Fluval Edge 12 Gallon Nano Build

[Dalton]

Hello all. I'mnew here at r2r. I was looking for a place to start documenting my builds andaside from building a new website, r2r looked like the right place.
note (I have been out of the hobby for about 2 years. But I started buildingreef tanks back in 2003)

So I'll get right down to business.

As the title states I'm working on a Fluval Edge 12 gallon nano. Budget $800(before livestock)

Build start date... Jan 4 2012

Where I am sofar.

The tank itself...

I purchased the aquarium online for $149 + $5.99 shipping. Budget $800 >$644.02

My first impression of the Fluval Edge as a reef builder. ahh where to begin.First off the positives. Well, its elegant and attractive, quality constructedand I like that you can view from the top. The flange or rim around the top ofthe tank is plastic and this is a positive for a reef builder because it meansI can drill the plastic and have a gravity fed overflow instead of a siphonoverflow. Considering that the open area on the tank is so small if you had a siphon overflow and loss siphon your tank would overflowin seconds and create a mess.

The negatives. First the lighting. This aquarium comes with an led fixture withan 8600k spectrum. Simply not good enough for a respectable reef but I will beable to use it in the sump to grow macro. Target feeding.. Because of the smallopening on top, simply putting your hand in the tank would cause it tooverflow. That means to target feed corals I will have to remove water, eitherthat or only target feed when I do water changes. Then there’s the price, at$149 this tank is way over priced for use as a saltwater aquarium but I wouldimagine if you were a planted aquarium person it would be reasonable consideringyou would have a good enough light fixture and filter for that.


Substrate...There is 10 pounds of Nature's Ocean live sand currently in the tank. Ihave used this stuff for years and have always been happy with it.
price $19.99 free shipping Budget $644.02 > $624.03


Live Rock...

I ordered 18 pounds of Fiji (premium) live rock from a company in California(one state away) and I am not happy with what I received. No coralline algae tobe seen and a lot of die off. I'm going to have to take a 60 mile trip to Salem(Oregon) to buy a small piece of live rock with coralline algae on it to seedthe tank, this is an unexpected set back. But the rock itself does look goodand works well in the tank so with a little patience and work it will donicely.

price including shipping $63.98 Budget $624.03 > $560.05


Flow...

2 Koralia Nano 240 powerheads price $35.98 shipping $8.99 Budget $560.05 >$515.08


Misc...

Petco 50 watt heater. The reviews on this were great and so far it’s beenprecise in keeping the tank at my desired temp. Price $22.39
Salt mix so far $10.98
RO DI water from local store. $4.80
Misc electrical fixtures to wire the stand aprox $10

As of now Budget $515.08 > 466.91

To do...

I still need tobuild a sump, overflow box and buy a return pump.
Still need to buy and retro fit new lighting.
Need a protein skimmer.
Need master test kit and various individual tests.


A quick note about the stand. I manage the apartment building I live in andthis tv stand was left over by a resident before I ever moved in. I thought itwould go with the black accents of the tank so I reinforced under the tank with3/4 inch plywood and 1*2's for stability and wired three electrical boxes inthe cabinet along with a junction box. It looks ok, one thing I like is that ithas a flat bottom which makes it easy to level with shims. I will be using thetwo shelves that came with it to make a door to cover the sump area.

I will update this thread when I make changes to the setup and I will try topost pictures of the custom sump build.

Dalton.

 

[Dalton]

Getting ready to order parts for the sump build. Anyone have any suggestions on a return pump?

I'm also leaning twords the aqua c skimmer, would like to hear from those with experience with that particular skimmer.

Thanks

 

[alberthiel]

Getting ready to order parts for the sump build. Anyone have any suggestions on a return pump?

I'm also leaning twords the aqua c skimmer, would like to hear from those with experience with that particular skimmer.

Thanks

One of the Eheim or Sicce pumps but there are plenty of others .. check the forum sponsor sites for some good deals. On the skimmer sorry I have no experience with that one, I use a Red Sea Prizm Pro with a carbon holding insert that comes with it. Venturi and the new type of impeller (pinwheel)

 

[Dalton]

Thanks alberthiel.

I've been pretty busy with work and the tank has been cycling so I havent been posting much.

It's been just over a month and yesterday I received my clean up crew from reefs2go. They are in there mowing down algae now. I also have the new light. 18 watts total. 6 x 3. 4 10k and 2 actinic led. Need to retro fit it to the tank still.

I still need to do the sump build so it's going to be awhile before I order any corals or fish.

