Back at it again! 15 gallon long reef build

[Carter o51]

Whats up SD reefs! So after a couple years of being out of the saltwater hobby and realizing that freshwater just doesn't do it for me, its time to go back to reefing. New tank is a 2 ft. by 1 ft. petco purchase from a couple years ago that I recently broke down from a planted tank. The goal of this build is keep it simple stupid (KISS). No sump, nothing drilled, just all self contained hang on the back equipment. One of the things that bothers me the most with this type of build is having all the equipment sitting in the tank and taking away from the natural look.

So after a little research I found a solution. Bought a big aqua clear 70 HOB filter. I'm using it as a sort of improvised sump. I didn't bother with the inserts and am using it for a skimmer and a heater. So I bought an Aquatic Life mini internal 115 skimmer. Super small footprint and the perfect size to sit inside the HOB. Heater is a Cobalt 75 Watt heater that is also squeezed into the filter. This way the only equipment inside of the tank is a small powerhead for circulation and the 2 intakes for the Hob filters (I am also running another HOB aqua clear 30 that Ill probably use for chemipure or other media based off necessity, as well as flow).

Tank is set up with about 1/2 inch of "live" aragonite and live rock. I spent a lot of time looking into lighting as well. I wanted to go LED on this build due to power usage, dimming ability, and shimmer. I found a good nano light from reef breeders called the nano light touch, also sold as Aqua Knight LED. It uses 9 3W Cree LEDs with violet, blue, royal blue, and white. I bought 2 of these units, which should be solid for lps and some easier sps. The tank is only about 16 or so inches deep so I'm not worried about light penetration.

All set, equipment is here and tank was set up Tuesday. I threw about 1/3 of a raw shrimp into the tank to get some ammonia built up for the cycle. I may at some point put up some sort of black back to the tank or just wait for coralline algae to build up

Pics!

[cutterx23]

I like it. Keeping it simple, best way to go Imo. Good to see you back!

[Carter o51]

Quick update here. Tank is coming along nicely. I changed up the aquascape a bit and added some more rock to get a more dynamic and full feel to the scape. Going through the typical diatom bloom as of the last couple days but should die down soon. These lights are so strong I had to dial down to the lowest setting to acclimate the corals as some were expelling algae or not opening fully. I also added a pair of clowns.

[Carter o51]

Somehow it's been 5 months since my last update! Time flies. Tank is cruising along with very little need for maintenance. I feed the fish and corals and have been keeping up with water changes every 1-2 weeks, and haven't dosed anything in months. When I was dosing I dealt with an alk swing that affected a couple LPS, but things have been recovering thanks to regular water changes giving better stability. There's a good mix of softies, LPS, and a couple more recently added sps frags in the tank, along with 2 maxi mini nems and 2 BTAs. The larger BTA was added to the tank after only being set up for probably 2 months and hasn't budged once it quickly found its spot. Same with the other BTA and the maxi minis. Very happy with how things are going so far! Hopefully more regular updates moving forward.

[nanoreef1]

Wow Nice! No dosing? I mite try it mite be my problem. I think I'm going to stop dosing since my tank is mainly RBTA dominated, with the exception on a bubblegum digi and red monti cap. I'll just do bigger water changes.

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[Carter o51]

Wow Nice! No dosing? I mite try it mite be my problem. I think I'm going to stop dosing since my tank is mainly RBTA dominated, with the exception on a bubblegum digi and red monti cap. I'll just do bigger water changes.

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I've been doing water changes of about 4 gallons or so (most of a Home Depot 5 gal bucket) so something along the lines of 30 ish percent every week or 2. When I was dosing I realized I was just trying to chase numbers instead of keeping them stable at whatever the tanks equilibrium is. Ever since then things have been looking much better

[nanoreef1]

I've been doing water changes of about 4 gallons or so (most of a Home Depot 5 gal bucket) so something along the lines of 30 ish percent every week or 2. When I was dosing I realized I was just trying to chase numbers instead of keeping them stable at whatever the tanks equilibrium is. Ever since then things have been looking much better

Very well said bro! I'm going to try it! Thanks!

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[SD-Kid]

Nice setup man ! I’m running a very similar setup and I’m loving it . No filter / no skimmer / only a heater and a return pump . The tank is an AIO style tank but don’t use any kind of filtration other than natural. And everything is very happy and growing . I do a 5g water change ever two weeks .

Here’s a pic to see the the growth . Almost 5 months





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[nanoreef1]

Nice setup man ! I’m running a very similar setup and I’m loving it . No filter / no skimmer / only a heater and a return pump . The tank is an AIO style tank but don’t use any kind of filtration other than natural. And everything is very happy and growing . I do a 5g water change ever two weeks .

Here’s a pic to see the the growth . Almost 5 months





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I like it ALOT!

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[SD-Kid]

Thanks nanoreef!

Carter, how you like those lights ? I’ve been eyeing them. Coral seems happy!. But I had a few questions about them .

Do you have to manually turn them off ?

Is there a white channel and a blue channel to be able to turn them off separately ?

[Carter o51]

Thanks nanoreef!

Carter, how you like those lights ? I’ve been eyeing them. Coral seems happy!. But I had a few questions about them .

Do you have to manually turn them off ?

Is there a white channel and a blue channel to be able to turn them off separately ?

I actually really like the lights. They look really sleek and have good coverage. 2 of them On a 24 inch tank gives complete coverage. I have them running on a timer that just automatically switches them on so no need to mess with them daily. They are dimmable with a white channel and a blue channel (2 different blues on this channel) that run on a 10 setting level. So basically, the light is off, touch the channel, it's 100%, touch it again, it's 90%, 80%, and so on. I believe I'm running 30% blues and 20 or 30% whites.

[Carter o51]

Nice setup man ! I’m running a very similar setup and I’m loving it . No filter / no skimmer / only a heater and a return pump . The tank is an AIO style tank but don’t use any kind of filtration other than natural. And everything is very happy and growing . I do a 5g water change ever two weeks .

Here’s a pic to see the the growth . Almost 5 months





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I'll have to check out your build thread if you have one with specs cause that's some crazy growth!

[SD-Kid]

I actually really like the lights. They look really sleek and have good coverage. 2 of them On a 24 inch tank gives complete coverage. I have them running on a timer that just automatically switches them on so no need to mess with them daily. They are dimmable with a white channel and a blue channel (2 different blues on this channel) that run on a 10 setting level. So basically, the light is off, touch the channel, it's 100%, touch it again, it's 90%, 80%, and so on. I believe I'm running 30% blues and 20 or 30% whites.

Nice that’s what I wanted to hear . I’m running a China black box which is doing just fine, but I like the sleek look on the lights you’re using . I don’t have a build thread unfortunately. But got tons of pics =] . My tank is dimension are identical to yours . Might get the same lights . Thanks

[Carter o51]

Nice that’s what I wanted to hear . I’m running a China black box which is doing just fine, but I like the sleek look on the lights you’re using . I don’t have a build thread unfortunately. But got tons of pics =] . My tank is dimension are identical to yours . Might get the same lights . Thanks

I got them on sale for like $80 each, which you can't really beat. On a 12 in deep tank I could pretty much grow anything. Only complaint is that the lights dim high to low, so if I want to step up the power I have to count down through the cycle to figure out what level I'm at instead of just clicking up one. But that's not a huge deal. I can check the lights later but I believe it's 4 white channels, 4 royal blues, and a ultraviolet on the center puck. You do get some fading of coral colors like yellow cause it's not the traditional full spectrum of multiple colors but I've been more than happy so far.

[Vince]

Beautiful tank sir.