Innovative Marine 40L AIO Build

[pshootr]

Nice to see things moving along. You're off to a good start, nice work looks great!

 

[TheReefDiary]

water is in. no issues. the only thing I may do is remove the rockwork tomorrow morning and bash of some pieces from the main piece.

I'm happy with the design just not the chunkiness of the piece. need water to clear up before I decide. was really going for a lot of top down viewing space since it's a shallow tank, but want a bit more space for fish to swim around. I got this tank so I could get more fish after all and I want enough swimming space along with hiding spots.

right now it's a lot of hiding spots.

 

[TheReefDiary]

also the starry blenny seems to be getting along well with the other fish. he's almost double the size of all my other fish, but he's docile so far and mostly just interested in looking around. he scared one of the clowns initially to the point it jumped into the lid (which was on).

 

[TheReefDiary]

cycle is officially started. decided to leave the rockwork after seeing it in clear water. started with fritz turbo start and ammonium chloride. it cycled my other tank quickly so hoping to get similar results here.

hoping I'll be able to cycle the tank quickly and move the fish over. the wife doesn't love that I have 2 tanks in the apartment currently.

 

[TheReefDiary]

can't wait to be able to transfer everything over from the old tank. so tired of dealing with the dinos and Medusa worms. making sure I dip everything again before adding it to the new tank.

 

[pshootr]

can't wait to be able to transfer everything over from the old tank. so tired of dealing with the dinos and Medusa worms. making sure I dip everything again before adding it to the new tank.

The Rock work looks good. How is your ammonia testing?

 

[TheReefDiary]

The Rock work looks good. How is your ammonia testing?

was zero yesterday already. just dosed ammonium chloride to get pack up to 2ppm and will see what it's at tomorrow. my nitrates were still really high though.

 

[pshootr]

was zero yesterday already. just dosed ammonium chloride to get pack up to 2ppm and will see what it's at tomorrow. my nitrates were still really high though.

The fritz turbo start is already working, nice. Are you testing high for nitrite, or for nitrate?

 

[TheReefDiary]

The fritz turbo start is already working, nice. Are you testing high for nitrite, or for nitrate?

I don't have a nitrite test kit. have to pick up an API one. but honestly I'll probably start adding fish next week. once I know ammonia is able to be converted quickly I'm not that worried. I'll wait a few more days after that to allow nitrate to come down. it only took a week last time before I put fish into my previous tank. so for this around 2 weeks should be fine.

 

[TheReefDiary]

okay so just added the clownfish to the tank before. the heater, pH meter, and ato we're transfered to the new tank. the old tank is going basic until its completely disassembled. assuming last fish won't come out until second week of January.

corals should be transferred over this upcoming Friday as I have a Christmas order arriving Friday. tank is going to be stocked nicely with frags that can grow in. had to get a few more to fill up the extra rockwork.

also going to be cutting a good amount of height off the middle rock piece because I need more height for coral growth.

 

[.Marshall]

Double posted.

 

[.Marshall]

finished the aquascape today. just have to let everything dry then take it outside and blow off the excess Marco dust. may have to cover joints in glue and dust 1 more time.

really happy with how it came out. once everything sets a few support rocks will be removed to reveal a few more floating sections of the scape.

I love the thoughtful aquascape, it looks great!

What kind of cement/mortar did you use? Looks like you used some of the Marco dust as well, did you find that useful?

Thanks!

 

[TheReefDiary]

I love the thoughtful aquascape, it looks great!

What kind of cement/mortar did you use? Looks like you used some of the Marco dust as well, did you find that useful?

Thanks!

I actually just cut some height off the middle piece today with a angle grinder and stone blade.

I used aquaforest reef cement and it worked perfectly would highly recommend. honestly wouldn't waste my time covering the cement like I did. came out kinda ****. luckily Coraline will eventually cover it anyway.

 

[TheReefDiary]

everything is moved over. I'm no fish whisperer but they seem much happier in the larger system. my six line is doing laps around the place currently and normally by this time he's in his sleeping spot. guess he has to find a new one of those now.

all the corals are transfered. they were dipped so not the happiest of campers currently but honestly not that bad either. will give them a few days to bounce back.

want to go to my lfs this weekend and get some pods to seed the tank. I'm also continuing to dose mb7 per the recommendations on the bottle.

only stressfully part now is that I'm going away mid January for 6 days and my neighbor will have to watch the tank. would be much happier if the tanks was established but it is what it is.

 

[TheReefDiary]

dinos Transferred over to new tank from old tank so battling those currently.

on a positive note all of my fish are getting along swimmingly. no aggression from anyone. I think picking the proper size fish has helped immensely.

current stock list:
2 clowns
1 starry blenny
1 six line wrasse
1 bangaii cardinal
1 long nose hawkfish

 

[TheReefDiary]

so went away last week for 6 days and had my neighbor (who doesn't know fish) watch my tank. he did a great job.

only negative thing to happen while I was away was the loss of one of my beautiful hammer corals. have literally no idea what happened since everything else is doing amazing.

I even came back to my rock maturing a ton. left with essentially bare rock and came back with a ton of green and other colors starting to grow! love to see the tank maturing so quickly.

 

[TheReefDiary]

 

[primalpete]

Looks great.

I wanted to transfer my 30L to a 40L for the extra space but couldn't justify the cost with my new larger tank project. I will upgrade it one day. Either the 40L or 50 lagoon.

 

[TheReefDiary]

Looks great.

I wanted to transfer my 30L to a 40L for the extra space but couldn't justify the cost with my new larger tank project. I will upgrade it one day. Either the 40L or 50 lagoon.

thanks! I upgraded from a fluval Evo so a big jump up for me.

 

[TheReefDiary]

Finally got a lens cover for my phone so I can take better pictures. Tank is thriving the last couple of weeks! corals are actually noticeably growing.