imisky's 30g custom tank
 

hey guys,

ive been in pico reef setups for a bit too long now, and finally starting a 30 gallon SPS dominant tank in the new few weeks.

so a little bit of a background about myself in this hobby, i started with a 3.5 gallon tank which my brother bought..after about a month he pretty much ignored it and everything started to die and etc. so i took the tank and its been mine ever since. ive been in reef for almost 2 years now learning as i go and the last year or so ive been interested in SPS. i converted my 9g custom frag tank into a SPS tank and ever since that day...my wallets been empty haha.. so thats a little bit of a background info on me and the SW side of my hobby, im also the ADA distributor for Canada and im still doing freshwater setups and crystal red shrimps, so this hobby overall is keeping me pretty busy.

alright enough of me talking, onto the journal. close to the end of Nov i decided that i want to make a stand for my tanks, the stand measuring 36"L x 13.25"W x 36"H and was supposed to hold 2 of my sw tanks....well thats when i saw the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger tank. so my plans started from then for this 30g SPS tank.

The stand:

the stand i made is based on the simple design of the ADA cube garden stands, except the height is taller and the wide is a bit wider, other then that i added a little extra patch on both side so i can say i DIYed that stand and have people able to tell the stand apart rom the ADA one. heres some pictures.

before varnish:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0844.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0843.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0842.jpg

after varnished:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0877.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0878.jpg

i also picked up some Hydor Koralia powerheads (thx for the great deal Chin Lee)
im planning on using:
1x koralia 1
1x koralia 2
1x koralia 3

and hopefully this will create some nice random strong and weak flow.

The koralia 2 and 3 ( 1 is being used in the 9g sps tank at the moment. )

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0881.jpg

The Refugium

the 2nd to last piece of equipment i had to get was a refugium and i also found it on Canreef 2nd hand (thx Renegade)
it is a CPR HOB refugium Medium (19"L x 4.5"W x 12"H)
its a huge refugium which will go over half the length of my tank but hopefully it'll work well.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0880.jpg

There is now just a few more things left for me to do for the setup and it'll be complete. I have my 70w MH pendents i DIYed which i am sticking with until i find that they wont be powerful enough. I'll have to make a hanger for the lights so i dont have to hang them from my celling (my parents will kill me...haha), grab the tank which i am getting custom made, and then the skimmer. ive decided after long hours of research to get a deltec mce300 it'll be over skimming but at least keeping the tank clean for the SPS.

tell me what you guys think.

imisky looks good so far! are you running a bare bottom?

i will be running a bare bottom as i think the with that much flow i would have a super big sand storm inside the tank. Im still debating about a DSB in the HOB fuge or just use LRR + macro algae, what do you guys think?

Looks great so far! How long did it take to assemble everthing?

it took about a weeks worth of time to get the stand ready and fully varnished, the actual amount of time taken to make the stand was roughly 2 weeks ( with school and exam preparation too )

Can we see photos of this 9g sps tank? Please?

I commend you on your ability to multitask around exam time!

so im going to type an embarrassing thing that happened to me and my tank..about 2 months ago, my ATO ( at the time using 1 float switch ) got stuck..roughly 5 gallons worth of RODI water emptied into the 9 gallon tank...and so some of the corals dont have very good color yet..but most have colored up again from that freshwater bath... the only one that is taking its time seem to be the tri color but none the less everyone made it without a problem.

heres the picture.
FTS:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0894.jpg
Left side:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0891.jpg
Right side:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0892.jpg

and some of the coral frags:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0889.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0890.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0893.jpg

Cute! How long has it been up and running?

its been running for almost 1 year at first it was a fragging tank but i switched it over to SPS after about 2 months

hey guys so heres an update, i waited about 3 weeks to receive the custom tank but now its now ( i am currently painting the back black *12:06AM* haha )

heres some pictures the tank is 36"x12"x12" with 3/8" glass so im pretty happy, the sticker on the bottom left of the tank is a sticker which i used for all the DIY objects ive made..although this isnt a DIY i like it enough to brand name it haha.

enjoy guys.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0947.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0946.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0948.jpg

I like it a lot! It looks really slick and clean. So what is next? Water?

i still have to get the skimmer and make my light hangers for the tank and then water.

im waiting til boxing day to grab a deltec mce300 since i cant seem to find one 2nd hand and i hope its a good skimmer.

