Home Office 40B AIO "Letterkenny" Build

[Reef_taco]

Gonna follow your build as I also am thinking about upgrading my Waterbox 25 gallon to a 40b with the same AIO kit. Do you like your kit or would you have gone a different route say peninsula style or full back.

 

[ScubaSnacks]

Gonna follow your build as I also am thinking about upgrading my Waterbox 25 gallon to a 40b with the same AIO kit. Do you like your kit or would you have gone a different route say peninsula style or full back.

Thanks for the follow! I still like the Tenecor universal - it fits the tank placement in the room the best for three sided viewing. The depth makes rockscaping and flow a bit challenging, but maybe just for me as this is my first marine tank. Selection for skimmers is pretty small, and I doubt you could fit a refugium, but that seems to be the case with all of the AIOs I've seen. Outside of that, it just works.

 

[BBarry]

I have to agree. I used Scuba's build as a motivation and pretty much copied it and the Tenecor Universal is a great choice. The only thing I would have changed personally is to go with a peninsula version, but that's personal taste.

 

[ScubaSnacks]

Coral updates below. Finally got to mount all of the new corals from Black Friday, and yesterday and today, received my Christmas batch, this time from WWC and Riptide. All polyps out, and everyone seems happy so far.

The List:
4 x Green Duncans (mounted in the Duncan garden)
1 x RTA Stray Voltage Goni (Rack)
1 x Bicolor Trumpet (Next to Neon)
1 x Blue Polyp Birdsnest (Rack)
1 x Purple Polyp Birdsnest (Rack)
1 x Muy Verde Birdsnest (Rack)

Going to give the tank a few weeks to stabilize before adding anything else. Fish next.
Still dealing with the GHA. It seems to be letting up, maybe a little.

 

[Delsanders88]

I have to agree. I used Scuba's build as a motivation and pretty much copied it and the Tenecor Universal is a great choice. The only thing I would have changed personally is to go with a peninsula version, but that's personal taste.

Do you mind me asking how you put tenecor universal aio together because I didn't get any instructions with mine?

 

[ScubaSnacks]

Do you mind me asking how you put tenecor universal aio together because I didn't get any instructions with mine?

I just marked where it should go using painters tape on the back and bottom adding about a 1/8" gap. Then after making sure everything is nice and clean, I applied aquarium safe silicon adhesive to the AIO on the back and bottom surfaces. Using the tape as a guide, I placed the AIO in position and seated it in place. I used some more tape to hold it down for about a day. The next day I used the silicone to put a bead around the external seams and shaped with a caulking fillet tool and removed the guide tape to leave a clean edge. One more day to cure and it was good to go.

 

[Delsanders88]

I just marked where it should go using painters tape on the back and bottom adding about a 1/8" gap. Then after making sure everything is nice and clean, I applied aquarium safe silicon adhesive to the AIO on the back and bottom surfaces. Using the tape as a guide, I placed the AIO in position and seated it in place. I used some more tape to hold it down for about a day. The next day I used the silicone to put a bead around the external seams and shaped with a caulking fillet tool and removed the guide tape to leave a clean edge. One more day to cure and it was good to go.

Thanks so much

 

[BBarry]

Do you mind me asking how you put tenecor universal aio together because I didn't get any instructions with mine?

I didn't get any either so I emailed them and they gave me a link that I could download the directions. I wasn't able to find it just now. Shoot them an email and they will help. They are quick to respond.

Cliff notes, assemble the box in your aquarium and use painters tape to help secure the frame. Then use carpenter's squares to hold it in place and silicone it together.

 

[BBarry]

I just marked where it should go using painters tape on the back and bottom adding about a 1/8" gap. Then after making sure everything is nice and clean, I applied aquarium safe silicon adhesive to the AIO on the back and bottom surfaces. Using the tape as a guide, I placed the AIO in position and seated it in place. I used some more tape to hold it down for about a day. The next day I used the silicone to put a bead around the external seams and shaped with a caulking fillet tool and removed the guide tape to leave a clean edge. One more day to cure and it was good to go.

lol i didn't even see your response when i put mine

 

[BBarry]

My tank. Corals have only been in there since Sunday so the lights are way down to let them acclimate. Still need to do the screen top (waiting on more corner pieces) and add my skimmer. Then comes the fun of making everything look pretty. I'm going to make a mount for controllers, do all the cable management, probably apply a new background, hide a lot of the shells in the tank (I have A TON of small shells for the crabs), etc....

