shakacuz's: "i should've done this a really long time ago, but didn't." 40B build thread.

[shakacuz]

Hello, everyone! This build thread has been painfully overdue. But, here it is!

This is my journey with a little 40B that I started as of Feb 2021. There is a lot of documenting that I did not do because I had the intentions of upgrading tank size once I had a good grasp of how to do things, and of course, making more room for corals/fish. The information, videos, and pictures provided will be all "after-the-fact" documentation and nothing that was done recently unless stated otherwise. Now that I made this thread, I will be periodically updating as I go to track progress as well as setbacks!

Thank you for your time and below will be the specs.

Display Tank: Aqueon 40B drilled for overflow/return.
Stand: Imagitarium Brooklyn metal 40G stand.
Overflow: Fiji cube LP 600GPH overflow.
Sump: Fiji cube DIY 20G long sump kit - Aqueon 20G long tank. AI Prime Fuge light.

1. drain
2. dual sock filter with chemi pure blue and marinepure bioballs
3. skimmer/heater chamber
4. refugium with chaeto and marinepure blocks/plate
5. bubble trap
6. return chamber

Skimmer: Reef octopus classic 110-sss.
Heater: Inkbird ITC-306a heater controller + 2x BRS 100w titanium heaters.
Return: Sicce syncra silent 3.0.
ATO: 5G trigger systems crystal ATO resevior + XP Aqua Duetto Dual Sensor ATO.
Wavepump: 2x AI nero 3.
Sand: 40lb caribsea aragalife fiji pink.
Rock: 30-40lb live rock from LFS.
Lid: DIY Red Sea mesh lid.
Lighting: 2x AI Hydra 32HD + 2x reefbrite xho-k26 kit.

 

[shakacuz]

how it started after being cycled for a few months and was ready for corals(overtime). this was the first year or so, and also around the time i became a member of R2R.

lots of losses here as the systems biodiversity was still low even though parameters were in line/stable. lessons learned! manual dosing of ABC elements + A4R, then later in the year transitioned to the reef moonshiner method.

first tank inhabitants were:
1x midas blenny
2x red fire fish gobies
handful of snail CUC (trochus, ceriths, nassarius)

then:
1x yellow coris wrasse
1x yasha goby/candy cane pistol shrimp pair
handful of crab CUC (blue/red hermits, emerald crab)

 

[shakacuz]

this is now close to the 2nd year mark with new inhabitants/corals. some trades/sales around this time as i noticed LPS were struggling. some losses in terms of fish here. lost the yasha and possume wrasse. they both were from live aquaria so i assume they were either old or unhealthy and couldn't transition into my tank. bought a 2nd yasha and replaced the possume wrasse with the jawfish. around this time i invested in a better method of taking pictures of the tank (i was using the coral glasses to take phone pictures throughout all of this time. invested in the orphek 52mm lens kit).

went to reefapalooza this year and the year before. lost some of the corals bought in both events but gladly some pulled through during the fight with bryopsis.

new inhabitants during this time:
1x yellow banded possum wrasse
1x court jester goby
more CUC (snails/crabs) - specifically for the sump
1x cleaner shrimp
1x yellow head jawfish
1x tridacnea crocea clam

 

[shakacuz]

new additions(of course!), as well as losses(court jester goby and the 2nd yasha). replaced with a small, at the time, tomini tang. lots of the reefapalooza pick ups survived as my knowledge of reef keeping has improved as well as additional lights to keep corals happy! also picked up a Colorado sunburst BTA from thirstysreef (courtesy of inappropriatereefer's YT video)

current inhabitants are:
1x yellow wrasse
1x tomini tang
1x yellowheaded jawfish
1x midas blenny
2x red firefish gobies
varied CUC in DT and sump

 

[shakacuz]

battle with bryopsis is over!!

this is now late last year and early this year. everything is stable other than ALK! this has been such a chore to keep up with and definitely my #1 reason of coral death or STN. reefmoonshiner method works! some corals coming back from the brink of death

the tomini has grown a bit and has caught up in size to the midas blenny and wrasse.
new tank inhabitant is a good sized maxima clam, a very small t.crocea (that died due to being too small) and we now have a new apartment inhabitant! pongo, our sweet little dalmatian!

 

[shakacuz]

this is now the recent updates(mid year) moved all crabs, except 3(electric blue, scarlet red, and halloween hermit crabs) to the sump as they kept moving my loose rocks around trying to get into the tight spaces. increased snail CUC size both in display and sump(getting a lot of detritus build up in my skimmer chamber since it’s offline) - partially believe this to also cause my nutrients to bottom out

previously contemplated going up in tank size and with our growing dog it just was not feasible. sold off all the extra equipment to fund myself for this years RAPNY! currently fighting bryopsis again…but i know what to do this time around! corals are looking great aside a small frag of CB golden jawdropper that is fighting for its life to stay around. need to frag corals for some sales/trades. my green slimer, bubblegum digi, garf bonsai, and soon pc rainbow are sucking up all of my ALK alongside my máxima clam! nutrients are always nearly 0, and skimmer has been shut down since i’ve got it

 

[shakacuz]

6/2/23;

plans for the future:

increase CUC due to some die off.
remove stubborn coralline algae from the edges/corners of the tank(my flipper doesn't phase any of this stuff). may need new blades?
attend RAPNY on June 25th and come back with some goodies.
design a controller board to hide my wires (finally...).
remove silicates from water...or invest in a RODI.
install and calibrate my new milwaukee MW120 pro ph monitor.
frag some corals for the locals!
get a kraken reef lid for the tank.
remove the mangroves from my overflow box and move it to the sump.
equipment maintenance (lights need a desperate cleaning/dusting).
sell the last bit of equipment i had for the 75G tank i am no longer keeping/upgrading to.

