Diary of my LiL 16 Gallon Nano(Intense)
 

I've been inspired by all the dedicated Nano reefers to get reinvolved with reefkeeping in a more proactive way.

My 40 Breeder reef ran for three years, but I recently broke down the system in order to address the shortcomings of my initial setup.
The major problem I dealt with was the inability to deal with heat. For those interested, you can read about it here: [url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=526615[/url]

The tank is being built by Scott at: [url]www.aquaticsystemsdesign.com[/url] I was extremely impressed with the work I had seen from Scott on uhuru's tank, and he's been an absolute pleasure to work with. The tank will be a shallow cube in 3/4 cast acrylic, rimless, measuring 20Lx20Wx12H. Here's a couple of quick 3D model pics Scott worked up for me:

[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/isometric.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/top_down.jpg[/IMG]

uhuru's tank was a major source of inspiration- you can see Scott's work here:[url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1182514[/url]

The new system will be strictly SPS with possibly a couple of clams if I decide they can handle the flow. The tank will have two 1 inch bulkheads draining into a 40 Breeder sump with a 1/4" return. The sump will make use of a Euroreef CS-6 custom Skimmer rated at over 100g. The return pump will be an Eheim 1250 @ 317gph, and supplemental flow will be provided by a Tunze Nanostream 6045 pushing 1189gph, and a Hydor Koralia 3 rated at 850gph.

We're lucky enough to have a master stair builder in our reef club, and he's building me a stand in poplar. I'll be staining it to match the closet doors in my bedroom: [IMG]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/kdncarroll/10-13-200794846PM.jpg[/IMG]

Major thought went into lighting for this system, and I literally explored dozens of options. When I finalized my mindset for the tank, I knew I wanted a very clean looking single pendant.
Lighting will be provided by Coralife's funky new disco ball- 150wHQI with an external electronic ballast and a one piece fixure hanger that the cord threads through:[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/IMG_1526JPG.jpg[/IMG]
I can't wait! Stay tuned! :rollface:

Alot of thought and prepartion is going into this setup in order to deal with the shortcomings of my last system.
Since my condo has the unique dynamic of sitting over the building's furnace room, I receive alot of ambient heat, and I don't have central air. My condo is a reverse townhouse, so my bedroom is on the first floor, and my whole main floor is upstairs. It's a unique setup that I fell in love with, but since the new system is going in my bedroom, and my old system was upstairs in my dining room, the issue of heat is even more prevelant. So my first concern was how to most effectively deal with heat.
The first step was to install a new thru-the wall air unit above the tank. Thankfully the old unit was on it's way out as it kept freezing up this summer, so I could justify the expense.
Here's the spot- there's a perfect little "nook" in my bedroom:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0652.jpg[/IMG]
Here's the ancient air unit:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0645.jpg[/IMG]
Here's the new nuclear reactor a friend helped me install:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0656.jpg[/IMG]
One of the nicest features of this unit is its unique remote that reads the ambient temperature from the remote- then can kick the unit on accordingly. That's a nice feature as I can mount he remote next to the tank- or even just lay it on the stand:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0655.jpg[/IMG]

From everyone I've had intimate conversations with about heat issues in reefing, the much more logical way to control temperature swings is to deal with the ambient temperature in the room first- rather than add a chiller which can actually waste much more energy compensating for the increase in ambient temp that it actually creates.

The next step was removing the almost 30 year old carpet that was in my bedroom. I've always wanted hardwood floors, so I wasn't going to setup a tank before I had them done. Last week I wrestled out the carpet:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0659.jpg[/IMG]

I spent yesterday morning finishing off my baseboards and painting them.

The floors are getting done this morning..rolling right along...
:rollface:

I really like the design of that tank, really nice dimensions. Good luck with the new tank, looking forward to seeing pics as it progresses :D

Great stuff. Keep us posted w/ pics:)

Very nice. Can't wait to see it done. 14 day Countdown commencing...

Can't wait to see your tank man!

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! :cool:

My bedroom is finally done, and I can't say enough about how happy I am with the way it turned out. Brazilian Timborana- the grain is gorgeous:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0680.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0681.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0678.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0666.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0665.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0676.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0673.jpg[/IMG]

Now I have no money left for a tank..ol almost..:p

Hopefully, I'll have time to setup my quarantine tank this weekend. Time to get that cycling.

Pushing right along! :rollface:

Did you lay that hardwood all by yourself? And is it hard to do?

Jimbo327,

I didn't do the floor myself. I removed all the old carpet, staples, strips, and brass lines myself. I prepped the floor and removed the basedboards. I sanded those down, repainted them, and replaced them after they finished this afternoon.

The actual installation of the floor I had done by the company I purchased the flooring from. I haggled him down to a very good price.

Even though it is very straightforward- I just wanted it done right. I remodeled everything else in my house- I put spanish marble in both bathrooms...rebuilt the subfloor upstairs..changed and wired every light fixture..new sinks faucets etc. It's extremely time consuming to do the hardwood properly, and since I'm not too good with cuts, and I'm pretty inexperienced with a table saw, I took discretion as the better part of valor.

I also don't have the proper tools laying around. I watched them put in the floor at intervals, and I can tell you, there's nothing like experience. I was pretty amazed at how meticulous they were- and especially how fast and accurately they were able to make the cuts.

See my inexperience led me to be pretty impressed..:p

I could have done it and it would have been ok looking, but the big thing is being able to cut at random lengths that look good...to me something that only comes with having done it multiple times.

I also could have paid a very experienced fellow reefer, or relative, to help me. The only reason I didn't go that route was so I didn't have to worry about paying for the whole thing for awhile. That works out better for me with the cost of the new tank.