Imisky are you going for the "ada design" very clean did you diy the tank yourself or have it made?
You should drill it and run a sump and then get yourself a ER135, Deltec is awesome and thought I saw blaster have one for sale an mc600 anyhow the bigger the skimmer the better and an insump is the way to go IMO.
comin along great post more pics!

Looks really slick. Good job!

thanks guys, so i finished paiting the back of the tank and i got some styrofoam and painted the edge as close to the stand color as i can find with krylon fusion paint i think it looks quite nice

tang daddy- i am going after the ADA design look, i love how simple and nice looking there equipments are. Even though i am an ADA distributor for Canada and i am able to get the stands and tanks, i just wanted to see if i can get around the same effect as a full blown ADA setup.

i got the tank custom made as i didnt have the time to make the tank when i wanted it done (exam period but i got the stand made).i saw blasters mce600 but i think that one would be a bit too big for the 30g its skimming power is 4-5x the recommended for a 30g. I dont want to over skim too much do you think 2x over skimmer is enough for an SPS tank?i have heard of over skimming being a bad thing when it gets over the 2x mark

the reason why i chose to go with a refugium is i like the clean look and not many wires/pipes all over the place and less power consumption in terms of return pump and etc. and i feel for a 30g a 3.5g refugium should be good at nutrient exporting along with a deltec mce300, but i know that sumps are great and maybe oneday when i have a chance to upgrade to a bigger setup i'll give it a go.

picture of the tank with the back painted and the styrofoam
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0949.jpg

tell me what you think

I see where you are coming from.....
I guess the heater is going in the refuge, is it going to be BB?

yup the heater is going into the fuge and it'll be a BB.

The one thing i cant make up my mind on at the moment is whether to have sand + chaeto in the refuge or just use LRR + chaeto. i guess i need some input with this one.

what would you guys put into the refugium? i heard sand + macro algae work well but require alot more maintance?

you could add sand to the refuge but I would probally run a full macro more space for export just make sure that when you set up your rock scape there is an area you can easily access to suck up the debri, something I should've done when I scaped my tank now the dead stuff is in the corner and I cant get at I'm gonna have to set the flow in my tank so it pushes the waste to the front oneday...

so after boxing day finally came! so i went to J&L and picked up a deltec mce300 skimmer not really on sale 5% off but still saved money! haha.. the back wall of the tank now officially looks full and just enough space for the via aqua HOB calcium reactor ( anyone ever worked one? )

so im almost ready to get this thing up and running, im just curing about 10 more lbs of LR that i picked up today so give or take a month or less as i have other pieces of LR from my current tanks in there helping along with the cycling. the only thing left to do hardware wise is now a light hanger for my lights and a calcium reactor down the line to fit in that little gap between the skimmer and the HOB fuge.

skimmer:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0956.jpg

FTS:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0957.jpg

nah skimmer mimmer, with a tank that small you can just do water changes every week for about 2-3 gallons you tank will grow like crazy.

Lookin good! :D

That MCE300 is an awesome little skimmer!!!

holy crap is that a Deltec skimmer It didn't even look like it to me ...

haha so much for reading what i typed! just kidding :lol: im hoping that with the deltec mce300 + the CPR aquafuge it'll get rid of alot of the nutrients inside the water column, the only thing now is calcium reactor setup + light hanger and letting some of my LR cure and cook

i still havent decided what to put in the fuge yet other then chaeto, LRR or DSB anyone?

hey guys,

so today i went to oceanaquatics and picked up the via-aqua calcium reactor, i heard its supposed to be very good at doing its job for only $60 so we will see how that works out. it has a pump built into the top so we will see how that works! heres a picture of it.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0958.jpg

How's that calcium reactor supposed to work? No CO2 I assume... Does it just flow water through some media? Looks like the same idea as a PhosBan Reactor...?

it does require CO2 just like any of the normal calcium reactors

Ah ok. It's cute. Hehehe...I'm interested to hear how it works for you.

