20G Long - First Reef Build (Update 12/27/15 - FTS and Picture Dump)

[ColoradoNano]

Awesome tank you have here, I currently own a Fluval Spec 5 gallon but I know eventually I will want to upgrade to a 20g long.

 

Is that the 18-24in current USA led light???? That will fit on my spec and still work on my 20g long saving money is a good thing.

[VW_TDI_02]

Awesome tank you have here, I currently own a Fluval Spec 5 gallon but I know eventually I will want to upgrade to a 20g long.

 

Is that the 18-24in current USA led light???? That will fit on my spec and still work on my 20g long saving money is a good thing.

Thanks. And there is an 18-24" fixture but I don't think it is big enough for a 20 long. This fixture is nice but remember that you are limited to shallow tanks and LPS coral. You might be able to grow some SPS at the top of the tank but I'm not really sure.

[VW_TDI_02]

I hate myself.... I just bought yet another item for this damn tank. Bought a used BRS dual reactor from 1fishmonger so I saved a bit of money there. Why does this hobby have to be so damn expensive.

[myarmolich]

Great tank! i have a question, how loud is the eshoppes overflow?

[VW_TDI_02]

As of now, it is pretty loud but only on one side. The box that sits inside of the tank is empty so water falls about 3-4" and that makes a lot of noise. The other side is actually completely quiet and nearly silent. I'm probably going to sell this overflow and install a bean animal overflow. I know if I were to put a gate valve in I could probably fine tune it in but I'm just worried that I will never get it perfectly and with this overflow there isn't any back up in case it clogs. The project of the summer will be building a new stand and drilling the tank. Probably just going to buy a new 20 long and drill it just so that it's easier to work on.

[myarmolich]

As of now, it is pretty loud but only on one side. The box that sits inside of the tank is empty so water falls about 3-4" and that makes a lot of noise. The other side is actually completely quiet and nearly silent. I'm probably going to sell this overflow and install a bean animal overflow. I know if I were to put a gate valve in I could probably fine tune it in but I'm just worried that I will never get it perfectly and with this overflow there isn't any back up in case it clogs. The project of the summer will be building a new stand and drilling the tank. Probably just going to buy a new 20 long and drill it just so that it's easier to work on.

 

haha fair enough, thats probably what im gonna end up doing to my tank

[VW_TDI_02]

 

haha fair enough, thats probably what im gonna end up doing to my tank

Yea, it works pretty well but it is rather loud. I should have gotten a gate valve and used that instead of a cheap ball valve. Still not sure what I'm going to do about drilling the tank though. Regardless, I have a few months to figure it out.

[VW_TDI_02]

Well, it's a bit difficult to see but I found my first nuisance... Aiptasia has arrived in my tank but only a single one. I'm going to try the boiling water method and hopefully I'll be able to kill it and suck it out with the turkey baster. I've only seen one and they're actually pretty cool looking but I know they do damage to the corals and can spread quickly. This one is maybe half a centimeter in diameter (not including tentacles).

 

IMAG0726 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

[Edit]

So I am pretty sure I killed the thing. I shot half a cup of boiling water onto it but unfortunately, I don't know where it went. It was deep in a crevice and I don't really know what happened to it. I did manage to kill the coraline algae around the hole as well as it has turned pink as opposed to the dark purple that it was but honestly that doesn't matter as long as the aiptasia doesn't come back. I did manage to find an amphipod crawling around in there. I guess I must have scared him out of his home.

