Neto

I havent noticed any clogging or other issues from the return however you do need to have the intake filter on the return.

Status Update New Equipment - Koralia Evolution 550 gph - Salifert Magnesium test kit - API Reef Test kit (calcium, alk, nitrate, phosphate) - Kent Iodine Supplement New Corals - War Coral frag (not in picture) - Superman Montipora frag (not in picture) - Miami Hurracane Chalice frag (not in picture) - Red/green blastomusa (not in picture) New Fish - 3 Green Chromis - 1 Small Yellow Tang - 3 blue leg hermit crabs I know that tangs need alot of space to swim, so far he has been happy and eating alot. I think this is the best fish I have ever had because it keeps my rocks algae free. I have allot of fish 6 total but I do not have nitrates and I feed allot of food! I think that one of the key success of this hobby is to introduce allot of food to the tank and export allot of nitrates. All my corals look extremely healthy. This is a picture after a few weeks in january, I need to work with my camera settings so I will take the time this week to take better pictures:

Below I will provide the prices for all the materials, remember I did all the labor as a DIY.. Tank Glass: $120 (4 low-iron, 1 bottom, 3 drilled holes) Silicone: $15.00 Total: $135.00 Stand Wood Panels: 2 0.5" birch panels $45.00 ea = $90.00 Wood Glue: $10.00 (2 bottles) Frame: some 2x4's = $30.00 Screws: $15.00 Total: $145.00 Tank + Stand ran me up at around $400 with all the plumbing and misc items.. Light LEDS: 18 cree leds (9 rb, 9cw) Heatsink: Heatsinkusa.com Drivers: 4 buckpucks rated for 1A each Screws, wire, miscs, acrylic sheet (cover) Total: $350.00 Now, you will need equipment such as: table saw (cut the panels) - milter saw (cut 2x4's) - wood clamps - soldering iron (solder leds + wires) - drill (screws, etc) - drill press (optional but recommended for drilling holes on the heatsink to hold leds) You will also need to be handy and creative =) Thanks for the compliments!!

Thanks for the suggestion, I do have it on my mind, its just that everytime I get money for the tank, I keep buying corals xD

Hello all! Do you guys know where can I buy small frag bags locally? I need to take with me some frags that I am giving my brother in law (out of state).. thanks!

I agree for selling purposes, but what will happend if captive breed fish are released to the wild, will they adapt?

When I read the clownfish book from Joyce D. Wilkerson, it says that there is another method. You can wait untill the eggs hatch and at night put a flashlight on the surface. The light will attract the larvae and you can use like a plastic cup to transfer them from the tank to the hatchery.

that looks tasty, I think im going to do the same, nice job

thanks alot guys, it means alot! I still need to work on my shooting techniques, I have a Nikon D3100 but I suck at it and those pictures are with my smaller camera. I will take my time soon and take more pictures!

Update! 95% of algae GONE, thanks guys for all the support!

As of today, the tank looks flawless, no algae at all. I will take some update pictures soon.

I tried the UltraLife Red Slime Remover because I found around in the forums that it worked fine, like the Boyds version, but it did not work much.

Yeah, sometimes its frustrating to find the source of a problem. I had a perfect 10g tank, 90% algae free, coraline growing like crazy, all corals including SPS where growing great, but since I changed everything from the 10g to the 20g alot of things changed. Now its coming back!

I increased the flow in the tank, I replaced a 240 gph with a 550 gph powerhead and the algae is 95% gone!

great collection!

looks great, love the clowns

Thanks for warning me, I think that the only part that gets hot is the part with the coils near the bottom, the top part of the glass doesnt really get hot. Anyways I will put it down a bit more.

Also, I dont think the stuff in sump is the same type of algae. I also treated the whole tank with Ultralife red slime remover with no success. I dosed twice.... I noticed that below my 2 koralias there is almost no algae.

It looks more brown to me.

