Titus's 20g Clown tank build

[Titus]

So if you follow my wall tank build, you may recall that I have now purchased 3 small used tanks, each one intending to become a QT tank at the time of purchase. The second one purchased was a standard 20g tank that I found at a garage sale for $10. I decided to use it as a test to see if I could muster up the ability to build my own stand and canopy. It turned out I could, and the family decided it was too nice to have hidden away somewhere as a QT tank. A family meeting was called, where a location and theme would be chosen. The girls decided that they want it to become an anemone and clown tank for their girl cave.

Here is where it started, as I built and stained the stand and canopy:

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6904/20120618215339.jpg
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[Titus]

The first purchase was the Super Nano con Dientes Overflow Box Complete Kit with hole saw from Glass-Holes. I really liked the looks of it, but managed to crack the tank while drilling it. So... I hunted craigslist for another cheap 20g, found one, bought it, and successfully drilled it. After that, I painted the back wall of the tank black, making the overflow almost invisible.

Overflow and 1 coat of paint.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/797/20120819193151.jpg

After a second coat of paint.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8690/20120819222334.jpg

[Titus]

The next big thing was a custom built sump. Before I began that, I decided I would buy the stuff that goes in it first so that I could be sure it would fit. So, an AquaticLife Internal Mini Protein Skimmer 115, Quiet1One 1200 return pump, and a Finnex 100w titanium heater were purchased.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1023/20120831111524.jpg


I also went ahead and got a bag of sand for it:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5320/20120831111634.jpg

[Titus]

Now that I have the sump contents, I need to build the sump. I didn't think about a sump when I built the stand, so a 10g won't fit. I will most likely have a local acrylic sump builder make me a custom one, but I am still on the fence. The plan for next steps are as follows:


Get the sump built
Plumb it up and get it some water in it
Rock- I hear Marco Rocks is bringing a truck load of rock to MACNA so I will be getting some from him, and then will add a piece or two from the sump of my big tank
Flow- I have not made up my mind here. Maybe I will win an MP10 at the MACNA raffle and can call it good
Lights- I really wanted to do a DIY LED, but this tank is destined to house an RBTA, and I have heard lots of problems with them under LEDs. I probably will end up going with an odessa 4x24 T5 fixture off of ebay and upgrade the bulbs to ATIs.
Livestock- A mated pair of clowns as soon as it is cycled, then some soft corals followed by an RBTA after the tank has been running for several months.

[BC United]

The stand and canopy look great. I look forward to seeing the sump after it is put together. This will be a very sharp tank.

[Titus]

The stand and canopy look great. I look forward to seeing the sump after it is put together. This will be a very sharp tank.
Thanks... Melev is local to me and will likely be making the sump. He is swamped with MACNA planning right now, so it may delay the build a little.

[binford4000]

Nice job on the stand and hood ! Looks really profesional. Looking forward to the completed job. :big_grin:

[Titus]

Nice job on the stand and hood ! Looks really profesional. Looking forward to the completed job. :big_grin:

Thanks... I am very pleased with how it turned out. After the experience of building it, I no longer feel like the LFS stand and canopy prices are crazy. I spent $160 on wood, hardware, glue, stain, etc, and I probably spent at least 10 hrs on it.

[binford4000]

I think your stand and most diy stands far exceed the mass produced partical board stands we purchase. Load bearing capability is also much greater ! If you we're to purchase your exact. Stand at a lfs or online vendor you would be flabergasted ! Lol nice job !:thumbsup:

[Titus]

I think your stand and most diy stands far exceed the mass produced partical board stands we purchase. Load bearing capability is also much greater ! If you we're to purchase your exact. Stand at a lfs or online vendor you would be flabergasted ! Lol nice job !:thumbsup:
Yep... you are spot on! :hypnotized:

[Titus]

Update time... So I really want a custom Melevs sump for this tank, but with MACNA coming up, I know he is slammed and I am trying to save money for the show. That said, I also really want to keep this build moving forward.

This takes me to this past Monday. I had won a bunch of Thrive products from an LFS via a Facebook contest, and I needed to pick them up. I would feel a little like a jerk if I went in, took my free stuff, and walked out without making a purchase, so as soon as I walked in I was looking around for something I could use. I spotted a 5.5g tank for $15 and I immediately thought TEMPORARY SUMP!!! So I will eventually get a custom Melev sump, but this will keep the build moving forward for now for a mere $15.

