20 Gallon Simple Reef

[hockeyhead019]

Alrighty, well I guess here goes.

I'll try and keep this post updated with a FTS and Equipment/stocking list as the thread grows (hopefully lol)

FTS:

FTS 9-14-18 by Jim , on Flickr



Equipment:
Jebao WP-10
E-shopps nano overflow box
Quiet One Pro pump (return)
Cheap chinese powerhead in DT
Nanobox Duo (V1 w/ bluefish link)
Sump: 5 gal Home Depot bucket w/ LED desk lamp for reverse lighting

Last Updated: 5/28/18
Stocking:
Fish/Inverts
1. O. Clown
1. Yellow Watchman Goby
1. Candy Cane Pistol Shrimp
Assorted snails
Blue leg hermits

Coral:
Frogspawn
Firestarter Zoa
Radioactive Zoa
Micromussa lord
Duncan colony
Pagoda Cup

Photography equipment
Camera: Nikon D3400
Lenses:
Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 (workhorse for most of the pictures)
Nikon 55-300 f4.5-5.6
Nikon 18-55 kit lens

I've also started to try and get into photography, really enjoy looking at other peoples pictures of their reefs and wildlife in general so I'm attempting to start getting into that with a D3400, kit lens (18-55mm) and telephoto zoom (55-300mm). We'll see what kind of images I can produce. I'm definitely hoping to get better with time and practice.

 

[dbl]

The title caught my eye...there is nothing wrong with simple!!! Following along to see this one develop. I just set my prior 20g QT system up as a display for my daughter, so looking for ideas.

 

[Dsnakes]

I can't wait to see some pictures of the set up and build progression. Sounds like a nice little reef

 

[hockeyhead019]

Well it appears I don't actually have any photos of it on my phone I'll have to wait until I get home tonight and I can snap a quit FTS and a couple snaps of the setup in general. I still have a lot of work to do, not to mention an over-due waterchange tomorrow

To-do List:
- Setup and wire up Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite (I know I said "simple" in the title but this is a bleed over from my old 50g and will basically be used as a timer for lighting and temp control lol, by no means necessary)
- Setup pictures
- Water change & parameter test
- Move heater to sump compartment
- Install float switch in sump to prevent over fill of DT in event overflow is clogged
- Pictures, lots and lots of pictures

 

[hockeyhead019]

So here's what I'm working with under the stand. The wiring makes me wanna vomit but it was done to get the tank up and running. It is the first significant task to knock out on the to-do list.

The stand is a cheapo from PetSmart for a bow front tank, well it's working just fine for my 20g Long lol!


Left Cabinet by Jim , on Flickr

The "sump" is pretty simple, 5 gallon home depot bucket with the return pump in it and huge chunk of LR and cheato algae. The algae growth on the rock is considerable which in my mind is a good thing! Keeps it out of the DT


Right Cabinet by Jim , on Flickr

 

[hockeyhead019]

O clown by Jim , on Flickr


frogspawn by Jim , on Flickr


Watchman goby by Jim , on Flickr

 

[hockeyhead019]

Last repetitive post I swear lol... for today at least.

I have a set of tube extenders on the way so I'm really looking forward to playing with that from a photography point of view. Does anybody know any tricks to help with the grainyness of the cabinet pictures? I think it's the ISO setting but I didn't have much time to play with the camera today as I'm headed out and just wanted to snap a couple quick pictures.

 

[Reefguy13]

I have a 20g peninsula and will have to check out that stand. Does it work well for your setup

 

[dbl]

If I had to guess, I would agree it's likely the ISO setting as you suggested. Any idea what it was set to when you took the cabinet pictures?

 

[hockeyhead019]

I have a 20g peninsula and will have to check out that stand. Does it work well for your setup

Yes it works well for the way I have my tank setup, however if you are doing a peninsula then I would not recommend it unless you're ok with the aesthetics of one side being flat and the other bowed like a bow front tank is shaped. I would not be personally lol

If I had to guess, I would agree it's likely the ISO setting as you suggested. Any idea what it was set to when you took the cabinet pictures?

Looks like they were at 25600, which is way high from everything I'm reading. I'll try and take a similar image with lower ISO tomorrow and see how it turns out.

 

[reefguyty]

That frogspawn looks nice and healthy! I was thinking about making a fuge out of a 5 gallon bucket today, I see we have similar ideas.

I start to get a lot of noise / graininess at 1000 iso so I am sure that is it being up at 25k

 

[hockeyhead019]

Ok got some fun stuff today! Extension tubes came! Gotta love Amazon prime shipping lol


20171026_155924 by Jim , on Flickr


20171026_160116 by Jim , on Flickr

I'm hoping these will help with my macro ability without having to drop a ton of bread on a dedicated macro lens. Here's some way rushed results. I need to work on focus and shutter speed for capturing the fish.


