Thanks! I say, "Go for it!" To me, an aquarium should look as good on the outside as it does on the inside (or close to it). I don't want to have a nice reef thriving inside the tank, but walk past the tank and notice a bunch of pvc pipes and cables hanging out the back. With an AIO tank, it will look as nice as possible, which is important to me. I think smaller tanks are perfect for AIO setups.
30 Gallon Micro/Nano AIO DIY Reef Tank
- Thread starter dward0487
- Start date
Thanks! I say, "Go for it!" To me, an aquarium should look as good on the outside as it does on the inside (or close to it). I don't want to have a nice reef thriving inside the tank, but walk past the tank and notice a bunch of pvc pipes and cables hanging out the back. With an AIO tank, it will look as nice as possible, which is important to me. I think smaller tanks are perfect for AIO setups.
Well, its been about 4 days and I can still smell the adhesive in the tank... All the seams are dry and firm to the touch, and the instructions said to allow 24-72 hours for a full cure, but it's pretty clear to me that this is going to require some more time. I want everything to be cured up by the 1-week mark, which means Saturday. I thought perhaps the fumes were denser than air (and thus not escaping the tank), or maybe the small space in the sump section wasn't allowing adequate airflow, so I decided to rig up a fan on top of the tank to help it along. Here's a picture, as I don't have anything else to share right now (pardon the mess on the bar):
I might paint the sides tomorrow. I've already got them taped off (just past the seams). Once the seams are fully cured, I'll be leak-testing with tap water, and then I'll drain that, dry it out, and add my sand, rock, and saltwater to begin cycling the tank. I'll also be using some BioSpira to hopefully have the tank fully cycled in about 2 or 3 weeks. Once my nitrite levels are at 0, I'm going to add my first fish (probably a clown).
I might paint the sides tomorrow. I've already got them taped off (just past the seams). Once the seams are fully cured, I'll be leak-testing with tap water, and then I'll drain that, dry it out, and add my sand, rock, and saltwater to begin cycling the tank. I'll also be using some BioSpira to hopefully have the tank fully cycled in about 2 or 3 weeks. Once my nitrite levels are at 0, I'm going to add my first fish (probably a clown).
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So, I got my equipment in yesterday (all except my LED lighting), and I immediately got to work building my translucent screen for the top of the display tank. Here's a shot of the frame after I cut it down to size:
And here it is with the translucent mesh installed. I think it looks pretty good!
The mesh looks more opaque than it really is. It should not affect my light penetration in any noticeable way. And now I won't have to worry about gobies and other jumpers hopping out of my tank!
Here are a few shots of the new equipment:
I've got my 100W Eheim Jager for the tank, a 50W Jager for water changes, a Maxi-Jet 400 (also for water changes), my lignite carbon and high-capacity GFO for the filter section of the sump, my 2 Hydor Koralia Evolution 600 powerheads with the wave controller, the Tunze Osmolator Nano ATO, my Loc Line and flare fitting for the return, a length of tubing and a 90-degree elbow for the return pump, my 1/2" bulkhead, a Red Sea Marine Care test kit, the Tunze Comline DOC 9004 skimmer (with magnets), my Sicce Syncra 1.5 return pump, and some media bags with drawstrings for the carbon and GFO.
It is now Day 6, and all the seam lines seem to be completely set up and firm (and have been for some time now), but I can still smell that faint adhesive odor if I hold my head over the sump section... I'm not sure if that means the adhesive still hasn't completely cured, or if it is just the smell of the new adhesive just being in the tank. I'm wondering if the smell will disappear if I were to fill the tank with water for leak testing and then drain the water back out. Any thoughts?
And here it is with the translucent mesh installed. I think it looks pretty good!
The mesh looks more opaque than it really is. It should not affect my light penetration in any noticeable way. And now I won't have to worry about gobies and other jumpers hopping out of my tank!
