New 25g hex, uniquarium build. Possible MTS

[Saratj1]

I saw on Craigslist what looked to be a pretty decent deal, so I went to check it out. It turned out being better than I thought. Here's what I got:

a 25g hexagonal flat back acrylic tank by uniquarium

Magnum 350 canister filter

Coralife 2x65w power compact fixture

Heater

Via aqua hob filter ( need to do some more research on this , I don't know exactly what it is or how it works)

I'm very excited, got all for $100.

I don't know how I'm going to go with this tank yet. I know it will be salt, that's about it.

I looked for a manual but no luck yet if anyone has any experience with this setup I'd love for some tips on setup. Thanks, here's some pics.

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[jose7878]

Sweet.

 

[Animal-Chin]

cool, its got like a built in sump on the back. Very cool. I'll give ya $110 for the whole thing...

 

[jose7878]

The hob filter might be a protein skimmer not quite sure .

 

[Saratj1]

I've found out what the filter is its a via aqua multi skimmer II , looking online it doesn't seem to have many positive reviews. I have seen pics of the tank with a bunch of bio balls in the center two chambers and sand on the right intake chamber and that would be your filter. I've ordered some bio balls to put in. I don't think I'm going to use the hob filter, maybe not the magnum 350 either. I have to figure out were to put it.

 

[Saratj1]

Ok I think I have it setup where I want it, just have to get wifeys stamp of approval then might start putting sand and water in.

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[jose7878]

That table doesn't look sturdy enough. The table uprights are on the side of your top , held together with screws , the weight of the tank and water and the sand would just rip it right off and you'll have 25 gallons of water on the ground.

 

[jose7878]

If you do decide to use that table I would suggest to at least put a center support cause you wil get sagging right in the middle and possibly crack the top. Just my .02's

 

[Saratj1]

If you do decide to use that table I would suggest to at least put a center support cause you wil get sagging right in the middle and possibly crack the top. Just my .02's

Good eye, thanks I didn't even think about that. I suppose no water today, I will get some support for the tank.

 

[jose7878]

Any updates.

 

[Saratj1]

Not yet, I am out of town right now, I was kinda rushing to get water in it before I went out of town to start cycling it, but since you caught the issue with the stand I didn't have a chance to get it braced up before I left.
I think I might try to buff a couple scratches out. It has a few minor scratches in it and I was thinking about trying to fix them before putting water in, but I am debating it because I worry that I may make them worse in my attempt to repair them, but on the other hand if I'm going to fix them I need to do it now. So if I do decide to try and buff the scratches out I will post up pics of what I do and how it turns out.
I also ordered 5 different zoa frags to put in the tank once it gets going. I will keep them in my other tank until then.
I went through the parts and filters that came with this and found out the magnum 350 filter is leaking a little bit of air into the canister so I will have to do something with that before I can use it. I'm not sure if I will even use that yet. What do you think? Should I try to use the magnum filter or just use the built in setup? I figure the magnum may give a little extra polish and flow, but will take away from the all in one setup.

 

[Clownfishlovers]

Wow what i good deal

 

[Saratj1]

Just installed new reverse osmosis filter. Bought off eBay for about $150. Still running and flushing the system have not used/tasted any yet. I'm excited!

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[Saratj1]

Ok I have added a support to my shelf/aquarium stand and added sand and water.
Making some progress now.


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I also added new bulbs to the light fixture and bioballs to the back. I underestimated the amount of bioballs needed. So I will have to order some more. Or I may get live rock rubble if I can find small enough pieces.
I would like to make a small refugium in one or two of the compartments in the back. If anyone has any tips on that idea I'd love to hear them. Will try to get some better pics of the back compartments. Here's a couple but it's hard to see what's going on.

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[jose7878]

Personally I would ditch the bio balls and put LR in there instead.
Starting to come along........looking good.

 

[OniTweak]

It's an acrylic tank you should honestly go ahead and install and overflow and drill it out to use a legit sump/fuge.

No risk of it breaking and you will have much better filtration.

Also just IMO that would make a sweet Mantis Shrimp tank.

 

[Saratj1]

Here's a better pic of the back of the aquarium. The back of the aquarium is basically like a sump it has about 6 baffles and overflow and return built in. The two large chambers are for biological filtration, the smaller chambers are for other types like a protein skimmer. I don't have the skimmer that goes inside the chamber. I have the cup, but not the skimmer body. I could probably make my own using the cup making a simple skimmer or using the hang on back skimmer that I got with the tank.
I was thinking about a refugium in the two smaller chambers on the right(intake) side.


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[Saratj1]

I like the mantis idea. I was thinking of some type of species/predator tank along with some zoas.

 

[Saratj1]

Just got my order of zoa frags from reefs2go, They had a special on 5 different zoas, with 5 polyps per frag for $50 with free shipping advertised on this site. I thought that was a fair deal. I have an issue though, one of the bags leaked and was completely empty when I opened it up, of course it was the orange bambams my favorite one out of the bunch. Oh Well . I emailed reefs2go, lets see how they handle it. I've taken pics of everything and started acclimating them anyways maybe they haven't been without water long and still make it. I may regret that later but its worth a shot.

 

[Saratj1]

I wonder if on the bottom of the two chambers on the intake (left facing the back of the aquarium) I could put some type of screen and put some sand and live rock rubble on top of it. I wonder would enough water be able to flow through the sand or would it restrict the flow too much. Each of the chambers are about 3.5"x4"x16". I just worry putting sand in there will create a back up of water.