New 20L Mixed Reef Build

[Nellis]

Very good! Cambridge, actually, but right on the Belmont line. Yourself?

 

Kendall Square... in the design process for my nano too. First SW actually. Looks good so far. Keep the pics coming.

[aparker]

Kendall Square... in the design process for my nano too. First SW actually. Looks good so far. Keep the pics coming.

 

Will do. I actually work in Kendall Square (Amgen) so we're neighbors.

[moe sizlack]

Get some water in that thing!

[NebraskaDocs]

Everything is looking great. Could you tell me a bit more about the baffles used for the sump...what material did you use and what glue/epoxy? Also, are you going to have any sort of mechanical prefilter on the drain before it enters the sump? If you can install a small tray with a filter that the water drains through you will save yourself a lot of mess cleaning detritus out from under your rock in the first two areas of the sump. Just a thought. Looking forward to more posts on this great setup.

[aparker]

Everything is looking great. Could you tell me a bit more about the baffles used for the sump...what material did you use and what glue/epoxy? Also, are you going to have any sort of mechanical prefilter on the drain before it enters the sump? If you can install a small tray with a filter that the water drains through you will save yourself a lot of mess cleaning detritus out from under your rock in the first two areas of the sump. Just a thought. Looking forward to more posts on this great setup.

 

Thanks - glad you like it. The baffles are plain window glass, glued in with aquarium-safe silicone sealant. I have mixed feelings about mechanical filters. I have always had them in past tanks, but the gurus are moving away from them these days, it seems, suggesting that a lot of detritus that they trap would otherwise contribute to the growth of microscopic beasts who are the basis of the food chain.

 

Chances are I will rig something up at least initially when I fill the thing up to help it clear, then decide later if it should be permanent.

 

Thanks again for the input.

[aparker]

Plumbing is DONE! Check out the completed main tank:

 

And the fuge:

 

Actually there's one more thing to install of the fuge - pH/Temp probe, but I'm not going to do that until it has saltwater in it.

 

Get some water in that thing!

 

Off to do that now! Cross your fingers for no leaks!

[alexmurovec]

this is the most tech tank i think i have ever seen, so much plumbing and stuff, its wild!

[aparker]

this is the most tech tank i think i have ever seen, so much plumbing and stuff, its wild!

 

There are big tanks on RC with 10 times the tech - they just keep it hidden in the stand or in a separate room. I'm kind of liking my "industrial chic" look with the exposed plumbing though...

[aparker]

AAARGH.

 

Obnoxious leak.

 

The first time I filled it up, I immediately got leakage from the 90 degree street el that threads into the closed loop bulkhead. So I disassembled it, realized that I really hadn't put much teflon tape on the threads, and so taped thoroughly and reassembled.

 

Second fill resulted in the SOB just leaking much more slowly, but still leaking.

 

So I decided that the threads must be mildly defective in some way, disassembled again, dried the parts carefully, and just solvent-welded the ba$tard. Hopefully that will fix it. Will wait until tomorrow to fill again.

 

In doing these "wet" disassemblies, I have realized that I wish I had even more ball valves in the plumbing to prevent water dumping out when I open it up. Am now plotting a few more of the cannister filter sort that fit in-line into plastic hose....

[alexmurovec]

sucks that it had to leak, but at least you will get it figured out now. i just noticed, you havent painted the background of your tank, are you planning on not to at all?

[aparker]

sucks that it had to leak, but at least you will get it figured out now. i just noticed, you havent painted the background of your tank, are you planning on not to at all?

I will get a thin piece of black plastic to cover the back of the tank, I think. Something I can remove easily to view/service the tank from the "wet" (kitchen) side. I am thinking about doing the righthand side that way too, to keep light from the fuge from illuminating the main tank at night (will do RDP light cycle on the fuge).