 

[ScubaSnacks]

LFS Day - picked up a yellow coris wrasse that's likely a Yellow and Purple Wrasse (oops, but no harm no foul with this one) called Daryl, a conch we'll call Dickens, and another Emerald Crab named Roald to keep Stewart company.

I also took out the magnetic Tunze frag rack on the back. While good in theory, the size of the holes and the angle they're at make it so you have to glue the plugs in or they fall out of the hole. 0/10 would buy again. To replace it, I picked up a sinularia or Kenya or something of the like. You can see it better in this one.

With all the new corals over the last two months, it's really starting to feel like it's coming together.

Three more fish left on the stocking plan (that's also constantly changing)

Tail Spot Blenny
Royal Gramma (the one I'm reconsidering for a Goby or Firefish)
Long Nosed Hawkfish

As for corals, I have some ideas - for the middle platform on the left I'm likely to get a torch, one or two more hammers at the top of the right center island, one or two frogspawn for the bottom. I need help with what to put above the Duncan garden, and what to put in the front right. Few other spots to fill, too. Open to suggestions/recommendations.

My wife really liked a few of the trachy/wellso/meat/acano she saw today and it would go great in the front right... Maybe when the tank is more mature and I'm more confident in my coral keeping at those prices . I was thinking about a plate coral maybe. I'd really like a long tentacle nem there, but I know I don't have the PAR for it.

 

[ScubaSnacks]

My tank. Corals have only been in there since Sunday so the lights are way down to let them acclimate. Still need to do the screen top (waiting on more corner pieces) and add my skimmer. Then comes the fun of making everything look pretty. I'm going to make a mount for controllers, do all the cable management, probably apply a new background, hide a lot of the shells in the tank (I have A TON of small shells for the crabs), etc....

Looking good! I like the rock scape and all the colors from the fish. What did you end up going with for flow? I see a gyre and a wavemaker.

 

[BBarry]

Looking good! I like the rock scape and all the colors from the fish. What did you end up going with for flow? I see a gyre and a wavemaker.

Maxspec jump gyre 2000 and Hygger wavemaker. Just got the kit to turn my 20 long into a peninsula tank. It's already running as a frag / holding tank but I hate all the clutter on it. So ordered up the kit, and I'll get to building. I pretty much already have everything except the return pump.

 

[BBarry]

LFS Day - picked up a yellow coris wrasse that's likely a Yellow and Purple Wrasse (oops, but no harm no foul with this one) called Daryl, a conch we'll call Dickens, and another Emerald Crab named Roald to keep Stewart company.

I also took out the magnetic Tunze frag rack on the back. While good in theory, the size of the holes and the angle they're at make it so you have to glue the plugs in or they fall out of the hole. 0/10 would buy again. To replace it, I picked up a sinularia or Kenya or something of the like. You can see it better in this one.

With all the new corals over the last two months, it's really starting to feel like it's coming together.

Three more fish left on the stocking plan (that's also constantly changing)

Tail Spot Blenny
Royal Gramma (the one I'm reconsidering for a Goby or Firefish)
Long Nosed Hawkfish

As for corals, I have some ideas - for the middle platform on the left I'm likely to get a torch, one or two more hammers at the top of the right center island, one or two frogspawn for the bottom. I need help with what to put above the Duncan garden, and what to put in the front right. Few other spots to fill, too. Open to suggestions/recommendations.

My wife really liked a few of the trachy/wellso/meat/acano she saw today and it would go great in the front right... Maybe when the tank is more mature and I'm more confident in my coral keeping at those prices . I was thinking about a plate coral maybe. I'd really like a long tentacle nem there, but I know I don't have the PAR for it.

Looks great! I would avoid the Hawkfish. They can rip corals up. Not all of them do it, but why risk it

 

[ScubaSnacks]

Looks great! I would avoid the Hawkfish. They can rip corals up. Not all of them do it, but why risk it

I haven't seen anything about the long nose doing that, but it would put my snails and crabs at risk. I think the general experience is they like to perch on corals which might tick them off. Couldn't be any worse than my urchin lol.

