The Dude's 20g Reef tank Journal

saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Props to those who caught The Big Lebowski reference.
Hi, I'm The Dude and this is my little 20g reef tank journal. I took pictures of the system so far last night. I'm on a strict budget of $25 a week, so this build and thread will take a long time. SORRY! I've been taking care of saltwater tanks for at least five and a half years now - and have about 15 years of freshwater experience. For the last three years, I haven't had my own tank and I haven't been on this forum. For those of you that knew me back when I was frequenting this forum - I'm SnakeBlitz33. I don't expect the recognition to merit any respect, but I just wanted to let you know that I am back!
So, for this build, I've decided to start off with a simple 20 gallon aquarium. I put together a pre-built stand last night and installed baffles in a 10 gallon sump that will (and does) fit underneath the main display tank. I am going to hopefully save up for a decent lighting system so that I can have some softies and some LPS. It would be difficult for me to save up enough money for equipment enough to take care of an SPS tank - but maybe in the future. :D Never say never, right?
Filtration: 35lbs live rock, 30 pounds live sand. 10 pounds live rock rubble in sump.
Blue and white bonded filter media with carbon.
4" sandbed in the refugium that grows chaetomorpha algae.
I'm considering a DIY Turf algae scrubber just to toy around with it and have something to play with.
Skimmerless system - unless I add SPS corals later. :D
A small external overflow powered by a simple Rio pump. Nothing fancy.
Small Koralia nano for internal water flow. I may buy two nanos and put them on a wave maker. I've always liked that look. I'm aiming for 300 to 400gph turnover rate as far as the flow.
It's mainly going to be a coral only reef tank. I'm not a fish person, really. I do know fish and like fish, but I more like the corals. I will, however probably buy an ocellaris percula and a couple of purple firefish. I've always loved that combination.
Corals: xenia, mushrooms, zoanthids, trumpet coral, green leather coral, red carnation, duncan, elegance if space permits, green queen star polyps and a few other odds and ends that I like. Possibly considering a hammer coral or frogspawn but I don't know which one yet. It will all fit, I've done this setup before!
As far as lighting goes, I'll probably settle with two 65 watt daylight CFLs and one 460nm 65w actinic CFL, unless I find the T5's on sale.
This is going to be fun!
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Alright, so here's all of the pics that I promised. I'm going to post one at a time because for some reason it won't let me do multiples. So, here we go!

This is just some of the stuff that I bought while I was out yesterday.
Tank, Stand, 30lbs aragonite, hinges, Acrylic dividers, silicone. I built the canopy in all of 10 minutes, so don't comment on how crappy it is. I already know! I'm sure that over time I will make tweaks here and there. I'm going to put trim on it and stain it to match the color of the stand. I needed it extra tall so that I might have room for a HQI metal halide in the future if I ever do decide to do SPS. I also have three computer fans that I salvaged out of an old computer and they still work! Two in the canopy, one blowing on the turf algae scrubber. Ought to keep it all nice and cool just in case I have a metal halide in the future.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Next I assembled the stand and put the tank on top of it. The stand fit together pretty well, but I'm uncomfortable with the MDF they made the stand out of. So, I'm going to reinforce it with wood glue and some more wood and screws on the inside of the stand. Just peace of mind, yah know? I'm still going to have enough room for the sump and some equipment.

It's also in it's final resting place where it's at. Yes, that's my TV in the background. It's pretty solid where it is, and it will be even better when there's water in it. Directly behind the tank is an electrical outlet. The only thing about the outlet is that it's two prong! Can you believe it? I guess that's what you get when you live in a house built in the 1940s. I'm considering replacing the electrical outlet with a GFCI, but I'll have to pay an electrician to run a grounding wire. UGH! On the other hand, I could just snap off the grounding wire on a powerstrip and hope for the best. :D I've done it with my TV and my microwave so far and I haven't had any problems. Thoughts?
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Also last night I cut the acrylic baffles and glued em' in place with silicone. I really wanted to use glass for the baffles, but home depot got rid of their glass section! Can you believe that?! oh well, gotta make do with what I got.