Here are a few shots of the new equipment:
I've got my 100W Eheim Jager for the tank, a 50W Jager for water changes, a Maxi-Jet 400 (also for water changes), my lignite carbon and high-capacity GFO for the filter section of the sump, my 2 Hydor Koralia Evolution 600 powerheads with the wave controller, the Tunze Osmolator Nano ATO, my Loc Line and flare fitting for the return, a length of tubing and a 90-degree elbow for the return pump, my 1/2" bulkhead, a Red Sea Marine Care test kit, the Tunze Comline DOC 9004 skimmer (with magnets), my Sicce Syncra 1.5 return pump, and some media bags with drawstrings for the carbon and GFO.
It is now Day 6, and all the seam lines seem to be completely set up and firm (and have been for some time now), but I can still smell that faint adhesive odor if I hold my head over the sump section... I'm not sure if that means the adhesive still hasn't completely cured, or if it is just the smell of the new adhesive just being in the tank. I'm wondering if the smell will disappear if I were to fill the tank with water for leak testing and then drain the water back out. Any thoughts?
I'm currently in the process of filling up the tank with RO/DI water so I can run some carbon in it for about 2 days to flush out any toxins that might be in the tank from the adhesive. I have two small, slow leaks: one in each bottom corner, where the adhesive meets the silicone. I figured this would happen, as these two substances don't bond together well, if at all. However, I'm confident that the leaks are slow enough that the flow of water through the sump should make them insignificant. Actually, it's likely that my sand bed will plug up the corners and there may be no leaks at all. I decided to simply hang my bag of carbon in the intake section of the sump by suspending it from a rod placed across the top lip of the tank. This should do until I can fabricate the media "tower". Here's a shot of the tank partially full of water (the black spots near the lower edge are the reflections of my couch cushions on the glass!):
Once I get it completely full, I'm going to plug in the pump and see how it runs. I should get an idea of how quiet it will be this way. I'm not going to bother with putting the powerheads or skimmer in during this "detox" step, because there's no real point. In the meantime, I'm going to make water, mix in my salt, and get it heating/circulating. In 2 days, I should be able to start putting in my sand bed, rock work, and saltwater to get this thing cycling! It looks like I'm in for another fun shopping trip to the LFS!
As far as lighting is concerned, I'm probably going to go with 2 Reefbrite XHO lights (one white and one blue). I know I want LEDs, and I like the low profile of the tank-mounted XHOs. I was considering a Maxspect Razor, but the tank mounting brackets that come with it set the light about 6.5" off the top of the tank, and that wouldn't fit in my space as well as the XHOs would... I know the Razor is a better light, but I also know that many people use Reefbrites and love them. If I cut the mounting legs for the Razor down to a reasonable size, I likely wouldn't get the proper light coverage for my tank, given the lenses they have on the Razor. I know my wife wouldn't be thrilled about having a light fixture that sits above the edge of the bar the way the Razor would... It's a shame. If any of you know of a reputable LED light that has a low tank-mounted profile (something like 2 or 3 inches off the top of the upper rim of the tank), please let me know! Otherwise, it looks like I'll be a Reefbrite guy!
Once I get it completely full, I'm going to plug in the pump and see how it runs. I should get an idea of how quiet it will be this way. I'm not going to bother with putting the powerheads or skimmer in during this "detox" step, because there's no real point. In the meantime, I'm going to make water, mix in my salt, and get it heating/circulating. In 2 days, I should be able to start putting in my sand bed, rock work, and saltwater to get this thing cycling! It looks like I'm in for another fun shopping trip to the LFS!
As far as lighting is concerned, I'm probably going to go with 2 Reefbrite XHO lights (one white and one blue). I know I want LEDs, and I like the low profile of the tank-mounted XHOs. I was considering a Maxspect Razor, but the tank mounting brackets that come with it set the light about 6.5" off the top of the tank, and that wouldn't fit in my space as well as the XHOs would... I know the Razor is a better light, but I also know that many people use Reefbrites and love them. If I cut the mounting legs for the Razor down to a reasonable size, I likely wouldn't get the proper light coverage for my tank, given the lenses they have on the Razor. I know my wife wouldn't be thrilled about having a light fixture that sits above the edge of the bar the way the Razor would... It's a shame. If any of you know of a reputable LED light that has a low tank-mounted profile (something like 2 or 3 inches off the top of the upper rim of the tank), please let me know! Otherwise, it looks like I'll be a Reefbrite guy!
