12 gallon Mr Aqua.... Lessons learned.... 🤓

[JcSH2o]

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the Reef world and new to the forum! 

I've had freshwater (and currently still do) but after researching and researching for the past 4mos I finally decided to start a Reef. So far I have purchased a Mr Aqua 12gallon long, and 20lbs of Pukani rock (so I had choices ?) and a Hanna Phosphorus meter, Red Sea Basic Reef tests, and Refractometer. That's it. 

Currently my brain is having a filtration battle. I don't have space for a sump, and I'd prefer to keep the tank as clear of devices as possible.

My battle is between a canister with glass lily tubes and maybe a Reef glass skimmer OR an Aquaclear 110 with the Tunze 9001. I would appreciate any thoughts on this as I start scaping and planning the rest of my tank! Thanks in advance!

As I learn, I discover NEW questions! ?? I've changed the title of thread to reflect my continual curiosity.... Bear with me! Or am I supposed to start new threads... hmmm ?

[Clown79]

Canisters are not favourable for reefs. Unfortunately if not regularly cleaned they become nutrient factories. 

 

If you don't want hob filter than the other options are nothing, rely on waterchanges or skimmer.

Not sure how you'd run media though?

 

You will need a powerhead and lighting for corals

[JcSH2o]

5 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Canisters are not favourable for reefs. Unfortunately if not regularly cleaned they become nutrient factories. 

 

If you don't want hob filter than the other options are nothing, rely on waterchanges or skimmer.

Not sure how you'd run media though?

 

You will need a powerhead and lighting for corals

Thank you for the reply. ? Yes I am prepared to clean the filter weekly, that doesn't bother me. My thought with the canister was initially just for carbon or chemipure and some floss that I'd swap out when cleaning. 

A hang on back like an Aquaclear that could house a skimmer wouldn't be so bad. I guess I'm just used to canisters and know they run silent.

I'm considering a few options for water movement. I like what I've read about the Jebaos and they're cheap. I also like the Nanostream 6040s... but then of course there is the MP10. Just not sure if I want to drop the money on that yet. I do want small, quiet, and controllable. ?

Lighting I'm pretty set on the Current Orbit Marine.

[JcSH2o]

Oh and i just received my rock from BRS. I ordered 20lbs of Pukani and the sent me this single piece. 

I'm pretty sure that's not Pukani. I called them and they asked me to send a photo. After they received it they told me they would process my order again.

So it looks like I have more time to wait on my Pukani to arrive, and in the meantime I got a free piece of Tonga Shelf for a future build? ?

[Clown79]

You don't need to run skimmer on a 12g.

 

20g and under really don't need them.

 

I have jebaos, alot do.

 

I personally would not pay $300+ for a powerhead. Thats more than my lights.

There are plenty of powerheads that do a great job.  

[WV Reefer]

 

i have the same tank and do not run any filtration and I do not run a skimmer. I do 30% water changes once a week. 

[ReefWeeds]

Hey there! Welcome to the addiction! I have the same tank as well and I had @Oceanbox Designs build me an all-in-one kit for one end so I could keep the pump, floss and media hidden. I don't have any additional powerheads in my tank which for me was important as I don't like seeing equipment. I don't run a skimmer either. I do run carbon in the media basket along with floss. 

[JcSH2o]

2 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

 

i have the same tank and do not run any filtration and I do not run a skimmer. I do 30% water changes once a week. 

That's awesome! Others I've spoken to have told me I'm not to do more than 10% a week. Assuming I matched the parameters well I was positive I could (and should) do more. Thanks for the comment, that really gets me thinking!

 

2 hours ago, stellablue said:

Hey there! Welcome to the addiction! I have the same tank as well and I had @Oceanbox Designs build me an all-in-one kit for one end so I could keep the pump, floss and media hidden. I don't have any additional powerheads in my tank which for me was important as I don't like seeing equipment. I don't run a skimmer either. I do run carbon in the media basket along with floss. 

