pelphrey Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I recently transferred my 27 Gallon Cube into a BADFISH 20 Gallon AIO tank, I documented the entire 27 Gallon Build ( http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/367381-27-gallon-cube/ ).A few months back I was looking on eBay and came across a brand new BADFISH AIO Kit and bought it immediately. I sat the kit on a shelf for 5 or 6 months and finally decided to get this project moving. Basically I moved from a sumped 27 Gallon into a 20 Gallon AIO. Why would I do this? I found out how addicting this hobby is and I am going to parting ways with the cube to eventually get a bigger tank. It may not make sense to go from the cube to the 20 long, but I have a decent amount of equipment I can offload in order to fund the upgrade project. For the time being this is the tank I am working with until I get the "Bigger & better" tank! For those of you that have never heard of the BADFISH AIO Kit - It was made years ago and become pretty popular. At some point the person in charge of making the kits stopped making them and they became hard to find. AIO kits these days are very expensive, I got lucky searching online! Future plans for this tank - Redo rock work, I ordered new dry rock. Figure out a new way to mount the kessil light fixture and get the heater out of the tank and into the AIO kit. May have to purchase a new smaller heater. I'd like to add the Tunze 9004 skimmer to this system as well. Details of the tank - Standard 20 Gallon Long BADFISH AIO Kit MJ1200 return Pump 1/2" bulkhead and loc line Vortech MP10WQD Kessil A160w w/ Spectral Controller Ehiem Heater JBJ NANO GLO Refugium Light JBJ Auto Top Off Currently using Macro Rocks. Just ordered 30lbs of rock from @reefcleaners Middle chamber of the AIO houses pond matrix Tank is running bare bottom Top Fin Stand - PetSmart had these on sale for $55 and I couldn't pass it up! I originally built a 2x4 stand and got in a hurry which resulted in the stand not being level. The Top Fin stand works perfect with the small cabinet in the middle. I used black ASI silicone to install the kit into the 20 long - JBJ NANO GLO Link to comment
pelphrey Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 The BADFISH AIO 20 Long Kit Test Fit With the "Sump" area cover on. I am unable to use this cover since I have the JBJ NANO Glo Light on the tank Top lid on I ended up cutting the return hole out to accommodate a 1/2" bulk head Gel Filter iPhone 6 - Chaeto in the drain section with the JBJ NANO Glo Refugium Light 2 Hand fulls of Pond Matrix in the middle chamber with the reversed ATO switch (This switch will shut off the pump if it is triggered) MJ1200 return pump with ATO Fill trigger float switch Link to comment
pelphrey Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 I really want to get the heater out of the tank and into the sump, this will have to wait. I want one of the neo therm heaters since it will fit but after the reviews I've seen I don't want to add this heater until I have a temp controller of some sort. Here are a couple tank shots - Link to comment
pelphrey Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Lets take a look into the BADFISH 20 Gallon AIO Reef Tank. In this video we go through the details of the AIO and what my future plans are. I do still plan to upgrade to a bigger tank but this will be many months or maybe a year down the road. For the time being I will focus on creating the best 20 gallon reef tank I possibly can. Link to comment
TristanC Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I really want to get the heater out of the tank and into the sump, this will have to wait. I want one of the neo therm heaters since it will fit but after the reviews I've seen I don't want to add this heater until I have a temp controller of some sort. Were people having issues with the neotherm? Ive been using them for a while and never had issues. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 More times then not I read reviews about this heater sticking in the "ON" position. Even on BRS when it is a recommended heater. Maybe the technology has changed, or possibly people are only taking the time to write negative reviews which is typical. Me personally, I'd feel more comfortable with this heater running on a controller, even a DIY controller. It could be argued that all heaters should be running on some type of controller to begin with as they all risk the possibility of sticking on. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 In an effort to get the Kessil goose neck off the side of the tank I ordered some 80/20 this morning in black. I noticed on the website that it said "This item requires a longer lead time. Please see the shipping schedule for expected lead times". I am in no rush and I wanted all black so the wait is fine, but was I surprised when my cell phone rang 20 minutes later. It was a rep from 80/20, she wanted to verify that I saw the shipping schedule for the parts I had ordered and that the lead time will be 8 days. Now that is customer service at it's best!! I've never ordered from 80/20 before and I didn't spend that much money so I didn't expect to get that phone call. It will be probably 2 weeks before I get the parts I ordered, judging by the customer service I don't believe I will be disappointed! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 After some UPS delays I received my Reef Cleaner dry rock that I ordered. The first package was "damaged" and UPS claimed they tried to deliver and I refused which in turn sent it back to Florida. The status should have been updated stating that UPS decided to ship it back to Florida. Regardless John at Reef Cleaners is excellent to work with and I told him to not worry about it until after the Holiday weekend. I still think it is strange that we order rock online and have it shipped to the house, I laugh each time I do this knowing that UPS has to pick it up and move it! Not to mention receiving 30 LBS of rock and 30-40 LBS of salt in one delivery! I have a 5 gallon bucket with a power head running at all times mixing 5 gallons of salt water, you can also see the reef crystal residue on the power head I was using. I don't think that the RC had anything to do with the pump failure, it was just a cheap pump. But the RC salt does leave a nasty residue! