my 20 gallon high diy project

[danoreef]

2 yrs ago I had an awesome 55 gallon reef tank (that I was completely obsessed with) but I broke it down because I was selling my house. well my house didn't sell, so I set up a 75 gallon cichlid tank. I am now going to break the cichlid tank down and start a nano reef. I am going to build as much stuff as possible with this 20 gallon high tank. I can do this now because of all the great diy threads here on reef central. I will try to acknowledge all the threads that helped me. here's what I am going for:

• 20 gallon high tank

• DIY stand and canopy

• DIY lighting. 150 metal halides, I might add a 55 watts PC from a PC fixture I have laying around

• DIY internal overflow with durso stand pipes

• DIY sump/refugium

• DIY rock

• DIY auto top off

that's it for starters, Down the road I will build a skimmer and look into doing a DIY calcium reactor

I ordered a ro/di unit tonight from http://www.purelyh2o.com/
Also a couple of diamond coated whole saw from http://www.richontools.com/index.html. I have heard some bad stuff about the bits wobbling from this site but for those prices I will check for myself. I am still waiting for both items to arrive. any advise on my setup would be greatly appreciated.
Here are some pics of the stand, canopy, rocks that are still curing and the overflow:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1050248.jpg

the canopy is a very simple design thanks to Travis L. Stevens.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=912378
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1100263.jpg

here it is all together:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1100271.jpg

The rock could not have been easier, here's just one little peice of about 30lbs I've made so far. also thanks to Travis L. Stevens. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=952524

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1080252.jpg

I have to find the thread for bending the acrylic. I learned alot about working with acrylic from http://www.melevsreef.com/
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1100262.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1100272.jpg
I will silicone in after I drill the holes

[EWC88]

Very nice! I can't wait to see your progress grow, keep updating us with pics

[sir_dudeguy]

wait...you made that rock!?? thats GREAT looking! Do you have pics of the other rocks you made?

[danoreef]

yup I made! and that is the exact reaction everyone has when they see it I will take some more pictures and post them check out Travis's thread on ultimate rock I posted it up at the top.

also I would like to mention dsparks's thread he got a heck of a project going on over there my wood working skills do not compare to his
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=763737

[danoreef]

here are the pics of the rock. all still soaking I am still making more. I figure I let it soak for 6 weeks doing water changes every other day and monitoring the ph every week.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110274.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110275.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110276.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110277.jpg
I even made some plugs to hold future frags. if you plan on doing this do not use cardboard egg holders. I hade to scrub that paper off, even after it was soaking a while
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110278.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1110279.jpg

Has any one used garf grunge? because I only want to use this rock and seed it with garf grunge for it to eventually become live rock.

[sir_dudeguy]

wow is all i can say ;) That will truely look awesome when its been in a tank for a while ;)

And for turning it live, you really only need to get some sort of amonia source in there. Once you get that amonia going, the bacteria will start growing and it will cycle on its own. Once its cycled, its live. Just dont use stuff like that "cycle" product that is sposed to cycle faster...it just neutralizes amonia....if you do that, then you cant even get the cycle started. :)

[danoreef]

thanks EWC88 will keep you updated.

thanks for the advice sir_dudeguy I will absolutely take my time. and let this tank cycle properly that's why I was thinking about going with garf grunge. but I not sure if it is meant to help cycle the tank.

you know how that old saying goes haste makes waste.

[drummereef]

I have to agree, that is some of the nicest looking diy rock I've seen. Very nice job!

[BLKTANG]

sweet setup,& awesome job on the diy rock.

[danoreef]

Thanks drumemrreef And blktang. if you tried to make it you would be surprised how easy it is.

[danoreef]

I am not sure how I will set up my sump/refugium here are the options I am thinking about. option 1 is straight off http://melevsreef.com/ except he used acrylic I will be using a 10 gallon glass aquarium
sump 1
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/sump1.jpg
sump 2
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/sump2.jpg
sump 3
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/sump3.jpg
sump 4
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/sump4.jpg
Any suggestions?