Oh my, that does sound intriguing.... So what size pump do you use in that? I will definitely look into it! Thanks! ?

[ReefWeeds]

2 minutes ago, LivingWaters said:

That's awesome! Others I've spoken to have told me I'm not to do more than 10% a week. Assuming I matched the parameters well I was positive I could (and should) do more. Thanks for the comment, that really gets me thinking!

 

Oh my, that does sound intriguing.... So what size pump do you use in that? I will definitely look into it! Thanks! ?

I use a sicce syncra 0.5 pump and have an eductor on the return line.  Plenty of flow.

[smeagol108]

You can do 100 percent water changes once in a while. Just match temps salinity and alk.  I do them all the time. 

[JcSH2o]

8 minutes ago, stellablue said:

I use a sicce syncra 0.5 pump and have an eductor on the return line.  Plenty of flow.

Do you have any pics of it installed? I checked out Oceanbox, there is some beautiful work there!!

 

8 minutes ago, smeagol108 said:

You can do 100 percent water changes once in a while. Just match temps salinity and alk.  I do them all the time. 

In my freshwater I do 25-30% weekly and about 80% once a month or so. I've always been a big advocate for regular water changes so I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around "reefers don't do more than 10% a week) ??

[Clown79]

I do 15% a week in my reefs. I don't need to do more but when I have I have done up to 50% at one time.

[JcSH2o]

8 hours ago, LivingWaters said:

Oh and i just received my rock from BRS. I ordered 20lbs of Pukani and the sent me this single piece. 

I'm pretty sure that's not Pukani. I called them and they asked me to send a photo. After they received it they told me they would process my order again.

So it looks like I have more time to wait on my Pukani to arrive, and in the meantime I got a free piece of Tonga Shelf for a future build? ?

As a side note I did receive this from BRS this morning... which gave me reason to smile.?

[JcSH2o]

5 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I do 15% a week in my reefs. I don't need to do more but when I have I have done up to 50% at one time.

I imagine the schedule would be less dictated by routine and more by what the water tests at? After my cycle I'm planning on regular testing of Salinity, Alk, Mag, Calc, Nitrates and Phophates. Are there any others I should be concerned with?

[ReefWeeds]

11 minutes ago, LivingWaters said:

Do you have any pics of it installed? I checked out Oceanbox, there is some beautiful work there!!

 

In my freshwater I do 25-30% weekly and about 80% once a month or so. I've always been a big advocate for regular water changes so I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around "reefers don't do more than 10% a week) ??

I'll dig some up for you.  The one that Phoung features on the 12 long I think is the one he did for me.  It has orange acrylic for the media basket section

[JcSH2o]

3 minutes ago, stellablue said:

I'll dig some up for you.  The one that Phoung features on the 12 long I think is the one he did for me.  It has orange acrylic for the media basket section

The POB refugium? That may slow me down... It's 400$ without the pump! ???

I was looking at the AIO conversion that fits into the side of the tank.

[Nidilsky]

I have a ac70 (I added filter floss and chemipure to the media it housed) and do a weekly 20-25 % wc for my 20g. I have considered a small skimmer and also an intank media basket for my ac.

My tank seems really stable parameter wise at 3 1/2 mo. My bioload is 3 fish and 4 corals.

[Reefer69]

Check out my tank thread. One pic below for reference. I had a custom insert made for my Mr. Aqua 17.1 by Phoung at Ocean Box Designs. Almost 3 years later and still works like the day i got it. 

 

[JcSH2o]

3 minutes ago, Reefer69 said:

Check out my tank thread. One pic below for reference. I had a custom insert made for my Mr. Aqua 17.1 by Phoung at Ocean Box Designs. Almost 3 years later and still works like the day i got it. 

