nanoreefer11 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 After about five years being out of the hobby, I finally decided to get my feet wet again with a 20 gallon long reef tank. I’ve just barely gotten the tank setup and I’m currently messing with the aqua scape. I need a heater, and a final scape before I can get the tank wet, but for now, here’s what I’m working with: Equipment: Marineland 20 Gallon Long Petco 29 Gallon Brooklyn Metal Stand 2x36” T5 AI Prime w/ Mounting Arm Aqua Clear 70 w/ fuge Mod 50w Aqueon Pro 100w Glass Aqueon Heater Jaebo OW-10 on Else Mode Live Stuff: TBD Im aiming for more of a budget setup, and also hoping to document my build on YouTube so please checkout my channel if you want to follow along through video updates! https://www.youtube.com/user/MrYellowShoes 4 Quote Link to comment
Dutchymomo Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Nice build so far I'm at almost the same place as you and about to post a build thread. Do you think it's necessary to have the egg crate on the bottom? If so why?? I still haven't decided. Can't wait to see it with water. 1 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 7 hours ago, Dutchymomo said: Nice build so far I'm at almost the same place as you and about to post a build thread. Do you think it's necessary to have the egg crate on the bottom? If so why?? I still haven't decided. Can't wait to see it with water. Actually I’ve never used it on a setup (largest tank was a 40 breeder) but since I’ve gotten the itch to aquscape and I’m not able to add in my live sand yet, I don’t want to potentially break the bottom of the tank. So for now it’s just there to protect the bottom, until I add the sand and place the rocks on top! Pm me your build thread when it goes live, id love to follow your build! Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Welcome back @nanoreefer11, looking forward to following your nano reef build! T5's make for great lighting 👍 What kinds of livestock are you hoping to keep in your reef? Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said: Welcome back @nanoreefer11, looking forward to following your nano reef build! T5's make for great lighting 👍 What kinds of livestock are you hoping to keep in your reef? Thank you! Im planning on two Occy’s. Maybe a black occy pair. Or a midnight and platinum pair. And possibly one six line wrasse. I also want to find another Sherman anemone (the huge red one in the attached pic) Here’s my old 20 long I had setup! And Heres my old 40 breeder. It was a pennensula so both sides were equally cool. 2 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I found your old journals, nice systems! You had quite a zoanthid collection going 🙂 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Wow thank you! It’s been an interesting few years out of the hobby. I became president of my local reef club for two and a half years, called MAAST here in south Texas. Then we held some amazing frag swaps called LMAR, then i lost thenhobby a bit after my last term ended from burnout. My wife and I have a wonderful daughter who is almost two and she loves tanks. I did some small changes to the scape and will grab some pics tonight. Edit: I’m still thinking to add a low flow cove area in the middle and separate the scape into two islands. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 For those who use eggcrate as a tank topper, is it bad to paint it black? I have a topper installed and it’s hurting my eyes from the white reflecting all the light back. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Update! the tank should get wet today! 2 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 On 1/20/2019 at 7:58 PM, nanoreefer11 said: For those who use eggcrate as a tank topper, is it bad to paint it black? I have a topper installed and it’s hurting my eyes from the white reflecting all the light back. Painting it should be fine, Krylon Fusion spray paint should work well with the egg crate plastic. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Update! After five years, I finally have a tank again! I’ll be using microbacter 7 to expedite my cycle along with an ammonia source Quote Link to comment
ajackson1217 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Always loved those cheap metal Petco stands and the dollar per gallon sale; you can set up a pretty slick tank for cheap 1 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Welcome back. Looking good! I like where it is placed fits perfect and nice and open for cleaning and viewing. Wet in just a week! Let the cycle begin. I like your light. I have a 4 bulb T5 but it is only 24" and looks a bit funky. So I got a Nano box duo on there right now cause one fan is noisy and I am lazy. Wishing you great success with your tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 12 hours ago, pfcjackson0716 said: Always loved those cheap metal Petco stands and the dollar per gallon sale; you can set up a