[VW_TDI_02]

Figured I would update you guys a bit. I went to a coral swap and managed to snag a few corals for cheap. Nothing too special but these were definitely the species that I was looking for. I snagged a bright green hammer coral, a kenya tree, and a pulsing xenia all for $25. I've also ordered a few new things. I have a ReefKeeper Lite set up and it's awesome. Currently only have one PC4 but I have two more that should arrive Monday if USPS can get their stuff together for once. Currently looking for the SL2V2 module in order to finish that whole set up. I also got a BRS dual reactor. It's pretty old but I got it used for a good deal. Gave it a vinegar bath and I should be getting it set up tomorrow. I ordered some ROX carbon, GFO, and kalkwasser from BRS so hopefully that will be in on Monday as well. I'm going to start with 3/4 teaspoon of kalkwasser per gallon of ATO water and see what kind of impact that has. Still battling hair algae but it's definitely going away. Every day I try to take off as much hair algae off of the rock as I can but there is still a lot on the sand bed behind the rocks that I'll hope to get tomorrow during my water change.

2015-02-28_09-35-37 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-02-28_09-35-14 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-02-28_09-34-25 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-02-28_09-33-57 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[Matthewdvm]

Coming along nicely. Love the new hammer, and those Zoas have great colour!

[VW_TDI_02]

Thanks. So far the corals are doing well except for the xenia. It was very recently dragged and hadn't attached well too the rock just yet. I have it in a low flow area and I am hoping it bounces back. The hammer is doing great and I got it and the Kenya tree for a total of $15. I kind of regret not buying more corals while I was there. Haha

[VW_TDI_02]

Everything is doing well so far. Took a pair of pictures while feeding today.

IMAG0736 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

 

This guy is a real jerk. I caught him reaching into my acan trying to steal the food that was already in his stomach area.

IMAG0735 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

Cool little hitchhiker from my piece of live rock. Ophiuroidea I believe. he's actually hiding between the plug and the rock the acans are growing on. haha

2015-03-05_04-07-53 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[VW_TDI_02]

Big changes coming to the tank!!! Well, not really the tank but the stand. In this upcoming week I'll be finishing up my stand and moving the tank which should be interesting. So far this is all I have done for the tank. It's incredibly sturdy and I'm not even done yet. I did a few dips in the middle and there was no shake or movement. I'm going to be adding a 3/4" sheet of plywood across the back and that should prevent any sort of racking or movement. Still need to do the top, add the side panels, finish the base, and figure out the doors and shelves.

2015-03-07_07-20-50 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-03-07_07-21-43 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-03-07_07-22-23 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[SpankythePyro]

How do you like the Easy Water Auto Topoff Kit?

 

I've been looking for something like this as my old 50breeder ATO is far too large to use in my 20 long

[VW_TDI_02]

How do you like the Easy Water Auto Topoff Kit?

 

I've been looking for something like this as my old 50breeder ATO is far too large to use in my 20 long

In a sump it will work well but not in a display tank. The mount for the float switch puts the water level very low on a rimmed tank. I ended up making a new mount for the float switch. The pump is nice but I don't think the whole thing is worth the price. You're better off getting the JBJ one. I plan on getting the SL2V2 for my ReefKeeper and running a new set up through that. Also, you can't run this in a tank that has waves. It will cause the pump to constantly turn off and on. Overall, it is pretty cheaply made and not really worth the money but it's too late now.

[SpankythePyro]

Thanks for the honest review! Looks like I'll be retrofitting my other ato then

[VW_TDI_02]

Thanks for the honest review! Looks like I'll be retrofitting my other ato then

No problem. Yea, for the price, the Easy Auto Top off is definitely not worth it. Honestly I think a lot of the auto top off systems out there are pretty over priced for what you get. The majority of the time it's just a float switch hooked up to a timer/pump and that's about it. I do like the pump that comes with the Easy Auto Top off. It's really quiet and it even comes with a very fine mesh bag in order to protect it. It's small enough to be placed into those 5 gallon jugs (I use one for my reservoir).

 

I do have an update on the stand and the tank. Since my camera sucks (phone) I am not going to even try to take some up close shots of my acan lord. It's got a few little buds coming off the bottom that even have little feeder testicles. They're still about 1/8" in diameter though. Have 3-4 of them I think.

