Budget 14g Breeder

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Hi Everyone,

Cleaning out the garage store during COVID19 ISO I found my childhood tank and decided to start a marine system, which I've never done before.

I did a bit of research and the idea really got a hold of me so I went off and bought black paint and a small roller whilst I did more research to select and size the equipment I was gonna use for the build.

As I tirelessly researched and researched, I realised that this is not a cheap hobby... lol. Then I realised I couldn't keep many of the cool fish I liked in such a small tank, then I got hit by all the chemistry, stability and husbandry... lol. Now came the hard decision, will I commit to this hobby and the required husbandry??? So I slept on it and woke up thinking there must be another way to keep a reef tank without all the maintenance and constant fiddling and nurturing.

So my objective became to set up a ULM on a budget with as much DIY as possible for the build. This will avoid high tech solutions that will eventually break, need cleaning and parts etc.

I intend on sharing how and why I did certain things, the logic behind my equipment selection, product reviews and alternative make do products/materials that cost a fraction of the price.

Please comment and stop me if you see me about to do something really stupid or could potentially cause me major issues in the future. (Remember I've never had a saltwater tank before) so all comments are welcome.

Eddie ✌

 

[andrewey]

Hey Eddie! Best of luck! It's definitely possible to set up a low maintenance nano tank on a budget- I would reccomend searching the forum for what other people have done. The biggest tip is to focus on consistency of water changes- that should help to keep your chemistry relatively stable and may be enough for your nutrient export needs! This will be fun to follow!

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Hey Eddie! Best of luck! It's definitely possible to set up a low maintenance nano tank on a budget- I would reccomend searching the forum for what other people have done. The biggest tip is to focus on consistency of water changes- that should help to keep your chemistry relatively stable and may be enough for your nutrient export needs! This will be fun to follow!

Thanks for the words of encouragement, definitely regular water changes are a must. Theres so much info in the forums it's great

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Ok, so here's the very first photos of the tank and the entertainment trolley I found as part of the clear out.

It's a nanotank 60cmx30cmx30cm/ 24inx12inx12in, 54l/14g. As the tank is about 20yo I checked it for leaks first before painting the back and the aluminium corner trims in black.

The front corner trims need 1 more coat as the tank was facing down when painting the back. Hence the masking tape is still on.

Paint: I used acrylic water based paint as all the oil based paint brands I found did not state glass as a recommended surface for adhesion, but it could b just the brands I had access to at the local hardware store. All in all it worked pretty well and was much easier to wash off than oil based and had little smell.

PS. Use a sponge roller not a brush as I ended up having to do it twice

The trolly needed DIY modification to make it suitable as tank stand cabinet. As much as I knew I had to get it done before I filled the tank, the aquascaping was a lot more interesting to me so I got onto that first.

 

[andrewey]

Looking good! Glad to see you knew you needed to modify the stand This will be fun to watch come together

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Looking good! Glad to see you knew you needed to modify the stand This will be fun to watch come together

Yer definitely need to close it up to hide everything inside, or as much of the stuff as possible.

 

[andrewey]

I would also suggest thinking about removing the wheels. I'm not sure those casters are designed to hold that weight, but even if they could, I've always viewed wheels + tanks as a point of failure (even casters that lock). Just my personal opinion.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

I would also suggest thinking about removing the wheels. I'm not sure those casters are designed to hold that weight, but even if they could, I've always viewed wheels + tanks as a point of failure (even casters that lock). Just my personal opinion.

Nice pickup Andrewey!!! I can see that being the first potential point of failure.

I want to put some wooden blocks underneath the frame (removable) as I like having the mobility.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#aquascaping was the next thing for me whilst I waited for equipment ordered online to arrive.

Dry rock (painted or natural) VS live rock.
Live rock was way out of my budget and I didnt think it will stay live if I kept it out of water for lengthy period of time whilst I aquascaped at my pace on Friday nights with a few beers.

Dry rock
Dry rock seemed the way to go but I didnt want to spend AUD$120 on rocks as I needed 14 pound or 7kg (1 pound per gallon) plus buying extra just to have the variety. So I spent a bit of time researching and found that volcanic rock or lava rock was suitable and it came in a natural reddish colour. The only negative about lava rock is that it's not as porous as the mainstream aquascaping rock, which means it has to cycle for longer to well establish.

I had found a reply thread on volcanic rock here on R2R during my research that definitely put my mind at ease as it is authored by a geologist (link below).

Use Of Volcanic Rock In Our Tanks ?

We used "volcanic live sand" from Hawaii in our 29g cube. It was cycled in 3-4 days. I've never heard of anyone using volcanic rock, as their rockscape and later to build as live bacteria rock like we use from reefs. I've used it as bacteria media in ponds for many years with great success...

www.reef2reef.com

DIY option used #lavarock #volcanicrock
Next step was to source the volcanic rock, which I found at my local garden supply yard and they sold me 14kg for AUD$5 !!!. Double what I needed. You can imagine how thrilled I was

So I took the rocks home, washed them and slowly chipped away at the rocks with a hammer to make them join and fit better. I used clear 2 part epoxy to stick together.

Heres some photos of the journey

 

[gabrieltackitt]

Looking good! Following along!

 

[BranchingHammer]

Hey, looks like a great build and aquascape! One worry I have is whether that lava rock is reef safe or not? Non reef safe rock could leach unwanted chemicals into your tank... #reefsquad

 

[SPR1968]

I suppose it really depends on the source of the lava rock, how it was formed, and were it’s been stored, but I think I would be a little concerned about any contaminants leaching out of it potentially over time, simply because you don’t know exactly whats in it.

Theres a thread here which goes into some detail on it

Use Of Volcanic Rock In Our Tanks ?

