I'm Baaaaaaaack

[AK77]

Hi guys and gals,


After about a year of being out of marine fishkeeping due to the seals on my old juwel rio 180 bursting and having to sell everything, I am making a comeback... albeit a small one, in the form of a nano tank. I built this myself out of 5mm acrylic to fit on a bedside cabinet. Its 40cm cube (64L) with a water volume of 50L. Its got a false back where I've hidden the twin 100w heaters and pump, which circulates 480LPH. The water is returned to the main tank via two 15mm pipes.

Sorry I didn't do a build log but, here is the semi finished result. I am awaiting my lighting units to arrive and I also need to make a canopy to house them. I'll be ordering some LR later this week.

I'd appreciate some stocking suggestions. As I say, I've been out of the loop for over a year and my memory isn't what it used to be. My memory isn't what it use to be.

Cheers,

AK

 

[youngfisher]

I like your design alot.
Im not sure if your tank is big enough.
But maybe a goby & shrimp pair?

YF

 

[AK77]

I like your design alot.
Im not sure if your tank is big enough.
But maybe a goby & shrimp pair?

YF

Thanks! Yeah its not a huge tank by any means, although it looks a lot smaller in the photos. I was thinking maybe a watchman goby, or something like that, with some shrimps and adding corals later. Its probably a bit tight for false percs, although I seem to remember a nano tank at my LFS about 18 months ago, which was smaller than mine, housing a pair with corals too.

 

[seffieuk]

back

Yeah a shrimp goby pair would be a great idea or maybe the small seahorses - and I too like your design

Seffie x

 

[youngfisher]

Oooh, A seahorse would be cool.

YF

 

[TigerIssey]

This here picture I have picked up a slight plumbing problem.

I am at present reading the plumbing section of my new book "The Reef Aquarium - Science, Art and Technology, JC Delbeek & J Sprungs" and this is a common mistake.

The way you have the T - piece plumbed is causing back pressure on your pump which will greatly reduce its life and reduce flow to the tank.

To solve this, have the T piece straight so that one return is unrestriced and then have the second return coming off the branch.

Top work besides that

 

[ben1987]

nie idea. Likeing the look of that a lot. Cant wait to see what u do with it

 

[Crazy fishes]

I love the jumble of wires on the floor next to the tank, it just looks like a reefers domain . I get lost in all the wires for my setups its just a mass of cable!!

Regards

 

[AK77]

I finally got some live rock the other day. I would have had it sooner, but ebay managed to screw up its message forwarding and I never go the vendors emails.

The guy I bought it from also had a couple of small corals, so I had them off him too for £5 a frag. I got a cute little toadstool and some green star polyps. He also brought me up 10 gallons of his tank water, which I mixed with mine.

Someone else local to me had some pulsing xenia, so I got a couple of frags to start spreading them around the tank. Unfotunately there were about 6 aiptasia on the frags too. I've ordered some syringes with hypodermic needs, which should be here tomorrow. Then I can inject the b#ggers with lemon juice

I need to get a CUC in there and then some fish. Still making up my mind what I want, but I'm sure a trip to the LFS will help greatly lol. Might see if I can get up there this weekend.

I got some chaetomorpha, which I put in the back section. Its pretty much like a refugium back there, and I'm just going to leave it to fill up that back rear portion. There is a fair amount of coraline on the rocks and they are teaming with life. I've seen about 12 brittle starfish in there. I think there's also a muscle and a sponge too as well as a couple of bristleworms. One of them looked particualarly red, so I've got my marigolds to hand, just in case it is a fireworm.

As there's no livestock in there at the moment, I dropped a couple of bits of flake food into the water just to give the bacteria something to work on. Fortunately one flake fell right onto the live rock and into the waiting tenticles of a brittle starfish. Great to watch it feed on it.

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures I took this evening with my girlfriends camera. Its waaaaaay better then mine lol.

 

[TigerIssey]

Some very nice rock you got there.

How much rock did you put in??

 

[AK77]

Hi Tine,

Thanks! I think that camera really makes the colours pop.

There's about 5kg-6kg of LR in there for the moment but, I want to add a couple more kilos in the coming weeks. Usually the corals at the LFS are attached to fist sized pieces of LR or larger, so I might see if they have a decent sized toadstool or finger coral in the LFS at the weekend.

I'm contemplating making a sump to fit inside the cabinet too, just to increase the water volume another 20-30L or so and can just drill the base of the tank for the durso downpipe.If memory serves, I've got about 55L in the display. It would be handy to have a sump again, as I could place a skimmer down there and maybe a couple of reactors too. I hate having equipent on display, which is why I built this tank.

If I do make a sump, I'll definitely have to up my pump. Currently I'm running a little 10w 480LPH, which seems to be doing just fine, but pushing the water up 1m, as you know, will send that right down lol. I've got a couple of 1000LPH pumps arriving this week, so if I do need to upgrade it, I'll have it covered.


Cheers,

AK

 

[TigerIssey]

You will get a fair few corals that have live rock attached yes. I would personally hand pick a few small pieces that were covered in a nice deep purple coralline (that was what I did), just to give you a little height.

The sump sounds a fantastic idea, I have no idea now why I was so worried about having a sump, would not have another system without one.

Yeah, you probably will need some extra oomph on the pump, that little sounds like the size I had on my HOB refugium on the nano tank. Great for that type of thing, but would be useless at a few foot negative head.

Some nice little frags you have there too, Xenia is very useful, absorbs nutrients aswell.

 

[AK77]

Hi Tina,

Yeah that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I have to say though, the rock at my LFS never seems to have that much coraline on it. Mind you, I don't think their rocks are in a particualarly well illuminated section, plus the fact they hate having to clean the stuff off the tanks, so it probably suits them.

I definitely want to add some height to the rock wall. I might see about getting one or two more largish bits, and then some small pieces with as much coraline on as you suggest.

I will most likely end up making the sump. The cabinet is a cupboard and draw, so I'll either have to shorten the back of the draw to get the downpipe behind it or maybe remove it all together and just keep the front, attaching it to the door for a false draw effect. I could get a 40L sump in there then.

I'm really pleased with the perfomance of the pump. For 10w its really pushing the water well and its virtually silent. The only thing I hear is the water from the return outlets which I find really relaxing at night. Luckily my girlfriend enjoys it too.. otherwise I'd have to do something about it lol.

I thought the frags were cute. Especially the little toadstool. I want to get the other type of xenia too, the one thats got a blueish hue to it. I can't remember if mine is the species from the Red Sea or if its the Red Sea one I want to get.

I'll also be on the look out for sun coral. I have wanted one of these for the longest time and have been doing a bit of research on it. I know they require a bit more care, as they require feeding.

I will have to see what's available at the LFS. Hopefully they'll have a new shipment just in

 

[TigerIssey]

The purple coralline covered one is usually premium fuji rock. My LFS gets it in and it goes straight out again, I got the rock on the day it came in to the shop, small spike of nitrate but that was it luckily.

That was the start of my coralline taking off. It seemed to kick start the process on the rest of the rock along with a calc level of about 450.

My local maidenhead does not seem to have any coralline covered stuff, it seems to need to come from TMC. STM sell it online too as does calico aquatics. Can always request some small pieces from them.

Your girlfriend is very understanding, it would make me need the toilet all the time.

 

[AK77]

Well its either she liked it... or she can sleep on the sofa... my tank isn't going anywhere