New AA 37g AIO frag tank.

[Bigbaby]

hey hey hey

I'm starting an aio frag tank from Advanced Acrylics. Dimensions are 30" x 20" x 12", total 37g including 3 chambers in the back. Had extra 80/20 t-slot extrusions from work so I built a stand with that. Leveling casters came with M12 studs which are too big for the extrusions so looking for an M12 to M10 bolt. Filter floss, Clearwater CW-50, and cadlight PLS-50 for nutrient export. I will be shutting down my 14g and bringing over some equipment to the frag tank. Lighting is XR-15 Gen 4 Pro with Orphek OR3 Blue Plus 60. Really looking into getting rid of the XR15 and swapping it out with ATI T5/Orphek strip combo. Thats it for now. :]

 

[Dr. Bluethumb]

super clean looking setup, following along!

 

[Bigbaby]

Got water in the tank on Thursday night. Going to let it run 2 weeks before transferring. For board, I used mdf sealed with urethane. For the lights,, im waiting for an arm to arrive for the Orpheks. Once light is up, I'll start transferring lps periodically until the 2 weeks end. Will be swapping a cup or 2 of water everyday as well in hopes of lessening any sort of shock to the corals. Skimmer and scrubber will be offline until I get nitrates and phosphates up to a point of need in the new tank. If ANYONE has ANY recommendations on livestock for such a small tank, I'm all ears. Functional only. My current thoughts are CUC and six line to begin with. I also have a single clown that is coming along and plan on adding another one when transferring.

 

[Jawfishracing]

Nice.. That looks like a class set-up. I love the T-Slot stand.
Looking forward on this develops in time

 

[Max_nano]

What was your experience with AA like? How long was it from order to getting the tank? This build looks great I like the use of the CW for nutrient export with the skimmer

 

[Bigbaby]

What was your experience with AA like? How long was it from order to getting the tank? This build looks great I like the use of the CW for nutrient export with the skimmer

Thank you!! I hope the CW works out as well. As for AA, ordering was quick. Inquired through Instagram and the person I chatted with, who I assume is the owner, gave me a fat discount and arranged pick up. Took 5 days for them to make. It was stock aio tank on their website.

 

[Bigbaby]

Got the tank filled/transferred with all, but sps, and inverts. Going to do that tonight. Got an Orphek Atlantik v4 Compact Gen 2 for the tank with 1 OR3 Blue Plus (uninstalled) for use later. Used Kessil mounting arms, but going to order the arms for Atlantik asap. Skimmer turned on for first time yesterday after 7 days of cycling with Microbacter Start. Should be able to complete transfer and take down the 14g by tomorrow.

Plans for this frag tank is a mixed, low maintenance, high feed tank with low to moderate nutrient levels. Relying on skimmer, algae scrubber, and filter floss for filtration. Will be dosing Tropic Marin All for Reef to make things easy as I have experienced before. For temp control, Inkbird with thermometer and fan will be transferred over from the 14g. Also bringing over ReefKeeper Elite . I'm hoping I can grow out what I have managed to collect so far in the hobby for my tiny 14g. For livestock, I added a Wyoming White to keep the Black Ice entertained. Will be adding a sixline as soon as i can get a hold of one. All LFS nearby reported increased shipping costs on their end so they're not stocked as usual. Any recommendations for utilitarian fish for a nano tank this size is appreciated!!

 

[JW3500]

hey hey hey

I'm starting an aio frag tank from Advanced Acrylics. Dimensions are 30" x 20" x 12", total 37g including 3 chambers in the back. Had extra 80/20 t-slot extrusions from work so I built a stand with that. Leveling casters came with M12 studs which are too big for the extrusions so looking for an M12 to M10 bolt. Filter floss, Clearwater CW-50, and cadlight PLS-50 for nutrient export. I will be shutting down my 14g and bringing over some equipment to the frag tank. Lighting is XR-15 Gen 4 Pro with Orphek OR3 Blue Plus 60. Really looking into getting rid of the XR15 and swapping it out with ATI T5/Orphek strip combo. Thats it for now. :]

I am pretty sure I just ordered the same set up. Did you order it plug and play with pump included?

 

[Bigbaby]

I am pretty sure I just ordered the same set up. Did you order it plug and play with pump included?

Congrats on the tank!! I asked for everything including plumbing minus pump since I have extra sicces and they weren't offering anything fancy lol I think it comes with a maxijet or the like. Not sure if it was because I was local, but he hooked me up with a polish too. Did they connect you with a fabricator for a stand? Here's some updated pics.

 

[Bigbaby]

@Jweis3500 if you're looking for a light, consider 24" t5 fixtures or 2 xr15 or few strip lights in 24". Probably best bang for bucks is t5 right now or if you can find used xr15s or the like. My initial plan was to go ATI t5 24" 4 bulb configuration with
Supplemental orphek blue plus strip lights (overkill), but got persuaded to get the orphek compact, which I regret getting due to size. Either should've got the standard orphek or stick to original plan.

