Jump to content
inTank Media Baskets

SAV602's 20 Long Reef


SAV602

Recommended Posts

Hello everyone,

 

Thought it was time to make a thread of my tank. I've been keeping fish now for about 15 years and have only recently ventured into the saltwater game. I started off 2 years ago with a 24 gallon JBJ tank that I bought for $50.00 that came with everything including inverts, fish, supplies, and a stand. A very good buddy of mine really wanted to get me into the hobby so he sold me everything and helped me set it up. Before he passed away recently (at 33) he had set up a 150 gallon FOWLR in his new home. The knowledge he gave me was invaluable, and thankfully with his encouragement I stuck with the hobby through some bad setbacks. This wonderful hobby will always remind me of him so for that I am thankful.

 

My original JBJ, after a bad heat wave killed almost everything, was sold to a friend again for 50 bucks and is doing very well now in it's new home. I was tank-less for a few months until I saw a Fluval Edge that sparked my interest again. I still have this tank, running well for about a year now. I currently use it to house 1 clown and the majority of my corals until I transfer them slowly to the new

 

The Edge while a great looking tank was difficult for me to keep clean, and I wanted a more hassle free tank, along with the option for more fish and coral. My decision for this 20L was mostly based on my stand size. I purchased a nice stand from IKEA for the edge and the dimensions were great for a 20L. I was originally going to purchase a 20L rimless, but they were too difficult to find, so I decided on a black rimmed/sealed tank. I am very happy with this tank as it matches the color scheme of everything.

 

I wanted to take everything extremely slow this time and do things exactly how I wanted. I'm pretty patient (when I'm fed...) so waiting on the right rocks etc wasn't too difficult. I set up the tank on the stand purchased some great looking rocks IMO and began to start the mini cycle. I have about 40 lbs of live rock and 30 lbs of white aragonite. My LFS owner is awesome he gave me the sand and rock along with a 200W heater, a 10 gallon QT and some MediCoral marine dip for 60 bucks. The rock has some nice macro algae on it which hopefully someone can ID it for me.

 

After the tank was setup I saw how ugly the black cables were in front of the white wall so I decided to paint the tank...after the water was in. 200+ lbs was pretty heavy, but I moved it enough to get access to the back of the tank. I masked everything off hooked up 3 strong fans and spray painted away. At first I used hobby paint that I had lying around for my RC car, but that was a mistake, it looked fine from the outside, but was transparent when looking from the front of the tank. I bought some new paint and made a mental note not to be so retarded next time.

 

Anyways here's some pics of the process and a FTS. Some pictures were taken with a celly and others with a P&S Canon. I know I'll get 20 comments saying TLDR, but I wanted to make a nice thread. Uploading pics now, please critique everything, and I'll be asking for some ID's as well. My LFS dude is getting some new stuff in Monday the 26th so in a week or so I'll have some nice new coral pics to add. Thanks for looking. :)

 

09/13/11

img2111k.jpg

 

09/21/11

img2148q.jpg

 

10/20/11

dsc0402c.jpg

 

  • Fish:
  • 2 Clowns (Mission and Haight)
  • Purple firefish (Castro)
  • Looking to get a yellowheaded jawfish and Pygmy or Possum wrasse (please comment)
     
    Coral
  • Rhodactis x2 soon to be 3
  • Kenya Tree
  • Red, green and gold open brain.
  • Hammerhead ~10 heads
  • Fire and Ice Zoathides
  • Various mushrooms: Bright Red, True Blue, Orange, Purple, Red with blue spots, Watermelon.
     
    CUC:
  • ReefCleaners 20L CUC (Put the rest in the Edge)
  • 18 Dwarf ceriths
  • 7 Nassarius
  • 11 Florida Ceriths
  • 8 Nerites
     
    Equipment:
  • 20L about 30x12x12
  • 2 Koralia nano's
  • AC50
  • 200W heater
  • Nanocustoms 3.6 LED Fixture for Fluval Edge (54w LED)
     
    Macro Algae
  • Gracilaria mammillaris
  • Caulerpa Serrulata (May remove soon)
  • Bryothamnion Triquetrum
     
    Future plans:
  • Upgrade to an AC110 refugium. (Purchased)
  • Yellowheaded jawfish and Pygmy or Possum wrasse.
  • Cleaner shrimp.

 

 

 

These are the cabinet/baskets I purchased for the Edge but later used for this 20L

shelfv.jpg

 

basketfh.jpg

 

Aragonite added

20110906154002.jpg

 

Live rock and some water added.

