Khuligirl's 20 long nano reef build

[Khuligirl93]

Hey everyone so I've been asking advice in bits and pieces in various threads, but I'd like to consolidate everything here. Just to summarize my journey as an aquarist; I've been keeping freshwater tanks for 8 years, the past few years really getting into planted tanks. Recently I got a job at a local aquarium store and fell in love with the color and character of saltwater fish and corals and the specific and unique niches that each one occupies. Over the past couple weeks I've been gradually accumulating my supplies, clearing a space for a tank, researching, and mentally preparing myself Now that I have the majority of my supplies, I want to share the process of creating my first reef tank, be able to ask questions as they come up, and of course share lots of pictures

Equipment:
-20 long ($32)
-AquaClear70 HOB filter ($47)
-2 Jebao WP10 powerheads (~$36 each)
-30 lbs of caribsea aragonite sand (3, 10lb bags at ~$9 each)
-40 lbs base rock (+small piece live)-still need to get.
-Tao panel 120w reef LED ($84 on eBay)- still need to get.

This is what it looks like so far:

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psynxzdyym.jpg
Thanks for following!


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[Hoffman]

I'm going to watch! I am thinking that my next tank will be like this. *gets popcorn and pulls up a chair*

[Khuligirl93]

Ok, I got it filled with tap water to test for leaks and am running the AquaClear to test it out. It was making a loud buzzing sound until I used a stack of notecards to prop it up on the back side to make it level. http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psuuw3igoy.jpg
So far so good, no leaks. Although the sealing isn't the most neat, this Grreat Choice brand tank seems to be pretty solid.
The AC creates a lot of flow.. I'm afraid I'll have a hurricane tank when I put my two jebao wp10s in there o.o

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[Oscarr19]

Yeah, you're gonna have a hell of a lot of flow lol but you'll be able to turn those jebaos down. At least you'll have the necessary flow for SPS!

Your AC70 should've came with a piece to prop it up. It's kind of a trapezoid looking piece.

Anyway, I'm following along!

[Khuligirl93]

Aw man, I wish you were around when I was asking if it'd be too much on my other thread! I kept thinking it'd be a lot, but people were like "no it'll be fine". Maybe I'll just use one for now because I probably won't be at sps level for a while, and I want my fish to be able to swim without being pushed around my the current.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psiwzq5r6s.jpg
Is this the thing you're talking about?
Thanks for following along

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[Oscarr19]

You could run both at the lowest setting and be fine, I didn't acknowledge that you've got a 20 long. It's all about strategic placement, and with both you'll help eliminate any dead spots.

And if that's the piece, they certainly changed it since the last time I bought an AC :p

[Un5tab1e]

My 29 is as long as yours I believe. Try to point one up and one toward the back glass. Took me awhile to figure the right place to hit and not have a sand storm. Also one of the modes will leave one continuous and the other pulse in wave mode if you got the same set up I did with the dual controller.

[Khuligirl93]

Ah ok, I'll probably just keep them on the lowest consistent setting then don't want any dead spots. I'll play around with them when they get here, should be beginning of next week.
Tomorrow I'll add my sand and water and add something to get the cycle started what have you guys found to be the best thing to start the cycle? still searching for a place to get base rock though.
And yes I think it is the piece you're referring to! I figured it out and it works quite well actually looks like this http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ae3bocf.jpg
I'm guessing the new shape with those chunks cut out helps save Fluval some plastic lol


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[Oscarr19]

Awesome! If you have any marine specific fish stores near you, they'll usually carry base rock. Mine carry 40lb boxes.

Oh, and I like the shrimp method. It's a leave it and forget it approach. If not, there's the ammonia dosing method which works a little faster since you don't have to wait for the shrimp to rot.

[Khuligirl93]

Hmmm. I don't think I have any marine specific ones, but there are some farther north that I'm planning on checking out on my day off. What's a reasonable price for 40lbs of rock?


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[Oscarr19]

Up here, they go for about 1.5-2$ a pound.

[Khuligirl93]

Oh wow so potentially 80 bucks. Wasn't expecting rock to be so expensive lol. Well I'll make some calls tomorrow to check prices.


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[Oscarr19]

Some stores do sell by the pound so you can get away with 20lbs and maybe a couple of pounds of live rock to help seed the tank.

It can get expensive. Over here, live rock sells for around 8$ a pound. It's exactly why I look for local ads to find some live rock for around 2-4$ a pound. You might want to try that first.

[Fresh2o]

You've gone salt! Cool, will be following.
In case you need to direct the flow of the AC70 away from the substrate so that it won't create a crater effect, here is a thread (see post #2) that describes a simple DIY solution. Most likely you have enough LR in there so it won't matter. Still, it can reduce noise and splash:
Quieter filter http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...d.php?t=239271


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[Khuligirl93]

You guys are great! Thanks so much!


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[Oscarr19]

We're here to help

I've also see some media tray modded designs for the AquaClears that basically let you include a refugium neatly. I'll see if I can find the link to that.

[Khuligirl93]

That sounds really cool! Since I'm into plants I love that idea the only question I'd have is how would it get light?


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[Un5tab1e]

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/AquaCle...ket-AC70MR.htm

[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by Khuligirl93

That sounds really cool! Since I'm into plants I love that idea the only question I'd have is how would it get light?


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Maybe you could place a 5.5" clamp-on light with a 13w CFL on top of the AC70.


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[Oscarr19]

There's also this submersible light.

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Underwa...ight-WTL10.htm