20 Gallon Long Mixed Reef Build

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Hello Reef Buddies! I am new to the reefing hobby for the past year and a half. Started with a 20 gallon long tank and have been cycling a 40 gallon long for the last 8 mos.

My 20 gal is now packed with corals, but I wanted to share my progression of the tank, its ups and downs, and maybe get some advice from the experienced reefers out there!

Here are pics of the initial setup and about 10 months later. I'll post more pics of the current setup soon.

 

[lapin]

Nice

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Initial tank setup in february 2020

Initial Tank setup, super simple:
20 gallon long tank
Random Wooden stand
Jebao wavemaker
Cheap skimmer
Marineland Power filter, for mechanical filtration
20 pound of live rock
Carab Sea Fiji Pink Live sand
API Master Test kit
Fluval Aquasky light


Parameters holding steady after one month

March 2020, approximately 2 months into my cycle. Not a huge fan of the aquascape, but got some cheap rock from different friends and rolled with it.

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

First tank crew:
2 emerald crabs
5 hermits
5 snails
2 clownfish
1 firefish
1 cleaner shrimp

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Added a second mechanical filter and helped to elevate the light.

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

About 3 months later, filefish and emerald crabs didn't make it. Added a bicolor blenny and yellow watchman goby. May 2020

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Played with the aquascape some. Blenny jumped out so got a lid and added some chromis. Added a maxi mini too

June 2020

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Started to think bigger. Started to do way more research! Started to think more about corals. Then saw a sweet deal on some fish and added a royal gramma and bicolor angel fish......YES I KNOW NOW THE TANK WAS TOO SMALL! So i eventually gave them away lol

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

August 2020...Had some bubble nems, GSP, shrooms (again way too early, but I realized too late). Also decided to upgrade the light finally to a AI prime 16HD!

I have a tiny room, so the tank is in front of my bed lol. Super quiet.

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

October 2020: Stable parameters, tank finally maturing. Didn't make too many changes. Added lots of zoas, soft corals. Had a kole tang in the tank briefly for a friend. Helped with algae for a few days. Gave me the itch for a bigger tank one day...

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Biggest game changer....a hang on refugium! This added so much stability to my tank...so I was able to start really upping the coral game. December 2020

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Christmas 2020:

 

[Hokielooker]

Biggest game changer....a hang on refugium! This added so much stability to my tank...so I was able to start really upping the coral game. December 2020

What are you using for a cover? Looks plastic?

 

[fishhead1973]

Biggest game changer....a hang on refugium! This added so much stability to my tank...so I was able to start really upping the coral game. December 2020

nice tank been think about doing a cheato reactor to get away from gfo.

 

[Razorp]

How is the tank looking? I’m thinking about turning my aquaclear 110 into a refugium. Haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m still running a skimmer and I understand on a smaller tank, that both will strip too many nutrients

 

[SuperDave531]

Nice build Have you noticed a significant pH swings from day to night when lighting your display AND your fuge concurrent? Just curious

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

nice tank been think about doing a cheato reactor to get away from gfo.

I think chaeto is the way to go! Great idea!

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

Nice build Have you noticed a significant pH swings from day to night when lighting your display AND your fuge concurrent? Just curious

Unfortunately I work as an ER resident and my shift schedule prevents me from having consistent lighting of the fuge all the time. But when I check my water the PH stays pretty consistent. I also have a pretty big coral bio load that keeps things constant

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

How is the tank looking? I’m thinking about turning my aquaclear 110 into a refugium. Haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m still running a skimmer and I understand on a smaller tank, that both will strip too many nutrients

The tank is doing great actually! All healthy corals right now! I actually tried using aqua clear as a refuge in for a while. But I liked the breeder boxes better because I could see the chaeto and the shape allowed for better lighting! Aquaclear does allow for more water flow through it tho! I just wanted to make sure the chaeto had the best lighting and this helped with the growth!

 

[RiceKrispy Reefer]

What are you using for a cover? Looks plastic?

Sorry for the late reply! I used diy plastic roofing insulation from Lowe’s and cut to size! Helped a lot with decreasing evaporation, but did lower PAR some! So take that into consideration