Neemmmoooooooo by Jim , on Flickr


Frogspawn w/ 56mm ext by Jim , on Flickr

I also had some time to knock out the re-wiring and installation of my Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite


Post wiring update by Jim , on Flickr

Ahhhhh much better lol much, much, much better. Not perfect but it will do, especially because it's hidden. I had to drill a hole in the side dividing wall to pass the wires through for the temp probe and the float switch. After that was done I had to figure out where I wanted to mount the head unit and SL1 and some other goodies.

I had an extra shelf from the stand since I don't want anything over the sump, I was trying to figure out how to take advantage of this:


Board pre-drilling by Jim , on Flickr

After reading through some build threads like @Broadfield and others with similar command centers I was itching for something similar. It definitely doesn't have the professional finish by any means, but I think it's pretty cool to pop open the cabinet and see this. And as an added bonus it hides all the wiring and power strips behind it!


Board post drilling w/units by Jim , on Flickr

Here's a bit of a better shot of what's going on in the sump:


"Sump" by Jim , on Flickr

Pretty basic, some LR in there with a ball of cheato, return pump and a heater. I have the sump on reverse lighting with just a cheapo light from Walmart right now. The hair algae and a little of cyano (o no!) looking algae are on the LR piece.

For anybody wondering about the float switch in the sump it is not for an ATO system. Actually the float switch shuts of the return pump to prevent it from overflowing the DT. I had this issue in one of my past tanks and ended up pumping ~10 gallons of water onto the floor because my sump had an ATO system attached to it. The old siphon drain I had lost suction due to an overly curious turbo snail. I won't have that happen again, especially with a hanging overflow box. So this is my first safe guard against it. Ideally I would like another float switch to serve in reserve if (when) the first switch fails. I believe in failing these usually stick open? If somebody could help me there I would appreciate it.

 

[Broadfield]

Looking good man! Do you have a not-so-dark picture of the control center?

 

[hockeyhead019]

Looking good man! Do you have a not-so-dark picture of the control center?

Not as clean and could use some accent lighting but it'll do for now lol

20171027_154401
by Jim , on Flickr

The board is just particle board so even using the painters tape trick to try and keep it from chipping it still chipped up on me.

 

[hockeyhead019]

I'm looking for suggestions on possibly a third fish to stock with? I'm not 100% convinced on adding one more fish, but another one in the water column might be nice. I love bangaii cardinals but I've read that they're a bit skittish in a group, let alone by themselves.

Other than that I'm just saving dinero for more corals

 

[hockeyhead019]

I was worried that the shrimp had bit the dust since I hadn't seen him since putting him in the tank. I picked up the LR yesterday to stir the sand bed and clean out some of the detritus which was piling up. I put the rock on some plastic bags to keep from soaking the carpet, sure enough when I put the rock back in, there he is hanging out on the bag. So that was nice! More pictures from adding the GSP this past weekend.


GSP by Jim , on Flickr


Frogspawn by Jim , on Flickr

Getting better but it's tough to capture a good sharp picture still

 

[hockeyhead019]

Finally saw the pistol paired with the goby and tried to sneak a couple pictures, here's the one that came out the best:

Edit: man those are really dark, not sure what happened. I probably uploaded the pre-edit version instead of the post edit.

Still fighting the grain vs depth of field vs shutter speed battle but super cool that they're visible and active. I even saw the pistol snag a nassarius snail and drag it into the burrow!

 

[hockeyhead019]

Fighting GHA right now, lazily fighting though I'll admit. Not quite sure why those photos appear so dark, I thought I had uploaded them post edit but they appear to still be as I shot them lol oops. I'll be updating the FTS tonight after I vacuum out some of the algae and clean the glass.

 

[hockeyhead019]

Well I've gotten through all the GHA, and had a nice period of stability. However in the last two weeks, I've had an outbreak of crummy bryopsis algae. Thanks to the guide on the algae section of the forums, I know I've got a fairly big issue with ammonia or nitrites. Not sure what the source is but it has corresponded with a diatom bloom so I need to find what bit the dust and get it out asap. I've done a couple large water changes with only 25TDS so I'm wondering if my RO/DI filters are going and that's adding to the issue.

On the fun side, I scored some cool zoas in the @YourReef auction! Looking forward to adding: Radioactive Dragon eye zoas, Fire starter zoas and a Micromussa lord.

Pictures to follow after they get delivered and settled today

 

[hockeyhead019]

Picture dump: mostly corals I scored during (ok well just after) the live sale lol


Firestarter Zoas by Jim, on Flickr


Frogspawn by Jim, on Flickr

Frogspawn is still doing well. Absolutely love watching it pulse with the wave maker!


Goby and Shrimp by Jim, on Flickr


Green Zoas by Jim, on Flickr

That one is probably the best picture of the batch. I'm definitely still working on my camera skills. Tough to use a tripod where my tank is so I definitely lose sharpness.


Micromussa by Jim , on Flickr

Love the little micromussa. It's eating and all via my rigged cut off canada dry bottle that i just shoot some shrimp into.


Unkown Coral by Jim, on Flickr

Finally this is my mystery coral. Anybody able to ID it?

I'll be updating the FTS when I get on my tank husbandry game and give the back wall a scrub and get some of the algae off the rocks lol