Nice system! Keep the pics comming.
Aquatop Recife 24g AIO Journey
- Nano Build
- Thread starter Alexwlwsn
- Start date
- Tagged users None
basicreef88
New Member
Following this thread. Ended up buying a similar tank without ever seeing this post. My first salt tank ever. Thank you for the guidance.
I have an extra light on top of mine. Planning on going out and getting an additional duncan today. Tank is fully cycled now. Coralline is starting to take over after almost 2months of initial setup. And 1x anemone that's doing great. He planted himself on the lower rock in a cavity. Seems happy there. The neo skimmer is awesome but takes alot of tweaking
I added a used kessel 80 with the light.
And a UV light I turn on after water changes post stirring everything up in the back with the heater.
I have an extra light on top of mine. Planning on going out and getting an additional duncan today. Tank is fully cycled now. Coralline is starting to take over after almost 2months of initial setup. And 1x anemone that's doing great. He planted himself on the lower rock in a cavity. Seems happy there. The neo skimmer is awesome but takes alot of tweaking
I added a used kessel 80 with the light.
And a UV light I turn on after water changes post stirring everything up in the back with the heater.
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Very nice! Glad to see more people with this tank. Have you had any issues cleaning algae on the left side of the glass there by that rock?Following this thread. Ended up buying a similar tank without ever seeing this post. My first salt tank ever. Thank you for the guidance.
I have an extra light on top of mine. Planning on going out and getting an additional duncan today. Tank is fully cycled now. Coralline is starting to take over after almost 2months of initial setup. And 1x anemone that's doing great. He planted himself on the lower rock in a cavity. Seems happy there. The neo skimmer is awesome but takes alot of tweaking
I added a used kessel 80 with the light.
And a UV light I turn on after water changes post stirring everything up in the back with the heater.
I like to run the neo real dry just to prevent it from overflowing in case I have any slight deviation of water level or I feed a little more than usual one day.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Since my thread was bumped, I may as well provide an update! Tank's still running strong although I have a definite aiptaisia issue. I've ordered berghia nudibranches and they should be here this week. They are rather expensive but I'm very tired of seeing a new aiptaisia every time I look at my tank. Will update the thread when they arrive with my experience!
I've been slowly adding new varieties of zoas onto my mountain and have been enjoying watching them grow. My GSP back wall is coming along, although very slowly.
From the top down shot you can see a couple places where the aiptaisia is bothering my zoas:
I've been slowly adding new varieties of zoas onto my mountain and have been enjoying watching them grow. My GSP back wall is coming along, although very slowly.
From the top down shot you can see a couple places where the aiptaisia is bothering my zoas:
basicreef88
New Member
Used a tooth brush to scrape as close as I could without rearranging anything im still having issues getting this skimmer to the correct water height. I did throw in some algae fix when the bloom first happened. Kept it down for awhile. What is the attachment you have on top of the skimmer?
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
I had some shrimp that enjoyed squeezing through the grates in front of the sump area so I drew up and printed a little protector for it.
basicreef88
New Member
Do you think an overflow box like eshopps 300 would fit in the back there? I want to try it out...moving out some of the live rock and having a 10gallon refugiumI had some shrimp that enjoyed squeezing through the grates in front of the sump area so I drew up and printed a little protector for it.
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
From the dimensions of the eshopps 300, it looks like the width is 6" which wouldn't fit into any rear chamber section. The PF-Nano at 4" wide could fit into the center chamber so long as you don't have a light or something hanging in that section.
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
The Berghia Nudibranch adventure begins! They were delivered this morning and I got to acclimation right away. It took about 30min according to the directions and they are currently adventuring into my tank. I'll try and document the success which the little guys have in my tank as there's a decent amount of aiptaisia in there and I've heard nothing but good things about the little fellas.
As they came:
Letting them crawl into my tank:
Close-up of some of my aiptaisia:
As they came:
Letting them crawl into my tank:
Close-up of some of my aiptaisia:
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
13 day update on the Berghias - They definitely disappear when you add them to your tank but they seem to be working slow and steady. Every few days I'll notice one more aiptaisia has disappeared so that's a win in my book! I assume they'll need to grow a bit to eat my larger ones so I'll keep waiting and let you all know how they do.
