# ADA 60P reef journal



## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

I've decided to go into Nano reefing after almost a year of freshwater 
Reasons:
- It's in my room
Specs: 
WATER: RO water (5 stages) 0ppm with TDS , will add resin soon. (resin added) 5.0 ph from RODI (aquasafe II)
TANK: ADA 60 P (~17 gallons) drilled
SUMP: DIY 10 G sump with glass baffles (refugium with red macro algae)
SKIMMER: Cadlights pipeless protein skimmer
LIGHTS: 90W PHAROS LED with controller from aQled
REACTOR: cadlights nano reactor with vertex pro-bio pellets
POWER HEAD: Vortech Mp 10 es 
RETURN PUMP: aquaclear 50 powerhead 
PIPES: PVC ¾" 
Bean animal style overflow
Having watched numerous videos on how to drill a tank, I went ahead and drilled my old 10 gal tank for practice (it had chemicals in it before). Drilling the ADA tank itself is a lot scarier as the glass is denser and confirming that yes ADA tanks are pretty heavy and top tier. 
FISH: Potters Angel, Mystery Wrasse, False Percula Clown, yellow watchmen goby.
CORALS: blue tipped green elegance coral, galaxea, red ricordeas, green magician palys, green leather coral, torch coral, flower pot coral, meteor shower, purple mushroom
Drilling the tank:








- I didn't create any dam to keep the water in as I found that the water out of my hose is cold enough to cool the diamond coated drill bit. (slow water flow)
- drilling speed will have to start out slow then high to avoid chipping the glass. I started the drilling at an angle and found it to be sufficient with steady hands. 
- slow and steady wins. Drilling a normal glass takes 1/3 of the time of drilling the high clarity glass of ADA (note* it is not starphire) so be very patient. 
- Practice first! 
- Finally, don't attempt to drill tempered glass!!

Making the stand:








- I went to buy some 2 by 4s and made the stand. I didn't have the tools to make an ada style stand, but heck, it turned out pretty good considering that I only used a handsaw and a clamp. 
- Acrylic waterproof paint for water vapors

Making a glass overflow box:








- There are no small overflow boxes out there so I used my small 3g quarantine tank to make the box. 
- scoring the glass and breaking it to desired pieces was pretty easy, so don't be too afraid to make your own .
- At first I was considering acrylic but more people were against acrylic on glass for overflow boxes than acrylic baffles (for a good reason). Acrylic does not adhere to silicone, so with time the box will leak and alter the flow. (It might flood with too much intake)

Making the sump:








- I will soon get glass baffles to make another more proper sump (soon to be future project)
- do not cut your acrylic pieces to exact fit your tank. If the piece expands, it can crack your tank. So always make them smaller. 
- get a clamp to hold the pieces in place and allow 24 hours (preferably 48 ) to dry. Water test. If you don't have clamps, find a way to hold them in place (books) what not.
- should attach baffle pieces one at a time with one hour drying time for each piece (cleaner, less messy) you could also use masking tape under the silicone and rip it off after for a pro look. 
- Silicone should be applied in a WELL ventilated area. Will cause slight nausea and burn many nose hairs upon inhaling it.

Plumbing: 
- I got everything I needed from Home Depot. Their PVC pipes ¾" had many elbows, unions, and ball control valve. How you want to set up yours is entirely up to you. Mine is super simple.

Starting the tank:








I got the Carib sea live sand (20lbs) and 22 Lbs of live rock. The water cleared up within an hour. I left the tank to cycle for 3 days with daily drops of ammonia (fishless cycling). The tests gave positive results so I went ahead and introduced my cleanup crew. 
There are no algae in the tank yet for them to eat so I dropped some algae wafers. This continued on for three more days.
Within a week I was able to introduce 2 false percula clownfish to the tank. They are very happy right now. 
Some concerns: Many reefers suggest a month for cycling. Being a student that spent some time in the sciences, I know that the growth of bacteria and time it takes to multiply. Basically if the majority of your tank is cycled (rock, sand) then you have yourself a cycled tank that will take only a few days for the water column to be filled with the bacteria. It's ALMOST as if you did a 100% water change, but with the help of BIG chunky live rocks and minimal water column, then it can be cycled without a problem. If you got less live rock/sand then of course you will have to wait longer. SO in conclusion, instant cycled tanks for any aquarium is unachievable, unless you are TRANSFERING everything from another hobbyist. (I am so going to receive ill comments for this) haha. 
***Please look up new tank syndromes and old tank syndromes (they are worth a read for sure)

