My ADA 60p (17.4g) Reef

[Opistognathus]

Hello everyone! I've been a lurker for a while and finally decided to post the start of my reef. It hasn't been up for long, and doesn't have any fish at this point, but I thought I would share my progress.

Equipment:
Tank: Drilled ADA 60p
Sump: AGA 20g high w/ 26 watt PC light
Filtration: Chaeto and planned protein skimmer
Powerhead: Vortech MP10 w/ ES controller
Lighting: DIY dimmable 20x 3w CREE LED (2 Blue, 8 Neutral White, 10 Royal Blue) fixture
Heater: Jager 100W

Livestock:
Invertebrate:
2x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1x Hawaiian Feather Duster Worm

Cleanup crew:
3x Trochus Snails
2x Astrae Snails
1x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
2x Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit
1x Super Tongan Nassarius Snail

Planned fish (3-5):
Mated pair of Yellowhead Jawfish
? ORA Blue Mandarin ?
? ORA Orchid Dottyback ?
? ORA Snowflake Ocellaris Clownfish pair ?
? ORA Picasso Clownfish pair ?
? Yasha Goby w/ Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp ?
? M/F McCosker's Flasher Wrasse pair ?

Here are a few photos of the tank in its current state:

That's about it for now. Sorry for the really bad photography- I'm hoping to get a DSLR camera sometime in the future. So far I'm having a lot of fun with this build! Please let me know what you all think!

 

[neonstingray]

I know this is an old thread, but I just felt bad since no one ever commented, and wanted to say it's a beautiful setup and very close to what I'm about to try to emulate. Did you make the clear overflow box yourself? And how often do you need to clean the tubes to keep them clear?

Thanks!
Austin

 

[Opistognathus]

I know this is an old thread, but I just felt bad since no one ever commented, and wanted to say it's a beautiful setup and very close to what I'm about to try to emulate. Did you make the clear overflow box yourself? And how often do you need to clean the tubes to keep them clear?

Thanks!
Austin

Hey Austin,

Sorry for not seeing your response sooner. As an update, the tank is now an SPS-dominated reef with a pair of ORA Spotted Mandarins, Pink Streaked Wrasse pair, and a pair of Snowflake Clownfish - a lot of fish for only 20g, but everyone gets along well and gets fed 3-4x per day. I have a lot of filtration: GFO, vodka/vinegar dosing, skimming, and a filter sock. The corals are all growing and have good color (if I say so myself..).

As far as the overflow box...yes I did make it myself. I bought some glass pieces from a shop and siliconed them together myself. It works out nicely - I covered the overflow box with a piece of eggcrate. I am eventually planning on covering all the walls in coral.

I actually haven't cleaned the tubes yet - they don't get a whole lot of light. Sometimes I use some masking tape on them for about a week as a blackout - that kills all the algae.

Maybe I'll post some pictures sometime! I would probably make a new topic or have this one moved to the SPS keepers forum though. :wave: Thank you for posting!

 

[5ergio]

Wow....very nice, clean and handsome tank,,,
Some Updates??
Can you share pics of overflow??

 

[neonstingray]

Thanks for info. Could you show a close up of the overflow box? How clean were you able to get the silicone lines?

 

[pompeyjohn]

How is this coming along? We have practically the same setup and I am considering making my system "fuge" focused.