Keli's 20 Gallon Kitchen Build

So i deided to help keli out and improve her system with a sump.my good friend hooked me up with his tru view 20 gallon for cheap and this was the main hold up for geting a sump as i can drill acrylic and not glass...yet.she cant do a hang on back overflow do to space constraints so this was key.here is the tank right after i got home.
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the sump is going to just be another 20 gallon that will have no baffles as to maximize space for other life forms so it will be more of a refugium sump/frag hang out
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i just built a basic 2*4 stand as this is the sturdy cheap way to go and will alow for maximum usable space.
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here i drilled a hole and then used a dremel to widen it out.this is my method until i can snag the proper bits
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i am also improvising and making my own bulk head with a gromet and a male and female adapeter that i have sawed off part of the end.
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Hoping to start this project soon . I plan to move all my algae into the new sump.The tang cant keep up with all of it.I am also considering having no substrate in the display tank.However,I would really like to set this new system up for chalices,acans and favias.Any suggestions?
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i would go with a smaller diameter crushed coral for the bed...this will make an ideal place to house the LPS you mentioned as well as the fungias you like so much. i can also drill a few rocks for you so you can do away with the egg crate...or at least some of it.maybe a background?

This improvised bulk head is such a great idea.They seem to be a specialty item that is never around in the size you need at the time you need it and i hate waiting for parts to a project. This is also so much cheaper.

Here is a photo of the completed project.Bert put it all together this Monday.I am planning on adding a refugium and more live rock.Some more corals and lighting would be nice too.
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the pieces in the sump are from the old algae scrubber that was mounted right on the inside of the old tanks rim.this acrylic tank wont have room to fit it in as there is no lip.the top has a maxi jet with a sponge to help clear the tank of debree.things are looking pretty crystle now.

Bert, we need to get you some bits. Don't hole saws work on acrylic? What sizes do you want? 1.25 inch for 1 inch bulkhead is my most used.

That hole in the picture was.......interesting.

yeah i can see how the out of focus hole that i had smeared with silicone would look rather awkward but i asure you that it is not as ghetto as it seems and is holding up rather well.on the other hand ..for some reason i was under the impresion that i needed a finer toothed hole bit to make the holes for acrylic tanks but now that you mention it i will try out my standard bits.
i love your comment... we could all use a laugh

Hey lookin good so far! I think it looks much better! Better than my pile of rubble tank .

dont worry...your tank should be coming around soon.after cycling again and all.

Oh no its a pile of rubble with not-so-good lights and nothing but a few small fuzzy shrooms. And well 2 normal shrooms. At least my other salt looks half way decent. Not POTM decent though.

Here is a recent photo of my tank.I added a marine glow atinic light.I still have no lighting on the sump because of outlet limitations.So it looks almost the same except for the added skimmer.Some of the larger specimens (like the fungia) I am coral sitting,but maybe the owner will forget to pick them up.Also I recently introduced a scopis Tang I got for X-mas.
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nice!things are really coming along since you got the true view setup.you need a branching coral in there left center.let me know if you want to snag something.

I would like to try some branching corals in the backround.I like the blue coloration on the Truvu tanks ,however I am now obligated to clean the back of the aquarium.I think rather cover it up with some upward growing corals.As you can see all the lower real estate is occupied.

green sarco maybe?birds nest?

Here's the main display.No fish at the moment.I have a fire shrimp that I never see,two brittle stars,nassarius,turbo,and astrea snails.Also whatever blue leg hermits that make their way down from the third story.Lots of coral goodies as well.
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Pectina from MVP Aquatics
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Gold dust chalice
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Bert's Nursery
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Upper frag rack
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Niles acan and season greetings monti
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A nice favites I got for Valentine's day
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That first coral is huge, what are you feeding it? I really like the chalice but the plating corals are pretty cool too, montipora I presume. So much has changed since the last picture. It all Looks great.

The tank looks like it is filling in with LPS corals. The branching corals will be a real nice addition and maybe fill in some spots up top.I have a gorgonian that I can frag for you,that might add some motion and purple to your tank.
Looks Great by the way,happy corals is what most people aim for and it looks like your corals are going bonkers.

Tinsle wrote:

That first coral is huge, what are you feeding it?  I really like the chalice but the plating corals are pretty cool too, montipora I presume. So much has changed since the last picture.  It all Looks great.

Thank you! The frogspawn gets frozen food about once a week.It rests right underneath the sand pipe, which helps deliver food.

badxgillen wrote:

The tank looks like it is filling in with LPS corals. The branching corals will be a real nice addition and maybe fill in some spots up top.I have a gorgonian that I can frag for you,that might add some motion and purple to your tank.
Looks Great by the way,happy corals is what most people aim for and it looks like your corals are going bonkers.

I would appreciate that,thank you for the complements!I could use some more purple in the tank.
Here's photos of the third story,notice the freshwater background.It creates a nice effect and l have seen the fish interact with each other.
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And finally a pistol shrimp and yellow watchman pair:
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The utilitarian sump,which includes a melanarus wrasse,lantern puffer and two engineer gobies to keep things interesting:
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And a full view of the whole system:
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Rufus frag

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 Rainbow lobo
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 Elder Acan,this colony is a least five years old.
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Ice Fire Enchinata with sea hare

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I miss my rufus acro, it looked so nice and then had necroses from the bottom up.That specimen is showing that great green undertone I love so much,a turquoise effect. Your corals have some great color, must be just the right amount of phosphate and nitrate. Are all of these under LEDs?

Thank you Badxgillen! There's two nice Rufus frags reserved just for you.This coral changes color as it grows.First it grows green all over,then the tips turn blue,and then to turquoise.It's just beautiful.I dose a lot of magnesium which may be partly responsible for the color intensity.These corals are growing and photographed under 3 watt full spectrum LED's.