UNS 60A Build – Downsizing for a Doctoral Program

[Cflow]

I figured I’d start a build thread for my newest reef. Last year I relocated to a college town to pursue my doctoral degree. As part of the move, I broke down my previous reef system. After going back and forth on whether I wanted to stay out of the hobby for a while, I decided I couldn’t do it and started putting together a small tank.


I’ve always been a fan of the clean look of UNS tanks, so I decided to try my first all-in-one system with the UNS 60A. The goal is to keep things simple, clean, and relatively low maintenance while still giving me room to keep some of my favorite corals.

Tank & Equipment

Tank

• UNS 60A (20 gallon AIO)

Lighting

• AI Hydra Edge 44HD (purchased used)
• Overkill but I like the brand

Flow

• AI Nero 3 (purchased used)

Heating

• BRS 300W Titanium Heater (left over from my previous system)
• Also have a backup heater
• Inkbird controller
• Sold my Apex during the move, so the Inkbird is handling temperature control duties

Filtration

• UNS Skimmer
• UNS Refugium Basket

Rock & Sand

• 14 lbs Real Reef Rock
• 10 lbs CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade

Dosing

• Chihiros Dual Doser
• Planning to continue using B-Ionic 2-Part as I have on previous tanks
• Magnesium will be supplemented as needed or maintained through water changes

Saltwater

• Aquaforest Reef Salt

RO/DI

• I haven’t set up my RO/DI system yet, so for now I’m buying distilled water by the gallon. Not ideal long-term, but it gets the tank moving while I get settled into school.

Goals for the Tank

The vision for this build is fairly straightforward:

• Goniopora garden
• Zoanthid collection
• Potentially a few acropora once the tank matures and proves stable

I’m trying to strike a balance between a colorful mixed reef and something manageable while juggling coursework.

Cycling

For the cycle I’m going with a fishless approach:

• MicroBacter Start XLM
• Dr. Tim’s Ammonium Chloride

The tank is currently cycling with ammonia being used to feed the bacteria population. I’ve always preferred fishless cycles and this seemed like the most predictable route.


Challenges So Far

One thing I’ve quickly learned is that reefing in a small college town can be challenging. Local livestock and supply options are pretty limited, so a lot of this build will depend on online ordering.

Even getting the tank was an adventure. The first UNS 60A arrived broken due to poor packaging and had to be replaced. Thankfully the replacement made it safely. The silver lining is I now have a backup pump.

Current Status

The tank is wet and cycling. Temperature is being maintained around 80°F and I’m currently monitoring ammonia as the bacterial population establishes itself.

I’m excited to see where this little tank goes. It will definitely be a different experience compared to my previous systems, but there’s something appealing about a simple, thoughtfully equipped 20 gallon reef. Additionally, this is the first system I will be using with some AI (artificial intelligence —not Aqua Illumination) guidance, which is sometimes a bot fight, but usually helpful.

Here are a few photos of current Aqua scape. I tried to make it simple and mock a freshwater rock scape. This is a kitchen countertop reef so don’t mind the occasional dirty dishes!

Thanks for following along! Any advice from fellow UNS 60A owners is welcome.

 

[Cflow]

Hopefully a couple of more pics will upload.

 

[Lumous]

Tagging along

 

[Cflow]

Finally got the light going. It’s been running for about a week and my ammonia still reading at around 0.5 and nitrate about 10. Going kind of slow. I bought a couple of wooden wine boxes to hide my equipment in back. It’s still a rats nest back there. Will need to tidy some things up. I’ve noticed that anything on top of the water doesn’t like to go into the overflow. It’s like the water is so high that the dust doesn’t go through the baffle.

 

[C_Little]

Hey dude, hope the tank is still cycling nicely, I've got a 60A very close to being ready to go too. How are you finding the tank? Any issues surfing it up, what does the rear chamber look like?

