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Cultivated Reef

CenCal Reef 24x24x12 Mr Aqua


CenCalReef

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Hey everyone figured I go ahead and start a journal of my tank setup and have it logged on the internet for ever and ever ha. Anyways not my first tank but its been a while and my previous tanks never had a sump this time around i wanted to build a cheap decent setup plus i found this tank for cheap while craigslist searching for harley tanks and somehow this "fish tank" came up on the all for sale section so i impulsively bought it🙃.

 

24x24x12 Mr Aqua Symbolic MA-610 30Gallon

Two Kessil A160WE

Custom Acrylic light mount I DIY'd

20lbs of Reef Saver Dry Rock by MarcoRocks 

Ecotech Marine MP10QWD

ReefOcto Classic 110-S

Eheim Compact+ 2000 return pump

Neptune Systems ATK V2

Neptune Systems Apex Jr with Display and Temp Probe 

DIY Acrylic sump 21Lx14.5Wx13H = 17gallons roughly 10-12 actual use gallons, drain and emergency drain go into a chamber that overflows into the filter sock then into the Skimmer Chamber then over into what will be a Refugium with live rock rubble chaeto and maybe some marine pure blocks? or bags with media? that then goes over another baffle into return chamber.

Custom made stand i DIY'd

BRS 6Stage RO/DI unit

 

let me know if you guys have any suggestions on equipment or think i should add anything else or any great products i should look into, I know this was a bad idea but i couldnt find any info on if people do it or tried it but i added three loc line flat nozzles to my return line output inside the tank would like to change them to RFG Nozzles with a bigger sized return pump to hopefully eliminate having to add another MP10 but of course need to keep the sump flow low in order for the fuge to work i figure the bigger pump would just help maintain pressure coming out of three loc lines being fed by one 3/4" line🧐

 

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That acrylic light mount tho 😮

 

I didn't see one but you have an ATO right? 

 

Is your return pump DC? You may want a DC return pump that's controllable. 

 

Big fan of refugiums so you should Def do it. For media I love me some purigen and carbon. That's just me though. There's so many super nice tanks on here using all different types of media. Whatever works for your tank sorta thing! 

 

Fill her up I'm stoked! 

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On 11/4/2019 at 8:17 PM, Matteo said:

That acrylic light mount tho 😮

 

I didn't see one but you have an ATO right? 

 

Is your return pump DC? You may want a DC return pump that's controllable. 

 

Big fan of refugiums so you should Def do it. For media I love me some purigen and carbon. That's just me though. There's so many super nice tanks on here using all different types of media. Whatever works for your tank sorta thing! 

 

Fill her up I'm stoked! 

Thanks! I will be filling the tank up next week i broke a 90' fitting on my RODI system so im waiting on that to come in but i may just go to my LFS and pick up rodi as i have tropic marine salt mix i would like to use, I thought i would like my light mount more but the more i see it the more i want to paint it black to match the stand i still need to drill the holes for my lights to hang halfway through. Are DC pumps the new way to go? i can control my eheim manually at the pump itself. my refugium will be small but i think i would rather run it and then maybe add small reactors outside the sump later on after my tank cycles and stabilizes a bit. and yes i have the neptune ATK V2 hopefully it works well still looking at what ATO reservoir to get

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DC pumps use less power and when you decrease flow your decreasing actually power used and not just restricting flow. Nothing wrong with your return pump! But yeah DC is the new "in". 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys I’ve been busy with my day job working 60hrs a week, but I wanted to update you guys on my setup now that’s it’s had water for over two weeks. I used RO/DI with Tropic Marine Pro added 1 bag of “LiveSand” and a whole big bottle of BioSpira. Tank seems to be doing good cycle wise. Finally added my Neptune ATO my reservoir isn’t the prettiest and neither is my wiring but I will tidy that up with time and hope to replace my container with a nice trigger systems or eshopps. Anyways here’s some updated pics with my DIY Acrylic Corner Light Mount ignore the zip ties will be replacing with aircraft cable that I’ll add shrink wrap to help protect against rust. Give me some fish species ideas on what to add I would like to keep “not your typical fish” if that makes sense that are reef/coral friendly. Also I hate to say it but I really like the designer clownfish and am aiming towards a pair of davinci grade A. Any other vibrant color clownfish? Side note I acquired an Innovative Marine Nuvo 10 that’s already established-ish 🤦🏻‍♂️

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12 minutes ago, Matteo said:

The gladiator clowns are super cool. I LOVE designer clownfish 

My LFS carries always gets deliveries of designer clowns mostly from Sea and Reef Aquaculture unfortunately when i went in today they only had around 5-8 Clowns a couple lighting maroons, Midnight clowns, Wyoming Whites, and the smallest phantom i've seen. Im so torn because they have a town of really nice ocellaris and picasso and onyx clowns in their display tanks but i just don't know which breed to go with. they all look so nice matured! I really like paired marine fish like the goby and pistol shrimp, i know ill definitely end up with some sexy shrimp! 