I had some old glass tank lids and decided to hack them up in the sump project. This is what I ended up with:

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5497/20120908160601.jpg

Water will enter in to the sump in the top right by the skimmer and overflow to the bottom middle compartment. This compartment will get a media rack made out off egg crate, allowing the water to flow through a filter pad, then likely a bag with carbon and GFO. It then travels out the bottom into the chamber on the lower right. I will fill this with rubble or Chaeto... Not sure at this point. From there it overflows into the final compartment where the heater and return pump reside.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/484/20120908160625.jpg

[Titus]

1 step forward and 2 steps back.... I got it all plumbed up yesterday and leak tested it... all good there. Unfortunately I managed to break off a tooth in the sump that I will need to fix, and I realized that the back of the tank needs another coat of paint.

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2296/20120916175602.jpg

[Titus]

I added a couple more coats of black paint to the back of the tank tonight. I still need to fix the overflow tooth I broke yesterday, and I want to do some work on the bottom of the stand. I was hoping to install an American DJ PC-100/A that I won at my local club meeting last week, but it is too big for the stand. I may look to trade it for a PC4 model but I am not sure yet.

[chazde3]

The tank is really coming along Titus. It'll look really good once the rock and sand is in it.

[Titus]

The tank is really coming along Titus. It'll look really good once the rock and sand is in it.

Thanks... I am tempted to add sand and saltwater in the next few days, but i really like the ease of aquascaping dry. I am trying to hold out.

[chazde3]

Thanks... I am tempted to add sand and saltwater in the next few days, but i really like the ease of aquascaping dry. I am trying to hold out.
I don't blame you lol. I have never started a tank with dry rock but could definitely see the advantage when aquascaping, you wouldn't feel rushed to get an aquascaping done.

[Titus]

I don't blame you lol. I have never started a tank with dry rock but could definitely see the advantage when aquascaping, you wouldn't feel rushed to get an aquascaping done.

Yep... I love the way my big tank turned out and I know there is no way I could have pulled that off without dry rock and an empty tank.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7324/tank1v.jpg

[Titus]

I purchased a pair of "Todd's Long Island Reds" at MACNA, and they are doing well in QT for now.

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/999/201210010955491.jpg
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I also purchased about 20lbs of Marco rock at MACNA for the tank. I will be working to get the tank up and running by the beginning of next week.

[Titus]

The tank is up and running. I ended up going with an inexpensive fishneedit.com 4x24w T5 fixture that seems to get decent reviews on Nano-Reef. It is running the stock bulbs for now but I plan on replacing them with 2 Blue+, an Aquablue Special, and a Coral+ soon. I also have an old Neptune AC3 controller hooked up to it. It was on my big tank but I recently got an Apex Lite for the big tank and so the AC3 was freed up for this tank. I put my MACNA Maxi-Jet 900 in it for now but it is big and noisy, and really a little too much flow for the tank, so I have a Koralia Nano 425 on order. I haven't had a chance to get the wiring mess cleaned up, but at least the tank has water in it and can begin cycling.

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8965/20121010153859.jpg

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7947/20121010153843.jpg

[Titus]

Today I replaced the Maxi-Jet 900 with a new Koralia Nano 425. I love how small and quiet it is compared to the MJ900, but it seems like a lot less than half the flow that the MJ was putting out. I'm glad that it doesn't blow sand everywhere like the MJ, but I am not sure if it is enough flow.

[Titus]

The cloudiness in the tank has cleared up so I snapped a pic with the blue bulbs on. They come on an hour earlier than the whites and stay on for an hour after the whites go off.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7167/20121013114803.jpg

Here is the current state of the sump. You can see that the skimmer is producing a decent amount of foam. From the skimmer section it goes down my media rack section. Currently there is just some filter floss on top, but soon I will add a Chemi-pure elite bag below that. From there it flows out the bottom and in to a chamber where I added some rubble from my the sump of my big tank (I haven't decided if I will fill it to the top with rubble, or if I will add a light and some chaeto). From the rubble chamber, the water overflows into the return section with heater. I never fixed the broken tooth on that overflow. I will fix it if I decide to add chaeto to the rubble section.
http://imageshack.us/scaled/landing/850/20121014093449.jpg

Cycling- I dosed a small amount of ammonia on day one to get things going. I got a couple free bottles of MicroBactor7 at MACNA, so I am giving it a try as well. The Ammonia alert shows that ammonia is still high, but I am already testing a 2 mg/l of nitrites in just 5 days of running. Between the use of rubble from my established system and the MB7, I am hopefully it will not be a long cycle.

