Jump to content
Top Shelf Aquatics

Drew's 9.1g Aquamaxx


drewgrano

Recommended Posts

29377120041_3c226aa95f_k.jpg

FTS 8/30/16 - Cycling

 

Equiptment

Tank: 9.1 Gallon Aquamaxx

Light: NanoBox Tide Plus M w/ Bluefish

Filter: Cobalt EXT Canister Filter (not using the stock return pump)

Heater: Hydor 200W In-line Heater

Return Pump: VorTech Vectra M1

ATO: AutoAqua Smart ATO

 

Rock: BRS rock rubble, ~3-4 lbs

Sand: CaribSea Ocean Direct Caribbean Live Sand - .5-1 inch

 

Livestock

 

  • Like 9
Link to comment

Made some progress late last night. I'm going for as clean a look as possible so I have the plumbing coming up through the bottom and am trying to hide it all with rock. I want absolutely nothing touching the glass. The cabinet underneath is pretty small so it's making things a little bit difficult. Not sure what I'm going to do quite yet lol.

 

29226024835_2b1ba271a5_k.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

That works if you keep the system a closed loop. All the reactors and and heater need to be inline so that water doesn't drain when you turn off power.

 

If you go with a sump setup you should raise the drain pipe almost all the way to the surface. The return can be lower if you use a checkvalve but they are still able to fail. Keeping it higher as well will limit your chance of excess back siphoning.

 

dZP2clT.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Yea im going with a closed loop. Trying out the Cobalt canister filter. I like that you can unplug the canister but leave the pump on during cleaning/feeding. Unfortunately the included pump isn't quite strong enough for my setup though. Because the cabinet is small I have a lot of turns and right angles and such. Going to have to get a stronger external pump.

 

My only hesitation towards going this route was surface film. I hate that. But I think I figured out a nice way to add a temporary "plug in" overflow system to take care of that issue when I need to. Maybe put it on overnight or something. I'll have pics later.

 

Thanks!

  • Like 1
Link to comment

29283447892_e315ef9eb9_k.jpg

 

29312169871_50c34d6fb4_k.jpg

 

Still a work in progress. Currently I have too much 1/2 inch plumbing and 90 degree angles. Even with that Vectra I can't seem to get more than maybe 150gph worth of flow in the tank, barely enough to agitate the surface (pump is on in that pic). I can't really do anything about the 1/2 inch plumbing since that's what the in-line heater and the canister filter use, but I can hopefully eliminate the 90 degree elbows.

Link to comment

Uhhhh that thing could be pushing over 1000gph. Is the closed loop mode on the vectra not set up correctly? Did you calibrate it and set the max really low? Maybe your canister filter is causing everything to backup.

Link to comment

Uhhhh that thing could be pushing over 1000gph. Is the closed loop mode on the vectra not set up correctly? Did you calibrate it and set the max really low? Maybe your canister filter is causing everything to backup.

Never used the Vectra before so i could have it setup wrong. I didnt bother calibrating it because i thought that was just for using it as a return pump? As far as i understand when you first plug it in its in return mode so all i did was switch it to closed loop. The canister is empty right now so its not that. I really think its just all the .5 inch connections I have. I hope i have the pump setup incorrectly that would make my life easier lol

Link to comment

Well I played with the Vectra some more and as far as I know I have it setup correctly. I just have my flow restricted to much. But I think it'll still be okay for what I'm wanting to do with the tank. I have it set on reef crest mode and the flow still changes quite a bit from the lowest to the highest setting, so that's nice. My other issue is temperature. For some reason I cannot get my temp to stay constant. Shifts from 79 to about 80.5 throughout the day. I think that room's temp is to unstable because of the bay windows. I set that fan up today to see if that will help out. I initially didn't want anything on the glass at all but I threw on the Auto Aqua ATO. Got sick of manually topping off after only 3 days lol.

 

29348656992_e254b24a05_z.jpg

 

29377120041_ff0cd0c5ab_z.jpg

 

29377113961_481b404e11_z.jpg

Still love the nanobox!

 

29348654432_7736fb773b_k.jpg

Picture is a little dark but I wanted to show the filtration a bit. I put a 2" PVC pipe at the bottom so I could fit a smaller PVC pipe into it to create a temporary overflow to clean all the junk off the top of the water. So far I think I will only have to put it on every other day or so. 5 minutes and the dust and film is gone. Works pretty well.

