Char.toombes
Community Member
Thought I’d finally share my tank build with everyone. When I started this tank (12/7/2021), I was trying to find others with the same for inspiration but found it not to be as widely available as it seems not too many have this tank (or they just don’t share it too much). So, for those that were in my position, maybe this can help you and give you ideas on what hardware to run with your own setup!
Tank is an Aquatop 40 Recife AIO, purchased from a LFS on a Black Friday deal. My first impressions with the tank were the return pump, skimmer, and stock lighting are trash so I replaced them almost immediately (I’ll get into that in a few). The tank glass clarity is really clear, and truly rimless so it looks very clean. I’m not too thrilled on the stand as it does have some minor sway left to right and I attribute this to just being made of cheap/not enough support. I may build a stand for it in the future depending on if I decide to move the tank to a more high traffic location of the house, but for now it’s fine.
I mentioned I replaced the return pump, and ended up going with the IM mightyjet 535 DC pump. The pump is very quiet, efficient, and has adjustability which i wanted for various flow options. 10/10 recommend this pump. I also changed out the return line to 1/2” vinyl tubing and added a 1/2” bulkhead and new split loc line.
For skimmer, I didn’t use one initially until about 4 months in but after some research went with the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5. Very high quality skimmer, only took about ~2wks to really break in. The collection cup is nice and big, I’m skimming in the dryer side so I only have to empty the cup weekly. The skimmer is also pretty quiet for as big as it is, so that’s a plus as well. I did have to move some stuff in my back chambers around to make it fit as it is big. The body of the skimmer hangs on the back of the first chamber and the inlet/outlet are in chamber 2.
For my lighting needs, I went with the tried and true AI 16HD reef and the rigid arm mount. Sleek design, and since I added a 3D reefing diffuser I get a nice two tone contrast going on. The AI app is a little tricky to work but I’m currently running the saxby preset from AI with my whites turned down about 20% from the preset.
Onto the heating system, I went a BRS 200w titanium heater and an Inkbird ITC-306A controller. I know that heaters are always prone to failure, especially with the heating contacts constantly opening/closing so I didn’t want to take any chances. It has been very effective at keeping my tank @ 78° +/- 0.5°. Having the ability to be notified via wifi on my phone has already saved my tank from a potential disaster when I turned off the heater while installing the skimmer, then leaving for a dinner that night and getting alerted 6hrs later that my tank was just about 70°. Because of the inkbird, i was able to remotely turn my heater back on. Money already well spent.
Some miscellaneous stuff I’ve done to the tank, put together a RS DIY mesh lid, sleek and clean look. Recommend another set of hands when splining the netting into the frame to get a wrinkle-free finish. Ai disposed of the media the tank came with and replaced with marinepure bioballs, just to get a little more surface area for biofiltration. I also run a tunze 6065 controllable powerhead that I really enjoy, it gives a good pulsing wave effect to the tank, giving a randomized current. Lastly, I picked up a Duetto ATO and very happy I did. It was more out of necessity when I left out of country but it’s been nice not having to top off my tank daily. I keep about 2 1/2g of water in the reservoir at any given time.
I started this tank with dry rock & live sand from BRS as well as a starter nitrifying kit from Microbacter. Tank took about 2 weeks to do an initial cycle and I kept dosing ammonia for about 2months before I added my first fish. I’ve since ran out of the MB clean and switched to MB7, dosing 1/2 a cap weekly to keep me pushing through the ugly phase.
I have been VERY cautious with this tank, as I had a really bad crash on an old tank a few years back that got me out of the hobby, but I’m glad to be back. I have been QTing all potential inhabitants or buying from shops that offer QT(reefcleaners & ORA) and I’ve had nothing but positives with this tank. It’s producing consistent parameters giving my inhabitants the best they can have for a happy little life.
My parameters are as follows for those interested:
Temp: 78° +\- .5°
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.3
NH3/NH4: 0
NO2-: 0
NO3: 15-20
PO4: 0-0.03
dKh: 7
Mag: 1350
I also just recently changed from buying SW from the LFS and am now making my own so I’m hoping to increase my dKh in time. Currently using the RS coral pro salt mix and I do weekly 10% WC.
