7.4G Peninsula SPS Dominated Build

[MONTANTK]

Getting back into the hobby after leaving for freshwater a couple of years ago. Decided to try my luck at freshwater after keeping saltwater aquariums for 7 years and needless to say, it did not work out.

So I’ve cleaned out my Fluval aquarium and have most of the equipment I need on order. I’ll start posting pictures once I have everything together in the next few days.

Equipment:
-AI Prime Sol
-x2 ViaAqua VA-302
-SpectraPure ATO
-x2 Spectra 2.5 gal tanks
-Still looking for a heater
-ApexEL (probably won’t buy right away)

The plan is to have the 2 smaller tanks sitting on the floor with one serving as the RO reservoir and the other serving as the mixing tank. Depending on how powerful the pumps are I may need to upgrade them but the idea is to make water changes quick and convenient by pumping the water up from below the tank.

I am planning on keeping zoas and a few leathers. I may also sprinkle a few acans and chalices in there as well. As far as fish go, I wasn’t planning on having any but I might add a pair of small gobies or blennies.

Looking forward to getting this tank off the ground!

 

[MONTANTK]

Update: I realized the fluval wasn’t going to work for what I wanted to do, so I purchased the Lifegard Aquatics 7.4G peninsula. Should be here Friday so I’ll be able to post some pictures!

 

[MONTANTK]

Tank arrived today and I picked up the light earlier in the week. Unfortunately the tank was shipped without any pumps/media so I had to contact the supplier. Now I just need to pick up 2 more pumps, a heater, and two smaller tanks and we are good to go!

 

[jaren45]

How's that prime sol? Almost chose it instead of the reef version when I bought mine.

 

[MONTANTK]

How's that prime sol? Almost chose it instead of the reef version when I bought mine.

I don’t have it up yet but past experience I love it. 20 gallons and under you can’t beat it. Next favorite is the Hydra36

 

[Steven Garland]

Why the Sol over the reef version ?

 

[MONTANTK]

Why the Sol over the reef version ?

Ended up going with the regular HD because I got a deal on a used one but I was going to go with the Sol because the store I worked at had good luck with the OG Sols. Plus I don’t use red or green.

 

[Steven Garland]

Ahh okay. For what it is,its a great little light. I'm not 110% happy with the colors but it will be suffice.

I use my r & g at like 3% to give a little brightness.

I'm not 110% okay with their color of diode choices but it works.

 

[MONTANTK]

Ahh okay. For what it is,its a great little light. I'm not 110% happy with the colors but it will be suffice.

I use my r & g at like 3% to give a little brightness.

I'm not 110% okay with their color of diode choices but it works.

Yeah I mean I had the primes and the hydra 26. Loved the 26 but it would be overkill on this tank

 

[MONTANTK]

Update: sand, pump and heater have finally been ordered. I’m expecting them to arrive sometime next week. The plan is to fill the tank and get the rock work done by thanksgiving. Will post some progression pics soon

 

[MONTANTK]

We are officially ready for water! Decided to keep maintenance easy and put the mixing tank and RO storage right underneath the tank. The control center is located underneath my dresser. Tomorrow I’ll be going to the store to pick up some rock and RO water to finally get this thing going!

 

[MONTANTK]

And we have water!

Debating on if I’m going to add any fish. The plan is to throw in my first couple corals in about two weeks.

 

[MONTANTK]

Got my first few corals. I had a bad refractometer so my salinity was very low. Everything except the blondies seem to be recovering well. I also added some Rastas, Speckled Krak, long lash Eagle Eyes, mystery zoa colony, and a red monti cap. Don’t plan on adding any more coral until after I get an apex. So far I’m happy with the way the tank is turning out.

 

[eag]

Cool!! I have this same tank. Lots of learnings... I'll share some here, but you can check out my build thread for (a lot) more detail.

SpectraPure ATO

This is an excellent little ATO, expensive though. Curious how much it cost you?

Where will you be mounting the sensor? The back chamber? Might be a tight fit... AFAICT the return chamber is the only variable water level, and the pump itself occupies most of the volume.

As far as fish go, I wasn’t planning on having any but I might add a pair of small gobies or blennies.

It definitely feels small for fish... I have some sexy shrimp and am considering swapping them out for a fish, but finding one that will do well in this tank size is not easy? My tank has got only about 5g of water in it when accounting for the rocks etc...

Unfortunately the tank was shipped without any pumps/media so I had to contact the supplier.

I tried to use a better/more powerful return, but that ended up being a problem as it pushed water back into the display faster than it could flow back through the overflow and drain... Resulting in high water level or the back chamber running dry, depending on the configuration

Also, the sponge it comes with is not the best. It's a pain to get out of the back, and a pain to clean. I ended up designing and printing a media basket for mine, it works pretty well and now I can use disposable filter pads.

And we have water!

