Hey guys how is everyone doing? I had decided the other day to use reef2reef to ask some questions about setting up my AWC, and a member had sort of suggested I make a build thread to document the whole thing. I thought well why not? I think it will be something cool to look back on, and maybe I can become a small part of the reefing community as opposed to ghosting forums all day. Now 3 years ago I used to have a plain 20 long glass salt water tank. The whole thing was more or less a nightmare due to the fact that at time time I worked a job that had me doing 70 hour work weeks, and I also really had no idea as to what I was doing. I did however manage to keep, and grow coral. It was actually a frag tank. I had one large marine pure brick in the sump, and racks up top. With heavy water changes it worked. Well I have a new job, and new money. Here we go.
In Memory
The Nuvo 10?
I decided to purchase a nuvo 10. I had wanted a AIO tank from the beginning. However. They at the time for me were far to expensive. So this time I decided I was going to get exactly what I wanted. The clean lines, and integrated sump are the stuff of dreams. A far cry from my old 20 long with a bunch of random stuff on it. I really wish they would have kept the option to buy the tank by itself as opposed to this new package deal they have. The pump it comes with is horrible, but I use it to fill my water storage containers from my mixing bin. I have also seen people do some amazing things with these small nano tanks, and I wanted to be one of them. It is also very easy for me to have 10 gallons of salt water ready at all times if a emergency water change of some sort needs to happen.
Kessil vs AI
When I first got in to the hobby I was completely, and totally obsessed with bulk reef supply on youtube, and a massive alcoholic. I would sit, and watch videos for hours usually while facing a 24 pack. The host ryan is the man. At any rate. One thing that I noticed is that his tanks usually tended to have kessil lights on them. In fact the recent brs tour video shows that a good 80% of the tanks have kessil on them as well. I used to own a chinese black box for my old tank, and it was incredibly powerful. Burning the living hell out of anything, and or not giving enough light at all. At the time brs did not offer a par meter rental service, and I could not afford to buy one, and so all I could do was guess. It did not go well. While setting up the tank I looked at various options and it seemed to be that people were using the kessil a80 or ai prime. I chose the kessil. I did it for multiple reasons, and not just my observations about brs. The kessil only has 2 knobs. Color, and intensity. That is it. To me this is a positive thing as I value simplicity. The other is that the kessil light has no fans installed, and is cooled in a passive manner. Many people have said that you can not hear the fans of the ai prime. However I just really like the sleek look. Finally, and some people view this as negative. There is no phone app. I love that. Today EVERYTHING is hooked to your phone, and wifi. I want a good,simple,beautiful, and proven light. If I want more control I will buy the controller for it. I plan to simply schedule it with a smart powerstrip. Sadly that will be controlled with my phone.
Water Of TEH Gods
I had make the decision to save my rodi unit, and I am very happy I did. It is a brs model. They have fantastic deals on them during black friday. If you do not have one right now. I would grab one. It really is worth the cost.
OH God it Burns
For me the heater was a no brainer. We are of course going with the classic jager heater. It is affordable,dependable,glass, and can be calibrated. I have never had one fail. During my time in the hobby. know matter freshwater or salt the use of a jager heater has been a constant.
The Ever Lasting Dream The Awc
My old tank did not have a auto top off, and that was terrible, and so I needed one. The choice to use the awc for me was a no brainer. It is only 70$ more then the auto aqua micro, and you have the option of automatic water changes. I can say though. It really is a lot of wires, and tubing to deal with. Setting it up to look neat is horrifying, but worth it. I have the ato sensor in my third chamber, and my low in the second. The waste pump sits within the second chamber as well. With my rock the tank is holding 7.5 gallons of water. Even though I have it in the second chamber. I still get 1.5 gallons per change. This is very close to 20%. Perfect for our needs.
The Wheel In The Sky......The Circle Of Life.....The Cycle.
To cycle the tank I decided to go with ammonium chloride,stability, and bio spira. The idea of using two forms of bacteria to cycle to me seemed like a good one. I dosed the tank out with 3 ppm ammonium, and added bio spira. Once the ammonium had been processed fully. I added another 3 ppm Ammonium, and began to dose one cap of stability daily. I wait until the 3 ppm has processed totally, and then add more. The tank currently goes through 2-3 ppm ammonium in 24 hours. the whole time I have kept the tank completely covered so no algae will grow in any way shape or form. Also the first chamber is loaded with seachem matrix. This has helped with the speed of the cycle heavily.
A New Beginning
So here we are today. The tank has been cycled. The AWC, and all other equipment has been installed. Below the tank are our fresh,salt,and waste reservoirs.
Control....Brains....Smart Strips.
The entire system is hooked up to a Kasa smart power strip. It allows me to control,turn on,turn off, and schedule any part of the system. For seventy dollars you really can not beat it.
