Andy's 45 gallon starfire SC Aquariums skimmerless build 24"x20"x20"

spspirate · Apr 1, 2016

Time again to start another reef build. With our new addition to the family I had to move out of the old fish room and build a new one on the other side of the house. We decided to enclose our side porch to create the new fish room. One thing that I like about the new room is the concrete slab floor! The room roughly measures 8'x11' So will be plenty of space for a chill coral shack!

spspirate · Apr 1, 2016

I ended up breaking down and selling the Reef Savvy

It was for the better and enjoyed every minute with that reef. I kept my high end corals and sold off the rest of the livestock. The corals now sit happy in a little skimmerless 20 gallon tank. Not too much too this set up but good flow, heater, GFO (ROWA), carbon (lignite) T-5 lighting and a lot of good quality live rock.

spspirate · Apr 1, 2016

So as some of you guys know Im a halide reefer and always have been. Going into this new build I was thinking what type of approach do I want to go with this go around. I love halide especially a Radium bulb but I have seen some of the beautiful reefs local to me that are running LED's and seem to be very happy with them. I said why not! So ended up going with the Radion G3 Pro. This LED world is all new to me so while I wait for the tank to get here from Cali and get this room finished up I'll have time to do my research and question asking to build my confidence in this type of lighting.

Scottsquatch · Apr 2, 2016

Wow, I read your other build thread for the reef savy and I felt like the tank was my own after reading the entire thread. Out of curiosity, why are you going smaller now? Anyway, good luck with your build, I'll be following along.

spspirate · Apr 2, 2016

Scottsquatch said:
Wow, I read your other build thread for the reef savy and I felt like the tank was my own after reading the entire thread. Out of curiosity, why are you going smaller now? Anyway, good luck with your build, I'll be following along.

Thanks! I'm going with a smaller system for a couple reasons. One... Room size. Two...I can still splurge on components for the reef but do not have to buy the biggest and multiple ones of it. For example I can get away with 2 Ecotech MP10's instead of 4 MP40's. A smaller bucket of salt will last me a lot longer than the bigger one but still get to use the brand I want. So in a round about way cost and less maintenance.

FoD · Apr 2, 2016

Awesome Andy! Looking forward to this build. Hopefully it'll get wet a wee bit quicker than the last.

Did you keep all/most of your chalices?

spspirate · Apr 2, 2016

FoD said:
Awesome Andy! Looking forward to this build. Hopefully it'll get wet a wee bit quicker than the last. Did you keep all/most of your chalices?

Thank you! Yes, kept my chalices, rainbow monti's, LPS and a few SPS.

BoneXriffic · Apr 2, 2016

Everytime i look at my rank i want to go bigger.lol the itch. Its nice to see amazing tanks and builds like this to keep me from having to sleep in my car with three kids ! Looking forward to watching it come together

spspirate · Apr 2, 2016

I think the most rewarding reef I have ever did was my old Deep Blue 30 cube. I'm looking forward to keeping some of the smaller fish with out them getting lost in such a big system. Also small high end frags won't look so dwarfed in such a smaller foot print.

Scottsquatch · Apr 2, 2016

I can understand that, I am currently almost done with a 33 long display tank, yes it is definitely cheaper. However I do have an empty 220 in the basement that will be converted to a reef next yesr. Thank goodness for jaebo and upgradable Chinese black boxes....