I hope you enjoyed my posting and I hope it helps if you have this tank yourself! Will post updated pictures in the coming months!
Tank is an Aquatop 40 Recife AIO, purchased from a LFS on a Black Friday deal. My first impressions with the tank were the return pump, skimmer, and stock lighting are trash so I replaced them almost immediately (I’ll get into that in a few). The tank glass clarity is really clear, and truly rimless so it looks very clean. I’m not too thrilled on the stand as it does have some minor sway left to right and I attribute this to just being made of cheap/not enough support. I may build a stand for it in the future depending on if I decide to move the tank to a more high traffic location of the house, but for now it’s fine.
I mentioned I replaced the return pump, and ended up going with the IM mightyjet 535 DC pump. The pump is very quiet, efficient, and has adjustability which i wanted for various flow options. 10/10 recommend this pump. I also changed out the return line to 1/2” vinyl tubing and added a 1/2” bulkhead and new split loc line.
For skimmer, I didn’t use one initially until about 4 months in but after some research went with the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5. Very high quality skimmer, only took about ~2wks to really break in. The collection cup is nice and big, I’m skimming in the dryer side so I only have to empty the cup weekly. The skimmer is also pretty quiet for as big as it is, so that’s a plus as well. I did have to move some stuff in my back chambers around to make it fit as it is big. The body of the skimmer hangs on the back of the first chamber and the inlet/outlet are in chamber 2.
For my lighting needs, I went with the tried and true AI 16HD reef and the rigid arm mount. Sleek design, and since I added a 3D reefing diffuser I get a nice two tone contrast going on. The AI app is a little tricky to work but I’m currently running the saxby preset from AI with my whites turned down about 20% from the preset.
Onto the heating system, I went a BRS 200w titanium heater and an Inkbird ITC-306A controller. I know that heaters are always prone to failure, especially with the heating contacts constantly opening/closing so I didn’t want to take any chances. It has been very effective at keeping my tank @ 78° +/- 0.5°. Having the ability to be notified via wifi on my phone has already saved my tank from a potential disaster when I turned off the heater while installing the skimmer, then leaving for a dinner that night and getting alerted 6hrs later that my tank was just about 70°. Because of the inkbird, i was able to remotely turn my heater back on. Money already well spent.
Some miscellaneous stuff I’ve done to the tank, put together a RS DIY mesh lid, sleek and clean look. Recommend another set of hands when splining the netting into the frame to get a wrinkle-free finish. Ai disposed of the media the tank came with and replaced with marinepure bioballs, just to get a little more surface area for biofiltration. I also run a tunze 6065 controllable powerhead that I really enjoy, it gives a good pulsing wave effect to the tank, giving a randomized current. Lastly, I picked up a Duetto ATO and very happy I did. It was more out of necessity when I left out of country but it’s been nice not having to top off my tank daily. I keep about 2 1/2g of water in the reservoir at any given time.
I started this tank with dry rock & live sand from BRS as well as a starter nitrifying kit from Microbacter. Tank took about 2 weeks to do an initial cycle and I kept dosing ammonia for about 2months before I added my first fish. I’ve since ran out of the MB clean and switched to MB7, dosing 1/2 a cap weekly to keep me pushing through the ugly phase.
I have been VERY cautious with this tank, as I had a really bad crash on an old tank a few years back that got me out of the hobby, but I’m glad to be back. I have been QTing all potential inhabitants or buying from shops that offer QT(reefcleaners & ORA) and I’ve had nothing but positives with this tank. It’s producing consistent parameters giving my inhabitants the best they can have for a happy little life.
My parameters are as follows for those interested:
Temp: 78° +\- .5°
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.3
NH3/NH4: 0
NO2-: 0
NO3: 15-20
PO4: 0-0.03
dKh: 7
Mag: 1350
I also just recently changed from buying SW from the LFS and am now making my own so I’m hoping to increase my dKh in time. Currently using the RS coral pro salt mix and I do weekly 10% WC.
I hope you enjoyed my posting and I hope it helps if you have this tank yourself! Will post updated pictures in the coming months!
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