Tank to this date has minimal algae, and no hair algae/aptasia (1 month now) 
Enjoy!

























































MOST RECENT TANK PICTURE:


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

It looks good. Nice, clean and simple. Good job. I had a saltwater tank in my room a few years ago. It was fun watching everything swim/run around while you are falling asleep. A background or some paint would help hide the plumbing and bring out the live rock. Just a suggestion!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Very nice setup. Did you skin the stand at the end? It's hard to tell in the dark.


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Nice and simple looking...nice work on the stand. Planning on adding more livestock / corals?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

jbyoung00008 said:


> It looks good. Nice, clean and simple. Good job. I had a saltwater tank in my room a few years ago. It was fun watching everything swim/run around while you are falling asleep. A background or some paint would help hide the plumbing and bring out the live rock. Just a suggestion!


Ive already bought masking tape. Im going to use the same one i used for my fresh water (black acrylic) for this. Yup! Loving glittering lights and water sound 



2wheelsx2 said:


> Very nice setup. Did you skin the stand at the end? It's hard to tell in the dark.


Nope i did not. I plan to when it gets sunny again. The boards that covers the bottom are not even attatched yet haha.



rich16 said:


> Nice and simple looking...nice work on the stand. Planning on adding more livestock / corals?


Yup for sure! I want to add a goby and pistol shrimp. A wrasse or something else that can go in my nano.
As for corals. I already got a gbta anemone and it shall stay on one side of the island. So far so good, it hasnt moved yet in two days. I guess it liked the spot i picked for it. So one side will be that one anemone and the other island will have corals. Im thinking hammers and frogspawns for sure. And maybe pulsating xenias 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks good. What are your plans for the stand?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

target said:


> Looks good. What are your plans for the stand?


I want to attatch a gravity operated water top off on the inside of the stand. Im also looking at ways to make it more professional looking. Still unsure how. 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Soon to be quarantined fish. Going fallow for 6 weeks. I hope he doesnt miss his home too much 

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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> I want to attatch a gravity operated water top off on the inside of the stand. Im also looking at ways to make it more professional looking. Still unsure how.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


Probably the easiest way would be to cut pieces of 1/4" MDF to size, paint them, then nail them into place. You'd probably need to add some extra frame pieces to make it easier to nail to. Then you could do a simple door with a couple hinges on the front.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Love the RG  Beautiful setup, very clean! Cant wait to see it filled up.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

target said:


> Probably the easiest way would be to cut pieces of 1/4" MDF to size, paint them, then nail them into place. You'd probably need to add some extra frame pieces to make it easier to nail to. Then you could do a simple door with a couple hinges on the front.


That sounds great. I think I have a general idea now. The boards I have now bends cause they're not MDF, so ill be using them as frame pieces. The surface of the 2x4's is still rough. I should've did an ada style, but I didn't have the tools. Is there any way to smooth it out? i'm thinking sanding it down so it will be smoooth. Yup I'm going to add the hinges for sure, right now i'm just taking the whole board off haha.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Momobobo said:


> Love the RG  Beautiful setup, very clean! Cant wait to see it filled up.


Thank you . My wallet...Boxing day *-* soon!!Still being very very very very PATIENT!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> That sounds great. I think I have a general idea now. The boards I have now bends cause they're not MDF, so ill be using them as frame pieces. The surface of the 2x4's is still rough. I should've did an ada style, but I didn't have the tools. Is there any way to smooth it out? i'm thinking sanding it down so it will be smoooth. Yup I'm going to add the hinges for sure, right now i'm just taking the whole board off haha.


