I had quit the hobby a few years ago... but after visiting Dez' build a few times and getting offered free LR, I got back into it with a little 5G 12x12x8 tank... of course that wasn't enough, so after a couple of months of that, it ballooned into this current setup.
The tank is mr_alberta's old tank. Dimensions are 36"x12"x8". It was originally setup to run a closed loop, but I cut some glass and turned the intake into an overflow. The display drains into a 5 gallon sump. The original objective was to keep costs down and use as much existing equipment that I had... that fell through pretty quickly.
One thing I did differently on this tank compared to my old ones was that I decided to go with fairly slow flow through the sump area. With the return pump that I'm using, I'm getting about 50gph through the sump. As a result, I have no micro bubble issues, and the flow through the drain is so quiet that even if I open the gate valve all the way, it just makes a quiet trickling sound. The water quality is just as good as my old tanks, so I think all of my future setups will get low flow.
The refugium light is run on a reverse schedule to minimize pH swings... something I think is especially important on small tanks.
There is a cover over this tank unfortunately... the original diamond spotted goby I bought decided to go carpet surfing through an eggcrate cover less than a day after I bought it... I found it all dried up and crispy the next morning =(
Equipment:
1x Koralia nano
1x Koralia 1
1x Eheim 1048
1x Tronic 200w heater
1x Stealth 100w heater
1x Tunze 9002 Nano Skimmer
1x Bulk Reef Supply media reactor with Carbon and GFO running off a MJ400
Livestock:
~2-3lbs of LR
~5-8lbs of baserock
1-2" sandbed
1x Tailspot Blenny
1x Wheelers Goby
1x Diamond Spotted Watchman Goby
1x 8 headed candy cane
1x GBTA
1x Clip on light with a Phillips daytime bulb
I originally had a 70w JBJ Viper2 MH over the tank, but just recently upgraded to a Giesemann Nep-Tune 1x250+2x24w fixture. It is overkill for a 8" tall tank, but I bought the fixture with the intention of eventually moving it over to a big tank I'm planning for my new house.
Future plans:
- replace the 2x24w T5 bulbs in the fixture with actinics (10000k bulbs are the stock bulbs)
- start running Zeovit on my DIY reactor. Just going to give my tank another week or so to settle down before I start it up
- Replace the Koralia Nano with a Vortech MP20
- Get more SPS
Pictures:
Original setup with the 70w MH.
Sump/Refugium
New setup with the 250w fixture.