20G Xtra Long - I hit the MotherLoad

[ReefRunner1]

FTS 3/22/2016:


Hardware:
Tank: Custom 20 Gal ( 60" x 8" x 10" )
Light: Orbit Marine 48"
Skimmer: Cheap Coral Life Bio Cube Style
Return: Rio 1100+
Stand: 2x4's
Powerheads: 2x Jebao WP-10 (honestly, I rarely use them. And when I do, it is just one)
DIY AIO
DIY Media Basket
Two Little Fishies Nano Scrapper

LiveStock:
Fish:
2x Damsel
2x Green Chromis
Royal Gramma
Yellow Watchman
Percula Clown
Canary Wrasse
Firefish








Coral:
Frogspawn Hybrid
Lobo?
GSP
Duncan
Large Mushrooms (not sure what kind)

 

 

Was severely damaged, but has made leaps and bounds. (Waiting this one out)

 

Inverts:
Large Carpet Anenome
Fighting Conch
HUGE Trochus - x2
Turbos x2 Large, 1 small
Nessarius snails
Hermits - x3
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp - Small

 

(Jebao WP-10 for size comparison)

 

Let me know if I missed anything.


Original Post:

Hey Guys, I am new to the site and new to the hobby, but have jumped in with both feet.

The short story: I haven't had an aquarium before, but I bought a small 20G FW tank for my 2 year old just to have something for him to watch (dang Nemo.) Well, turns out that I like aquariums. I nearly immediately snagged a Marineland Contour 5G AIO SW tank for my desk at work.

I started looking around for a SW for the house. I recently snagged a customized ~20G long tank. (60" x 8" x 10") -Removed JPG Attachment - See FTS for pics.
Tank is empty. I put some books in there just to make it a bit easier to see. I am making a small stand w/ 2x4 and 2x3 just to raise it up a bit and try to prevent from having it tipping over by a toddler. The tank will sit inside the 2x4 and on top of the 2x3. I will make the joints snug.

Now I am researching on how I should proceed with turning it into an AIO.
First thoughts (Very Crude):
-Removed Attachment (has been revised anyways / inaccurate)

I plan on assembling some acrylic, like so, and just buying a 3-level media basket and putting it in the first chamber, then maybe Fuge in 2nd (along with skimmer, heater, reactor, bunnies) and then return to tank. With the tank being SOOOO long I am unsure about the return pump having enough power. I will probably buy a bit big of one and split the output into the tank and Jebao rw-4 either at the other end or on the same end as the AIO.

Thought?

 

[Sal10104]

hmm that would be hard to aquascape for flow i would go with 2 mp10's or powerful hydors but it seems like a nice tank

[ReefRunner1]

Slowly but surely.

 

I hope to have water in it this weekend. I am getting a little impatient and getting a bit sloppy in spots. I must resist.

[olemanwinter]

Oh, I do love a long tank.

 

LOVE the dimensions. 60x8x10 sounds awesome.

 

Can you post LARGER pictures please so we can really get a good look at the progress?

[ReefRunner1]

So,,,, somewhere in the process of moving things around, attaching the base and filling with water, this popped up.

 

So I am trying to repair that long crack. I have already put down another piece of glass and glued it up. We shall see. I'll wait 24 hours, then glue back in the AIO, wait another 24 hours and the maybe think about putting water in it. Man it was frustrating when I was putting water in it and saw this.

 

Well, anyways, this is what I am transferring from.

When I say transferred I mean that I started this one, but didn't put anything in it. I got the setup of Craigslist, but found that it was bigger than I wanted. It was a good deal, but ohh well. I ran water and powerheads, but that was about it. So if you are in the San Antonio area and want a 40G breeder, hit me up. Now, time to watch some football and play the patience game.

[Tmr8188]

Now those are some challenging dimensions to work with. If I had a tank like that I would run a sump and at least 2 powerheads. For lighting I'd run at least 3 par 30's with wide angle lenses coming down via pendant light. Thats about the most economical way of lighting it. At the very least 2 powerheads. I would love to try something like this.

[ReefRunner1]

Now those are some challenging dimensions to work with. If I had a tank like that I would run a sump and at least 2 powerheads. For lighting I'd run at least 3 par 30's with wide angle lenses coming down via pendant light. Thats about the most economical way of lighting it. At the very least 2 powerheads. I would love to try something like this.

