MrRedAmber's Aquatop Recife 24g

[MrRedAmber]

MrRedAmber's Aquatop Recife 24g Reef Tank

Hey everyone! This is a build thread for an Aquatop Recife 24g reef tank that my partner and I have been working on. We’re new to the hobby and started this tank back in the middle of September. It’s been exciting, frustrating, depressing, challenging, beautiful, and an eye opening experience. We have learned a lot from since we started the tank and are always trying to learn more! Please share with us your comments, questions, suggestions, or concerns. We appreciate your feedback.

The Build:

• Aquatop Recife Tank & Stand Combo https://www.aquatop.com/products/recife-eco-24g-tank-stand-combo
• AquaMaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer w/ Bubble Stopper https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-hob-1-5-hang-on-back-protein-skimmer-w-bubble-stopper.html
• AI Prime 16 HD LED Reef Light https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/prime-16-hd-led-reef-light-black-body-aqua-illumination.html
• Jebao OW-10 Wavemaker Powerhead
• Aquatop 100w ( At least I think it’s 100w ) Glass Heater https://www.aquatop.com/collections...-aquarium-submersible-glass-heater-100w-gh100
• Duetto ATO https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/duetto-dual-sensor-complete-aquarium-ato-system-xp-aqua.html
• Aqueon 5.5 Gallon Tank, used as an ATO reservoir https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/cat...uariums/blacktanks/aqueon-aquarium-black/4393

The Tank’s Stock Equipment:

• The first thing that completely failed on us was the protein skimmer and it may have very well been our fault. After cleaning the skimmer one day, it simply would not turn on when we connected the power. We suspect that we may have gotten water some how in the female cable that connects to the power supply. Or we may have damaged the pump on the bottom of the skimmer. Otherwise the skimmer performed well and did its job. After the skimmer broke, we then upgrade to the AquaMaxx HOB 1.5. This thing is a beast and we couldn’t fit it into the AIO sump on the back so we had to mount it on the side of the tank. Though, looking at this post https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/doh-boy’s-24-gallon-aio-“built-thread”.751658/post-7881266, it looks like we can fit it into the back if we setup the plumbing properly. We recently got this skimmer ( less than a week ago ) so I can’t write a fair review for it. I’ll give it another month or two and write something formal, but it’s easy to setup and it’s working well so far!
• Since day 1, the return pump’s nozzle (Is that what you call it? ) from the 4th and final chamber of AIO sump is leaking water back into the chamber. It seems like the plumbing from the return pump to the nozzle isn’t creating a seal to stop the water from leaking back into the chamber. This is not a huge issue as it’s a very small leak but annoying none the less. We’re probably going to replace this at some point with a Jebao DCS-2000 . This is something I still need to research as I don’t have enough knowledge about how to setup the plumbing for this properly.
• Let’s talk filter media. The tank features a vertical series of 3 media boxes that originally came with carbon, some phosphate reducing media (some type of phosguard?), and ceramic rings. Initially the carbon box was floating to the top so we then placed it underneath the phosguard*. This was annoying. After about a month in we then started running a series of 11oz chemipure blue https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/chemi-pure-blue-boyd-enterprises.html, 180g of MarinePure ceramic media gems https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/90g-gems-ceramic-media-marinepure.html. and the original ceramic rings that came with the aquarium. I don’t know if replacing the phosguard* with the media gems was the right move, what do you think?
• The 1st stage of mechnical filtration is a filter sponge that has always been out of stock when I’ve looked for it. https://www.aquatop.com/collections...r-the-recife-eco-series?variant=5929717301280. I would like to replace this at some point with filter floss or some other method of mechanical filtration. I don’t have much knowledge and would appreciate any suggestions here.

Some Upgrades We’ve Made Along the Way:

• Replacing the protein Skimmer ( see 1st bullet point of the previous section ).
• Changing the stock filter media ( see 3rd bullet point of the previous section).
• Adding a powerhead.
  • The flow generated from the return pump is ok, at some point we learned that not having enough flow in the aquarium was contributing to algae and nutrient problems we are having in the tanks.
• Adding an ATO.
  • For a while we had a 5g container of RO/DI water sitting next to the side of the aquarium where out ATO would pull water from. This was ugly and we now have the Aqueon 5.5g tank in the bottom of the stank and it fit perfectly! We had bought another 2.5g Aqueon tank as a backup if the 5.5 didn’t fit. We want to look into a use for this 2.5g tank now, perhaps a refugium?

