Tebstan's Tank in a Closet

[tebstan]

My 90g has been up and running for two years now. I’m completely addicted to it! It’s not perfect, but that’s part of the fun; there’s always something going on to keep me interested and involved.

The most unique thing about my tank? It’s in my closet. Yep, that’s right, in my closet. And it looks pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. It looks great being flush with the wall, but I have a little room on either side for maintenance and storage.

I don’t miss the closet space, since I’ve always used the walk-in in the hallway anyway. The previous owners of the home used this room as a den, so the closet was all shelving.
We started by removing the doors and shelves, slapping on some new paint while we were at it.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/1-Originalbeforeconstruction-1.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/2-Shelvinginsideclosetbeforeconstru-1.jpg

We left the side shelves in place, so I could store supplies. Angel helped keep an eye on things.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/6-Angelshelping.jpg

We installed a GFCI outlet in the closet. I slowly accumulated way more electronics than I anticipated and ended up with a hefty amount of unsightly wires and switches. I know, I know, could have gone with a controller by the time I gathered all those timers. But at the time I had never heard of these controllers, and most of the stuff I had sitting around in the garage already. To cope with the mass of wires, I had a little box made to hide them and went nuts with a label maker.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/8-Outletinstalledincloset.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/Electric5-24-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/CordTower8-31-10.jpg

[tebstan]

After a rough Texas summer, we encountered the inevitable issue of trapped heat in a closet. I mounted a tower fan behind the tank in the back corner of the closet, lifted a bit to get a good angle on the heat from the ballasts. Installing an AC vent into the closet helped quite a bit also; the heat is now whisked away from the tank and into my room. I’m hot, but the tank is happy. I haven’t had a hard time maintaining temperature since these improvements. We’ve had record breaking heat this summer, but the tank temp stayed steady at 78.6.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/ACVent09-10-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/TowerFan09-10-11.jpg

I’m a bit of a clutz, so the carpet had to go. Before the tank moved in, tile was laid. The *best* decision ever, in a house full of dogs, cats, birds, and tanks.
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/10-Layingthetile.jpg

Upon final inspection, the real fun began.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Construction/17-Nermalinspectshernewfloor.jpg

[tebstan]

I was adamant about certain things from the beginning – including my canopy and stand, and the sand I chose. Ultimately this has to look good, so I wouldn’t compromise on these. Unfortunately, that meant waiting until what I wanted was in stock after placing a special order. That gave me some free time, so I painted a mural.

I’m no artist, be gentle. I have never painted anything before, besides a flat wall. And I wasn’t so good at that either. I found some images I liked based on my stock wish list, and printed them out on transparency sheets. Borrowing a projector from work, I was able to get them to a scale I liked and traced them onto the wall, slowly going over them with paint. Some parts of it came out really good, some of it sucks, but it was fun.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Mural/2-MuralTracingImages.jpg
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Mural/14-MuralFinished.jpg

[tebstan]

The tank got wet on August 10, 2009.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/11-TankBuildTankFilled.jpg

Still cycling, October 9, 2009.
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/TheTank10-09.jpg

About a year later, October 14, 2010

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/FTS10-14-10.jpg

And today, September 11, 2011
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/FTS9-11-11.jpg

[tebstan]

I went with a 90g with Mission style stand and canopy, in an almond colored finish. I chose this style because wanted as many T5s as possible squeezed in there, and the hinge on this style worked for that. I’ve got three Hagen Glo retro fit ballasts, giving me 6 bulbs on a 90g. The heat was pretty intense, so I installed some computer fans to push heat out. I didn’t like them – they weren’t working well at the heat and they were kind of loud. I switched them out for an Azoo cooling fan, which has been much better. I’ve also got an Ice Cap moonlight bar for night viewing, since the Glo actinic bulbs are really bright.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/1-TankBuildInstallingRetroFritT5Lig.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Tank%20Build/5-TankBuildFansmountedinsidethecano.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/AZFanincanopy09-10-11.jpg

[tebstan]

I went with Hagen Glo retro fit lighting because I got a good deal on it, and it’s good enough for my purposes. LED is cool, but not in my budget. Halides are nice too, but I was worried about heat and mounting issues.

I started with Glo bulbs the first year, but people told me I needed something better. When it was time to replace bulbs, I went with a mix of UVLs that I thought I’d like. I wasn’t happy with the color, and growth on my zoas slowed to a halt. I’d gotten used to the bright white look of the Glo bulbs, so when it was time to switch again I went back to 3 Marine Glo (actinic) and 3 Life Glo (6700k).

