30 Gallon Micro/Nano AIO DIY Reef Tank

[dward0487]

Well, here is the tank, filled with water (I have it set a little far out from the wall so I could observe the flow through the sump and install components more easily).

[img]http://i58.*******.com/imjs47.jpg[/img]

I have installed all the equipment, and routed the cables in a way that works for now, at least. I'll tidy it up a bit more later. I mounted the Reefbrite White XHO, and it looks great! I think I'll wait until the next paycheck rolls around to grab the blue XHO, seeing as how I won't need either of them until I'm done cycling the tank.

Here's a shot of the media tower I built out of eggcrate:

[img]http://i62.*******.com/29yi2gw.jpg[/img]

It fits in the intake section really nicely:

[img]http://i62.*******.com/a0ax4.jpg[/img]

I originally included a little handle at the top for easy removal, but I found that the top section of the tower interfered with the water flowing over the teeth and made an undesirable noise, so I ended up removing the top section of eggcrate. Everything is great now!

The sump cover looks pretty darn slick on this thing. It gives the tank a nice clean appearance, and the cables fit perfectly through the hole at the back:

[img]http://i58.*******.com/2sbvn07.jpg[/img]

I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out! I'm going to be making water tonight, and I might either fill it with saltwater so it can start cycling late tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I'm also going to be painting this thing to black out the sump section on the sides.

I have noticed one thing, though... My Sicce Syncra 1.5 return pump seems to be making a slight buzzing noise that I didn't notice before. It doesn't really seem like the noise is coming from the pump itself, but actually seems to come from the bulkhead/return elbow area, or perhaps the Loc Line... Anyone else experienced this? The pump is on the suction cup feet, not touching any walls, and it's connected to the elbow with vinyl tubing. The bulkhead is nice and tight, as is the Loc Line... I'm not sure what's causing the buzzing sound. It's pretty faint, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't making that sound earlier in the day. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks!

[dward0487]

Well, the time has finally come... Here she is, all set up and cycling!

[img]http://i62.*******.com/2vte0eh.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i62.*******.com/23hlnpc.jpg[/img]

The water is a little cloudy from the sand, but it's getting clearer every minute! Other than that, everything looks great! I am actually considering adding a bit more sand, as I think it looks a little thin... I have my carbon and GFO running in the media tower, but I'm not currently running my skimmer. Between the live sand and the Bio-Spira I poured into the tank, I'm hoping for a pretty quick cycle. Fingers crossed! I checked and double-checked the salinity of the water with my refractometer, using a target value of 1.026 (35 ppm). The paint turned out really nice on the sump section:

[img]http://i60.*******.com/fktf8k.jpg[/img]

So, the build is finally done (or at least it will be when I buy that second XHO, haha). Now it's just a matter of waiting for the bacteria to do their thing, and finding some neat fish and corals for it. Here are a few parting shots of the tank:

[img]http://i57.*******.com/53jjmb.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i57.*******.com/2u6jjfn.jpg[/img]

[Leanan]

Looking great! I really like your aquascaping.

[915MANG]

Nice work! Is your rock stacked or did you use epoxy? I like it

[dward0487]

Thanks! There is nothing holding the rock together but gravity. I considered epoxy, but I was too lazy to use it... Haha!

[dward0487]

Here's a new shot of the tank (you can see my raw shrimp that I'm using to cycle the tank -- it appears to have cooked up nicely in the water):

[img]http://i57.*******.com/5f50r5.jpg[/img]

I think the cloudiness was actually more of a bacterial bloom from the Bio Spira and live sand than floating particulate... It's still clearing, but it's getting better by the day! My temperature is holding steady at 78 degrees, and my salinity is 1.026, with the ATO working properly. I'm a little concerned about the pH (which currently reads 7.8), but I think it might come up as the tank continues to cycle. So far, so good!

[Reefer PT]

Any updates, My son wants a tank in his bedroom and am thinking about stealing your design. Is it quiet enough for a bedroom? Do you like your design still, anything you would change? How did the final price of the build turn out verses just buying a AIO? Tanks looks sharp!
Thanks
Dave

[CrookedStick]

Agreed, updates needed, the build looks great. Would like to know how your seals are holding out.

