12g Reef Startup

[bryanphillips]

Hey Guys!

 

My names Bryan. 

 

I haven’t been on this forum in years. I’ve had tons of tanks from predator, large reefs, other nanos, etc. Marriage happened and I got rid of all of them until now! My son was finally old enough to ask for one, so Mom gave in 👍🏼😂 of course she made me build and entire built-in bookshelf as a “condition” 🙄

 

I set this system up to be super budget but also hopefully really nice. I also set it up super simply, so it’s gonna be a lot more work, but I wanted to give I a try. I’ve never had a filterless tank before. 

 

So so here’s what I got:

 

Mr.Aqua 12g long (I know these aren’t cool anymore, but I’ve been eyeing them since they were!! Ha)

 

1x Sicce Voyager 1000

1x Sicce Voyager 2000

 

36” Current Pro Marine LED 

 

12 lbs of Haitian Live Rock (I live in Florida, we get filled up with Caribbean rock unfortunately)

20lbs of LS

 

Current Live Stock -

 

Fish:

1x Black and White 

1x Ocellaris

 

Corals:

Torch 

Red Monti

Random Acan head 

Birdsnest 

Superman 

 

Inverts:

2x Zebra Turbos

2x Blue Legged Hermits

2x Tiger Nass

1x Emerald Crab

 

Hope to get to know some of you guys and follow your journeys as you follow mine!

 

🤙🏼

 

 

 

[ReefGoat]

CLASSY! Water changes look like they will be a chore LOL. 

 

 

Edit: it's like trying to figure out a puzzle but I think I know now! Does the shelf above the tank have a part where it is removable? Allowing you to do maintenance? 

[Kdrof]

That is awesome. Looks so good. Love how clean the setup looks with minimal tank hardware visible. 

[bryanphillips]

Thanks Kdrof!

 

Yeah ReefGoat, they will be ha. I have a ton of equipment from my tear downs so if I end up regretting it I can add a skimmer. I just wanted to give this a try really as an experiment. My original plan was to use the lower cabinet as sump storage. So even I really get crazy I have space for that too. 

[WV Reefer]

45 minutes ago, bryanphillips said:

Thanks Kdrof!

 

Yeah ReefGoat, they will be ha. I have a ton of equipment from my tear downs so if I end up regretting it I can add a skimmer. I just wanted to give this a try really as an experiment. My original plan was to use the lower cabinet as sump storage. So even I really get crazy I have space for that too. 

Looks good so far. 

 

There are lots of 12 Gallon Longs on this site. Welcome to the club. 🙂. 

[Donny41]

My girlfriend wants basically the same thing.. Only can have a "display" tank in the living room if there's a bookshelf around it... HGTV and Pinterest are the worst haha

[Raindog3030]

Ugh, I am still dreaming about getting a 12 long wet, following along...looks great so far!

[VictoryBell]

Love the setup! I love how it looks on the shelf, nice and classy. I for one love the long nano tanks , I would love to start one in the future.

 

[bryanphillips]

Thanks everyone ??. Hope to get to the store this weekend to get some cleaner crew and look at some coral. Not sure what direction I want to go with coral yet. 

[Tamberav]

Looks great!! Can you show us how you access the equipment? Do the cords run down the back? I had to run my cords down behind my couch and it was such a PITA.

 

I hope this doesn't mean my Mr aqua 22g is also un-cool... 

[bryanphillips]

I will try to get some pictures of access tomorrow. 

 

And maybe its still cool then 😎 good news for me! 

[bryanphillips]

I will add some pictures of access this weekend. I’ll be doing a water change so will have everything apart. 

 

For now now added some CUC and another clown. Torch is doing well so more coral to come from the next trip to the LFS. 

 

 

[WV Reefer]

6 minutes ago, bryanphillips said:

I will add some pictures of access this weekend. I’ll be doing a water change so will have everything apart. 

 

For now now added some CUC and another clown. Torch is doing well so more coral to come from the next trip to the LFS. 

 

 

I love the speckled nassarius snails...... they are excellent sand stirrers.

 

Watch out if you don’t have a top because mine fall out all the time....... scared the crap out of me when that giant thing hit the floor! 😄

[bryanphillips]

13 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

I love the speckled nassarius snails...... they are excellent sand stirrers.

 

Watch out if you don’t have a top because mine fall out all the time....... scared the crap out of me when that giant thing hit the floor! 😄

Good to know! I would have never guessed they would make it that far from the sand. I’ve never had them before, always the little white “normal” ones. These guys looked more like work horses.