[danoreef]

after doing some research And checking out other DIYers sump/fuge I used the 1st diagram the one that follows the plan of melevs 14 gallon sump. I used a 10 AGA though. It came out pretty good I post pics later on today.

[danoreef]

here are some pics of the sump/fuge
Specs:
10 gallon AGA
1/4 inch acrylic cut to size
I made a jig to use with my zip tool and a straight cutting router bit to make the slots in the acrylic
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1140296.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1140297.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1140298.jpg

[Pattylucylaura]

Nice rock mine never turned out that good. I would skip the garf grunge just see if you can get some live sand from the LFS or a fellow reefer and seed with that or you could just buy a piece of LR and it will all come alive eventually. I have to disagree with sir dueguy a little on what he said adding an amonia source would help the tank cycle a little but to truly get all of the benifical bacteria in there you need to get it from another source it won't just create it self from breaking down amonia and even if it did create some bacteria you still wouldn't have all of the little critters that are benefical and normaly come with LR/LS.

[danoreef]

thanks Pattylucylaura. did you use rock salt? thats the trick here. I also made the slurry a little wetter than everybody else says.
I was going to use aragonite reef sand not the live stuff for the substrate. But I'm looking for all the little critters like you mentioned, so I guess I use live sand from the LFS for the entire substrate. because what would a reef be without all that life crawling around in the substrate.

[Pattylucylaura]

You don't need all live sand a cup full or so on top of your sand bed will make all the sand live eventually. I used the rock salt and I tried both wet and dry mixes and mine is ok at best oh well maybe I will try another batch I also don't care for mine much since I had the grey cement.

[Moloch_0]

That faux live rock looks great.

[danoreef]

thanks Moloch_0 I am still making more I tried something different with a piece If it comes out nice I will post pics.

I drilled my first hole in the tank for the overflow I decided to go with 1 - 3/4" drain pipe and 2 returns going through a scwd. I'm not sure what size return pump I will use though I have 2 mag 7's but I don't think that will be enough flow through the scwd. here are pics of the hole I drilled. after I finished that hole I drilled 2 more in the back for the returns. It was easy with the hole saw.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1140315.jpg

[danoreef]

I painted the back of the tank the overflow and the DIY 3/4 inch PVC bulkheads with krylon fusion paint. I put the bulkheads in.I siliconed in the overflow, and stained the stand it needs another coat of stain but its winter here in NY and the first coat stunk up the house something fierce so I'll have to wait until warmer whether to do another coat. here are some pics
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1160316.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1160317.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1160319.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1160320.jpg

[Lpabsolute]

Looking Good

[danoreef]

thank you Lpabsolute
next up...water testing and the lighting. I broke down my 75 gallon cichlid tank today and posted a sign at work to try and sell it, and the wet/dry filter we'll see if it sells. LFS says hell buy it, but for a very small amount. I might work a trade with him. its weird not having any tank up an running. I'll post some pics after I order and build the lights.

[danoreef]

bad news. During water testing I had a leak. Then I cracked the glass. it was the DIY bulkheads that were the culprit.

[gregbot9000]

how did you do the bulkheads, did it crack the whole tank.?

[danoreef]

the bulkheads I use were 3/4 inch pvc male to female adapter. really not enough surface space to snuggly tighten the gasket down. real bulk heads are worth the price... IMO.

[hammer294]

hey danoreef....progress is looking real good. the diy rock looks great. just a thought for you, but look into the light that melevsreef uses for the refuge. I just changed to that light and it is working great....cheap too.

I will be following along as i have a 20H as well. Been up and running for a few months. Check it out if you would like at my homepage.

keep the updates coming

[danoreef]

thanks Chris...


Heres what happened to the tank...
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1270011.jpg
the crack :sad2: . Then I ordered the Aquapod 24 with the 150watt MH... My DIY project is no more :sad2: :sad2: .
I painted the wood stand I made black. here is a picture of that
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1270007.jpg
and here is the ap 24
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1270008.jpg

[hammer294]

atleat everything didnt go to waste on the diy project. stand looks great. whats your next move for the tank?

[danoreef]

the brand new ro/di has a broken fitting so I will wait to get it fixed before adding the water and salt. the pics are of fresh water doing a leak, flow and temp test. then its onto the live sand and waiting until the water that the DIY rock is in to get to the correct PH. then start the cycle. I think I will cycle with 1 shrimp from the grocery store fresh fish department what do you think. Also looking into options on how to set up the rear of the aquapod. I removed all of the filter material and I have nothing in the rear chambers except the return pump. I was thinking that I might need to add some floss to catch some debris. I am still doing research on how others did the filter modifications on their aquapods.

[hammer294]

i would think about not doing the shrimp bit to try and jump start the cycle. I would just get either a piece of live rock or a small amount of live sand to get the cycle going. But, see what others say as well.

[danoreef]

I am going to use live sand as the substrate. as far as the live rock I am only going to use the rock That I made. but you think that the live sand will be enough to cycle?

[danoreef]

I believe I have found the solution to my filter situation for my ap 24 here it is; I cut some egg crate to fit inside of the chamber. then I cut a couple of ledger strips out of plexi glass and siliconed them in to support the egg crate shelf. now I can rest a piece of filter floss on top and add a refugium down below. here are some pics.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1280012.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1280013.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1280014.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P1280015.jpg

[hammer294]

i would think that along with the live sand, it can only help to have a small piece of good live rock to seed the tank as well. BUt i am not an expert by any means, and live sand alone could be all you may need. Maybe throw a post up in a different section of the forum for a better response?

[KYyada]

Great looking setup. I bent acrylic by using one of those butane hand held torch / soldering gun kits. I clamped one side in between two by fours and the other side on a bench and heated it slowly moving the torch rapidly over the acrylic. The weight of the wood will bend it for you when the temp is right just be sure of where to clamp it so your bend will be in the right spot. If it gets to hot it will bubble and look bad, also remember acrylic is highly flamable!!! I had a glass company drill my tank and he even had the bulkhead installed when I picked it up. Money well spent. My first attempt at my reef failed due to DIY rocks. I let them cure 7 1/2 weeks changing water three times a week and they still were uncured in the middle! My ph was OK but my calcium levels were through the roof, uncured rock is the only thing I could think of causing it. I made mine extra large. I also used oyster shells and my phosphates were out of control. I dumped them in the creek..maybe they are cured now? Maybe this summer I will try them again without the oyster shells on the new 40 gallon breeder tank I just bought.

[danoreef]

thanks Chris. I was reading on one of RC's articles that they suggest live sand 1-2 small pieces of LR and 1-2 pieces of cocktail shrimp. I will still put some feelers out there in another forum and see what the consensus is on cycling.

thank you KYyada the DIY rock is a concern of mine too, since Iv'e never done them before . I was only checking PH, Now I will also check calcium and phosphate. posting on RC is great for this reason other people tell you where things went wrong for them so you can learn from there mistakes. I will let the rock cure and make sure all parameters a spot on before adding them to my tank. as far as drilling and real bulkheads go, If I were to do it again I had no problem drilling the holes so I would do that myself, however I would not use DIY bulkheads made from PVC parts I would buy real bulkheads for approx. $10.00 ea.

[danoreef]

Here are some updates:
I didn't like the small amount of flow from the stock aquapod water pump so I used a Rio 1400 (about 365 gph) in its place. it slid right into the rear chamber where the stock pump was. I still didn't think that was enough water flow so I put the stock water pump back. but I put it in the display part of the tank, however during the water test runs the pump kept losing its suction and falling off the side glass, I hate when that happens when the tank is all set up. So I modified the back plastic wall of the tank so that I can put the pump in the rear chamber with the Rio and not worry about it falling off the glass. now water flow is approx. 365 + 295 = 660 gph almost 30 times the size of the tank.

I added 1 20lb bag of arag-alive Fiji pink live sand to the tank the ammonia had a very small rise so I added a piece of raw shrimp to kick start the cycle check out some of the pics.

heres the mods I made to the rear wall
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/aquamod.jpg

the sand bed and the shrimp
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2020013.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2020014.jpg

[KYyada]

It would have been nice I would think to have your DIY rock in there so it could be colonized by bacteria. You live close to the ocean I would find a nice quiet clean place to put your rock to let the ocean cure it! Hang it in a bucket under a pier somewhere.... You can get dry reef rock real cheap. I put 14 lbs in when I cycled my tank. I now have 6 1/2 pounds cured fiji and 2 1/2 pounds semi cured carribean and going through a second cycle. I am going to get 8-10 pounds more mixed cured tommorow so when It is cycles I will be done. The carribean is really cool! All kinds of critters crawling around alot of things in the worm familys / feather dusters ect... haven't seen anything bad yet, knock on wood. I have a mag 5 with a SQWD water switch and use two loclines out the back top corners it works great for my 20 High.

[KYyada]

That looks like a big piece of meat! I would cut that down some. Your bacteria will balance out against the load / nutrients available so if you don't have anything in there the numbers will drop again. With that much you will end up with a ton of nitrate in the end. Most people that post, if you notice, has like 55 gallon tanks and up....some much larger so two shrimp would be ok for them. I would have put one half of a coctail shrimp in. But who am I? HAHAHA I used one cap of special blend a mix of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and the end result was 5ppm nitrate. Which oddly enough is where it is now in the second cycle.

[danoreef]

KYyada I was thinking the same thin about the rock but I was not sure if I should have waited to cycle when the rock was fully cured. what I finally decided was that as long as I get the tank cycled then start adding a clean up crew then 1 to 2 fish then the ammonia - nitrite - nitrate thing will always be happening. So I belive that the rock should still get "live" even if I add well after the cycle. I think. :twitch:.
That is half a piece of shrimp I put the whole piece in at first I thought it was to big and cut it in half. I will keep an eye on the ammonia.

[danoreef]

here is how with cycle is going so far with the shrimp;

before the shrimp on 2/1/07. added shrimp after this round of tests on 2/1/07
ammonia=0
PH=8.2
nitrite=0
nitrate=0

After shrimp was added on 2/2/07
Ammonia=.5
PH=8.0
nitrite=0
nitrate=0

2/3/07
ammonia=1.0
Ph
nitrite=0
nitrate=0

2/5/07
ammonia=2.0
ph=7.8
nitrite=.5
nitrate=0

[danoreef]

I did not like not having a sump with my new aquapod 24 gallon, and I wasn't a big fan of the modifications that I made. I felt that I just needed a sump so I got busy yesterday and heres what I did...
I removed the false back wall and added an overflow and a sump/refugium.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2200056.jpg

in this pic you can see the overflow and return
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2200055.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2200054.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P2200053.jpg

[SugarFox03]

Thank you so much for posting all of those pictures. I'm trying to set up my new tank, switching from my 24g AquaPod thats been set up since last April, to my new 26g bowfront & 10 gal fuge/sump. I have been searching everywhere for good ideas on the sump, and your pictures really helped!! I'm new to this plumbing/fuge thing....and didnt really know where to start.

Good luck with the tank...looks great! And thanks again! :)

[KYyada]

Hey I like that setup! Do you have a limit switch so it won't overfill the top tank if the drain stops / slows up or something...happened to me once on my old setup. Mine is closed loop now. I have a SQWD wave maker, very cheap and really cool you could add one easy, You should check them out. I have one with a mag5 and love it! Loclines are nice too check them out.

[draleigh]

I have read a lot of bad things about the bio balls. You might want to considering changing those to rock rubble. Looks good though. Why didn't you just setup your 75 as a reef rather then the smaller one?

[danoreef]

SugarFox03; thank for the compliments and i hope I can help I got the sump refugium design from www.melevsreef.com

KYyada; I am going to get the loc line today I only have 1/2 inch I hope the LFS will trade me the 1/2 for 3/4 inch

draleigh; I am going to use LR rubble in place of the bio balls when the DIY rock that I made is finally ready I am still waiting for the parameters with the rock to be OK.

[danoreef]

added a firefish I quarantined it for 10 days then acclimated it to the main tank. I am still waiting for the DIY rock to fully cure I started making the rock on January 6th and finished the last rock around January 26th and the PH is still through the roof. I change the water every other day, :sleep: Still waiting. I have a micro bubble problem that I think I might have fixed it yesterday I'll check it today when the lights come on. I am waiting for the rock to put in the sump to break up some of the bubbles right know I am using bio balls witch the macro loves. I will post some pics when the rock is done.

[KYyada]

I have a Mag 5 with a SQWD and when I started my tank everything was fine but into the cycle I started to get micro bubbles. After the rock cured and I added Chaeto the bubbles started to leave as my water cleaned up. I added some live sand (really smelly stuff) to the fuge and the bubbles returned. Now that the water is cleaner the bubbles have left all but a few way every now and again. I also have noticed that when I do a water change I get a few more, I have been told that the salt has an emulsifier that can cause that. I am wondering if the mag pump likes dirty water? When I cleaned mine before installing as best as I can rememmber it had sharp edges and really squared. I dread taking mine out as I don't have a union on the intake for fear of bubbles. I wonder if rounding the edges and corners of the impeller might help it. I think the thing is cavitating....At least I can tell when my water is getting funky! Keep me posted....you can PM me if you like.

[danoreef]

thanks KYyada.

[norcal99]

dano- looks like a pretty solid start. I used the same sump design from Melev's reef and it's worked like a champ. No microbubbles!

[danoreef]

norcal, Did you use live rock where the water enters the sump?Can I see some pictures? The lights came on and I still have the bubble problem today. I am lost... I put a water break made up of a piece of PVC and Plexiglass with holes cut in it but I still had the problem I went back to the bio balls until the rock is done. Can't figure this one out

[norcal99]

my sump is exactly the same as yours. I have LR rubble in the bubble box, chaeto in the fuge area. Only thing I can think of is that your water level in your return section might be too low. The drop off from the 3rd baffle to the return should ideally be a very short drop off as that can create bubbles if the drop is too high.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3883/img5942gr4.jpg
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5985/img5947bk5.jpg

As you can, I really don't have very many bubbles entering the bubble box. Another issue to consider is that if air enters your drain line at any point, you will have a ton of bubbles entering the bubble box. Make sure you drain isn't sucking in any air and your microbubble problem should be reduced.

[danoreef]

Thanks Mike, the air in the drain line was the problem. the funny thing was, is that it was'nt sucking air from the hole in the overflow though it was just draining to fast. So I throttled back on the ball valve I have in my drain line and it was as simple as that. Thank god! now the water is about 4-5 inches over the hole in the overflow.

on a different note I added on of my DIY rocks to the tank it is still not fully cured the ph is still high however the PH in my tank was at a 7.8 so I figured 1 rock should do a good job of buffering. check it out;
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/ddodge13/P3070094.jpg

[KYyada]

What was your recipe on your rocks? I am going to try to make some again. Yours look very porous.

[danoreef]

The recipe is
1 part white Portland cement
2 parts rock salt and
2-3 parts aragonite reef sand
made formations in a large cooler filled with rock salt, let cement dry for 2 days. then let soak for a long time changing the water every other day until water parameters are safe for the tank.

[KYyada]

The surface has a nice texture to it, looks very real.

[danoreef]

that is because I dug out a mold in a bucket of rock salt and poured the mixture into the mold. the rock salt would stick to the outside of the cement, and when I soaked it all the rock salt would dissolve and leave all those great looking holes.
I am contemplating making a huge batch and seeing If I could sell some of it but I'm not sure how to do it.
I'll start a post in the lounge and see what the response is.

[KYyada]

I sent you a PM

[danoreef]

I just started my own website where I can also post the updates to my tank and overall express my love for this hobby.check it out, tell me what you think.