earthbound Posted October 7, 2012 Posted October 7, 2012 just got done filling it up, going to get a piece of LR tomorrow to seed and cycle the tank. Let the fun begin. 20g long acrylic koralia 750 powerhead biowheel 350 HOB (biowheels removed going to run purigen and chemi-pure) hydor 100w heater 4bulb t5 fixture 30lb dry reef rock (going to get a little piece or two of LR to seed) 20lb sand from reefrocks i think thats it, this is my first tank of any kind unless you count a 55g tank with a red eared slider in it. any comments or suggestions are welcome as im a total amature at all of this. thanks for looking http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/davidawiesner/20g%20long/011.jpg
Toby Flenderson Posted October 7, 2012 Posted October 7, 2012 Looks like a great start. Is there going to be a sump? What are you planning on stocking?
ReeFit Posted October 7, 2012 Posted October 7, 2012 i would recommend scraping the hang on back and swap it out for a canister filter or do a sump setup with filter sock. pics look good like the rockscape.
earthbound Posted October 7, 2012 Author Posted October 7, 2012 fish royal gamma fire fish x2 false percula clown Going to be a softies only tank maybe a lps or two, just going to take it real slow and easy see what catches my eye. I plan on keeping it sumpless for now not really in a living position where i have room for plumbing and such.
Re_Run Posted October 7, 2012 Posted October 7, 2012 I have a seed rock you can have and a finger leather about 3" that you can also have once your tank is cycled.. pm let me know if you want them GL looks like you off to a nice start, welcome to the Addiction. also a couple of starter shrooms and a couple other things..
earthbound Posted October 12, 2012 Author Posted October 12, 2012 so, went to TPA and got a piece of LR on sun to start cycling and seeding the tank. Nothing changed in water tests till tue morning, ammonia started to show up and by tue night peaked at 5ppm. Ammonia stayed there till wed night when nitrites showed up at .25ppm and ammonia had dropped slightly. Didnt get around to testing this morning but got home tonight and ammonia is at 3ppm, nitrite 3ppm, and showing first signs of nitrate at 6ppm. Im also seeing what appears to be a diatom bloom on the rocks and sand and some green algae in one spot as well. Thats it for my mid week update, as always any comments or advice is appreciated. sorry photos are not the greatest still learning how to shoot a tank
earthbound Posted October 17, 2012 Author Posted October 17, 2012 5 days since last update ammonia: 0 nitrite: off the chart nitrate: off the chart Phosphate: .05 PH: 8.6 dHK: 9 should i start doing water changes to bring nitrite and nitrate levels under control or just ride it out
CoralCrazy Posted October 20, 2012 Posted October 20, 2012 Depending on what you want for softies I have quite a few that your more than welcome to have a frag or two of when your ready.
earthbound Posted October 21, 2012 Author Posted October 21, 2012 OK so i'm going to get a CUC tomorrow as my cycle has finally completed, but I am not really happy with my HOB filter. So I have decided to make myself a HOB sump/fuge. dimensions 30"x15"x4" This is what i have so far going to use a Hydor Pico Evolution Mini Pump to go from DT to the sump and then have it gravity feed back into the DT. I'm going to build a removable media rack to go in the spot between the intake and the fuge area. The fuge area will have LR rubble on bottom and cheato in it, i will probably move my heater to the last chamber of the tank as well. Please let me know what you think, will this work or am i just wasting my time?
Garrett Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Looks good water is going to flow from left to right correct? Looks just likw thr cpr ones
Toby Flenderson Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Is there no room underneath for a traditional sump?
Garrett Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Its not drilled and he just finished his first cycle so i dont think he planned for a sump prior. Thats why i think hes doing the hob refigiun
Toby Flenderson Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Its not drilled and he just finished his first cycle so i dont think he planned for a sump prior. Thats why i think hes doing the hob refigiun I read it, still same question
PowderBlue Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 He is still at a point where he could drain the tank and drill it, even retain the water he has with a few jugs. Or just buy an overflow box. I see he says it's his living situation, but I feel a sump is much more fool proof than a hang on back for overflow issues etc. that's one thing to keep in mind. Either way ya go good luck and the tank looks good!
Jeramy Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 I like hang on fuges simply because you pods dont have to go through a meat grinder to get back into the tank they just take a nice gentle swim back into the display where they can get devoured by your fishies. Also the slower flow of the hang on fuge allows you to run more flow through your sump wich means more water being turned over throught the filter sock and clearer cleaner water these are just my opinions based on my experiences and not based on any facts =)
earthbound Posted October 21, 2012 Author Posted October 21, 2012 currently the tank is sitting on a shelf in my living room so there is no space underneath it for a traditional sump, plus no real room in the house to put it somewhere on a stand the kids turtle tank takes up the only good spot. I think this plan will give me the same advantages as a regular sump, or as close to as i'm going to get with the space i have to work with. I also think and correct me if i'm wrong that I shouldn't really have to worry about overflow issues as it's gravity feeding back into the tank, so unless the output got totally blocked I shouldn't have a problem.
PowderBlue Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 I've seen people run the blue floss looking per filters on the return side and them cause clogs. If its your only option it's by far better than not having one at all!!
earthbound Posted October 23, 2012 Author Posted October 23, 2012 Picked up my CUC at TPA yesterday so far they seem to be enjoying the buffet. closeup of thier dinner
earthbound Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 picked up first coral and fish today
Toby Flenderson Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Congrats, that fire fish is a notorious jumper. fYI
earthbound Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 thanks, i found and put the lid on the tank as soon as it went in
Toby Flenderson Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Oh good, that was my first fish suicide. I can see you have done your homework better than I did at the time.
Gill Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 looking good. My only critique is that aqua clear makes a much better filter than marinland. Looks like this is going to be a sweet little tank.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.