My First Nano M-Tank

[marino420td]

I picked up this tank on clearance from my LFS for $150. It came with the skimmer, lights and powerheads at that price, too good to pass up. I think I will order the nano size live rock from Premium Aquatics to fill it. Probably Marshall Island rock. Here are a few pics.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54619mini-DSC02196.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54619mini-DSC02195.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54619mini-DSC02194.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54619mini-DSC02193.JPG

[Henry22]

Whats the skimmer and lights? If their decent I'd say you got a good deal.

[marino420td]

Here is a link to the tank manufacturer. I got the MT-2101 that has two 36 watt pc's.

http://www.finnex.net/pages/product/MTank.html

[k_kagy]

If I were you I would throw a hang on filter as well.

[BLKTANG]

Originally posted by k_kagy
If I were you I would throw a hang on filter as well.

Or more L/R.

[marino420td]

I will be ordering approximately 15 to 20 lbs of live rock today.

[Shooter7]

Rich, that Marshall Island nano rock from PA is good stuff. That's what I got in my 26 gal bow and my 10gal. It did have a few aiptasia pop up on it, but I was able to take care of those. Lots of good shapes. Cool looking setup you've got. :cool:

[Henry22]

If you have small aiptasia peppermint shrimp are cool, although mine used to hide alll the time till i got a cleaner and now their buds.

[marino420td]

I ordered 18 lbs of Marshall Island nano rock from Premium Aquatics. It will be here Wednesday and I'll post pics then.

[vanmo92]

looks like this will be a nice tank. i cant wait to see more pics after you get more lr and coral.:)

[stretch415]

That is the exact tank Im looking for. Is it a 20 gallon? That is a hella nice tank

[marino420td]

It is a 20 gallon. I haven't measured but I believe that is total water volume, including the filtration system on back.

[marino420td]

I ordered 18 lbs of Marshall Island nano sized rock from Premium Aquatics on Monday. It arrived today and pics are below.

First the package- it was in good condition.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02208.jpg

Now the opened package
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02209.jpg

After paper peeled back
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02210.jpg

All rock laid out - many more pieces than I expected
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02211.jpg

Some close ups so you can see coloring- sorry for the blurry photos
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02217.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02220.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02221.jpg

Now in tank pics
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02222.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02223.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02239.jpg

This rock has awesome shapes. Lots of holes and as I stated earlier, many more pieces in 18 lbs than expected. Only a few small pieces of rubble. I would highly recommend this rock.

Let me know what you think of the aquascaping. First attempt and I think it turned out ok.

[marino420td]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02229.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02230.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02231.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02226.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/mini-DSC02228.jpg

[Ray Whisperer]

Looks great

[Henry22]

That rock is awesome. If i do another tank I will order from them.

[stretch415]

Any idea who makes that tank?

[aural]

dude he put a link to the manufacturers website towards the top of the post... read up!

love the rockwork you did on the tank!

[marino420td]

Thanks for the compliments. I did a really crappy job of aquascaping my 65 gal and it is too much trouble to change now. I tried to get an interesting shape with plenty of ledges to place corals. All while keeping the rockwork from touching the sides and front. I'm happy with the look so I think I'll leave it as is.

[spf9992001]

That's a great deal on the M Tank. The rock and aquascaping look very nice.

[marino420td]

Here are some updated pictures. I cut some slots in the overflow wall behind the tank. I did this to lower the water level in the built in sump to get better surface skimming in the main tank. I also added a couple of corals from my 65 gal tank. A ricordia polyp and a frag of green star polyps.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02242.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02245.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02244.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02247.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02246.jpg

[rbrice020378]

Tank looks good.

Keep the pics coming as you keep filling the tank.

[impur]

Looks great. Thats a sweet deal on that tank. Can we get some pics of the filter/skimmer area?

[Sugar Magnolia]

That a really nice looking tank - hadn't seen that manufacturer before. Great looking aquascaping too.

Just a suggestion....take that GSP off the main rockwork. Otherwise a year from now it'll be all over the place. Take my word for it, it's no fun trying to rid your tank of GSP. ;)

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

That aquascaping is UNBELIEVABLE! Please DO NOT TOUCH on pebble in that tank. VERY nice rock work.

Keep up the good work.

Touch.

[Kinetic]

i agree, that rockwork is killer =) VERY nicely done.

[marino420td]

I put my first fish in the tank yesterday, a clown goby. You can see him hiding in the hole in the center of this picture
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02278.jpg

I also bought a cleaner shrimp
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02272.jpg

impur, here are the best pics I can get of the filter area. The tank is made to use drip trays with different media for filters. I chose not to use them and partitioned an area off to put macro algae in. I also have my heater and some live rock rubble back there. You can see the two 20 amp outlets I had installed when I finished my basement. I am planning on a large reef tank going in this spot in the future. You can never have too many outlets near a reef tank
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02264.jpg http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02265.jpg http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02266.jpg http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02268.jpg

and finally, a couple of full tank shots
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02283.jpg http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02282.jpg

Thanks for the compliments on the aquascaping. I'm pleased with it.

[Kinetic]

that is awesome! great work!

[marino420td]

I purchased a six line wrasse today for the tank. I'll post pics of him soon.

[WendyMc]

very sweet tank. I love your aquascaping. The goby is adorable, but aren't you afraid of the 6-line jumping?