 

29348652652_ca010841fb_k.jpg

 

I was hoping to cover the filtration with rock completely but I couldn't figure out how to do it without making everything look to bulky. Coral will eventually block the view though so I think it's ok.

 

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

30157053921_a738fd2f4e_k.jpg

 

First corals are in! They've been in about a week. Doing well except for the xenia in the top left of the pic. Hopefully I can pick up a couple of fish this week and get out the real camera. No clean up crew yet either.

  • Like 4
Link to comment

Nice build!

 

I've recently purchased this exact tank and was looking into a NanoBox Tide or AI Prime HD but I'm worried about the light spread. The Nano is listed at a max of 18", have you had any issues considering this tank is 24"? Are you using the 9" or 15" gooseneck?

 

Love how simple and clean your build is and I look forward to following along!

Link to comment
Mikeymikemike

Very nice scape and I love a good clean tank :) there are some promising things to look forward to.

 

I'm curious as to your reasons for drilling a hole and then using a canister filter instead of a sump and return.. or even a MAME overflow.

You really went overkill on the vectra pump! The canister could have been connected to the tank with some glass lily pipes and then you could call it a day or a jeabao DC2000 for $60 would do the job too. I used a glass lily pipe and canister and that works well to keep clean lines.

 

I hope you don't run into any leak issues as it could spill 70% of your water into the cabinet!

Link to comment

Nice build!

 

I've recently purchased this exact tank and was looking into a NanoBox Tide or AI Prime HD but I'm worried about the light spread. The Nano is listed at a max of 18", have you had any issues considering this tank is 24"? Are you using the 9" or 15" gooseneck?

 

Love how simple and clean your build is and I look forward to following along!

Thanks! I'm not to worried about the spread. As long as you place your corals based on their specific light requirements It should be fine. I have the 15" gooseneck and it worked out well for me. However I do have it attached to the wall instead of the tank. If I was going to attach it to the tank I think the 9" would be better. No experience with the Prime but I do love the Nanobox!

 

Very nice scape and I love a good clean tank :) there are some promising things to look forward to.

 

I'm curious as to your reasons for drilling a hole and then using a canister filter instead of a sump and return.. or even a MAME overflow.

You really went overkill on the vectra pump! The canister could have been connected to the tank with some glass lily pipes and then you could call it a day or a jeabao DC2000 for $60 would do the job too. I used a glass lily pipe and canister and that works well to keep clean lines.

 

I hope you don't run into any leak issues as it could spill 70% of your water into the cabinet!

Thanks! I ended up drilling through the bottom because I wanted to hide as much equipment as possible. In the end, I don't want to be able to see the plumbing at all. I had a MAME on one of my last tanks and I hated cleaning it. I'm obsessive about my glass always being as clean as possible so I felt like I needed to clean it almost every other day. Just didn't want to deal with it. I really like my setup so far, but a leak would be terrible so lets hope that doesn't happen lol.

 

As far as the Vectra... lol. Overkill, yes. Could I have gotten a much cheaper pump, yes. But I do like being able to use reef crest. And I actually have the Vectra turned all the way up but with my crappy plumbing I still barely get any flow. Might fix that later, but probably won't lol

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Wait,another tank ?!?! Didn't you have this one at work !?! Super clean as usual. Looks like canister filters are making a come back,I currently have one I'm debating on using or not. How many gallons a hour is it ? So wait a Vectra,canister filter ?

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Wait,another tank ?!?! Didn't you have this one at work !?! Super clean as usual. Looks like canister filters are making a come back,I currently have one I'm debating on using or not. How many gallons a hour is it ? So wait a Vectra,canister filter ?

Yea... I keep moving and therefore starting new tanks. This move should stick though so hopefully this one stays up for a while. I like canister filters on these smaller tanks. Really simplifies maintenance and water changes in my opinion. Love the Cobalt EXT filter. It uses an external pump so that you can disconnect the canister but keep the flow. Makes it easy to feed the tank and not worry about all the food getting stuck in the filter. And yes, I have a Vectra on this tiny setup lol. But I have 4 half inch elbows that are apparently really limiting my flow because even with the Vectra turned all the way up it's not even enough flow to move any sand around. It's still nice to be able to use the reef crest mode though for some variable flow.

Link to comment

How are you liking the 9g so far ?! Ive been thinking of getting on for awhile now,cant defode if i want to go smaller or a bit bigger. Thats crazy,i figured it would be hard for you to even keep water in the tank lol.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...