You can sand the 2x4's to smooth them out. ADA style isn't difficult to do. And since your tank isn't that big you could easily do the whole stand from MDF without even needing the 2x4 frame. If you want I could draw up some plans and build one for you. Check out the stand I am building right now in my threads. It's ADA style for a much larger tank.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Ill for sure ask you for a stand when i purchase a bigger ada tank . So far, im happy with what i got.

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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

No worries. You can finish that one up nicely as well


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Prior to modding to bean animal style overflow

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## Cichlid2010 (Apr 21, 2010)

How is the flow of the MP10 on your tank? Is it too much flow? I have the exact same mp10 and a 15 gallon tank, I am afraid that it will create too much flow and never even put it on.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

are you going the full coast to coast bean animal or just a larger overflow box in behind?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

I have it on the fourth light. So at 33% reef crest mode. My anemone seems to love the flow and didnt move from its spot that i initially placed it in. It also didnt stir up the sand bed. So nope. The flow is not too strong. 

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

What don't you like about the outlet? And how will the outlet coming from the back change that? Just wondering why you couldn't do a locline setup with a jet nozzle instead of a fan nozzle to fix that. That was my mistake, I went with a fan nozzle like that and the flow out of my 2078 (drilled tank) is super slow but lots of it. I will be changing it to a jet nozzle to up the flow.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

The overflow could not handle 50 gph. I had to tune the return valve to 75%. I was stupid enough to use the small 90° bulk head barb adapter as an intake. So my problem is not even with the fan nozzle (but thank you for letting me know.) but rather that it cant even handle a decent flow. The return at the bottom was also in the way of my hard scape. I could always make it shorter but then i thought about surface agitation with the return line. 

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Ah...ok, that makes sense. The problem with these things is you never know until you try it, as I learned with my setup. If I had to do over again in my discus tank, I would have gone with a sump and a Beananimal setup also, with all the hassle that cleaning a big canister entails.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Yea. I was considering that a durso would be quiet enough and not have all these extra plumbing that takes away the aesthetic. 
Your discus tank is amazing enough. No need for a redo. Haha . I was also thinking of getting a canister filter with live rock rubbles and with glass intake and outake/inline heater. Would definitely look better and be sufficient for this nano tank.

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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I run my 90g with a canister and inline heater. It's a discus tank so high temps. The inline heater is awesome. And I love not having any equipment in the tank. I've only got a inlet and outlet plumbed through the glass. Hindsight, I also should have gone with a Beananimal set up and sump like Gary. But it works nicely as is.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

What would be in a freshwater sump such as yours? Lots of algae? I thought discus doesn't really enjoy strong flow :S


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

more water and volume for easier to clean media


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

neven said:


> more water and volume for easier to clean media


That and heaters, chemical filtration, all out of the tank, plus easy to just pull media out and clean, especially if you're using filter socks. Also for me, the constant tank volume, as the water evaporates quickly as I am using a canopy but not glass tops.

They don't like to swim in strong current, but you can get strong flow but low current when it what I have. As a matter of fact I'm thinking of getting an MP10 in that tank. The flow makes the filtration much more efficient too. Plus with all the hardscape I have in that tank, the flow is very diffuse, even though I'm running an old HK1, HK Evo 550 and 750, plus my 2078.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Drilled holes. Not perfect.. but im happy with it.









I have slipped on caps. Going to use teflon tape...hope it doesnt leak. Didnt really have threaded caps at rona :s.
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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> That and heaters, chemical filtration, all out of the tank, plus easy to just pull media out and clean, especially if you're using filter socks. Also for me, the constant tank volume, as the water evaporates quickly as I am using a canopy but not glass tops.
> 
> They don't like to swim in strong current, but you can get strong flow but low current when it what I have. As a matter of fact I'm thinking of getting an MP10 in that tank. The flow makes the filtration much more efficient too. Plus with all the hardscape I have in that tank, the flow is very diffuse, even though I'm running an old HK1, HK Evo 550 and 750, plus my 2078.


Do you have space under your discus tank for a sump? 
Ya im constantly topping off water for my freshwater having no glass canopy and all...

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> Do you have space under your discus tank for a sump?
> Ya im constantly topping off water for my freshwater having no glass canopy and all...


yep, 24" of clearance and about 26x26 since the stand and canopy are custom.

