My new 10 gallon Nano project

[ahill3780]

I was at Wal-Mart the other day and I decided to pick up one of their $10 10 gallon tanks for a new Nano Reef that I have been wanting to start. My goal is to get my polyps, and xenia's out of my 55 gal where my Damsels, Hermits, and Tang give them a hard time (not so much the Tang as the Hermits!). I also thought this would be a great place to put my clownfish (lovingly known as 'Nemo' by my niece and nephews).

I picked up some KRYLON Fusion for Plastic spraypaint while I was there too because I have been wanting to try my hand at painting the background on instead of using the tacky backgrounds that you see on my other two tanks. I cannot remember where on RC that I found the thread on how to do this but as soon as I find it again I will post up credit to whom it is due. I decided to go with a black background, not simply because they didn't have blue - - but also because I think black gives off more of a sense of depth than blue does.

I put down 5 coats of paint (waiting 15 minutes between each coat to allow it to dry) and let it dry overnight. As it happens I also got my new Kent Marine Deluxe Maxxima Hi-S RO/DI unit over the weekend and got it all installed so this Nano represents the first tank that I have used pure RO water in setting up!

After checking the tank for leaks and giving it a nice RO bath I set it up on my desk next to my temporary Aiptasia treatment tank. I put in about 10-15 lbs. of the crushed coral substrate from the 55 gallon because I am wanting to get all the CC out of the main tank and go with an all-sand DSB in there. I filled the tank with premixed RO/DI water, put in about 5 lbs. of LR to start, and turned on the heater. I cleaned out my AquaClear 70 filter and removed the filter media from the main display. I bathed it in RO water and inserted a new foam pad that I had also rinsed in RO water and set that up in the new tank to help clear the sandstorm.

My initial tests after setup revealed the following params:

Temp= 75 degrees F
SpG= 1.022
pH= 8.5
Ammonia= 0
Nitrite= 0
Nitrate= 0
Alkalinity= 4.0
Calcium= 390ppm

I use the Instant Ocean salt mix for my tanks. These parameters were all from mixing the salt in the RO water and letting it mix for a full day before setting it up in the new tank. After taking the readings I dosed the tank with 5ml of Kent's Calcium CB 2-part Calcium supplement to get the calcium up a bit. I also dose all of my tanks with Reef Solutions, 2.5ml for the 10 gallon's and 12.5ml for the 55.

I don't expect I will see much of a cycle in this tank, but better safe than sorry I guess. I will keep you guys posted as I make progress on this project. Here are some photos from after the setup: (sorry for the fuzziness, my camera was just about out of juice. I will get some clearer shots later.)



Above= The tank on the left is the new RO Nano, on the right you will see my established 10 gallon. I am currently treating some LR for Aiptasia's and Majana's in this tank as you can see by the Joes Juice box in the upper right.

I also thought this would be a neat experiment, with the new tank being completely RO stocked I thought I would keep the other tank going with water from my Tap to see how the two environments progress with different water sources. Both tanks are running off the same lighting, and in effect, the same photoperiod.

Bottom= Here are a couple of shots of the new tank as the dust storm is almost cleared.




Thanks for all your great posts and DIY information for making this project possible guys! I am looking forward to seeing this tank progress!

[mokujin22]

cool setup; will be nice not to have to wait several weeks for the new setup to cycle. are you going to add a skimmer?

[ahill3780]

Not immeadiately. I currently have a SeaClone100 skimmer for my 55 gallon (100-300gph) which I feel needs to be replaced with something a little more powerful. When I get around to getting a new skimmer for the 55 then I may transfer the SC100 over to the new tank. I am not sure how much of an impact that will have on temp and space, not to mention the micro-bubbles that the SC introduces.

[Cutiewitbooty]

looking good, i also went the Wal-Mart way and got the 10 gal beginner kit they have. So far so good

here is my 10gal wal-mart tank

[ahill3780]

Thanks for the post! That's a nice Wally-world setup you've got going there how long has it been running for?

I checked my param's yesterday when I got home and it showed improvement after having time to warm up. Here is the readout:

Temp = 81 F
SpG = 1.024
pH = 8.5
Am = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 0
Alk = 4.5
Calcium = 400 ppm

I have to start tearing down my 55 for an upcomming move. I am going to be moving the xenias and polyps and feather duster to the new tank to get them away from the hermits and damsels that keep annoying them. I also want to get them out of that Nitrate saturated environment and into a cleaner one! So I will have some new pics to post up soon.