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5 minutes ago, CenCalReef said:

My LFS carries always gets deliveries of designer clowns mostly from Sea and Reef Aquaculture unfortunately when i went in today they only had around 5-8 Clowns a couple lighting maroons, Midnight clowns, Wyoming Whites, and the smallest phantom i've seen. Im so torn because they have a town of really nice ocellaris and picasso and onyx clowns in their display tanks but i just don't know which breed to go with. they all look so nice matured! I really like paired marine fish like the goby and pistol shrimp, i know ill definitely end up with some sexy shrimp! 

I'm the same as you! I also have a tiger pistol pair and have a lighting maroon pair who share a large rbta. Symbiotic relationships are the best! Wymoning whites look really cool in a reef tank. If you think about it there not that many fish who are bright white like that in a reef tank. Especially something cute like a clown!

 

https://m.liveaquaria.com/product/6878/mocha-black-storm-clownfish-captive-bred?pcatid=6878&c=27+6878 ignore the price tag. Grab a pair of these 😁

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey just followed this build! Always nice to see another lagoon style reef. Have you looked into file fish for the unique fish? Not too which ones are reef safe although I do know the orange spotted file fish is not reef safe. Also what about a dwarf lionfish? 

 

 

Quick question on your plumbing, how come you don't have your drain pouring directly into the filter sock? My setup is nearly the same as yours but I didn't plumb myself. The person who I bought the tank from had his plumbing this way and I couldn't understand why not run water directly through the filter sock

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14 hours ago, Sabdali said:

Hey just followed this build! Always nice to see another lagoon style reef. Have you looked into file fish for the unique fish? Not too which ones are reef safe although I do know the orange spotted file fish is not reef safe. Also what about a dwarf lionfish? 

 

 

Quick question on your plumbing, how come you don't have your drain pouring directly into the filter sock? My setup is nearly the same as yours but I didn't plumb myself. The person who I bought the tank from had his plumbing this way and I couldn't understand why not run water directly through the filter sock

Hey Sabdali! I looked at your tank and it looks awesome! I wish i would've gone with a bigger tank exactly like yours but i will get another going after this one matures more. There is two reasons why I built my sumps filter sock holder this way, One is to make changing out socks simple without any obstructions in the way, just pull out and place in while everything is still running. Second is to give my pipe somewhere to be submerged and quiet down the drain into the sump. It also gives me an area where heavy detritus can fall and be easily siphoned out during my weekly maintenance. Currently, even though it is an open stand, you can't hear my tank running at all only when the skimmer is on or the loud Neptune ATO kicks on. My kessil A150 over my Innovative Marine Nuvo 10 is louder than my tank! 

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Ah that makes sense actually. My sump is actually pretty loud because the water bubbles up for some reason and water overflows into the filter sock due to the bubbling. I'll work on it to fix that once I have time but it's not too loud so no big deal for me. 

 

I never thought of detritus siphoning. That's definitely going to be useful. 

 

Thanks for the reply! 

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Hey guys I’m super excited it only took until almost 9:30pm but ups finally delivered my Black Friday equipment! Wondering if anyone’s had any experience with the Trigger Systems ATO Reservoir. So far I like it bought the clear one because I wanted to paint the outside of it black or some color scheme for when I get a sump fuge light. I opened the box and when I went to pull it out it was super slick like oily almost? Did anyone else receive there’s like this? Seems like I have to give it a good wash on the outside but my concern is the inside and wether whatever slick residue that is on the outside is inside and if it will in turn affect my RO/DI water or containment anything for kill my tank lol. 

 

Anyways I got the Neptune EB8 

Octo VarioS 2

Kessil spectral controller which I would love some help and recommendations on this bad boy to get my two A160WE running “Tits” over my tank. 

And an IceCap Frag Rack. 98245874-7231-436E-B969-AC88377F2DDF.thumb.jpeg.039685288255195d610450b9fc914fb5.jpeg

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6 minutes ago, karen nation said:

That is some system!  Wow!  Looking for a harley and got an amazing set up!  haha.  Are you still going to get your harley?

Well the only thing i bought on craigslist was the actual tank and sump i either DIY'd or bought everything else, I already have my harley(s) 87' FXR with a built stock 80ci frame up build, 01' Sportster with engine work heads, cams, chain drive, crazy paint etc, and i have another 01' sportster frame and motor im building into a 1250CC monster which is why i was looking for a tank and ended up with a fish tank and then a second fish tank and now two hobbies like taking my money🤦‍♂️

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