30 gallon reboot

drawman

New member
Hi All,
I've been at a fork in the road with my 30 gallon Rimless (24" x 24") for quite some time. It's never really measured up to the tank I've wanted it to be and I'm at a point where I have thought about rebooting the tank.

Here's the history of the tank. I started it about two years ago with the goal of having a mixed LPS/SPS reef. Being busy with work and commuting quite a bit I never really had the attention to detail to allow this tank to succeed with SPS. Things such as high alkalinity, low nutrients, not keeping up with DI maintenance, aiptasia, and nuisance algae have been some of my many issues. Over the past four months I've been able to put more time in the tank, correct most of the issues, and get to a point where I can keep Acros alive and well again.

I have more time to put into this tank and want to reboot it for two big reasons: to get rid of the aiptasia and certain species of algae that I don't want to deal with. My approach will be a more minimal aquascape with holes drilled for pegging Acropora coral. I will use Siporax media in the sump seeded with Aquaforest bacteria for filtration. I don't plan to run the whole aquaforest system but will use their probiotic reef salt, pro bio s, and np pro. At this point, I will only plan to keep Acropora mainly for the reason to reduce the introduction of pest algae and aiptasia.

I also am debating switching to t5. I currently have a Gen 2 radion with 120 degree optics over the tank. If I don't switch to t5 I would want to add another radion to deal with shadowing and get more consistent PAR readings throughout the tank. I have a 4 bulb ATI fixture collecting dust that would be perfect for the tank I just need to figure out how to mount it.

The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on this is figuring out how to effectively nuke the tank of aiptasia. I've thought about filling the whole system with Vinegar and water and letting it run for a couple of days but I'm not sure what concentration/time would be needed to completely eradicate them. I will dump all sand and rock, sell all livestock, and start fresh but will be keeping all equipment. Comments/suggestions are welcome!

Here's a link to the old build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2378417
 
I'd just dump a couple gallons of vinegar in there and run it with tap water for a couple days, I imagine that would clean up any chances of anything surviving that is already on your glass or plumbing.
 
I'd just dump a couple gallons of vinegar in there and run it with tap water for a couple days, I imagine that would clean up any chances of anything surviving that is already on your glass or plumbing.
Thanks Ross that was pretty much my plan. I tried doing a search and haven't seen anyone documenting this by I know aiptasia is extremely persistent! I would hate to go through all the trouble and have them survive it.
 
Vinegar is super cheap, and easy to rinse out. I'd dump 3 gallons in and then go from there. I think it will be very easy to remove from the tank and equipment, I'd be a little more concerned with removing it from your rock.
 
So I did end up running the tank/system with vinegar and water. On Sunday I took out everything, wet dry vac'd the tank and sump and added the vinegar/water. It has been running like that since. The plan is to run it like this until Friday, then rinse with tap water, and let it dry over the weekend. A few progress pics...



 
Put in another couple of hours of work in yesterday. Cleaned just about everything including wiping down the walls and a quick clean on the plumbing, skimmer, and return pump. Everything is drying for the weekend.

I already got the Aquaforest Bio S in the mail and should be getting the probiotic reef salt on Monday so hopefully I can get this thing wet early next week.

At first, I'm going to go bare bottom and I may keep it that way we'll see. I'm going to go rockless at first and start off with a frag rack while relying on the Siporax for filtration. Eventually I will make a rock framework and make the thing pretty again. I'm thinking of going with tonga branch, keeping it somewhat minimal, and drilling the rock for coral pegging.
 
Here's a quick update. I got the tank refilled with water and mixed in the Probiotic Reef Salt to 1.025. Siporax is running in the sump passively and no rock at this point. Today is day 3 of 14 for the Bio S and at day 14 I will add fish. I am only using the Bio S so far. Here are the obligatory photos of the AF line:



 
Looking forward to seeing how the AquaForest works out for you. Are you planning on using any additional carbon sources like vinegar/vodka/pellets? Also, what skimmer will you be using?
 
Nice Tim,
Just found this thread, really cool re-build and the plan sounds great. Any news on the aptasia and rock? I am looking forward to seeing your AF progress too.
Congrats!
 
Nice Tim,
Just found this thread, really cool re-build and the plan sounds great. Any news on the aptasia and rock? I am looking forward to seeing your AF progress too.
Congrats!
Hey Perry thanks for checking out the thread! No signs of aiptasia at this point so I (fingers crossed) have effectively nuked them. If they come back then I'll throw up my hands and go with peppermint shrimp.

I'm going back and forth between dry tonga and dry pukani rock from BRS. I have a giant piece of pukani sitting in my basement that has already gone through an acid bath so that would be the easy way out. I like the idea of doing a layered minimalist style arch with the branch rock where I can peg coral and eventually have acros take over the lines of sight. Maybe a cross between what Denadai and Sahin have done in their tanks.

In the meantime I will be relying on the Siporax for filtration. I have a pretty solid bacteria bloom going on right now with the Bio S and Probiotic reef salt. I haven't turned on the skimmer or employed carbon yet so that may be my path to clarity here.

