Hi guys. Been a lurker on the forums for a while and decided it was time to step out of the shadows and share my latest build with you guys.
I have only been reefing since late 2016. I was FOWLR prior to that since 2008. My first reef was a 150 gallon mixed reef. I have recently upgraded to a 210 gallon and that tank is finally dialed in and running smoothly. I’ll do a journal on that another day.
Due to a crash I had in the 210, I had setup a 20 gallon long Frag/Holding tank and built a very overkill stand for it lol. I ended up putting this 20g in my bedroom and I fell in love with having a tank in my bedroom. The sound of the running water at night was crazy relaxing and truly enjoyable. I decided I wanted to convert it into a nano reef. Thus the idea started for what came to be Phil’s 17.1 Nano Reef.
Mid January 2021:
I found a 17.1 gallon Mr. Aqua on Facebook market place for a really good price. It was already drilled and had the back painted black. I got a little busy with work around same time and had to shelve this project.
Mid to End of February 2021:
Tank came with threaded bulkheads and I wanted to do slip connections. I ended having to get some diamond bits and grind the hole larger to make the new bulkheads fit.
I decided I wanted to make an actual rock structure instead of just elaborately stacking rocks as I have always done in the past. I had a bunch of rock from that I had bought originally for my old tank but ended up not using. I used a hammer and some cement and ended up somewhat happy with the way it came out. Especially for my first time doing something like that.
Now it was time to plan out the filtration, sump and plumbing. I decided to use my overkill stand from the frag tank. I also decided I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money but wanted to make it look good on a budget. I picked up all my plumbing at local hardware stores. I picked up an Eshopps R-100 3rd Gen sump BNIB for a little over 180. This ended up being the most expensive item on my tank (at least until I buy my Apex EL). I also had an old Reef Octopus 110 Classic that had been sitting for years. My light was going to be reused from my holding tank. It is an XR30. Now it was time to start putting it together.
Beginning of March 2021
So, all the plumbing was done and it was time for a leak test. No leaks! Wooohooo!
Now here comes the not so fun part. I decided I didn’t like the stand in its current state. I wanted to clean it up some and stain it. I always wanted to do some type of liner on the top and where the sump sits. I took the whole system down and while I was carrying my tank into the garage I clipped the corner of the tank on my vice and chipped it. Tank still held water and it wasn’t that bad but I decided I didn’t want to use it anymore.
I then went on a mission to find the exact same tank again since I had plumbed it for that tank and did not want my plumbing job to go to waste. I was able to find a Lifegard Aquatics 17.1 at Aquatic Collection in Hayward. The tank was about 140 which wasn’t bad. However, the tank was not drilled. I got excited when I picked up this tank as it was definitely a much better built tank than the Mr. Aqua. All the glass was beveled and the corner seams were cut as 45’s. The front glass was also Starfire Glass. It even came with a leveling mat. I ended up also having to buy 2 new bulkheads. I have never drilled glass before but I wasn’t about to let that keep this project from happening. I picked up some diamond hole saw bits and successfully drilled my first holes in glass ever. It actually wasn’t that bad and I had very minimal chipping. I also decided this tank was too nice to spray paint the back black. I ended up ordering some black vinyl off Amazon and it came out really good! First time working with vinyl too.
Now that the new tank replacement was done and the plumbing all matched up. It was time to address the plain stand. I decided I wanted to stain it a gray oak color. I also had a vision of it resembling a worn out antique look to it. The end result wasn’t quite what I had envisioned but I do like it. It matches the floors pretty cool too lol. I also picked up a 3’ by 6’ exercise equipment mat off Amazon. I liked the texture of it and thought it would make good liners for the top and sump area. Also there was so much left over I made a nice mat for the whole tank stand to sit on with still having enough in front to set buckets on. That will probably end up saving my floors from the splashes.
Overall I am really please how it turned out. I have learned a lot and had a blast building this thing. Now comes the really hard part... being patient while it cycles. I can’t wait to get this tank filled with with SPS. I ended up coming across a Reef Octopus 110-SSS for a really good price and decided to grab it. Also picked up an RMS mount for my radion for cheap. Something that I thought was pretty cool was that my entire drain side plumbing (except for gate valve) all came from my old 150 gallon build. I can’t express enough how valuable unions are. I recommend anyone hard plumbing your own tank there is no such thing as too many unions!
My next planning stage is building a control box. I want to build one that will have a spot to keep my ATO container in there as well. Also still need to pull my MP10 and ATO setup off the Frag tank but that will happen when this tank is cycled.
Phil’s 17.1 Nano
Lifegard Aquatics 17.1 Gallon Tank
E-Shopps R-100 Gen 3 Sump
Plumbing all hard plumbed
Hygger HG-915
Eheim 200 Watt Heater
Reef Octopus 110-SSS
Radion XR30 G4
Vortech MP10
Tunze ATO
Also have a Chill Solutions Nano Chiller that my buddy gave me
Thanks Henry!
