenshot.

3:07 p.m.

Finally the whites are on, but only 15% intensity. Some green has been added, as has more red.

5:15 p.m.

Both blue channels are at 100%, whites have ramped up to 55%, some green and a dose of red, all maxed out at 80% intensity. This is the "high noon" moment of the day when the sun is shining down at its highest level, per the programming I selected.

6:40 p.m.

Whites have already tapered back down to 37% by 6:40 pm.

7:22 p.m.

The whites have dropped to 15% and the blue channel has begun to drop as well.

8:26 p.m.

The blue channels are still on, but half of what they were.

9:30 p.m.

Finally, the royal blue LED channel provides a nice glow for a while, as this will taper off based on the lunar cycle. Some nights the royal blues turn off quickly, and other nights the royal blues may be on nearly two hours longer, matching the full moon outside. The livestock glows under that spectrum, and it's totally worth it.

I hope this was helpful. If you have questions, send me a message via Contact Us. If needed, I'll update this page with additional information. I'm going to be changing fixtures to the Xr15 Gen3 Pro, but I don't think my programming will change much.

My Tanks

60G CUBE

Hanging the Radion Gen2 Xr30 fixture

melev — Sun, 31 May 2020 21:44:24 +0000

Hanging the Radion Gen2 Xr30 fixture melev Mon, 06/01/2020 - 00:44

With the 60g on the stand, leveled and positioned near the wall - I left a small gap behind the tank to avoid salt-creep damage to the sheetrock - I needed to determine where to hang the Radion LED fixture over the tank. Using a 4' level, I placed it across the tank and set the light fixture on top. This permitted measuring the fixture from all four sides to get it centered. Hence, I was able to ascertain the distance from the rear wall and the right wall precisely for the hanging kit (pictured above).

The Radion Hanging kit comes with a paper template. Holding the template on the ceiling, I moved it into place by putting the targets at the predetermined measured points. 9" from the right wall, 13.25" from the back wall. Thumb tacks were pressed through the bullseyes, essentially marking the ceiling with two tiny dots.

A quick visual to double check that it looked right, I tried to align those thumb tacks with the center of the Radion hangers before proceeding. It looked perfect and I was ready to proceed.

The kit came with screws, cabling, and adjustable hangers. It came with the ceiling connectors, but not any type of anchors, mollies, or butterfly toggle bolts. What I had in my garage are called SnapSkru wall anchors. They are very easy to install and hold nicely.

To install one, use a Phillip's head screwdriver, preferably with a drill.

Place it against the sheetrock, and pull the trigger slowly to let it carve its way into the drywall.

If some day this anchor needs to go, it can be unscrewed out of the drywall and quickly patched with spackling paste.

The hanging kit didn't include the screw to hold it into the anchor, but I had that as well. A 1" panhead steel screw was used to secure the threaded hanger piece. So, keep that in mind that you'll need some type of anchor and screw in addition to the Ecotech Radion Hanging kit.

I should have mentioned that if you are working over your tank to install something, cover it from any falling pollutants. I used a big towel to catch the drywall bits falling down.

I threaded the cable through the slotted cap for each screw. One end of the cable has a large aluminum stopper that rests inside the cap, and the other end is bare to feed into the adjustable hanger on the light fixture. The reason the cap is slotted is for installations on angled ceilings.

The slotted caps screw on to the threaded section.

The screws and loop tether were bolted to the light itself before I installed the ceiling hangers. The kit included the allen wrench.

The cables dangling from the ceiling were inserted into these adjustable hangers, and fed out the side.

I had some help getting this part done. If you don't have a second person, place the light on a supporting cross board to get the cabling inserted. Once done, you simply pull the cable as you lift the light up the cable - one side at a time. To lower it, press the tiny button near the top downward into the steel adjustor, and it will begin to slide downward

The power cord does create some imbalance, so I used a sticky & ziptie to tether it to the tank and eliminate the drag.

The light is hanging perfectly level now.

The extra cable is coiled up for now, but I'll cut that off and put some crimp-stoppers on the ends to avoid any accidents in the future.

And it looks great.

My Tanks

60G CUBE