Aquatop 12 Gallon Long

[itchy]

Starting this build thread of my Aquatop 12 gallon long rimless reef. After being out of the hobby for 5 years, I decided to get back in and combine it with my woodworking hobby by building my own stand. Which will house a DIY 10 gallon sump/refugium.  
 

Inspired by @Scorched ‘s original 12 gallon tank build 

https://www.nano-reef.com/featured/2014/scorched-r85/
 

Display:
Aquatop 12 gallon long 3 ft rimless with ultra clear low-iron glass

 

DIY Sump/Refugium (3 section):

10 gallon Aqueon Aquarium 
  - Section 1:
      200 micron filter sock 

      Protein skimmer

  - Section 2:

      Refugium with Algaebarn’s Ultimate Refugium Starter Kit

   -Section 3:

      Return Pump

  

Plumbing:

(2) 1 inch bulkheads drilled on each side for drains using JT screens as covers

(2) 1/2 inch bulk heads drilled on each side for returns
 

- Flexible black hose for both drain and return lines

 

Equipment:

 

-Jebao DCP 4000 DC Return pump
-36” Current USA Marine Orbit IC LED Reef Light

-SC Aquariums sca-301 protein skimmer 

-DIY gravity fed auto top off using eshoppes tank and float valve

- ACKE grow light for chaeto in refugium
- American DJ light controller for controlling different equipment to make water changes easier
 

DIY custom walnut stand

 

 

 

[Cencalfishguy56]

Dude this thing is sweeeeet! @Scorched tank is one of the best I’ve ever seen on long nano tanks. He was my inspiration as well. Great start, Can’t wait to see this thing filled with goodies!

[itchy]

1 minute ago, Cencalfishguy56 said:

Dude this thing is sweeeeet! @Scorched tank is one of the best I’ve ever seen on long nano tanks. He was my inspiration as well. Great start, Can’t wait to see this thing filled with goodies!

Thank you! He's been super helpful with the growing pains of this build.  It took hours of tinkering with the drain/sump in order to be able to get it quiet enough to where our home didn't sound like the local fish store. 😭

[WV Reefer]

1 hour ago, itchy said:

Starting this build thread of my Aquatop 12 gallon long rimless reef. After being out of the hobby for 5 years, I decided to get back in and combine it with my woodworking hobby by building my own stand. Which will house a DIY 10 gallon sump/refugium.  
 

Inspired by @Scorched ‘s original 12 gallon tank build 

https://www.nano-reef.com/featured/2014/scorched-r85/
 

Display:
Aquatop 12 gallon long 3 ft rimless with ultra clear low-iron glass

 

DIY Sump/Refugium (3 section):

10 gallon Aqueon Aquarium 
  - Section 1:
      200 micron filter sock 

      Protein skimmer

  - Section 2:

      Refugium with Algaebarn’s Ultimate Refugium Starter Kit

   -Section 3:

      Return Pump

  

Plumbing:

(2) 1 inch bulkheads drilled on each side for drains using JT screens as covers

(2) 1/2 inch bulk heads drilled on each side for returns
 

- Flexible black hose for both drain and return lines

 

Equipment:

 

-Jebao DCP 4000 DC Return pump
-36” Current USA Marine Orbit IC LED Reef Light

-SC Aquariums sca-301 protein skimmer 

-DIY gravity fed auto top off using eshoppes tank and float valve

- ACKE grow light for chaeto in refugium
- American DJ light controller for controlling different equipment to make water changes easier
 

DIY custom walnut stand

 

 

 

Very nice! 😊

[Scorched]

Thanks @itchy!!   The build looks awesome so far.  It is great to see all of the stand and sump photos and how it all came together.

 

I'm so glad you were able to get all of the pump settings and plumbing adjustments made to get it quiet.  I'd hate for someone to copy my design and be frustrated with it and spend all that money for something that didn't work like they expected.

 

Keep this thread going as the tank cycles and you start adding all the cool critters and corals.