It gets 105 on a regular basis here in the summer. We actually hit 119 in direct sun a few weeks ago! To help with heat issues, my tank lights dim mid-day. I like to think of it as clouds passing by. Every day. At the exact same time. Ah well, a necessary evil.

So far, I don’t have a chiller. With all my little fans and lights dimming and AC running in the house, I haven’t needed one. *knocks on wood*

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/LightSchedule.jpg

[tebstan]

I went with CaribSea’s Bimini Pink sand. I love the texture. I knew I would want some burrowing critters, so it needed a mix of fine particles with chunky bits. It’s worked out perfectly for my pistol shrimp, he’s got some very elaborate tunnels throughout the tank.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/biminipink.jpg

http://s556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Video/?action=view&current=PistolShrimp.mp4

[tebstan]

I started with about 120lb of really porous Fiji rock… it was a little overkill. When a fresh batch of rock was ordered at my LFS, I got first dibs. I picked through about 400 pounds to get my choice pieces, and took them home to clean and cure.

I had a weird emotional attachment to my rock. I had hand-picked every piece, it was hard to let go of it. I slowly traded some of it, and smashed some into rubble for the sump.

I love the man made FHI rock. The guys forming the pieces seem to really keep aquascaping in mind. Every time I see a new batch of it, I want to buy a piece. I’ve been lucky enough to find some cool shapes with flat edges, and I’ve made some shelves out of them. A bit of dremmel work and some rubber coated magnets, and I’ve got nifty shelves to isolate my aggressive LPS.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/AllShelves07-02-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/NewShelves07-02-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/FHIMagnetRock11-28-10-1.jpg

[tebstan]

I started with an Aqueon return pump to match my Aqueon sump. For not being a brand a lot of reefers talk about, I was really happy with it. It was quiet, and it worked. It was lower wattage than mag drives, but still I was talked into trying a Sicce pump. The lower wattage of the Sicce pump did make a difference on my temperature (the reason I was willing to try it). However, it’s kinda loud compared to my old Aqueon. For the sake of the tank temp I left the Sicce on, but I use the Aqueon as my mix pump now. (I have a brut trash can constantly running so water is always ready.)

I have a Koralia 3 and a Koralia 2 in the tank. Both are mounted on the sides of the overflow box, by sliding the magnets down inside the box. One koralia is completely hidden behind the rockwork, the other only partially shows. I love this! I hate unsightly equipment, it detracts from the beauty of the tank.

I also have a wave box in the left corner. It took a bit to get that frequency just right, but it really gets rocking in there. I’m trying to get some pink star polyps to grow over it, but they’re growing much slower than the green star polyps I have covering the overflow box.
I took this video a while back when I first added the wave box. All other pumps are off, this is just the wave box motion.

http://s556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Video/?action=view&current=WaveMaker.mp4

[tebstan]

My sump is the older model Aqueon 3. It’s simple, and it works. I rinse half of the bioballs in a bucket of used saltwater every months to make sure crud isn’t building up on them. I use AC filter fiber as the prefilter, and change it every week or two. The chamber is filled with rubble; I occasionally blast it with a turkey baster to keep gunk from settling. I keep a few pouches of Purigen in the sump, and a bag of ROX carbon.

I’ve got a 10g plumbed into the sump to use as a fuge. I grow mostly prolifera in there, but I’m always trying new macros when I can find them. When the fuge gets overgrown, I toss handfuls of it in the DT for the fish to eat.

I’ve got a CoraLife skimmer hanging off the back of the sump. It works well enough, but I have to really watch the water level in the sump for the skimmer pump to stay efficient. I’ve also got a little pump in there running a bio pellet reactor.

My reactor is a Bulk Reef Supply carbon reactor with a pellet holder insert. This was a much cheaper way to do it, and less efficient – which was what I wanted. I keep macro and softies, so I didn’t want the tank to be too clean. The pellets are working well even with shabby flow in a makeshift reactor. I’m thinking of taking it offline and using the reactor to run carbon instead.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Refugium/Refugiumandreturnline8-31-10.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/Sump09-10-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/BioPelletReactor5-24-11.jpg

[tebstan]

I set up a Bio Pellet Reactor because I was over feeding the tank, trying to keep a carnation alive. Struggling to keep that one coral alive made the tank work instead of fun, so I gave it up and now stick with easier things like Sun corals. I kept the reactor online since I had it and plenty of pellets, but it’s just not needed anymore.

To keep the tank fed throughout the day, I got a Fish Mate automatic feeder. I initially had it dropping in Phytoplan four times a day, along with a few other coral foods. Now I’m down to two feedings, once at noon for the fish and once at midnight for the corals. I also feed a custom slurry of frozen food most nights, along with live phyto and amino acids.

