Budget 14g Breeder

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#2x Clowns (added 30th Sept)

As it's my first marine tank ever and it's a budget tank, I didn't want to gamble with designer clowns. I went with 1 orange and 1 black Ocellaris. Mind you I had to go to 3 different LFS to get them as supply deliveries were very slow coming out of the lockdowns.

Rubber band still in from feeding nori to the snails... lol

Orange clown was a bit bigger than the black one. Unfortunately the lil black clown lasted 12 days before I woke up and found it on the sand bed without any precursors. They were both added same time and were ok together, healthy, eating and no fighting. I can only come to the conclusion that it went into power head.

Very sad and disheartened, doubting my skills, but had to get another one quickly so it wouldn't be too late, especially if they had any chance of pairing.

A few days later, I got another black Ocellaris, which was a bit bigger in size and turned out to be a bit feisty... So it didnt take long for it to put the orange one in its spot and now living as equals for just over 3 weeks now.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#Water Chemistry Challenges (Nitrates & Phosphates)

Once the 2 clowns were added and feeding pellets, I saw a spike of both elements, which stabilized around 25 and 0.25 respectively. Which is extremely high especially for Phosphates.

As a result of the high Phosphates, the coraline algae that was on the snail shells were off and none seeded into the tank. Very disappointed as this was my way of getting the tank ready for corals.

This left me with no option but to set up a refugium. Initially I was considering between a small sump or a HOB filter conversion (Aquaclear 50/70), but price is rediculously high in comparison to building a sump which would give me more refugium space and potentially a small space for a nano skimmer.

More so, realizing the high levels of both, I had a feeling that a HOB conversion was not going to cut it.

So now the objective is to add a sump with a fuge and a nano DIY skimmer to bring down the levels. Then add some Xenia on an isolated rock as I've heard they r good for phosphate.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#Sump Design & Build (operational 30th OCT)

Sump location restrictions and sizing to suit the DT meant I can only get a 12L/3.5gal tank.

I ended up getting the glass partitions cut to size at a glazier, which was more expensive than the tank itself... lol

Since it was such a small tank, I ended up dividing the first compartment for the return in half to fit a future nano skimmer.

I used the bottom of a plastic shopping basket to create a shelf for the filter wool, and some knitting mesh on the bottom of the return partition to stop the chaeto going into the return section as well as stopping the bio rocks spreading into the middle section (refugium).

Worst silicone job in the world... it took me a few goes to clean it up, as the space was very tight to get any size hands in it.

Heres a pic with the sump in its final position and plumbing.

It was good to move the heaters down to the sump.

Problem I'm having now is adjusting the ATO dripper to match the evaporation, especially out of the sump as it doesn't have a lid like the DT

 

[fishguy242]

hi,is that lava rock in sump?? been following ,nice work

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

hi,is that lava rock in sump?? been following ,nice work

Thanks, yer it is... same rock used in aquascape and in canister filter

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#DIY Overflow (operational 30 Oct)

I checked a few DIY methods on youtube and tubing flow rates online to size my overflow.

1 hesitation I had was having white PVC pipes inside the tank. In the end I found irrigation pipes and connectors in black and much cheaper when compared PVC. Another positive was the available size variations (from 9mm to 50mm).

Heres some pics, which are self explanatory.

It needs a lil more wore to increase the size of the inlet holes in the DT, just to allow more flow.

Biggest advantage VS a modified HOB is that it acts as a surface skimmer.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

#Chaeto

Finally added chaeto today. Unfortunately I had to get it from a local hobbiest as none of the LFS's have had any for the last 3 weeks. So looks I'll be on the critters ID threads trying to work out what came with the chaeto and try and remove the undesirable ones.

The tanks nitrate levels are hovering around the 25ppm and phosphates are steady on 0.5ppm. So hopefully the chaeto helps drop the levels a little. Will try it for a week or 2 before adding GFO.

The high phosphates are really driving the ugly stage diatoms. So ideally it can be controlled so I can get some corals in, sooner rather than later.

 

[Ulm_nano_diybudgetreef]

It's been a while since I posted some progress, and like usual I'm on R2R today asking for help, so I thought I might as well post an update and share where everyone advice has led me .

The tank is just over a year old now since wet, and I can't believe it survived and I kept at it. Nearly had a couple of shutdown moments and complete tank crashes, but I guess I'm glad I persevered and that's thanks to R2R and all of you for your support and help through dark times.

The tank finally matured around April 2021 and I started adding some corals and more fish. Took me a while to get the hang of keeping stable parameters, especially that WC's wernt replenishing Alk and Mag with no change to Calc as theres only a couple of SPS frags I added after I started dosing, so eventually went down that road with RedSea Foundation.

Fish Stocklist: 2x Clowns (black & orange), Purple Firefish, 6 Line Wrasse, Bicolour Blenny, and a baby bristletooth (2 inch), 2x Nassarius and 2x Trochus snails.

Coral Stocklist: various Zoas & Palys, Discosoma & Morph Mushrooms, Encrusting & Plating Montipora, Pink Birds Nest.

Currently dosing the major elements by syringe daily, so these params are in check: Alk 8.9dKH, Calc 440ppm, Mag 1350ppm.
I'm still relying on trace elements replacement through monthly 20% WC when I clean sandbed and blow rocks.
Nitrates and Phosphates fluctuate between 5-10ppm and 0.03-0.07ppm respectively.

Regrets:
- Should have invested in a better light than an $100 Aquaknight (LED black box) as you lose the blues and colour vibrancy in corals as you turn up the whites.

Once again thank you to R2R and all of you who have supported and answered my stupid questions. You have made me a long haul aquariast and I cant wait to max this tank out so I can upgrade and use this tank for quarantine purposes