Panda's 20g nano build!

[Pandagobyguy]

Hi! I recently puchased a 20 gallon aquarium with stand and have decided that since im getting back into the hobby ill try to keep a decent record (for once) of my progress (and cost)
Ill post photos in a second but so far $80 on the tank/stand, $200 on a superlux light (because i want sps eventually), and $100 on live rock/base rock/live sand/and enough salt to fill the tank and do a water change, all for a total of $380.
Ill post pictures in a minute.

 

[Pandagobyguy]

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[Pandagobyguy]

I should mention that obviously this is a VERY budget build. Im a college student!
Anyway the water is ro/di and the salt is:

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[Devaji108]

nice start! keep us posted...

 

[Pandagobyguy]

The superlux arrived and prompted me to redo the aquascape

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[Pandagobyguy]

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[Pandagobyguy]

I took this video last night because i was not sure that the worm looking thing in the back was alive or not. This morning it has dissapeared. On another note the reddish "algae" up front seems to have grown taller and gotten a little more "bubbly". I think it is probably aptasia now but i think ill leave it till i know for sure. Hmmm just realized tapatalk wont upload a 15 second clip.... umm ill upload a screenshot....

Sooo that video was preety poor quality unfortunately the "worm" is gone so i cant take another. When that (aptasia?) grows more ill snap another.

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[JoeTSI]

Looks like cyano, definitely not aptasia.

 

[Pandagobyguy]

Got my test kit finally. I actually added a shrimp for around four days till i noticed partial decomposition. (Like a week and a half ago)
Here are todays test results:
Ammonia: 0-.25 ppm
Nitrite: 2 ppm
Nitrate: 40-80 ppm
PH: 8
Given these results i believe the first cycle is already complete i added a very small amount (like five "betta pebbles")of organic matter to raise the ammonia a little and get the second cycle going. Going to wholefoods later tonight with some HD five gallon buckets for ro/di water. Ill probably try to do a 25% change tonight and restest ammonia levels (40-80 seems quite high to me). Not surprised if i have to do another 25 tomorrow

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[Pandagobyguy]

Other than that, my salinity meter is coming in along with a thermometer. Once that arrives ill probably go ahead and buy a few snails (probably turbo's but wtv the lfs has rly) and some cheato.
The price update is
$15 on a 500 gph powerhead (chinese), a thermometer and hydrometer
And $30 on the api master test kit


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[Pandagobyguy]

Did the water change....
Ammonia: .25 ppm
Nitrite: 1ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Ph: 8.1
Well the nitrate reduced quite a bit from the water change.
Tomorrow i may do another 10-25% water change but i may wait until that nitrite gets processed....

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[Pandagobyguy]

Well quick update! the tank went through the second set of ammonia pretty fast and i did the water change on the 31st tested the same level of nitrate. Salt should be here today so i can do another water change (all 25%).
On an unrelated note, i "made" a protein skimmer

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[Pandagobyguy]

I forgot to mention the aquarium came with a hob charcoal filter like "whisper" or something and a huge amount of fresh water equipment (including a dizzying assortment of fake plants rock etc). I removed the charcoal in the hob because i plan on throwing some cheato in there. The light from the superlux hits the refugium so im hoping i can get away with just that (if not the tank came with a 35 w incandescent so mb ill jerryrig that).
Anyway here is the "lipton 3000"

It has actually shocked me at the skim it produced

And here it is pulled out of the hob
It is composed of a lipton tea bottle, a noosa yoghurt cup, 1" tubing (that came with an ancient undergravel filter), a freshwater airstone pump (i also think that might be called "whisper"), and a wooden airstone.
I tried to use a regular airstone but the bubbles simply pop before travelling up the chamber or they bring a huge amount of water. After i purchased the wooden airstone i got that^^^^ kind of skim (night and day difference)
Anyway thats it for today gonna do a water change tomorrow then i leave for boston for 10 days.

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[Pandagobyguy]

Oh and after buying the wooden airstones and a 50 g salt mix my total cost is 445

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[Devaji108]

nice lil skimmer bud have you thought of doing a ATS in the filter area? Santa Monica has I nice write up on that. worth taking a look at IMHO

 

[Pandagobyguy]

Wow thanks for pointing me in the right direction. On page 23 of 60 something. So ill have quite a bit more reading this is incredibly facinating (ats was not even on my radar). I think perhaps i could install a very small seeded screen on the outflow part of that HOB. As i understand from reading, that small of a surface area may not do much but i am going to school for biology and am honestly more interested in implementing a new biological system successfully (even if it functions very little). I honestly may just try to epoxy the screen directly on the "waterfall" section and hope that the screen doesnt block too much light...... i will continue this read for sure!!! Thanks again!

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[Pandagobyguy]

Also i realize i may have deadspots with this oversimplified version but tbh if it grows any turf ill be happy lol

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[Arsenal09]

Any kind of powerhead/wave maker would be beneficial for the tank. I have a 20G long tank and water movement is key for a healthy nano tank. You can find cheap wavemakers on amazon for about 20 bucks. I have a jebao rw4 for my tank, it costs about 50 bucks, it does a great job at moving the water in my tank, no dead spots at all.

 

[Pandagobyguy]

100% agree. Haha i actually very quickly mentioned that i bought an $8 500 gph chinese powerhead (Sorry i ramble a lot on here *facepalm*). It has probably arrived at my house by now but i am still out of town. I honestly have the lowest expectations of that powerhead possible, so when i does break (it will) I will definitely look into the RW4.

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[Pandagobyguy]

Welllll i got back today. Water level low. Gha on walls.
Generally expected stuff.
So naturally i pulled out 5g and added 10g back.
WHAT I DID NOT EXPECT WAS THE GUDDMN HEATER TO LITERALLY EXPLODE. IT SHOT OUT BROWN LIQUID AND ELECTRICUTED ME AND MY TANK (THAT HURT).
I am now worried that the "brown ****" is possibly metal or poisonous. Really was not expecting this. Guess thats what i get for using a 20 yr old heater.
Barring someone telling me otherwise i think ill have to restart. This was totally unexpected. I pulled out the live rock (immediately) and placed it in newly mixed water. Perhaps i can still use this?
If anyone has any idea if the tank/LR is still safe to use it would be greatly appreciated.
I will post pics of my **** heater in case there are different types.

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