 

[ScubaSnacks]

I'm thankful for all the sales this site exposes me to. I picked up two from the TSA sale going on which will arrive mid Feb:

Ultra Button Scoly to either go in the spot on the bottom right or the middle support of the main arch.

TSA Blue Torch to go on the platform in the middle of the arch

Tank is going well, despite not being home 4 days a week the last two and hopefully that continues for the next two I'm on travel. My wife is keeping up with the feeding and minor maintenance.

Nutrients, however are not in a good spot - officially bottomed out nitrates and phosphates. I'm turning off the skimmer for the next few days to see if I can bump them up. I'm thinking its been a bit too effective. I'll start daily testing when I get back to see if I can get a good schedule for it. I've seen a small amount of either cyano or dinos now that the GHA is dying off, but not an infestation. It's largely coating the dying GHA. I'm flirting with the idea of using Razor - I've read a few folks being successful with half dosing without impacting corals. That will have to wait until I have 6 consecutive days at home, though.

 

[BBarry]

I'm thankful for all the sales this site exposes me to. I picked up two from the TSA sale going on which will arrive mid Feb:

Ultra Button Scoly to either go in the spot on the bottom right or the middle support of the main arch.

TSA Blue Torch to go on the platform in the middle of the arch

Tank is going well, despite not being home 4 days a week the last two and hopefully that continues for the next two I'm on travel. My wife is keeping up with the feeding and minor maintenance.

Nutrients, however are not in a good spot - officially bottomed out nitrates and phosphates. I'm turning off the skimmer for the next few days to see if I can bump them up. I'm thinking its been a bit too effective. I'll start daily testing when I get back to see if I can get a good schedule for it. I've seen a small amount of either cyano or dinos now that the GHA is dying off, but not an infestation. It's largely coating the dying GHA. I'm flirting with the idea of using Razor - I've read a few folks being successful with half dosing without impacting corals. That will have to wait until I have 6 consecutive days at home, though.

I was just going to tell you that you should slow down on adding corals. I was in the same boat (wanting to add so many awesome corals!) and my brother in law pointed out that if I do keep adding them, there's a good chance i wake up to a crashed tank like he did. then come the dynos and the next thing and then the next thing and the next thing LOL

 

[ScubaSnacks]

I was just going to tell you that you should slow down on adding corals. I was in the same boat (wanting to add so many awesome corals!) and my brother in law pointed out that if I do keep adding them, there's a good chance i wake up to a crashed tank like he did. then come the dynos and the next thing and then the next thing and the next thing LOL

Yeah, the nutrients have been low for a while as I was trying to starve out the GHA.

My theory is since now the nutrients that were bound up in the GHA are becoming available and the nitrates are being taken up by the skimmer and bacteria, but the phosphates are being consumed by the cyano. Turning off the skimming will hopefully rebalance the nitrates and phosphates and won't be a big issue. If it doesn't, I'll have to start dosing nitrates to slowly bring up the ratio.

So far the corals have been happy, with good polyp extension and color on all of them. Outside of the Black Friday haul, I've only added one or two corals every two weeks to allow the tank to maintain some stability.

Your point is well taken though which is why I'm waiting a month between the last and next additions. Fingers crossed I'm not on the verge of a crash.

 

[BBarry]

Yeah, the nutrients have been low for a while as I was trying to starve out the GHA.

My theory is since now the nutrients that were bound up in the GHA are becoming available and the nitrates are being taken up by the skimmer and bacteria, but the phosphates are being consumed by the cyano. Turning off the skimming will hopefully rebalance the nitrates and phosphates and won't be a big issue. If it doesn't, I'll have to start dosing nitrates to slowly bring up the ratio.

So far the corals have been happy, with good polyp extension and color on all of them. Outside of the Black Friday haul, I've only added one or two corals every two weeks to allow the tank to maintain some stability.

Your point is well taken though which is why I'm waiting a month between the last and next additions. Fingers crossed I'm not on the verge of a crash.

Wanna know a secret. My skimmer still has never been used LOL.