Boy you must be a perfectionist as the holes look pretty good to me.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Do i hear a future sump project coming in .

Haha not at all. I just made one of the holes too close together, not noticeable in the picture. 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Decided to make the full siphon and the back up with threaded caps. 
The open channel is still a slip on cap.








View from the back. Going to make my own gravity fresh water top off system for the third hole. I'm going to drill another hole for the return line, which will be with clear tubes and not pvc. 








Messy. Haha.








Messy but gets the job done. . It was better for the open line to run horizontal first incase i get bubbles. Maybe a useless precaution/ counterproductive.

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Very nice. And from that perspective I see the hole which was too close. 

Yeah, I probably have a sump project coming up at some point, but it will be a ways out as I need to drill 2 more holes also and the tank would need to be emptied. Looking at threads like yours sure gets my hands itching though!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

See! Haha. I wont notice it as time goes by. Always have my eyes on my fish, my mind just empties when i look at them swim.
Ya your tank is much larger. Do you have a sump for your pleco tank downstairs? 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Decided to use my old bulk head and just cap it. Might need it for quick draining. 








Found this guy at j&l aquatics. I didnt like applying silicone by squeezing the tube because its very messy. Might head to a local glass shop tomorrow and see if i can get some nice cutted pieces of glass for an overflow box. If the price is not to my satisfaction, then i'll have to cut my own. Didnt have even pieces from the previous one. They didnt break nicely from the score.

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> Ya your tank is much larger. Do you have a sump for your pleco tank downstairs?


Nope. 2 canisters filters. 5 tanks total and 7 canister filters. Can you feel my pain? I should have sumped the 125, but when I got the tank, I was a n00b and ran only an Eheim 2028 on it, which soon became an Eheim 2028 and an XP3 and then eventually added the FX5. I don't want to run an overflow box, so when I have to move it to reno the basement, I'll drill it and sump it. I plan to build a fish room then and have sumps for all the bigger tanks.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Oh man...very painful. But it will be so cool. A fish room... Let me live there! hahaha

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Made a new sump using glass baffles. The local glass shop was kind enough to give me the custom cut glass pieces for free!!also increased the size of the first chamber to fit a bigger protein skimmer. At 5" . I want to try the cadlight pipeless protein skimmer 4.75" x 4.75" base dimensions.








Not too shabby when its filled with water. 
My return pump is too weak right now. Going to buy a new one tomorrow.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Update.
Main siphon has bubbles getting in. I do not see anywhere that is leaking water....i suspect its the 90 elbow that is sucking in air. I Willl try to dab some pvc glue tomorrow.

Going to cut my own glass again fornmy.overflow. The local glass dealer has yet to get back to me. I think ill be better this time around.

Sneak peak.










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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Thank you Frank for the great service and instructions on how to use the lights. Extremely helpful!
The lights were already synced with the control module thanks to Frank 
Here is a video and some pictures!




Before the pharos LEDS, very little spectrum. The royal blue and warm white makes a huge difference!!!








AFTER!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Rescaped. 10 days till adding fish. The algae is under control now too. The overflow is also completed. Pipes painted black. Im very happy right now .
Enjoy~









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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It's looking great. What did you paint the pipes with? Krylon Fusion? Also, I don't see any "teeth" in the overflow box? One questions I had was: Any reason you didn't choose to build the overflow box in the outside, since it's all DIY anyway?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> It's looking great. What did you paint the pipes with? Krylon Fusion? Also, I don't see any "teeth" in the overflow box? One questions I had was: Any reason you didn't choose to build the overflow box in the outside, since it's all DIY anyway?