So, just by looking at it you can tell that was still in the process of drying. I left in the styrofoam blocks overnight and when I got home from work this evening everything seemed to be in good working condition. I may leak test the center section tonight just to be sure. Also, there's just so much you can do with a 10g sump, so I opted for the simplest of designs. The smallest section on the right is where water will dump onto some live rock rubble. Occasionally I'm going to take the rubble out and wash it with saltwater (every 4 to 6 months) just to make sure there's not a whole lot of detritus buildup. I'm going to put blue and white filter media between both of the baffles as well. The first filter between the first set of baffles will probably need to be replaced a lot more than the filter between the second set of baffles. The heater will be located in the return pump section. The center section will have about two inches of live sand, a few pieces of live rock rubble and chaetomorpha algae growing - or another suitable type of algae. I like chaeto because it's easy to harvest and easy to sell. I'm still working on how I'm going to add a turf algae scrubber to the system.
Like I said before, this tank will be completely skimmerless. In all my years of taking care of saltwater aquariums, I have come to love more natural means of filtration. Plus, skimmers cost a butt load! So, Skimmerless. :D
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
I wanted to show ya'll also that the sump fits perfectly underneath the tank. It took me a while to find a stand that was A: Cheap and B: could fit a 10g sump.

As you can see, that outlet kind of bothers me. It's only a two prong, and if something shorts out it definitely won't be grounded. I've never had problems with anything like this in the past. Can anyone give me any electrical advice on how to deal with this issue? I'm at a loss, because I've never had to install a tank somewhere that didn't have a three prong outlet!!!
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
I'm thinking that I want to do more expensive corals - things that people are going to want frags from.
I'm going to save up for an overflow box. I might be able to one this coming Friday, but I'll have to wait until the next week until I can get my hands on a Rio pump. Then I can start the system! Yay!
By the way, I'm using Seachem marine reef salt, just if you were wondering. :D
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
PetSmart? Yeah! lol, they had a good deal ... so good I couldn't pass it up.
Well, tonight I'm going to be doing a little research on a good external overflow and rio pump and budget for it. I might be able to get the whole system up and running by this Friday, minus live rock, of course. We will just have to see how it all turns out.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Alright, so I've decided that I'm going to buy the Rio 1100 plus, which should put out the right amount of flow at four foot of head for a eshopps PF Nano external overflow box whose max flow rate is 200gph. Then think I've decided to go ahead and get one Hydor Koralia 425 nano. It's about in the right range for just having one powerhead in the tank. If I ever upgrade to SPS corals, I will want to get two and put them on a wave maker - but that's way in the future.
Anyways, good night! Another long day ahead of me.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
I can't wait to get water flowing in the tank. So, I've decided that I'm going to tap into some extra money that I got and go ahead and buy the Eshopps nano overflow and a Rio 1100 pump today. It should arrive by Saturday. I can't wait!
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Before you get too involved, PLEASE remove that non-grounded outlet and install a GFCI grounded outlet in it's place. It's not a difficult DIY, but even if you feel uncomfortable doing it I'm sure a quick Craigslist search will yield a cheap handyman who can do it for you. 10 minutes of work for years of peace of mind. Worth an extra few bucks, don't ya think?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///forum/thread/387055/the-dude-s-20g-reef-tank-journal#post_3403103
Before you get too involved, PLEASE remove that non-grounded outlet and install a GFCI grounded outlet in it's place. It's not a difficult DIY, but even if you feel uncomfortable doing it I'm sure a quick Craigslist search will yield a cheap handyman who can do it for you. 10 minutes of work for years of peace of mind. Worth an extra few bucks, don't ya think?
+1000 Now is the time while it's nothing is in the way. I had a friend do mine, all around my tank are nothing but GFCI outlets...it could be a life saver.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Thank you for your concern! I know I should. lol. The thing is that I could install a GFCI unit myself if that's all it took. The problem is that there is NO GROUND WIRE in the wall. The house was built in the 1940s and that was before ground wires were run alongside hot and line wires. In order to properly install that GFCI unit, I would have to get an electrician to run a ground wire from my circuit breaker to that outlet - could cost hundreds of dollars. Unless that line was grounded directly six to eight feet into the ground on the outside wall.... hmmm. Eh, I'll call a contractor and see if I can get a free estimate. Your right - it's better to be safe than sorry.
I know I have had lights fall into the tank before and nearly electrocute me and the GFCI saved my life a few times. So... eh. I didn't want to, but I guess I will.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
So, I called a contractor and he wants to charge me $100 for 30 minutes of work and $20 worth of supplies. I DON'T THINK SO! So, I'm going to do it myself. I've decided that I'm going to hammer in a piece of rebar into the ground and wrap a copper wire around it and secure it. Then I'm running the wire into the house at the base of the floorboards, hopefully hiding it underneath the carpet. Then up to the outlet and into the wall. Simple, neh? I gotta go get some stuff to do it tomorrow or Thursday.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
Isn't it amazing that not many people comment on your journal if you know what you are doing or have too small of a tank to do anything "serious" with? I'LL SHOW YOU!
So, I am re-thinking my lighting idea. I want to have some plating montipora and a couple of other high light organisms like a clam, but I really don't want to shell out $200 dollars for a 150w HQI metal halide. Decisions Decisions. For now, I actually like the stock lighting that the tank came with. It will be just enough to keep some coralline algae alive in a fish only with live rock tank until I can buy a better light.
Today I'm REALLY going to order the eshopps overflow (200gph max flow) and rio 1100 pump (295gph max at 0ft of head). Does anyone have any objections to that combo? I might buy the next pump size up and throttle it back with ball valve...
Questions, comments?????
 