I will be keeping a close eye on my params while they are in here of course for any sign of Am or NO3 spikes signaling the start of a cycle, but a friend of mine did a similar setup (using all established substrate and rock in new setup with new water) and he never had to remove his xenias, polyps, or sps frags. He never registered any kind cycle and his tank is running good for over 9 months now. I can only hope for the same luck!

If it does start showing a cycle I plan to have the treatment tank ready to move them into since it is established and running for about 5-6 months now. I just need to get a new heater for it since I pilfered its old one (which is less than a month old!) for the new tank.

I eventually plan to have the treatment tank house my damsels and some LR, the new tank host my Clown and polyps, etc., and the 55 gallon will hold the Tang until I get my next setup going and convert it into a 'fuge.

At any rate, I'll post up some pics of the new tank as I go!

[Cutiewitbooty]

My tank has ben running about a month and my prams are Am = 0
NO2 = 0 NO3 = 0, all the livesand and live rock is cured/from exsisting set ups so i never even saw a cycle, so i doubt you would have problems with that as long as there is die off.

[ahill3780]

Good to hear.

Ah, Florida... the southernmost state where nobody has a southern accent! I didn't even know what the hell a southern accent was until we moved to GA when I was 10. Only thing I miss about FL now is the ocean. Great place to visit though! Sorry to go off topic there. Party on!

Aaron

[Cutiewitbooty]

Yeah Florda is really nice, I have only lived here about 1 year though, i lived in Alaska before then since i was 5. I like that people dont have accents, i think living where people did would annoy me lol

[ahill3780]

Alaska to Florida... well, you're one for extreme changes now aren't you! Going from the frigid upper northwest all the way down to the southeasternmost State would faze some people. Florida's hot and humid weather gets to some people, to me its better than hot and dry where you get burned before you know it! But still, you gotta love a place that can throw down a nasty rainstorm and then be clear, sunny, and dry 4 hours later! And where the heart of winter leaves you standing with nothing more than a windbreaker on! Good times.

[Cutiewitbooty]

oh yeah going from the most northwest state to the smost southeast state was a change, but i love it. Right now it's like 80 here and up in alaska it is -30 I miss the alaska summers though, they are sooo awesome, but i don't mind the summers here, plus i love storms. Wilma is the coolest thing i have ever been though can't wait till next hurricane season

[ahill3780]

Good times. Best of luck for the next season then!

[ahill3780]

OK, so here is an update on the project. I figured a few more pictures were in order.

I recently moved the Nano into my office for several reasons, mainly because I am getting ready to move and I don't want them to suffer while I am getting everything arranged in my new place (which I will only be in for a few months.)

Here is a shot showing how it is set up in our cubicals here (I placed it in the least traffic'ed area in the office! ) The milk jug is what I store the top-off RO/DI in, I keep 3 gallons handy here. The clipboard has my parameter history list that I use when I test my specs. =



And here are a couple closer shots of the tank with the sand and the aquascaping. The top shot shows the AquaClear 70 filter that I currently have running in it (filter media was used to help clear the minimal sandstorm. =




Here we have my clownfish in his favorite spot near the intake on the AC70. He wanders around the tank and frequents several different areas but this seems to be his favorite. He likes to "sleep" underneath the lip of the filter where the water is calmest. =



Here is a shot of my GSP frag. I moved it up closer to the top of the tank into calmer currents so that I could enjoy viewing them better. =



And finally we have a shot of the battery backup for the tank. This is one of the biggest benefits to having the tank at the office. We have a backup generator that starts up 5 minutes after the lights go out which supplies enough power to run the entire office. During that 5 minute offset period we rely on the battery backups.

I have the lighting (also on a timer), heater, and filter all on the backup outlet. Here you see the backup sitting on the desk for a better shot, I actually have it sitting about a foot above the tank and about a foot to the left on top of the support that holds up the lights. =



Thats it for now folks. I'll post more pics later but I'm trying to hold off until I convert the AC70 into a mini-fuge at least so that there's something more to post on. Happy reefing!

Aaron

[eco170]

Have you ever tested to see how long the BB would run the pump and heater for? I know they only run a computer for a few minutes. But I'm trying to find out how long it would run a 50watt heater and about a 3watt pump for.