We used "volcanic live sand" from Hawaii in our 29g cube. It was cycled in 3-4 days. I've never heard of anyone using volcanic rock, as their rockscape and later to build as live bacteria rock like we use from reefs. I've used it as bacteria media in ponds for many years with great success...

www.reef2reef.com

Nice aquascape as well Eddie

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Looking good! Following along!

Thank you so much and for following

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Hey, looks like a great build and aquascape! One worry I have is whether that lava rock is reef safe or not? Non reef safe rock could leach unwanted chemicals into your tank... #reefsquad

Yes that's a concern for me also. I first panicked when the water discoloured thinking it was the rock, but it has cleared up since. I posted seeking advice and someone suggested water test at end of cycle before 1st water change.

Thanks on the aquascape

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

I suppose it really depends on the source of the lava rock, how it was formed, and were it’s been stored, but I think I would be a little concerned about any contaminants leaching out of it potentially over time, simply because you don’t know exactly whats in it.

Theres a thread here which goes into some detail on it

Use Of Volcanic Rock In Our Tanks ?

We used "volcanic live sand" from Hawaii in our 29g cube. It was cycled in 3-4 days. I've never heard of anyone using volcanic rock, as their rockscape and later to build as live bacteria rock like we use from reefs. I've used it as bacteria media in ponds for many years with great success...

www.reef2reef.com

Nice aquascape as well Eddie

Yes that's the link I forgot to paste in my initial aquascaping thread. OMG that's what gave me the confidence to use volcanic rock. Fingers crossed, I really hope theres no leaching.

Thanks on the aquascape.

 

[BranchingHammer]

The test after the cycle sounds like a good idea. I would go with an ICP test because it will test for all metals and contaminants. Hopefully the rock doesn’t leach because that’s an awesome aquascape!

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#filtration sump or canister???
For a new reefer on his first attempt in the hobby, a sump seemed overwhelming. The thought of extra water, dividers, more equipment, more lights felt like a lot more work and cost.
In hindsight I probably should have given more thought to the use of a sump, but with a 14g display tank, what size would the sump have been and what could I have fitted in the sump to truly function as it's intended purpose.
Nevertheless, I chose to go for a canister filter, purely for its tidy aesthetics and ease of operation.

#canisterfilter
There was really to contending brands, Fluval and Eheim. I personally didnt like the Eheim as it had green tubing which wouldn't look the best in the display tank against a black background and it didnt have compartment baskets for the media for ease of cleaning. So I decided to go for the Fluval.

I chose the fluval 207 over the 107 for a number of reasons.
1) Its sized for 4 times my water volume at 220 litres of filtration capacity. So if it actually filters half the volume once its filled with media then it's still double what my tank needs.

2) The 207 has a flow valve that the 107 didnt which I liked so I can increase the flow in case I needed it or slow it down incase it was blowing my substrate around.

3) It has 3 media baskets instead of 2 in the 107. Which gave me extra space for media or broken seashells/coral skeletons in case that would help calcium levels when I finally get to put LPS/SPS coral in. But for now I will load it with bio media.

4) The 207 was $20 more expensive than the 107, which is insignificant for the added value of capacity, extra media basket and flow valve.

So I ended up filling the media baskets as follows:
Bottom - bio media the filter came with
Middle - small volcanic rock
Top - to have carbon and GFO as needed

Some unboxing pictures and what it came with and final position in the #diy cabinet that's still incomplete .

 

[...]

#filtration sump or canister???
For a new reefer on his first attempt in the hobby, a sump seemed overwhelming. The thought of extra water, dividers, more equipment, more lights felt like a lot more work and cost.
In hindsight I probably should have given more thought to the use of a sump, but with a 14g display tank, what size would the sump have been and what could I have fitted in the sump to truly function as it's intended purpose.
Nevertheless, I chose to go for a canister filter, purely for its tidy aesthetics and ease of operation.

#canisterfilter
There was really to contending brands, Fluval and Eheim. I personally didnt like the Eheim as it had green tubing which wouldn't look the best in the display tank against a black background and it didnt have compartment baskets for the media for ease of cleaning. So I decided to go for the Fluval.

I chose the fluval 207 over the 107 for a number of reasons.
1) Its sized for 4 times my water volume at 220 litres of filtration capacity. So if it actually filters half the volume once its filled with media then it's still double what my tank needs.

2) The 207 has a flow valve that the 107 didnt which I liked so I can increase the flow in case I needed it or slow it down incase it was blowing my substrate around.

3) It has 3 media baskets instead of 2 in the 107. Which gave me extra space for media or broken seashells/coral skeletons in case that would help calcium levels when I finally get to put LPS/SPS coral in. But for now I will load it with bio media.

4) The 207 was $20 more expensive than the 107, which is insignificant for the added value of capacity, extra media basket and flow valve.

So I ended up filling the media baskets as follows:
Bottom - bio media the filter came with
Middle - small volcanic rock
Top - to have carbon and GFO as needed

Some unboxing pictures and what it came with and final position in the #diy cabinet that's still incomplete .

Awesome scape and tank! I might use a canister for my 40g because like you I am new and the last thing I need is money on a another tank. I wanted a ULM tank but I like spending time with my tank and watching my clownfish try to kill me. Also less chance of failure but at least there is a another Aussie Lad here!

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

Awesome scape and tank! I might use a canister for my 40g because like you I am new and the last thing I need is money on a another tank. I wanted a ULM tank but I like spending time with my tank and watching my clownfish try to kill me. Also less chance of failure but at least there is a another Aussie Lad here!

Thanks on the aquascape, spent a good 3 weeks doing it... well Friday nights with 6 packs... lol

 

[...]

Thanks on the aquascape, spent a good 3 weeks doing it... well Friday nights with 6 packs... lol

What corals you plan on having?