If you're fairly handy I would encourage you to do all the prep work and baseboard work yourself- it will actually save you quite a bit. Hope this helps.

Setting up my quaratine tonight- 5.5aga:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0688.jpg[/IMG]

I had the LFS put in some extra water with the two snails I bought.

Ahh nano life is so much simpler...just shake it up..:)
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0690.jpg[/IMG]

I was not happy. The small Hagen hob filter I bought started leaking down the powerhead cord all over my kitchen counter. Luckily it wasn't on and I caught it in time. I was mortified at first because I thought it was coming from underneath the tank.

Went back and exchanged it for an Aquaclear by Hagen...much better design.

Here's a pic of how I set up the filter. Live rock rubble on the bottom and biomedia on the top. I squeezed a small carbon back into the intake chamber:
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0693.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd280/insaneclownfish13/100_0696.jpg[/IMG]
I threw in a Maxijet 1200 to kick up the flow. I grabbed the Tongan Nassarius out of my old tank- along with a baby Nassarius. There was also a tiny Asterina star and a little scarlet hermit that found their way here. So far temp is stable and all the inverts are doing well.

Later today I'll grab a powerstrip to clean up all the cords and move the powerhead to the other side behind the filter. I might do a slight water change to kick the salinity up to 1.026. Right now it's sitting around 1.0235...I like to keep my tanks closer to 1.0265.

Just got word last night my tank is almost done. Scott will be shipping it out sometime middle to end of this week. :D

I also wanted to clarify that the 150W HQI disco ball I am considering is a Current-Usa product- not a coralife product. It mates to their new Solana tank nicely.

I'm also considering the new Aqua Illumination LED fixture. I've been contemplating this system for quite awhile: [url]http://aquaillumination.com/[/url]

Dana Riddle's review of their 12 inch unit looks very promising for nano applications:
[url]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/review[/url]

I'm all about no heat and lunar cycles. I'll be ordering a fixture the beginning of this week, so I'll make a final decision on one within the next few days.

good stuff bro! sounds liek things are comming along nicely! cant wait to see the final product!!

just let me know when you need some frags brotha by the time its ready my tank should be ready for another trimming :)

Rich, sounds good....your tank is looking rather nice.

Scott just sent me pics of the completed tank, minus a few touches, and I couldn't be more pleased...gorgeous craftsmanship:
[IMG]http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/insaneclownfish/100_1754-w.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/insaneclownfish/100_1755-w.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/insaneclownfish/100_1756-w.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/insaneclownfish/100_1757-w.jpg[/IMG]

What size sump are you going to be doing?
Any ideas for stocking?
Equipment (power heads, return pump, skimmer?)

Everything is looking great BTW!

reefman13 Thanks!

The sump will be a 40 Breeder. I'm still looking for one, because I just old one..:lol:

Tank will be BB.

The tank will be solely SPS with one or two clams. I am hoping to grow this tank almost entirely from frags. I might keep a head or two of my Duncans that came directly from Julian Sprung as the sole LPS.
I only plan on two fish- an ORA naked clownfish and a Midas Blenny.

Originally I wanted a Tunze nanostream to pair with a Koralia, but I got such good deals with fellow reefers for Koralia 4s I couldn't resist. The magnet holders will be mounted inside the walls of the overflow- one on each side, and one stream will be slightly higher than the other...one will be directed towards the bottom, while the other a touch higher- out and over the sps. They'll take up the rear corners of the tank.

Someone else in the club is helping me out with an Eheim 1250 return pump.
Total flow should be just shy of 2700gph.

I bought a EuroReef Custom CS-6 Skimmer from Jas mated to a Sedra 3500. The skimmer is rated at upwards of 100gallons.

very nice man! if you want some controlablility with those koralias get yourself a Seio controller, they work great with the pumps you just bought, i was considering getting them myself but when i saw the actual size of a tunze nano compared to the koralias all i could think of was bulky or nice ;) but you are def saving a ton of cash with koralia!! cant wait for pics of it setup dude!

That looks great! And strong too. What is the third hole for?

hehehe....dirty thoughts, melev

luv951, yikes!

What do you know the three R's as?


The tank (and floor) looks amazing!

[B]erickrm[/B]- Thank you for the suggestion, I'll definately look into those controllers, or better yet I'll drive on over and see them in person..:)

[B]melev[/B]- The two left holes are 1" drains- One primary and one backup. The 1/2" return is on the right. So the third hole is basically a secondary drain that serves the purpose of taking over if the first becomes clogged- or to work in conjunction with the primary if in the future I decide to increase the return.

[B]luv951[/B]- Now that's just naughty..:p

[B]Rosseau[/B] - Thank you so much...I'm very pleased with how both came out. I luv your av btw..;)

well i dont have one, i run 2 tunze 6055s on a controller but i considered getting the seio controller for my old koralias... but you can still feel free and come check my tank when ever you'd like :)

and that is good thinking on the back up drain! i had mine clog in my older tanks... and after the it happened the second time i ended up having 2 drains as well ;)

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11026323#post11026323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rosseau [/i]
[B]luv951, yikes!

What do you know the three R's as?

[/B][/QUOTE]

Reading

Writing

Arithmetic

You know of some others that actually start with 'R'? Hmmm....

Readin

Rightin

Rithmetic

:lol:

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11026677#post11026677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by luv951 [/i]
[B]Reading

Writing

Arithmetic

You know of some others that actually start with 'R'? Hmmm....

Readin

Rightin

Rithmetic

:lol: [/B][/QUOTE]


I guess I was taught this system in school... :)


[IMG]http://www.penwith.gov.uk/media/images/f/e/Reuse_Reduce_Recycle_Image.jpg[/IMG]