Dru's First Nano Tank Adventure

[druluv]

I want to start a nano-tank. With the new products aim for nano-tanks it may be easier to set them up.

I needed to find a good set-up:
JBJ, Current, and nano tanks packages do come with everything you need but it is difficult to add other equipment to these set-ups. i.e CA Reactors or protein skimmers.

I want something nice to add to living room or den, After a lot of research, I decided to try a AGA 30 gallon breeder.

Oceanic Tanks are too expensive, Perfecto didn't make the one I wanted.

36L X 18W X 12H

The AGA 30G Breeder, To me this is the perfect nano. The tank has nice length and width. The 12H is perfect for any type of lighting because it is so shallow.

Lighting:
36" 150 watt MH & T-5
Im going to try finnex MH-t5 set-up.


Filtration:
Protein skimmer and Mud Sump

Ca Supplementation:
I dunno maybe coralife reactor.

Here are some pics

My task List:
Drill the 30G Tank
Turn 15G Tank into Reefugium

 

[jenniebutterfly]

copy cat i got this tank a couple months ago for when i move. yours will be up before mine though i too love the dimensions

 

[fritz]

Your wife is letting you setup another tank! My wife needs to hang out with yours more often!

 

[nanoreefer22]

Your wife is letting you setup another tank! My wife needs to hang out with yours more often!

LMAOOOOO!!!!

 

[Quang]

i like the dimensions too, damn that is shweet.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

i love the 30br. saw one @ madhouse's and fell in love. especially the way he had it set up.

 

[druluv]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Fritz that tank is for my Father, lol, I alredy exceeded my wife's tank tolerence.

The dimensions allow me too use a sump in the mix, which is very important to me.

In the sump I going to use a protein skimmer / Reefugium set up. Here are pics of the protein skimmer.

I love this skimmer. It has a very slim design and doesn't take up any space. This one is rated for a 75gal tank, so this should be sufficient. The skimmer will go in the first chamber.

Next step is to drill the tank. I wanted to keep cost low, so I won't use a surface skimmer box. I will just use 1" screens to drain the water to the sump.

I need to get glass sheets for the sump. I'm using a 15 gallon tank for the sump.
I Should have pics of the drilling process.

 

[druluv]

Update: I changed the 30 breeder with a 40 Breeder. It is the same tank but it is a little bit Taller at 16"

I drilled two holes today for the return.

Here are some pics:

This drill makes cutting glass real easy. It has suction cups and it sits on top of the glass. Works Like a drill press.

I forgot to buy the correct cooling ring for the drill, but it worked out. As long as I don't stain my fathers floor we're cool. lol

 

[druluv]

The two drain holes will help with turn over. The two one inch holes will give me about 1000 to 1200 gallons per gallon. That is a good turnover rate on a 40 Gallon Tank (25 - 30X).

I'm really scared about phosphates. I know that new tanks can absorb a lot of phosphates quickly. I don't want phosphates being locked up in my live rock or sand. When live rocks reach the saturation point with PO4, it can be release back into the system, so I want to deal with them early.

I'm going to use rowa-phos in a phosban reactor. I rather PO4 stick to ferric oxide than to my live Rock and sand.

I will also use rowa carbon or Marine land carbon in a phosaban reactor. This will help keep the water clear for maximum Light penetration.

I might use another one for seachem purigen, but I’m not sure as of yet.

Next step is to clean off the tank and screw in the bulk heads. This is also a good time to think about the flow in the tank. I want to minimize any dead spots in the tank. A closed Loop may be a good idea.

 

[druluv]

Update - I decided that I wanted to do with the sump. I was going to convert a 15 gallon aga tank to a sump, but I'm going to get triggersys to make my sump.

The sump is a combo Berlin/ Reefugium. When it come I'll show pics!!. This sump has separate compartments for the fuge and skimmer. This sump even has a pull-out drawer for pads and other filtration media.

I'm going to use a genx 1200 GPH for the return. The return will be directed into a wavy sea wave maker. This is a pretty cool device, and doesn't sit in the tank. I hope I can put this tank together without putting too many pumps in the water. Too many pumps can create heat problems in this small tank.

The genx/ mak4 - 1200 gph is suppose to be an iwaki knock-off. I have used this pump before and I like the way they work; they also have fans on these pumps. I thought about using a mag 9.5 or 1200 but they are huge and they create heat in the water.

The only thing about external pumps is that they take up precious stand space.

I'm also going with a 4-way closed Loop with an OceansMotions Squirt. I'm going to run a the closed loop with a Gen-X PCX-30 at 850 gph. This will provide excellent flow within the tank without adding heat! The extra dollars in pumps may save in electric bills from pushing a chiller to hard.

Now I need to decide on what type of substrate I should use for the sump. (Miracle Mud or Kent Reefugium Substrate). I know miracle mud comes with pods(they start to appear after a couple weeks) and other fauna animals, but kent is cheaper. Carib-sea makes a fuge sand two. Too Many choices.

 

[druluv]

here is a pic of the wavy - sea. Pretty Cool

 

[scarf_ace1981]

can't wait to see this up. add another member to the 40br club. woohoo

looks like you have everything planned out. sea swirl. damn that's gonna be sweet.

 

[druluv]

I made a major bone head move. My stand is 36" L and I got a 30"L sump. I left my self no room for other equipment. duh. So I'm going back to the 24" sump (15L)

So I need to make a berlin/ fuge set-up.

Not as nice as the ecosystem ones.

 

[druluv]

Well I completed the reefugium baffles, as you can see I need more practice. I cleaned up most of the excess silicone. I going to use 2 finnex 18watt fixtures for good bright light in the fuge area. I also drilled a return hole in the sump.

<br>

 

[druluv]

Now its time to do the plumbing! As you can see I don't have all the supplies I need. I have two mak pumps; one is for the return , the other is for a closed loop.

I got a battery operated air pump for just in case.

I have some loc line fittings and Penductor/Educators. I wanted to see if they really created more flow.

Ok then

The return pump is going to be running into the wavy sea.

The closed loop will be running with a oceansmotions four-way device with the fittings.

I hope I don't need to add any pumps into the tank.

second pic, I added a closed loop hole to drain water directly into the pump. I'll run the other pipes over the top of the tank. This is one of the most important steps; get it wrong and you have to tear the down the whole tank

Almost there! Need to make a home depot run. 10min trip and a hour wait for 10 pvc fittings. Home depot sucks!

 

[druluv]

Lighting

I'm flirting with Froggies lighting design. The sunlight supply t-5 tek light.

This thing is super-bright

 

[jenniebutterfly]

tek t5 is a great light. was thinking of going back to it for my breeder tank. much less heat than the halide i am running now.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

dru
you stocking this w/ stuff from your bigger tank?

what about a pic of that bad boy in your house. i love that tank it looks nice and mature.

 

[druluv]

Hey scarf, thanks for the big-up, but I'm going to take that tank down. That tank is riddled with apastia and they are starting to sting my other corals.

Jennie - those tek light fixtures are cool. Sunlight light supply did a great job on these fixtures. I also read that thier reflectors are some of the best in the market.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

Hey scarf, thanks for the big-up, but I'm going to take that tank down. That tank is riddled with apastia and they are starting to sting my other corals.

i hope the aptasia are not the sole reason for taking down this beauty. good luck w/ everything. i don't normally agree w/ what i'm about to say but why not try a CBB.