[marino420td]

Here is a picture of the six line wrasse I recently added. Very cool fish.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02309.jpg

I also added diy moonlights to the tank.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02312.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/DSC02302.jpg

Here is a link to the post on how the moonlights were made.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=5997502#post5997502

[russ49merc]

realliy nice job man. I love threads that people take time to actually post pics all the way through the setup. keep up the good work

[Kinetic]

nice work! checkout my m-tank thread. I have step by steps of my build too =) http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=67171

[marino420td]

Thanks Koden. I have been following your thread. Nice work as well.

[marino420td]

I have added a few new inhabitants and purchased a new camers (which I haven't yet learned to use).

Left side.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_4049.jpg

Right side

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_4048.jpg

[seanbond007]

That looks really fantastic. I also got my rock from premium aquatics and it has worked out really well.
I'm interested in upgrading from my nano cube to the M-Tank and have a few questions for you.

What did you use for a stand, it looks like you found (or made one) that perfectly aligns with the bowfront?
Do you think the rear area could be converted into a refugium (without too much trouble)?
Need some Xenia?

Be sure to keep us posted and best of luck.

[seanbond007]

Whoops! I didn't see the second page- that answers my refugium question.

[IsThisNameTaken?]

great tank!

[marino420td]

seanbond007- I am using a TV stand I purchased at Wal-Mart

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3377254&cat=133114&type=1&dept=4044&path=0%3A4044%3A103150%3A4038%3A133221%3A133114

Thanks for the compliments

[Kinetic]

nice work! that's a beautiful setup, awesome rockwork =)

I'm thinking of doing the fuge like yours in my mtank, except putting it in the skimmer compartment.

Are you lighting the fuge area in anyway? I bought a clip on light, but i can't angle it correctly.

[marino420td]

Right now I'm not lighting the fuge area. The chaeto is getting enough from the main lights that it is staying alive. I'll keep an eye on it for problems and add a light later if needed.

[Kinetic]

My chaeto is also staying alive, but definately not growing very fast.

[tapout]

how did you like the live rock from premium aqualtics? im thinking about ordering the same kind for my 12g nano. do you guys think 20lbs of live rock would be enough? or would that be too much?

[marino420td]

I was very pleased with the rock I received. I ordered the Marshall Island rock in nano sized pieces. This is only 18 lbs of rock in my tank so I think 20 lbs would probably be a little too much for a 12 gal tank.

[marino420td]

Here are a few updated pictures I took tonight. I am having a problem with algae right now so the tank doesn't look so great. I changed about 40% of the water this weekend and added more snails and hermit crabs. Hopefully I'll get this problem under control.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5150.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5182.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5170.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5158.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5157.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/marino420td/IMG_5181.jpg

[Mikeeal]

Nice setup. Good luck with the algae, I hate that stuff.

[Kinetic]

i'm guessing your pumps are off which is why your xenia is drooping and the water level is so low =)

take a pic with the pumps full blast!!!

looking good. I had a crazy battle with algae too, but after putting in phosphate absorbing media, activated carbon, and removed the existing algae by hand, I haven't had a single problem. I'm not even running the skimmer or any other filter. Just the carbon and phosphate absorbing media.

http://i.xkinetic.net/1-06/13th/DSC_0002.jpg

http://i.xkinetic.net/1-06/13th/DSC_0004.jpg

http://i.xkinetic.net/1-06/13th/DSC_0022.jpg

[Willie_6]

Marino-

What is your overall impression of the M-tank? I would like to get one myself, with the understanding that it is a all in one unit. I have a 75 gal. now that I had to add a protein skimmer (then upgrade it), added a fuge, sump, upgraded lights, etc. I do not want to go through the same thing with this. Is this thing ready to go? What lights did you go with? How well does the protein skimmer work? Thanks for the info!

[marino420td]

Willie_6

Overall I'm pleased with this tank, especially since I only paid $150.00 for it. I am using the light and skimmer that came with the tank and they are both adequate. An upgrade would certainly be a good investment, especially the lighting. If you check the beginning of this thread, you will see that I am not using the drip trays. I converted the back section into a makeshift refugium with macroalgae. Let me know if I can help or if you have other questions.

[Willie_6]

$150 was an absolute steal. You should be locked up..lol. I wish I could find one for that. With the lighting upgrade i am looking at $400-$450. I love you refugium mod! Did you paint the back?

[NanoManMaster]

wow both tanks are tremendously awsome im likin them

[marino420td]

Thank back of the tank (piece that separates main compartment from the sump) is made of black acrylic.

[madequity]

marino420td,

I just got the Finnex 20 today with aqua medic 150w 20k halide and 2 18w actinics. That said I am contemplating what to do with the back in terms of skimmer, refugium etc. I am thinking of getting rid of the skimmer and doing a CPR backback hang-on.

I was wondering what if anything you do for mechanical filtration. I have always been a proponent of using filter floss, sponge or whatever so am curious what you are currently using?

[marino420td]

no mechanical filtration at all on my tank (none on my 65 gal either). I have a CPR bakpak on my 65 gal and I would not recommend it. I don't think it will perform any better than the skimmer that came with the Finnex M-Tank. Just my opinion.

[Cinderblock]

Any updates to this tank? I just purchased one.

[marino420td]

Nothing has changed. This tank has unfortunately taken a back seat to my newest project, a 120 gal upgrade. I just built the stand and now have to build a canopy. The nano still has a hair algae problem that I'm trying to solve. Good luck with yours.

[Giovanni]

I love Marshall Island rock. Nice tank.