I do have a question though. I live a block away from the beach and I'm wondering if it's safe to use water directly from the ocean for water changes. I've heard you need to go 5 miles out to get clean water but that would not be possible. But getting it directly from the shore would be a piece of cake.

 

[alberthiel]

Thanks alberthiel.

I've been pretty busy with work and the tank has been cycling so I havent been posting much.

It's been just over a month and yesterday I received my clean up crew from reefs2go. They are in there mowing down algae now. I also have the new light. 18 watts total. 6 x 3. 4 10k and 2 actinic led. Need to retro fit it to the tank still.

I still need to do the sump build so it's going to be awhile before I order any corals or fish.

I do have a question though. I live a block away from the beach and I'm wondering if it's safe to use water directly from the ocean for water changes. I've heard you need to go 5 miles out to get clean water but that would not be possible. But getting it directly from the shore would be a piece of cake.

Not sure whether that would be usable though and you should collect at an incoming tide. Keep it in bucket to see what happens to it for a few days, aerate it and then see whether you get die off of anything in it and whether it starts to smell badly or not ... you may also want to filter it to remove particulate matter ... look for bugs in it and which ones if you can see any and post some pics maybe. Also there should not be any waste water dump into that areas anywhere near closely.

Try that and let us know what you find and maybe all will be ok, in which case I would start by adding real small amounts at first and see whether there is any negative reaction ... and of all is ok you can add more.

Note though that if the tank has cycled and you do not add someting organic to the tank that can break down and keep the biological filter going it will slowly die off for lack of nutrients. Add some food that can decompose and maintain your biological filter.

Let us know on the water collection .... and where are you collecting from (ocean, inland water way, area where you are etc ... ) Thanks

 

[mgdmirage]

For return pump I recommend Eheim, they cost a bit more but are dead silent and just amazingly well built pumps. I have Hydor Seltz, Quiet One 4000, and Magdrive, Eheim is the most impressive, followed by the magdrive.

 

[mgdmirage]

Aqua C as in the remora skimmer?

 

[Dalton]

Aqua C as in the remora skimmer?

Yes but I havent ordered it yet. I don't even have the materials to start building the sump yet.

 

[Dalton]

Not sure whether that would be usable though and you should collect at an incoming tide. Keep it in bucket to see what happens to it for a few days, aerate it and then see whether you get die off of anything in it and whether it starts to smell badly or not ... you may also want to filter it to remove particulate matter ... look for bugs in it and which ones if you can see any and post some pics maybe. Also there should not be any waste water dump into that areas anywhere near closely.

Try that and let us know what you find and maybe all will be ok, in which case I would start by adding real small amounts at first and see whether there is any negative reaction ... and of all is ok you can add more.

Note though that if the tank has cycled and you do not add someting organic to the tank that can break down and keep the biological filter going it will slowly die off for lack of nutrients. Add some food that can decompose and maintain your biological filter.

Let us know on the water collection .... and where are you collecting from (ocean, inland water way, area where you are etc ... ) Thanks

I was thinking the same thing, it's pretty iffy but fortunatly one of the more popular aquariums in the U.S. is just a few miles away. (Newport Aquarium.. aquarium.org) I am going to go in and ask them their opinion. I believe they use water straight out of the ocean for their tanks.

It would take time to use the water here. It averages 58 degrees so I would need to heat it up quite a bit. I have acclimated hermit crabs from tide pools here into aquariums in the past with no problems but its a 3 day process instead of a 2 hour process.

 

[Dalton]

For return pump I recommend Eheim, they cost a bit more but are dead silent and just amazingly well built pumps. I have Hydor Seltz, Quiet One 4000, and Magdrive, Eheim is the most impressive, followed by the magdrive.

I am going with an Eheim. After albertheil suggested it last month I did some looking around and reading reviews and decided to try them out.

 

[alberthiel]

For return pump I recommend Eheim, they cost a bit more but are dead silent and just amazingly well built pumps. I have Hydor Seltz, Quiet One 4000, and Magdrive, Eheim is the most impressive, followed by the magdrive.

Yes they may be a little more expensive but Eheim has been around for so long and has kept improving what they offer and I see few people who post that they are not happy with them but I do see lots who say they are and that should be an indication that they would be a good choice indeed.

 

[alberthiel]

I am going with an Eheim. After albertheil suggested it last month I did some looking around and reading reviews and decided to try them out.

As I posted IMO you cannot go wrong by getting an Eheim and they also offer great support and most importantly carry spare parts for their pumps and other equipment for far longer than most other manufacturers do so if anything went wrong with it years down the road you would still be able to get the parts needed. +1 for them