- Location
- Redlands, California
Well, after a few months of being tankless after moving to Southern California, I've finally set up a new tank. It's a 48 gallon tall, which measures 18" x 20" by 31" high. It's the same footprint as a 30 cube, but about 50% taller. Unfortunately, all the panels are made with tempered glass so I couldn't drill the tank and had to use an hob overflow.
The tank will be a reef tank, and I am toying with the idea of making it a non-photosynthetic tank. I chose this tank size because it a) fits in my apartment, but b) also has an interesting shape that is good for layering various corals vertically. Lighting is a 150w Sunpod with a 14k bulb which also features 6 blue and 6 white moonlights, so I have some flexibility if I decide to not got the non-photosynthetic route. Additional circulation is provided by two Vortechs with wireless controllers set on anti-sync pulse mode.
I have approximately 50 pounds of live rock on an inch of sand. The pieces of rock are drilled and held together with 1/2" pvc tubing. I attempted to create many ridges and shelves to place corals, but used smaller pieces to make room for corals to expand into.
The sump is custom made from Glasscages.com. It has two chambers, one for the filter sock and skimmer and another for the return pump. The return pump is an Ehiem 1250 with a check valve to prevent overflow in the sump. The skimmer is an ASM G1x, which is the biggest skimmer I could get to fit into the limited sump space.
Water level in the sump is maintained by an auto topoff pump hooked up to a 10 gallon freshwater reservoir. I will also eventually set up fluidized reactors for phosban and carbon. A pinpoint PH probe monitors PH throughout the day.
If I decide to add non-photosynthetic corals, I'll feed them via a large kalkwasser reactor that Brett (badcoffee) built for me. The reactor will be hooked up as a closed loop through the sump and controlled with an Aquamedic reefdoser. I will add food to the reactor, which will keep it suspended with the stirrer, and it will pump the food through the tank throughout the day.
I just added the rock today, so I've got a while before I add anything. I'm still trying to get microbubbles under control and there are a few other minor issues. I'll post more photos as I start to add things. Thanks for looking!
The tank will be a reef tank, and I am toying with the idea of making it a non-photosynthetic tank. I chose this tank size because it a) fits in my apartment, but b) also has an interesting shape that is good for layering various corals vertically. Lighting is a 150w Sunpod with a 14k bulb which also features 6 blue and 6 white moonlights, so I have some flexibility if I decide to not got the non-photosynthetic route. Additional circulation is provided by two Vortechs with wireless controllers set on anti-sync pulse mode.
I have approximately 50 pounds of live rock on an inch of sand. The pieces of rock are drilled and held together with 1/2" pvc tubing. I attempted to create many ridges and shelves to place corals, but used smaller pieces to make room for corals to expand into.
The sump is custom made from Glasscages.com. It has two chambers, one for the filter sock and skimmer and another for the return pump. The return pump is an Ehiem 1250 with a check valve to prevent overflow in the sump. The skimmer is an ASM G1x, which is the biggest skimmer I could get to fit into the limited sump space.
Water level in the sump is maintained by an auto topoff pump hooked up to a 10 gallon freshwater reservoir. I will also eventually set up fluidized reactors for phosban and carbon. A pinpoint PH probe monitors PH throughout the day.
If I decide to add non-photosynthetic corals, I'll feed them via a large kalkwasser reactor that Brett (badcoffee) built for me. The reactor will be hooked up as a closed loop through the sump and controlled with an Aquamedic reefdoser. I will add food to the reactor, which will keep it suspended with the stirrer, and it will pump the food through the tank throughout the day.
I just added the rock today, so I've got a while before I add anything. I'm still trying to get microbubbles under control and there are a few other minor issues. I'll post more photos as I start to add things. Thanks for looking!
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