Elfer 58 Gal Custom Shallow Reef

[Elfer1]

I’ve been out of the reefing hobby for the last eight years or so and decided it was finally time to start up another tank last Spring. My hope was to get my two kids interested and have something that we could do together. I’ve had a few different tanks since 2009 - my first being a 30 Gal AIO reef, followed by a 180. The 180 was supposed to be my dream tank, but it was more work than I anticipated and we ended up moving about a year after I set it up. So that tank was taken down at that time and I sold everything. That was back in 2015.

Last Spring I decided I wanted to start up something small for my kids to enjoy, so I found a used 30 Gal shallow cube setup and finally got that going over the summer. It ran bare with just a few blue leg hermits and a couple snails for about four months until I finally decided to start stocking it this October. Once I started stocking this one, I started to get the itch to upgrade to something a little larger and nicer… so here I am.

Here’s the current 30 Gal:

I love the look of a shallow reef, so I decided to go with a custom tank from Miracles Aquariums since I couldn’t find anything that was ready to go that fit my desired dimensions. It’s 48 x 20 x 14 with an internal overflow. Starphire glass on the front and sides, armored seams and completely rimless. It was ordered in October with a lead time of 8-10 weeks.

Since ordering the tank, I accumulated all of the other equipment I would need - waiting until Black Friday deals to save a little cash.

Lighting:
-2x Ecotech Radion XR-15 PRO Gen6 w/RMS mounts

Flow:
-1x MP40mQD
-1x MP10 QD
-Sicce Syncra SDC 6.0 for return

Filtration/Sump:
-20 Gal long DIY sump
-AquaMaxx ConeS CO-1 skimmer
-Aquahub DIY ATO
-BashSea 10 Gal ATO reservoir

Control:
-Neptune A3 Apex

Feeding:
-Avast Marine Plank Autofeeder

I built the stand out of extruded aluminum and plan to make wood panels (or have them made, haven’t decided yet) to skin the stand.

And here’s the sump:

I’ll run filter fleece in the first (drain) chamber, a fuge in the third chamber with sand, LR and some chaeto (Canagrow light from Amazon for lighting). Media bags or some other type of biofilter media in the narrow chamber between the third and fourth chambers.

Not really sure about livestock yet, but I’ll most likely get some LR from KP Aquatics and transfer everything from the current setup once up and running.

Current livestock:
1 Flurry Snowflake Clown
1 Black Ice Clown
1 Tailspot Blenny
2 Purple Firefish
2 Firefish
2 Bluestripe Neon Goby
1 Cherub Angel
1 Extra Large RBTA

 

[CasperOe]

Oh my! thanks for bringing us along on this build, it's gonna look great! Best of luck

 

[Gumbies R Us]

This is going to be a cool build to follow!

 

[kevgib67]

Looking forward to this build, very well thought out!

 

[Elfer1]

Forgot about my current coral livestock:

- Indo Gold Torch
- Pink Wall Hammer
- Green with purple tip wall frogspawn
- Kenya Tree
- Pulsing Xenia
- Purple Caulastrea
- Blood Orange Leptoseris
- Green Cyphastrea

I’m probably going to keep mostly LPS and softies, but might get into some non-stick SPS. Real estate will be a premium, so I’m going to need to be selective in what I put in here.

 

[MartinM]

Love shallow builds! Keep us updated

 

[SDudge]

Any update on this one Elfer?

 

[Elfer1]

Any update on this one Elfer?

Funny… the tank is being delivered tomorrow. Apparently, there was a scratch found on the front glass right before shipment, so they had to replace the front glass, which set it back about a month. Luckily, I’m not in a big hurry.

I’ll try to get some pics posted tomorrow after delivery.

 

[RedOtterCoral]

Following on this! I'm in the midst of my own shallow build, very similar dimensions!

 

[Elfer1]

Following on this! I'm in the midst of my own shallow build, very similar dimensions!

I wish I had some updates but it’s going to be a while. I’m going to wait until our basement is finished and set it up down there. Thought about setting it up and then moving it, but the thought of having to do that sounds awful. Hopefully have it set up before the winter holidays.

 

[RedOtterCoral]

I wish I had some updates but it’s going to be a while. I’m going to wait until our basement is finished and set it up down there. Thought about setting it up and then moving it, but the thought of having to do that sounds awful. Hopefully have it set up before the winter holidays.

I feel that! I've just been exiled to the basement with my tank, and I'm dreading that move already without it being wet so I can of imagine moving with it full

 

[HOBtx79]

Where did you get the baffles for the sump?