Some Problems We’re Dealing With:

• Algae! Ugh, this is by far the most unsightly and annoying part of the hobby. It seems like we’re constantly cleaning cyano and brown hair algae in the aquarium. With the powerhead, upgraded protein skimmer, and chemipure, we’re hoping to start to turn the tide in our favor and slowly gain control over the nuisance algae. There are some other things that we’d like to also implement such as a refugium, more water changes, making our own RO/DI water with a 7 stage system, and perhaps something like chemiclean. We understand that there’s no magic bullet to solving this problem and we believe the solution is an ensemble of things we could implement and do better. Idk, we’re willing to try anything at this point, what do you think?
• The nitrogen cycle! It’s been a while since we’ve had our tank tested (2w-4w) but when we did have it tested, we were not always 0’ing out on ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. We figure this is because of the tank’s young age and will eventually balance out as the tanks establishes itself.
• Lack of Coraline algae. We feel like we’re doing something wrong because we don’t see any Coraline algae growing in our aquarium. Perhaps as the tank establishes itself and we get better at maintaining proper water quality will we then start to see Coraline. It’s a bit depressing to see cyan and hair algae take over.

Things we’d like to do upgrade:

• Replacing the filter sponge with a filter sock or filter floss.
• Replacing the return pump.
• Adding a refugium. We hope that this will help starve out the nutrients that the nuisance algae is taking up.
• Perhaps adding another light. The current live rock upside down “Mushroom” design leaves the left sight of the mushroom dark. I’d like to get another light to add more coverage over there.
• A digital thermometer. Currently we have none, it’s hard to know what temperature the water really is.
• A Ph and TDS meter. For quality testing, ya know?
• A 7 stage RO/DI system. It’s a hassle to go to the LFS across town for just water, we’d like to make it at home where we can use our own choice of salt and ensure the quality of it ourselves.

Our livestock:

• 2x ocellaris clownfish.
• 4-5x snails, I don’t know what they are but they are not nassarius snails. They seem to like eating the algae on the glass and some on the rock if that helps?
• 1x serpent starfish.
• 1x blue legged hermit crab.
• 1x GSP.
• 1x Xenia.
• 1x Zoanthid.
• 1x SPS. Name is not known, any help would be appreciated to identify.
• 1x type of plating coral? Type or name is not known, any help would be appreciated to identify.
• 1x mushroom? Type or name is not known, any help would be appreciated to identify.

Thanks for taking the time to read and we hope this has been more than just a wall of text that's word garbage. Here's some pictures!

 

[JumboShrimp]

I enjoyed reading about your tank. I picked one up for a steal at my LFS because they, in turn, had gotten a great deal on them. Before then the brand of tank was not on my radar screen. I haven’t used the skimmer but I suppose one day I might. I do have the block sponge, and put a little tiny piece of filter floss on top of it, which I replace as needed. I agree that the seal around the return pipe is not a tight fit, but as you say, it really doesn’t cause a problem. I am not doing anything sophisticated… I just do manual top-offs and very few water changes. Best wishes to you, going forward.

 

[MrRedAmber]

wow I eally

I enjoyed reading about your tank. I picked one up for a steal at my LFS because they, in turn, had gotten a great deal on them. Before then the brand of tank was not on my radar screen. I haven’t used the skimmer but I suppose one day I might. I do have the block sponge, and put a little tiny piece of filter floss on top of it, which I replace as needed. I agree that the seal around the return pipe is not a tight fit, but as you say, it really doesn’t cause a problem. I am not doing anything sophisticated… I just do manual top-offs and very few water changes. Best wishes to you, going forward.

Thank you! I'm curious where do you get your filter floss, do you perhaps have a link?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just the cheap bag of standard filter floss from my local fish store, or from Amazon. If you put a small bit (about the size of an egg) on top of that sponge block, you will hardly ever have to pull the block out; just keep replacing the filter floss. (I also use a giant piece of filter floss in one of the two plastic filter boxes.)

 

[MrRedAmber]

Small updates since it's been a little bit over a month now since I've lasted posted. Overall, still loving the hobby and learning more all the time. We still have some problems but they're learning experiences.