[Cencalfishguy56]

4 hours ago, itchy said:

Thank you! He's been super helpful with the growing pains of this build.  It took hours of tinkering with the drain/sump in order to be able to get it quiet enough to where our home didn't sound like the local fish store. 😭

Lol I know the pain😂 but yea the minimalistic overflow and alternating returns are very much worth it! You guys make me want to do a 12 Long now🤦🏻‍♂️

[debbeach13]

Welcome back. Looks like your not fooling around. Beautiful stand and the tank, plumbing and sump all look great. 

[itchy]

7 hours ago, Cencalfishguy56 said:

Lol I know the pain😂 but yea the minimalistic overflow and alternating returns are very much worth it! You guys make me want to do a 12 Long now🤦🏻‍♂️

😂 

I couldn’t agree with you more. The minimalistic look makes it alllll worth it. I think a 12 gallon long is in the near future for you. 

[Hexadron]

I love 12g Long's!

 

/following

[itchy]

Here’s a shot of the gravity fed auto top off system. I’m using an eshoppes float valve from my old tank along with a top off container I purchased from Amazon. I placed the container right on top of the sump and reinforced it with an piece of aluminum angle. 
Added chaeto and an LED grow light from amazon. So far the ATO is doing its job. 
 

[Cencalfishguy56]

On 6/18/2020 at 10:44 PM, itchy said:

😂

I couldn’t agree with you more. The minimalistic look makes it alllll worth it. I think a 12 gallon long is in the near future for you. 

Well considering I just got hired for a higher paying job I’d say you’re right😅 the sump looks cleeeean! Load this bad boy up already! 🙌🏼

[itchy]

So I picked up our first fish from the LFS on Sunday morning. In the store, it seemed to be healthy.  
Acclimated by floating the bag for 15 minutes, then slowly started adding my tank water to the bag (4 times, about 5 minutes apart). Left the lights off for the remainder of the day/night.  Everything seemed ok. The following day, I fed it a half cube of frozen brine shrimp (thawed) and it seem to eat just fine.
However, a few hours later, when we got home from dinner, it was dead.  ☹️

It had no visible signs of parasites that I could see. Here are my water parameters:

 

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

PH - 8.0

Nitrite - 0

Temp - 78.8

Salinity - 1.022-1.023

 

The tank had been running with live sand, rock, Turbo start, copepods, OceanMagik live phytoplankton (from Algaebarn). 

Any ideas/insight on the mysterious death?

 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

So sorry. I have no idea. Fish go through so much with shipping, introduction to the stores tank, then introduction to our tanks. Could just be stress. I have always had pretty good luck with clowns they are normally pretty hardy. When did this tank actually get wet? 

[itchy]

12 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

So sorry. I have no idea. Fish go through so much with shipping, introduction to the stores tank, then introduction to our tanks. Could just be stress. I have always had pretty good luck with clowns they are normally pretty hardy. When did this tank actually get wet? 

It’s been wet for about a month. One thing worth mentioning is that it seems like it never went through a cycle. My ammonia and nitrite have always been zero. I attributed it to the Turbo Start cycle bacteria. 

[debbeach13]

I have never used that product but I hope some one post their experience. It may not have cycled at all. I can not tell in the pictures was that pre-cycled live rock?

[itchy]

3 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I have never used that product but I hope some one post their experience. It may not have cycled at all. I can not tell in the pictures was that pre-cycled live rock?

It was previously live rock from my old reef tank about 5 years ago. It had since dried up. Other than ammonia, nitrites, are there any other things that can kill fish that fast? Is there something else I should be testing for? 

[growsomething]

Very well done stand/tank.  The ato float is in the sump and mechanically or electically opens a valve in the bottom of the ato tank?  I'm in remodeling and it came to mind reading that, that maybe one of the newer cheap toilet float valves could be mounted in a sump with the ato feed connected to the bottom of the valve body, just like a toilet tank setup with the feed coming from the wall?  No electrical parts, all mechanical/gravity.

 

[itchy]

5 minutes ago, growsomething said:

Very well done stand/tank.  The ato float is in the sump and mechanically or electically opens a valve in the bottom of the ato tank?  I'm in remodeling and it came to mind reading that, that maybe one of the newer cheap toilet float valves could be mounted in a sump with the ato feed connected to the bottom of the valve body, just like a toilet tank setup with the feed coming from the wall?  No electrical parts, all mechanical/gravity.

