Barney And Lyn's Orca Nano 450

[xxBarneyxx]

Well we had been talking about it for ages but over the weekend I got the Orca nano out of the shed and after much cleaning up (why didnt I do this before I stored it!) its now sitting in our living room

Mods done to the Orca:

• Everything remove from the back chambers.
• Newjet 800 put in left hand chamber, output goes through spraybar hole (spraybar removed).
• Holes for the heater mount covered over with black silicone.
• Heater replaced with a new rena 50w heater.
• Weir cut into the left hand side of the skimmer chamber and holes cut lower down to improve water flow (wont be using a skimmer in this tank so water flow through the back is more important then blocking micro bubbles).
• Korallia Nano in the front.

Other mods that will be done:
Adding chemical filtration to the back chambers (carbon, phosphate and nitrate removers).
This tank is planned to be a seahorse tank so there will be no skimmer.
Adding a small light to the middle chambers for a fuge.

Progress so far:
Well its all been salted up and I have moved about 5kg of small bits of LR from my 100g reef to the nano. I also added some xenia, blue daisy coral and green mushrooms. I have also fragged a small toadstool to go in there but waiting for that to reattached to a new b it of rock in the big tank at the moment before I move it. Not sure if we like the layout yet so will probably be changed at some point.

I'm trying to catch our blue clown goby from the 100g tank to put in here as he is being constantly harassed by the algae blenny.

The only other livestock in there is a smaller astrea snail, a small hitchhiking Nassarius snail (I didnt even know I had any of these in the big tank). There are also a few astrea starfish.

Eventual stocking will be a pair of H. kuda seahorses and the clown goby.

Edit: Couple of quick photos taken with my phone (so not brilliant but gives an idea).

 

[seffieuk]

Thats looking really cute, can't wait to watch the journey to a sea horse tank

Seffie x

 

[Haych]

good plans

keep us updated

 

[ben1987]

Looking good barney

 

[seffieuk]

Barney, could you do me a wee favour please - could you do a write up re: planning for sea horses etc pretty pleeese? for the Fish of the week thread

Seffie x

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Small update.
After weeks and weeks of trying to catch the goby out of the big tank (and failing everytime) I finally got him! I went to feed them a couple of weeks ago and noticed he was completely out in the open and I managed to get him first time with the net (he didnt even try and get away!). We had tried everything before (multiple nets, bottle traps, etc) but he always alluded us

Anyway he is now in the nano tank and seems a lot happier and more active now he isnt constantly being chased by the blenny.

Not much more has happened to the tank yet other then I ordered some new tubes for it.

Will hopefully be updating pictures of both tanks at the weekend as I plan to be doing some work on them both

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Quick update. The nano is going.

The reason being that we picked up a 130L cube tank which we will be using instead. One of the reasons I hadn't got seahorses in this tank yet was because I wasn't sure we could keep the water in good enough condition in a 50l unsumped tank for seahorses, the main reason I actually set it up when I did was to rehome my clown goby who was getting bullied in the main reef tank.

Anyway the new tank is now sitting in the dinning room. The plan is to give it a good clean out, drill for an overflow and build a sump tank then put it where the nano is now. Then I need to pick up some more LR and a load of Macro algae.

This gives us more options with the seahorses as well (not limited to the small species anymore). We are also thinking of putting some pipefish in there as well and maybe a red psychedelic mandarin.

There will be a few corals in there (some xenia and mushrooms that came from our main reef) but mainly just going to be macro algae.

I would promise to update with photos but we all know that's probably not going to happen so I wont

 

[seffieuk]

Oh yes it will.......... you don't want me to send the boys round!!

Seffie x