Hello!
I have been so busy with work/life in the time i haven't been working on the tank, i haven't had a chance to start my build thread!
Tank
Ive come from running a 75g mixed reef tank with mixed coral along with a 25g shallow frag tank.
Got out of the hobby when moving back in 2014 and have had the itch to get back into it just didn't have time with work and life. On a recent Hawaii trip to visit the girlfriends( fiancee now after the trip) family, i was talking about some of the coral and fish we were seeing on a snorkeling session we did one morning which sparked her to ask the question, why not start a tank back up! With her on board (the hard part right?), when i got back to the main land, i began to research what was the new new and if much has changed. By research i mean hours of scouring R2R and bugging a good friend of mine Ben, who owns Building a Obsession, until 2 in the morning most nights lol. I am still set on jumping fully back into the hobby with a 100g + tank but i figured this would hold me out until i find/ or get built, the exact tank i want. I looked into the Red Sea MAX line and really liked how they were very well made and come with well made equipment.
I was able to pick the tank and light up off a local reefer for a third of the price new so more money to spend on other equipment.
Once i got the tank home i went ahead and did the whole vinegar bath cleaning and started to envision what exactly i wanted and where i wanted it. I really liked how the stand had alot of space since all the filtration is in the back of tank, however i wanted to clean it up once i had all the wires in bottom of stand, so i made a shelf with a false front to hide them all along with backup battery's, apex unit, and power packs.
After water testing i went ahead and dropped the dry rock and RODI Fritz salt mix water from my LFS and added Fritz Turbo start and began the waiting and buying more fish tank equipment lol.
Took shelving from home depot and cut to exact size, added some pieces of angle iron i plasti-dipped avoid rust. Added 2 more Pieces of angle iron to give the false front a place to Velcro onto.
It was dark under stand and wanted to add some sort of light that i didn't have to change battery's or hit a switch every time i opened it, found this on amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749N69MF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Took a little modifying to remove the door sensor from the light assembly and glue to the plastic door opened, but works great now!
All that is left now is setting Will be drilling the front panel as soon as i find exactly how i wanted to layout the vortech controller and fire tablet for the holes to hide the wires. Also have to setup my Apex and look into if the PM2/PM1 and probes are worth grabbing.
As of today, tank has been running for 1 month! Started with Fritz Turbo Start.
Added sand in Monday and now waiting on cycle to finish.
Tips, pointers or any input is greatly appreciated!
will be updating as i go!
I have been so busy with work/life in the time i haven't been working on the tank, i haven't had a chance to start my build thread!
Tank
- Red Sea MAX Nano
- 18”x18”x18”
- 20 gallons
- AI Prime HD
- Vortech MP10 wES QD
- Neptune Apex Jr.
- Amazon 7 Fire Tablet
- Red Sea DIY lid
- Cobalt Neo-Therm 100W Heater
- Trigger Systems 5g ATO reservoir
- Auto Aqua Smart ATO
- Jebao Backup Battery
- 20 pounds of dry reef rock
- 20 pounds of Tropic Eden Miso Flakes
Ive come from running a 75g mixed reef tank with mixed coral along with a 25g shallow frag tank.
Got out of the hobby when moving back in 2014 and have had the itch to get back into it just didn't have time with work and life. On a recent Hawaii trip to visit the girlfriends( fiancee now after the trip) family, i was talking about some of the coral and fish we were seeing on a snorkeling session we did one morning which sparked her to ask the question, why not start a tank back up! With her on board (the hard part right?), when i got back to the main land, i began to research what was the new new and if much has changed. By research i mean hours of scouring R2R and bugging a good friend of mine Ben, who owns Building a Obsession, until 2 in the morning most nights lol. I am still set on jumping fully back into the hobby with a 100g + tank but i figured this would hold me out until i find/ or get built, the exact tank i want. I looked into the Red Sea MAX line and really liked how they were very well made and come with well made equipment.
I was able to pick the tank and light up off a local reefer for a third of the price new so more money to spend on other equipment.
Once i got the tank home i went ahead and did the whole vinegar bath cleaning and started to envision what exactly i wanted and where i wanted it. I really liked how the stand had alot of space since all the filtration is in the back of tank, however i wanted to clean it up once i had all the wires in bottom of stand, so i made a shelf with a false front to hide them all along with backup battery's, apex unit, and power packs.
After water testing i went ahead and dropped the dry rock and RODI Fritz salt mix water from my LFS and added Fritz Turbo start and began the waiting and buying more fish tank equipment lol.
Took shelving from home depot and cut to exact size, added some pieces of angle iron i plasti-dipped avoid rust. Added 2 more Pieces of angle iron to give the false front a place to Velcro onto.
It was dark under stand and wanted to add some sort of light that i didn't have to change battery's or hit a switch every time i opened it, found this on amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749N69MF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Took a little modifying to remove the door sensor from the light assembly and glue to the plastic door opened, but works great now!
All that is left now is setting Will be drilling the front panel as soon as i find exactly how i wanted to layout the vortech controller and fire tablet for the holes to hide the wires. Also have to setup my Apex and look into if the PM2/PM1 and probes are worth grabbing.
As of today, tank has been running for 1 month! Started with Fritz Turbo Start.
Added sand in Monday and now waiting on cycle to finish.
Tips, pointers or any input is greatly appreciated!
will be updating as i go!