 

[JW3500]

That looks beautiful! I ended up finding a TV console with a great height, length and width to sit the tank on. It was like an $800 piece of furniture that had a water stain on the top, .

I have an extra mars aqua light from an old display im going to start with. I ordered a supplemental actinic reefbar from sbreeflights to mount next to it as well. It doesn't sound great but I have the same combo in my 150 and get great growth and decent color. Plus this way I can keep lighting conditions similar.

 

[Bigbaby]

That looks beautiful! I ended up finding a TV console with a great height, length and width to sit the tank on. It was like an $800 piece of furniture that had a water stain on the top, .

I have an extra mars aqua light from an old display im going to start with. I ordered a supplemental actinic reefbar from sbreeflights to mount next to it as well. It doesn't sound great but I have the same combo in my 150 and get great growth and decent color. Plus this way I can keep lighting conditions similar.

Thank you!! It sounds like a good plan. You should start a build thread too if you haven't already

 

[Bigbaby]

Here's another overdue update. Moved to a new apartment last weekend. Still recouping from it all lol. Tank has found its spot in the house. Mounted supplemental led strip to ceiling as the added weight was significant. No loss from the move, but few lps did get some damage from touching each other. Didn't have internet and lights for 2 days after the move so I decided to let it run pump only. Alk dipped to 8-8.3, but planning on running tank between 7.8-8.6. Changed salt mix from two little fishies accurasea1 to tropic marin pro reef. No reason other than thats all my lfs had at the time. I love the 2 little fishies salt mix as levels are what I like and am accustomed to keeping my tank within those parameters. We'll see how this mix does and go from there. First major f***up happened when I spilled the entire skimmate back into the tank 2 days ago. Turned off skimmer as it was going berserk and did 50% water change. Everything looks to be unphased. I might not install the cw-40. My conversation with a seasoned fellow reefer has brought on some changes to the idea behind my current setup. I initially wanted to add the cw-40 for unwanted algae and nutrient management, but I will be making adjustments to the plan to achieve balance without the use of a scrubber, first.

 

[Drobbin0608]

very pretty

 

[Bigbaby]

Major update.

Tank seem started to part after only 7 months. Advanced Acrylics came through after a few hiccups.. there doesn't seem to be any warranty as I ended up having to purchase a new replacement. They did hook it up with a fat discount. All I'll say about AA and my interaction with them is, John (owner) is blessed with great employees.

I requested for 30 x 20 x 14 high this time instead of 12. Added eurobrace for additional support. Only problem with eurobrace is it extends 3/8" beyond the backwall. Current skimmer will not fit. Considering routing out a bit but not sure how to execute this now with tank running.

Took 1 week for the replacement tank to complete so I turned off the Nero 5s and lowered the return. Used clamps for "peace of mind" lol. Lost 1 hg torch, nothing else. Always the first to go.

Not confident in the Orphek compact yet. Need to tweak channel 1 and 4 settings a bit. Corals growing, but color seems a bit off than what I'm used to under radions.

Found rusty magnet inside Zenreef shroom box. Removed asap.

Parameters are stable with ph staying high @ 8.75 high 8.43 low without skimmer on. Will be dialing in alk this week due to the increase in volume.

 

[JW3500]

Major update.

Tank seem started to part after only 7 months. Advanced Acrylics came through after a few hiccups.. there doesn't seem to be any warranty as I ended up having to purchase a new replacement. They did hook it up with a fat discount. All I'll say about AA and my interaction with them is, John (owner) is blessed with great employees.

I requested for 30 x 20 x 14 high this time instead of 12. Added eurobrace for additional support. Only problem with eurobrace is it extends 3/8" beyond the backwall. Current skimmer will not fit. Considering routing out a bit but not sure how to execute this now with tank running.

Took 1 week for the replacement tank to complete so I turned off the Nero 5s and lowered the return. Used clamps for "peace of mind" lol. Lost 1 hg torch, nothing else. Always the first to go.

Not confident in the Orphek compact yet. Need to tweak channel 1 and 4 settings a bit. Corals growing, but color seems a bit off than what I'm used to under radions.

Found rusty magnet inside Zenreef shroom box. Removed asap.

Parameters are stable with ph staying high @ 8.75 high 8.43 low without skimmer on. Will be dialing in alk this week due to the increase in volume.

Any chance it was bowing in the front panel? It looks like I have a very very similar tank from AA. Just got it last year. Mine looks to be bowing at the front panel. I never had an acrylic tank so I dont know ifthis is normal at all?

 

[Bigbaby]

Any chance it was bowing in the front panel? It looks like I have a very very similar tank from AA. Just got it last year. Mine looks to be bowing at the front panel. I never had an acrylic tank so I dont know ifthis is normal at all?

Yes it did. Noticed it probably a week into running the tank and got progressively worse. Some bowing is expected, but I'm not sure if it had a major part in this. The seem on my tank started to part from the outside.

 

[Damion123]

I like your frag tank. Sucks that you had to replace it after only a few months. Can I ask where you got the stand or did you build that yourself? Where did you get those panels that attach to the side of the stand?