Davis' Mixed Reef | JBJ RL-20 | AI Prime 16HD

[dsong04]

Hi, first time poster here!

I recently got a JBJ RL-20 Cube Reef AIO. It's a sleek tank with spacious chambers in the back and clean edges. Great quality!
I'm also a first time reefer, after many years of experience with planted freshwater aquariums.
I was an ADA (Aqua Design Amano) fan and enjoyed the "high-tech" side of freshwater tanks, so I'm naturally drawn to saltwater which has tons of cool technology!

I'm also a student and don't have a lot of money to throw around, so I may be missing some key equipment (that I think I can get away without), such as a skimmer.

Equipment:
- JBJ RL-20 (20 gallon cube)
- AI Prime 16HD
- Oase Heater
- Sicce Voyager (530g/hr, laminar flow)
- Jebao SLW-5 ( 792g/hr, sine wave pulse)
- ADA Thermometer

AIO Filter setup:
- Chamber One: Two layers of filter floss (changed every week), coarse sponge
- Chamber Two: 2L of Seachem Matrix, Red Sea Reef-Spec Carbon

Fauna:
- Pair of Ocellaris Clowns
- Blue-legged Hermit Crabs
- "Life Rock" Artificial Live Rock by CaribSea (Branch and Regular)

Corals:
- Green-tipped Frogspawn
- Orange Fungia
- Rose Bubble Tip Anenomes
- Tonga White-tipped torch (rescue coral that is bleached)
- Red Goniopora (rescue coral that is bleached)

Camera:
- Sony A6000 with SEL 30mm F3.5 Macro Lens

Coming Soon:
- Neon Green Rhodactis
- Lemon Lime Ricordea Yuma
- Purple Nepthea
- Pulsing Xenia
- Purple Frogspawn
- Green Duncan
- Orange Eye Zoanthids
- Green Goniopora
- Neon Tip Toadstool
- Tuxedo Urchin
- Astraea Snails
- Cerith Snails

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I just took these unedited pictures, and the tank has been running for about a few months since!

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I'm currently trying to nurse the bleached corals I received (for free) back to health. Any tips?

 

[Idoc]

Welcome to R2R....this looks like a nice build already!

 

[dsong04]

This Tuxedo Urchin started spawning the moment I added him to the tank.

Very interesting pulsing motion. Any thoughts as to why it would spawn right after acclimation?

 

[dsong04]

New addition:
Lemon-Lime Ricordea Yuma

I hope to be able to frag it, so I've been feeding with reef roids.

 

[Nigel35]

Love your build! Keep up the good work!

 

[dsong04]

New Addition:
Cerith Snails

They spend most of their time burrowed in the sand, but it's always nice to see when they pop out again.

They've been great at cleaning the diatoms that I can't get to, on the glass-sand boundary.

 

[dsong04]

New Addition(s):
The rest of my corals from New Dawn Aquaculture (Edmonton, Canada).

I highly recommend ordering from them, EXCELLENT customer service. And it feels good to support sustainable coral breeders!

All pictures unedited, colors are true!

Purple Frogspawn:

Neon Tip Toadstool:

Green Mushroom:

Purple Nepthea:

Orange Eye Zoanthids:

Green Goniopora:

Duncan:

 

[Zer0]

The tank looks great! I really love the plate, I used to have a lime green one years ago and it was a favorite of mine.

About the tank, have you had any issues with the water level fluctuating in the return chamber because something blocked the little hole drilled through the AIO wall? It’s absolutely frustrating for me because if a small snail or hermit crab gets its shell lodged in the hole, the water level in the return section drops significantly, which triggers the ATO sensor, which then dumps a ton of freshwater in there. So irritating.

 

[Passedyouby]

The tank looks great! I really love the plate, I used to have a lime green one years ago and it was a favorite of mine.

About the tank, have you had any issues with the water level fluctuating in the return chamber because something blocked the little hole drilled through the AIO wall? It’s absolutely frustrating for me because if a small snail or hermit crab gets its shell lodged in the hole, the water level in the return section drops significantly, which triggers the ATO sensor, which then dumps a ton of freshwater in there. So

Thats odd!!! Haven't had that issue on mine yet

 

[dsong04]

The tank looks great! I really love the plate, I used to have a lime green one years ago and it was a favorite of mine.

About the tank, have you had any issues with the water level fluctuating in the return chamber because something blocked the little hole drilled through the AIO wall? It’s absolutely frustrating for me because if a small snail or hermit crab gets its shell lodged in the hole, the water level in the return section drops significantly, which triggers the ATO sensor, which then dumps a ton of freshwater in there. So irritating.

So far so good! I don't have an ATO... I am the ATO. I refill the tank whenever I pass by it lol (have a marker in the sump).
Works out because I'm home all day due to COVID. Once I pick up an ATO I'll let you know how it goes!

To be honest, not sure what the holes are even for... pressure equalization?
They do make the water level in the sump impossible to control.

 

[Zer0]

Interesting… If you plug the hole yourself, you might see what I mean, unless mine is defective lol. I think the holes are used to help keep the water level equal on both sides when the pump is turned off, though I’m not 100% sure because that could just be done by the return line sucking water back into the return section.

 

[Riptide25]

Would love to see an update on this tank as i am close to adding coral to my Jbj Rl-20.

 

[dsong04]

Would love to see an update on this tank as i am close to adding coral to my Jbj Rl-20.

Of course, I'll take some pictures tonight. The tank has matured nicely and the first spots of Coralline algae are coming in!