[bryanphillips]

Side note, looking at investing in a camera. Been using my iPhone for my business, family, anything on this thread, forever. 

 

Considering the Fujifilm X-T20. Anyone have 2 cents on this camera or another? 

[LogicalReefs]

Nice tank. I got Haitian rock too and it’s some of the best to get. Keep us posted on this. I want to do a filterless tank and wanna see how this goes. Did you use a heater? Keep us posted with tank parameters if you can. 

[bryanphillips]

Thanks ?? Will do. I don’t have a heater installed, but I do have one on hand. I live in Florida and keep my house @74 year round. I also live on the same elecectrical “circuit?” as the fire station down the street. So I never lose power. Even after a hurricane my power is back up the next morning. 

 

Here are some not so glamours pics of the “access”. Above the tank is a removable shelf. Below the tank is a faux wall that I can bridge the equipment wiring down to the outlet in the base. The bottom trim lifts off to pull out the faux panel and if the tank ever needs to be pulled out.

 

Its not convenient but it works and allows it to look built in. Also allows me to run a few pipes up if I do decide to add a sump down the road. 

 

[bryanphillips]

On 5/22/2018 at 11:45 AM, ReefGoat said:

CLASSY! Water changes look like they will be a chore LOL. 

 

 

Edit: it's like trying to figure out a puzzle but I think I know now! Does the shelf above the tank have a part where it is removable? Allowing you to do maintenance? 

Just saw this. You got it ??

[ReefGoat]

VERY NICE! 

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome back @bryanphillips, good to see you! 👋

7 hours ago, bryanphillips said:

Side note, looking at investing in a camera. Been using my iPhone for my business, family, anything on this thread, forever. 

 

Considering the Fujifilm X-T20. Anyone have 2 cents on this camera or another? 

I've been using Fujifilm X series cameras since their inception, the X-T20 is a great camera choice. I use the X-T2 professionally, they have quite a bit in common, like the same sensor. The biggest benefit to Fujifilm's sensor is the huge dynamic range, its ability to capture detail in both the highlights and the shadows, which lends itself well to the intense lighting of reef aquariums. It can output gorgeous JPGs right from the camera, but if you're in to post processing RAW files on your computer or a tablet, you can really get some insane shots. The autofocus system is really great as well, it should keep up with your family too!

[bryanphillips]

13 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Welcome back @bryanphillips, good to see you! 👋

I've been using Fujifilm X series cameras since their inception, the X-T20 is a great camera choice. I use the X-T2 professionally, they have quite a bit in common, like the same sensor. The biggest benefit to Fujifilm's sensor is the huge dynamic range, its ability to capture detail in both the highlights and the shadows, which lends itself well to the intense lighting of reef aquariums. It can output gorgeous JPGs right from the camera, but if you're in to post processing RAW files on your computer or a tablet, you can really get some insane shots. The autofocus system is really great as well, it should keep up with your family too!

Awesome testimony. I have quite a few friends that are professional photographers that feel the same way. I appreciate the opinion from a reefers perspective! 

[Type-H20]

That's an awesome looking set up.  Looks very clean with how it fits perfectly on that shelf.  

[bryanphillips]

On 5/26/2018 at 11:50 PM, Christopher Marks said:

Welcome back @bryanphillips, good to see you! 👋

I've been using Fujifilm X series cameras since their inception, the X-T20 is a great camera choice. I use the X-T2 professionally, they have quite a bit in common, like the same sensor. The biggest benefit to Fujifilm's sensor is the huge dynamic range, its ability to capture detail in both the highlights and the shadows, which lends itself well to the intense lighting of reef aquariums. It can output gorgeous JPGs right from the camera, but if you're in to post processing RAW files on your computer or a tablet, you can really get some insane shots. The autofocus system is really great as well, it should keep up with your family too!

Bought the camera today. What Fujinon lenses do you use for tank shots? Looking at adding MCEX-11 or MCEX-16 to add to my lenses. Do you uses either of these extensions? 

[bryanphillips]

Nothing great. Never used a camera besides a phone before. But a quick 30 second shoot. Any tips?

 

lights were off, turned them on for a min, that’s why the torch is retracted FYI

[bryanphillips]

Not too much in the tank to photograph yet so practicing outside. This camera is super novice friendly but also has some really solid features to grow into. I recommend it for people looking to make the jump.