-RYknows 20 Long (Slow and steady!)

[-RYknow]

Hey guys. It's been a month (filled and started cycling April 1) since I got my 20 long up and running and i thought it was finally time to put together a build thread. Before we get to the pics, I just want to say that this is going to be a very slow build. I'm taking my time with this, and doing my best to do things right. I'm hoping to get some good feedback from people, and suggestions are more then welcome! Now, before I start to roll with the pics, here is a quick equipment list as well as a inhabits list.

Equipment:
Tank: 20 Long with DIY "overflows"
Stand: DIY
Controller: Reef Keeper Lite (1x pc4 w/ temp probe)
Skimmer: Aquamaxx HOB-1
Fuge: AC-70 mod (cycling LR rubble currently)
Lighting: 2x Sunshine Systems Aqua-panels
Circulation: MP10
+/- 20lbs LR and 30lbs Live Sand
Water Source: 5 stage RO/DI from BRS

Inhabitants:
Nothing!!

I know the list of inhabitants is pretty boring, but the tank is brand new, and I'm starting with dead rock. The rock is from a previous build that went down hill when we moved to our house. The rock was so badly infested with algea, I nuked it (baked it, and soaked it in bleach). After the baking and bleach process was over, it sat in a container dry for 6 months. I then soaked it in RO/DI water for 3 months while I built the current setup (doing weekly water changes along the way). The tank has now been cycling for 28 days with weekly 20% water changes.

All that I have planned for inhabitants current is a pistol shrimp and goby pair, a pair of purple fire fish, and maybe a 6-line or flame angle. Our daughter love clown fish, so something may end up swapped for a pair of clowns. I'll have the typical CUC, including a Skunk cleaner shrimp. There, now you've all got a bit of background and a little insight to my plan...on to some pics.


Here is my DIY stand. This is before I beefed it up with some extra support. i'm 6' 3", so i wanted it to be a taller stand, so it's more pleasurable for me to look into!

After adding support (she's a bit over engineered! :thumbsup: )

Now we move on to my DIY "overflows". The tank does not have a sump, but I knew when i started I wanted to tank to have an extremely clean appearance. I knew I didn't want to see the intakes from the skimmer or Fuge mod, as well as the heater and probes from the RKL. So i came up with what you see in these pics. They are made from old pieces of gutter, pieces of gutter guard at the top, and painted black. Then i used silicone to hold them into place.

-RYknow

EDIT: Hopefully the pics are ok, I took them with my 9930.

 

[-RYknow]

Here we are cleaning the Aquamaxx HOB-1:

And here you can see some tank shots before filling:

Here is the top of the lights. i had a heck of a time getting them to sit correctly next to each-other, so I ended up having to zip-tie them together to keep them straight. Worked like a charm!

-RYknow

 

[-RYknow]

I'm going to skip pictures of filling the tank, that pretty much speaks for itself. So here she is filled, and running.

Don't mind the mesh bag in there. I was using a piece of shrimp to help jump start my cycle. Those pictures are roughly 2 weeks old. I've actually got some green algae starting to bloom on my LR, so a CUC will be required in the very near future!

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for checking out my build! Please feel to post any comments or suggestions! If you have any questions I'll be more then happy to help in anyway I can!

Thanks,
-RYknow

 

[neuro]

lookin' good! what are you going to do about top-off?

 

[-RYknow]

Leaning towards the tunze. Currently, I just have a bucket of fresh ro/di that I use to top-off as needed.

I'm assuming the tunze will work fine for me? Maybe someone with the tunze can chime in?

-RYknow

 

[neuro]

Any top off will work. The only issue is how unobtrusive it is. In my opinion, the lower foot print the better for a tank without a sump.

Also have to worry about snails too, if you are planning to put any of them into the tank that is. Having a snail guard raises the footprint.

 

[-RYknow]

I'm planning on using the overflows to hide the ATO sensor/float switch. I used the gutter guard to help keep the snails out of there.

the lower foot print the better for a tank without a sump

Maybe I'm an idiot...but I'm not sure what you mean by this? Lower foot print how? :hmm2:

-RYknow

 

[frugalreefer]

I'm planning on using the overflows to hide the ATO sensor/float switch. I used the gutter guard to help keep the snails out of there.



Maybe I'm an idiot...but I'm not sure what you mean by this? Lower foot print how? :hmm2:

-RYknow

I'm sure what he means by "lower the footprint" not using the snailguard around floatswitch, which is a larger pvc covering the whole switch.

Consider a peristaltic pump hooked up to your RKL for your top off. I don't have a sump and didn't want more equipment in the tank(float switches), With a peristaltic, I just have a tube hangin over the tank edge. You'll just have to dial in the evaporation rate.

Your setup is nice. Cant wait for the inhabitants.