 

That reminds me of the next thing I have to figure out: electronic control for this thing. Ideally there would be five different circuits:

 

Always on:

* Closed-loop pump

* Heater

* Fuge return pump

* LED moonlight (another thing I still need to get)

* pH/temp probe

 

Always on with timed switch-off (feed) mode:

* Skimmer

 

On 8AM-9PM:

* 2x24W T5 actinics

 

On 9AM-8PM

* 3x24W T5 daylight

 

On 11PM-11AM

* fuge lighting (total of 31W PC)

 

Maybe I need one of these Reefkeeper things. Seems like overkill on a 30 gal system, but I can always use it later for the inevitable upgrade....

 

Anyone used one of these in the past?

[aparker]

!!!!!!

 

Filled up with RO and run with no leaks!

 

Fuge return works just as I hoped, nice rate of flow but the overflow is more than sufficient to handle it.

 

Closed loop is perfect - "900 GPH" pump is by no means too much for the 20L (real flow rate is doubtless quite a bit less after all of those elbows and SCWDs.

 

Speaking of the SCWDs, they switch just as advertised, about a 15 sec cycle based on my quick observation.

 

SO, I siphoned out about 10 gal into a big Rubbermaid tub, and mixed up some Instant Ocean (got to use my refractometer for the first time). This is where I will hold live rock for a few weeks to cycle/dieoff before it goes in the tank. I definitely need a bigger powerhead to turn the thing over, though. The teeny one I have in there is barely even mixing up the salt.

 

As soon as I have my revisions to the closed loop plumbing done (ball valves in the lines feeding the SCWDs) I'll fill 'er up with saltwater and hit up my friend for some starter rock/sand from his tank. The great things about setting things in motion with some cycled rock/sand is that I can get my fuge up and running with macroalgae etc while I wait for the "wild" LR I order to cycle in the Rubbermaid tub.

 

Psyched to be this close to putting an actual critter in (even if it will just be fuge bugs for a while)!

[moe sizlack]

Good stuff

[aparker]

Hey, it's time to start planning LIVESTOCK.

 

Follow this link to vote in my "what fish/shrimps should I get?" poll:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=121680

[aparker]

Finally my lights are here!

 

After some significant delay (which is about what you have to expect when you want to be first in line for a new product), my Aquatinics 5x24W T5 fixture (purchased through Salty Critter, who were great about fielding my repeated calls and updating me via email on the timelines to get the thing) arrived today. The build quality appears to be excellent, and everything worked flawlessly the first time I sparked it up. Here's a shot of the fixture with protective plastic still on the reflectors, also showing the three daylight and two actinic bulbs I ended up selecting after reading the endless T5 thread on RC.

 

It's hard to capture with the camera, but the light level from this thing is startlingly intense. There's little or no perceptible "ramp-up time" in intensity like with PCs or MH, it's just blinding light, right now, when you flip the switch. The five tubes draw 120W total; my GF has a couple of 65W PC fixtures for her plant tanks, and this is way more than 2X brighter than those. Maybe closer to 4X, although without a light meter its hard to say for sure.

 

Here's a look at the color mix with all five lamps fired up:

 

It is also hard to get a sense of what exactly this will look like with a tank full of stuff under it, given that right now the tank is half full of RO and nothing else, pending some final plumbing changes (tomorrow I hope). Nevertheless, here it is, first just the daylight bulbs:

 

Then just actinics:

 

And all five together:

[DudE31]

thats a sweet looking tank so far ..

[alexmurovec]

can't wait to see this up and running, its looking better and better as you continue to build.

[aparker]

can't wait to see this up and running, its looking better and better as you continue to build.

 

Going to get some rock and sand into the fuge, at least, this weekend!

[warr40]

cant wait to see it running

[NebraskaDocs]

That Aquactinics light is top notch. You are definitely going to have to work to acclimate whatever corals you put in, especially low light corals. I like your bulb combination...the ability to customize the light color with T5s is such a huge advantage. Another nice thing about your setup is if you want to acclimate you can just pop out that Midday bulb and cut your PAR quite a bit. Man, this setup is really looking great. Well done!

[WarEagleNR88]

How's the Quiet One pump? Is it truly quiet? Have you had any trouble starting it back up after you simulate a power loss? The only Quiet One pump I had broke its drive shaft in a little over a year, made a ton of noise, and was a pain and a half to get to work properly. There are much better pumps out there.