You probably can't tell where they're missing but I can since I stare at the tank all day
Also, I got tired of making 5 gal RODI at a time so I finally rigged up a trash can to house my water. It's nothing fancy, just a float switch on top to keep the can full and a drain on the bottom. Don't mind the gross room, it's in my storage room. I still need to put a few more boards underneath so the drain will clear the height of a bucket but it works!
You probably can't tell where they're missing but I can since I stare at the tank all day
Also, I got tired of making 5 gal RODI at a time so I finally rigged up a trash can to house my water. It's nothing fancy, just a float switch on top to keep the can full and a drain on the bottom. Don't mind the gross room, it's in my storage room. I still need to put a few more boards underneath so the drain will clear the height of a bucket but it works!
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Day 19 or 20 update, berghias still working their way through my aiptaisia! Haven't seen a single one since about 20 minutes after adding them to the tank but their work is still going on.
This clump of zoas had about 4-5 larger aiptaisia inside of it and they seem to be entirely gone:
This clump of zoas had about 4-5 larger aiptaisia inside of it and they seem to be entirely gone:
basicreef88
New Member
Went and upgraded to a 650 after I setup my aio similar to yours. LolDay 19 or 20 update, berghias still working their way through my aiptaisia! Haven't seen a single one since about 20 minutes after adding them to the tank but their work is still going on.
This clump of zoas had about 4-5 larger aiptaisia inside of it and they seem to be entirely gone:
Attachments
Gumbies R Us
Another Fish in the Sea
Tank looks great!
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Day ?? update of the berghias! They worked real hard for maybe a month, but then entirely stopped. The supplier I went through claims they go through egg-laying cycles and will come back after a few months, but I'm not overly hopeful. The other day I picked up some peppermint shrimp at my LFS and they seem to have already started eating the nasty aiptaisia.
With the shrimp, I got a free chunk of chaeto as well so I tossed that in my back filter area and mounted an old freshwater aquarium light to the back. We'll see if it grows!
With the shrimp, I got a free chunk of chaeto as well so I tossed that in my back filter area and mounted an old freshwater aquarium light to the back. We'll see if it grows!
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Update on the peppermint shimp - they're beasts! It's been less than a week since I added them to the tank and I can only see 1 aiptaisia left over. Because of their seemingly ravenous appetite, I worry a little for my zoas and RFA, but I'll keep a close eye on things once that last monster aiptaisia has been eaten.
i am in the process of setting this same tank up and the media baskets in the back seem to make a lot of noise when water runs through them. What media bag setup do you use in the big chamber in the back?
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
I couldn't find it in my Amazon history so I assume I just bought a large media mesh bag at Petco/Smart at one point. I do remember that I have 2x bags which hold my 2L of Seachem Matrix.
Tank update!
Adding that chaeto was a bad idea because I developed a TON of brown hair algae. After a few weeks of dosing H2O2 and manual removal, it's pretty well under control now and basically back to normal.
I also have a total of 0 aiptaisia left, and the shrimp don't seem to be bothering my zoas at all, although unfortunately they did eat my RFA before I could prevent that from happening.
I also got some nice SPS from my cousin for free, which I glued up to the top of my tank. My montipora has been thriving, so I'm curious to see what growth we get.
GSP island is fully enveloped but the back wall is growing sloooowly so I'm not entirely sure what's up with that. Either way, things are going well on my minimal maintenance tank!
OP
OP
Alexwlwsn
Community Member
Also, not sure if any Aquatop people follow this thread or not but I drew and printed a filter floss holder for my tank. I have been using the foam for over a year now but I figure filter floss will be a better idea for keeping things clean.
Let me know if you like how it looks!
Let me know if you like how it looks!
oconnell
New Member
That looks great, I have the same tank and I have been looking at replacing my sponge as I feel as though it is just really accumulating nutrients if it is not often rinsed.Also, not sure if any Aquatop people follow this thread or not but I drew and printed a filter floss holder for my tank. I have been using the foam for over a year now but I figure filter floss will be a better idea for keeping things clean.
Let me know if you like how it looks!
I am looking at getting some upgrades in the back of AIO as I am having some algae issues. What skimmer do you currently use again, is the ice cap one? And I do not have any experience with 3D printing but I would be interested in getting one of the chamber baskets you have. Keep up the good work and I enjoyed following your tank!
Similar threads
