How not to start a reef tank, my first reef tank build

[living_tribunal]

The more I clean this sump, the more I realize it’s a killer.

I absolutely detest whoever thought it would be smart to essentially lock it in the stand however.

I’m mapping out which sections will be used as an ato, Chaeto, media, and skimmer.

Luckily, it’s acrylic and held water like a champ so I don’t have to worry about sealing it.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to run a bead through the seams though.

In two more days this thing has to run and support my two month long project of starting a Fowlr tank.

Boy this hobby is a part-time job! I’m very eager to get to a spot where I have all of the laborious work done and can focus on maintaining the tank.

When that day will be? Not sure.

 

[living_tribunal]

To be honest, if all else fails, I think I’m just going to push this little 10g to its limits.

Out of the few thousand dollars I’ve spent, this $14 aqueon breeder has been the best investment.

Who knew you could grow 22 corals happily in such a confined area.

Water changes are a breeze, I didn’t have to spend 40 hours resealing/prepping it, it doesn’t take two people to move, doesn’t need a sump, I’m kind of in love.

There’s some more room in there, might as well make it 30 until the first batch gets to the dt.

 

[living_tribunal]

So I’m not entirely sure what each section of this sump is meant for. I think the overflow runs through the square column in the far back left as there are media slots that fit in there. I think the skimmer also goes in that circular column to the right of it?

It looks like the guy had the fuge in the front far left area.

Is that correct from what you can see in the following photo?

Plumbing is a bit intimidating not going to lie.

 

[Why-Me]

Back left is media rak, next to it is the filter sock holder area, in front of that is skimmer chamber. the big middle chamber is likely the fuge then the bubble trap to the right of that then the return pump chamber on the far right.

 

[living_tribunal]

Back left is media rak, next to it is the filter sock holder area, in front of that is skimmer chamber. the big middle chamber is likely the fuge then the bubble trap to the right of that then the return pump chamber on the far right.

The one thing I’m confused about is there is no opening from the circular section. So water can’t exit that area which is why I’m not sure if it’s meant to catch the incoming water. I thought the water would flow into the trickle filter media section.

Edit* it does have a baffle that leads into the media chamber, I should put on a helmet and ride the short bus to school.

 

[living_tribunal]

I made a little fuge for my qt frag tank.

It’s definitely red neck rigged but it may just work.

The only issue is the light for it is so bright in this corner, it slightly illuminated the main tank with red. Any suggestions on how to avoid this? I’m think about a little plate that will cover it.

 

[living_tribunal]

An additional note, getting the flow right in this 10g is much harder now that it has sps.

When it was lps, things were very simple. I had the birdsnest and montis directly underneath the flow of my filter.

I had to move the filter to make way for the refugium. This led to me spending an hour and a half royally ticking off my corals as I moved them all around.

I think I got it to where the flow is directly hitting the sps, giving moderate flow to the hammer and Duncan, and low flow for everything else.

I also took the time to remove the brown algae from the leptos and on the plugs of other frags.

They’re all closed up but hopefully all of these changes work out for the best going forward. Many of these guys get to go to the display tank in a week and a half.

 

[Why-Me]

I made a little fuge for my qt frag tank.

It’s definitely red neck rigged but it may just work.

The only issue is the light for it is so bright in this corner, it slightly illuminated the main tank with red. Any suggestions on how to avoid this? I’m think about a little plate that will cover it.

Make a curtain out of something to surround the light to keep it within the sump?

 

[living_tribunal]

Make a curtain out of something to surround the light to keep it within the sump?

It’s not a sump, it’s just a hook on back breeder box

 

[Why-Me]

oh ok.

 

[living_tribunal]

oh ok.

I’m almost kind of regretting adding this fuge. It’s caused more problems than anything it’s solved.

To remove all of the bulkiness in the tank currently eliminating space, I ordered a proper pump for the fuge and ordered two hydor Koralia nanos instead of using this single jet.

I’ve just been scratching my head trying to figure out how to get the flow down. I need a small section, maybe 2”-2”, with high flow, a full rack of mid flow, and everything else low flow.

I’m confident with the higher quality/less turbulent flow I can get things back on track but it will probably require more tinkering.

Still sucks though, I’m not even sure if a little fuge this size can be effective.

 

[Why-Me]

I see a lot of successful tanks without fuges, I don't have one.

 

[living_tribunal]

I see a lot of successful tanks without fuges, I don't have one.

You’re right, a small skimmer might have been the better option.

 

[Why-Me]

Just keep it simple and go down that road if you need to when it's time to.

 

[Why-Me]

I'd say KISS
BUT you're clearly not stupid.
KISF?
Keep it simple friend.

 

[living_tribunal]

Just keep it simple and go down that road if you need to when it's time to.

You hit the nail on the head. Things were running very well before I did this.

I simply *thought* I would need another form of nutrient export since I have sps instead of implementing it when needed. In the process I made everyone angry.

It’s a shame too because most all of my original lps were forming new heads, those heads are gone on a few.

Another valuable lesson learned!

 

[living_tribunal]

I'd say KISS
BUT you're clearly not stupid.
KISF?
Keep it simple friend.

It’s applicable to call me stupid here haha, I feel like it. I’m going to give things some time, and then hook up the Koralias on Monday maybe and get smoother flow going and one final round of moving a few frags around.

Things are still okay except for maybe one frag. At the end of the day, the qt frag tank did it’s job of just keeping the frags alive during their qt. Only 9-11 more days until they get to go into the new display tank.


Something tells me making changes to a 65g with sump is a lot easier than a 10g with no sump

 

[Why-Me]

Having a mixed reef is most difficult.
LPS seem to love "dirty" water but sps love clean stable dead on parameters.

It’s applicable to call me stupid here haha, I feel like it. I’m going to give things some time, and then hook up the Koralias on Monday maybe and get smoother flow going and one final round of moving a few frags around.

Things are still okay except for maybe one frag. At the end of the day, the qt frag tank did it’s job of just keeping the frags alive during their qt. Only 9-11 more days until they get to go into the new display tank.


Something tells me making changes to a 65g with sump is a lot easier than a 10g with no sump

Yes it is.
I went from a 20 tall to a 40 breeder and seems to take care of itself almost. I just check salinity and alk once a week. I'm lazy hahaha JK seems my alk drops slow and no need to keep it at one stable number since my WC are 25% every Friday.

 

[living_tribunal]

Having a mixed reef is most difficult.
LPS seem to love "dirty" water but sps love clean stable dead on parameters.

Yes it is.
I went from a 20 tall to a 40 breeder and seems to take care of itself almost. I just check salinity and alk once a week. I'm lazy hahaha JK seems my alk drops slow and no need to keep it at one stable number since my WC are 25% every Friday.

Your 40 looks really good btw, super clean.

I love frequent and large water changes as well. It just makes it so easy to keep things stable.

I think I’m going to do two 10% wc a week on the 65. I need to get a bigger rodi unit, this sump is so dang big, I think 35g.

I’m debating the sump and skimmer for a smaller one. This euro reef skimmer is 350g rated.... The guy I bought this tank from had a insanely stocked sps dominate tank and he kept everything as clean as possible.

 

[living_tribunal]

Having a mixed reef is most difficult.
LPS seem to love "dirty" water but sps love clean stable dead on parameters.

Yes it is.
I went from a 20 tall to a 40 breeder and seems to take care of itself almost. I just check salinity and alk once a week. I'm lazy hahaha JK seems my alk drops slow and no need to keep it at one stable number since my WC are 25% every Friday.

Here it is next to a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket lol