Bendeng's 20g xH Nano Reef

[bendeng]

Hey everyone,

So this has been a long time in the making. I started with the idea of getting a 20g xH tank for my first reef tank after seeing one in a LFS.

A month later I pulled the plug and bought the tank, and over time have put in very small additions and modifications.

That was about 4 years ago when I actually first got into the hobby. I was distracted and financially drained from my 150g display tank that I also put together with my boyfriend, my nano was pushed aside and has collected a lot of dust and grime.

Fast forward to 2017, I am happy to say I have made major progress on the tank in the last couple months. I am [so] close to getting her wet (that is what she said)!

My 20g xH has been drilled,
Eshopps Eclipse overflow box installed,
SCA-301 skimmer has been tested (used temporarily when our 150g tank crash due to a failed skimmer so it definitely works great),
Ecotech Vortech mp10qd purchased (TY Craigslist!),
AI Prime HD purchased ($5 off retail on eBay),
Avast ATO,
Custom acrylic sump almost completed (including section for refugium, started with a standard 10g with baffles but it wont fit in the stand),
Metal frame stand (Petco, 10g stand, on sale plus off $5 pet perks).

We have an assortment of dc pumps that I will pick from to use until I decide on the right pump for my tank to buy, need to design/build the cabinet to go around the metal frame stand as well as for canopy purposes, screen top design/build from acrylic, LF Smart Micro ATO, LF Apex controller, and LF wifi-capable 1080p camera.

My zoas and shrooms that I want to center the tank around have been growing out in the display tank. I have a Mandarin waiting for his new home in the DT refugium.

Livestock Plans:

1) Mandarin
2) Clownfish pair (Wyoming, Lightning Maroon, or Phantom)
3) Zoas
4) Shrooms
5) Light SPS to fill

I am excited to get this up and running soon!!

I will update with photos this weekend once I start aquascaping.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[bendeng]

So I was not able to get any progress on the tank over this past weekend. Unfortunately, the acrylic I ordered was on a delayed shipment so I will have to wait until this coming weekend to complete the sump.

I did receive my AI Prime HD and MP10WQD, tested both, work great. The MP10 was used lightly, and the AI Prime HD was brand new. Love the lights and connectivity.

My boyfriend picked up a nice zoa frag pack as well that we have sitting in the main display tank, hoping to grow out and eventually add a few of each to my tank.

Here is a shot of the tank on the stand, with the partially completed sump sitting below it. Still a lot of work to do but it is getting there.

You can see the Eshopps Eclipse Overflow box has been mounted and looks great tucked in the corner there. Return side is also drilled and we have the plumbing parts for the nozzle.

Sump is about half finished. I have some nice turquoise acrylic that should be delivered today to finish the sides and baffles. Kind of glad we ran out of clear so I was able to order the colored acrylic for that personal touch. Plenty of room for my SCA-301 skimmer, a 4" filter sock, a section for a refugium, and the return section.

The boyfriend is fiddling with my MP1WQD, you can see our collective stack of equipment as he has been upgrading the 150g's equipment and adding to the 32g Biocube as well.

My camera shy mandarin. I need to come up with a name for her, but nothing has come to mind yet when I watch her. There is another mandarin in the Biocube where she is temporarily homed whom she gets a long with well. There are 2 clowns and 2 gobies that are both paired to a single pistol shrimp (hired doubled body guards haha). Its a fun tank to observe for sure!

Large collection of orange shrooms (they just keep multiplying) and a small yellow spot shroom, as well as a superman shroom to the left. The chalice(? ID Unknown) broke a small piece off when we brought it home so now there are 2 frags.

The frag racks we are currently growing out a bunch of zoas which include Utter Chaos, Sunny D's, Scrambled Eggs, Red Hornets, and a few others I don't remember. We have some Purple Red Hearted, Rastas, and a few more scattered around the tank. Had big colonies but during a period of neglect much was wiped out and we were lucky to have a few left to regrow. A lot of SPS we are growing as well including Purple Bonsai, a type of Birdsnest, and some assorted pocci.

Will be picking up a Tunze Nano ATO soon and I still have plans to save for an Apex system. Everything else looks to be on track to have the tank up and running very soon. Need to start playing around with the aquascaping but I'm at a blank for ideas.