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Cream City Reef: New Macro Photos!


wow.such.chris

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wow.such.chris

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Tank: Barebottom 20 gallon 24" x 12" x 16" with DIY screen lid
Light: DIYed 24" Coralife fixture with (2) t5 bulbs (Geissman tropic & ATI blue+) and a nanobox duo
Filtration: 30 lbs live rock, AC70, inTank basket & Oceanbox overflow box, Phosban & carbon, mame skimmer.
Flow: Vortech mp10
Heater: Cobalt Neo-therm 75W
Controller: Neptune Apex Jr. (EB4, EB8, wifi, and display)
ATO: Hydor Smart Level with aqualifter making it super finicky
Cooling: (2) 120mm PC fans

Fish: (1) ORA ocellaris clownfish, 1 locally bred ocellaris, 1 ORA neon goby
Inverts: (1) Emerald crab, (1) green bubble tip anemone, (1) porcelain crab, (2) sexy shrimp, (1) lettuce sea slug
SPS: Red monti cap, idaho grape monti cap, red monti digitata, unidentified monti, birdnest, and stylophora
LPS: lobophyllia, branching hammer, 2x acan lord, meteor shower cyphastrea, prism and war coral favia
Soft Coral: A purple gorgonian I've had since the inception of the tank, actinodiscus shrooms (green, blue stripped, gold, etc), a half dozen or so varieties of zoas, some purple people eater palys, a yellow fiji leather

Macros: Grape caulerpa






My first post:

Hello nano-reefers!


I've been lurking on here for quite a while and have been planning my first reef build for months now after many freshwater tanks growing up. I work at a local aquarium and being surrounded by fish all day it didn't take long to want to start another tank. For a long time I've wanted to start a reef, but being a college student with only a part time job it was pretty much out of the question. After acquiring a second job this summer and much research I've decided to start a 20 gallon reef when I move in to my new apartment in August.

I had originally wanted to use a 20 long but after finding a 150W bluelight LED on craigslist for $100 the plan was changed to a 20 high. My parents have over 20 empty glass tanks in their basement after a previous freshwater obsession so I figured the tank would come from there. After examination though they only had 2 20 gallons. One was extremely scratched and had a broken rim, the other didn't hold water. So for right now I'm waiting for a free tank from my roommate upon moving in August or hoping for a $1/gallon sale soon.

With over a month until I can actually put water in this tank (that doesn't yet exist) I've decided to build an artificial rock wall with "Great Stuff" foam. I've read every post I could find about it and it seemed pretty easy and a good way to make the wait go by.

So, pardon the long intro, here are the plans...

  • 20 gallon high glass tank, back and left side painted black to hide rock wall back
  • 150 W Blueline LED (20 blue, 35 white 3W LEDs)
  • 15 lbs dry rock including whats in the wall.
  • 15 lbs CaribSea Aragonite special grade sand
  • Modded AC 70 housing chaeto, 75W heater, and possibly chemi-pure or phosban (depending on parameters)
  • Hydor Koralia Nano 425 and Evolution 600 w/ rotating deflector and possible wavemaker (eventually)
  • Air, water, and ice MightyMite 50gpd RO/DI

Wanting to house softies, LPS, and SPS. MANY zoanthid varieties, rics, acans, montis, and we'll see where the SPS thing goes but I really like the packed to the brim look so I'm sure some will make their way in there. Even on the freshwater tanks I was religious about water changes so I think this is very feasible.

Sorry for all the typing but I'm hoping that this can be a very long term build thread. Finally, PICTURES! (Pardon the poor quality, I dont own a camera, they're all iPhone shots.)

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Blueline 150W LED. A couple questions, is this light going to be TOO powerful? Can I buy a cheap outlet dimmer to tone it down (also for coral acclimation)? How to hang, how to hang... any suggestions?

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Eggcrate frame put together, I left the bottom so no rock touches the bottom glass and also as extra weight to keep the wall from floating.

