Doc's 29gal Journey

[DocRose]

PREFACE

I purchased a Fluval EVO 13.5 in May of this year because I wanted to get back into the hobby, but I don't have the space to rebuild the 90 gallon I have sitting in the basement. I figured I could just go with a small Fluval for now. Silly me for thinking I could contain my passion to 13.5 gallons of real estate. I purchased a 29 gallon (along with a stand, canopy, and some equipment) from a local that I had planned to turn into a planted freshwater system. It was sitting waiting for my new living room furniture to arrive, so I could begin to set it up. My Fluval finished cycling, and I added a six-line and a firefish to it, along with a few frags. The next morning, I wanted more. So, the decision was made to turn the 29 into a (slightly) larger reef.

DAY 1

I've got the plan for the system already laid out...

Tank - 29 gallon (brand unknown)
Support - Brown wooden stand and canopy (maker unknown)
Lighting - AI Prime 16 (Ordered and should arrive Thursday.)
Circulation - Koralia Nano 565 x2 (Ordered and should arrive Thursday.)
Filtration - Live rock and overflow into a sump/refugium.
Overflow - Pulled the box from my 90 gallon.
Sump - Aqueon 10 gallon. Fiji Cube 10 Gallon Baffle Kit. (Ordered and should arrive Thursday.)
Return - Marineland 600 (might change this)

First things first...have to drill for the overflow. Doing that today after a trip to Lowes for the bit. Here's a shot of the before...will post more as I go!

 

[lapin]

Good so far

 

[JumboShrimp]

Looks like a lot of fun!

 

[DocRose]

Got everything in yesterday and made a trip to Lowe’s for plumbing. Mocked up my plumbing flow. Think I might go back and switch to a fully threaded system as opposed to slips.

Got started on building the sump today. My first time so no teasing my horrible silicone job.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just curious-- What's wrong with slips? It will look fairly identical, and if it doesn't leak it doesn't leak, No?

 

[DocRose]

Just curious-- What's wrong with slips? It will look fairly identical, and if it doesn't leak it doesn't leak, No?

Absolutely nothing...wrong with slips. Just that they're not reconfigurable once they're set up (glued). At least with threaded if I ever need to/want to reconfigure the plumbing, I don't have to buy new pieces.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I see. Don't forget though, that once the salt-creep gets into the threads, it might become nearly impossible to get a wrench and enough torque to take anything apart while in place on the system. Let's suppose you do twist a threaded section out at a union to work on it... you still might find that the parts don't quite get your new configuration where you want it to be, and you end up having to hit the plumbing supply store anyway. I'm not trying to be negative, just looking ahead a bit.

I like what you've done in the photo; I'd get it cranking, start enjoying, and save 'threads' for the next project, if you like them better. Best wishes all around!

 

[DocRose]

I see. Don't forget though, that once the salt-creep gets into the threads, it might become nearly impossible to get a wrench and enough torque to take anything apart while in place on the system.

I'd still use unions (as close to the overflow drain as possible) to ensure that I never work on the plumbing while it's attached to the DT.

 

[DocRose]

AI Prime 16 installed! Going to mock up return plumbing tomorrow and get all the slips glued and painted (haven’t decided on color). Also will be affixing final sump baffle tomorrow. 48-72 more hours and we’ll be up and running!

 

[DocRose]

Thought I'd post about this while waiting for the sump's silicone to fully cure. Still running the Fluval EVO in my office and I had my first ever diatom bloom. I didn't get to go through this ugly stage in my last build. I think mostly because all of my live rock and sand came from two others reefers whose systems had been up for a long time. It started at the beginning of last week and ran all the way through to the beginning of this one. I'm not going to lie, I did freak out for about a day. Especially since my Fruit Loops Zoas closed up and refused to open again for days.

So the bloom started on 6/21/2021 with little light brown spots randomly placed throughout the rock. By 6/23/2021 I was sure it was a diatom bloom especially since the browning had made it to the sand. By 6/25/2021 the kids were freaking out asking me what it was, because it was super dark and all over the place (not the glass though). It was at this point my panic started ;Nailbiting, but I kept reassuring myself it was just new tank syndrome. I did some Googling to find out what to do about it, but I eventually just said I'll wait it out. The only step I took, was one day (6/27/2021) I ran only the blue light on the LED all day. Sure enough, as of today 6/28/2021, it's practically gone. ;Happy Wish I took pictures of it before. Here's two shots from today, and it is MUCH better.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Seems like you're having fun... which is the whole point of a hobby, no? It's great that your kids are getting a front-row seat to all the salty-action, too! ;Happy

 

[DocRose]

All plumbed up! Working on the wiring and mounting the controllers while I wait for the saltwater to mix and come up to temp.

 

[DocRose]

Here she is!!!! Just getting started. Six-line is back at LFS. Plan to grab an emerald or two and a green chromis for now.

 

[DocRose]

You know…playing around with the rock work for an hour to get it somewhat right, and seeing how many spots are not sufficiently illuminated by the AI Prime 16…I understand now why nano hobbyists choose to go with cubes instead of rectangular tanks.

 

[DocRose]

Figured I’d make a little update. Rescaped my rockwork after see the spread of light from my Prime 16. Haven’t seen the Firefish in about four days now. Ended up pulling my MP10 almost all the way to the surface (it’s about two inches below) and tuned it down to 75% power but it still occasionally lifts up some sand and pushes it around.

Also finally got around to hooking up my custom DIY ATO.

Corals are starting to regain colors…those that lost them anyway. I feel like my Fireworks are getting too much flow so I might push them further back. Realizing I never listed them before...

Corals : Fruit Loops Zoa, Rainbow Acan, Seasons Greetings Monti, JF TNT Anacropora, Bali Slimer, PC Rainbow, Firework Cloves (in order below).

Additions: Green Chromis x1, Possum Wrasse x1, Ball of Cheato

Losses: Scarlet Hermit x1 (found his body rolling along the sand bed minus the shell one morning)

 

[DocRose]

Been dealing with the new tank uglies lately. Can see and read about them on a thread I started HERE. Other than that, I've added a dual reactor (GFO and carbon), and I've decided to add the filter socks back to the build. So I (re)ordered them today. Should be here Sunday.

 

[DocRose]

Haven’t posted in awhile. Not much to talk about. Fought through the cyano… Dealing with the GHA now… Figured I’d post a picture of my first two unwanted inhabitants. A single asternia and a single aptasia. Already got some Aptasia X, and gonna let the asternia population grow a little before I buy a Harlequin.