One more post tonight because I thought this was cool... Here's the way I fill this tank:
The bar makes a perfect place to set my 20-gallon trashcan. Water changes on this bad boy are going to be a breeze! I can siphon out of the tank by placing the can on the floor, and I'll only need to lift about 7 or 8 gallons of water up onto the bar to siphon the new water into the tank. I love it!
The bar makes a perfect place to set my 20-gallon trashcan. Water changes on this bad boy are going to be a breeze! I can siphon out of the tank by placing the can on the floor, and I'll only need to lift about 7 or 8 gallons of water up onto the bar to siphon the new water into the tank. I love it!
Well, here is the tank, filled with water (I have it set a little far out from the wall so I could observe the flow through the sump and install components more easily).
I have installed all the equipment, and routed the cables in a way that works for now, at least. I'll tidy it up a bit more later. I mounted the Reefbrite White XHO, and it looks great! I think I'll wait until the next paycheck rolls around to grab the blue XHO, seeing as how I won't need either of them until I'm done cycling the tank.
Here's a shot of the media tower I built out of eggcrate:
It fits in the intake section really nicely:
I originally included a little handle at the top for easy removal, but I found that the top section of the tower interfered with the water flowing over the teeth and made an undesirable noise, so I ended up removing the top section of eggcrate. Everything is great now!
The sump cover looks pretty darn slick on this thing. It gives the tank a nice clean appearance, and the cables fit perfectly through the hole at the back:
I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out! I'm going to be making water tonight, and I might either fill it with saltwater so it can start cycling late tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I'm also going to be painting this thing to black out the sump section on the sides.
I have noticed one thing, though... My Sicce Syncra 1.5 return pump seems to be making a slight buzzing noise that I didn't notice before. It doesn't really seem like the noise is coming from the pump itself, but actually seems to come from the bulkhead/return elbow area, or perhaps the Loc Line... Anyone else experienced this? The pump is on the suction cup feet, not touching any walls, and it's connected to the elbow with vinyl tubing. The bulkhead is nice and tight, as is the Loc Line... I'm not sure what's causing the buzzing sound. It's pretty faint, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't making that sound earlier in the day. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks!
I have installed all the equipment, and routed the cables in a way that works for now, at least. I'll tidy it up a bit more later. I mounted the Reefbrite White XHO, and it looks great! I think I'll wait until the next paycheck rolls around to grab the blue XHO, seeing as how I won't need either of them until I'm done cycling the tank.
Here's a shot of the media tower I built out of eggcrate:
It fits in the intake section really nicely:
I originally included a little handle at the top for easy removal, but I found that the top section of the tower interfered with the water flowing over the teeth and made an undesirable noise, so I ended up removing the top section of eggcrate. Everything is great now!
The sump cover looks pretty darn slick on this thing. It gives the tank a nice clean appearance, and the cables fit perfectly through the hole at the back:
I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out! I'm going to be making water tonight, and I might either fill it with saltwater so it can start cycling late tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I'm also going to be painting this thing to black out the sump section on the sides.
I have noticed one thing, though... My Sicce Syncra 1.5 return pump seems to be making a slight buzzing noise that I didn't notice before. It doesn't really seem like the noise is coming from the pump itself, but actually seems to come from the bulkhead/return elbow area, or perhaps the Loc Line... Anyone else experienced this? The pump is on the suction cup feet, not touching any walls, and it's connected to the elbow with vinyl tubing. The bulkhead is nice and tight, as is the Loc Line... I'm not sure what's causing the buzzing sound. It's pretty faint, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't making that sound earlier in the day. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks!
Well, the time has finally come... Here she is, all set up and cycling!
