SnowboardKid's Mr. Aqua 25g build

[SnowboardKid26]

Well I FINALLY talked my wife into letting me get back into the hobby. I started to research the new tank I wanted, knowing I wanted to do another smallish tank. While on craigslist I found this Mr. Aqua 25g, already drilled with overflow and return. With stand, Tunze 9002 skimmer, and return pump I picked the whole thing up for $350. Then came the plumbing. I wanted to be able to run my GFO reactor (or whatever I put in it) with my return pump. Since I have ordered 2 MP10w ES, I wasn't worried about flow. Return pump will be a Mag5, and lighting will be an AI Nano. Lights, MP10s and Reefkeeper Lite are all on order, as is my ATO. I'm hoping to keep this build super clean.

[SnowboardKid26]

Here is the tank and sump pictured before plumbing. I have a Coralife hang on HQI on it for the moment, using it to maintain clearances until the AI gets here.

[SnowboardKid26]

Now that the tank is plumbed, im going to do a leak test and let it run overnight. Is it ok to use tap water for this since I will be completely draining the tank and letting it dry before I add saltwater and LR for the cycle?

[SnowboardKid26]

well bad news. I filled the tank with RO water from walmart and had a small leak. Tried to fix it with water running like a moron, and cracked the tank right at the return bulkhead. Already ordered the a new cube from Marinedepot.com so now we are on hold again until the new tank gets here and I can drill a couple of holes for the overflow and return. ARRRrrgh.

[SnowboardKid26]

ouch

[secrest]

Damn that really sucks about the tank. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for md to get the new one to you.

[SnowboardKid26]

New tank arrived last night. Im going to be taking it to a place here in town that will drill it. Ill get pics up here tonight of a newly replaced tank with plumbing.

[SnowboardKid26]

Well to update when the guy at the glass shop saw what I had he balked at drilling it, even after I assured him that many people had done it. So I left a little q'd and ordered the bits from glass-holes.com. Should have it drilled by Sat.

[SnowboardKid26]

Got the tank drilled today. It was alot easier than I thought. I also went ahead and painted the back of the tank black. Got it up and replumbed only to find out that I had a bad bulkhead. Since there isn't any LFS here in southern Colorado, I had to order a new bulkhead from MarineDepot.com. Since I was placing an order, I went ahead and ordered the sand for the tank as well. I'm not a big fan of BB tanks, so I went with Fiji Pink sand. I bought 10 lbs of live, and 20 lbs of dry sand. I'll be ordering the rock for the tank here in the next couple of days. Does anyone have recomendations on where to get some good dry rock? Im wanting to do the initial scape outside of the tank and then epoxy all of the rocks and place them in the aquarium.

[Soccernut5824]

BRS has great dry rock for pretty cheap too.

[TimothyJ]

well bad news. I filled the tank with RO water from walmart and had a small leak. Tried to fix it with water running like a moron, and cracked the tank right at the return bulkhead. Already ordered the a new cube from Marinedepot.com so now we are on hold again until the new tank gets here and I can drill a couple of holes for the overflow and return. ARRRrrgh.

Did you get standard glass or low iron?

[SnowboardKid26]

Did you get standard glass or low iron?

i think just the standard? I didn't know there was an option, at least I didn't see it when I ordered the new tank. What is the difference Timothy?

[TimothyJ]

The low iron is supposed to be clearer without the green tint of standard glass. I'm not sure how visible or not it is.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Mr._Aqua_Cube_Frameless_Low_Iron_Glass_Aquarium_Tank_Cube-Mr._Aqua-AZ1151-FIAQRC-vi.html

[MBIETZ]

Low iron glass is sweet but its hard to tell the difference on smaller tanks because the glass is so thin but it makes a huge difference on larger tanks with thick glass.

[TimothyJ]

Low iron glass is sweet but its hard to tell the difference on smaller tanks because the glass is so thin but it makes a huge difference on larger tanks with thick glass.

Ya, that was what I figured. I have the MrAqua 25 gallon low iron and really wasn't sure how much of a difference it made.

[SnowboardKid26]

After looking at the tank I believe I bought the standard glass, since it does have a slight green tint to it. Its not really enough to notice, so I don't think it will bother me. In another update, I called the place where I had ordered my MP10's and ReefKeeper Lite from to ask why after 3 weeks I still hadn't received them. I was told that the MP10's where on back order, and the RKL just shipped out YESTERDAY! Needless to say I was a little upset, so I canceled the order. I won't mention the site since I believe they are supporters of RC, but I will be ordering anything else I need from MD. I've been really happy with the service and quickness of shipping that I have gotten from MD. Does anyone run 2 MP10s on this small of a tank? After watching some of the videos from people who have just 1, I've started to think maybe just 1 will do? This tank is going to be SPS dominate, with a couple of LPS and some Xenia. I would appreciate any comments you guys have, since I could save $285 dollars by just ordering 1, and I could get the battery backup right now, instead of waiting.

[SnowboardKid26]

I ordered my rock this morning. I'm super excited for it to show up. I got 35 lbs of Pukani dry rock from BRS. When I get the rock and sand, and figure out this aquascape that looks so cool in my imagination, I'll be starting to try and cycle this creation! :) Can anyone clue me in on how to cycle a tank without live rock or putting any livestock at risk? This will be my 4th reef, and I've always used live rock, and or been irresponsible by putting a fish or two in and risking them.

