My new 15 gallon column build

[junior2101]

I am starting a new tank attempting to do a small nano reef in a standard Aqueon 15 gallon column tank that i got on sale. Feel free to comment and offer input an advice along the way :)

[junior2101]

So here is the tank it is approx 13 inches wide and deep and about 24 inches tall it came with a filter i am going to start off using for now but will eventually be swapped out for something a little better. It also came with lighting that i will be replacing with a Reefbreeders nano in a couple weeks.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150531_234835_zpsszrpfzxt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150531_234835_zpsszrpfzxt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150531_234835_zpsszrpfzxt.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

So now it was time to build my aquascape and this proved challenging due to the small footprint and tall height. I ended up finding someone selling about 130 lbs of base rock for 50 bucks so i went and grabbed that and used some for this tank and the rest will be going into my 120 gallon im doing next. my first attempt went well but after realizing that half of the base would be under sand i decided to prop the entire structure on to another rock to give it more height.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150601_114940_zpsekpo7j3w.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150601_114940_zpsekpo7j3w.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150601_114940_zpsekpo7j3w.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

I ended up using egg crate under the rock work being that i am unsure whether the bottom was tempered and also there is a lot of rock on a very small surface so better safe then sorry. Here is a photo of the rock in the tank when i realized i needed more height to the structure.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150601_161624_zpsiclsy0iy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150601_161624_zpsiclsy0iy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150601_161624_zpsiclsy0iy.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

So i added the piece to the bottom and I'm pretty happy with how the rock work came out. Next step was to get my sand and salt and fill it up, the pic is a little cloudy obviously but its ready to cycle now. I am using seachem's "seed" this time around to see how it works and went with "reef sand" which is pretty fine but i like the look and don't imagine drifts will be an issue with it being such a tall tank. I did pick up a deep ocean single blue led because it was driving me nuts looking at the pure white look. i will just end up giving it to a friend when im done with it being it was about 20 bucks.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150601_231808_HDR_zpswa76w0gk.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150601_231808_HDR_zpswa76w0gk.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150601_231808_HDR_zpswa76w0gk.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

So the tank has been cycling for a week now got and i added a power head. I just went with a Hydor 265 gph and we will wait and see how it goes. Haven't tested anything yet cause I'm sure it is not close yet but the water has cleared up nicely. As you can see the single blue led is not a long term solution but it makes it look a little nicer for the time being. :) I should be ordering the Reefbreeders nano this coming Friday.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1238_zpsdog3smdy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1238_zpsdog3smdy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1238_zpsdog3smdy.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1241_zpsd6lolm5s.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1241_zpsd6lolm5s.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1241_zpsd6lolm5s.jpg"/></a>

[BarryV]

Looks Great, I see GODZILLA.......
Barry

[junior2101]

Haha yeah when the structure stands by itself it has some resemblance to stuff but once it fills in with corals in the places i have planed it will fill in nice :)

[NOsushi4me]

Looks badass! Here is mine from yesterday ...
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/08/edeba471675792e3c5b84ba75c78d513.jpg

[oakengineer]

Looks Great, I see GODZILLA.......
Barry
I was wondering if I was crazy for thinking that. Very cool.

[junior2101]

lol, the picture makes it look more like that then it does in person but the shadowing from not having the correct light is definitely making it look like some crazy creature from the deep. How many gallons is that tank in the picture?

[NOsushi4me]

I think it kind of looks like Babe Ruth pointing to the fence before hitting a homer - looks awesome ! Aquascaping is fun

[lhof]

Babe Ruth is a great call.

Kinda reminds me of this guy minus the hat...

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/08/1cf6da1442d6d1d2dd13553ad80166bf.jpg

[NOsushi4me]

hahahahhaa yes !!! Looks very good

[Goldtorch]

I like a tip of advice waterchange waterchange waterchange

[junior2101]

hahaha love the cereal one and water changes heard. But i do have a question for you guys. I have set up several tanks now and this is a first for me. I added some frozen krill to spike my tank during cycling and about 24 hours later i had about 50 little micro creatures floating and swimming in my tank they looked kinda like tiny tadpoles flipping there tail to swim around. I am trying to figure out what they are, maybe pods? But only 10 days into cycling seems odd to have pods spawning. Any suggestions would be helpful and i have added about 7 hermits to clear the krill now.

[ReefWreak]

If you used liverock, and tried cycling the tank with highly edible food, then yea, I'm not surprised that you're seeing a bunch of pods swimming around eating all of the food. That's why you buy liverock instead of dead rock. It looks like yours was dead though. Did you seed it with anything else? Even live sand?

They're probably not spawning (probably, but you never know), they probably just came to partake in the feast. It's a good thing, it's your early early cleanup crew. The hermits are the next stage, then come the big organisms once you're more fully cycled.

Looking good so far! Should be an interesting tank.