The water is a little cloudy from the sand, but it's getting clearer every minute! Other than that, everything looks great! I am actually considering adding a bit more sand, as I think it looks a little thin... I have my carbon and GFO running in the media tower, but I'm not currently running my skimmer. Between the live sand and the Bio-Spira I poured into the tank, I'm hoping for a pretty quick cycle. Fingers crossed! I checked and double-checked the salinity of the water with my refractometer, using a target value of 1.026 (35 ppm). The paint turned out really nice on the sump section:
So, the build is finally done (or at least it will be when I buy that second XHO, haha). Now it's just a matter of waiting for the bacteria to do their thing, and finding some neat fish and corals for it. Here are a few parting shots of the tank:
The water is a little cloudy from the sand, but it's getting clearer every minute! Other than that, everything looks great! I am actually considering adding a bit more sand, as I think it looks a little thin... I have my carbon and GFO running in the media tower, but I'm not currently running my skimmer. Between the live sand and the Bio-Spira I poured into the tank, I'm hoping for a pretty quick cycle. Fingers crossed! I checked and double-checked the salinity of the water with my refractometer, using a target value of 1.026 (35 ppm). The paint turned out really nice on the sump section:
So, the build is finally done (or at least it will be when I buy that second XHO, haha). Now it's just a matter of waiting for the bacteria to do their thing, and finding some neat fish and corals for it. Here are a few parting shots of the tank:
Here's a new shot of the tank (you can see my raw shrimp that I'm using to cycle the tank -- it appears to have cooked up nicely in the water):
I think the cloudiness was actually more of a bacterial bloom from the Bio Spira and live sand than floating particulate... It's still clearing, but it's getting better by the day! My temperature is holding steady at 78 degrees, and my salinity is 1.026, with the ATO working properly. I'm a little concerned about the pH (which currently reads 7.8), but I think it might come up as the tank continues to cycle. So far, so good!
I think the cloudiness was actually more of a bacterial bloom from the Bio Spira and live sand than floating particulate... It's still clearing, but it's getting better by the day! My temperature is holding steady at 78 degrees, and my salinity is 1.026, with the ATO working properly. I'm a little concerned about the pH (which currently reads 7.8), but I think it might come up as the tank continues to cycle. So far, so good!
Any updates, My son wants a tank in his bedroom and am thinking about stealing your design. Is it quiet enough for a bedroom? Do you like your design still, anything you would change? How did the final price of the build turn out verses just buying a AIO? Tanks looks sharp!
Thanks
Dave
Thanks
Dave
CrookedStick
In Memoriam
Agreed, updates needed, the build looks great. Would like to know how your seals are holding out.
Hey guys! I'm a member of DFWMAS, so I started posting my progress on this build over on their forums. I hadn't heard anything here for a while, so I just assumed no one was checking it out. My build log on the DFWMAS forums has basically become a full-blown tank log, so feel free to check it out. Here's a little shot to show what I've got going on in the tank right now:
And here's the link to my thread on the DFWMAS forums:
http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=121030
Right now I've got 2 clowns, a cleaner shrimp, a bunch of hermits and trochus snails, and about 16 corals in there. I'm still trying to get a handle on the lighting, though. There are a ton of pictures and more information in my other thread.
Now, as for your specific questions:
Dave, this tank is super quiet. The pumps are basically silent, and the water that comes through the overflow teeth basically clings to the acrylic as it travels down into the sump, so it doesn't make any splashing noises. I'd say it would be fine for a bedroom! As for the price, I honestly haven't been keeping track of how much this has cost... This hobby has a way of getting very expensive, especially if you buy everything new. I'd say I've probably spent about $2000 on the tank, including the 3 Reefbrite XHO LEDs that I now have, which make up about half of that cost. That being said, my lighting is a little bit much for my tank. If you went with some regular Reefbrite Tech LEDs, you'd still have plenty of light, and the price would drop a lot. I'm not sure how that all compares with the cost of a fully functional AIO "package deal," but I'm happy with what I designed. It does everything I want it to and I know that I've got quality products installed. You'll have to check out what's being offered and see if you're satisfied with the components they use (filtration, powerheads, lighting, etc.). In the end, it's up to you! I'm glad you like my design, though!
