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12 Long Startup - On hold


coopaloop

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UPDATE: Been waiting until I was out of school...initially posted this plan years ago but moved 9 times in 4 years with school and have rock bottom zero $$$ SOOO this project will be on hold. Fair warning - This plan and thread didn't take off at all... yet

 

So I'm trying to get on the bandwagon after seeing 12 longs like got2envy, scorched, holycarp, wv, mr. nanoreef, etc... the list goes on and on...and have been obsessing over it and surfing the site the past 2 years 😂. Ideally, I want to do a peninsula style with all the gear on one side, which may be hard with circulation but I plan on using two main rocks (one big and one small) and keeping a lot of the sand bed open. Here's a draft of what I plan to start with:

 

Tank

- AquaMaxx Long Low-Iron Rimless Aquarium

            - 35.4" x 8.3" x 9.4" - think these are the right dimensions

      OR - ADA 60f

      OR - 9.1 gallon

 

Filtration - Yet to decide

I've been going back and fourth about using a sump or making it an AIO. Obviously I want to pull the trigger on a sump but with low funds and noise we'll see.. I change my mind everyday. 

 

            Sump 

            - Would most likely follow holycarp's plumbing but my main concern is dialing it in to make sure its silent since it would be in my bedroom

                 - Wouldn't be able to afford as nice of a return pump 

                 - Would be awesome to avoid using a powerhead

 

            AIO

            - Oceanbox Designs has an awesome AIO insert for this tank or could try DIY

                 - Think I'm going this route 

 

Powerhead (If I went HOB or AIO route)

      ORJebao SW-2 Wave Maker with Controller 

            - 500-2500 L/hr

      OR -  Jebao OW-10 Wave Maker with Controller 

            - 132-1056 G/hr

            - Found out this is just the newer model 

 

Heater 

- Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Heater 75 Watt

 

Lights

- Something like an Orbit Marine LED

- 2 primes?

 

ATO

- Micro smart ATO

 

Fish

- 2 Clowns

- Goby?

   

Coral

-LPS and SPS

-Need a torch no matter what

 

CUC

- Snails

- Electric blue hermit

 

Some Inspo (Obviously a million others)

- Took a bunch of screenshots of things but didn't write down who the photos belong to otherwise I'd give credit 

Screen Shot 2018-06-21 at 2.30.25 PM.png

-Looking for a similar scape - two main rocks and a lot of open sand/space

 

1128324127_ScreenShot2018-06-18at7_53_02PM.png.bc696a93e82a9094fcc7ab8ec6f1cf03.png

- Shape of this fixture is perfect for a peninsula. Ideally, I don't want any lights set on top of the tank like the marine orbit 36" and would rather have them hang from the ceiling or on a fixture that is suspended from one side like this.

 

1842807920_ScreenShot2018-06-24at11_33_40PM.thumb.png.93053319f90e341043c839fa173ce617.png

Another fixture

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As far as clean up crew, check out John at reefcleaners.com, been speaking with him over the last week and has been very helpful and good prices too with free shipping on the cleaner packages. As far as the koralia nano 240, I'm using that in my 5 gallon and its seems to be adequate, for the 12 gal long you might need to bump up to the 425 but I'll let the vets chime in too as I'm no expert. Love the 12 longs I'm in for the build

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Marc.The.Shark

Welcome!

 

If you're looking for quality dry rock, then look at Reefcleaners.org, they're a sponsor on here & also have a sub-forum. You'll find nothing but praise from their product, it's professionally cleaned & ready to go and very reasonable. Also, I've used the Dr. Tim's previously with great success, cycled my tank in about 2-3 weeks. Just follow the instructions on the website (dosing ammonia), and you'll be all set.

 

Love the long tanks. My upgrade is a 36" long that I'll be starting in a couple weeks. I bought some of the Reefcleaners dry rock as well. I'm gonna try the BioSpira bacteria this go round & see how it is.

 

As far as Par bulbs, they usually have an effective coverage of around 12" or so, so to cover the long tank you'd prob want 2-3. With 2, you'll have pretty heavy shadowing on the outer edges if you center them, 3 would be better. Three decent par bulbs (@$60-100) and you might be better buying a fixture.