 

In regards to the stand, I'm definitely making progress. So far I've got the frame all set up, added the back plywood and also added plywood on the inside of the sides. This thing is surprisingly light but strong and rigid. I've also begun sanding and I can only say that it is coming but it's awful. The corner pillars are the toughest since there is such a long joint where the 1x3s and the 1x4s connect and I want to get that completely smooth. At most it's about 1/16, maybe a little more, but it's still quite a bit when sanding by hand without a belt sander or anything like that. I did make one major mistake though but it isn't critical. For the base, I made a rectangle out of 1x4s and then nailed a piece of plywood on top of it. I had it cut from a full sheet at Lowe's since I drive a Corolla and there's no way I'm fitting a full sheet in there, haha. I had just gotten done cutting the side panels at home so I had the number 16 fresh in my head and I ended up cutting the base board down to 16" so now there is a nice gap of a few inches. It's not awful and I'm going to keep it like that for now. The way I made it, the stand and the base board (the one on top of the rectangle) are completely independent of each other. That should make it a bit easier for moving since it will cut down a good bit of weight from the stand but it's not really a big deal. I can use that extra gap for cables anyways so that's a plus. The doors are definitely going to be tricky and here is where I made my second mistake. I haven't been able to find doors large enough for my stand so I'm going to be making them out of 4 pieces of wood. My plan is to have two doors but each door will be made up of two boards. One will be attached to the frame with a regular hinge and the other one will be attached to that board in an accordion-like fashion. I have some magnets for the middle just to keep the doors closed too. My plan is to clamp together all 4 boards and from there make sure that they are all exactly the same but here comes my mistake. Instead of using 10" wide boards which would have been perfect, I accidently grabbed 12" wide boards which are too big. As a result, I'm going to have to trim each of the boards by two inches. After that is when I'll be clamping them all down and getting them exactly the same. From there I'll be able to add the hinges and all that good stuff. The top will be the last thing I add. My plan is to screw some boards into the top and those will function as guides. I'll have them set up on the inside corners of the stand so they will be all lined up. I don't think I'm going to bother screwing it down simply because the weight of the tank will hold it down easily. That's about all I got done today. Will have to get some sleep and start again tomorrow.

 

 

The lid:

2015-03-08_11-54-44 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

Getting there

2015-03-08_11-54-05 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

2015-03-08_11-53-32 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[VW_TDI_02]

So the stand is almost done. Here is what I have left:

 

Hole for overflow

Hole for return

Shelves

Figure out door joints

Sand

Seal

 

Right now I need to find a place where I can rent/borrow a 2" hole drill bit. I looked at them at Lowe's and I'm definitely not spending $30 on a damn bit. I'm going to be drilling into the top lid. Unfortunately with this damn Eshopps overflow, I don't have enough room so I'm stuck drilling.

 

The shelves are another big part that need to be taken care of. I honestly have no idea how I'm going to do this. I may mount the reactor on the inside left panel for easy access but I have to wait and see. I'm planning on putting the RKL on the inside of the tank as well. The PC4s will be on the inside right plywood panel but I'm still not sure about the head unit. I may mount that on the inside of the door. I need to make sure that the head unit and the RW4 controller are both easy to reach since I turn them both off/standby while feeding.

 

The front doors were a bit tricky. I ended up doing two doors out of four panels with hinges in between them. The issue is that there is a good 1/2" gap between each panel. Right now I don't have a refugium set up but when I do, I'm going to need a light in there and I'm not going to want to have a bunch of light coming out through the cracks. For the middle, I think I'm going to add a thin chunk of wood that bridges the gap on the inside of the doors so it isn't visible on the outside. For the other joints, I think a simple opaque cloth will work. Staple it in on the inside and I'm good to go.

 

I did a good bit of sanding last night but I know I have a lot more to go and it sucks. I am going to pick up some dust masks at walmart in a bit because I've inhaled far too much saw dust and it's messing with me. Actually have been getting bloody boogers which are lovely... After I get done with all this damn sanding, tomorrow I think I will start staining it. have plenty of wood in order to test it out.

