I need help on 2 nano's quick.

[Wicked1z]

I am sorry for double posting this but I dont know how busy the nano forums are and I got to leave for work in a couple of hours.


OK so heres the deal. I am kinda new to salt. I have had mt own 55 gal running for a few months now and it is doing great. I have been working at a LFS for a while now and they have helped me alot and I have also help them from the info that I have got from this wonderful site. I am now like the fish mngr's pet since I know quit a bit of the little things to keep a salt running and how to set up and the stuff that nether of us knows she knows that I am not afraid to spend countless hours on this board to learn the answer. I am also one of the few fish people at our store that she knows that I wont give out bull**** answers and I am not afraid to listen to customers that know a bit more than I do.

Ok so now a little problim. I want to set up 2 small nano reefs. When I say small I mean small.

The one at the store is going to be eather a 2.5 or a 5 gal. I have all the axx I need to water (from one of our reef tanks that is allready running stong or premixed RO/DI salt mix.) Wich would be better?

I will have plent of cured live rock and live sand from the store so I shouldnt have a problem there.

I am wanting to run a small Aquaclear HOB filter. Should I take everything out of the back and put rubble down there or should I leave the carbon and pad and bioballs in there? I will not be able to turn this into a refuge completly because they will not spring for a good light to go on the back of this thing.

As far as lighting we have a little duel compact light that is suposed to be used for lighting in a cage for reptiles. It has no UVA/UVB wavelenghts from this light. They are eather 6500k or 10,000k bulbs. The bulbs are both 9w lights so that would be 18w total. would one of these lights be able to light a 2.5 good enought for what kinda corals? would 2 of these lights be good on a 5 gal to do enough for what kinda corals?

I dont know if I am missing anytihng in the store project but if I am please let me know. The home job is gonna be a bit harder to do. I want it to be a 5 gal that I want to drill the back for a 2.5 fuge mounted behind it. Before anone says that sounds like a lot of work to do for such a small tank let me explain. I have a perfect spot on my TV entertainment wall that will hold a 5 gal easy with no problem but nothing much larger. But the whole is real deep so I could easly put an added tank back there and I figured I could creat a small fuge back there and not get alot of light spillof in the main tank or so much it would distract while watching tv. Please if some one has any advise on the home build please just chime in.

[papagimp]

You dont' need a "good light" for a refugium like that, you just need a simple clamp style shop light and one of those sprial bulbs from home depot. Works like a charm and only about $20 for the light and bulb. Otherwise, remove the bioballs but run the carbon occasionally. Also, leave any mechanical filtering pad in there and just keep up with the required maintanence on it, keep it clean.

My 2.5 nanno baby grow out tank is stocked with just mushrooms and button polyps. They look okay, but not great. The lighting over them is a mini compact flourescent, dual 10,000k/actinic bulb from petco. About 9-11 watts or so. I think my problem though is with flow, not lighting.

As for the 5g nano w/ 2.5 fuge idea, I like it. I am planning one of those myself, I already have most my equpiment just need to get a dremel and do the drilling/plumbing. My advice for this, check out the possibility to use a maxijet for the return pump. Tiny little pump so easily able to fit where you need one, not going to be able to get alot of flow through a 2.5 nano fuge anyways, so don't try a 300gph pump or anything, lol. And most important advice I can give on that project, let us see pictures. You dont want to rile up this group of reefers by teasing us with a good idea and not letting us see the progress!

[Wicked1z]

Dont hold your breat on this idea. It is on the backwater right now. Still tring to decide on where to get all the parts and if I think I can do all the stuff myself. I used to be a ASCE cert. mechnic but I never had worked on cutting glass. I was also thinkink since the 5 gal has a bit of room maybe using a small pump as closed loop. you think the glass would be stron enough to hold 4 holes in the back wall? As soon as I start the project I will post pics of the hole ordeal.

[papagimp]

If it helps you make up your mind, I am a mechanic, not ASE certified though, and my project is going just fine, even the glass cutting. lol It's not as hard as you would think. I don't see why the glass wouldn't support 4 holes, I had a 150 gallon that had 8 holes in it. I probably wouldn't use a closed loop on a system that small, just my opinion, I'm going to use a small fluval internal filter for my powerhead/mechanical filter. The fluval 1 pushes about 50gph, and I have two of them. Between that and a maxijet 600 for the return pump I think my tank will turn out pretty nice.

[Wicked1z]

Well I really dont want to see any pumps in the main tank. Do you know if I can get bulkheads at HD or lowes? Also what are the smallest ones that you can get. I want to be running this off of 2 small aquaclear power heads. on the closed loop I was thinking about also putting in a ball valve to be able to throttle the power back. I have most of the stuff I need to do it its just getting the time and the bit that I need for my dremal. I got it and a kit for x-mas but have not even opened it yet since I used to have all my nice power toys at work.
If I do decide to go closed loop should I go from the back of the tank also or should I go through eather end to kinda make it a constant directional flow? Come on people any and all help with hleping me decine my ultimate custom nano.

[Wicked1z]

Also on a 5 gal it will take 2 lights. 2 Lights at 18 watt total what would I be able to put under there? Also I read the pack wrong they do have 15% uva/uvb. Would this hurt anything? The lights have a plastic lid infront of them and I plan on placing that right ontop pf glass would this be allright?

[Wicked1z]

Also, I have never built a canaopy before but could I just take 2 shop lights or something to that. and instal into a canaopy? I am wanting this to stay pretty cheep. Since I wont be keeping any fish in it but maybe a crab or shrim and a cople of snails I would really like to make this into something really neat and keep it as much of a do it yourself project as possible. If I put 2 of those scew in bulbs that are twisted would that be better than the 36 wats I would be throwing at it now? Come on people I know we have do it yourselfers on here chime in.

[Wicked1z]

Well the lights did have a plastic lens in front of them but I removed it. I glued 4 cap ends from the little test tubes that you get when you get a test kit to the bottom of the light. My water is cleared up good. I got 3.5 pounds of rock in the 2.5 tank anout 1.2 to 2 inch sandbed in most places. I got about all of one of those little aquaclear filters can hold filled with rubble. I have allready decided that we got these little led moonlights for bettabowls that I am going to use 2 of the as moon lighting in the tank. My water just setteld down right before I had to leave to go home. I allready have 2 little blue leg hermits in there just cleaning away. The water came out fo my reef tank at work. I plan on doing a cup water change a week or maybe 2 times a week. If I keep on this schedual I reall shouldnt have to worry to much about top offs should I? Should I keep using the reef water as a water change or should I use new premix salt ro/di mix? I will try to take my camera to work tomorow and see if I can get som ruff pics on what it looks like now. Still reading up and taking advice on the best way to do my 5 gal.