Birth of a new 10 gallon nano (pic intense)

[reef_dude76]

Hi all, I decided to post the details of my DIY 10 gallon nano project for everyone's enjoyment and of course to get feed back. After having to tear down my 58 gallon reef this summer due to job relocation and having alot of aquarium parts lying around, I decided to setup a small piece of the reef in my home office while I plan the design for a 180 gallon reef for our new family room: After lurking and researching here on the nano reef forum, I found a refugium design posted previously by sugar magnolia that looked like a fun DIY project so I modified it some for my own needs and went from there.

The first thing I did was take stock of what I had, a 10 gallon and an AC 110 left over from a previous reef move.

I decided to paint the back of the tank black with Krylon fusion satin spray paint, to contrast the coral and make the colors "pop". I started by taping the sides of the tank to prevent drips and then used some packing paper I had left over to wrap the tank.

[reef_dude76]

I used about 4 coats (until I couldn't see through the back of the tank), and viola ... the finished product.


Next I took stock of my parts.

And began by taking the filter basket apart. I removed the side panels from the grated bottom of the basket. I planned to cut the grating and silicone it to the front of the filter housing to prevent macroalgae from flowing into the tank. Here is the grating after being cut and silicone applied.

And here is the grate glued in place.

[reef_dude76]

Next, I used some white copy paper and traced the outline of the filter housing to make a bulkhead template. I cut out the template and transferred it to some acrylic that I bought from Home Depot (if you plan on trying this, I recommend getting the cutting tool for acrylic, it saves time and headaches). I used a dremel tool to smooth the edges and get a good fit.


Here are the bulkheads siliconed in place. The middle space I added for my 50 Watt heater, so I could get it out of the display tank.

Here is one with the heater in place.

[reef_dude76]

No good DIY would be without a design screw up. During a wet run of the filter I found that I had cut the bulkheads too high, and water was overflowing the sides of the filter in places. I solved this by using my dremel tool and cutting some slits in the bulkheads.

After that, I put the whole assembly on the back of the tank so I could measure where to cut my intake pipe. The intake pipe included with the AC110 is too long for a 10 gallon if you plan to have a sand bed (like I did ) so the pipe needs to be cut. When you cut, cut eht side opposite the one that has the fitting that goes over the intake pump. I left my cut portion in place to illustrate.

Next I put the lid on the filter and marked the portion of the lid that was over the refugium chamber.

[reef_dude76]

I used my dremel to cut this part of the lid out. I did this so I could still use part of the lid to control splach and evaporation without having the light from my refugium lamp obstructed by the lid.

After digging through my stuff some more, i found several old filter cartridges that I had not used. One fit great in the front part of the fuge next to the pump. So in it went .

And presto a brand new fuge for my 10 gallon nano. Here is the finished product.



Soon to come are pics of the tank after initial setup and after two weeks.
So what does eveyone think?

[Spiffyguy]

looks really good. Look forward to seeing furhter pics of the set up.

[BLKTANG]

nice job on the fuge.

[reef_dude76]

Here is the first part of the setup showing the 96W quad compact fixture from Coralife, the beginnings of the sand bed, the fuge in place, and a powersweep powerhead.

AND before I get any comments on how crappy the powersweeps are let me say ... Yes I know, but I had this one lying around and when it dies in 4 weeks I will replace it with a couple of microjets from aquarium systems.

[reef_dude76]

Here are some pics after getting some water and rock inthe tank.
[IMG] http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...tial_setup.jpg [/IMG]


The last one shows my turbo snails scraping away at the glass. Here is one of the fuge with macro and operational.

I have rearranged the rock work since these pics. I will post those later.

[Spiffyguy]

What macro is in the fuge? and waht light did you use on it? Looks good, thanks for sharing.

[BLKTANG]

Lookin good.Hows the flow with the AC 110,& the PH.I have the AC70 Fuge,& AC30 PH,& i keep SPS in my 10.I would imagine you have tons of flow.

[reef_dude76]

Flow is really good. I have green star polys, green striped mushrooms, and some encrusting montiporia. The flow is just right for the polyps, you can see them bend and sway nicely in the "breeze"

The Macro was called caluerpa grass( I think I spelled that wrong), the guy at the LFS couldn't give me an exact ID. But it is growing like a weed and doing a great job at nutrient export. At present my levels are: Ammonia 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate 0.2, SG 1.024, temp 82 degrees.

I also have a shrimp goby/ pistol shrimp pair and a small royal gramma.

Here are some more pics:

[nonamesright]

Great diy work, it looks much better than mine for a first time fuge mod.

[reef_dude76]

nonamesright: the sucess with my DIY is one part anal retentive measuring and 3 parts praying to the reef gods that it works like its supposed to

[sacs4010]

The tank is looking very nice. I really like the DIY job you did on the fuge. The only question I have is whether or not you switched out the Aquaclear pump that comes with the filter that you have? I know a lot of people who buy an Aquaclear 300 (the second largest hang-on power filter they make), then get an Aquaclear Mini's pump and then put the smaller pump on the filter. If the current is going to fast in the fuge you are losing out. That water going though it needs to slow down and allow your fuge to filter it. What supplements are you using right now? I have used Algone in the past with my Nano setups and it works great. Do you plan on upgrading the lighting at all?

Bradley C Sacs

[KING OF THE REEF]

looks awsome man. any chance we can get an updated pic??? what is your stocking at the moment

[reef_dude76]

sacs4010: Thanks for your comment. No I didn't switch out the pump in the AC 110, what I did, actually by accident, is by making my bulkheads higher than I should have and then cutting slits in the acrylic, the bulkheads are slowing the flow for me. So, by the time the pump generates flow through the filter pad ... over the first bulkhead ... past the heater ... over the second bulkhead ... and down into the fuge chamber ... the flow has slowed down significantly to the point the macro is gently waving in the "breeze".

As far as suppliments I use C-Balance and coral accel. I just started with reef complete for additional calcium and have noticed that the coralline is starting to grow better.

As for upgrading the lighting, I may add MH later. For now my money is being socked away for my 180. But eventually I will upgrade to a 150W 10K HQI halide.

[reef_dude76]

Imareefer: I'll try and get a more recent pic in the next day or so.

[KING OF THE REEF]

thanks man still looks awsome

[vanmo92]

who says powersweeps are crappy. i have one since may and it works great. be sure to clean it often though.

[frontosa_man80]

your DIY rocks and your tank is sharp!!! i love it.

[birdie]

thats proilfera in your refugium. nice start

Richard

[sacs4010]

You going to use some type of skimmer?

Bradley C Sacs

[reef_dude76]

birdie: Thanks for the ID on the Macro species. The LFS is good for some things, but at times they don't know what they are selling.

sacs4010: No skimmer planned at this point. Seems that I am keeping up pretty well with weekly 2.5 gallon water changes. The ph, alkalinity, and other perameters have been rock stable.

[diablobryan]

What kind of light are you using on your DIY fuge? Can we get a picture of the entire fuge setup with the light? Thanks!