The Fish Mate is awesome. I dropped it in the tank once, and after a few days of drying out, the plastic clock bits went back to ticking like normal. I have an acrylic frame to hold it over the tank, and recently added a frame around the back edge so I wouldn’t drop it behind the tank again… There’s a feeding ring under it, so the food isn’t just pushed away by the koralias and sucked down the drain. I glued some GSP to the feed ring, and it has a bit of Ulva growing on it too.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/AutomaticFeederside09-10-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Miscellaneous/AutomaticFeeder09-10-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Green%20Star%20Polyp/GSPonfeedringcloseup8-24-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Fish/StarryBlennyatfeedingring12-26-10.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Fish/BellusAngelatfeedingring12-26-10.jpg

[jbowen]

Great looking tank!

[InsaneClownFish]

He he neat...do you have a full tank shot looking in from the room?

This is cool- I had thought about doing something very similar with an old cube tank for our office.

[alanbates12]

Looks really good. CNt really tell but what's the green growing on the overflow, I like it

[tebstan]

He he neat...do you have a full tank shot looking in from the room?

This is cool- I had thought about doing something very similar with an old cube tank for our office.

The door to enter the room is to the left of the tank, so I can't quite get the angle I think you mean. Across from the tank is a window opening to the back yard. When I go out in the yard at night, there's a strange blue glow across the whole yard. I wonder what the neighbors think...

[tebstan]

Looks really good. CNt really tell but what's the green growing on the overflow, I like it

That's green star polyps on the overflow. I got lucky in finding a nice metallic green frag. It's grown like a weed in that spot next to the overflow box, I've had to cut it back a few times.

I've got pink star polyps on the wave box, they don't seem to grow nearly as quickly.

[tebstan]

I got home late this evening after lights out, and I got to watch a rarely seen occupant. I can go so long without seeing it, that I've forgotten it was there a few times.

A sea pen!

It comes out when the lights are low. I've had it for a while, it will be a year in October. When I was researching NPS, some said the sea pen was hard to keep, some said super easy. When I did a google image search, I thought I was getting this:

http://beachchairscientist.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/orange-sea-pen.jpg



What showed up didn't look like the beautiful thing on the right... it looked like the withered turd on the left. It was so ugly, I couldn't tell which end was the foot! I had prepaid for it, so I was stuck with it. I buried it in the sand, and a few days later, this popped out:



http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Sea%20Pen/SeaPen12-31-10.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Sea%20Pen/SeaPenpolypsCloseup10-7-10.jpg

Mine's more like a pencil than a feather quill. It's not as colorful as the quill variety, but it's easier to keep. It's behavior is fascinating, and makes up for the lack of flashy color.

[Mnofstl007]

Those rocks are amazing looking.

The wall mounted rocks are GREAT looking and maybe an idea i need to steal.

Watching your fish feed in that purple circle is hilarious it looks like they are training to jump through hoops or something lol

[tebstan]

I stole the idea from someone else... :)

You need a light weight rock, a dremmel tool, and some rubber coated magnets. I get mine from K&J Magnetics. (Sign up for their newsletter to get monthly coupons!)

Start with a flat backed rock, use a saw or dremmel if necessary. Dremmel out a hole or two big enough for magnets. When gluing magnets into the rock, pay attention to polarity!

Larger rocks needed multiple magnets. When I wasn't paying attention to polarity, the magnets on the outside of the glass just slammed together and ignored the magnets in the tank.

[tebstan]

Sad day. I lost my female Bellus Angel. :(

I have my return pump on a timer, so that I can feed and walk away. Apparently, I don't have the timer rigged to come on every two hours, like I thought. When I set the timer (forever ago) I must have figured I would never bother to feed any later than midnight.

My schedule has been rocky, and I did just that. I fed the corals past midnight assuming the pump would kick back on while I slept. It didn't. When I woke up, the pumps were off and the bellus was dead.

Everyone else is fine, water parameters check out fine. My sensitive bangaiis and other fish show no signs of stress, even. I suppose the deep water angelfish had higher oxygen needs.

Major guilt over this one. What a rookie mistake. :(

All of the more shy fish seem to appreciate her absence, she was the only semi aggressive fish in there.

[RotaryGeek]

Pretty cool set up, I like the closet idea. Where are you in Texas? I'm in copperas cove.

[tebstan]

I'm in San Antonio. I lived in Cove about 15 years ago though!

I've decided to not replace the angel, even though I'm tempted by a Lamarks at the LFS. The other little fish are so much happier with her gone. I might try some anthias instead.