MGP
New member
Hey everyone, I thought I would introduce myself and my tank as I make the fun transition back to reefing. My name is Mike and I've had one reef tank before (20 gallon high) but that was about 3 years ago.
I am now starting up a 20 gallon long tank, and to be honest a lot of the equipment I am using is modified. so there is a lot of trial and error going on so bear with me.
First things first, I popped the rim off the standard 20 L. The shallow depth and overbuilding of this certain tank made me feel confident this would be alright. In the picture you can see a 5 gallon next to it which was originally going to be my sump using a siphon as a bridge between the two tanks and a small power head return, but I decided to ditch this idea for whatever reason and now use a modded AC110 as primary filtration.
Here is my modded AC110. I have it on the minimum flow setting which is still even a little too strong, but it does provide really good flow. I separated it into chambers using acrylic with rubber glued on the sides. Basically nothing is permanently glued to the filter body itself, just fitted really snugly into place. There is some bypass flow but it is minimal. The water runs through a blue filter pad and then through a chamber of rock rubble and continues on to a chamber with macro algae. I am just trying this method out. I am aware of the concerns regarding rock rubble, but with the mechanical filtration before it and proper maintenance it should work. I'll see how much of a hassle it is and go from there. I have plastic mesh floating over the rock rubble chamber, which I am hoping will grow algae, but time will tell if it works or not. The lights are LEDs, and are mounted on an old aqua tech filter cover. It looks cool but I am skeptical about its efficiency growing the macro algae, so I will probably end up putting a 3500k CFL in its place if I don't get good growth. The overflow is from an old Eshopps kit.
Here it is with my DIY ATO system on the right and temporary lighting on top. I made the ATO with a file box from target. I have an old A/C float switch in the tank which is hooked up to a relay to run a LED light(to tell me its on) and powerhead in the reservoir. I also have another float switch in the reservoir hooked up to a LED to tell me when the water needs to be replenished. The lights are 2X 24watt T5HO. I will be replacing them with a Par38 and two supplemental 10watt LED multichips (will write up on that when they arrive)
Last Saturday I went to Tampa and visited a bunch of aquarium stores in the area since St. Pete doesn't really have any at all (very surprising to me). I picked up a few pounds of LR from the Coral Corral (very cool place), just to get my tank going and to lay some base rockwork. There wasn't much life on these rocks but there was good coraline algae growth and a little red mushroom.
Today was a really fun day for me. I picked up 10 lbs of LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater. It seemed like I received more than 10lbs, and the rocks were absolutely loaded with life. I heard some reviews, but when I saw it in person was when my jaw dropped. I would sit here and list everything that came on it but this post is already long enough and I have no idea what the majority of it is to be honest. But I am really happy with this purchase. I am glad I had the base rock so I didn't have to pile anything on the TBSW rocks and risk killing a lot of cool organisms.
That's pretty much it for now. I'll keep updating my progress as I add new things to it.
I'm thinking of getting some frogspawn and hammer coral, as well as zoanthids. I will be stocking with one or two clowns and some type of goby. I am on the lookout for good deals in my area, so that is why I wanted to introduce myself. Anyways thanks for reading along and feel free to criticize and help me out or ask any questions
I am now starting up a 20 gallon long tank, and to be honest a lot of the equipment I am using is modified. so there is a lot of trial and error going on so bear with me.
First things first, I popped the rim off the standard 20 L. The shallow depth and overbuilding of this certain tank made me feel confident this would be alright. In the picture you can see a 5 gallon next to it which was originally going to be my sump using a siphon as a bridge between the two tanks and a small power head return, but I decided to ditch this idea for whatever reason and now use a modded AC110 as primary filtration.
Here is my modded AC110. I have it on the minimum flow setting which is still even a little too strong, but it does provide really good flow. I separated it into chambers using acrylic with rubber glued on the sides. Basically nothing is permanently glued to the filter body itself, just fitted really snugly into place. There is some bypass flow but it is minimal. The water runs through a blue filter pad and then through a chamber of rock rubble and continues on to a chamber with macro algae. I am just trying this method out. I am aware of the concerns regarding rock rubble, but with the mechanical filtration before it and proper maintenance it should work. I'll see how much of a hassle it is and go from there. I have plastic mesh floating over the rock rubble chamber, which I am hoping will grow algae, but time will tell if it works or not. The lights are LEDs, and are mounted on an old aqua tech filter cover. It looks cool but I am skeptical about its efficiency growing the macro algae, so I will probably end up putting a 3500k CFL in its place if I don't get good growth. The overflow is from an old Eshopps kit.
Here it is with my DIY ATO system on the right and temporary lighting on top. I made the ATO with a file box from target. I have an old A/C float switch in the tank which is hooked up to a relay to run a LED light(to tell me its on) and powerhead in the reservoir. I also have another float switch in the reservoir hooked up to a LED to tell me when the water needs to be replenished. The lights are 2X 24watt T5HO. I will be replacing them with a Par38 and two supplemental 10watt LED multichips (will write up on that when they arrive)
Last Saturday I went to Tampa and visited a bunch of aquarium stores in the area since St. Pete doesn't really have any at all (very surprising to me). I picked up a few pounds of LR from the Coral Corral (very cool place), just to get my tank going and to lay some base rockwork. There wasn't much life on these rocks but there was good coraline algae growth and a little red mushroom.
Today was a really fun day for me. I picked up 10 lbs of LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater. It seemed like I received more than 10lbs, and the rocks were absolutely loaded with life. I heard some reviews, but when I saw it in person was when my jaw dropped. I would sit here and list everything that came on it but this post is already long enough and I have no idea what the majority of it is to be honest. But I am really happy with this purchase. I am glad I had the base rock so I didn't have to pile anything on the TBSW rocks and risk killing a lot of cool organisms.
That's pretty much it for now. I'll keep updating my progress as I add new things to it.
I'm thinking of getting some frogspawn and hammer coral, as well as zoanthids. I will be stocking with one or two clowns and some type of goby. I am on the lookout for good deals in my area, so that is why I wanted to introduce myself. Anyways thanks for reading along and feel free to criticize and help me out or ask any questions