Plans to add:
Apex EL
Calcium Reactor or Trident
XHO kit for XR30
Control Box
Small UV
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have only been reefing since late 2016. I was FOWLR prior to that since 2008. My first reef was a 150 gallon mixed reef. I have recently upgraded to a 210 gallon and that tank is finally dialed in and running smoothly. I’ll do a journal on that another day.
Due to a crash I had in the 210, I had setup a 20 gallon long Frag/Holding tank and built a very overkill stand for it lol. I ended up putting this 20g in my bedroom and I fell in love with having a tank in my bedroom. The sound of the running water at night was crazy relaxing and truly enjoyable. I decided I wanted to convert it into a nano reef. Thus the idea started for what came to be Phil’s 17.1 Nano Reef.
Mid January 2021:
I found a 17.1 gallon Mr. Aqua on Facebook market place for a really good price. It was already drilled and had the back painted black. I got a little busy with work around same time and had to shelve this project.
Mid to End of February 2021:
Tank came with threaded bulkheads and I wanted to do slip connections. I ended having to get some diamond bits and grind the hole larger to make the new bulkheads fit.
I decided I wanted to make an actual rock structure instead of just elaborately stacking rocks as I have always done in the past. I had a bunch of rock from that I had bought originally for my old tank but ended up not using. I used a hammer and some cement and ended up somewhat happy with the way it came out. Especially for my first time doing something like that.
Now it was time to plan out the filtration, sump and plumbing. I decided to use my overkill stand from the frag tank. I also decided I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money but wanted to make it look good on a budget. I picked up all my plumbing at local hardware stores. I picked up an Eshopps R-100 3rd Gen sump BNIB for a little over 180. This ended up being the most expensive item on my tank (at least until I buy my Apex EL). I also had an old Reef Octopus 110 Classic that had been sitting for years. My light was going to be reused from my holding tank. It is an XR30. Now it was time to start putting it together.
Beginning of March 2021
So, all the plumbing was done and it was time for a leak test. No leaks! Wooohooo!
Now here comes the not so fun part. I decided I didn’t like the stand in its current state. I wanted to clean it up some and stain it. I always wanted to do some type of liner on the top and where the sump sits. I took the whole system down and while I was carrying my tank into the garage I clipped the corner of the tank on my vice and chipped it. Tank still held water and it wasn’t that bad but I decided I didn’t want to use it anymore.
I then went on a mission to find the exact same tank again since I had plumbed it for that tank and did not want my plumbing job to go to waste. I was able to find a Lifegard Aquatics 17.1 at Aquatic Collection in Hayward. The tank was about 140 which wasn’t bad. However, the tank was not drilled. I got excited when I picked up this tank as it was definitely a much better built tank than the Mr. Aqua. All the glass was beveled and the corner seams were cut as 45’s. The front glass was also Starfire Glass. It even came with a leveling mat. I ended up also having to buy 2 new bulkheads. I have never drilled glass before but I wasn’t about to let that keep this project from happening. I picked up some diamond hole saw bits and successfully drilled my first holes in glass ever. It actually wasn’t that bad and I had very minimal chipping. I also decided this tank was too nice to spray paint the back black. I ended up ordering some black vinyl off Amazon and it came out really good! First time working with vinyl too.
Now that the new tank replacement was done and the plumbing all matched up. It was time to address the plain stand. I decided I wanted to stain it a gray oak color. I also had a vision of it resembling a worn out antique look to it. The end result wasn’t quite what I had envisioned but I do like it. It matches the floors pretty cool too lol. I also picked up a 3’ by 6’ exercise equipment mat off Amazon. I liked the texture of it and thought it would make good liners for the top and sump area. Also there was so much left over I made a nice mat for the whole tank stand to sit on with still having enough in front to set buckets on. That will probably end up saving my floors from the splashes.
Overall I am really please how it turned out. I have learned a lot and had a blast building this thing. Now comes the really hard part... being patient while it cycles. I can’t wait to get this tank filled with with SPS. I ended up coming across a Reef Octopus 110-SSS for a really good price and decided to grab it. Also picked up an RMS mount for my radion for cheap. Something that I thought was pretty cool was that my entire drain side plumbing (except for gate valve) all came from my old 150 gallon build. I can’t express enough how valuable unions are. I recommend anyone hard plumbing your own tank there is no such thing as too many unions!
My next planning stage is building a control box. I want to build one that will have a spot to keep my ATO container in there as well. Also still need to pull my MP10 and ATO setup off the Frag tank but that will happen when this tank is cycled.
Phil’s 17.1 Nano
Lifegard Aquatics 17.1 Gallon Tank
E-Shopps R-100 Gen 3 Sump
Plumbing all hard plumbed
Hygger HG-915
Eheim 200 Watt Heater
Reef Octopus 110-SSS
Radion XR30 G4
Vortech MP10
Tunze ATO
Also have a Chill Solutions Nano Chiller that my buddy gave me
Thanks Henry!Plans to add:
Apex EL
Calcium Reactor or Trident
XHO kit for XR30
Control Box
Small UV
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
