tatooinemarine Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) *** THIS TANK HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN *** After about 3 years without a tank, I got impatient and decided to put together a budget build using leftovers from other tanks. We moved 3 years ago, and I broke down and sold most of my stuff. I was waiting until we buy a house to set up another tank, but . . . Equipment: 15 gallon Marineland glass aquarium (24x12x12) $38 Cobalt Heater (reused) AC-70 (reused) Oceanbox overflow and In-tank media basket $100 Marineland Marine LED $50 (new on fb) Hydor pico $30 Auto Aqua ATO $130 15-20 lbs live rock (reused) 10-15lbs sand LIVESTOCK: Two Spot Blenny (Marv) Mushrooms Ricordea Milky Way Palys Zoanthids Duncan Leather Coral Pipe Organ Coral Sympodium Edited December 24, 2021 by tatooinemarine 3 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 Decided to avoid chemicals (bleach or vinegar) for the rock. Selected some choice pieces, rinsed with a hose and light scrub with a brush. 1 week out in full summer sun, 3 weeks in RODI water with a powerhead with 100% water changes. Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 Picked up a budget light for the 15 gallon budget build. $50 new in box. Anyone have experience with this light? Was a little disappointed the WiFi controller is sold separately. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 11 hours ago, tatooinemarine said: Picked up a budget light for the 15 gallon budget build. $50 new in box. Anyone have experience with this light? Was a little disappointed the WiFi controller is sold separately. I have no experience with the light but it is one that I have in mind for my own 15 gallon home tank Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 @Ratvan light is pretty nice for $50, I see it retails for around $150. It has dimmable options, but everything is controlled by 1 touch switch. Output is pretty nice, don’t think I will ever run it on high (full intensity). The WiFi controller would be nice to have so I could program a sunrise/sunset and also a moon light, but it’s a budget build and I don’t think it’s worth it. I checked amazon and eBay, they were like $75 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Cycling is going on over 3 weeks now. I have been testing this week, everything seems to be remaining pretty stable . . . Temp: 77 F Salinity: 1.023 PH: 8.1-8.2 (been testing everyday) Ammonia: 0.25 ppm Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0 3 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Spent some money on the budget tank to solve a couple problems . . . 3 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Keep up the good work @tatooinemarine! What kinds of livestock are you hoping to keep in your new 15 gal nano reef? 1 Quote Link to comment
Thetravelguy Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Looks good!! 3 Quote Link to comment
Wonderboy Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Great start - looking forward to the updates :] 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 26, 2019 Author Share Posted August 26, 2019 On 8/21/2019 at 3:16 PM, Christopher Marks said: Keep up the good work @tatooinemarine! What kinds of livestock are you hoping to keep in your new 15 gal nano reef? Thanks! Planning on keeping softies mostly, but maybe some lps also. Definitely 1 clownfish, maybe 2, or another small fish. 1 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 Adding my first specimens today . . . 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 New additions are settling in nicely . . . 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Wonderboy Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 YES! ...Mushrooms! Very hairy shrooms! BABY shrooms!! Awesome grab - zoas look like a great find, too 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 4 hours ago, Wonderboy said: YES! ...Mushrooms! Very hairy shrooms! BABY shrooms!! Awesome grab - zoas look like a great find, too Thanks! Found 2 baby hairy mushrooms, and 8 baby yumas. 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 Another addition . . . 1 1 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 More babies added to the tank . . . 2 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 FTS 12/4/2019 1 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 Haven’t posted in a while, tank is still going strong. Lost some yumas, battling some hair algae, but all is good. 😎 Also added this guy . . . 1 Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Tank is still running, blenny is happy and well fed. Lots of baby mushrooms, zoathnids are multiplying, and Duncan continues to grow.Battled Bryopsis for a while and finally won. Still working on keeping bubble algae and Aptasia at a minimum. Both keep returning after I take care of one spot. Quote Link to comment
tatooinemarine Posted April 16, 2020 Author Share Posted April 16, 2020 *** TANK UPDATE ***Tank is being moved. Right before all this craziness happened with COVID-19, we finally purchased a house. We have been using this time to make some improvements and move in. I was planning to build a new setup, but given the circumstances, I am just going to have to move the whole setup. When all this is over I am planing to build a stand and probably put together a simple frag tank. Something 30g or larger to keep collecting mushrooms and frags and slowly start working on a huge tank. 😁 Quote Link to comment
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