Improvements:
- Algae; It's not nearly as much of a problem, we've added more turbo snails, reduced the photoperiod and disabled the red/green spectrum. We still have patches of cyanobacteria occasionally that we'll vacuum up, but I believe as we progress this will eventually phase out.
- Moving the protein skimmer; We managed to move the protein skimmer to the sump in the back as you see in the photo. This involved removing the bubble stopper on the outlet but after breaking in the skimmer, there's no bubbles in the display.
- Added a Hanna probe thermometer (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/hi98509-checktemp-1-digital-thermometer-hanna-instruments.html). In short of buying a reef controller, I added this to be able to monitor the temperature and tune in my heater so that we're always at 25~ degrees Celsius.
- Coralline Algae; I swear I've seen it grow on parts of the rock, but it seems like the snails eat it before it can take over. Not sure if I'm mistaking it for something else but I'll take it as a minor improvement in our water chemistry.

Things we plan on implementing:
- BRS 7 stage RO/DI system (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/7-stage-pro-75-gpd-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply-bundle.html). We have yet to put this into production because our water pressure was too low in the first tap we tried. The holidays have had us busy, and we'll try another tap after we are done. Super excited to get this up and running though, no more going to the LFS for water .
- BRS mini carbon/GFO reactor (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-5-single.html). It seems like this would be a useful addition to control nutrients. Still doing research on this but it's promising.

Problems:
- We've lost all SPS due to being on vacation and not tending to the tank as much as we should. I think we'll stick to hardier LPS for now until we're comfortable with the stability of the tank.
- We added a cleaner shrimp, and it was dead after 2 days which was surprising. The first day it was going to work and was doing a great job but from what I've read is that inverts are sensitive to changing water chemistry and perhaps it starved? I don't know but I think issues like these are learning curves and we may try again in the future.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I know you have to shell-out some buck$ for the 7-stage RO/DI unit, but are you getting the booster pump? IMO it really makes a big difference.

Nice update; continued best wishes!

 

[MrRedAmber]

I know you have to shell-out some buck$ for the 7-stage RO/DI unit, but are you getting the booster pump? IMO it really makes a big difference.

Nice update; continued best wishes!

Yes, it was fairly expensive. I forgot to mention as well, two of the Mur-Lok elbows were broken upon arrival. The BRS support team quickly sent over replacements free of charge.

I've looked into the booster pump but wanted to make sure first that no other desirable tap would work. Though, I'm not holding my breath and we'll probably have to get the booster.

Thank you!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Personally I like these little clips to ‘lock’ the connections— especially if near the booster (which vibrates pretty vigorously).

 

[MrRedAmber]

Got the RODI system setup in the garage. I like the idea of having it wall mounted above the source water spigot but I'm not sure if it's necessary at this point. It would be nice to not have to get on a ladder to check the PSI and TDS. I don't know one thing about drilling and wood working so I have to do some more research if I want to pursue that. This is the 2-way hose splitter that I ended up purchasing from Lowes (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Orbit-2-Way-Restricted-Flow-Water-Shut-Off/1003007640) I was also lucky enough to find the 44-gallon brutes in stock as well. I'm going to run the water for a bit tonight to test for leaks/etc. but I'm looking forward to mixing some saltwater tomorrow if I'm fortunate enough . I picked up a 200w heater and a powerhead to help with the mix.

I didn't have a razor blade or tool to cut the RODI tubing to size, so I improvised and used a double edge razor from my shaving supplies. I cut myself a little bit trying to cut the tubing, so I learned to put some duct around the razor...

 

[JumboShrimp]

Lol. Those little plastic tubing-snippers from BRS that you only use once every 2 years DO come in handy... once every 2 years. LOL.

 

[Silver762]

Nice looking tank. I have been pondering the protein skimmer for mine. So I got a question or two for ya,
1st is how do you like the aquamax skimmer and the 2nd is how well does it fit?

 

[Silver762]

Just one suggestion why don't you put the heater in the return pump chamber?

 

[liquidfire]

How's it going?

I am running 2 of these tanks, and have both the old style and new style skimmer it comes with. I have had to, on occasion, use a small jewelers size screw driver to "jump start" the skimmer. stick it in, give the fan/impeller a little nudge and off she goes.

have you upgraded the return pump yet? I use the sicce silent 1.5. Its almost too much. I have it turned down some.

There should be a rubber grommet that goes in the hole the return line goes too. I upgraded my return pump/and nozzle and used a unibit to drill it larger.

As the post above said, I also have my heater in chamber 1, with some filter floss on top.