 

[JEC11718]

those overflows look a little low for good surface skimming

 

[-RYknow]

those overflows look a little low for good surface skimming

I agree they are a little low for surface skimming, but that was by design. They are more there to just hide things, then they are to have a function. Once I decide on a ATO and get it all setup, I'm thinking I will probably drop the water level a bit, and get a nice wave motion out of the MP10. Possibly end up with a little better surface skimming action then.

frugalreefer; Thanks for the kind words! I'm really excited to see it start to come together too! This has been a year in the making. I tend to research more then I probably need to. Nice thing is when I spend money, I've researched the hell out of it and 9 times out of 10 I end up extremely happy! I'll be sure to take a look at the pump you mentioned! You said I'll have to "dial in the evaporation rate". That sounds like a fairly lengthy process? I imagine it will take days to monitor it and adjust as needed? Right now I'm on 6 days a week (all 9 hours a day with a couple 13 hour days mixed in)... so I don't have a whole lot of spare time. I really need something I can just plug in and go.

-RYknow

 

[frugalreefer]

frugalreefer; Thanks for the kind words! I'm really excited to see it start to come together too! This has been a year in the making. I tend to research more then I probably need to. Nice thing is when I spend money, I've researched the hell out of it and 9 times out of 10 I end up extremely happy! I'll be sure to take a look at the pump you mentioned! You said I'll have to "dial in the evaporation rate". That sounds like a fairly lengthy process? I imagine it will take days to monitor it and adjust as needed? Right now I'm on 6 days a week (all 9 hours a day with a couple 13 hour days mixed in)... so I don't have a whole lot of spare time. I really need something I can just plug in and go.

-RYknow

If you did go with the peristaltic pump route, it doesn't take much to to dial it in.
BRS has a 50ml/min output. Setup the RKL to dose 50ml/hr to start. After a 24hr period, you can see whether you need to increase/decrease the amount. That's pretty much it.

 

[Dozo]

Awesome build man, I really regret not going this way and getting the all in one. If anyone is thinking about getting a all in one, I recommend giving this way a serious thought!

 

[-RYknow]

If you did go with the peristaltic pump route, it doesn't take much to to dial it in.
BRS has a 50ml/min output. Setup the RKL to dose 50ml/hr to start. After a 24hr period, you can see whether you need to increase/decrease the amount. That's pretty much it.

Sweet!! I'll have to look into the pump then. Seems pretty easy, and eliminates the chance of a snail causing any issues. I think down the road I'll be looking to run kalk, will this top off method be ok with kalk mixed into the top-off water?

Thanks for the kind words dozo! I love how the tank has turned out. I looked into AIO setups, but like the limitless upgradability of just a standard tank!

-RYknow

 

[cerolost]

Hey how has your light been working? I've never seen anyone else use it

 

[frugalreefer]

Sweet!! I'll have to look into the pump then. Seems pretty easy, and eliminates the chance of a snail causing any issues. I think down the road I'll be looking to run kalk, will this top off method be ok with kalk mixed into the top-off water?

Thanks for the kind words dozo! I love how the tank has turned out. I looked into AIO setups, but like the limitless upgradability of just a standard tank!

-RYknow

It's ideal to dose kalk, especially when you have the RKL managing it. It can be set to dose within a second. I actually bought the dosing pump and kalk at the same time foreseeing the need, but right now I'm just toping off with ro/di.

 

[Flame_Angel]

Hey how has your light been working? I've never seen anyone else use it

They work pretty decent. I had one over a 14g Biocube here at the store and I had decent coral growth out of it. Sadly they don't make that model any more...

 

[-RYknow]

They work pretty decent. I had one over a 14g Biocube here at the store and I had decent coral growth out of it. Sadly they don't make that model any more...

Haha! Flame beat me to the punch! Flame's store is actually my LFS, and he was the one who suggested the aqua-panels. So far I have no complaints since the tank is empty. Once I get my first few corals I'll be able to give a better opinion on them.

I will say based on some of the other LED lighting I've seen they aren't nearly as fancy. They are simply on or off. No adjusting them whatsoever. But for the price tag, I'm pretty happy.

-RYknow

 

[-RYknow]

It's ideal to dose kalk, especially when you have the RKL managing it. It can be set to dose within a second. I actually bought the dosing pump and kalk at the same time foreseeing the need, but right now I'm just toping off with ro/di.

Yeah, I'm a pretty big fan of the RKL. It's not the "best" controller out there, but I think it's more then enough for me right now. With the various modules available for it, it can grow with my tank.

I've never used Kalk before, but seems like a lot of people use it. They all seem to be pretty successful! Obviously right now, and even when I get my first few corals in the demand for kalk won't really be there. I just want to make sure when the time comes, I'm setup for it.

-RYknow

 

[rawrpk]

On the AquaPanel website they say "You may also rest your AquaPanel directly on a plexi covered tank."

Would it fit? Would it be a problem to do so?
I want to upgrade my light system on a 20l with led, and these look like a possible route

 

[-RYknow]

I don't see any issues with it! The lights give off a very small amount of heat, not enough to cause any problems. On a 20l you'll need two panels.

-RYknow