Wasn't going to do a sump on this one. It is in a half wall in my living room. I thought about running one on the backside in the hall, but don't think the misses would like it. I have the AIO should do the trick for a 20 gal, but we shall see. I can always rip out the AIO. It would be harder (impossible) to put one in later. I did buy 2 x Jebao wp 10 for each end.

 

A sump could be in the future. As far as lighting, I have a coral life T5 with 10k and actinic and moon light. I plan on just grabbing a 48" current light. Good price and if that doesn't work out then a DSunY. I am alright with spending the money, just trying to spread it out.

[ReefRunner1]

Alright, so I have been impatient and rushed things a tad, but it will all work out. Here is the pic. Still a work in progress... New light will be the first thing I get and then a smaller heater or two. Also, I may have to shave off some more on the overflow teeth going into the third chamber. It isn't keeping up. Granted my table saw started shooting sparks and I didn't get to finish the final tooth.

 

[hockeyhead019]

Those dimensions are awesome! I'm sure you can have a really diverse coral population in there too with all that space

[devaji108]

nice!

I have sene a few longs nano like this. great size. good job but keep an eye for leaks over time you might get a slow drip.

light longs slim tanks are a pain tho..

 

look in to the Build my LED or DIY.

 

keep us posted or progress!

Oh and that a perfect use of that space. soon you will be like the rest of us and every time you walk into a place you think to your self...oh a tank could go there, and there oh there a nice spot for a tank.

ha welcome to the obsession my friend.

[JP Reef]

Love the long tank. To hide the heater you can put it in the AIO portion, and if you need go with 2 smaller heaters.

[BMMMW]

Awesome, love long tanks.

[gulfsurfer101]

Good to see that crack didn't hinder any progress! Looks good!

[ReefRunner1]

Love the long tank. To hide the heater you can put it in the AIO portion, and if you need go with 2 smaller heaters.

Definitely, I was just looking at the Neotherm's, but will probably just end up going with two 50w.

 

nice!

I have sene a few longs nano like this. great size. good job but keep an eye for leaks over time you might get a slow drip.

light longs slim tanks are a pain tho..

 

look in to the Build my LED or DIY.

 

keep us posted or progress!

Oh and that a perfect use of that space. soon you will be like the rest of us and every time you walk into a place you think to your self...oh a tank could go there, and there oh there a nice spot for a tank.

ha welcome to the obsession my friend.

I have looked into the DIY LED, but don't think it would be worth the effort. (money / functionality) I am going to get the 48-60" orbit marine. From what I have seen people say they don't penetrate deep enough with enough strength,,,, but the tank is only 10" deep. Less with the sand so it should work out fine. If I upgrade and get a bigger tank later then I will do some more research on it.

 

Awesome, love long tanks.

That's what she said.

 

Good to see that crack didn't hinder any progress! Looks good!

I haven't seen any dribbles coming out from underneath the base, but I should look a bit harder before I start putting stuff in it. Also, I should probably get ready to buy my test kit. I have just been using the API from the freshwater. Still need Ca, Mg, KH.

 

Those dimensions are awesome! I'm sure you can have a really diverse coral population in there too with all that space

That would be nice, but the struggle I have found is designing it (what to put where). decisions, decisions. Where is a place to get cheap small frags. I am going to need quite a few so I want to spread the money across the tank and not in a couple of spots. I am looking at reefs2go.com right now.

[JP Reef]

That would be nice, but the struggle I have found is designing it (what to put where). decisions, decisions. Where is a place to get cheap small frags. I am going to need quite a few so I want to spread the money across the tank and not in a couple of spots. I am looking at reefs2go.com right now.

 

Do not use reefs2go. You will be throwing money in the trash. They seem to have changed their name to hide from all the terrible feedback people have been leaving them.

[ReefRunner1]

 

Do not use reefs2go. You will be throwing money in the trash. They seem to have changed their name to hide from all the terrible feedback people have been leaving them.

That's definitely good to know. Thanks.

[gulfsurfer101]

If your looking for frags just hit up glennr1978 from coral gardens aquaculture. He's a long timer member and sponser here. Besides you won't beat his prices. A little but of cash goes a long ways at cga!

[Reefer69]

Lol at the lighting options for this.

 

Sick tank though.

