20 Long Reef Build

[Titan1790]

I recently decided, after much debate and consideration, that it was time for me to get a saltwater tank. I have/had two planted tanks, a 40 breeder and a 36 bowfront. My 40 breeder is perfect. My 36 bowfront....not so much. It's not so much that it looks bad so much as it is that I just hate the tank itself. The curved front creates a beautiful display, the depth makes it a total pain to clean though . After much debate I decided I just needed to sell this tank and take the money and put it towards my saltwater adventure. I put the tank up for sale about a week ago and today I sold it to a local business to use in their reception area. Wednesday on my day off I am going to break down what was the tank that brought me back into the hobby and send it into someone else's care.

Now onto whats coming!

I am waiting for the next dollar per gallon sale at either Petco or Petsmart and picking up a 20 long. I plan on doing this as a reef tank with a large assortment of corals and few select fish and invertebrates. I also plan to include a DIY stand build in this thread. Maybe even a DIY canopy if I am feeling froggy.

Once I collect payment on Wednesday I will start ordering the various components I need to get this tank up and running. I will have a lot of questions as this thread progresses and I am really looking forward to everyone's input and constructive criticism.

Here is the list of components I am considering:

Light: Fishneedit 30" T5HO (4 bulb, 2 actinics and 2 10k)
Filter: Aquaclear 70 with filter floss, purigen, and chemi pure elite (what is everyone's thoughts on the last two?)
Heater: Eheim Jager 75 Watt (Is this strong enough?(
Circulation: Hydor Koralia Nano 240 (2 of these)
Base rock: 15 lbs aprox
Live rock: 5lbs aprox from lfs
Substrate: "live sand" (aka bagged) from lfs
Salt: Instant ocean reef crystals
Water: RODI from lfs
Test kits: api saltwater and reef master kits
Refractometer from marine depot
Skimmer: none for now, I am religious about my weekly water change

Thoughts on this equipment list? Also, let me know if I missed anything.

 

[TX..r33f]

Sound good, so I am guessing you won't be doing a sump? Also do you plan on having a chiller? For the skimmer I know you don't need one ,but i think you would benefit with having one. You can get a good one for around $70

 

[Titan1790]

No plans to do a sump right now, although I do have an extra 10 gallon laying around that I could use If I decide to. No real need for a chiller. I live in Tn and "normally" it does not get to terribly hot here, also I keep my house around 72-70 year round. I did consider the skimmer and I think I will have the wife snag me a Tunze 9002 for Christmas.

 

[TX..r33f]

I think you will see you will like a sump. It's were you hide your Heater, skimmer , UV sterilizer ect: it won't make your display tank look cluttered. Last thing you want to see I'n you display is wires and heaters taking away from the beauty. Also a good place to grow Macro algee

 

[Titan1790]

I think you will see you will like a sump. It's were you hide your Heater, skimmer , UV sterilizer ect: it won't make your display tank look cluttered. Last thing you want to see I'n you display is wires and heaters taking away from the beauty. Also a good place to grow Macro algee

I am not sure how I feel about trying to drill the tank though. I will have to dive unto the diy section tonight.

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[TX..r33f]

No need to drill the tank. You can get one that hangs on back check out this link

http://www.marinedepot.com/CPR_CS_O...Boxes_for_Aquariums-CPR-CR1511-FIOFEB-vi.html

 

[Titan1790]

No need to drill the tank. You can get one that hangs on back check out this link

http://www.marinedepot.com/CPR_CS_O...Boxes_for_Aquariums-CPR-CR1511-FIOFEB-vi.html

Hmmm would I have to worry about leaks with something like this?

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[jamesgang]

I had a 20Long a few years ago and made a sump out of 6-7 iniches of one end by placing a custom insert with an overflow and two putbacks for a singel pump attached to a SQWID. I was then able to hang a Remora skimmer off that end and my water was always perfect. I actually siliconed in a piece of plexi that I cut myslef and it ran for two years until I retired and had to move.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Titan,

I am kind of like you, starting up a 20 gallon long. Although I had a 125 many years ago so I am going to use what I can from that. So I think I might tag along with you on this thread. If done right you don't have to worry about leaks with the overflows that TX shows. In fact I have been on the fence if I should use my overflows down into a sump or not, but he is right, I don't want a bunch of cords running through the tank. I am going to use my overflows now.

