40 gal cheapskate build

[melypr1985]

Ok. This is my tank. It started with a tank and stand off of craigslist for $50. The stand was ugly and worn and painted black. I sanded it down and stained it a dark brown. I filled the tank and let it sit for 5 days in the garage to test for leaks. With everything good, and me out of money, they both sat in the garage for 4 months. The next time I had a little cash I went to the LFS that is big in used equipment and bought a Fluval LED light for $90. I don't know much about it, except I got a pretty good deal on the price. Another couple months went by and my birthday arrived. With that came birthday money! I was able to get everything I needed (for the most part). Let me just tell you that I have nothing expensive or fancy on this tank. You wont be awed by my equipment list or by what I paid or the shear size of my tank. I even got the sand and rock for free from a local club member. It was sitting in buckets for a few years and we rinsed it out.

So, I have an HOB overflow (which I hate), Fluval 24 inch LED fixture, maxjet powerhead, 10 gal sump/refuge, filter sock, and return pump (don't remember what kind). That's it folks. I got a cup of live sand from tank that had been established for something like 7 years to seed my sand bed. Then I bought two pieces of live rock to add in more bacteria. I even bought that "bacteria in a bottle" (not the actual name) and used it for a week. My tank cycled in a couple weeks and now all I have in there is some GSP that look kinda scraggly, a teeny tiny purple and orange ricordea mushroom, and some pink zoas. I'm hoping to get a couple fish this weekend. I really need something with character in there!

 

[Texas Reefer]

That's great! Get those fish in there, and they'll feed your softies.

 

[melypr1985]

Thanks! I'm really hoping to be able to get two clowns or bangi cardinals. If I can't find a pair I like then I'll get a shrimp or crab or something. I'm also working on getting a HOB skimmer. I'm looking at the reef octopus bh1000. I like that the pump is under the unit instead of in the tank. Unfortunately I don't have room under the tank for it to be in the sump or next to it.

 

[melypr1985]

My new babies. Meet Leonard and penny.

 

[melypr1985]

Another new addition.

 

[melypr1985]

Here are more pictures of my new fish! I'm really happy with them. They seem to be best of friends already! They are also small enough that they are probably both still males. I'm hoping anyway! Oh yeah, got 20% off them for buying 2! The green mushroom is a lot prettier than the ricordea that I bought last time. It looks better under my lights than I thought it would, plus I got the guy to cut it off an expensive rock covered in them and he only charged me $7! So double score for me today!

I have also been going back and forth with myself on what to do about my lack of skimmer. It makes me nervous not running one on this tank. I was looking at the reef octopus HOB skimmers, but today I was pointed to Tunze nano skimmers. My biggest problem is the lack of room in my sump. I literally have about 4x4 inches in there. So the Tunze 9004 fits perfectly in my space and seems to be a good product. Lots of good reviews on Youtube. It will be hard to pay full price for it, cause I'm just a cheap person in general and always need to make a deal, but I'm sure I can bite the bullet for the health of my fish. I'm also going to get an ATO sometime soon too. I took the glass top off of my tank so I could retro fit a "light lift" on the top. (two 2x4's cut to fit inside the lip, sanded and stained to match the stand. set the lights on top and voila! lights lifted) Now my evaporation is through the roof! Luckily I'm a stay-at-home-mom and have the ability to top off periodically all day, but it sure is a pain in the booty. When it cools off here in Texas I will make a proper canopy for the tank myself.

Does anybody have any experience with the Tunze 9004? Can you add any accolades or condemnations? Any tips?

Thanks for looking! I'll be adding more coral and probably a shrimp/ crab next week!

 

[Texas Reefer]

I love The Big Bang, good names!

 

[fishroomlady]

tank looks great and love the clowns! Is there no room in the stand to have a bigger sump?

 

[melypr1985]

Ok, I know this is out of order, but I couldn't find the pictures until now. This shows the stand being refurbished and the beginning stage of my baby.

 

[melypr1985]

I love The Big Bang, good names!

Thanks! I love that show. I already have a hermit crab I have been calling Sheldon. lol

 

[melypr1985]

tank looks great and love the clowns! Is there no room in the stand to have a bigger sump?

Nothing stock. I've done a lot of measuring, and they just don't sell a tank that will fit stock under the stand. I would have to build my own or buy custom. I'm just too cheap to buy custom, so in the future I will either upgrade the whole system, or just build a bigger sump. (probably upgrade the whole system) Until then, I'm really hoping the Tunze skimmer will solve my dilemma. I'm not having nutrient issues that warrant a skimmer yet, but I don't want to get to that point and not have one. better safe than sorry right?

 

[melypr1985]

I found one Aptasia in the tank so I bought a peppermint shrimp in hopes that it will eat it. I replaced the light on the fuge with a shop light and cp bulb, its much brighter. Then, I put a small power head in the first chamber of the sump to keep debris from settling there. Last, I cut some boards to fit between the stand and the wall to keep my son from messing with the timers and cords.

I ordered the Tunze nano skimmer and nano ato and since the skimmer is on back-order, only th ato is on its way here today. Oh well, hopefully I get the skimmer soon.

Thanks for looking!

 

[melypr1985]

Somehow I posted that darn mushroom pic AGAIN! I'll try again. the peppermint shrimp....

 

[melypr1985]

I got my ATO in the mail today! It wasn't too hard to set up, although switching it to handle a larger volume of water was a little confusing from the instructions and I kind of just stumbled through that part. I'm talking about the Tunze nano osmolator here. So, here's the problem.... I ran out of outlets in my power-bar so I had to plug the whole power bar into another one to create extra plugs (i'll need another one soon when the skimmer gets here). When I did that, all of a sudden there is an audible humming sound coming from the sump! ***? I don't know why that started right then! It seems to be coming from the return pump, or at least that area of the sump. I'm hoping my husband can fix it before it drives me crazy or the fish nuts (I'm sure they can hear it and hate me for it). Any ideas on what may have caused this guys?
Also, I have pictures of everything on my tablet, but this site hates my tablet and it's really hard to post anything from it.

 

[jpines]

Check and see if your return plumbing is touching anything causing a vibration...mine will do this from time to time

 

[melypr1985]

Check and see if your return plumbing is touching anything causing a vibration...mine will do this from time to time

I just checked and nothing has moved from where it was earlier today. Its so weird. It's soft plumbing on the return, but I can see it can still do that. In my case, when I move the hose away from anything, the noise persists. ugh

 

[jpines]

Hmm..yeah mind is soft plumbed too. If you turn the return pump off does the noise stop?

 

[melypr1985]

Geeze, it sure does. I dunno why I didn't just do that to begin with! I guess I'll take I out and clean it. See if that makes it stop.

 

[melypr1985]

I solved my aptasia issue also (I hope). I just took the offending rock out of the tank and traded it for a hammer coral frag at the store. I'm sad because I liked the rock itself, but not the aptasia or the GSP that wasn't very pretty. Oh well! I saw some Duncans and a Bubble Coral I really want too. Guess I'm going to have to save up for them! I'll post pictures tomorrow when the lights come on.

 

[jpines]

Sweet! Glad to hear you got it all figured out. Keep the pictures coming