The Clowns- They have now been in QT for 2 weeks and are doing well. The like mysis most, but will take the IO Marine Chips too. I have tried some flake that free from MACNA, but they don't seem interested in it at this time.

[Titus]

Day 9-Ammonia is all gone and the nitrites are now way up. Diatoms are out in force. The temperature gets up near 80 by the end of each day's light cycle. I ordered a little hang on fan made by Zoo Med and plan to control it with my AC3 to keep the temps between 78 and 79. I am still dosing MicroBactor7 daily and I am ghost feeding i bit of mysis shrimp every other day.

Clown update- They have completed their 2 rounds of Prazipro in the QT. The plan was to treat them with copper next, but I have changed my mind on that. After lots of reading, I see that Brooklynella is the biggest concern for clowns and the consensus is that it can not be treated with copper. I have chosen to go with Mardel QuICK Cure. It is supposed to work on ick (like copper), but it is Formalin based (known to treat Brook). The treatment only lasts 3 days, and after that I will just leave the clowns in QT until the tank has cycled.

[Titus]

Small update... I added a small bag of Chemi-pure elite to the media rack in the sump today.

Unrelated note... As part of the same order I got a Reef Gently Acclimate Pro. I had wanted one as soon as I saw their video on it, and although I haven't used it yet, the build quality and features have so far exceeded my high expectations. I can't wait to give it a try. I am a little surprised by how small it is. If It works as good as it looks, I may add the XL version to my wish list.

[Titus]

Day 16, the tank has cycled. It was a nasty mess in there. I did a 15% water change and sucked out the worst of the GHA and Cyano. I didn't think to take a pre-cleaning pic, but below is the after cleaning pic. still nasty looking, but not as nasty. I also added a single head of candy cane that I had in the sump of my big tank. Not sure when I will add the clowns. They have gone through all the QT treatment I had planned, but I just hate putting them in there during this nasty time.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/4525/20121025140146.jpg

[MizTanks]

GHA and Cyno are not normal parts of the cycle. High nutrient levels and low flow would be my first guess.
I see you have a skimmer. It looks like the collection cups is filled with water. Correct?
Live your rock work :)

[Titus]

GHA and Cyno are not normal parts of the cycle. High nutrient levels and low flow would be my first guess.
I see you have a skimmer. It looks like the collection cups is filled with water. Correct?
Live your rock work :)

The GHA and Cyano likely came over from the rubble I used to seed the tank. It was out of the fuge of my big tank, which went through a really bad GHA and Cyano bout most of August. GFO has knocked out 95% of it, but there is still a little present. I suspect there was some traces of it on the rubble, and the new Marco rock is probably feeding it by leaching phosphates in to the water. I am hoping that the Chemi-pure elite will help with that, but it was only added less than a week ago.

The skimmer cup fills fast with yellow water (needs to be dumped every 3rd day currently). I keep adjusting it each time I dump it and getting slightly longer run times, but it still hasn't gotten anywhere near the dark skimate I get from my big tank.

[Titus]

8 little red legged reef hermits moved from the invert QT into the clown tank yesterday. They seem to like it and are busy cleaning things up in there.

[Titus]

While still present, the cyano has been reduced significantly. I added a little bit of GFO in a media bag to the sump today and hopefully it will wipe out the last of it. More importantly, I decided the tank was ready for the clowns and moved them over this morning. They seem to dig their new tank.

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/7456/20121104184750.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7092/20121104185313.jpg
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[Titus]

Small updates...

ATO- I got an Aquahub ATO kit and an aqualifter in the mail yesterday. I got it all assembled last night and it was a little more involved than I expected. I haven't actually installed it, as I am still deciding where I want to mount the project box and pump. I also have a BRS space-saver jug that I picked up in a group buy that will act as the ATO reservoir.

Lighting- I ordered new bulbs last week to replace the cheap ones that came with the light fixture. I ordered 2 ATI Blue+, 1 ATI Aquablue special, and 1 ATI Coral+. I was informed that the Coral+ was out of stock, but the others arrived yesterday. I went ahead and installed the 2 Blue+, but will wait for the Coral+ to get here before installing the Aquablue. They share a ballast so It seemed to make sense to install them together.

[binford4000]

Looking really good ! Nice project