20110911193146.jpg

 

Caulerpa serrulata

img2085y.jpg

 

Reminds me of a skull...I chiseled a bit of the rock on the left "eye socket" to even them out a bit, as it was a pretty small hole.

img2087qg.jpg

 

Everything in place...then I decide to paint the back >.<

img2093ig.jpg

 

Masked and yes there is water in it o.O

img2094s.jpg

 

Painted and light mounted...only purple in pictures.

20110913163421.jpg

 

Where I plug everything in...top right basket. Tie straps are color coded so I know what's what. Using two timers for the lights.

img2116d.jpg

 

Bottom left basket now only holds food and tools. I also keep a refractometer in there that I just purchased.

img2117w.jpg

 

Tank sat for a few weeks and then I added a cleanup crew from reefcleaners.org. John got back to me literally 3 minutes after I placed the order. Zero deaths out of the 2.5 million snails that were shipped.

img2120uj.jpg

 

img2123i.jpg

 

I think that's enough for now...don't kill me for making this so long. I'll post some more pics soon. ;)

Link to comment
Looks good! The baskets definitely neaten things up in there.

 

Yeah Ikea has some really great items, and these baskets worked out very well.

 

 

Great looking tank, I'm a sucker for sweet looking LR so your skull rock is definitely a hit. The 4 fish you've listed should be fine.

 

Sweet thanks. I really like the way the scape turned out...the pieces just fit together, and there's a lot of caves that the fish are using.

 

Very Nice setup, I also have a 20 long.. Does the Ikea stand support the tank without problem. Do you happen to know the name of the stand?

 

Thanks :)

 

It's called an expedit and the baskets are BRANÄS Yep It holds the weight pretty well actually. I got on top of it and though I'm less than the tank it was extremely sturdy. The only concern I had was because I keep it on the carpet and I also have the tank towards the front of the stand was that it might tip over. I shimmed up the front, and if I remember correctly it comes with straps that you can screw in and attach to the wall, I'll have to look for those. Also I made sure that the top piece of wood was resting on the side pieces otherwise over time it may break (you can see what I'm saying in the link).

 

 

caulerpa serrulata is the algae, good luck with the new setup! :)

 

Thanks John :)

 

 

 

Hmm after doing10 minutes of research looks like it might benefit me to take the caulerpa out now. I like the way it looks and one of the reasons I got that rock was because of it. I wonder if I keep it trimmed back I can maintain it. It died off a lot since that picture was taken, but is now starting to grow again. I'll have to read more on it, but now's the time to deal with it.

Link to comment

Can I get an ID please. It's a red colored macro.

img2124g.jpg

 

Also Here's some pics of my Terrarium. :)

 

Found some plants outside...this was a last minute project that I thought would be fun. This was an old converted paludarium with catfish and turtles I had a while ago. I wanted something with low maintenance and cost.

20110812213008.jpg

 

Bought some plants at a nursery near napa.

20110830000923.jpg

 

This came out a lot nicer than I expected...I'm excited to see how it looks when it grows out.

20110906161855.jpg

 

I think the tank is a 29 gallon, I need to measure the dimensions. I bought it like 20 years ago at a fish store that was going out of business. It also has a wood colored trim so it matches the theme of whats inside.

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Nerites eating algae and laying eggs.

img2141q.jpg

 

Gracilaria mammillaris tips glowing orange under the LED's

img2169fj.jpg

 

Red, green and gold open brain

img2150e.jpg

img2145h.jpg

 

Rhodactis and Kenya Tree...I'll be dosing with Viagra soon...

img2160y.jpg

Link to comment

Borrowed a friends camera...still arranging stuff also.

 

I love all the colors in this shot.

dsc0112xi.jpg

 

dsc0113zx.jpg

 

dsc0096gb.jpg

 

dsc0255yl.jpg

 

Castro

dsc0257kw.jpg

dsc0263jl.jpg

dsc0267td.jpg

 

Fire and Ice

dsc0278c.jpg

 

Viagra worked

dsc0292j.jpg

 

dsc0322k.jpg

Link to comment
ThePhilosopher

I'm really loving what you've done with the tank so far. Keep an eye on that open brain coral. I might nab it from you when you're not looking. :ninja:

 

Also, when you said "20L", did you actually mean 20 litres? Because your tank looks much larger than mine and seems to accommodate your fish with ease.