 

Thank you! I also enjoy remodeling (our home) as a hobby. And yes, the mechanical float valve sits inside the sump similar to the way a toilet works. My previous tank was set up similar to your idea. I had a large plastic container in an adjacent closet which was on a higher shelf and it fed the overflow via gravity. 

[debbeach13]

1 hour ago, itchy said:

Other than ammonia, nitrites, are there any other things that can kill fish that fast? Is there something else I should be testing for? 

Those are the ones I test for as far as fish go. If it was my tank I would probably get another source to jump start a cycle. My first choice would be some actual live rock from a LFS you just can not beat the diversity supplied by live rock. Second choice would be some thing along the lines of Dr. Tim's. Have you read any of the threads on cycling dry rock? As I previously said I hope someone else chimes in that has experience with that product and the process. Did the instructions for the turbo start say any thing about adding an ammonia source? 

[itchy]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Those are the ones I test for as far as fish go. If it was my tank I would probably get another source to jump start a cycle. My first choice would be some actual live rock from a LFS you just can not beat the diversity supplied by live rock. Second choice would be some thing along the lines of Dr. Tim's. Have you read any of the threads on cycling dry rock? As I previously said I hope someone else chimes in that has experience with that product and the process. Did the instructions for the turbo start say any thing about adding an ammonia source? 

The instructions did say to add some food as an ammonia source, which I did. But looking back, I may have added too little. Thanks for the tip, I will probably try to jumpstart another cycle. 

[Cencalfishguy56]

14 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Those are the ones I test for as far as fish go. If it was my tank I would probably get another source to jump start a cycle. My first choice would be some actual live rock from a LFS you just can not beat the diversity supplied by live rock. Second choice would be some thing along the lines of Dr. Tim's. Have you read any of the threads on cycling dry rock? As I previously said I hope someone else chimes in that has experience with that product and the process. Did the instructions for the turbo start say any thing about adding an ammonia source? 

I actually went the Dr.Tims route because I personally try to limit risks of pest algae and pests in general. But my rock is 4 years strong and it’s extremely mature and diverse now. But it went very well from the start so if going dry route I’d do this!

 

how long was that rock in your previous reef tank? Depending on the fauna that was in the rock when you pulled it and let it dry their could be die off but I’m not sure. Could they be faulty ammonia tests? Not likely but never out of the question. Also as mentioned above could just be the stress of shipping that made the little guy do the belly up. 

[Cencalfishguy56]

13 hours ago, itchy said:

The instructions did say to add some food as an ammonia source, which I did. But looking back, I may have added too little. Thanks for the tip, I will probably try to jumpstart another cycle. 

Good point, I recommend ammonia in a bottle with dr Tim’s, the instructions will tell you how much to put in your tank to kick start your cycle and dr Tim’s in a bottle will boost it, believe my cycle was over in 2 weeks or so. Everything has been running smooth for the last 4 years.

[itchy]

Update: Just completed a Dr. Tim’s cycle. Added 3 Chromis and a GSP yesterday. All are doing well so far. 
 

[Cencalfishguy56]

4 hours ago, itchy said:

Update: Just completed a Dr. Tim’s cycle. Added 3 Chromis and a GSP yesterday. All are doing well so far. 
 

This thing is sweeeet

[itchy]

@Scorched I noticed in one of your recent  tank update videos that you had a Royal Gramma and some type of striped wrasse. What type of wrasse is that? Over the past couple of weeks I bought a Royal Gramma followed by a Sixline Wrasse. Did you have any issues with your RG being aggressive. Mine was extremely territorial and would chase anything that came near its “area” especially the wrasse. 
I’m on the fence on whether to keep one, both, or neither of the sixline wrasse or RG. I’ve read that the sixline can and will become a major PITA once it gets settled. My wife really likes the coloration of the RG so I’m hoping it’ll calm down. 
 

Does anyone have any insight advice on these fish?

Thanks in advance.