 

[NCsalt]

Great pictures! Really cool 40 Breeder.

 

[shakacuz]

6/2/23;

plans for the future:

remove stubborn coralline algae from the edges/corners of the tank(my flipper doesn't phase any of this stuff). may need new blades?
remove silicates from water...or invest in a RODI.
install and calibrate my new milwaukee MW120 pro ph monitor.
get a kraken reef lid for the tank.
remove the mangroves from my overflow box and move it to the sump.
equipment maintenance (lights need a desperate cleaning/dusting).
sell the last bit of equipment i had for the 75G tank i am no longer keeping/upgrading to.

some updates for 7/23; (i left what’s left on my todo list above as a reminder)

got an adaptive reef board to hide some cables (still need to tidy this up due to the power bricks of my lights)
added some dry rock i had laying around that WAS going into the 75G that i’m no longer upgrading to. have to sell/trade the last 2 pieces i couldn’t fit
put up my r2r LED board. looks amazing! @revhtree
rearranged some rock work
added more CUC, gotta add more

 

[shakacuz]

remove stubborn coralline algae from the edges/corners of the tank(my flipper doesn't phase any of this stuff).
remove silicates from water...or invest in a RODI.
get a clearview lid for the tank.
equipment maintenance (lights need a desperate cleaning/dusting).
sell the last bit of equipment i had for the 75G tank i am no longer keeping/upgrading to.

some updates for 8/25; (i left what’s left on my todo list above as a reminder)

got new blades for the stubborn corner algae that is likely coralline algae. didn't phase it at all!
installed my milwaukee MW120 pro ph monitor. was so easy! now i just have to finalize my co2 scrubber install.
moved the mangroves to the sump. one is actually doing a lot better...weird!
i rearranged a few rocks, including my magnetic anemone cup holder. seems the nem wants to go rogue on me, but i cannot have it! its already killed two of my recent battlecorals order!!

 

[shakacuz]

9/2;

rearranged some rock work to accommodate placing the anemone holder back in place after it went rogue and wandered the tank. after which it got stuck in one of my nero 3’s and proceeded to give itself a nice haircut. has been healing within the last fest days. besides that i finally hooked up my DIY recirculating co2 scrubber to my reef octo classic 110-sss that i turned back online today(will have to start doubling up on my no2/po4 dosing so i don’t bottom out). so far my ph is at a 8.0 as per my mw120pro. will try and cross check with my hanna egg ph checker

still have to clean up the wires under the adaptive reef controller board. what a chore!

 

[PizzaIan339]

Cool tank!

 

[shakacuz]

quick update for today;

dosed my RM dailies, fed the tank, cleaned glass, moved rocks around then took some pictures. still manually dosing sucks! i can’t wait to get a controller

anyways, i’m happy with my rock work FINALLY. the small bits at the front right of the tank are to help stabilize some rocks since my hermits like moving rocks and squeezing through tights spaces

the CSB chose a spot and has been there ever since.

 

[Liam's tank]

Hello, everyone! This build thread has been painfully overdue. But, here it is!

This is my journey with a little 40B that I started as of Feb 2021. There is a lot of documenting that I did not do because I had the intentions of upgrading tank size once I had a good grasp of how to do things, and of course, making more room for corals/fish. The information, videos, and pictures provided will be all "after-the-fact" documentation and nothing that was done recently unless stated otherwise. Now that I made this thread, I will be periodically updating as I go to track progress as well as setbacks!

Thank you for your time and below will be the specs.

Display Tank: Aqueon 40B drilled for overflow/return.
Stand: Imagitarium Brooklyn metal 40G stand.
Overflow: Fiji cube LP 600GPH overflow.
Sump: Fiji cube DIY 20G long sump kit - Aqueon 20G long tank. AI Prime Fuge light.

1. drain
2. dual sock filter with chemi pure blue and marinepure bioballs
3. skimmer/heater chamber
4. refugium with chaeto and marinepure blocks/plate
5. bubble trap
6. return chamber

Skimmer: Reef octopus classic 110-sss.
Heater: Inkbird ITC-306a heater controller + 2x BRS 100w titanium heaters.
Return: Sicce syncra silent 3.0.
ATO: 5G trigger systems crystal ATO resevior + XP Aqua Duetto Dual Sensor ATO.
Wavepump: 2x AI nero 3.
Sand: 40lb caribsea aragalife fiji pink.
Rock: 30-40lb live rock from LFS.
Lid: DIY Red Sea mesh lid.
Lighting: 2x AI Hydra 32HD + 2x reefbrite xho-k26 kit.

Hello,
I recently became a member of the EPRA, is there somewhere that the members are able to converse, ask questions, share ideas?

 

[shakacuz]

Hello,
I recently became a member of the EPRA, is there somewhere that the members are able to converse, ask questions, share ideas?

Eastern Pennsylvania Reef Association

EPRA

www.reef2reef.com

 

[shakacuz]

just an update for everyone!

there was a huge gap after my last update. i was in the process of buying parts/equipment to build and transfer into a 60G cube. during the transition there were some personal issues that arose which ultimately forced me to tear the tank down, and give all my livestock away due to the short notice. all that's left is the lighting, gyres, pumps, plus all of my dosing stuff which i plan on keeping for my next build(mainly dry goods), whenever that is! luckily a fellow local reefer is holding all of the live stock, and some of my equipment which is one of the reasons i created the EPRA group! to build a community of locals that help each other out . so i am eternally grateful for an individual(or individuals) like that

anyways, as i get things back in order, my plan is to slowly continue my plans to build the 60G or bigger- cube. hopefully sooner, rather than later.