DCJ
Community Member
My quartet of build threads continues with the weird-shaped ex fish-shop 26 gal tank.
I'm also setting up, and will have build threads for:
- a Fluval Evo 13.5 (remember when they came out?)
- Red Sea Reefer 350 (original)
- a Fluval Spec III pico tank
A little background: I'm in the UK and don't work due to disability, which limits my mobility, but mostly my energy and strength. I live at home with my parents and my mum is my carer; they're wonderful and supportive of my hobbies. I'm on benefits so I have a really limited amount of money after bills go out, so I'm going to try to spend as little money as possible without compromising too much on quality, and keeping things manageable for me as a disabled reefer.
I've got a lot more experience with freshwater tanks than I do marine, but I have had reef tanks before, so I'm not starting from scratch. I did have to take all my tanks down a few years ago when we moved up North, and now I'm trying to set them back up again.
The 26 gal is one of the tanks I had set up, but it never saw fish, just some nassarius snails.
Here it is when it was last set up:
Front shot, top down front shot, and the top shot.
And here's the little HOB fuge I got for it, which required some engineering to get it to work:
I'm reusing the same equipment:
- Hipargero Aqua Knight light
- MaxiJet MJ500 submersible pump (main)
- Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6015 large powerhead
- AutoAqua MATO-200P (2 sensors & DC pump) ATO
I'm going to need a heater and a refugium light from my stash. The little HOB fuge has a built-in reactor, which I'll use depending on what the tank needs.
This is how it looks at the moment:
Collapsed eggcrate lid and everything!
As you can see, the opening for the tank is small and awkward. I built the rock structure inside the tank, which meant that I couldn't take it out for the move. I had to wrap it in paper towel and then stuffed the whole thing with newspaper and paper so nothing broke in the moving van.
I'm going to need to fill the tank with tap water and let it soak to get the remnants of paper off the rock where it's fused onto it, and I'll want to add more sand in there.
I'm going to put some more rock in there on the empty side as well.
STOCKING:
I wanted to make this a clownfish/nem tank, but I know that nems like a more matured tank.
Rather than stock the tank with the eventual fish and then wait over a year, I'm going to take the chance to try another fish I really want and keep a frogfish first.
This marries well with the decision I made to set up a brackish tank in my room - it's mostly for Indian Glass fish and Knight Gobies, but I'm going to breed black mollies in there to feed the frogfish, as research suggests they don't thrive on prepared food, FW feeders don't have the right nutrition, and SW feeders can transmit disease.
After the frogfish (I'm hoping I can hit at least 3 years, but I know 1 year is average... we'll see how I go) I'm thinking of:
- a blue damsel (thinking Springer's)
- orchid dottyback
- black and white clownfish pair with BTA (I'm leaning to green)
So a handful of semi-aggressive-ish fish that should keep each other in line?
Coralwise, while the frogfish lives there I'm going to so whatever I like. Probably mostly LPS, a lot of flowy stuff to give movement.
After that, I'll move the LPS to my other tanks, and try some tan/pink softies, that I'll stock after the nem settles, but that I won't freak out about if the nem goes for a walk.
So that's the overarching plan. Next steps are to fill it up with tap water to get the gunk from transport all soaked out, water change, maybe another rinse, and then work on adding more rock, replenishing the sand, and adding salt water (Instant Ocean salt)
I'm also setting up, and will have build threads for:
- a Fluval Evo 13.5 (remember when they came out?)
- Red Sea Reefer 350 (original)
- a Fluval Spec III pico tank
A little background: I'm in the UK and don't work due to disability, which limits my mobility, but mostly my energy and strength. I live at home with my parents and my mum is my carer; they're wonderful and supportive of my hobbies. I'm on benefits so I have a really limited amount of money after bills go out, so I'm going to try to spend as little money as possible without compromising too much on quality, and keeping things manageable for me as a disabled reefer.
I've got a lot more experience with freshwater tanks than I do marine, but I have had reef tanks before, so I'm not starting from scratch. I did have to take all my tanks down a few years ago when we moved up North, and now I'm trying to set them back up again.
The 26 gal is one of the tanks I had set up, but it never saw fish, just some nassarius snails.
Here it is when it was last set up:
Front shot, top down front shot, and the top shot.
And here's the little HOB fuge I got for it, which required some engineering to get it to work:
I'm reusing the same equipment:
- Hipargero Aqua Knight light
- MaxiJet MJ500 submersible pump (main)
- Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6015 large powerhead
- AutoAqua MATO-200P (2 sensors & DC pump) ATO
I'm going to need a heater and a refugium light from my stash. The little HOB fuge has a built-in reactor, which I'll use depending on what the tank needs.
This is how it looks at the moment:
Collapsed eggcrate lid and everything!
As you can see, the opening for the tank is small and awkward. I built the rock structure inside the tank, which meant that I couldn't take it out for the move. I had to wrap it in paper towel and then stuffed the whole thing with newspaper and paper so nothing broke in the moving van.
I'm going to need to fill the tank with tap water and let it soak to get the remnants of paper off the rock where it's fused onto it, and I'll want to add more sand in there.
I'm going to put some more rock in there on the empty side as well.
STOCKING:
I wanted to make this a clownfish/nem tank, but I know that nems like a more matured tank.
Rather than stock the tank with the eventual fish and then wait over a year, I'm going to take the chance to try another fish I really want and keep a frogfish first.
This marries well with the decision I made to set up a brackish tank in my room - it's mostly for Indian Glass fish and Knight Gobies, but I'm going to breed black mollies in there to feed the frogfish, as research suggests they don't thrive on prepared food, FW feeders don't have the right nutrition, and SW feeders can transmit disease.
After the frogfish (I'm hoping I can hit at least 3 years, but I know 1 year is average... we'll see how I go) I'm thinking of:
- a blue damsel (thinking Springer's)
- orchid dottyback
- black and white clownfish pair with BTA (I'm leaning to green)
So a handful of semi-aggressive-ish fish that should keep each other in line?
Coralwise, while the frogfish lives there I'm going to so whatever I like. Probably mostly LPS, a lot of flowy stuff to give movement.
After that, I'll move the LPS to my other tanks, and try some tan/pink softies, that I'll stock after the nem settles, but that I won't freak out about if the nem goes for a walk.
So that's the overarching plan. Next steps are to fill it up with tap water to get the gunk from transport all soaked out, water change, maybe another rinse, and then work on adding more rock, replenishing the sand, and adding salt water (Instant Ocean salt)
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