Thank you! 
I painted the pipes with rustoleum universal formula. Allowed 48 hours to cure. 
I didnt want the teeth because I had a bad experience with the bending of acrylic on glass. It also looks nicer....though the potential of livestock entering is there. I plan to just use gutter guard at the entrance of the pipes. Or a screen.
I also thought about having the overflow outside the tank.
The lack of skills and tools was what stopped me. I envisioned the back to have tiny holes as overflows to the outside box. The idea of having the holes drilled perfectly in a straight line really scared me. It also meant that i had to drill closer to the edge for higher waterline and i was scared i would crack the tank. Having bigger holes as overflows and using acrylic as some people did on some forums to raise the level.of water looked lame to me. 
Would definitely make the next diy 100x better. I screwed up a lot with this one 

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nah, I don't think you screwed up. I think you learned a lot, and so did I, by looking at your work and asking these questions. This journal has been most helpful to me. Thanks.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Thank you. Im glad a beginner like me can still contribute 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Lots of bubbles in my main siphon line. I am extremely confused as there are no water leaks. And i have tested each section of the pipes by sucking on them with my mouth to create a vacuum. No loss of vacuum. Im guessing the T joint or the 90 elbow is getting air in. I couldnt do the test there cause its difficult. Will do a thorough dab of pvc glue first thing in the morning. 
If that doesnt work then i am pooped. I used teflon tape for all the unioms and screw on caps. No way of leaking air there. So will have to get a stronger pump. Maybe eheim compact 1000 is still not enough. 

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## Tn23 (Apr 21, 2010)

wow great journal with the 60p I'm jealous, I regret selling mine now. Totally should have done this as well!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Thanks! It was heck of a lot of fun for sure 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

It is now deadsilent. As i suspected. Somewhere between the T and the union was a tiny hole. I can finally sleep in peace haha.

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## deediro (Jan 19, 2013)

Hi Adobe,

I just signed up to this forum to comment on your post. Great job with the setup!

I'm in the process of transforming my high tech planted 60p to a marine.

I am still undecided on how to transfer water to my sump. You said that if you could do it again, you would have gone with an external sump.

What else would you have changed? 

Any advice or comments would be great! Thanks!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Hey, welcome to the forums!
Yes you are corect i wouldve put the overflow box outside of the tank. I shouldve also used 1/2" pvc pipes for plumbing and not 3/4". The amount of turn over rate for a bean animal style is too high and unecessary for a healthy sump. The diamond drill bits (38mm) available for 3/4" is a bit off as in its too big. So im constantly looking at the bulkheads to check for leaks. Wouldve also went for tubes and not pvc pipes (hardplumb) and this is just a matter of prefence of pros and cons. 
I shouldve had the glass overflow cut by professionals the first time around. Shouldve also used the silicone and masking tape method the first time for a clean ada siliconeless look. 
Always quarantine your new arrivals (despite them being from members) so you dont have to wait for the tank to be empty for 11 weeks.
Coral dip solution by precision solution has to be thoroughly rinsed. The instructions said to just rinse it with untreated water. You really have to put it back in quarantine and displace a way bigger volume of water. With carbon is preferred. This wouldve prevented the death of my 13 snails and all of my blue legged hermits. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this though. But there was no other factors that wouldve caused their deaths since i had them for a month prior to coral intro.
Placement of the tank. Worst places to put tanks is a hallway and the bedroom. I noticed my tank bred clowns are used to people. But my mystery wrasse is a bit shy. Getting better now but i would prefer it if it wasnt so.jumpy.
No anemones inside a nano. Some people have suceeded but ive failed. They move around a lot and they grow huge. I got elegance corals instead and my clown is currently hosting it.
Qt fish through hypo will kill off bacteria so expect ammonia spikes. My qt tank started to demand and unexpected higher frequencies of water change at 1.015 salinity. A pain in the ass. I used tap water and not Reverse Osmosis for the qt
Some of them you might already know but im new to reefing. This is my first reef. 
Hope this helps. 



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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> Hey, welcome to the forums!
> Yes you are corect i wouldve put the overflow box outside of the tank. I shouldve also used 1/2" pvc pipes for plumbing and not 3/4". The amount of turn over rate for a bean animal style is too high and unecessary for a healthy sump. The diamond drill bits (38mm) available for 3/4" is a bit off as in its too big. So im constantly looking at the bulkheads to check for leaks. Wouldve also went for tubes and not pvc pipes (hardplumb) and this is just a matter of prefence of pros and cons.


Just to clarify for myself, you would have put the overflow outside and used 1/2" vinyl hose (is that what you meant by tubes?) and not PVC pipe?Can't you do that now still but using reducers and barbs?

As for the diamond drill bits, you mean you used a metric size and not an SAE size?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

This was a fantastic build man! well done! very clean, very functional and the reef came out spectacular! great job man!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Just to clarify for myself, you would have put the overflow outside and used 1/2" vinyl hose (is that what you meant by tubes?) and not PVC pipe?Can't you do that now still but using reducers and barbs?
> 
> As for the diamond drill bits, you mean you used a metric size and not an SAE size?


Yes i wouldve used the vinyl hose. I can certainly do it still but i lack the time i also dont want to put any more money into the hardware. Sorry, the metric size was written on the drillbit just now but i used 1 1/2". Shouldve done 1 7/16" but it was difficult to find. Packaging for bulkhead says (3/4" bulkhead requires 1 7/16" - 1 1/2" diameter hole).



monkE said:


> This was a fantastic build man! well done! very clean, very functional and the reef came out spectacular! great job man!


Thank you  and im glad to see you are also taking a dip into the 'bright' side haha.

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

AdobeOtoCat said:


> Yes i wouldve used the vinyl hose. I can certainly do it still but i lack the time i also dont want to put any more money into the hardware. Sorry, the metric size was written on the drillbit just now but i used 1 1/2". Shouldve done 1 7/16" but it was difficult to find. Packaging for bulkhead says (3/4" bulkhead requires 1 7/16" - 1 1/2" diameter hole).


Thanks. That makes sense to me now. As for the hose vs the hard plumb, I thought reefers all wanted hard plumbing and not vinyl hose? For a FW tank, I would have no misgivings about going with vinyl, except when it comes to dealing with true unions and ball valves....then hard plumbing makes a lot more sense.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

I am extremely sorry for my extremely poor description. I meant soft plumbing like in the picture.








Go black vinyl or spray paint it. I went clear, so ill have algae sometime soon. I might decide to spray paint, but no problems so far. i have this small pipe cleaner magnet from two little fish at jlaquatics to clean the pipes for now.
I think soft plumbing will make the water flow smoother. But when it kinks. You are asking for a flood; unless...well in my opinion, I think if a person chose to increase redundancy as in going for a bean animal style overflow, then i think the tradeoffs are well worth it. 
There are threaded unions too for vinyl applications i believe. I am using a threaded ball valve for my return. Ill take more pictures tomorrow.

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Is that braided hose or that Spa Flex stuff?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Dont think its braided. I see the glue. What do you think? Is it better than hard plumbing?

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Ah...now I see it. It's that Spa Flex stuff. It's essentially hard plumbing, but allows you to make smooth bends and instead of making turns. Smooth bends = more flow.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Ya i shouldve went towards that. Then again.. My tank is really small. The huge flow is unecessary. But now i know how to do all these for a bigger tank 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Funny thing is that I got this *NEW* NANO MEDIA REACTORS (BIO-PELLETS, GFO, CARBON) at 89.99 WHICH IS NOT THE AS NEW Pipe-Less Protein skimmer Super space saving	$174.99!!!!








I really really hate them so so much.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yikes! Maybe they'll let you keep it.


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## aQ.LED (Nov 13, 2012)

I just got that from JL also LOL


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Yikes! Maybe they'll let you keep it.


I was thinking the same thing. I hope so!



aQ.LED said:


> I just got that from JL also LOL


Oh jeez hahaha how is it for you. Im so tempted to run it right now just for fun.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

so today my elegance coral decided to eat my tiger banded pistol shrimp.









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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

You shrimp is probably on its way out already. It could eat much bigger things


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

i wish...its dead ! oh wow. can it eat a naso tang?

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## archie (Jan 29, 2013)

Impressive! Nicely done


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

thanks! my skimmer just came in too.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

itssss hereeee!!!!!!








no damages. awesomee. breaking i atm. pretty quiet 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

I found these guys at night. I think I have a shrimp in here somewhere...pistol shrimp. it went missing.
Can anyone tell me what these are?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Theyre pods apparently. Sure fooled me!!
Ok im confused as heck

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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

Ich?,fry? Im guessing free swimming ich. Did you add anything in the past 10 days? any sick fish?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

They were shrimp juvies!! Too big for ich. Thats scary big if it was ich. No ichs now.fish was in qt for 8 weeks. 
They all got eaten by the wrasse this morning.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Painted the back black. Fish are in.

