Russter`s new 20 gal nano

[Russter]

After 2 years, I decided to tear down my 90 gal reef that was in the dining room. High electrical costs and a couple of spills on the hardwood were enough to make me try to make my wife happy and get the tank out of there.

So I decided to downsize and put a 20 gal tank in my built-in entertainment center in the basement. I could set up a fishroom on the other side of the wall and keep all the noise and equipment out of earshot and sight.

The tank is a 20 gal high and I am using an old 55 gal I had around for the sump. I also have a 10 gal tank that I am using for a RO-DI reservoir.

 

Here is a picture of half of the entertainment center. The TV is in the other half.

 

 

I am using the Beanimal overflow style (from RC) again on this tank and I love it. 1" pipes on all the returns and it is dead silent. Once it crusts up with some coraline, hopefully you wont even be able to see the elbows.

 

Lights are 4x 24w T5 Odessea with 2 ATI blue plus, 1 ATI aquablue special, and 1 KZ Figi purple. I really like this setup of bulbs and it really seems to bring out the colors in the corals.

 

Closer up FTS

 

 

The fish room is directly behind the cabinet in another room. I built a low stand for the 55 gal that has the SWC Xtreme 160 skimmer, Mag 18 return pump and refugium. I put most of the leftover rock and sand from the 90 gal in the refug.

 

 

I also purchased a Level Loc auto-topoff so that I could hook it directly into my Bulk Reef Supply 75 gal/day RO-DI unit. No more lugging jugs for me.

 

 

The system is controlled by a Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper Lite. Unfortunately, something happened to one of my PC4 power bars during the move and I have shipped it off to DA to (hopefully) get fixed. I should have it back late next week or the week after. Then I will be able to set up my doser and get the moonlights on a timer for dusk/dawn.

 

 

I have a mixed reef with the only flow coming from the 1.5 inch return off the Mag 18 pump. This provides the corals with what I would call moderate flow, but I think I am going to purchase a Vortech MP10 to mix things up in there.

 

Here's some coral shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have three fish in the tank as well: a sadleback clown, a perc clown and a lawnmower blenny.

 

[aquatame]

looking good and the photos are excellent!!!!

[Russter]

looking good and the photos are excellent!!!!

 

Thanks, I`m looking forward to when things start to grow in a bit.

[Psysicist]

Your setup looks great! I really like the aquascape. Do you have a link to the overflow design you're using? It looks interesting. And what is that first coral pictured? I've never seen it before...I like it.

[Arkayology]

Everything looks very clean. Nice colors too.

[Russter]

Your setup looks great! I really like the aquascape. Do you have a link to the overflow design you're using? It looks interesting. And what is that first coral pictured? I've never seen it before...I like it.

 

 

The overflow system is called the Beananimal overflow and was posted on RC. It utilizes 3 drains for a failsafe system that is completely silent and self-adjusting. The first coral pictured is an alveopora. Some people seem to think that they are hard to keep, but mine has been slowly growing and looks healthy. Thanks for the positive comments

 

Everything looks very clean. Nice colors too.

Thanks!

[Russter]

Here are some updated pics of my tank as of October 30, 2010:

 

 

I got rid of my Saddleback Clown because he was getting a bad attitude and killed a purple firefish that I had added. So I traded him in and and got a second perc clown and a strawberry dottyback

 

 

You can see the chunk out of it's tail from the Saddleback

 

 

Also got some new Zoas

 

 

Some of the other corals in the tank

 

 

 

 

 

[Russter]

Woke up to a battle in my tank a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

I knew that I had placed them too close to begin with but they are separated now.

 

 

After a couple of weeks the chalice is starting to heal itself and look better.

 

I have also added 2 Drew's Dosers to the fish room to automate Kalk and Alkalinity. These things are great. Very quiet and super accurate right out of the box.

[BytheSea]

Love those new zoas.

[Russter]

Thanks, I really like them too and are a very bright colour.

[Amfialara]

Just....PERFECT

[Russter]

Just....PERFECT

 

 

Thanks!

[pismo_reefer]

 

I hate it when this happens....

[Russter]

I hate it when this happens....

 

Me too. I was actually quite surprised how quickly it was able to destroy the other part of the coral. Not sure if it ate it too but it was only a couple of hours and a chunk of the chalice was gone.

[pismo_reefer]

Me too. I was actually quite surprised how quickly it was able to destroy the other part of the coral. Not sure if it ate it too but it was only a couple of hours and a chunk of the chalice was gone.

 

The cells from the winner travel across the losers xooanthellae...

 

Coral are efficient killers.

[l3lumarlin]

Gotta ask, what's the first coral in your original post??

[Russter]

Gotta ask, what's the first coral in your original post??

 

It is an Alveopora spp. Not sure exactly which one though. It is a beautiful coral that gently sways in the current.

 

 

 

From ReefPedia:

 

Alveopora spp.

 

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Light: Moderate

Aggression: Not aggressive

Hardiness: Very delicate

Growth Rate: Slower

Availability: Uncommon to rare

 

The Alveopora spp. corals are commonly known as "Flowerpot" corals, and are close relatives to Goniopora. Goniopora spp. are also known as "Flowerpot" corals, so it is worth noting that they share a common name, but are different genera of coral. Alveopora is the slightly easier to keep cousin to Goniopora. Both genera of corals, Alveopora and Goniopora are very delicate, and have limited success in the aquarium trade. A difference is noted between the two by looking at a polyp and counting the nubby tentacles around the polyp. Alveopora has twelve of these "petals", while Goniopora has twenty-four. There are several species of Alveopora with limited available photographs for identification, making it somewhat difficult to determine exactly which may be in your possession.

 

 

I have had this coral for over a year and it has grown a bit. I do not usually directly feed it but it will get the occasional squirt of reef chili.

[Russter]

Here is quick

of my tank. Sorry about the quality, it was taken with a blackberry. I need to borrow a real camera and take some nice video.

[l3lumarlin]

Thanks, never seen it before.

[Reef Casa]

very clean and great scape. Very cool set up

keep us posted

[Russter]

very clean and great scape. Very cool set up

keep us posted

 

 

Thanks, I will be posting updated pics soon...

[Russter]

Here is another video I took. Quality is pretty crappy but still better than the blackberry.

 

[jtgordon20]

Love your tank man.

 

Could you do the bean animal style overflow with a DIY external glass box? Think it would be cool if I can do it for its ease of operation on a 20L and it would look funny i think with a intank Coast to coast style box.

[Russter]

Love your tank man.

 

Could you do the bean animal style overflow with a DIY external glass box? Think it would be cool if I can do it for its ease of operation on a 20L and it would look funny i think with a intank Coast to coast style box.

 

 

You can do it with an external. You just have to drill a hole (or two) through your tank wall and into the overflow. All of your plumbing will be in the external part and you can just angle your elbows to the side to conserve room. You miss out on some of the surface skimming that you get from a coast to coast overflow, but it will still be silent.

[dontgetbit]

That is a clean tank! I love the scape and coral selection. I also really like the bulb combo. I plan to add a 4x24w fixture to my 10g after the holidays, so I am looking at bulb combo ideas.

 

The pics are quite impressive as well. What camera are you using?