 

[Titan1790]

Titan,

I am kind of like you, starting up a 20 gallon long. Although I had a 125 many years ago so I am going to use what I can from that. So I think I might tag along with you on this thread. If done right you don't have to worry about leaks with the overflows that TX shows. In fact I have been on the fence if I should use my overflows down into a sump or not, but he is right, I don't want a bunch of cords running through the tank. I am going to use my overflows now.

I am with you in that I want a super clean looking setup. The more we talk about it the more I think I have found a use for that spare ten gallon.

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[Titan1790]

I had a 20Long a few years ago and made a sump out of 6-7 iniches of one end by placing a custom insert with an overflow and two putbacks for a singel pump attached to a SQWID. I was then able to hang a Remora skimmer off that end and my water was always perfect. I actually siliconed in a piece of plexi that I cut myslef and it ran for two years until I retired and had to move.

I have some spare acrylic I could use to make dividers for the sump..

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[-RYknow]

I think sumps are a good way to go. I was in a situation where due to lack of space, and not wanted to spend the extra time and money on the sump I had to come up with a different way to keep things clean looking. So I came up with this...

FTS as of today (sorry the pics aren't super clear...My 9930 doesn't like shooting with the LED lights):

In the last pic you can see I had enough room for my skimmer and Tunze ATO setup. The other side has my AC70 fuge mod, and heater tucked inside.

It's not perfect, but it was a super simple (and cheap) way to keep things hidden, and clean looking.

-RYknow

 

[Fishboy9227]

That looks pretty nice. I like the idea of avoiding the sump. At this moment, I don't think a sump is required with these nanos.

 

[-RYknow]

That looks pretty nice. I like the idea of avoiding the sump. At this moment, I don't think a sump is required with these nanos.

Thanks! I would agree that a sump isn't really required. Setting mine up like this cost me the price of 1 can of paint, some silicone, and a few zip-ties. The rest was a piece of gutter I found in the garage, and some gutter guard for the top to help keep the snails out.

You could even take it one step further by making the pieces of gutter taller then I did so that you can do some surface skimming. When I set the tank up an ATO was a long ways off, and I didn't want things to run dry while I was working 65 hours a week. So when I put them in, it was simply to keep things clean looking and surface skimming wasn't even a consideration.

-RYknow

 

[Lpabsolute]

Nice setup

 

[Titan1790]

I think sumps are a good way to go. I was in a situation where due to lack of space, and not wanted to spend the extra time and money on the sump I had to come up with a different way to keep things clean looking. So I came up with this...

FTS as of today (sorry the pics aren't super clear...My 9930 doesn't like shooting with the LED lights):

In the last pic you can see I had enough room for my skimmer and Tunze ATO setup. The other side has my AC70 fuge mod, and heater tucked inside.

It's not perfect, but it was a super simple (and cheap) way to keep things hidden, and clean looking.

-RYknow

I am definitely looking into this after seeing this. Would be much cheaper than trying to do a sump as well. Very nice clean setup. Thanks for the pics.

 

[Titan1790]

Most unfortunately I have been so busy that I have not had time to keep up with this thread and all the changes at my workplace. All of that is slowing down now though so it is time to update the thread, and keep it updated this time lol.

First here is the list of equipment that I ended up ordering:

Aqueon 20 long ($1 a gallon sale)
Eheim Jager 75 watt heater
FishNeedIt 30" 4 bulb T5Ho fixture
AquaClear 30 filter
Hydor Koralia Nano 425 powerhead (2)
50 lbs of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
Api master saltwater test kit
Api reef master test kit
20 lbs of "live" sand
15 lbs of base rock from reefrocks.net (really recommend this site, fast shipping, quick to respond, and they sent me 5 extra lbs for free!)

I think that was all the equipment that I ordered. Next I built a stand for the tank. Basic 2x4 construction with a cheap plywood skin since I knew the wife wanted it to be painted.



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[Titan1790]

More pics:

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[Titan1790]

So next I taped off the tank and painted it with Krylon Fusion flat black. Also, safety first. I wanted this tank on a gfci for safety reasons, took the easy way out and I got the plug in kind:


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[Titan1790]

The tank is setup now and I have seeded my base rock with a few lbs of live from my lfs. I have already dosed ammonia to get the cycle started. Here are pics to update you to where we are now: