mlivvy
Well-Known Member
I decided to downgrade tanks and go with a All In One to simplify things a bit. After some shopping around I decided to go with the JBJ 30. The 45 wasn't much of a downgrade (coming from 70g).
When I purchased the tank the plan was to also get the stand that goes with the tank. I went to an LFS to checkout the stand and I didn't like how plain and cheap it looked. I spend too much time on Pinterest so I drove around town and found this cabinet at a used furniture store.
$20 for the cabinet + $10 on paint + $15 on Handles = $45. The JBJ stand was $200.
I reinforced the bottom with 2x4's just to be on the safe side.
I had 3 rock islands in my previous tank and I kept one for this tank. I played around with frag placement while filling it up. I used Sand and water from the previous tank and changed half of it with new water mixed with IO salt.
I didn't like the dual return pumps so I went with a Jebao DC1200 pump which fit perfectly in the middle chamber. I also like that it's controllable so I can easily dial it down or shut it off for water changes. For flow i'm using an MP10QD which is perfect for this tank.
Now came the toughest part. Figuring out the lighting. I've been DIY'ing my own lights for years. I decided this time around to just purchase a light for aesthetic reasons. I really wanted a Radion but even used they are pretty expensive. Then I debated on a T5 Hybrid fixture but don't feel like changing bulbs and it's a much larger fixture. Then I thought a Kessil would be a good option but after visiting an LFS and seeing them in action I wasn't too thrilled with the shimmer. Don't get me wrong I grew up in the MH days and love shimmer but I just didn't like it with the Kessil. Then it came down to the AI Prime which I liked but felt that it was too underpowered for growth. This was before they announced the Prime HD which has everything I wanted with a Prime. I found a youtuber with the 45G version using the Ocean Revive T247. I looked into this fixture and it looks good, it's dimmable, and it's very affordable.
The coloration was good but not the best. The green leds bleed thru alot, but it's manageable if you move the rock work around. The included mounting legs worked out great because I wasn't looking forward to hanging it from the ceiling. Then I pondered and wondered if I can make this light wifi controllable/dimmable.. This would be an excellent light if I could. After some researching and digging I found a youtube video of a guy who modified his to dim with an Arduino. I had a Bluefish mini controller laying around and it works like an Arduino using 3.3v pwm. With a little cutting and slicing I was able to modify the light to work with the bluefish mini. Only drawback is that the driver doesn't allow dimming below 10% so it ramps from 10% to 100% and back down. I get all the storm features and clouds which is cool. Here's a video.
Overall i'm happy with the fixture. I had to cut down the intensity and time because it was bleaching out some corals and I had algae growth on the glass and sand.
I've stocked it with a few frags and the only full sized coral right now is the frogspawn. I plan on adding a few more pieces slowly. For fish I have a pair of perc clowns and a starry blenny. I don't plan on having alot of fish but I always say that and overload anyway.
I purchased a used Tunze 9001 skimmer on ebay and it arrived broken. I'll probably stick with the 9001 because it had a great fit in the rear compartment. I went from replacing 1-2 g a day of RO to 2g a week with this tank so i'm in love with AIO's. I'm still looking for an ATO and i'm leaning towards the Smart ATO micro. Water changes are also easy with this tank. I plan on doing monthly 20% water changes unless I get issues then i'll do them biweekly.
I've been thinking about how to dose this tank. I was going to keep it simple and just do Kalk in the ATO, a good supplement, and continue using the IO mix. Then I discovered Aquaforest in the sponsor section here and I thought i'd give it a try. I purchased the Reef Salt yesterday and did a water change and was amazed at how quickly it dissolved. I'm currently researching dosers to use with the Component1+2+3+. The Jebao DP4 was almost too good to be true at it's price. I could possibly use the 4th pump as an ATO but after researching and reading the horror stories, it scared me away.
I plan on keeping a mixed reef with a zoa and ric garden and a little sps. I like suggestions and ideas so don't be shy and please post.
When I purchased the tank the plan was to also get the stand that goes with the tank. I went to an LFS to checkout the stand and I didn't like how plain and cheap it looked. I spend too much time on Pinterest so I drove around town and found this cabinet at a used furniture store.
$20 for the cabinet + $10 on paint + $15 on Handles = $45. The JBJ stand was $200.
I reinforced the bottom with 2x4's just to be on the safe side.
I had 3 rock islands in my previous tank and I kept one for this tank. I played around with frag placement while filling it up. I used Sand and water from the previous tank and changed half of it with new water mixed with IO salt.
I didn't like the dual return pumps so I went with a Jebao DC1200 pump which fit perfectly in the middle chamber. I also like that it's controllable so I can easily dial it down or shut it off for water changes. For flow i'm using an MP10QD which is perfect for this tank.
Now came the toughest part. Figuring out the lighting. I've been DIY'ing my own lights for years. I decided this time around to just purchase a light for aesthetic reasons. I really wanted a Radion but even used they are pretty expensive. Then I debated on a T5 Hybrid fixture but don't feel like changing bulbs and it's a much larger fixture. Then I thought a Kessil would be a good option but after visiting an LFS and seeing them in action I wasn't too thrilled with the shimmer. Don't get me wrong I grew up in the MH days and love shimmer but I just didn't like it with the Kessil. Then it came down to the AI Prime which I liked but felt that it was too underpowered for growth. This was before they announced the Prime HD which has everything I wanted with a Prime. I found a youtuber with the 45G version using the Ocean Revive T247. I looked into this fixture and it looks good, it's dimmable, and it's very affordable.
The coloration was good but not the best. The green leds bleed thru alot, but it's manageable if you move the rock work around. The included mounting legs worked out great because I wasn't looking forward to hanging it from the ceiling. Then I pondered and wondered if I can make this light wifi controllable/dimmable.. This would be an excellent light if I could. After some researching and digging I found a youtube video of a guy who modified his to dim with an Arduino. I had a Bluefish mini controller laying around and it works like an Arduino using 3.3v pwm. With a little cutting and slicing I was able to modify the light to work with the bluefish mini. Only drawback is that the driver doesn't allow dimming below 10% so it ramps from 10% to 100% and back down. I get all the storm features and clouds which is cool. Here's a video.
Overall i'm happy with the fixture. I had to cut down the intensity and time because it was bleaching out some corals and I had algae growth on the glass and sand.
I've stocked it with a few frags and the only full sized coral right now is the frogspawn. I plan on adding a few more pieces slowly. For fish I have a pair of perc clowns and a starry blenny. I don't plan on having alot of fish but I always say that and overload anyway.
I purchased a used Tunze 9001 skimmer on ebay and it arrived broken. I'll probably stick with the 9001 because it had a great fit in the rear compartment. I went from replacing 1-2 g a day of RO to 2g a week with this tank so i'm in love with AIO's. I'm still looking for an ATO and i'm leaning towards the Smart ATO micro. Water changes are also easy with this tank. I plan on doing monthly 20% water changes unless I get issues then i'll do them biweekly.
I've been thinking about how to dose this tank. I was going to keep it simple and just do Kalk in the ATO, a good supplement, and continue using the IO mix. Then I discovered Aquaforest in the sponsor section here and I thought i'd give it a try. I purchased the Reef Salt yesterday and did a water change and was amazed at how quickly it dissolved. I'm currently researching dosers to use with the Component1+2+3+. The Jebao DP4 was almost too good to be true at it's price. I could possibly use the 4th pump as an ATO but after researching and reading the horror stories, it scared me away.
I plan on keeping a mixed reef with a zoa and ric garden and a little sps. I like suggestions and ideas so don't be shy and please post.
, I have the JBJ 30 gal RL as well but I guess you could say mine is an upgrade ...... From an 8 gallon nano reef, 
don't misunderstand I take my reef pets very seriously and love every creature in it. I guess my humor is that you are slightly downgrading and I want to upgrade sooooo bad! But that's for a different thread. I really like your stand and your right it is much nicer than the typical JBJ stand that is offered with the tank, but I have to admit I love a good deal and got mine for $120.00 so no to bad. Looking forward to following and I see you've been a member for quite some time so I'm sure you have lots of knowledge to share 