Link to comment

Sweet looking tank... like how nice it looks with the low-tech approach. Can you give details on your filter setup? It looks stock...what media are you running in it?

Link to comment
I'll be following this closely as I just bought a 20L myself and don't even know where to start lol

 

They are great tanks. This is my third salt water tank, I made a lot of mistakes in the past. I figured I was experienced enough to try again with this one. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. A large part of what I know is from this site as well as friends in the hobby.

 

I actually sat down with my LFS owner recently and he walked me through everything. I had brought in all my supplies and chemicals. We tossed a few things and he basically told me what he does to keep all his tanks in order. Dude is hella cool.

 

 

I'm really loving what you've done with the tank so far. Keep an eye on that open brain coral. I might nab it from you when you're not looking. :ninja:

 

Also, when you said "20L", did you actually mean 20 litres? Because your tank looks much larger than mine and seems to accommodate your fish with ease.

 

;)

Sorry yeah it's a 20 gallon Long, so the dimensions are roughly 30x12x12. I bought it mostly because of the dimensions of my stand. I like how big it looks and also how shallow it is. It's really easy to work with.

 

 

Sweet looking tank... like how nice it looks with the low-tech approach. Can you give details on your filter setup? It looks stock...what media are you running in it?

 

Thanks :)

 

I have two Koralia nano's and an Aquaclear 50. The AC50 is running floss and chemipure elite. I recently removed the biomax as I need to study up on how it handles nitrates. I'm in the process of making an AC110 refugium that's almost done drying in fact. I'll do a write up in a few days, it looks really nice so far.

Link to comment
MiketheBarb3r
They are great tanks. This is my third salt water tank, I made a lot of mistakes in the past. I figured I was experienced enough to try again with this one. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. A large part of what I know is from this site as well as friends in the hobby.

 

I actually sat down with my LFS owner recently and he walked me through everything. I had brought in all my supplies and chemicals. We tossed a few things and he basically told me what he does to keep all his tanks in order. Dude is hella cool.

 

 

 

 

;)

Sorry yeah it's a 20 gallon Long, so the dimensions are roughly 30x12x12. I bought it mostly because of the dimensions of my stand. I like how big it looks and also how shallow it is. It's really easy to work with.

 

 

 

 

Thanks :)

 

I have two Koralia nano's and an Aquaclear 50. The AC50 is running floss and chemipure elite. I recently removed the biomax as I need to study up on how it handles nitrates. I'm in the process of making an AC110 refugium that's almost done drying in fact. I'll do a write up in a few days, it looks really nice so far.

 

Thanks dude yeah please explain the filter setup you have. I just got into reefing a few months ago and I already wanna go rimless and shallow, I hate my biocube for that fact that its hooded and tall , lol. Had someone bash me already because I'm a noob and I already want a bigger tank. I'm used to these aio systems and wanted to make my 20L aio but I don't want to sacrifice4x12x12 inches of precious tank space, thanks alot all your help us appreciated. Check out my threads!

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks dude yeah please explain the filter setup you have. I just got into reefing a few months ago and I already wanna go rimless and shallow, I hate my biocube for that fact that its hooded and tall , lol. Had someone bash me already because I'm a noob and I already want a bigger tank. I'm used to these aio systems and wanted to make my 20L aio but I don't want to sacrifice4x12x12 inches of precious tank space, thanks alot all your help us appreciated. Check out my threads!

 

Yep that's all I have. I finally put in the AC110 refugium. I'm running pretty much the same, but with a different type of floss. I grabbed a box of pond filter media that I just can cut pieces off. Was Like $5 bucks and it will last for years. I'm just waiting on some chaeto from my LFS, I'm sure he'll give me some for free. So when it's all said and done purigen elite, floss and some macro algae...maybe some other stuff, but I'll figure that out later.

Link to comment
MiketheBarb3r
Yep that's all I have. I finally put in the AC110 refugium. I'm running pretty much the same, but with a different type of floss. I grabbed a box of pond filter media that I just can cut pieces off. Was Like $5 bucks and it will last for years. I'm just waiting on some chaeto from my LFS, I'm sure he'll give me some for free. So when it's all said and done purigen elite, floss and some macro algae...maybe some other stuff, but I'll figure that out later.

 

I just bought a penguin 350 from my boy he works at an lfs, $40 bnib. This is similar to the ac but it jas those biowheels and cartridge slots. What do u reccomend?

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...