CrookedStick, the seals are holding perfectly. The tank seems really solid!
Brando, I deliberately went with clear mesh so that I wouldn't block any light from my LEDs. I actually like the look of it, and it doesn't seem to clash with the rest of the tank. Overall, it looks pretty slick. As for the rockwork, it's funny that you mention that, because I consider it kind of a pain. The rocks look nice, but it's hard to find a place to glue any corals down because of the steep angles. The piece of rock on the right that looks like coral is basically just taking up space. I put some encrusting cyphastrea on it, so hopefully it will get covered and look more visually appealing. I made the mistake of trying to create really pretty rockwork when I should have focused more on potential coral placement sites. If I could do it all over again, I'd go with a much more "broad" rock setup, which would allow me to place a lot of corals and bring up the aesthetics that way.
And here's the link to my thread on the DFWMAS forums:
http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=121030
Right now I've got 2 clowns, a cleaner shrimp, a bunch of hermits and trochus snails, and about 16 corals in there. I'm still trying to get a handle on the lighting, though. There are a ton of pictures and more information in my other thread.
Now, as for your specific questions:
Dave, this tank is super quiet. The pumps are basically silent, and the water that comes through the overflow teeth basically clings to the acrylic as it travels down into the sump, so it doesn't make any splashing noises. I'd say it would be fine for a bedroom! As for the price, I honestly haven't been keeping track of how much this has cost... This hobby has a way of getting very expensive, especially if you buy everything new. I'd say I've probably spent about $2000 on the tank, including the 3 Reefbrite XHO LEDs that I now have, which make up about half of that cost. That being said, my lighting is a little bit much for my tank. If you went with some regular Reefbrite Tech LEDs, you'd still have plenty of light, and the price would drop a lot. I'm not sure how that all compares with the cost of a fully functional AIO "package deal," but I'm happy with what I designed. It does everything I want it to and I know that I've got quality products installed. You'll have to check out what's being offered and see if you're satisfied with the components they use (filtration, powerheads, lighting, etc.). In the end, it's up to you! I'm glad you like my design, though!
CrookedStick, the seals are holding perfectly. The tank seems really solid!
Brando, I deliberately went with clear mesh so that I wouldn't block any light from my LEDs. I actually like the look of it, and it doesn't seem to clash with the rest of the tank. Overall, it looks pretty slick. As for the rockwork, it's funny that you mention that, because I consider it kind of a pain. The rocks look nice, but it's hard to find a place to glue any corals down because of the steep angles. The piece of rock on the right that looks like coral is basically just taking up space. I put some encrusting cyphastrea on it, so hopefully it will get covered and look more visually appealing. I made the mistake of trying to create really pretty rockwork when I should have focused more on potential coral placement sites. If I could do it all over again, I'd go with a much more "broad" rock setup, which would allow me to place a lot of corals and bring up the aesthetics that way.
I am lucky enough to have a tank at my office as a write off so believe me I know exactly how much this hobby can drain you. I was just wondering about the cost of the basic tank, acrylic and plumbing? With the pre made AIO you just get that as well. No skimmers, dosers, ATO, lights, ect. Other then rock work, your happy with everything else in the design? Wouldn't change any dimensions?
Thanks
Dave
Thanks
Dave
Well, the tank cost me $40 new (Petco dollar per gallon sale). The acrylic cost me $90 total (I think), including the sump cover. And the plumbing was maybe $25 or so for the fittings and the single hose. The adhesive was probably $20. All in all, building the actual tank cost me under $200. The dimensions are great. I ended up changing the media bags for mini reactors, though. That works better. I'm also considering switching the powerheads for Jebaos, since they are smaller. The Koralias are great, though. Overall, I'm very pleased with the tank setup. I hope that helps!
I've had 2 jebaos, One lasted 3 months before the magnet turned to chalk, returned it and this one is going strong on my nano for past 8 months. So make sure you keep the paperwork because they can be prone to failure. Also have a Ecotech vortec on my large tank and do like it much better. Reeflink is awesome for control freaks.
Dave
Dave