scott t

scott t

Active Member
Everything looks good. I have a 29g QT with HOB filters for on it. I think that you should be fine with that combo. I know about the whole light thing also. I am just glad that I got the lights for my tank on sale, if not it would have been over $600.00 for them. Have you checked with the Good Drs? they have a great sale going on right now. Can not wait to see you have things up and running I am along for the ride..
 
red tiger

red tiger

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaltwaterDud3 http:///forum/thread/387055/the-dude-s-20g-reef-tank-journal#post_3402942
I'm thinking that I want to do more expensive corals - things that people are going to want frags from.
I'm going to save up for an overflow box. I might be able to one this coming Friday, but I'll have to wait until the next week until I can get my hands on a Rio pump. Then I can start the system! Yay!
By the way, I'm using Seachem marine reef salt, just if you were wondering. :D
Have you consider drilling a hole versus an over flow?
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
No, a 20g tank I think has a tempered bottom. Besides, I haven't had any problems with external overflows so far.
Alright. So, last night I officially ordered the external overflow and the Rio 1100 sump pump. YAY!! Now I can set it up and put some water in it and get the system running. Next thing I have to save up for is a little base rock and some live rock and live rock rubble.
List of things in order that I'm going to save up for and buy:
10 pounds base rock
20 pounds live rock
10 pounds live rock rubble
Filter Floss
Carbon
Koralia Nano
65 watt CFL 50/50 retrofit kit
Clean up Crew
65 watt CFL Daylight retrofit kit
Fish food
Ocellaris Percula
65 Watt CFL Actinic Retrofit Kit
Dual Timer system
100 Watt sump light
Chaetomorpha algae
(2) purple firefish or another suitable fish.
Koralia Nano powerhead
Koralia wavemaker system (Yes, absurd for a 20g, right? But, I like it, so :p
Possibly whip up a home made turf algae scrubber if I get around to doing it.
Wait if needed for tank to be at least 4 months old then:
start xenia colony
start zoa colonies
start blue mushroom colonies
Wait
Try leather coral high in back of tank
I love nepthea, so I'm going to try to get my hands on one of those
Wait
Then buy whatever coral that will fit that I like. XD
I'm going to try reefkprz mass feeding method. I have never done anything like that, and water changes are going to be sooo easy, especially with a little 20g tank.
 
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