[ReefRunner1]

If your looking for frags just hit up glennr1978 from coral gardens aquaculture. He's a long timer member and sponser here. Besides you won't beat his prices. A little but of cash goes a long ways at cga!

Doesn't look like he has much out there right now. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks

[gulfsurfer101]

He never updates his page but he is always putting new stuff on fb auctions where all the traffic is. You gotta pm him. Trust me when I say he has everything your looking for. He's local to me so I see first hand what's in and get dibs before it's available online. You'll be glad you did and lots of people on here can attest he is the man when it comes to buying coral.

[HM3105]

Doesn't look like he has much out there right now. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks

Gulf is right, Glenn at CGA will take care of you. You need to send him a message with what you're looking for on FB and he'll take care of you. His stuff is great.

[ReefRunner1]

Maybe I will take a trip down to see what he has. Little daytrip.

[ReefRunner1]

Quick update. Snagged that orbit marine and I am glad I did, at least for now. The CoralLife T5 was frying the two small frags I snagged and the fish were scared. Changed light and things are looking better. Hope the frags recoupe.

 

I bought some kalkwasser and added a small dose to the ATO water. For the meantime I am adding the water manually. i bought this water level sensor and will be working to get this integrated into the tank.

 

I also bought a couple of small items: smaller (physical size) 100w heater, bulkhead (ended up being the wrong size, ordering again), Loc-Line gear (MPT connector, 6" tube and round nozzle), small lcd thermometer, and a small cheap sponge filter (to start seeding for a 5 G Q-Tank).

 

I am having a little bit of trouble with the filter floss I bought. I think the quilt batting is too dense because I am having to change it out nearly every day; otherwise, it is limiting the flow too much and the return pump chamber gets less water. Will have to try and find something else. I could try and drill some more holes in the acrylic DIY media basket. I made it in an impatient rush a.k.a. quick and dirty. It is functional, but could be better. Maybe later.

 

I know I am going to hear it for this next comment, but I will be buying my test kits soon. I just have the API master from my son's freshwater, but don't have the CA, MG, KH one.

 

I have 2 (the school formerly known as 4) green Chromis and I do 5G water changes, so, not too worried about it right now.

 

Going to grab a few more frags soon.

 

[ReefRunner1]

Man O' Man did I hit the motherload yesterday.

 

I was cruising on CraigsList, as I do occasionally throughout the week, and I found and ad for free livestock...

 

The short of it is that I got

~75 lbs of LR

A Royal Gramma

Large Percula Clown

Canary Wrasse

Firefish

Damsel

Large Green Carpet Anenome (Paired w/ Clown)

several large mushrooms

a small mushroom colony

1/2 a bucket of salt mix

various Kent products

reef roids

 

It is nuts. I took 15 bags and 3 - 18 gallon tubs to carry everything.

 

He was a military guy just trying to get rid of livestock so he could store his tank.

 

This is definately more than I will need / be able to handle, but I got it anyways....

 

 

 

 

 

The gramma wouldn't come out yet. Still skiddish. We actually didn't bag him up. He was hiding in the rock and we couldn't find him when packing it up.

 

FTS - 3/22/2016

 

 

 

I bought these couple of guys before I got the free stuff. Just forgot to post them:

 

 

[Cencalfishguy56]

Man O' Man did I hit the motherload yesterday.

 

I was cruising on CraigsList, as I do occasionally throughout the week, and I found and ad for free livestock...

 

The short of it is that I got

~75 lbs of LR

A Royal Gramma

Large Percula Clown

Canary Wrasse

Firefish

Damsel

Large Green Carpet Anenome (Paired w/ Clown)

several large mushrooms

a small mushroom colony

1/2 a bucket of salt mix

various Kent products

reef roids

 

It is nuts. I took 15 bags and 3 - 18 gallon tubs to carry everything.

 

He was a military guy just trying to get rid of livestock so he could store his tank.

 

This is definately more than I will need / be able to handle, but I got it anyways....

 

 

 

 

 

The gramma wouldn't come out yet. Still skiddish. We actually didn't bag him up. He was hiding in the rock and we couldn't find him when packing it up.

 

FTS - 3/22/2016

 

 

 

I bought these couple of guys before I got the free stuff. Just forgot to post them:

 

 

That's insane! That carpet Nem is sick!