I am not sure If I have enough flow in the tank, I have two koralia nano's (240 gph) and the return from the flow. I am exchanging one of my 240's for a 420 soon. Parameters are: Calcium: 320 (low) Alk: 12 dkh Mag: unknown Nitrates: 0 Phosphates: 0 PH: 8.2-8.4 Temp: 79 Salinity: 1.025 (swing arm) I dose 5ml coral vite (calcium basically) daily and sometimes alk. I try to do my waterchanges weekly, about 4 gallons. Yes it almost goes away when the lights are off and I think it feeds more on yellow light.

Thanks all for such comments! I will try to answer all questions Yep, lived in Vega Baja for 18 years, moved to Florida (college) and now I am here in MD (Job) My original concept was to create a cube type frame with a shallow tank on top, kind of like a contemporary modern look. I used a 10" table saw to cut the panels and most of the cuts where 45 degree angles. There is a inner frame built with 2x4's to hold the tank, the panels itself are just cosmetic. I attached the panels just using glue and clamps (I think its strong enough), the frame was build with screws & glue as well. Sanded all panels with 100 grid and then 150. Used a polyshade semi-gloss paint with no color, just clear. Well as far as the tank itself, I taped part of the edge of each glass, applied silicone and put together. Once its put together, I just put some tape from one glass to the other so that it supports it while is trying. Also, I would recomend using a silicone edger for a smooth joint and remove the tape a couple of minutes later, when the silicone is "tacky." As far as my algae problem well, it started a mew months ago since the migration to this tank and I havent been able to get rid of it this algae. I am not sure if its my lack of flow maybe? or my water source, idk I tested my 5 stage RO unit and I get a TDS in water of 4. I use oceanic salt, but I am thinking on going back to reef crystals. I just took some pictures, maybe you guys can detect what type it is. With Flash No Flash It looks nasty, makes me mad really and so far I have lost an RBTA (traded from a member in WAMAS recently), SPS colony (costed -$85 @ mr coral) and green slimer sps frag that used to look like this I used a table saw, recently I got a miter saw but I did not use it for that build. The glass company did polish the edges and made 3 holes in the bottom glass for the return and herbie overflow. I used glue to attach the panels to the frame! Thanks everyone for such comments, here are some pictures of the crappy sump and FTS as of 12/02/11

Hello Guys! I am new to the forum but have been in the hobby for 4-5 years now. I am originally from puerto rico but live in Urbana, MD. This is my 3rd nano tank so far, I started with a 29g no sump, then went to a 10 gallon with a 5.5g sump and now with a 20g /10g sump. I am a big fan of DIY and I built this project this past summer. I built everything from the glass, wood and even light fixture using CREE LEDS. I think it was really fun, my first exposure to a table saw and miter saw lol, well wood work in general really. The main concept of this build was to have a tank where you can see through all 4 sides and also to have a contemporary/modern look. The tank has a herbie style overflow and its really silent. I spent less than $400 for everything excluding tools. The glass itself was $130 for low iron and regular bottom in a glass shop in Frederick md, and the wood was around $100 for 2 panels and the 2x4's all from home depot. I used 1/2" birch woor panels. My neightbors say "your house glows blue at night" lol. Here are some more details: Tank Specs Dimensions: 24"x24"x9" Volume: 20gal Silicone: 999 dow corning (black) Glass: 1/4" Polished edges, low Iron on Sides (Front, back, left, right) and regular on bottom Overflow Type: herbie Sump: 10gal / chaeto / skimmer / substrate Stand Specs Frame: 2"x4" wood Panels: 1/2" birch Light Fixture Specs DIY LED Fixture (built before 18 leds 9w/9b Other Equipment 2 koralia nano's 10g overflow (50% filled) mag drive 2 return pump herbie overflow Eshopps PSK-75 skimmer (A true workhorse!) Future Plans More SPS! Stabilize parameters DIY 2 part additives DIY water topoff DIY dosing pump Problems Currently battling an algae problem and have tried alot of different ways to get rid of it. I lost my RBTA recently while trying different additives to fix this algae... I am not sure if its diatoms, cyano or dynos but I have tried different things from Red algae remover, 3 days no lighs, Peroxide water, manual removal, etc and still no luck. Pictures