Indiana Reefin 18 Gallon Office Reef

[Indiana Reefin]

Hello Reefers!
I just upgraded my fluval Spec V to a cadlights 18 gallon mini II.I really enjoyed the Spec V, but I missed having space for equipment and fish. The Spec V makes an excellent pico!

I am very impressed with this AIO! The low iron curved glass is flawless! The filter compartments are spacious and is well layed out. I was impressed with the packaging and now for some pics!


Leak test success!


Equipment List:
Nanobox mini Tide with bluefish
Tunze 9001
Smart ATO micro
Tunze koralia nano 420

Here it sits empty


Filter compartment


Drum roll!





I am getting a small pair of maroon lighting clowns!! I will be upgrading in a couple years. I know maroons get large.
Also getting a yasha goby and pistol pair

Stay tuned!

 

[rockhead51]

I'm new to the hobby, so forgive the ignorance, but isn't that a huge bioload for an 18?

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[fscmocsaj]

I'm new to the hobby, so forgive the ignorance, but isn't that a huge bioload for an 18?

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Negative


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[Indiana Reefin]

I'm new to the hobby, so forgive the ignorance, but isn't that a huge bioload for an 18?

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I don't think it's more than I can handle. I do weekly 10-25% water changes and I am running a skimmer. But thanks for my first compliment.......:spin1:

 

[rockhead51]

OK. Thanks for the info. It is a very cool little tank. I'm running a BioCube 32 LED, and wanted to have the same fish plus a cherub, but was worried about too much. Like I said, I'm a newbie!

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[Indiana Reefin]

OK. Thanks for the info. It is a very cool little tank. I'm running a BioCube 32 LED, and wanted to have the same fish plus a cherub, but was worried about too much. Like I said, I'm a newbie!

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Hey no problem! I was just messing with you!
Thanks

 

[Indiana Reefin]

I traded for a kessil A350 Tuna Blue and I love it. This is a great light for a cube. The nanobox was an awesome light, but I really dig the kessil!
I can't wait! I am getting a lot of stuff Tuesday:
Pair of juvenile lightning maroon clowns
Yasha Goby
Candy cane pistol

Ordered this from Liveaquaria:
Large green toadstool coral 5-7". I am hoping my clowns host in this coral
Yellow short tentacle plate coral. This coral looks awesome!
Skunk cleaner shrimp. I really miss my cleaner. They have a ton of personality.
ORA Purple/pink birds nest coral. This will more than likely be my only SPS in my nano. I really don't want to have to dose ALK, CA, and MG. I am performing 7% water changes twice a week. I am hoping this will keep my levels stable.

I will provide some pics on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

[Booster]

I traded for a kessil A350 Tuna Blue and I love it. This is a great light for a cube. The nanobox was an awesome light, but I really dig the kessil!
I can't wait! I am getting a lot of stuff Tuesday:
Pair of juvenile lightning maroon clowns
Yasha Goby
Candy cane pistol

Ordered this from Liveaquaria:
Large green toadstool coral 5-7". I am hoping my clowns host in this coral
Yellow short tentacle plate coral. This coral looks awesome!
Skunk cleaner shrimp. I really miss my cleaner. They have a ton of personality.
ORA Purple/pink birds nest coral. This will more than likely be my only SPS in my nano. I really don't want to have to dose ALK, CA, and MG. I am performing 7% water changes twice a week. I am hoping this will keep my levels stable.

I will provide some pics on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I am actually looking at getting the CAD Light 18 like yours. I am still not sure what light to get am curious as to what you like the kessil more?

 

[Booster]

Your tank looks great BTW!

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Thanks Booster!
Yeah the Cadlights 18 is a great little setup. The thing I like most about this setup is the back filter action compartment size. Plus I really like the curved glass. The glass clarity is really superb.
I like the Kessil a little more because of the shimmer. I am more of a MH guy, but I really like the control of a LED and the compact sizes they offer. Plus my office doesn't have any wireless internet that I could use for the bluefish controller. So I had to bring my wife's phone in every once and a while and use the hotspot to connect the controller. There is no way to turn the light on without the controller. The Kessil is easy to adjust with the knobs and a timer.
The Nanobox does have better spectrum and Dave Fason is a great person to deal with. The controller has many features and for the price you would be hard pressed to do better. The only thing that I miss about the Nanobox is how sleek it was. The Kessil with the gooseneck is way bulkier

 

[Booster]

Thanks for the reply. It seems like with the lights, the sky is the limit. I was looking at the https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/nano-lite/ , but it's fairly pricey.