[gveng]

I ordered my rock this morning. I'm super excited for it to show up. I got 35 lbs of Pukani dry rock from BRS. When I get the rock and sand, and figure out this aquascape that looks so cool in my imagination, I'll be starting to try and cycle this creation! :) Can anyone clue me in on how to cycle a tank without live rock or putting any livestock at risk? This will be my 4th reef, and I've always used live rock, and or been irresponsible by putting a fish or two in and risking them.

buy or borrow a small piece of live rock to seed the tank. make sure it doesn't have any pests. and as far as cycling, just through in a piece of store bought shrimp in some panty hose to avoid a mess as it rots.

[herostar]

Hey another colorado reef!

Good luck with the build, I can't wait to see more pictures...

[SnowboardKid26]

Hey another colorado reef!

Good luck with the build, I can't wait to see more pictures...

Thanks Herostar... nice to know I'm not the only one in the state, since it definately seems that I'm the only one in town haha.

Anyways, a friend of mine was up in Colorado Springs today, so I called a LFS on the off chance that someone had a 1/2" bulkhead. Turns out they did! Well I had him pick it up for me, and got it installed. I'm currently in the middle of the leak test that turned out catastrophic last time. This time though, we have no leaks so far and everything is running well. I'm pretty excited. I just filled the tank with water from my hose this time, since last time it was a $30 lesson with RO water. LOL

[SnowboardKid26]

Its been a while since I had anything to update, since my family had to move due to my job. Now that we are all moved and settled in, I'm back to working on the tank. I ended up having to cancel the rock order from BRS, and when we got here and settled I made another order, this time from marcorocks.com. Heres an updated pic with aquascaping.

[SnowboardKid26]

Finally have an aquascape im happy with. Its actually kind of funny because my wife did it while I was at work. Nice suprise when I got home!

[SnowboardKid26]

Ran a few tests this morning, and we have a slight hue for ammonia, so the cycle has officially started! I'm super excited, glad I decided to take it slow this time. I did add some cycling bacteria, and the guy at the LFS said I could immediately add fish, but I didn't take his advice, and we'll see if it helps speed the cycling time up at all. I think we will see where we are at 2 weeks, and if I have 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia, then we will try and add something small. :)

[SnowboardKid26]

Update: I added 3 Blue Green Chromis, I figured hey would be good first additions to the reef, plus my wife wanted some fish that school. After a day, Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, and I'm getting 5ppm Nitrate. So far so good. Here are three updated FTS, from all 3 viewing sides.

[SnowboardKid26]

Ordered my radion today. Super excited for it to show up. Also the guy at the lfs gave me a rock with some eagle eye zoas for free so I'm excited to watch them grow.

[SnowboardKid26]

Got the Radion today. Its pretty fun to play around with. Love the light combos that are possible. Got the NextReef MR1 hooked up last week with Rowaphos, and a light hanging over the refugium part of my sump. Ordered some Chaeto, and a few frags of different acro's. They should be here Tuesday, and I'm pretty confident they should do well since my params are as follows
pH: 8.15 (fluctuates a little at night to 7.95 to 8.0, chaeto will hopefully take care of it)
Salinity: 35ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Calcium: 440
Alk: 9 dKh

Anyone see any problems or places I can improve? Here's a few new photos with the updated equipment, and a new FTS.

[tpallas]

Looking great! Sounds like the biggest obstacle was the spousal approval. Should be smooth sailing from here!

[SnowboardKid26]

Looking great! Sounds like the biggest obstacle was the spousal approval. Should be smooth sailing from here!

Thank you! I'm pretty excited to start putting some life in there!

I'll be taking the green chromis back to the LFS today, and trading them in for the tanks final residents, a pair of black Percs, and a sixline wrasse. Also a bubble 'nem for the Percs to play in. After that it will just be the "colored sticks" haha

[SnowboardKid26]

new additions from last night

[SnowboardKid26]

Heres some new pics taken under the new Radion. Love this new light.:lmao:

[SnowboardKid26]

Have been ramping up the LED 5% a week, and am currently up to 50%. Corals are looking good, and I'll get some more pictures up very soon.

[JCKoenig]

Looks awesome!! Glad your finally getting around to getting the tank done! Light looks really sweet!

[SnowboardKid26]

Thanks a lot JC! It's starting to look awesome in there. I'm going to be adding a kalk reactor this weekend to help balance out calcium and alk.

[SnowboardKid26]

A couple new residents

[SnowboardKid26]

Got the Kalk reactor hooked up today. Since adding the Radion, I'm really only getting about 1/4 gallon evaporation per day. I added a quarter cup of kalkwasser to the reactor. Calcium is at 420 and dKH is at 9. Do you guys think that will be enough to maintain levels at their current level? The reactor is a 2LF. Thanks for the help.

[SnowboardKid26]

Since adding the kalk reactor the tank I've been running a solid 8.26 ph and 435 calcium. I've had to add a little Alk supplement since the dKH dipped to 7, so ill keep a better eye on it. Love the addition of the kalk reactor, and I'm already getting better growth out of most of my sps.
No comments? No suggestions? Come on guys I've been out of the hobby for a while and could definately use some help here!

[SnowboardKid26]

Some new additions...
Purple rim green capcricornis
Red montipora capricornis
And Green A. Humilis I think

[SnowboardKid26]

Purple rim