reefscape15's 20g re-do

reefscape15

reefscape15

New member
Hey guys, I've finally gotten around to setting up my old 20high after taking it down about 3 years ago. I just got it out of the storage shed over the weekend and got to work. First thing was to re-silicone the top rim and all 4 corners. The edges never leaked, but if i had a powerhead pointing towards the top, water would leak out of the rim. It turned out not quite as nice as id want, but its hard to see anyways.

I have about 15-20lbs of sand, black mixed with white, that is rinsed and waiting to be put in the tank. I had 2 5gal buckets of old rock that I rinsed and started piecing together to come up with a structure that I liked. I knew i wanted a more open scape than I've had in the past, and I love the looks of the "bonsai" type tanks. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:

IMAG0025.jpg


Front right view:
IMAG0028.jpg


Front left:
IMAG0026.jpg

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Top down:
IMAG0029.jpg


From left side of the tank:
IMAG0031.jpg


Probably going to fill it with water tonight and get the powerheads cleaned and try to find a spot where i like them. More picture updates will come when things progress. Hope you guys like it so far!
 
Thanks!!! I'm super happy about how the rock turned out. I used JB Water Weld to piece the rock together. It was pretty easy to work with, and sets/cures quickly and seems like a strong hold as far as I can tell. I am going to be adding sand, probably 1-2" on the right side and a little more on the left. I'm still debating about putting a small island on the left side, but i want to see the tank filled with water and get the sand in first.

I got all the powerheads that I've collected over the years all cleaned up, and I'm going to start out with 2 Korallia 1050's. It might be too much flow, but ive got the entire cycle time to mess with flow and everything. I'm planning on a mix of SPS and zoas, maybe with 1 or 2 choice LPS. I thought a nice big open brain would go great on the sand just to the left of the rocks. Like i said tho, i still have at least a few weeks or more till I plan on adding anything.
 
Running a small hob power filter with floss for now, need to get some carbon to put in and hopefully clear it up. Tomorrow is installing the powerheads.....
 
Today I put 2 Korallia 1050's in the tank and added Reef Crystals. I really like the flow from the Korallias, they seem to push a lot of water, but its not too forceful once you get 6-8" away from the pump. Tank was very cloudy when I left today so ill try to get a picture up tomorrow when i get home.
 
Small picture update. The tank cleared up quite a bit today so I snapped some pics.

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I placed one of the powerheads low in the tank behind the rock
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This shot you can see how both powerheads are aimed at each other. It makes for a very randomized flow pattern on the left upper side of the rockwork, and definitely provides enough flow throughout the tank
IMAG0048.jpg


I added another inch or so of sand to the tank, so now there is about 2" in the front and 3" in the rear. I like the looks of this sand!
IMAG0051.jpg


Tank is cloudy again after adding the sand so I don't have any pictures of how deep it is now. Also, I found a used Lifereef nano overflow that I'm ordering next week. I plan to do a 10g sump with a fuge and phosban reactor and run chemipure elite in it. No skimmer at first. I want to wait till I come across a good deal on a used one. I'm not sure what return pump to get. The overflow can handle 400gph, so ill need a pump that provides 300-350gph. The sump will be only a few inches off the floor, and im going to run the plumbing through the wall into another room in our basement. The return line will probably be about 7-8' in length and have to climb about 4'. Any suggestions on a pump?
 
hey Jim,
Polly a mag drive 7 would do what you want, I have a Hob prizm skimmer if your interested just gotta come pick it up. tank looks good though man! Glad your going with sps, i may have someone local to swap with.
 
Thanks for the comments guys! I looked into a mag7 and that does seem to be what I will need. I read a bunch of reviews on it and everyone seems to love it, except for the exposed metal screws on the front. I'm hoping that I can apply some sort of paint over the screws that will protect it from the water.

I've been thinking more and more about adding a very small island on the left side of the tank. Nothing too big, but I want to have some more room to put frags when I get to that point.

Nick, I already have an old prism somewhere that I completely forgot about. I'll have to find that and get it going for now. And in a few weeks or so ill definitely be ready to get a couple test corals to see how the water is doing, thanks for the offer!

Going out in a little bit to check out the damage from the storm, hopefully the LFS are open today!
 
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Mags are good cheap pumps that are generally very reliable. However, they are power hogs, add a lot of heat to the tank and are not the quietest pumps.

I would personally look at some other options, Maxi-jet utility pumps, sicce silence pumps, or bubble blasters. They all have very good reviews and are quiet.
 
Jason, thanks for the tip. Noise is not really an issue as the sump will be in a separate room. I'm really hoping that heat will not become an issue. The tank will be in a basement bedroom, and sump will be in a basement closet. Both rooms stay fairly cool surfing the summer. Power consumption is something to think about, as well as reliability. I didn't realize that mags were a lower grade pump, I just knew that they were very widely used. I'll check into the other brands as well. I know that sicce products of any shape and size are great!

On a side note, I got the SG to stabilize at 1.026 for the day so far, and placed a carbon cartridge in the power filter. Water is already looking a little clearer.
 
Nothing major, just a couple pictures of the water finally completely clear.

Daylights:
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Actinic:
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3" Reefbrite only (not a good pic):
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I got around to making a small island for the open area of my tank this morning. I wanted to leave a lot of the sandbed open, so I measured the area available and decided that a 4"x4" structure was the most I wanted. So I got a bucket of rocks out and started finding pieces that I liked.
IMAG0065.jpg


I used the flat round piece from above for the base, and had a 2"x3" piece for the main rock. Again i used JB Water Weld. 5 of the pieces were put together to come up with this island.
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IMAG0066.jpg


I used the flat base rock in hopes that burying it in the sand would help keep the island from ever falling over.
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New FTS. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Can't wait to get this thing stocked!!!
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Tank has been running now for 8 days. I tested today and got these results-

SG: 1.026
pH: 8.3
Ammonia: 0.3mg/L
Nitrite: 0.5mg/L
Nitrate: 20mg/L
Phosphate: 0.1mg/L
Calcium: 560ppm
Alk: 205ppm
Iron: not detectable

Looks like the ammonia spike is well underway, and nitrites are starting to rise. Calcium and Alk seem pretty high, but there is nothing in the tank that is using the calcium at all. Is this normal? I havent added anything, so I'm assuming that its from the Reef Crystals. Hopefully the cycle continues smoothly
 
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I tested the water again today (12 days in)

Ammonia: 0.1mg/L
Nitrite: 0.3mg/L
Nitrate: 15mg/L
pH: 8.3

Looks like the ammonia is coming down a bit so hopefully that part of the cycle is almost over. It's been very hard not to get stuff in this tank!
 
Oh the waiting sucks!!!!!!!

Worth it in the end, though. I Love the openness, and practice it in my tank as well. What are you dying to put in/what is in the plans?
 
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