I'll be a little nervous adding SPS coral early in this tank. The system says you can after 14 days. I was thinking 28 at the earliest but without the biodiversity (sponges, etc.) I'm not certain I'll be successful. Any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Quick update. I finished my 14 days of dosing Bio S on Wednesday and am now currently dosing Pro Bio S and -NP Pro. My plan will be to automate the -NP Pro dosing and I will dose the Pro Bio S and Pro Bio F by hand. The tanks is a little cloudy still and I'm not quite sure if that's from the Siporax media, Bio S, or both. I'm going to try to run a filter sock and carbon next week and once it's clear I'll be loading up with fish.

Short term goals will be to:
1. Figure out how to mount my ATI fixture. I'm pretty much set on going with T5.
2. Automate the -NP Pro dosing
3. Order more fish
 
Last edited:
Quick update. I finished my 14 days of dosing Bio S on Wednesday and am now currently dosing Pro Bio S and -NP Pro. My plan will be to automate the -NP Pro dosing and I will dose the Pro Bio S and Pro Bio F by hand. The tanks is a little cloudy still and I'm not quite sure if that's from the Siporax media, Bio S, or both. I'm going to try to run a filter sock and carbon next week and once it's clear I'll be loading up with fish.

Short term goals will be to:
1. Figure out how to mount my ATI fixture. I'm pretty much set on going with T5.
2. Automate the -NP Pro dosing
3. Order more fish

Tim, that sounds like a great plan for getting the dosing going. The tank will likely see a mini cycle as it adjusts to the probiotics. You will likely next go through a brown dusting stage, turbo snails will work this down well. The NP dosing should be pretty easy, as you will need about 6ML per day on your tank, the diluted version. I would spread the doses to at least twice per day. As far as the ati, if sunpower, no worries, they will suspend from ceiling without stud, using a collapsible wing mount. I have my tek fixture this way. Fish, my favorite thing to do lately, have fun :)
 
Tim, that sounds like a great plan for getting the dosing going. The tank will likely see a mini cycle as it adjusts to the probiotics. You will likely next go through a brown dusting stage, turbo snails will work this down well. The NP dosing should be pretty easy, as you will need about 6ML per day on your tank, the diluted version. I would spread the doses to at least twice per day. As far as the ati, if sunpower, no worries, they will suspend from ceiling without stud, using a collapsible wing mount. I have my tek fixture this way. Fish, my favorite thing to do lately, have fun :)
Unfortunately I will be unable to hang from the ceiling on this tank so I'm going to have to go the conduit route. My current support made from wood just won't hold the weight.

Got another project out of the way today. Made these containers for dosing 2 part for my 60 gallon and if they work well I will make some for the 30 gallon. I will also make a couple more for dosing the NP Pro in each tank. I thought they turned out well.

 
Making progress at a snails pace but I did get something done yesterday. I picked up two pieces of Tonga branch rock from BRS on Wednesday. After work yesterday, I spent a solid hour trying to drill the rock for coral pegging with masonry bits. I didn't get very deep in the rock in a lot of holes but I think they should hold just fine. Afterword, I did a 30 minute soak in Muriatic acid. The rock had some nasty brownish black spots and I had to leave for the weekend so I didn't get a chance to clean them more. I'm guessing I'll have to give them a pressure wash and bleach soak to remove the nastiness. I also added a second liter of Siporax to the sump I think that should be a pretty decent amount of filtration for the system.

 
Another small update but this actually pertains to my 60 gallon cube. I've been wanting to increase the biofiltration to help combat a cyano outbreak I'm having. I'm also going to go with the AF system. I bought a gallon of matrix and since I don't have a ton of sump space I had to make two eggcrate holders. I used BRS mesh on the outside to keep the stones in. I got the idea from CFloor. I employed the biggles method of throwing out the floaters and any stones that don't look like they belong after giving it several rinses...that amounted to at least 1/5 or more of the product. You can see one of the black stones in one of the pictures.





 
Got another project done this last week which for me has been a big hurdle. I made a light hanger out of metal conduit. I had to attach the conduit to my stand at least a quarter inch out so that it wouldn't hit the bottom bracing of my tank. I found some nice hangers at the hardware store that worked perfectly. I also found some black plastic caps at Ace Hardware that look perfect on it. I'm really glad I found them because I searched for a solid hour at other hardware stores and nothing looked even halfway decent.

The ATI looks a little like a spaceship and I'm going to have to get used to the size. I loved the way the Radion looked over the tank but the true marker will be growing coral for me.

I'm still not pulling anything decent as far as skimmate and it's always been hard on this small of a tank with my skimmer. On my 60 gallon it pulls out some dark gunk. I just picked up two Platinum clowns with the goal of upping my bioload. Once I start pulling decent skimmate then I'm going to add some test frags. Now my other big task will be to get my cords under control.

My previous LED hanger



(Technically) new bulbs. They've been sitting in storage for a couple of years.



New light hanger.

 
A quick update on my 60 gallon. I've done a few weekly water changes with the probiotic salt and I've been dosing the Pro Bio S and -NP Pro since I've added the matrix stones. Cyano has definitely been waning and I started to dose Micro E this past weekend. Just did my first dose of Coral A,B,E,V tonight as well so I'm on a pretty steady scheme. We'll see how things progress. I'm finally at a point where I'm not too embarassed with the cyano to take pictures of this tank so I may post some soon.

I've been really busy with work and wedding planning so I haven't had any time to get the wiring cleaned up on the 30 gallon. Once I finally finish that and add a few more fish I will get some test frags.
 
Back
Top