Phoenix 20L reef

[Thunderbird311]

So I had plans to set up a 90 gallon reef but then we moved out of our three bedroom house and into a much more reasonable 2 bed single level apartment. Love the new place but with half the square footage no way a 90 gallon is going up. So I thought I would share this build and set up for a 20 gallon long with a sump.

 

I have kept nano reefs and large FOWL in the past but we moved to Arizona from Oklahoma a few years back and I am just now getting back into the hobby. The wife is also on board as she gets to be a part of the entire process now. In the past my tanks were all established long before we even met.

 

So here is the set up as it is right now:

 

20 gallon long display.

10 gallon sump/fuge

DIY tank stand

DIY pvc overflow and return

2 power heads (sun sun off brand)

heater

HOB filter

return pump (sun sun off brand)

14lbs BRS pukani dry rock

20lbs dry aragonite sand

72 watt LED full spec light fixture (china)

 

I have water in and cycling now. I will post some pics when the water clears up. hopefully the rainbow effect will go away will the dust settles.

 

Any advice along the way is certainly appreciated. Im not the master of reefing and I am open to helpful advice.

 

BTW in case anyone cares. Petco in my area appears to be putting on clearance all their saltwater aquarium supplies. I picked up a saltwater master test kit for only 9 bucks they all types of other SW kits and supplement at 50% or more off. including some large korella power heads for $35! great deal if you can catch it in your area.

 

[Thunderbird311]

So a couple things have happened over the weekend. First off, the return pump died. I tried to clean it took it apart. Nothing. It was very hot and making an awful grinding noise but no flow. I decided to toss it since it was a cheap eBay special and I ordered a sicce 1.5. Should be here by Thursday. Hopefully the sump doesn't get too nasty by then. I have a powerhead blowing the fuge chamber around some rock. The display tank should be fine with a powerhead and the HOB filter. I'm Thinking it was a fluke cuz the powerheads are great. Lots of flow and completely silent. Guess that's the trade off for off brand equipment.

 

In better news the light fixture is fixed. It was still very much a rainbow spotlight so I did what I always do when something doesn't work. I took it apart. Turns out the light had narrow lenses. Easy enough to fix and now the light looks great. Before and after pics are a drastic difference. If anyone has a need for the lenses pm me.

 

More to come soon.

[Orangutran]

Light looks WAY better now without the lens!

 

Nice rocks, wish I had gone pukani!!

[Thunderbird311]

I was hesitant but I have to say brs gets fives stars for this stuff. Totally worth the price and 14 lbs was way more than I needed. I told them the size of the display tank and I got a nice selection with one large piece and several medium to small pieces. Plenty extra for the sump as well.

[Thunderbird311]

Got the new return pump yesterday and everything is back up and running. I'm starting to see some brown diatoms forming in the dt and the sump. I'm also starting to see some life forming on the rock. Mostly tube worms, small fans, sponges ect.

 

Nutrients are still sky high but ammonia is starting to fall. Hopefully this weekend things will start to level off and I can do a water change and add some clean up crew. I'm also thinking about taking the hob filter off the tank altogether. Or maybe use it on the sump to run carbon. I don't really like seeing it in the display.

[Thunderbird311]

Still waiting on the cycle. 17 days in and Ammonia is down but nitrites are still sky high. Prob do a water change next weekend and rinse the rock in some warm salt water. I read the pukani tends to hold on to large bits of dead junk. I knew when I bought it it might be an issue

 

Also rebuilt the overflow in 1/2 pvc. Same design but the 3/4 seamed to be very loud. Couldn't get all the air out of the line. Then we popped a breaker and the siphon failed. Wife had to pull the plug after the tank overflowed. The 1/2 is working great so far but I did have to put a ball valve on the return pump and dial back the flow. Once I got it dialed in it is almost silent.

 

Ph is also a little low st 7.8. I read adding a small air pump to increase gas exchange can fix that. Seams like an easy and cheap fix. Just hope the air pump isn't to loud. I like having everything so quiet.

[Thunderbird311]

Got some new goodies at one of our LFS here in Phoenix. My hob filter died. No worries it was loud and I didn't really need it with the sump anyway. Picked up an air pump and an extra power head so now I have two in the DT and a smaller one in the fuge to keep things stirred up.

 

Also picked up a small cuc. 4 small hermits, 3 bumble be snails and 2 trochous snails. They have been demolishing al the diatoms that built up. I'll take some pics tonight.

 

The cycle is almost done but nitrates are still about 20-40. The guy at the LFS told me to carbon dose with vodka to help boost bacteria population and get nitrates down. Then he told me to not do anymore water changes for about six months. It only prolongs the cycle. Never heard that before ever. Sounds crazy to me. Don't think I'm gonna take his advice on either but if anyone would like to share their thoughts on why either might be a good idea, I would be open to trying new things.

[J-Ranko]

You need a skimmer and GAC if you're going to do carbon dosing. The idea is to feed de-nitrifying bacteria with a carbon source like vodka/vinegar, which will take up the nitrates and phosphates in the process, and then 'export' the bacteria via skimming. It's a bit risky directly manipulating your bacterial population, though. I'm not sure if it's recommended to do it this early when you're still just establishing the usual nitrifying bacterial population that serve as your biological filter. It's easier and less risky to cut the nitrates down with water changes.

 

Here's the methodology in detail if you want to try it: http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/116-vinegar-dosing-methodology-for-the-marine-aquarium

 

Be wary of the risks if you overdose: you can cause a bacterial bloom that can deplete the oxygen in the water, cause a build up of toxins from the bacteria's metabolism and drastically drop the pH. Some have even inadvertently fueled cyano outbreaks, because cyano is bacteria afterall.

[Thunderbird311]

Thank you. That was a good read. I think I will skip Carbon dosing though. I dont really want to have to run a skimmer. My cord octopus it big enough as it is.

 

Nitrates are still hovering around 20. Will just do another water change this weekend.

 

Time for some pics. Hope these came out ok. Im just starting to play with the DSLR and photoshop. If this doesnt view right please let me know.

 

 

We found out that one of the bumble bee snails was actually a little white hermit crab. Dont know how we missed that but whatever. We also added 5 Astrea snails. I was hoping to get some cerith snails but all the LFS in Phoenix are out of them at the moment. No explanation as to why. I use to see them all over the place but when I need them they are gone... oh well.

[Thunderbird311]

So my nitrates were just hoovering around 20 for a full week. I talked to some friends and a few different LFS. The general consensus was that since I did a fish less cycle I either needed to add a fish to the tank or start dosing ammonia. Since I really don't want any extra maintenance, we decided to add one small hardy little fish. Hopefully he wont be too aggressive.