How do you feel about that water level? Mine is about 3/4" below the rim

I think the overflow in this tank is flawed - it doesn't let enough water through. In addition, you're probably going to want to plug the bottom drain, which makes this problem worse. To find equilibrium with a comfortable water level, I had to use the stock pump with the flow restrictor dialed down to about 20%. Of course, that means display flow from the return is absolutely terrible... Two small powerheads fixed that for me.

 

[MONTANTK]

Cool!! I have this same tank. Lots of learnings... I'll share some here, but you can check out my build thread for (a lot) more detail.



This is an excellent little ATO, expensive though. Curious how much it cost you?

Where will you be mounting the sensor? The back chamber? Might be a tight fit... AFAICT the return chamber is the only variable water level, and the pump itself occupies most of the volume.



It definitely feels small for fish... I have some sexy shrimp and am considering swapping them out for a fish, but finding one that will do well in this tank size is not easy? My tank has got only about 5g of water in it when accounting for the rocks etc...



I tried to use a better/more powerful return, but that ended up being a problem as it pushed water back into the display faster than it could flow back through the overflow and drain... Resulting in high water level or the back chamber running dry, depending on the configuration

Also, the sponge it comes with is not the best. It's a pain to get out of the back, and a pain to clean. I ended up designing and printing a media basket for mine, it works pretty well and now I can use disposable filter pads.



How do you feel about that water level? Mine is about 3/4" below the rim

I think the overflow in this tank is flawed - it doesn't let enough water through. In addition, you're probably going to want to plug the bottom drain, which makes this problem worse. To find equilibrium with a comfortable water level, I had to use the stock pump with the flow restrictor dialed down to about 20%. Of course, that means display flow from the return is absolutely terrible... Two small powerheads fixed that for me.

Hey so I ended up going with the autoaqua ATO and I love it! I’m also planning on adding either a rainsford goby or a pink streak wrasse but I’m still undecided on if I even want fish. I agree the overflow system is flawed. My water level is about 1/2” from the top. I scrapped all the media they provided and keep a polypad with my heater in the first chamber, a chemipure bag in the 2nd chamber and my sicce pump in the third chamber. Might be using a viaaqua pump if it’s quieter but the flow is about 150gph. I wish they made the second baffle taller.

 

[eag]

I ended up going with the autoaqua ATO and I love it!

Hah I made the same choice - doing very well so far! Nice and small

I’m also planning on adding either a rainsford goby or a pink streak wrasse

I'm not too familiar with either of these, I'll need to do some research. Thanks for the pointer!

my sicce pump in the third chamber. Might be using a viaaqua pump if it’s quieter but the flow is about 150gph.

Yea I had a sicce micra too and I had to downgrade back to the stock pump because even with the flow turned all the way down it was still too high... It works well when you're using the bottom drain, but as soon as you plug it there will be a problem.

Your low salinity - depending on how you set up the ATO sensor, and how your mechanical filter is installed, you might see some pretty drastic salinity swings if you're using the bottom drain. Keep an eye on the water level in the display... If you see it rising slowly over time, you've got a problem. How often are you doing WC and cleaning your filter?

 

[MONTANTK]

Hah I made the same choice - doing very well so far! Nice and small



I'm not too familiar with either of these, I'll need to do some research. Thanks for the pointer!



Yea I had a sicce micra too and I had to downgrade back to the stock pump because even with the flow turned all the way down it was still too high... It works well when you're using the bottom drain, but as soon as you plug it there will be a problem.

Your low salinity - depending on how you set up the ATO sensor, and how your mechanical filter is installed, you might see some pretty drastic salinity swings if you're using the bottom drain. Keep an eye on the water level in the display... If you see it rising slowly over time, you've got a problem. How often are you doing WC and cleaning your filter?

I kept the bottom drain open and I still only get evaporation in the second and third chamber (I keep the water level above the 2nd baffle). I think it evaporates like the because I have such a high amount of flow coming from the return pump and the sensor doesn’t allow for much evaporation at all. Since fixing my salinity I have been holding strong at 1.026. My plan is to do about 1-1.5 gallons a week and then change the chemipure monthly. I’ll change the polypad as needed.

 

[MONTANTK]

First acro and the only fish has been added. So far I’m getting pretty solid polyp extension out of the acro. Probably going to add two reef brutes to my system in a few weeks to reduce shading. Going to continue paying close attention to my corals since I changed the light schedule to include whites at only 20% with UV around 80%.

Ended up getting a pink streak wrasse as the only fish in the tank. Hoping he will pick off any potential pests that may get into my system. Unfortunately he wasn’t cooperating with the camera.

 

[MONTANTK]

Corals are starting to color up nicely. Montipora is growing and the Acros seem nice and happy. My Blondies finally opened up too! Had to move my Speckled Krak because it didn’t like all the light it was getting.

 

[MONTANTK]

Added some new Acros!

Current Acro Stock:
-WWC Little Red Ferrari
-ARC Orange Rainbow
-Purple Dragon
-PC Rainbow
-JF Homemaker
-Sanjay tabling acro (forgot actual name)

Also added a second AI Prime to help reduce shadowing