 

IMAG0738 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

IMAG0737 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[VW_TDI_02]

It isn't perfect but it will do. Have another two hours or so before I can move it and then 24 hours until the polyurethane is ready. Moving the tank is going to be the tricky part though. First I'm going to move the Reef Keeper over. I'm going to mount all of that inside the stand on the right panel. The head unit will go on the inside of the door and right next to it I want to put the Jebao controller for easy access. I have the powerhead on the left side of my tank so I may end up putting that controller on the inside of the left door for easier cable management but the cable may not be long enough for that. The light controller will also go inside the stand next to the PC4s since I rarely even touch that. Plus it has a remote so I don't actually need to touch it at all. lol. After that stuff gets moved, I'll move the sump over and add the water back into it. Once the sump is filled, I'm going to remove my two fish and toss them in a bucket of water. I'm going to pull out the three pieces of live rock and put them either in the sump or in a bucket of water. I have the kenya tree glued on so that rock may go into the sump while the others just get tossed into a bucket. Once it's drained and the rocks are out, I'm going to move the tank itself and start filling. Once I get about 10 gallons into the tank I'm going to add the live rock and corals back into the tank. Once filled, I'm going to go ahead and deal with the plumbing. Since I am going to have to glue stuff on both the return and overflow, I'm not going to have the sump running until probably Friday.

 

I have the reactor almost all set up and ready to go but I'm not sure where I'm going to put it inside the tank. It may go on the left side of the tank but I have to wait until my order from BRS to come in. I forgot that I needed the flow restrictor valve so that the GFO doesn't grind itself to bits. I also bought some stuff for a shelf on the left side above the ATO reservoir. I may toss a little basket on top of the shelf in order to hold the turkey baster and stuff that has a chance of falling off. Food and the test kits may go on the shelf depending on the space. The reactor is going to be there so I don't want to have to clear the whole thing off whenever I need to change out the GFO/carbon.

2015-03-11_11-44-18 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[VW_TDI_02]

I'll have more pictures up later when I'm done moving the tanks but I wanted to post this picture really quick. I've been monitoring this little xenia polyp and I think it's going to make it! It's an awful picture but it's a single tiny head of xenia that is attached to the snail shell.

IMAG0741 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[porkchop-rob]

looking good.

 

cant wait for the after move pics!

[VW_TDI_02]

99% done!!!! Only thing left to add is my dual BRS reactors. I needed more saltwater in order to fill up the canisters and flush the fines so I had to wait for the RODI to finish up and now I'm just waiting for the salt to mix really well. I plan on hanging a bulb from the top of the inside of the stand as well. I may end up using that middle section for a refugium but I'm not sure just yet. Unfortunately, I bought the socket, cable, heat shrink, and electrical tape but I forgot the eye hook to actually hang it... When I get that I'll be able to measure out how much cable I will need for the power cable that I'm cannibalizing. Have a rocker switch that I'm going to be tossing in there for easy use.

 

Stuff Learned

- Cabinet doors suck unless you know how to make doors that won't warp

- If you have a garage/shed, don't take it for granted. Took me a few hours to clear all the dust from my living room where I did everything. If you live with someone else, don't even think about it.

- Wear gloves when staining stuff unless you want "jacobean" colored nails

- Sanding takes forever and if you slack on it, you'll notice if you look close

- The Kreg jig for pocket holes and velcro are your best friends

- I really want to upgrade my tank to a 40 breeder

- I could use a lighting upgrade as well (see below)

- Corals can get really pissed off and discharge a lot of stringy stuff

 

So here are the final pictures. The reactor will be mounted on the back wall between the overflow and the return PVC pipes.

 

It looks like it isn't centered but it definitely is.

