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Aquabacs' 50 Gallon Azooxanthellae Tank build


Aquabacs

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Hello Everyone!

 

I am very excited to finally become part of the exclusive Cadlights club! The Artisan 50 was the perfect size up-grade tank for my next non-photosynthetic aquarium project.

I was out growing my 18" x 18" x18" High Clarity ECOCUBE and was in the market for a larger tank. With the filtration being built into the back of the ECOCUBE I was losing valuable real estate inside my aquarium. A few requirements I was looking at in a new tank were: it had to have a sump, be rimless, and had to be made of low-iron glass. I looked into ELOS, Solana XL, and custom options all were more than I was looking to spend on a 60 gallon or less glass box. When I saw that Cadlights decided to venture into making the Artisan 50 gallon system, with it's dimensions being 24" x 24" x 20", having the minimalistic look of an ELOS,

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being made of beautiful, low-iron, Starfire beveled glass, it was my logical choice. So I pre-ordered the aquarium with Eddie and waited for it to arrive.

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With the heavy demands of Azoo corals I didn't want to take a chance of the skimmer and sump to undersized. Cadlights designed a custom sump based around the Bubble Magnus NAC-6 protein skimmer.

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Information on the build/plans for the aquarium to follow

 

Mike

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jw, how much did that run ya

A little over 1k for the tank, stand, custom sump, Durso drain and Loc-Line plumbing kit, and NAC-6 skimmer.

 

Mike

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Aquascaping

The tanks aquascaping is planned to be open and rockwork to be minimal. Only two pieces of rock will be used. One being a piece of live rock which I has travel from my 90 gallon to my 24 gallon and now to 50. This rock was previously "cooked" before I actually started using it in my aquarium. If you are not familar with the process I can expain it if you would like. It is a simple process, just takes time, patience, and going through alot of saltwater, so if you want to know, let me know. The second rock that is being used is a ceramic sculptured rock from Aquaroche. To avoid any PH issues with using ceramic rock, it will be soaked in RO water for a week and the water will be changed daily.

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Filtration and Water Movement

Having high flow/water movement in a azooxanthellae aquarium is key in keeping heavy detritus from forming and transporting food to the inhabitants in the aquarium. For in tank water movement; a Vortech MP40w will be used on the back of the aquarium, left side of the overflow box and a Vortech MP10 will be used on the right side. The pumps are being installed this way due to how the rock structure will be placed. In addition, a Tunze Silence 1073.04 will be used for return pump.

 

The skimmer I choose for this aquarium was a Bubble Magnus NAC-6. A high performing skimmer is a must, the BM mini was available with CADlights pro set-up, which would be more than enough for normal keeping of LPS, SPS, or soft corals, but I wanted to rest easy knowing that I had a skimmer that was going to handle the intense feeding that I put my aquariums through. I feed my aquariums very heavy and do water changes as much a 50 percent, twice a week.

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Mike

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looking forward to following along!

 

also, I don't know if you've used them before, but I love the Tunze return pumps. I have the 1073.020 on my cad 39g, and it is great.

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looking forward to following along!

 

also, I don't know if you've used them before, but I love the Tunze return pumps. I have the 1073.020 on my cad 39g, and it is great.

 

The Tunze Silence series pumps are great! I have one on my FOLWR tank in my office at work and I have used them also on a few of my friends' installs. Extremely silent compared to SEN, Quiet One, Mag-Drive submersible pumps and even the Ehiem that is use by ELOS. Both the 1073.020 and the 1073.04 should be the recommended standard submersible pump for using on the 39 Pro and 50 Artisan series aquariums.

 

Mike

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Lighting

 

The lighting for my tank will be Japanese style LED spot lighting only.

 

The lights themselves are a mix of 12K, 20K and all blue PAR 38 LED kights that I have picked up from Nano Customs. Once set up, if needed, the lenses on the lamps can be changed for desired lighting pattern/coverage. Neo Arm multi-directional clip on base light fixtures (imported from Japan by Aquatouch) will be used for the PAR 38 LED lamps. The fixture clips onto the rear glass panel of the aquarium and the head of the lamp can be angled in any direction. Also by using this style fixture, it allows the PAR 38 lamp heatsinks to remain vented properly at all times.

 

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Mike

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did you picked this up at their brooklyn location?or did eddie shipped it to you?

i'm still saving up $$ for this set up!sweet tank can't wait for it to see with watuh!

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The Tunze Silence series pumps are great! I have one on my FOLWR tank in my office at work and I have used them also on a few of my friends' installs. Extremely silent compared to SEN, Quiet One, Mag-Drive submersible pumps and even the Ehiem that is use by ELOS. Both the 1073.020 and the 1073.04 should be the recommended standard submersible pump for using on the 39 Pro and 50 Artisan series aquariums.

 

Mike

 

Couldn't agree more. They're especially awesome becuase the small footprint (or, for that matter, the ability to use it externally!) allows you plenty of room to add, e.g., a phosban reactor or something else in the return chamber.

 

You hear that, Mark!? :D

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Today, just soaking the Aquaroche sculpture in RO water and waiting for some plumbing parts. Took a quick picture of on of the gorgonians that will be transferred over to the 50 Artisan.

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Mike

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A picture of one of my feather starfish with his squat lobster. I love Azoo corals but I want to focus on my collection of feather starfish. I would like to see the aquarium evolve into a feather starfish biotope. I have seen beautiful dive photos with non-photosynthetic gorgonians covered in groups feather starfish and would like to create that vision.

 

 

 

Mike

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Today, just soaking the Aquaroche sculpture in RO water and waiting for some plumbing parts. Took a quick picute of on of the gorgonians that will be transferred over to the 50 Artisan.

IMG_4677-2.jpg

 

 

Mike

 

great googley gorgonian, that's a great gorgonian!

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Thanks. It is an Australian Blue Menella. It is one of my favorites and the picture does the coral no justice, it is extremely blue.

 

Mike

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