 

[Indiana Reefin]

That looks awesome. $175 is pretty cheap. Nanobox will run you $305 and a Kessil will run you around $300-$400

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Got my clowns!!!!
I am pretty frustrated though. There wa no yasha pistol pair in the box. I will be trying to get my money back. Not very pleased with the customer service I have received. I will not be doing business with this vendor again. They told me that they were shipping out on Monday. I had arrangements set up with my neighbors to grab my corals and fish off of my porch and inside my house. I sent them a message and they said that the clowns and yash pistol pair were shipping out. Well I kept waiting for an email with a tracking number. They messaged me around 2PM the day they were supposed to arrive and told me that fedex screwed up and that they were going to ship out a day later......Then they send me an email even though they are talking to me on messenger that they are not going to be able to ship the yasha and pistol pair..... then I tried to get a hold of them all day and no response..


I bought some corals from liveaquaria. I bought a leather toadstool, a yellow plate short tentacle, and a birdnest frag. The plate coral is not going to make it. When I got the bag the color of the water was reddish brown and there is a lot of flesh missing around the mouth. This really upsets me because this was a beautiful coral. The leather toadstool frustrated me as well because I ordered one 5-7" toadstool. Instead they sent me two smaller toadstools on a piece of rock rubble. I am not to concerned though because liveaquaria has a great reputation. The birds nest and cleaner shrimp are doing great.

I will get some more pics tomorrow

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Liveaquaria is awesome. They have made it right with me on the toadstool coral. The plate coral is suffering as you can see in the pic. The mouth is gone now. There doesn't seem to be much hope.

I am going to be building a media rack and a cover for my tank. I am going to purchase a jigsaw and borrow a friends router to polish the edges! Stay posted I will be posting up more pics. I am going to be ordering more from liveaquaria soon!

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Haven't posted in a while. Tank is doing great! I have a little bit of cyano I am batteling. It slowed down drastically. I think it is because it is a newer setup. I am really enjoying my clowns. They have finally started getting along. The female was being a little testy towards the little male. She now lets him out of his cave lol. She freaks out when I have my hands in the tank or I start cleaning the glass with my nano mag and attacks the male. lol wierd relationship. She is a littl pistol. She nips at my hands when I am cleaning the tank. It just tickles a little bit I realize that when she gets bigger it won't be so cute. Lol...
I got some new toys:
Aquamax WS1- awesome skimmer!!! Fits great in this setup!
I gave in and purchased a Intank media rack. I tried building one and it wasn't pretty.
I built a tank cover. I am pretty pleased with it.I rounded the corner connectors so it looked better with my curved glass. Looks pretty decent.
I got a few new corals. I love my leather coral that I recently got. I also got a bird nest coral and a struggling plate coral. The plate is making a comeback though.
Enough babbling, here are some pics:

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Here are some update pics. That leather coral is doing awesome! The frag had some really cool macro algae that grows like a vine. Really neat. The tank has stabilized very well. I got through all the nasty diatom phase. I gave my male lightning clown to a friend because the female was being a diva. So she is riding solo lol. I got a captive bread gold neon goby that is doing very well, I plan on getting a yellow watchmen or tail spot to add a little more character to my tank. I'm loving my new salt that I have been using. I highly recommend aquaforest reef salts to anyone. I just do weekly 2 gallon water changes with distilled water one a week and my levels stay in check. I don't have to dose anything to help my corals thrive. Enough typing... here are some pics:

 

[fishdip22]

What is your maintenance schedule like?

 

[Indiana Reefin]

What is your maintenance schedule like?

Hey fishdip!
I keep it pretty simple.

Weekly:
I perform a weekly 2 gallon water change.
Change out my filter floss
Clean my skimmer collection cup

Monthly:
I change my Boyd chemi pure blue nano media bag

Quarterly:
I change my purigen filter bag


I currently don't dose any supplements. I use aquaforest reef salt and it does a great job keeping my parameters in check. I am firm believer that a high quality salt makes a world of difference in a nano.

I am really enjoying this tank. I have two co-workers now that are getting reef tanks lol

 

[fishdip22]

Hey fishdip!
I keep it pretty simple.

Weekly:
I perform a weekly 2 gallon water change.
Change out my filter floss
Clean my skimmer collection cup

Monthly:
I change my Boyd chemi pure blue nano media bag

Quarterly:
I change my purigen filter bag


I currently don't dose any supplements. I use aquaforest reef salt and it does a great job keeping my parameters in check. I am firm believer that a high quality salt makes a world of difference in a nano.

I am really enjoying this tank. I have two co-workers now that are getting reef tanks lol

Do you run any carbon or other media other then the chemi/purigen?

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Do you run any carbon or other media other then the chemi/purigen?

There is carbon and GFO in chemi pure. I am going to get a small reactor and run some GFO. I need to sell my skimmer first. It takes up to much room in my back compartment for a reactor. I am looking to get a tunze 9001