starypotter
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- May 27, 2018
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This is my first tank build. It started because I was wandering petco and saw some cool inverts that I wanted, so I thought 'maybe I'll look into a small SW tank, maybe 10 gallons to go on the table in my room'. I started my research online, and stopped in LFS where they had a 10 gal reef fully set up and ready to take home... for $800. I laughed and said that was crazy, who would pay that much for such a little set up? I'm not laughing now that I'm many hundreds deep in this hobby before stocking. I then learned that even a 10 gallon could weigh over 100 pounds and that wouldn't work for the furniture I wanted to put it on but got some second hand online anyway and quickly noticed how small it was. I thought well that's going to fill up real fast and what do you mean I can only have about two fish in there? I then moved on to think maybe I'll do a 20 long with a 10 gal sump because I read that the more water you had the easier it was to keep your numbers in check, and I figured if it was long that was more surface area for coral. Went to a local $1/gallon sale and noticed the 29 was the same footprint as 20l so I came home with that and a 10 for the sump. Less than a week later I exchanged the 10 for a 20h as my sump and started my build.
I wanted an open bottom stand so that I could put macro algae in the sump, and all of the stands on the market that are closed are not exactly my style, so I got a metal frame stand at petco for $40. Cut a piece of scrap wood to fit across the bottom to hold the sump and stuck everything on there.
I've done different PVC work before so I decided I'd be able to make my own overflow for way cheaper than buying an overflow box.
I tested out the different lengths and did a dry fit and modified as necessary.
I had found a local reefer looking to get rid of a bunch of rock and sand in his tank. I got 24 pounds of live rock, and probably 50+ pounds of sand. This was on top of the 6 dry and 2 live I had gotten from LFS, and a 20 pound bag of Caribsea sand. I filled up DT with water to keep DT live and kept it like this for a couple days while I made the sump and waited for it to dry.
I have experience cutting glass from another project I just finished, and this was a breeze. First chamber is about 8in wide, I looked at the different skimmers in my price range and they all seemed to max out at a 7in footprint but I also figured worst thing could happen would be to just stick it in the middle chamber if needed. Last chamber is about 5in for my return pump.
After my sump was dry and ready to get filled with water I stuck it in there and was able to start on my rock work. Visually it was too much rock for DT, so some of it got moved to the sump.
I'm still running 2 hob filters on it since I'm having some trouble with the plumbing. My siphon isn't quite keeping up with my pump so after a couple hours the return chamber gets too low and I need to unplug the pump to let the water level rise again. Sump also has a light coming in the mail shortly which is why it's so dark down there right now.
I'm getting a proper CUC in there soon that's in QT right now until I can figure out which native things are allowed to stay long term, there's some mud snails in there now retrieved from the bait bucket down the shore (New Jersey coast). There's also a couple small crabs also found hanging out in the bait bucket who are now down in the sump where they have been exiled until the next trip to the ocean since one is FULL of eggs. Other native CUC includes a hermit crab, and a couple grass/feeder shrimp, and a clam rescued from my dad's purchase at the seafood counter that's been hanging out in the bait bucket all year and has a new home nestled in the sand and seems very pleased to not be in somebody's dinner.
That's all for now, I'll update with the next steps. I'm going to be ordering an aqua lift pump for the siphon to find out if that's why the PVC is barely at a trickle most times, I'm going to get a skimmer as well and keep moving forward.
I wanted an open bottom stand so that I could put macro algae in the sump, and all of the stands on the market that are closed are not exactly my style, so I got a metal frame stand at petco for $40. Cut a piece of scrap wood to fit across the bottom to hold the sump and stuck everything on there.
I've done different PVC work before so I decided I'd be able to make my own overflow for way cheaper than buying an overflow box.
I tested out the different lengths and did a dry fit and modified as necessary.
I had found a local reefer looking to get rid of a bunch of rock and sand in his tank. I got 24 pounds of live rock, and probably 50+ pounds of sand. This was on top of the 6 dry and 2 live I had gotten from LFS, and a 20 pound bag of Caribsea sand. I filled up DT with water to keep DT live and kept it like this for a couple days while I made the sump and waited for it to dry.
I have experience cutting glass from another project I just finished, and this was a breeze. First chamber is about 8in wide, I looked at the different skimmers in my price range and they all seemed to max out at a 7in footprint but I also figured worst thing could happen would be to just stick it in the middle chamber if needed. Last chamber is about 5in for my return pump.
After my sump was dry and ready to get filled with water I stuck it in there and was able to start on my rock work. Visually it was too much rock for DT, so some of it got moved to the sump.
I'm still running 2 hob filters on it since I'm having some trouble with the plumbing. My siphon isn't quite keeping up with my pump so after a couple hours the return chamber gets too low and I need to unplug the pump to let the water level rise again. Sump also has a light coming in the mail shortly which is why it's so dark down there right now.
I'm getting a proper CUC in there soon that's in QT right now until I can figure out which native things are allowed to stay long term, there's some mud snails in there now retrieved from the bait bucket down the shore (New Jersey coast). There's also a couple small crabs also found hanging out in the bait bucket who are now down in the sump where they have been exiled until the next trip to the ocean since one is FULL of eggs. Other native CUC includes a hermit crab, and a couple grass/feeder shrimp, and a clam rescued from my dad's purchase at the seafood counter that's been hanging out in the bait bucket all year and has a new home nestled in the sand and seems very pleased to not be in somebody's dinner.
That's all for now, I'll update with the next steps. I'm going to be ordering an aqua lift pump for the siphon to find out if that's why the PVC is barely at a trickle most times, I'm going to get a skimmer as well and keep moving forward.
)So I had some fish poop going right away, and I've been feeding the tank. Also all of the sand and rock that I got from a local reefer came straight from a tank with fish still in it. He had a 29 bio cube that had been running about 7 years, so most of the rock I have is 10+ years old, and the sand has had fish living with it for several years at least, so between that and dropping in some fish food and seaweed every once in a while I'm not too concerned. 