hey guys a quick and short update, i made some light hangers from aluminum rods 3/4" which will side right next to my tank. the height of the hanging rods are 7' tall and 3' long. connected via PVC 90d joints so i am able to quickly remove the upper bar if i needed to do something light taking the pendant lights fully off or something. i coated the aluminum rods with clear coat incase it does contain some elements which i didnt want.

heres some pictures:( i havent bolted it on yet )
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0972.jpg

what it would look light from the side:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0973.jpg

and the last piece of equipment is now here, i bought 2x 150w aqua medic ocean lights and 2x phoenix 150w. im sure this will provide more then enough light to a 36" spread without having weird shaded areas.

so the move over to this 30g will happen next friday!! im getting excited about it, any advice on moving things over? in terms of water preping and etc? actually any advice would be good :mrgreen:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP1036.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP1035.jpg

no one can share there moving experience with me??:sad:

Hey eugene finally eh!!

moving your contents since your tanks are currently bb I would suggest moving sand in the new set up first and then move water over followed by corals and rock once done add alittle water keep heater and pumps running,and every few days add alittle more water essentially it's like doing WC but instead you're just adding and in a week the new tank should be filled, any other ??

Hold on fella lots of people can give you opinions, but at the end of the day if how you want to do it, I can give you a crap load of advice on how to do it or what not to do.

1. IME take it slow if you are going to swap over the tank. Give yourself at least 6 hours Minimum. If you can use fresh Salt water if you are doing a swap this will help id you have any nitrates or excess of phosphates.

2. Take your sand out if you have any and clean it this will help in taking any spike that you have in your water after moving the sand. Now this is for getting rid of the ammonia spike that you may have. Only do this if you have had the sand in the tank for quite some time, the bad thing is you are taking out all the little creatures in the sand that live in there. But you are stopping any spike in the water that will happen or arise.

3. Take your rock out and rinse it off this will help in taking out any crap that has been in the rocks and helps in keeping your rock clean. And if you have any Algae on the rocks clean it with a brush.

4. once your done take the time to aqua scap the rock the way you want it, and keep in mind that if you have any corals and fish put them in a tub while the move is going on with a power filter and heater. Having a light over it doesn’t really matter since you are going to have the light on the tank after you have this task completed.

5. Once you have the water in and heated climatize the fish and coral and add them to your tank. Clean up and there you go. Remember depending on your lights if you are upgrading your lights to a more powerful setup if you can raise your lights and lower the photo period to allow for the corals the time to get used to the new lights.

HTH.

remember time is every thing, I have moved many tanks over and lost pretty much no corals or fish. Time your time when moving your fish and corals will love you...

thx asmodeus for the detailed way to do this i'll take your advice on doing it, chris i think im going to keep the tank a BB tank to as i have a hydor koralia 3 and 4 on there for the flow.

so i moved the tank over, everythings alive~!! sometime seems to be missing from this scape and i cant quite get my hands on it but maybe once the corals grow out it'll be good. here it is

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP1039.jpg

looking nice and clean love the bb good choice you'll like it much better, with sufficient flow in there you'll be able to suck up any build up and waste great job on the aquascape!

Glad to see how well your new sps tank project is going!

thanks Chris and Anthony, never knew having a "bigger" tank would be so much fun!!!

im at this moment trying to figure out how to get my Ca Reactors Ph to 6.5 range as it is constantly at 6.9~7.3 range. also how fast should the effluent be comming out of the Ca reactor. thanks guys.

with a small tank like that doing a 5-10 gal water change will make a huge impact on your CAL and Alk levels. but if you are really wanting a Reactor. you need to get your chamber down to about 6.5- 6.7 unless you ahve a second chamber then the first chamber will be 6.5 and the second chamber will be having a ph of 7.0. first thing you need to do is see how much you are demanding for CAL and ALk from 1 day to the second day. then what you need to do is start off with a slow drip like its almost at a stream but not a stream. then have your bubbles coming out if the counter for about 30 bubble per minute. the best way is to run the bubbles at 20-25 per min and then test the Ph then if its not enough turn up the bubbles. HTH

slow is good remember other then that well done on the build love the way it looks

you could alway use 2 part for your tank since its not alot of water volume. you wouldnt use very much 2 part either. or Try dripping kalk at night that could be another way to supplement your CAL and ALk needs

Awsome tank!

not sure if anyone asked but who built your tank?