[ahill3780]

I was going to test that actually today, but I couldn't find the time. I will run the test tomorrow and post up the results.

[ahill3780]

In my test run I used the BACK-UPS ES 350 by APC (www.apc.com) and it powered my 60W Tetra Heater and AquaClear 70 filter for about 25-30 minutes. I will do another test later to see how long it lasts with the lights as well.

[ahill3780]

{THIS POST IS SPLIT UP DUE TO TOO MANY IMAGES. 1/3}

OK, so I haven't updated this post in a little while. Everything is going pretty good so far. There are quite a few updates to be listed since I haven't been keeping up with posting. First off here is a list of the recent changes that have taken place over the past 2 months (in no particular order):

1) A Cleaner Shrimp was added to the tank.
2) Added 4 turbo snails.
3) Rearranged the rockwork to give the fish more swimming room.
4) Swapped out the 48" dual T12s for a Coralife 28W 50/50 PC fixture.
5) Converted the AC70 into a mini-fuge.
6) Added Chaeto/Caulerpa to the fuge. (still need to get lighting for this)
7) Started using Kent plankton products to feed the filter feeders.
8) Temporarily housing baby ocellaris in this tank.

The second ocellaris was added because he was being picked on by the damsels in my tank at my brothers house. I am currently in the process of redoing the silicone seal in my 55 gallon where he will be housed once it is back up and cycled. Since I added him to this tank he has calmed down quite a bit and is showing much improvement in both behavior and color.

I have not been keeping up with my water changes as I should in this tank so I am seeing a diatom bloom at the moment. The problem is that I have this tank at the office where I can't have my RO/DI unit operating. This means that I have to cart WC and top-off water from home to the office. In the mornings I am LAZY so that contributes to my neglect. I know - bad aaron! bad! - I am making the extra effort.

The AC70 was finally converted into a mini-fuge last month and I added some macro into it the other week. I am set to pick up a mini PC fixture for the fuge soon since it is currently not lit (except for the office flourescents during the day).

The turbos I added are GREAT at cleaning up my LR, but they do not seem interested in the diatoms at the front of the tank so I need to pick something else up to help take care of this while I get back into my scheduled WCs. Any suggestions?

The new PC fixture is working out GREAT! All of my livestock has shown improvement under the new fixture. I was afraid I might shock them with the change but they actually shocked me by opening up more and becoming more active! My GSP's are steadily increasing, Zoa's are doing good and will probably do much better once I get the water changes going and the diatoms away, and my xenias are splitting and multiplying. Although I attribute a lot of the success in part to the Kent ChromaPlex, ZooPlex, and Micro Vert that I have started feeding them (on a rotating basis of course).

That about sums it up for the moment so I'll finish with some pics and get out of here.

Here are a few shots from 2/9/06:




And more from 2/26/06:

Profile shots of new arrangement



Here are a couple of the finished fuge before the macro was added



GSP frag

[ahill3780]

{2/3}

Here are my Xenias. Compare these shots to those at the bottom of this post to see the new growth.

Xenia 1 w/Feather

Xenia 2


For some reason whenever I try to take a shot of my other GSP frag Nemo gets in the way on the first shot. Here is the shots the first time it happened



Here are the Kent products that I alternate feeding my inverts


And here are the most recent pictures from 3/13/06:

Profile shots. You can see the diatom bloom in the front middle.

[ahill3780]

{3/3}

Here is a birds-eye shot of my as of yet unidentified Zoa on top of the rockwork. It is hard to see him in this shot but he is the circle on the rocks.


Here is Nemo blocking my shot of the GSPs again. You can also see the mass of spirorbid worms on the back of the tank in the second shot.



Here is Xenia 2 (from above) after splitting

and Xenia 1, you can see the baby xenia starting to grow near his base in this shot


Here are some unidentified button polyps/zoas?


and finally, a not-so-great shot of the macro algae in the mini-fuge


I'll keep you guys posted on any new changes that come around.

Happy reefing!

[Cutiewitbooty]

pretty nice set up you got going!! Glad to see everything is working out for you. I took my 10gal down and got a little bigger tank lol

[ahill3780]

I saw that, it looks GREAT! The only time I have online at the moment is at work so I haven't got to post in your thread yet - I'll pop in and comment, I've noticed there have been updates I haven't read yet.

[Cutiewitbooty]

yeah whats up with that, you don't even post in my thread J/K lol Good to see that your updating yours too!!!