Alex's Two Tanks in the Foyer - and Nem Tank in the Kitchen (all nanos, two complete, one in progress)

[Alex Simpson]

Hello,

This build thread involves three tanks, but it's a requirement of the previous owner of one of the tanks (soon to be nem tank). I'm a fairly new reefer; a friend gave me a 5 gallon AIO with two clownfish in August 2020 as a covid/quarantine project. I purchased the second tank, a 20 gallon AIO Red Sea Max Nano, from Facebook marketplace shortly after acquiring the 5 gallon tank. It's worth noting YHSublime has been a phenomenal mentor throughout the process. For a time, I had both tanks in the kitchen, but the foyer of my apartment is dimly lit and a bit dreary. As a matter of principle, there's a beer fridge. The idea to move the 5 gal tank to foyer immediately improved lighting; the evening blue hue of the AI Prime illuminates the beer fridge perfectly. The idea to move the 20 gallon to the foyer came about as a result of the new-to-me tank, formerly TPallas' 11.4 gal Mr Long. I know the rule is to avoid posting until the project is complete, though I'm one 3/4" bulkhead away from transferring rock and anemones into the 11.4 gal. The bulkhead cracked today during installation; pics below. I'll follow up in a week once I have it completely set up.

Cheers and happy reefing,

Alex

Two tanks in the foyer:

TPallas' 11.4 gal Mr Long:

Pic of the bulkhead with a pesky drip:

I hand-tightened it, but I'm strong as an ox:

Once I replace the bulkhead, I plan to transfer a rock with anemone and two clowns to the 11.4 gal:

I might try to take one of these anemones, as well:

If anyone is interested, I sanded the varnished the tank stand with Epifanes varnish:

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Alex Simpson
Deleted a duplicate picture

[mattm]

Nice work on the stand. Looking forward to the 11g. For whatever reason, I have a particular fondness for a drilled nano in and around that form factor.

[howaboutme]

Did @YHSublime talk you into naming this thread that? It's eerily similar to his many years ago:

 

 

[YHSublime]

1 hour ago, howaboutme said:

Did @YHSublime talk you into naming this thread that? It's eerily similar to his many years ago?

 

I did not pressure or insinuate, but I did positively reinforce the idea of "Two Tanks in the Foy-Yay" pitch. 

My personal homage above was to a cultural reference to two somethings and one other something that is still cringe worthy to this day. #IYKYK

 

To be clear, the Nano is @tpallas old jam that I picked up, this build has automatically generated at least a decades worth of history and we're only on post 4. One of the stipulations of the nano was a build thread, so I'm glad this is what it's taken! 

 

I started cleaning the stand as best I could, and totally cleaned up the nano, overflow, return, sump, etc. but Alex took the stand on as a project when he saw how I was going to set it up. I can't believe the life he breathed back into it. For someone that wanted to jump into the world of a sump, and who has totally committed to Reef Lyfe I saw this budding to fruition faster in his hands than anything I'd ever do. 

 

You might also recognize his nano as a March 2021 TOTM

The Red Sea is nothing to spit at either!

[tpallas]

12 hours ago, Alex Simpson said:

Hello,

This build thread involves three tanks, but it's a requirement of the previous owner of one of the tanks (soon to be nem tank). I'm a fairly new reefer; a friend gave me a 5 gallon AIO with two clownfish in August 2020 as a covid/quarantine project. I purchased the second tank, a 20 gallon AIO Red Sea Max Nano, from Facebook marketplace shortly after acquiring the 5 gallon tank. It's worth noting YHSublime has been a phenomenal mentor throughout the process. For a time, I had both tanks in the kitchen, but the foyer of my apartment is dimly lit and a bit dreary. As a matter of principle, there's a beer fridge. The idea to move the 5 gal tank to foyer immediately improved lighting; the evening blue hue of the AI Prime illuminates the beer fridge perfectly. The idea to move the 20 gallon to the foyer came about as a result of the new-to-me tank, formerly TPallas' 11.4 gal Mr Long. I know the rule is to avoid posting until the project is complete, though I'm one 3/4" bulkhead away from transferring rock and anemones into the 11.4 gal. The bulkhead cracked today during installation; pics below. I'll follow up in a week once I have it completely set up.

Cheers and happy reefing,

Alex

Two tanks in the foyer:

TPallas' 11.4 gal Mr Long:

Pic of the bulkhead with a pesky drip:

I hand-tightened it, but I'm strong as an ox:

Once I replace the bulkhead, I plan to transfer a rock with anemone and two clowns to the 11.4 gal:

I might try to take one of these anemones, as well:

If anyone is interested, I sanded the varnished the tank stand with Epifanes varnish:

 

 

Looks great, much better!

[Alex Simpson]

After replacing the 1/2" double threaded bulkhead for the return, the tank is leak free and pumping saltwater. There's an audible gurgle in the drain line and there are air bubbles in the area of the sump in which the drain empties. I've toyed with a black tube (air vent, presumably) on the drain line, but that hasn't reduced the gurgling. Any ideas from the WAMAS team? Would like the tank to be as quiet as possible as it's in the kitchen. 

Thanks,

Alex

Edited April 22, 2021 by Alex Simpson
text error

[Alex Simpson]

Gurgling sound fixed - put a few pieces of sponge in the overflow box. 

 

Thanks, WAMAS!

 

Cheers,

Alex

[tpallas]

It will be silent with a little bit of time as the slime grows in the tubing. Ran silent for many year for me.