 

Otherwise, it's looking real nice. I also have a 20G Long that I home built its stand and canopy. Still working a couple of issues with it. You've got some really nice lights and great ideas that have come about. And props to waiting and planning it all out--sadly, kinda reminds me of my first tank. It looks really nice. Just wait till the girls come by and they yell "IS THAT NEMO!?"--it'll be classic.

[aparker]

Another nice thing about your setup is if you want to acclimate you can just pop out that Midday bulb and cut your PAR quite a bit.

 

That is a really good suggestion.

 

How's the Quiet One pump? Is it truly quiet? Have you had any trouble starting it back up after you simulate a power loss? The only Quiet One pump I had broke its drive shaft in a little over a year, made a ton of noise, and was a pain and a half to get to work properly. There are much better pumps out there.

 

So far I've just run it a couple times. Noise is not bad, but no idea on reliability. I guess I'll have to wait/see. It was definitely less expensive than some other similar size pumps, which is not always a good sign...

 

If it was to fail, what replacement pump would you suggest?

[aparker]

Saltwater!

 

Mixing up in the tank right now! Last night I finished my plumbing and lighting mods, but was too tired to post them, so here they are. First plumbing. I was none too happy with the look of the hose barb elbow and clamp setup I had on the return plumbing from SCWDs to Loc Line jets inside the canopy. Not only did it look cheesy, but the clamps only engaged a couple clicks, making me worry about one working loose and...

 

This is what it looked like, close up:

 

So when I spotted these gizmos, I figured I had found the solution:

 

And indeed they make for a much cleaner-looking and hopefully more secure setup:

 

The other unresolved issue was moonlighting (what trendy reef tank would be without it these days?). The Aquatinics fixture does not include it, and there was precious little area around it on the hood to mount one, given its size and the space taken up by plumbing. I didn't want to do a submersible one because I've gone to such lengths already to keep visible equipment OUT of the tank itself. The solution? Put one INSIDE the hood. I got this little submersible Hydor blue LED unit, cut the plastic base part that is supposed to mount a suction cup off at an angle, and wired it inside the hood so it shines up along the length of the T5 reflectors. Bounces a subtle but well-diffused blue glow down into the tank, with no "spotlight" effect at all. Plus as the photo shows, it is off to the side enough that it won't block any light coming from the fluorescent tubes.

 

Next photos posted on this thread will be of SOME sort of marine biological nature, even if it is just live sand...

[Truck_Under_Water]

i cant wait to see this thing up and running!

[aparker]

OK as promised, pics of live things, not just equipment...

 

I got a few pieces of LR from a friend today, as well as some sand that had been in his reef tank prior to him moving. All of this stuff had been in his basement in very cool seawater for a long while though, so most of what's 'live' about it is probably bacteria and coralline. I scrubbed a bunch of dead sponge and Valonia off the rock; two of the pieces were pretty nice (and real) reef rock, so they went in the tank. The rest was seeded red lava rock (prob aquacultured "live rock" from HI originally), which I broke up and put in the fuge. I rinsed the cr@p out of the sand (it was very anaerobic) with fresh Instant Ocean and put it in the fuge as well. I will order some more live sand delivered from a CA transhipper next week, probably Reefer Madness. Then went down to the only halfway decent LFS in Boston (Skipton's) and bought a few more pieces of small broken staghorn skeleton from their LR tank, plus $5 worth of a nice red macroalga that I need to figure out how to identify (because I am a *scientist*, darnit, and hate not knowing what some organism's official Latin name is, that's why). They had no chaeto in the store or I would have gotten some of that as well. Am going to avoid all Caulerpa spp., period.

 

Here is the fuge so far:

 

Despite the long anaerobic incubation in the cold basement, and my vigorous rinsing, there are still critters alive in the sand. I can already see little tracks across the top where they've been trucking along...

 

Here are the two pieces of rock in the tank itself.

 

I'm going to call in an order for about 25 lbs more tomorrow.