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Thanks so much for the replies so far. The lights have been the thing I've been struggling with since the tank is so shallow so I'm hoping to find something dimmable. I would like to use bulbs so you can easily view the tank from above but if this is too much of a hassle I would do a 36" strip.

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Marc.The.Shark

Thank you so much for the replies so far. The lights have been the thing I've been struggling with since the tank is so shallow so I'm hoping to find something dimmable. I would like to use bulbs so you can easily view the tank from above but if this is too much of a hassle I would do a 36" strip.

 

Coral Compulsion sells dimmable par38's, not cheap tho...But they're nice bulbs & you can change the optics. You could prob get away with 2 if you hung them high enuf. ie 12-16" above tank. You'd have to check their par #'s & optic suggestion for that height for coverage, but might work

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Hello

 

I have the api superclean filter- i really like it. The flow is very strong but completely adjustable and the surface skimmer keeps the water clear.

 

I have the koralia 425 in my 15g which is 24" long. It does a good job. I also have a sicce which is great, thats about 500gph on its own.

 

I ran my 15g with a cheap par38 bulb, 60 degree optics 10,000k on my tank.

Coral compulsion par38 are full spectrum, dimmable and for $130 they have a 35 watt par38 that has a spread of 24", you may get away with 1.

 

You could always look into Aquamaxx Marines, they are long led fixtures. I have the nemo on my 10g. I really like the light and it is affordable.

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Quote

 

 

As far as clean up crew, check out John at reefcleaners.com, been speaking with him over the last week and has been very helpful and good prices too with free shipping on the cleaner packages. As far as the koralia nano 240, I'm using that in my 5 gallon and its seems to be adequate, for the 12 gal long you might need to bump up to the 425 but I'll let the vets chime in too as I'm no expert. Love the 12 longs I'm in for the build

Thanks for the link for CUC and dry rock. Most likely gonna go with them 

 

Quote

 

 

Love the long tanks. My upgrade is a 36" long that I'll be starting in a couple weeks. I bought some of the Reefcleaners dry rock as well. I'm gonna try the BioSpira bacteria this go round & see how it is.

I won't be setting up my tank until I get back to school in a few weeks so Let me know how the dry rock is and BioSpira work!

 

Update: 3 years later... still not up but planning for it this fall hahah

 

Quote

 

 

I have the api superclean filter- i really like it. The flow is very strong but completely adjustable and the surface skimmer keeps the water clear.

 

I have the koralia 425 in my 15g which is 24" long. It does a good job. I also have a sicce which is great, thats about 500gph on its own.

 

I ran my 15g with a cheap par38 bulb, 60 degree optics 10,000k on my tank.

Coral compulsion par38 are full spectrum, dimmable and for $130 they have a 35 watt par38 that has a spread of 24", you may get away with 1.

 

You could always look into Aquamaxx Marines, they are long led fixtures. I have the nemo on my 10g. I really like the light and it is affordable.

 

For flow, I'm planning on the koralia 425 or a Jebao. How did the cheap par38 bulbs work out? That seems like the least expensive route and I've seen a lot on Amazon but not exactly sure if they're worth it

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I have a 15g and I run the 5-20g. I only use it for chemical filteration/floss and it does the job. If I went bigger, I'd have to turn the flow rate all the way down to nothing which defeats the purpose of a larger filter. The large filters are great for mods, hiding things in them but I really don't believe nor have ever seen the benefits of running a filter designed for 70g on a 10g.

 

I liked the par38, things went well and grew but I wouldn't buy a cheap one again. I would go full spectrum, dimmable, and with 80 degree optics.

I didn't buy mine online but in a reef store. I was going to replace mine with coral compulsion but being in cda - there were too many additonal costs so I got an Ai Prime.

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Why not just get 1 coral compulsion instead of 2 lumentek?

 

Would one cover enough? its a 36" long tank I believe

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Mikeymikemike

try the marine depot aquamaxx nemo lights. I ran them on my 3ft shallow at frist and they grew lps and zoas just fine.

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Crap- for some reason i thought it was a 12g! My bad.

 

Yes you would need 2.

 

You could look into the Aquamaxx Marine which is affordable. I have the nemo on my 10g but the marines option is designed for longer/shallow tanks.

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