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All the rocks/barnacles zip-tied to the frame. In hidsight I wish I had used more small rubble.

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Here's the foam all cured up ready for carving. This is my first time using Great Stuff if you cant tell LOL!

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Foam after the pliers, saws and fingers got to it. Top hole is for Koralia Nano 425.

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Side shot, you can kind of see the cool ledge/cave I made in the corner.

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Cave close-up in horrible quality. This will be covered in a zoa garden someday.

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Possible scape? Is the 15 lbs of rock too little, especially with some stuck in the wall? Is only 15 lbs of sand too little?

That's all I have for now. Next is waiting for the epoxy to come so I can cover the foam and adhere sand/crushed coral to it. After that it will get siliconed and foamed into place in the tank I have yet to find :D

Any recommendations on a 75W heater that will fit in the AC 70?

Hope you guys enjoy following along. Please any advice/comments/help is greatly appreciated even if it's about how you don't like foam walls, or cramped tanks haha! Thanks to everyone on here for all the inspiration to start this, wish me luck!

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wow.such.chris

Indeed it is all 100% hand carved out of Great Stuff foam, really just tearing the surface off creates a very realistic look (at least I think). Thanks for the compliments, the first person to see it said it didn't look rock-like and had me discouraged. After a coating of sand it should look real nice. Thnaks again, if you have any insight please share!

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Looks great! The sand will definitely help. Can you use a dark sand? That may help bring a lot of natural realism! W-

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Rollermonkey

Petco's $1/gallon sale starts tomorrow.

 

Looks neat, but personally I'd be worried about that foam stuff leaching undesirable elements into the h2o. I know that it's been proven that white eggcrate leaches phosphates, ho knows what that goop has in it that will be affected by salt water... I know it's supposed to be waterproof, I'm just not sure that includes salt water which is quite a bit more corrosive than fresh.

 

But, hey! You get to operate the test tank on that concept!

;)

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That's one of the better looking foam walls I've seen. I think adding the epoxy and covering it with sand, would look awesome. Great job with it! I'm looking forward to the progress!

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wow.such.chris

Thanks for the compliments!

 

glennr: how long did you have your foam wall tank? how did it hold up?

I've seen these lasting a little over 2 years without any ill effects.

 

As for the eggcrate leeching phospahtes. I've decided this isn't too big of an issue for me. With all dry rock the tank will have a long cycle and I'm hoping for the majority of it to leech out before any livestock enters. Pretty much everything leeches phosphates, keeping up with water chages will solve this. Last resort would be putting a bag of phosban in the AC70. At work I've seen the exact same eggcrate totally encrusted by a chalice.

 

Today I covered the foam in Z-Poxy finishing resin and CaribSea Aragonite sand. Next step is to silicone the whole structure into the tank. I plan on going to petco tomorrow night to get the tank. ($1/gallon) I've also got to paint the two side walls black this week.

 

Here are pictures!

 

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I'm gonna guess a lot of the sand won't stick. I'm hoping that at least, I liked the look of the foam.

 

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Also, this is a surface skimmer attachment for the AC70 that I received in the mail today.

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Very sleek build so far. I have a AC70 on my 20H and I love it! That being said, if you want to hide the heater, chaeto, GFO, and all of the other components you mentioned in your HOB, then you might want to go with the AC110...significantly more space in that thing fo sho. Other than that, you seem like you're right on track! Welcome to NR! :welcome:

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wow.such.chris

Very sleek build so far. I have a AC70 on my 20H and I love it! That being said, if you want to hide the heater, chaeto, GFO, and all of the other components you mentioned in your HOB, then you might want to go with the AC110...significantly more space in that thing fo sho. Other than that, you seem like you're right on track! Welcome to NR! :welcome:

 

I wish I had went with the 110, but the 70 is already here and I've already started hacking haha. I was think either chaeto OR GFO in the 70. I'm thinking about getting an inTank media basket. Just don't know if I can justify the price, broke student syndrome. If you haven't seen em check it out!

