My 20g Journal "Pic Warning" (now a 29g!)

IDunnoWhy

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
#1
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
#1
OK, so I figured I'd finally start a thread about this 20g build....

Lots o' pics coming your way.

We'll start with the DIY portion.

As some of you know, I've been trying to turn a Penguin 330 into a HOB fuge, well after a few different trials, here's what I came up with.

The lighting started life as a basic 24" strip light, I gutted it and removed 10" from the center of it, then put both pieces back together.

For the lights I bought a basic dual socket "lamp fixture" and push botton on/off swithch (I used the original power cord). I won't go into detail about how I wired it, but here's a pic showing it already done (please excuse the ghetto "foil" reflector...still trying to figure out a better design for that. The bulbs started out as 2 mini CF 10watt units. I have now upgraded to 2 Coralife 50/50 mini CF bulbs (Much nicer.....not pictured)


Now for the fuge portion.

Here is a basic Penguin 330 unit. I added "egg crate" to the bottom to hold up the LR rubble (Gives nice flow under & around it).


I then added a "damn" portion to the front spill back areas, this allows me to keep some Macros, without them flowing back into the tank.


The next step was to add 2 vertical pieces of "egg crate" (one on each side of the impeller assembly) This allowed for several things, It keeps the Algae from getting into the impeller area, but it also gave me 2 spots to put a pair of small filters (For when a little mechanical filtration is needed) The filters also slow the current a bit. The filters will not be inplace all the time (Don't want to create a nitrate factory in there).



Here is a couple pics of the "DIY filters" I started with a couple old Tetra filter frames, then banded on some filter media.



Here is an assembled pic without the filters in place.


And here is one with the filters in place.


Overall I'm happy with how it all came out.

Now onto the tank....

It's nothing to look at yet, but I've got more rock coming this week, so I'll post more pics when I get it all added in there.


I checked my Params today....

Ammonia .25
NitrIte .25
Nitrate 10
SG 1.024

I did a 25% WC we'll see how it looks tomorrow

My equipment as it is today.

65 watt CF 10,000K
65 watt CF Actinic
DIY Fuge with Coralife 50/50 Mini CF's
Visi-Therm 150 Heater
Penguin 1140 Powerhead
Penguin 660 Powerhead

With all of the above mention stuff I'm running approx. 800gph (I may try to up that a lil' bit yet)

Things that are coming this week.

AquaC Remora Skimmer
API Calc Test kit
Refractometer (Currently using Instant Ocean swing arm hydrometer)

I guess that's it for today
 

F

Fade2White12

Small Fish
#3
Jun 24, 2007
19
0
0
#3
Definitely looks nice, but why exactly are you doing water changes during your cycle? While it may not necessarily hurt anything, it definitely doesn't help. Just wait until your NH3/NO2 levels are at 0.
 

IDunnoWhy

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
#4
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
#4
TRe said:
your off to a better start than most ... very well planned ;) btw where did you get the stuff u used for the dam to hold back the macro???
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Thanks! :p

I got the stuff I used for the "Dam" at the local craft store, It's like a plastic mesh, maybe 1/8" thick. The craft store called it "Plastic Canvas". (I found it in the same area you'd look for fabric and needles) It was a whopping .24 cents for the whole sheet :rolleyes:
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#5
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#5
Actually, a lot of people argue that doing water changes during the cycle will preserve much of the life on the live rock; marine life tends to be much less tolerant of low quality water.
 

IDunnoWhy

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
#6
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
#6
1979camaro said:
Actually, a lot of people argue that doing water changes during the cycle will preserve much of the life on the live rock; marine life tends to be much less tolerant of low quality water.
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I thought I had read somthing very similar to that somewhere. *thumbsup2

I have planned to do a 25% WC weekly through this whole process :eek: , It may very well be a waste of time/money, But in 8-10 weeks when I start adding fish/inverts etc. I hope to have this rock (and future rock additions) as healthy as possible....I assume that starts with good water quality......And when your working with "Just 20 gallons" your water quality can go south fast!
 

IDunnoWhy

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
#13
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
#13
Cumminz said:
Noob Question, What is a Fuge?
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Fuge----> Refugium, Generally a place one would keep, LR rubble, Fuge Mud, Macro Algae, Pods etc. Basically someplace to hide all the "ugly" stuff you generally don't want in your main display tank, yet is needed to have a healthy "eco-system".

I'm sure one of the SW veterans will chime in with a more "scientific" definition :)
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#15
IDunnoWhy has combined the ideas of "refugium" and "sump" in to one. A sump is the place where you can put all your equipment. A sump may have a built in refugium (a place safe from tank inhabitants (hence "refuge") for cultivating macro algae, keeping a deep sand bed, etc) but often they are separate. The thing under the tank which holds the skimmer and bioballs (not really recommended) is a sump.
 

C

Cumminz

Medium Fish
#16
Aug 1, 2007
90
0
0
33
utah
#16
So, what would you reccemond I do, because under my tank, I have bioballs where the water comes in, then it goes thru a white filter, then there is just a tank, I thought that is where the Skimmer would go, then it goes to my pump to go back up to my Aquarium.
 

IDunnoWhy

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
#19
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
#19
1979camaro said:
IDunnoWhy has combined the ideas of "refugium" and "sump" in to one. A sump is the place where you can put all your equipment. A sump may have a built in refugium (a place safe from tank inhabitants (hence "refuge") for cultivating macro algae, keeping a deep sand bed, etc) but often they are separate. The thing under the tank which holds the skimmer and bioballs (not really recommended) is a sump.
Click to expand...

See, I told ya' a SW veteran would chime in! :p

Thanks for clarifying that !
 

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