pretty slick tank for cheap Not only that but the stand was on clearance for $12! $32 for my tank in stand is a steal! Thank you Deb! So updates, A 50w Aqueon pro was not enough to heat the approx 18 gallons of water from 74 degrees (house temp) to 78, so fortunately one of my local reefers had a 100w glass that I’m using until amazon delivers a 100w pro. Cycle seems to have started also, Tank is a tiny bit cloudy. I’m not sure if it’s bacteria or dust from the sand I used. It’s my first time using actual fine sand so I’m leaning towards sand dust. I also got a small “upgrade” to lighting. But I’m running a bit late to work so I’ll post a bit more once I get to lunch! Edit: so the light I had to start the tank is excellent. But being 36” long, on a 34” wall, it was a bit obtrusive of the two main walkways of the house. I’ve already hit it twice while walking in, once with my daughter when she grabbed the cord and a second time while letting some guests in. Additionally, the bulb combo I had was pretty blue, and to replace a bulb was $30. While looking over bulbs, the LFS employee, a good friend of mine mentioned that they had an used AI prime (standard) for $100 out the door so I picked up a prime tank mount and have upgraded to something a bit cleaner, and with a lot more functionality. 3 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Update, API Saltwater Test Kit: Ammonia: .5 Nitrite .25 Nitrate .0 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Hey welcome back to the hobby. Looks like you are well on your way. 1 Quote Link to comment
Jeff Hood Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I set the exact same basic setup in my bedroom. Its mostly going to be my frag tank and critter quarantine tank but over time it will also turn into a soft coral tank. I used very fine sand in it as an experiment. I also bought an AI prime and it seems to be working great but with the long tank Id think having a second one would be better. Maybe add it later. Ive got mine on the right side and the left side is much more shaded. 1 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 8 minutes ago, Jeff Hood said: I set the exact same basic setup in my bedroom. Its mostly going to be my frag tank and critter quarantine tank but over time it will also turn into a soft coral tank. I used very fine sand in it as an experiment. I also bought an AI prime and it seems to be working great but with the long tank Id think having a second one would be better. Maybe add it later. Ive got mine on the right side and the left side is much more shaded. Jeff can you please share your light settings? I’m hoping I grab a second down the line if I can find another steal! Quote Link to comment
Jeff Hood Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Right now I’m running them very white on this QT tank as I’m trying to grow some algae for snails to live on while they are in QT but I have the same light on my Red Sea max NANO display. I’m running the % that BRS recommended on their AI prime video. At the moment I’m running a much reduces output and photoperiod to keep algae controlled while I QT my clean up crew but once I add corals I’ll ramp it back up to these settings and a total photoperiod of 11 hours or so. Peak will only be 4-5 hours. Still learning this LED tech as I was always a halide guy. The pic below is my display settings. Looks nice to me. Little on blue side. My QT I’m running a lot more red and greens and white light to stimulate algae in there. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Thanks Jeff! So the tank seemed to be noticeably clearer this morning. Perhaps 30% or so? Ill be testing parameters today and seeing where im at. Quote Link to comment
mtnbikeracer Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Tank looks good so far. I'm in the midst of planning a 20g long. So this will give me some ideas. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Update: Ammonia .25 Nitrite: .5 or 1.0? Leaning towards 1.0 Nitrate: 0 Nitrite was a bit hard to read. Ran the test twice Quote Link to comment
Jeff Hood Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 I just look at Nitrite as either present or not. Absolute value is of little value. In salt water it’s not near as toxic as in fresh water. It’s a long physiology lesson but the chloride in the salt protects fish from it. You look like your getting close. It always seems to take Nitrite the longest to go down. Those bacteria take a little longer to get going strong. 1 Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Very cool! Thanks Jeff. I’ll be testing today in about 8 hours. So far not really any diatoms. That film on the surface is also gone. Pretty sure it was sand dust as adding the second filter floss pad cleared it up. Quote Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Ammonia .5 Nitrate 2.0 Nitrate 20 Microbacter7 seems to be working well Quote Link to comment
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