2015-03-12_06-59-40 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

The guts

2015-03-12_07-00-09 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

For my freshwater planted people (2xT5HO, E.I. dosing, pressurized CO2, dirted)

2015-03-12_06-58-51 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

And here is the casualty. The Current Orbit Marine comes with a remote and I have partially fried it. I was moving the display tank from the table to the new stand and I knocked the remote off of the table and it landed in one of my buckets of water...Thankfully it didn't sink to the bottom but rather was just floating on top. Some of the buttons work, some don't. Fortunately turning the fixture on just reverts to the saved channel 1 (I think) and that's the one I altered and saved. Not 100% sure but I ended up tossing it in a bag of rice so maybe that will save it. If not, I'm going to hold onto it for a while. Maybe eventually I will turn it into a fuge light or something when I upgrade my display tank and light (40 breeder and a reef breeders panel I think).

2015-03-12_07-00-42 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

[VW_TDI_02]

So I've lucked out! The remote for the lighting fixture is back working after a bit of time drying out. I tested out all the buttons and there is nothing wrong!! I even went through and changed intensities, memory presets, and even the clock (was two minutes off) and it all worked flawlessly. Definitely glad the remote is working. Saved me about $25.

[VW_TDI_02]

Update - 3/14/15

 

So I need a bit of help. I've been dosing kalk for two weeks or so and my Kh is up to 10.5 from 9.5 but my Calcium is still at 300-320. I do not have a magnesium test kit so I'm not going to start dosing anything else just yet. In order to raise my Ca, I'm doing a larger 15 gallon water change. My entire set up holds around 30 gallons so that should raise it to right around 350 or so (I hope). After raising it is what I'm not sure about. Would the kalk in the ATO (1 tsp per gallon) maintain those levels or would I have to start dosing the Ca part of two part in order to do so?

 

Update 2

I did some shopping. The pump that came with my BRS reactor is just far too loud. It rattles a lot whenever there is any sort of back pressure. After looking at the bottom of the pump, it turns out it is a Marineland MJ1200 and not a Cobalt Aquatics MJ1200... Just ordered a Cobalt Aquatics one so hopefully the new one won't rattle. Damn thing was driving me insane. At least now I'll have a second pump for water changes. I also ordered a Red Sea Foundations test kit which includes Ca, Alk, and Magnesium so that should help too.

 

Update 3

I took this picture earlier but forgot to add it here. The little xenia that could is still alive and doing well. While moving the tank, I left about 3/4" of water in there so the shells and stuff got moved around. Thankfully the xenia survived and is pulsing away. It's right up front so it will be really easy for me to keep track of.

 

IMAG0747 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

Update 4

Decided to add another picture since my hammer coral was looking really thick. Looks like a big afro. Again, sorry for the awful pictures. At least you can see part of the kenya tree which is doing well too. It was closed up for the whole day when I switched the tank over but it's back up and doing well.

 

I'm currently waiting on the RODI in order to do a larger water change of about 15 gallons. Will be testing alk and Ca for the tank before the water change, after the water change, and the new water before adding it to the tank.

 

2015-03-14_03-47-31 by vazquez_v1, on Flickr

 

 

Update 5

Water change is done. Did a 14 gallon water change and it raised my Ca to 340 and lowered my Kh to 10.5. I also tested the new water and got the following results:

 

Before 14g Water Change:

Ca: 320

Alk: 11

 

After 14g Water Change:

Ca: 340

Alk: 10.5

 

Newly Mixed Water:

Ca: 350

Alk: 10

[VW_TDI_02]

Update 2/18/15

Got a few updates. I bought a Cobalt Aquatics MJ1200 to replace the Marineland MJ1200 (very loud) that came with the BRS reactor. This thing is dead silent compared to the Marineland one. I'm going to keep using the Marineland one for water changes which should be nice. No more using a bowl to scoop water out of my sump... The other addition I got is a Red Sea Foundations test kit for Ca, Alk, and Mag. I need to use it a few times more because I'm still getting a bit inconsistent results. Not terribly off but a little different from one to the next. Definitely better than the API kit though.

 

Ca: 340

Mag: 1200

Alk: 9

 

So I just spent even more money... Ordered B-Ionic Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. Will be raising the mag first and then calcium. I'm switching to Red Sea Coral Pro but not until after I finish my Instant Ocean which is about halfway done.