Well that is about it so far. We are cycled,connected, and ready. For now the tank is still covered. I am making up 8 gallons of saltwater for my final water change whenever I decide to do it. I have let the tank run for about a month. Feeding it ammonium, and bacteria. We are sitting at 25-30 Nitrates as of right now. I think I will be adding a piece of coral or two as my first livestock. For me saltwater tanks have always been about coral as opposed to fish, and so the choice feels almost natural. Updates to follow. Hope everyone has a great work week.
Juka
In Memory
The Nuvo 10?
I decided to purchase a nuvo 10. I had wanted a AIO tank from the beginning. However. They at the time for me were far to expensive. So this time I decided I was going to get exactly what I wanted. The clean lines, and integrated sump are the stuff of dreams. A far cry from my old 20 long with a bunch of random stuff on it. I really wish they would have kept the option to buy the tank by itself as opposed to this new package deal they have. The pump it comes with is horrible, but I use it to fill my water storage containers from my mixing bin. I have also seen people do some amazing things with these small nano tanks, and I wanted to be one of them. It is also very easy for me to have 10 gallons of salt water ready at all times if a emergency water change of some sort needs to happen.
Kessil vs AI
When I first got in to the hobby I was completely, and totally obsessed with bulk reef supply on youtube, and a massive alcoholic. I would sit, and watch videos for hours usually while facing a 24 pack. The host ryan is the man. At any rate. One thing that I noticed is that his tanks usually tended to have kessil lights on them. In fact the recent brs tour video shows that a good 80% of the tanks have kessil on them as well. I used to own a chinese black box for my old tank, and it was incredibly powerful. Burning the living hell out of anything, and or not giving enough light at all. At the time brs did not offer a par meter rental service, and I could not afford to buy one, and so all I could do was guess. It did not go well. While setting up the tank I looked at various options and it seemed to be that people were using the kessil a80 or ai prime. I chose the kessil. I did it for multiple reasons, and not just my observations about brs. The kessil only has 2 knobs. Color, and intensity. That is it. To me this is a positive thing as I value simplicity. The other is that the kessil light has no fans installed, and is cooled in a passive manner. Many people have said that you can not hear the fans of the ai prime. However I just really like the sleek look. Finally, and some people view this as negative. There is no phone app. I love that. Today EVERYTHING is hooked to your phone, and wifi. I want a good,simple,beautiful, and proven light. If I want more control I will buy the controller for it. I plan to simply schedule it with a smart powerstrip. Sadly that will be controlled with my phone.
Water Of TEH Gods
I had make the decision to save my rodi unit, and I am very happy I did. It is a brs model. They have fantastic deals on them during black friday. If you do not have one right now. I would grab one. It really is worth the cost.
OH God it Burns
For me the heater was a no brainer. We are of course going with the classic jager heater. It is affordable,dependable,glass, and can be calibrated. I have never had one fail. During my time in the hobby. know matter freshwater or salt the use of a jager heater has been a constant.
The Ever Lasting Dream The Awc
My old tank did not have a auto top off, and that was terrible, and so I needed one. The choice to use the awc for me was a no brainer. It is only 70$ more then the auto aqua micro, and you have the option of automatic water changes. I can say though. It really is a lot of wires, and tubing to deal with. Setting it up to look neat is horrifying, but worth it. I have the ato sensor in my third chamber, and my low in the second. The waste pump sits within the second chamber as well. With my rock the tank is holding 7.5 gallons of water. Even though I have it in the second chamber. I still get 1.5 gallons per change. This is very close to 20%. Perfect for our needs.
The Wheel In The Sky......The Circle Of Life.....The Cycle.
To cycle the tank I decided to go with ammonium chloride,stability, and bio spira. The idea of using two forms of bacteria to cycle to me seemed like a good one. I dosed the tank out with 3 ppm ammonium, and added bio spira. Once the ammonium had been processed fully. I added another 3 ppm Ammonium, and began to dose one cap of stability daily. I wait until the 3 ppm has processed totally, and then add more. The tank currently goes through 2-3 ppm ammonium in 24 hours. the whole time I have kept the tank completely covered so no algae will grow in any way shape or form. Also the first chamber is loaded with seachem matrix. This has helped with the speed of the cycle heavily.
A New Beginning
So here we are today. The tank has been cycled. The AWC, and all other equipment has been installed. Below the tank are our fresh,salt,and waste reservoirs.
Control....Brains....Smart Strips.
The entire system is hooked up to a Kasa smart power strip. It allows me to control,turn on,turn off, and schedule any part of the system. For seventy dollars you really can not beat it.
Well that is about it so far. We are cycled,connected, and ready. For now the tank is still covered. I am making up 8 gallons of saltwater for my final water change whenever I decide to do it. I have let the tank run for about a month. Feeding it ammonium, and bacteria. We are sitting at 25-30 Nitrates as of right now. I think I will be adding a piece of coral or two as my first livestock. For me saltwater tanks have always been about coral as opposed to fish, and so the choice feels almost natural. Updates to follow. Hope everyone has a great work week.
Juka
. Right now I have the lights on the lowest setting. These guys were a little ticked after the bayer dip. The rastas still have not opened up yet. 