 

That looks sharp! I'll check it out for sure. I guess I'll need to see my tank first, but I know it's only 9 or 10 inches deep. I'm just worried about something taking 3inches of the back wall (plus the outlet)

But if that was on the SIDE it may be a different story. It certainly looks clean in your tank! ?

[JcSH2o]

Thanks for all the input everyone. ??

[holy carp]

Great choice for a tank!  

 

It's not easy to be completely objective, but if you're considering a canister, I'd say reconsider a sump.  They don't have to be big, and you could easily squeeze a sock, media basket/bags, heater, skimmer, Xport block, and return pump into a standard 5.5 gallon aquarium or even a small Deep Blue cube.  

 

Agree with Clown79 - you don't need to run a skimmer on a tank that size - I didn't have one for quite a while, but adding one definitely helps.  If you want a clean look, you're facing an uphill battle keeping all that equipment up in the display, but if you do decide on a filtration compartment in the tank, you can get away with poly-filter pads as a viable skimmer substitute.  

 

Do you have short and long term stocking ideas yet?  That would help determine what type of bioload you'll need to manage, whether or not you'll ultimately need to dose the tank, how much flow you'll need, etc.

[JcSH2o]

2 minutes ago, holy carp said:

Great choice for a tank!  

 

It's not easy to be completely objective, but if you're considering a canister, I'd say reconsider a sump.  They don't have to be big, and you could easily squeeze a sock, media basket/bags, heater, skimmer, Xport block, and return pump into a standard 5.5 gallon aquarium or even a small Deep Blue cube.  

 

Agree with Clown79 - you don't need to run a skimmer on a tank that size - I didn't have one for quite a while, but adding one definitely helps.  If you want a clean look, you're facing an uphill battle keeping all that equipment up in the display, but if you do decide on a filtration compartment in the tank, you can get away with poly-filter pads as a viable skimmer substitute.  

 

Do you have short and long term stocking ideas yet?  That would help determine what type of bioload you'll need to manage, whether or not you'll ultimately need to dose the tank, how much flow you'll need, etc.

Absolutely! My goals are to keep it a coral focused tank. I'm thinking to start with softies and LPS, and maybe down the road add a SPS or 2. Zoas, Euphyllias, Mushrooms, and maybe one of those Xenias I keep seeing? 

Livestock honestly the CUC and maybe a fireshrimp? I haven't even considered fish really, although I suppose 1 or 2 down the road. ? I'm open to suggestions there.

The tanks planned location is on top of a fake fireplace corner unit. Its a big triangle and offers plenty of space to make a cool display and hide equipment directly behind the tank, but unfortunately doesn't offer any opportunities for anything below the tank... I live in an apartment so space is limited. When I get into a house in a year or two then things will definitely open up! 

Here's a photo so you can see my dilemma (sorry for the mess), the fireplace insert is 38" for reference. 

What do you think?

[JcSH2o]

A shot from my couch so you can kind of see where I'm going with the placement... And meet some of my Cichlid crew! ?

[holy carp]

Cool space, but you probably can't use the fireplace without overheating the tank.  Talk about boiling the ocean...  

 

But a triangular space could be really cool.  If you're going to look into having someone build a custom insert, you could also have a custom 90° triangular sump built that would fit behind the tank.  It could be plumbed directly through a few bulkheads.

 

Go crazy!  

[JcSH2o]

1 hour ago, holy carp said:

Cool space, but you probably can't use the fireplace without overheating the tank.  Talk about boiling the ocean...  

 

But a triangular space could be really cool.  If you're going to look into having someone build a custom insert, you could also have a custom 90° triangular sump built that would fit behind the tank.  It could be plumbed directly through a few bulkheads.

 

Go crazy!  

Now we're getting some creative flow!! I see what you did there and I'm loving it! ??

 

I wonder what Phoung at Ocean Box would think of such a challenge? ? @MrNanoReef?

Probably way out of my wallets capacity but fun to speculate no doubt! 

 

I love interesting vision such as this. Thanks for the input @holy carp!