Mr Fishface's aquatop 40 gallon build

Mr Fishface

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Hello everyone! If you're reading this, thanks for stopping by. I have been out of the hobby for a few years and am excited to be back. My last running tank was a 125 gallon, 6' long tank. It's still in my basement although not running at the moment. I have all my equipment for it, in case I decide to restart it.

In the meantime, I have decided to start again with a smaller tank. My living room is very small so space is at a premium. I also wanted to get something that looks really nice so I started looking into the rimless and cube tanks. My LFS had one of these "AQUATOP Recife ECO 40 Gallon Tank" but it wasn't on any sale. I checked on facebook and, as luck would have it, someone just took down their tank and was selling it with all of their gear!

I wasn't planning on ever getting an AIO tank but I'll admit, I sure love it. Not having a sump below the tank is very helpful. So far this is what I have:

The tank and stand, of course.
I have my 3 kessil a360we lights and a single gen 4 radion xr-15 pro.
Nero 5 powerhead.
Inkbird wireless temp controller & 500w titanium heater.
Icecap k1 nano skimmer (not plugged in yet).
Two kamoer wifi micropumps (not used yet).
Flipper scraper for the glass.
Some kind of tunze ATO (not set up yet)

My back compartment: my heater, then media baskets. Top has filter floss, 2nd has carbon infused media. 3rd has 2 bio spheres that were extra. 4th basket has 13 bio spheres

I have old reef rock from my last tank. I used the marco-rock cement to make some structures. I later added some pieces of live rock from tampa bay saltwater to it.
I started off with a fine sugar white sand. I bought live sand from TBS and I LOVE it! Beautiful sand.

Right now one Kessil is set above my tank. The used tank also came with a gen 4 radion xr-15 pro. I'd like to use both the radion and a single kessil. I love, LOVE, my kessil lights and the beautiful shimmer that they provide. I hear such great things about radion lights and think it could also work well. I haven't found a lot about

I'll attach a couple of pictures here. Long first post but I will keep updating as time goes! Once I get my nice nikon camera out I will have much better pictures.

20221124_101342.jpg 20221124_101351.jpg 20221124_101401.jpg 20221127_174448.jpg
 
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Mr Fishface

Mr Fishface

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It's a tank! Where are the fish?! :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
Good point! My fish are very shy and I will need my better camera to get a picture! 1 springeri (blue sapphire) damsel, 1 hippo surgeonfish. Both between 1/2" and 1". For inverts I have some snails, hermit crab that came in with the rock.
 

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Good point! My fish are very shy and I will need my better camera to get a picture! 1 springeri (blue sapphire) damsel, 1 hippo surgeonfish. Both between 1/2" and 1". For inverts I have some snails, hermit crab that came in with the rock.
And very adept at hiding! Don't worry - I won't rat you out to the Tang Police... :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:
 
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Mr Fishface

Mr Fishface

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And very adept at hiding! Don't worry - I won't rat you out to the Tang Police... :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:
Lol at least yet! I know it will need bigger. The plus side is I do already own a much more suitable tank. I'm hoping to move houses this spring and I figure a 40 gallon would be easier to drain and move than a full 125. But I'll admit... It was a little bit of a black friday impulse. Between .75-1" its so cute!
 

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Lol at least yet! I know it will need bigger. The plus side is I do already own a much more suitable tank. I'm hoping to move houses this spring and I figure a 40 gallon would be easier to drain and move than a full 125. But I'll admit... It was a little bit of a black friday impulse. Between .75-1" its so cute!
Yes, then it grows up and becomes a jerk. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
 
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Mr Fishface

Mr Fishface

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What corals will you be keeping/plan?
Well that is a good question! I have a few right now. GSP on an isolated rock island, some green palys, couple mushrooms, and I believe an acan. I enjoy how the macro algae is making its way around the tank. I'm thinking about trying more SPS in this tank - but I'm not totally sure yet! I do love many LPS corals too...

I do know that I want to keep clams! All my livestock revolve around being clam-safe, which is partly why I lean more towards sps corals. I'll have to do some more research though to see what corals would be okay near clams. This is a picture of my clam from my last tank - it was my pride and joy! I'll update with some pictures tomorrow when lights come back on :)
 

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Gumbies R Us

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Well that is a good question! I have a few right now. GSP on an isolated rock island, some green palys, couple mushrooms, and I believe an acan. I enjoy how the macro algae is making its way around the tank. I'm thinking about trying more SPS in this tank - but I'm not totally sure yet! I do love many LPS corals too...

I do know that I want to keep clams! All my livestock revolve around being clam-safe, which is partly why I lean more towards sps corals. I'll have to do some more research though to see what corals would be okay near clams. This is a picture of my clam from my last tank - it was my pride and joy! I'll update with some pictures tomorrow when lights come back on :)
Just have a spare tank for clams :grinning-squinting-face:
 
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Mr Fishface

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Been a long time for an update! I have not added much in the last few months. I got a sea hare to help with algae and it really has. I got an acro I won from a local LFS auction. Oh I did remove the radio light and put on a second kessil. I like the shimmer of the kessil better and they can use the same controller. I tried adding chaeto to my back chamber but it didn't work out. Now I bought a holder for filter floss that sits back there. I tried putting the skimmer together but it made a lot of noise. Will try to work more later.

This full tank picture is about a month old. I need a new one. Also included are pictures of my sea hare and a starfish!
 

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Mr Fishface

Mr Fishface

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Not sure of the size of the Starfish. Is it one you bought or is it an asterina hitchhiker?
Asterina. I brought them into my tank on purpose. This one is about the size of a quarter!
 

Being sticky and staying connected: Have you used any reef-safe glue?

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