[Brando457]

Look great!

Only recommendation I'd make is maybe try to find black netting or paint the netting black, it'd really blend well with everything and you put so much thought into the cover/sump setup.

Want to come to NJ and do my rock work, love how you did it!

[dward0487]

Hey guys! I'm a member of DFWMAS, so I started posting my progress on this build over on their forums. I hadn't heard anything here for a while, so I just assumed no one was checking it out. My build log on the DFWMAS forums has basically become a full-blown tank log, so feel free to check it out. Here's a little shot to show what I've got going on in the tank right now:

[img]http://i59.*******.com/1yan0n.jpg[/img]

And here's the link to my thread on the DFWMAS forums:

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtop...?f=53&t=121030

Right now I've got 2 clowns, a cleaner shrimp, a bunch of hermits and trochus snails, and about 16 corals in there. I'm still trying to get a handle on the lighting, though. There are a ton of pictures and more information in my other thread.

Now, as for your specific questions:

Dave, this tank is super quiet. The pumps are basically silent, and the water that comes through the overflow teeth basically clings to the acrylic as it travels down into the sump, so it doesn't make any splashing noises. I'd say it would be fine for a bedroom! As for the price, I honestly haven't been keeping track of how much this has cost... This hobby has a way of getting very expensive, especially if you buy everything new. I'd say I've probably spent about $2000 on the tank, including the 3 Reefbrite XHO LEDs that I now have, which make up about half of that cost. That being said, my lighting is a little bit much for my tank. If you went with some regular Reefbrite Tech LEDs, you'd still have plenty of light, and the price would drop a lot. I'm not sure how that all compares with the cost of a fully functional AIO "package deal," but I'm happy with what I designed. It does everything I want it to and I know that I've got quality products installed. You'll have to check out what's being offered and see if you're satisfied with the components they use (filtration, powerheads, lighting, etc.). In the end, it's up to you! I'm glad you like my design, though!

CrookedStick, the seals are holding perfectly. The tank seems really solid!

Brando, I deliberately went with clear mesh so that I wouldn't block any light from my LEDs. I actually like the look of it, and it doesn't seem to clash with the rest of the tank. Overall, it looks pretty slick. As for the rockwork, it's funny that you mention that, because I consider it kind of a pain. The rocks look nice, but it's hard to find a place to glue any corals down because of the steep angles. The piece of rock on the right that looks like coral is basically just taking up space. I put some encrusting cyphastrea on it, so hopefully it will get covered and look more visually appealing. I made the mistake of trying to create really pretty rockwork when I should have focused more on potential coral placement sites. If I could do it all over again, I'd go with a much more "broad" rock setup, which would allow me to place a lot of corals and bring up the aesthetics that way.

[Brando457]

My tank is a fowlr, I'm okay with pretty

The updated pic looks great, keep it up!

[Reefer PT]

I am lucky enough to have a tank at my office as a write off so believe me I know exactly how much this hobby can drain you. I was just wondering about the cost of the basic tank, acrylic and plumbing? With the pre made AIO you just get that as well. No skimmers, dosers, ATO, lights, ect. Other then rock work, your happy with everything else in the design? Wouldn't change any dimensions?
Thanks
Dave

[dward0487]

Well, the tank cost me $40 new (Petco dollar per gallon sale). The acrylic cost me $90 total (I think), including the sump cover. And the plumbing was maybe $25 or so for the fittings and the single hose. The adhesive was probably $20. All in all, building the actual tank cost me under $200. The dimensions are great. I ended up changing the media bags for mini reactors, though. That works better. I'm also considering switching the powerheads for Jebaos, since they are smaller. The Koralias are great, though. Overall, I'm very pleased with the tank setup. I hope that helps!

[Reefer PT]

I've had 2 jebaos, One lasted 3 months before the magnet turned to chalk, returned it and this one is going strong on my nano for past 8 months. So make sure you keep the paperwork because they can be prone to failure. Also have a Ecotech vortec on my large tank and do like it much better. Reeflink is awesome for control freaks.
Dave

[dward0487]

Yeah, I went ahead and switched out the Koralias for a single Vortech MP10. The tank looks much cleaner and the flow is better, too. I'm pleased!

[iiluisii]

looks great