I mean it's running in the tank right now doing a 'break in' but no collection cup (9004 DC). I am waiting to replace the glass lid with the screen lid but kept running into issues. Innovative Marines kit doesn't work because they use proprietary corner pieces so you can only do a square / cube / rectangle (no cutouts). I want my screen top to go around the filter box so that I can access it easy without removing the screen. Plus thats where the light mounts are.

So for now I have the skimmer just running at low air with no collection cup. It's essentially just turning the tank into a micro bubble factory, but that's ok. I know how to remove them (just put the cup on LOL).

I should have my 20 long Tenacor peninsula build done this weekend too. Since i was using it for a frag / QT tank, I already have pretty much everything for it.

I'm debating if I want to add a diamond goby to the tank. I mean I know I do. Just afraid it'll push me over my stocking limit. I do have a ton of biological filtration though. 30+lbs of live rock plus a bunch of matrix under the filter sock. I might try to catch one or more of the cardinals and the Yellow Watchman to move to the 20g when it's ready.

So 10 fish (maybe 9 if the banded is KIA).

2 Darwin clowns
3 Pajama Cardinals
1 Highfin Banded goby (not sure if the poor guy is still with us. He hasn't been seen in a couple weeks)
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Tailspot Blenny (HIGHLY underrated fish. This dude has so much personality)
1 Yellow Coris Wrasse
1 Springeri
1 cleaner shrimp
2 conchs
a handful (that's the scientific term ) of snails and hermit crabs

 

[ScubaSnacks]

Wanna know a secret. My skimmer still has never been used LOL.

I mean it's running in the tank right now doing a 'break in' but no collection cup (9004 DC). I am waiting to replace the glass lid with the screen lid but kept running into issues. Innovative Marines kit doesn't work because they use proprietary corner pieces so you can only do a square / cube / rectangle (no cutouts). I want my screen top to go around the filter box so that I can access it easy without removing the screen. Plus thats where the light mounts are.

So for now I have the skimmer just running at low air with no collection cup. It's essentially just turning the tank into a micro bubble factory, but that's ok. I know how to remove them (just put the cup on LOL).

I should have my 20 long Tenacor peninsula build done this weekend too. Since i was using it for a frag / QT tank, I already have pretty much everything for it.

I'm debating if I want to add a diamond goby to the tank. I mean I know I do. Just afraid it'll push me over my stocking limit. I do have a ton of biological filtration though. 30+lbs of live rock plus a bunch of matrix under the filter sock. I might try to catch one or more of the cardinals and the Yellow Watchman to move to the 20g when it's ready.

So 10 fish (maybe 9 if the banded is KIA).

2 Darwin clowns
3 Pajama Cardinals
1 Highfin Banded goby (not sure if the poor guy is still with us. He hasn't been seen in a couple weeks)
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Tailspot Blenny (HIGHLY underrated fish. This dude has so much personality)
1 Yellow Coris Wrasse
1 Springeri
1 cleaner shrimp
2 conchs
a handful (that's the scientific term ) of snails and hermit crabs

lol @ your skimmer. I think my bioload is just too low with the 4 fish to support the corals (and the algae). I have it running just for gas exchange now, its not collecting anything into the cup. Even after 4 days of it not collecting anything, nitrates and phosphates are still bottomed out.

There was a bit of cyano when I got home from Nashville today (my wife warned me). I blew it off everything and changed my reef diaper. On the bright side, the GHA is basically gone so I'm guessing it is releasing phosphates and I have no nitrates so it is just out of whack. My guess is that nitrates had been down for so long the bacteria wasn't able to uptake anything and the algae was outcompeting and now it is out of phosphates and the GHA is giving them up to the cyano. I picked up NeoNitro and dosed 3ppm today, I'll test again tomorrow and see if it budged. I'll dial in a dose to keep around 5ppm and then adjust based off readings. Should be back to stable shortly. I'm even starting to see the first spots of coralline.

I'm trying to decide if it is wise to add more fish yet. Tailspot is on my list, and bioload seems to be going in the right direction considering I'm too high on consumers... decisions decisions. Maybe I'll check out the LFS this weekend and flip a coin. I still haven't dosed any algaecides, reef flux, or razor. Next weekend the torch and scolly come in. I probably should just so the corals have some N and P to consume.