 

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/AquaClear-70-Media-Basket-AC70MR.htm

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I wish I had went with the 110, but the 70 is already here and I've already started hacking haha. I was think either chaeto OR GFO in the 70. I'm thinking about getting an inTank media basket. Just don't know if I can justify the price, broke student syndrome. If you haven't seen em check it out!

 

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/AquaClear-70-Media-Basket-AC70MR.htm

Yeah I hear ya about the whole student broke thang (i'm there with ya). Holy crap I have never seen the inTank media basket....but $50??!!?? Looks cool but I might just stick with my current GFO/Sponge/Rox Carbon arrangement. Ps If you haven't already bought BRS's Rox carbon then purchase it immediately. It literally rocks haha (pun intended) Looking forward to seeing the rest of your build

 

-Brad

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Very nice!

 

My foam wall is coming up on a year and is still holding up perfectly. I did have a bit of an algae bloom the first couple months but it settled down and now I have very little algae in the display.

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wow.such.chris

I<3SPS: what size and model of heater do you keep in your AC70?

 

HVani: Do you have a build thread you can link me to? Did you use GreatStuff? How about epoxy? Thabks ahead of time for any advice!

 

-Chris-

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wow.such.chris

Here's the current progress...

 

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Here's the tank yesterday. You can see the modded AC70 in the top right with the surface skimmer attachment, almost done with that.

The wall has a 1" ledge on the top, I'm hoping to grow some montis on the glass to the left of the skimmer box.

 

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This a shot from the back of the tank. Here you can see how I secured the wall inside the tank with more foam, unfortunately I won't be able to epoxy over this foam. Although I did try to foam all the gaps, I'm sure that water will make its way behind the wall. I'm really hoping this doesn't become a detritus trap and that it even holds the wall to the glass withut floating to the top.

 

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Here's the tank today with a possible rockscape and light. The back is painted black and I believe I solved the lighting problem. I placed some 3M Light Diffuser Film in the LED housing, it should be reduced 66%. If I need more diffusion it's super easy to just add another sheet. Any suggestions on how to hang it?

 

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Another angle of the possible 'scape.

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wow.such.chris

Hey guys, thanks for all the compliments. Here's a quick update as to where I'm at with the build.

 

Rock wall is totally finished, did the final coat of epoxy/sand a few days ago and im really satisfied with the results. As you can see from the above photos, I left a hole in the top left. The point was to put a Koralia nano in this spot but I recently purchaced a used vortech mp10 (only $170!) and won't need this space. Any ideas for what to do with it? I was thinking putting some xenia or gsp in front hoping it will cover the hole, or just leaving it as a cave type structure.

 

Also, I made another large purchase from inTank. Got a media basket for the AC 70. As much as I'm a fan of DIY I couldn't resist how clean Stevies boxes look. http://www.mediabaskets.com/

 

Also picked up a 75W Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Heater, a sybon refractometer, and a submersible 10W light for the HOB fuge.

 

The more and more I read about small fuges the more I feel they are pointless unless they are huge. What do you guys think? My original thought was some carbon/phosban and chaeto above but I'm having second thoughts. What do you guys think I should put in the AC70?

 

Next up is a RO/DI unit. I'm going to go with the MightyMite from Air Water and Ice. I move into my new place August 1st, thats when this baby gets filled. I'm chompin at the bit here so sorry for the lack of pix but I gotta get you all excited about SOMETHING!

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wow.such.chris

On another semi-unrelated note a position just opened up at my work. One of the aquarists has left and the aquarium curator asked my manager for my resume. After my diving certification this August and graduation this winter I could potentially be an official aquarist by the new year jumping in our 650,000 gallon caribbean tank! Wish me luck guys, this would be HUGE for me!

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