My 24g Aquapod

[ReeferRyan]

Well I have begun setting up a 24g Aquapod, and I thought I would share the process.

I do not have the tank yet, but I built most of the stand today. Once I get the tank, I will trim the top and bottom panel to match the shape of the tank. Here are a few pics. The stand will eventually be painted black.

And with the door just stood in place...

I will post more pics as the tank progresses

 

[CPT. MURPHY]

Great start! Looking forward to updates.

CPT.

 

[ezcompany]

you might want to move it away from the TV, that area's gonna be cluttered and wet well at least mine is!

 

[ReeferRyan]

It's my fiance's TV so I am not worried about it :lol: My 75 didn't cause any problem so I don't foresee any problems here. I have a small room that I am going to use for storage, mixing water, etc and I am hoping to have the area around the tank free of tank clutter.

 

[ReeferRyan]

Well I have accomplished a little so I thought I would update. I shaped the top and bottom of the stand to match the shape of the tank, sanded everything, and painted it. Here are a couple of pics of it (no mid progress pics of it, sorry)

I also modded the tank before I filled it for more flow.

I also changed out the stock return pump for a MaxiJet 1200.

Here is what it looks like with the top closed

As you can see in a couple of the pictures, I had a hydor on the return line but have since decided not to use it because I did not like how it sprayed water out of the tank.


I removed all of the filter media that came with the tank and will be running PhosGaurd, ChemiPure, Purigen, activated carbon, and filter floss in the first chamber and live rock rubble in the second.

Here is what the tank looked like with sand and water.

 

[slam308]

Reefer,
How much sand is that?
I ordered 30 lbs. and I'm trying to get an idea of what that'll amount to.

 

[saltycreefer]

Looks nice so far. I like how you upgraded the flow.

 

[ReeferRyan]

slam308- That is twenty pounds. It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it mostly piled in the middle. Once I spread it out it is about two inches deep all around. Roughly the depth of the sand in the middle front of the tank in the picture above.

saltycreefer- Thank you very much

 

[slam308]

Thanks Reefer

 

[ReeferRyan]

No probem

 

[slam308]

Couple more questions...
The maxi-jet doesn't look like the MJ 900 or 1200 in the F&S catalog, is yours different than the MJ powerhead, or is the piece in your pic just the "guts" of the powerhead? Or a differnt animal all together?
Also, what are you planning on putting in your tank?
How much is the total water volume?
I'm sure I'll think of more questions, but that's it for now, lol.

 

[Jasonf08]

Awsome stand!!

 

[ReeferRyan]

slam- They are standard maxi jets ordered from MarineDepot. What you see in these pics is just the barebones part of the pump. Here is a pic of what it is basically.

Sorry that the pic is so crappy but I did it in like five seconds in paint. I have since added the slotted cover that comes with them because I wanted space between the intake of the pump and either the filter bags (chamber 1) or the llive rock rubble (chamber 2). I am using a maxi jet 900 for the mod and a 1200 for the return pump. Working great so far.

As far as stocking goes, I am planning a lot of zoanthids, some LPS, a squamosa clam, rainford goby, yellow wrasse, blue assessor, red firefish, and maybe a green chromis for color.

Total water volume is right around 20 gallons right now, but I have yet to put in any of the rock I have cooking.



Jasonf08- Thank you

 

[slam308]

How much rock are you planning on?
I'm going to order the 22 lb. pkg from F&S.
I don't know anything yet about corals, so some of your answer doesn't make sense yet, but, I'm learning.

 

[ReeferRyan]

I am planning on roughly 20-25 pounds of rock. I overloaded my 75 with rock and had no room to put sand loving creatures, and I am not making that mistake again.

Which corals are you unsure about?

 

[slam308]

Which corals are you unsure about? [/B]

Pretty much all of them. I'm still working on fish and LR. The reef tanks I've seen are gorgeous, but I'm not even close to going that route yet.
I do have a wish list for the tank, but in reality, I want a stable tank with a couple clowns and maybe a pistol shrimp, ywg pair.
Anything else is a bonus.

 

[ReeferRyan]

Bonus about corals=no bioload!!!

You can have as many of them as you want and they will not mess anything up.

 

[slam308]

Lol, yeah, but I have to be able to keep them alive! Don't think I'm there yet.
I assume they're harder with different additives (iodine? calcium?) Also, I'm not getting the MH lights, so I don't know that I could do them anyway.

 

[ReeferRyan]

I have the standard lighting. Power compact is capable of sustaining everything, including some SPS although the growth would be very very slow. Additives are fairly necessary but I use the bare minimum

 

[slam308]

I hope to get there one day, but at this point I think it's a bit much to add to the mix.
I know there's SPS and LPS, but I don't know which is which. I think the open brains, mushrooms and stuff like that is cool looking, but I'd feel more comfortable waiting on anything like that.
The tank would have to be fully cycled before adding anything like that, right? How about a couple month wait like you do for an anemone?
I've also heard about some corals harming other ones. I'd have to do a bunch more research beforehand.