The green plating coral looks like a green monti cap?

 

[MrRedAmber]

Nice looking tank. I have been pondering the protein skimmer for mine. So I got a question or two for ya,
1st is how do you like the aquamax skimmer and the 2nd is how well does it fit?

It performs and skims way more material than the stock skimmer it came with, so that's my primary win. I have it set at about the halfway mark, and I'm cleaning the skimmer ever 3-5 days. I'm very satisfied with the purchase. In the 2nd chamber where the stock protein skimmer went, it is a very tight fit. Initially, when I moved the skimmer to the back, the intake was getting bubbles from the outtake of the skimmer and causing it to gurgle, but after break-in I don't see this much anymore.

Just one suggestion why don't you put the heater in the return pump chamber?

Primarily, this is due to paranoia. Since the water level in the return pump chamber can vary, I didn't want to take the risk that the heater could be exposed. Granted, the water level only rises in the event the power goes out, I just have more peace of mind knowing it's in the display. It may look sub-optimal in the display, but I haven't had any issues with it so I haven't felt the need to move it.

How's it going?

I am running 2 of these tanks, and have both the old style and new style skimmer it comes with. I have had to, on occasion, use a small jewelers size screw driver to "jump start" the skimmer. stick it in, give the fan/impeller a little nudge and off she goes.

have you upgraded the return pump yet? I use the sicce silent 1.5. Its almost too much. I have it turned down some.

There should be a rubber grommet that goes in the hole the return line goes too. I upgraded my return pump/and nozzle and used a unibit to drill it larger.

As the post above said, I also have my heater in chamber 1, with some filter floss on top.

The green plating coral looks like a green monti cap?

It's going well! I haven't upgraded the return pump for some of the reasons that you mentioned. For example, I would like to upgrade the return pump if I don't have to take a drill to the tank. It hasn't been a serious issue yet so I haven't bothered with it. This rubber grommet you speak of, did this come with the tank or was this with your new pump?

 

[liquidfire]

It performs and skims way more material than the stock skimmer it came with, so that's my primary win. I have it set at about the halfway mark, and I'm cleaning the skimmer ever 3-5 days. I'm very satisfied with the purchase. In the 2nd chamber where the stock protein skimmer went, it is a very tight fit. Initially, when I moved the skimmer to the back, the intake was getting bubbles from the outtake of the skimmer and causing it to gurgle, but after break-in I don't see this much anymore.

Primarily, this is due to paranoia. Since the water level in the return pump chamber can vary, I didn't want to take the risk that the heater could be exposed. Granted, the water level only rises in the event the power goes out, I just have more peace of mind knowing it's in the display. It may look sub-optimal in the display, but I haven't had any issues with it so I haven't felt the need to move it.

It's going well! I haven't upgraded the return pump for some of the reasons that you mentioned. For example, I would like to upgrade the return pump if I don't have to take a drill to the tank. It hasn't been a serious issue yet so I haven't bothered with it. This rubber grommet you speak of, did this come with the tank or was this with your new pump?

It came with it. Wasn't a super tight fit with the factory, and had a slight dribble. Going to a bulkhead and line loc made a world of difference. And has zero leak

I've been using a plastic container underneath. Knowing that 5.5 gal fits perfectly will have me at the store the weekend buying 2.

In the back I have heater and filter floss in chamber 1, factory skimmer in 2 (want to upgrade, don't want to hang off back). Chamber 3 is all 3 baskets with marinepure 1.5 inch balls. Chamber 4 is my return pump and ATO fill line/sensor.

The down side to upgrading to the bulkhead and lineloc is everything I want to remove the pump to clean I have to unscrew it (which sucks )

 

[Alexwlwsn]

Nice looking tank. I have been pondering the protein skimmer for mine. So I got a question or two for ya,
1st is how do you like the aquamax skimmer and the 2nd is how well does it fit?

I am also currently in the process of cycling/maturing an Aquatop 24g and have an IceCap K1 Neo skimmer on the way. The factory skimmer location seems to be about a 3in square which is crazy small but the Neo seems to fit the bill! I'll try and remember to post here (will also post in my personal thread) once it's delivered to show how well it fits and works.

I have my biomedia and light mount in the 3rd chamber of the rear sump and I'm not looking to remove those for a larger protein skimmer. I wish Aquatop made the skimmer section ever so slightly larger so we could fit bigger items in there, but alas...