 

[Cflow]

The cycle is going a little slow. At day 14 my ammonia and nitrite finally back to 0. I added another test dose of ammonia before I add some livestock but it didn’t drop as I expected. I assume it’s so slow because I used live sand, but I wanted a more diverse bacteria population. I didn’t pick up some live rock because my LFS had aiptasia all over it. That was a hard pass. Hopefully everything will be good by next week. I still haven’t installed my skimmer or any carbon. I ended up getting the ATO and refugium led that I’ll set up once things get going. Here’s a couple pics of the rear chamber. This will all be changed once I cram the skimmer and refugium in there. I also have a CO2 scrubber from my old build that I’m hoping to cram in the back too. This is basically the main purpose of having a skimmer on such as small tank. I’m hoping to get some pods and zoas in the next couple of weeks.

 

[C_Little]

This is my current rockscape, trying to incorporate the golden spiral into the negative space. Ive got a custom cabinet that im making for it to sit on and hopefully have it up and running next week.

 

[Cflow]

Looks good. I wanted a similar rock structure. I tried to get a good positive and negative space too. I’ve had the cabinet with my 60P. They are pretty nice.

 

[Cflow]

I’ve ran into my first major hurdle. I bought the UNS ATO, but didn’t account for how it sits on the tank. It won’t fit flush behind my light mount. I ended up finding a shelf bracket that I’m going to mount the light on instead of the tank. This will position it behind the tank entirely. It is coming in the mail so no ATO yet. It’s week 3 and I’ve done an ammonia challenge 3 times. It takes about 36 hours to completely metabolize a full dose of ammonia. I’m calling this good. Plan on doing a 25% WC and getting a fish. I have a little bit of a diatom bloom going on, but not that ugly yet.

 

[C_Little]

I’ve ran into my first major hurdle. I bought the UNS ATO, but didn’t account for how it sits on the tank. It won’t fit flush behind my light mount. I ended up finding a shelf bracket that I’m going to mount the light on instead of the tank. This will position it behind the tank entirely. It is coming in the mail so no ATO yet. It’s week 3 and I’ve done an ammonia challenge 3 times. It takes about 36 hours to completely metabolize a full dose of ammonia. I’m calling this good. Plan on doing a 25% WC and getting a fish. I have a little bit of a diatom bloom going on, but not that ugly yet.

Ah man that sucks! Do you have pictures of the light fitting with and without the ATO?

 

[DmitryB]

That's looking great! What fish you going to get?

 

[Cflow]

I’m using the mount for the hydra. Smack dab where the ATO sits .As far as fish, I usually just get a regular clown. Maybe a few chromis since they school. Any other fish will probably be utilitarian. The tank is too small for anything too fancy.

 

[ame16]

Following along! I have a 75SA on order and I’m about to pull the trigger on the AI Hydra Edge 44. How do you like the light? Is that the HMS mount? How well does it mount in the chamber without the ATO? I’m assuming you can’t use the back chamber lid with the light mounted?

 

[Cflow]

Following along! I have a 75SA on order and I’m about to pull the trigger on the AI Hydra Edge 44. How do you like the light? Is that the HMS mount? How well does it mount in the chamber without the ATO? I’m assuming you can’t use the back chamber lid with the light mounted?

Yes it’s the HMS mount. It isn’t going to work with the ATO. I need to find a clever way to mount it behind the tank. I got the hydra because I’m a fan of the AI blades, but I wanted one single light. This was used, so I got a pretty good deal. The glass lid for the back chamber won’t work. I have a skimmer that I’m eventually going to put in the back as well.

 

[Cflow]

Fish fish.

 

[ame16]

Yes it’s the HMS mount. It isn’t going to work with the ATO. I need to find a clever way to mount it behind the tank. I got the hydra because I’m a fan of the AI blades, but I wanted one single light. This was used, so I got a pretty good deal. The glass lid for the back chamber won’t work. I have a skimmer that I’m eventually going to put in the back as well.

Thanks for confirming

 

[Cflow]

I found some fish at Petco today. Just 3 chromis. I got 3 scarlet hermits and 3 blue legged hermits as well. I think too soon for snails. This has been my favorite view lately. Probably because I’m always sitting in the room from this angle studying.

 

[C_Little]

Fish fish.

Beautiful fish! How are they getting on?

 

[C_Little]

Finished making my custom Antique cabinet, ready to cycle my 60A tonight.

Wish me luck!

 

[Cflow]

Finished making my custom Antique cabinet, ready to cycle my 60A tonight.

Wish me luck!

Ah, so nice having a cabinet. Looks good!