10G reef build

[Mussin]

Well I decided to build a nice little 10G reef set-up. I have a 28G nanocube and really like the false wall filtration set-up. I decided to go with this kind of set-up for my 10G.

Here is a list of parts I used..
10G standard tank
Maxijet 1200
Tetra submersible heater (78-80deg)
thermometer - meijer brand
acrylic - 1' x 2' Black..
Fittings, bulkhead, 90deg, line loc, and a nozzle
Odeyssea quad 20" T5 light
Korilla nano
tube of GE ttype 1 scilicone
2' section of 1/2" hose......

Me and a friend built this in about 2 hours. I started with a cardbord template to see how I wanted the chambers to look. I bought a 1'x2' 1/4" sheet of black acrylic to make the false wall.

We cut out notches for the water to flow into the chambers and drilled a hole for my return nozzle

I made the water flow like a "s" Water goes into the 1st under to the second and over to the 3rd with the pump. The 1st chamber will hold a bag of carbon, heater and thermometer, 2nd will be filled with LR rubble and the 3rd will be packed with filter floss and a sponge.

I mounter my MJ1200 pump, fits perfect!

I little scilicone and were almost done!

I added my Korilla Nano powerhead

birds eye view..

We put some light diffuser to make like a shelf for my sponge and filter floss

Here is the finished product.. all lights on

The display section of the tank is 7.5 gallons. I like how it turned out

Next up is sand and some Live rock.. Ill update with pics as the tank progresses.. Thanks

Jeremy

 

[Boomsnapp]

Really awesome. I love DIY builds. How did you make such precise cuts for the overflow? And are you just using silicone to bond the false wall to the glass? I've always heard that silicone doesn't bond to acrylic?

 

[Mussin]

Used a table saw with correct blade.. Yes im just using scilicone to bond the glass to the acrylic. hopefully it holds up ok. gonna test it in a couple of days.

 

[moltenchicken]

I really like how simple you made this look. I hope you do not mind but I may have to steal your design for my 10 gallon.

How big make the chambers? Did you only make it 4 to 5 inches deep?

I think that you will be OK with the Silicone. It should not be supporting anything so there will not be much stress on the seams.

 

[agruetz]

Where did you get the material to build the overflow boxes from? I need to get some to put around my HOB filter drops, things do not want to stay away from them, currently I have some custom cut filter floss the helps but I think building some overflow type boxes around them will be best.

 

[Mussin]

I really like how simple you made this look. I hope you do not mind but I may have to steal your design for my 10 gallon.

How big make the chambers? Did you only make it 4 to 5 inches deep?

I think that you will be OK with the Silicone. It should not be supporting anything so there will not be much stress on the seams.

I dont mind at all. I got this idea from another members build on here anyway. The chambers are 4" deep.

I bought all my acrylic from www.usplastic.com . I hope to get some sand/rock in there this week.


Jeremy

 

[agruetz]

If i can offer any advice it is this. SLOW SLOW SLOW. I thought I went slow enough but even with a 6 week cycle it is not keeping up with 1 clown 1 zoo frag and 1 anemone (I had 2 clowns I lost one over it) :sad1:. I am having to do daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrate levels stable and low. Also recommend sachem stability. The bacteria colonies have exploded in the 2 days I have put it in there. Anyway good luck I will see about grabbing some plastic to cover my HOB filter drop downs.

Anthony

 

[moltenchicken]

I dont mind at all. I got this idea from another members build on here anyway. The chambers are 4" deep.

I bought all my acrylic from www.usplastic.com . I hope to get some sand/rock in there this week.


Jeremy

Please post pics when you do get sand/rock in. I look forward to seeing your aquascape with the reduced area.

 

[blackthunda77]

Looking good mussin. Nice and clean. I see you decided to keep the rim on. Still looks very sleek. One thing i did notice was the placement of the korallia. Based on my observations and experience, i would not place it where you have it now. It will impair the ability to filer out particulates from the water. It will still work and water will go in the over flow obviously but it will take longer for particulates like food, detritus, etc. to be filtered out. The koralia will be pushing water AWAY from the overflow. Also, I like how you did the chambers. I see you did it pretty much reverse of how i did mine. The only reason i did mine the way i did was to eliminate the dropping of water from the 2nd chamber to the 3rd chamber. That way the noise level never gets louder as the water level in chamber 3 gets lower. That was important to me becuase of where the tank was going to be located. Then again if you put sponge and filter floss in the 3rd chmaber the way you did noise might not be an issue with the water falling on the sponge. Good Work!

 

[Agu]

That's some really nice work.

Silicone should be just fine for this build. I've siliconed acrylic to glass with great success.

 

[LittleBee]

Looks awesome. Great job!

 

[Usul0]

Cool concept your going with, and silicon should be fine with such low pressures your gonna be running. What are you planning to keep in this tank?

 

[Mussin]

Thanks guys.. The Korilla might be moved but its about the best place I could find, I did move it lower though. I just added 15lb of Carib Sea Aragonite reef sand. Going to add a healthy scoop of aragonite from my 28G nanocube later today as well as some live rock. Ill take some pics for sure. As far as livestock, not sure. My son only wants a pair of clowns but not sure on that. Any suggestions?

Jeremy

 

[Mussin]

Well its all up and running. I added 15Lb of Aragonite sand (2 cups from my 28G nano) and several Nice pieces of rock covered in coraline. I also added some rubble in my second chamber. Everything is running good. The maxijet1200 is almost too much flow. I might remove the Korilla nano, not sure if it is needed. I think this is all the rock I am going to add. I also threw in some random snail shells I found in my 28G nano. Not the best pics, taken with my Driod X. Its hard to get a full tank shot with the light on because its so bright.

Jeremy

 

[Agu]

Looking good ......

Noticed you're using a Maxi 1200 as a return, that alone will create some serious flow in your tank. You might want to consider using a Hydor rotating return at the Maxi output and not even using the Koralia.

I'm using Hydors on two of my Nanos and they're cheap enough that I always have two as backups in case one jams/gets dirty. They just get swapped out during water changes so I always have a clean replacement on hand.

 

[Mussin]

How does it mount? Looks like a good choice.

 

[Agu]

They come with multiple adapters to slide in/over several water outlets.

 

[Mussin]

Well so far there are 2 snails and 5 tiny hermit crabs all doing great after a week. My params are as follows:
Nitrate - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
PH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0-.25
Alk - 1.7
salt - 1.023
temp - 78

Havent seen any diatoms yet, just a tiny bit of GHA on one rock. It was probably on there from when I moved it from my 28G. This tank has ALOT more evaporation than my Nanocube, probably because of no lid. My son loves it, its fun to watch the crabs scurry around in the moonlights. Also is there a thing as too much flow? I have a MJ1200 and a Korills nano and this ting flows like no other! Would that drive the fish nutz?? I also added a small mushroom and several pieces of my toadstool that dropped frags a month ago or so.

I also had a royal sea urchin die a while back and threw the skeleton in the 10G, makes for an awesome decoration.

 

[Panduriniii]

great start!

 

[flyweed1970]

Wow..love your build. I am not sure if I want to do a DIY nano, or just purchase a Nuvo 8 or other nano tank. Hope to decide today. Great job.