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Over the weekend I took all of the macro rock out and redid the tank. I ended up cutting the bottom off of my base pieces so that they sit securely on the bottom. I had planned to cut the Reef Cleaner rock that I ordered, but I figured since the Marco rock is established I would just cut it and put it back into the tank. I also worked on getting any coral left on plugs removed from the plugs. I ordered the Large Bulk Reef Supply bone cutters awhile back and these work great! I was surprised how easy it was to remove coral from the plugs. I ended up gluing the coral to rock rubble. Got my equipment cleaned up and mounted inside of the cabinet. A few frags - Newest addition. Finally a SPS frag. Got this from a local guy. 80/20 should be here this week for my new light mount. Top down view Also picked up this Santa Monica Algae Scrubber from the same local guy with the birds nest. This is the Drop .2 He sold me his old Hydor Slim Skim Nano Skimmer. I am not running a skimmer so I figured I would give this a try! Selcon for the fish and corals! Link to comment
Powermaker Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Wish I could find an AIO for my 29 . I've been looking at at your 27 nano on Craigslist. I live within driving distance. Man , if the timing was better . I have a fishless 75 still set up , it was Mbuna tank , and I've recently bought a 29g to try my first saltwater tank . Haven't set it up though . You're not offering a light with your 27g right ? GO BIG BLUE ! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Wish I could find an AIO for my 29 . I've been looking at at your 27 nano on Craigslist. I live within driving distance. Man , if the timing was better . I have a fishless 75 still set up , it was Mbuna tank , and I've recently bought a 29g to try my first saltwater tank . Haven't set it up though . You're not offering a light with your 27g right ? GO BIG BLUE ! There are companies who make AIO kits for various size tanks. But they are expensive! I had a 75 gallon mbuna tank, sold it a few months ago. No light with the 27 gallon, but I'll make you a good deal on it! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 I decided against cutting the reef cleaner rock, I'll keep that rock for my new tank... When am I getting a new tank? I haven't decided yet, I am still trying to figure out what direction I want to go in. I did take all of the Marco rock out of the tank and cut the bottom off all of my base pieces. Cutting the Marco rock with a hacksaw was very easy to do. Much easier then I thought it would be! I also decided it was time to remove as many pieces of coral that were on frag plugs OFF of these unsightly frag plugs. Using the BRS large bone cutters this task was also much easier then I thought it would be. I highly recommend the BRS bone cutters, or any bone cutters! Running bare bottom sure does have it's pros and cons. I do like the overall look of the bare bottom tank. I don't have any inhabitants that rely on the sand. Biggest con to running bare bottom is the fact that you can see the waste on the floor of the tank. Luckily for us BB people this waste typically ends up settling in one location of the tank and is very easy to siphon out when doing water changes. An important pro is the fact that I can run VERY high flow in this tank and I don't have to worry about sand being blown around! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Recieved my 8020 at the beginning of the week. Got around to putting it together and mounting it on the tank stand last night. It was very easy to put together, as long as you know what mounting hardware belong to what fastener! All in all I have to say that the 8020 light mount is MUCH better then the Kessil goose neck, especially since I had the goose neck on the side of the tank. I'll have a full video on the 8020 coming out soon in the next couple of weeks. For those interest this is the order that I placed with the hardware. To better help you purchase from the 8020 website I would suggest a few things. First choose your Framing Option. Once you decide on your Framing Option use the Series of your frame to better sort your fasteners (I used external fasteners). Second when you are buying fasteners pay attention to the Suggested Hardware tab at the bottom of the page. The Suggest Hardware will give you the exact part number you will need. Kessil Goose Neck VS 8020 8020 with Kessil mounted - I am using the Kessil 90 with the 8020 I went with the 4 slot frame so that I can hide wires in the slots of the frame Had to make the hole bigger on the fastener I bought. Right now I have zip ties holding the light to the 8020 Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Unboxing the 8020, building my light frame and finally video of the 8020 mounted to my tank stand and over my 20 long! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Picked up the Hydor Slim Skim Nano Skimmer from a local guy along with the Santa Monica DROP.2 algae scrubber. Traded him a few frags for a small birdsnest. The birdnest seems to be doing well in my tank. If you aren't using selcon I suggest you look it up and the next time you place an order on BRS you pickup a small container. Selcon was recommended to me by someone with many years of experience and spoke highly of the product. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Recieved my container on Friday from Rural King for my water storage. I don't have any initial plans to store salt water. This is the ACE Roto Mold 40 gallon container - Container came with bulk head. I had to buy the 3/4 threaded fitting and 3/4 ball valve Container comes with gallon markings. I took a marker and wrote over them for better visibility The 90 is not glued in for removal. I didn't want this sticking out and possibly getting broken off Birdsnest doing great! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 4, 2016 Author Share Posted August 4, 2016 This is how I combat short power outages. I am using a APC battery backup, my return pump and heater are plugged in to battery backup side. If our power goes out for any reason at all the backup will turn on and run my return pump and heater for +-40 minutes. Luckily for me I live in a newly developed neighborhood with all of the lines underground, this doesn't mean we won't have power interruptions but we've had good luck in the 4 years that I have lived here. None the less power outages are something we all will more than likely face at some point during our reefing career and with hundreds if not thousands of dollars of livestock this is a must have in my opinion to protect our investments. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 I ordered my booster pump from MarineDepot a few months ago and finally got it hooked up. I wish I had hooked this bump up long ago, I was getting 40PSI into my RODI. Once hooked up I tuned the booster pump to pump 70-75PSI into my RODI- It was kind of a pain to hook up, after following the directions exactly I got it hooked up! New 40 gallon container is now full! I have a 3/4" barb I need to get a hose on. My storage container is up high enough to get a 5 gallon bucket under the ball valve. I like to use this 5 gallon water container to fill my ATO up since it has a spout and a handle! Santa Monica Drop.2 finally in the tank! Hard to see but the LED is on in the algea scrubber. Santa Monica suggests running the LED 22 hours a day Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 After months of wasting fish food I decided it was time to try something new. After doing some research I decided it was time to try a fish feeding ring. There are a ton of companies that make a feeding ring option, I wanted something CHEAP! I didn't want to spend 20-30 dollars just yet on a product I'm not sure about. I jumped on eBay and found a feeding ring shipped directly from China. The best part, they were only $1.14 each, SHIPPED! I ended up buying 3, so for under $4 dollars I had just bought 3 feeding rings. It took almost a month for them to come in and as soon as I got them I had to give them a try. My expectations were low from the beginning, I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for. So far this $1 item seems to do its job. How long will it hold up? Time will tell! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 How do you store your RODI water? I've wanted to come up with a better solution for many months. Browsing the reef forums I came across the Ace ROTO Mold Vertical containers. The problem with most of these containers if bought online the shipping will set you back double what the container costs. Also these containers seem to be rare when you search locally. There are many choices when it comes to storing water, one of the most common are the brute trash cans. I didn't go this route because of the width and although you can buy a lid for the brute cans I wanted the water to be sealed off. Link to comment
jamescstein Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 How do you store your RODI water? I've wanted to come up with a better solution for many months. Browsing the reef forums I came across the Ace ROTO Mold Vertical containers. The problem with most of these containers if bought online the shipping will set you back double what the container costs. Also these containers seem to be rare when you search locally. There are many choices when it comes to storing water, one of the most common are the brute trash cans. I didn't go this route because of the width and although you can buy a lid for the brute cans I wanted the water to be sealed off. If you have the space and a local soda bottling company you can get a 55 gallon HDPE drum pretty cheap. You can get them new for a fair penny. Walmart used to sell them years ago for $15. You can also frequently find them on craigslist. Though going the craigslist route you need to be careful and make sure it was a food barrel and not chemical. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 If you have the space and a local soda bottling company you can get a 55 gallon HDPE drum pretty cheap. You can get them new for a fair penny. Walmart used to sell them years ago for $15. You can also frequently find them on craigslist. Though going the craigslist route you need to be careful and make sure it was a food barrel and not chemical. I looked into the 55 gallon barrels, the overall width is why I went the direction I did. I wanted the smallest foot print I could find. For me personally I would rather buy something new VS buying a used container and not really knowing what was stored in it. Link to comment
pelphrey Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 I've been battling Green Hair Algae for the last few weeks. I attribute this to overfeeding and possibly my RODI filters. Although I haven't tested phosphates in my tank I know they are present. Luckily the GHA hasn't gotten completely out of control, I've been manually removing it from the tank during water changes. Adding the feeding ring has helped out as it is now keeping the food contained to the ring and not allowing it to blow all over the tank. The Santa Monica Filtration Drop.2 has been in the tank for a few weeks now and as of last night hasn't shown any signs of growth. I am running the LED inside the unit for 18-20 hours. I'll be picking up a handheld TDS meter soon to double check my RODI water and probably replacing the filters very soon! Link to comment
pelphrey Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 I've had the booster pump hooked up for a few weeks now. Honestly this is something I should have done a long time ago. It is now taking me about 5 hours to make 30+ gallons of water. Before I had the booster pump setup it would take MUCH longer to make water. I also added 4" concrete block to my container stand and now I can get my ATO bucket under the ball valve easily. I still need to address my RODI filters and move my unit so that I can easily access the canisters and manual flush valve. Link to comment
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