[junior2101]

yes i used live sand and dead rock, so maybe they came from the sand and im also dosing "seed" by seachem to help the process along

Params so far are 8 ph, 0 nitrates, .50 ammonia, and nitrite is through the roof sitting between 4.0 and 5.0

[junior2101]

need some help figuring this out guys, i started with all base rock that had been dry for at least a month and something seems to be growing out of the rock im attaching a thumbnail of the best image i could get with my camera. I dont see how it could be any kind of hitchhiker due to the face it was dead rock for quite some time. Seems browning in color and is almost like grass. It is in the center of the pic in the grayish area.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1250_zpszr503vpo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1250_zpszr503vpo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1250_zpszr503vpo.jpg"/></a>

[homer1475]

Can't tell by the pic, but from your description I'm guessing algae.

[junior2101]

Upgraded the filter to a Fluval aquaclear 70. I know its a little overkill for a 15 gallon tank but with it being a saltwater and the fact i wanted some extra room in there i decided to go as big as i could fit on the back. :)

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150614_171051_zpsraqba0vb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150614_171051_zpsraqba0vb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150614_171051_zpsraqba0vb.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

New lights came in yesterday and spent about 3 hours at Loews trying to figure out a way to mount this without using the garbage mounting kit it came with. I got the Reefbreeders nano-lite. I do like the look but may add some red a little bit later on. This is the hanging method i ended up with and I will post some pics with it over the tank a little later tonight.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/20150616_183521_zpsoyallrxz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/20150616_183521_zpsoyallrxz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150616_183521_zpsoyallrxz.jpg"/></a>

[junior2101]

Some pics with it over the tank :)

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1254_zpsdeb0w3ze.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1254_zpsdeb0w3ze.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1254_zpsdeb0w3ze.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1253_zpshz51vaea.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1253_zpshz51vaea.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1253_zpshz51vaea.jpg"/></a>

[dmw913]

I REALLY like the light mounting! It's clever and looks like it was commercially made for that tank specifically. Well done! Tank is coming along nicely!

[junior2101]

Thank you very much, I appreciate it. I haven't done much for diy but it was fun :)

[gunstock79]

Update please. Really interested in your setup. Thank you

[Chinamom]

very cute - any more progress

[codyreed29]

I drilled the back of one of these on time in was a free tank. I accidently set 5he tank down on a table and hit a pvc pipe and cracked the tank.

Anyhow cool size tank I have a 56 column now.

But I will be back with another nano setup.

[junior2101]

sorry its been a little bit it took a long time to cycle. Since my last post i have added a skimmer which will soon be moved into a HOB fuge. I have also moved the lights higher to make it a little easier to both work in the tank as well a giving me a little more diversity in intensity though i am working on a hanging style mount atm, the one i have on there is temporary as i think it is a little too bulky. My camera seems to be taking poor photos so excuse to poor colors im gonna go get a filter for my lens tomorrow to get some good pics that show the coloration a little better. I just started stocking it about a week ago but im taking it slow, i dont wanna stock the tank too fast. So far the tank has 2 scarlet hermits, 4 blue leg, 4 nassarius snails, 3 nerite. One neon green tyree toadstool, one pink/blue ric and a small green carpet. The only fish in the tank so far is an australian yellow assessor who is slowly coming out more and more but still warming up to the tank. I will try to post some better quality pics tomorrow evening.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/user/chris_theberge2000junior2101/media/SAM_1265_zpsifife8ji.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/chris_theberge2000junior2101/SAM_1265_zpsifife8ji.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo SAM_1265_zpsifife8ji.jpg"/></a>

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[junior2101]

btw the carpet is a little ticked off cause i just cleaned the tank but it is doing very well. :)

[junior2101]

OK guys I'm in need of a little help, I'm on the middle of world war 3 with red slime algae which is the first time I've felt with this in the last 3 years my params are good. I use RO water, feed half of one PE mysis cube mixed in water with half a tsp of oyster feast every other day. My water turnover is approx 550 gph on about 12 gallons of water volume. My lighting was on 10 hours a day but I have reduced it to 8 due to this issue. There is a protein skimmer that is running a very dry skim. I just today blew off all the slime to get it suspended and I'm doing twice weekly water changes of about 10%. Any help would be appreciated. I wanna get this gone so I can go back to enjoying my tank. Thanks guys.

[CanadaChop]

I think time will cure your cyano but maybe throw some chemi pure blue in your filter just to make sure.....it wouldn't hurt at least.
Im seriously considering this tank for a downgrade from a 65 gallon H with 10 gallon sump so I will be watching this thread :)

[junior2101]

I'll be taking a few pics today of some new stuff I grabbed as soon as things open up :)

[junior2101]

And I think I found the culprit, o realized I didn't clean the sponge for like 2 months so I pulled it out and replaced it as well as a couple big water changes and reducing my photo period and cutting back feeding till it went away tank looks pretty clean now though :)

[junior2101]

so i just got my camera filters so forgive me if the pics arent that great im gonna have to play with them a bit to figure out what is gonna work but i added a neon green frogspawn, a small colony of bam bam zoas and a small red goni today. The bam bams arent open yet but im starting my stocking finally. The next time i take pics im gonna use my tripod as getting perfectly clear pictures proved a challenge :)

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