Salt Flats

[masterbuilder]

I quit posting much about my LPS tank here mainly because I just sat back, let it grow and didn't do much but maintain it and had nothing new to report. I kept visiting NR.com almost daily and seeing what everyone else was up too, posting my occasional meaningless comments and enjoying my micro underwater world. I was getting ready to have to do something soon because after nearly 5 years it became on giant acanthastrea mass and was looking at fragging hundreds and hundreds of heads (I am not a fragger) or get going with a larger tank. Then it happened, an 11 day power outage and evacuation due to a terrible storm we had here last summer. I am not sure how many days my standby generator kept it going but when we were finally able to return home the tank was 90% gone. With the mess that I had to deal with my aquarium was way down the list. Any survivors were unceremonious disposed of a few days later. It was a great tank and I learned lots about keeping LPS (mainly acanthastrea and micromussa) and was sad it see it go. I wish I had taken more photos, the last was when it was about 2 or 3 years old. But.... As they say, C'est la vie.

 

So... after nearly a year of no tank I finally got around to building a new nano. The tank is located in my home office this time so I can enjoy it all day, but that limited some of my options. I decided it was better to have it next to me and lose some things I wanted rather than have it off in some other room loaded with all the bells and whistles I have been day dreaming about and where I would only see it for 10% of the time I can now.

 

Due to space restrictions I am sumpless. Just no way I could pull it off. That was the main sacrifice of having it in my office and almost sunk the whole office tank idea. Since this is going to be a full on SPS tank, everybody knows a decent skimmer is really required. Given the fact I am sumpless and didn't want a HOB skimmer with all the problems they present, such as low performance, overflowing and flooding, etc. I was about to give up on the SPS idea. Ended up finding a solution that works for me so I went ahead with my project. Here it goes:

 

Tank:

Homemade AIO - 28x15x14 with 3/8" low iron glass. Approx 25 gal.

Typical rear compartments for filter media, chemical media, heater, bubble traps, etc.

Double rear wall with removable front panel so I can keep it BLACK and coralline free.

 

Light:

Ecotech Radion Pro - wide angle lens

 

Water Movement:

2 - Ecotech MP-10's w/ battery backup

1 - Tunze 1073 return pump

 

Skimmer:

Reef Octopus BH-90

 

Dosing:

Bubble Magus BM-T01

 

ATO:

Tunze Osmolator 3155

 

Controller:

Neptune Apex w/ WXM and ALD modules

Neptune Fusion driving all the equipment

[masterbuilder]

Waiting for RTV to dry

 

 

Typical back chambers.

 

 

Everybody likes a little carbon fiber. Doing the rear cover as soon as the tank is up and running and I am satisfied that no more holes, slots or equipment needs rearranging.

 

 

Some of the equip.

 

[masterbuilder]

Waiting on Reef Flakes from Premium Aquatics and a couple of minor plumbing parts. Straighten up some wiring and a few misc....then...water this week! Whoot!

 

 

[JR!]

so beautiful builder....well done sir.

[Smithjm5]

Looks awesome! Definitely following along on this one.

[masterbuilder]

I was worried about running a HOB skimmer that can flood my floors and fill my HVAC vents full of saltwater (happened to me years ago). The skimmer is plumbed into a 1 gallon container that collects excess skimmate just like many other skimmers. In addition the skimmer sits in a small DIY acrylic tank with a Neptune leak detector. If something goes really nuts and the skimmer starts overflowing, the tank contains the flood and the detector shuts down the skimmer so it doesn't drain my tank, drop the salinity to who know what from the ATO running or flood my house. The price of Neptunes ALD module is NOTHING compared to the 1000's in damage a small skimmer screw up can do.

 

Best of all, if I'm not home...the Neptune Fusion software send me a text message of whats happening. That's pretty cool for an old geezer like me.

[Bosch11]

Looking good.

[vlangel]

Love your aquascape! Its going to be a very cool build. So sorry what you went thru with the last tank and evacuation and such.

[MyLiquidBlue29BC]

Nice scape are your rocks from Marco Rocks?

 

I like the HBO skimmer safety features too

[Giga]

This look like a fun build!

[fishphi784]

Did you do the glass too? Looks awesome.

[masterbuilder]

Nice scape are your rocks from Marco Rocks?

 

Yes... Marco Rocks. As you guessed, the flat ones are their Prime Cuts. Loved how easy it was to join everything together with their mortar. Beats epoxy putty a thousand times over.

 

Did you do the glass too? Looks awesome.

 

Yes...did the glass. The original plan was to have the tank custom made. But after contacting a couple of the big name tank builders and receiving the jaw dropping price (lowest was $700 with shipping) I decided I better do it myself. It was not so hard, just plan carefully, do a couple of dry runs and pray. The hardest part was using GE1200 to join everything. Unlike regular silicone, you only have minutes to lay each panel. That's where the practice dry runs come into play.

In the end, I think it came out as just as nice as what I would have paid a good builder. Saved many hundreds of dollars and looking back I have the satisfaction (and fear) of a DIY.

[4x5]

Looks great, good work on the build. Really love the rocks as well.

[GHill762]

I'm not usually into the flat cut off rock look, but I'm really digging your scape.. good work

[jedimasterben]

oh lawds.

[evo_2679]

masterbuilder - I am glad your back and I found this thread !! I followed you old build (finnex) years ago when I first started this hobby. This is going to be another epic build !! *Following*

[patrickbruno91]

Looks great. Cant wait to see it filled up.

[masterbuilder]

Thanks Evo....I have been lurking in your 26.2 thread for a long time. Love your rocks and corals. Its going to be spectacular in a year or so.

[BattleAthletics]

This will be amazing just like your other tanks. Equipment panel is awesome!

[Paandemonium]

How many pounds of marco rocks is that?

[gena]

I love this whole setup, MasterB!!!!!! That scape is fantastic!!!!!

 

 

This will be amazing just like your other tanks. Equipment panel is awesome!

It is awesome!!!!! Looks a lot like your equipment panel .

[BattleAthletics]

It is awesome!!!!! Looks a lot like your equipment panel .

Whaaaat?! Not even his is way better, im just wondering why hes using eb4's instead of eb8's.

[masterbuilder]

Whaaaat?! Not even his is way better, im just wondering why hes using eb4's instead of eb8's.

 

Cause one is a Apex Jr. (I know, I know). I bid on an additional EB8 and an EB4 on eBay. Snagged the EB4 for $18. With the extra 4 outlets I have all I need and I figured for $18 why the heck not.

[BattleAthletics]

Cause one is a Apex Jr. (I know, I know). I bid on an additional EB8 and an EB4 on eBay. Snagged the EB4 for $18. With the extra 4 outlets I have all I need and I figured for $18 why the heck not.

wow 18??

 

howd you find that deal??????

[masterbuilder]

I thought I would gamble with a max bid of $20. I didn't expect to win and in a way hoped I wouldn't. I'm normally a leery of eBay and don't go there very often at all, but it worked out this time. Feel better dealing with known online stores 99.99% of the time.