Potters angel.
Mystery wrasse.
False p clown.
Yellow watchman goby.

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## mcc21 (Oct 24, 2011)

how is the potter's angel? did you just got him from J&L?


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Yup. I got it from j&l in January. It had ich so I qted all of my fish because of it. Also had tail fungus.
Now theyre all healthy and in the dt.
It grazed all of my algae and left my corals alone. It eats like a pig on pellet food. I feed it seaweed extreme pellets before lights out, and tetra goldfish flakes during the day. Great personality, always eating food out of my fingers when it is feeding time (got to let the pellets sink first, not intending to want it to eat out of my hand, it just does it haha). 
Are you thinking about keeping one? Cause theyre really fun to look at.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Heres a pic of it.









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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Some pics for funs!


































Enjoy~


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## JTang (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow beautiful pics! I wish I have a nice camera... Tank looks great man!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Thanks! Theyre really fast, especially the wrasse, very camera shy now. Got to lure it with food 

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Time for an update! A few things changed.

May 24 FTS shot


Stressed Angel due to recent water parameter changes 

infested with ich but this happens rarely, only when I do stupid things to the tank, like not measuring tank parameters and depending on weekly wc's 


Aussie Maze coral showing some recovery growth.


green magician palys.


galaxea showing some growth after a long long time. Just started dosing coral foods.


got a simple grow light to replace a too strong of a led fixture that was killing the algae. Now its showing fast growth and strong O2 production.



skimmer going strong. Loving the pipe less skimmer. No overflow problems yet.


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## Aquasteve (Jun 17, 2012)

Wow that is a beautiful aquarium. What kinda camera are you using ? Amazing photos.


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Thanks! Im using the canon t4i with kit lens. Still in the process of learning dslr photography . Used a stand for the fts. Too hard to take decent pictures without one.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Pottersangel died this morning. Damn ich and power outage....

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

And there goes the mystery wrasse....clown fish left. Made it to qt. Tank is going fallow and bottomless.

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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)




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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

is that angle reef safe? and what the heck is fallow and bottomless.you tank has no bottom lol


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

LOL yea that angel was reef safe. I got pretty lucky with it as it never nipped on my corals. Its dead now, no more angels for me though. I feel bad that they have to live in such a small tank (despite it being dwarf). I mean barebottom. No fish in the display tank for 6 weeks. Only my clown fish is left (in the qt)


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Update time!!!!
So I noticed that my algae problems are caused by the light being on for too long. So I cut it to 10 instead of 13....yea I was using the default light settings lol. I also placed the sand back! Tada. More biological filtration with bi weekly sand siphoning (though there are a lot of bristle worms in there, not sure if I need to)

The net has carbon inside for palytoxins....yes I'm going to try peeling them off. Not without protection atleast 

Unwanted zaos and palys. Going to try to peel them off to make room for more exotic ones 

And this tiny rock with three different palys....yea im going to try and relocate them to some rubbles.


Future plans: getting the tank bottom filled with space monsters. (getting it next week, so excited !) Maybe some acros too. acans...."m beginning to like them. my god...the addiciton


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

a word of warning thoes texes trash palys arnt going to peel easy there guna rip and spred guck into the water the orange centre ones youl have an easyer time with and dont have the paly toxin 

id just thro the texes trash palys out of you peel em they grow back


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Ya youre right. Holy sh*t. Lol im going to crack the rock under

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## crimper (Oct 20, 2010)

Nice tank! I'm jealous...


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

yep i gave a 2 pound rock that had them one it best thing i ever gave away lol


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

update ???


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## aQ.LED (Nov 13, 2012)

scott tang said:


> update ???


he sold his tank


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Im getting a bigger reef tank. Im hoping it will be up and running by early October. It will be a 48 gallon starphire tank with external overflow box. Ill keep u guys updated. 

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