A nano tank to replace my 140g setup

[tgunn]

Some of you may be familiar with my old 140g setup. My 140g setup has been up for 3 years now. Due to the fact I'm working full time, pursuing a Masters degree, all while my family grew, I've not had the time to do proper maintenance on my 140g setup.

I had considered revamping my setup, but right before Christmas the worst possible thing happened; my lack of maintenance caught up with me, and all the drains on the tank plugged, overflowing the tank into the living room. Not fun.

With too many things that I'd need to change and revamp and no time to do these things I decided it would be best to sell off my 140g setup. This weekend the last of the fish go, and I'll be draining the tank, leaving just the sump going to keep the live rock and a few remaining inverts that need to be sold. Very bittersweet to say the least.

However I've come to realize that reefing is a true addiction and I can't possibly give it all up. So with that in mind I'm embarking on a journey to keeping a 10-20g nano tank instead. Still work to maintain, but it won't suffer from the same problems that plagued my 140 setup.

I'm going to the LFS tonight to check out the 20g nano cube tanks he has. Very nice little tank with all the stuff packed into a back compartment similar to the JBJ and Red Sea units. Plus it has a really nice solid wood stand that I really like the look of. The only catch is I'm not sure how to mount lights in the canopy; it's not very tall at all. The LFS and I will try and work out the logistics of that tonight. My hope is to get 4 T5s in there.

I'm going to start from scratch; new sand, and some new dead base rock for the tank. I want to avoid bringing the scourge of aptasia and valonia over from my 140g setup.

What am I going to keep?
- At most 1 fish; but this would come later.
- Mainly SPS; I have frags of 4 of my favorite previous corals.

I'll post some pics later when I get back from the LFS.

Tyler

 

[token]

In many ways, I like nano's more than big tanks. I just got four Chalk Bass for my 75g display and I like them a lot. They are calm, very good looking and hungry. The "hungry" part may not be best for a nano but the other characteristics work!

Good luck with this tank!

 

[Electrobes]

Looking forward to seeing your progress Tyler. Nanos are fun as doing maintenance on them is quicker, easier.. and cheaper! All I can suggest is making it as K.I.S.S. as possible... even nano people get frustrated when they do too much.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14222316#post14222316 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by token
In many ways, I like nano's more than big tanks. I just got four Chalk Bass for my 75g display and I like them a lot. They are calm, very good looking and hungry. The "hungry" part may not be best for a nano but the other characteristics work!

Good luck with this tank!

Thanks! I've seen lots of amazing nanos out there so I'm hoping I can pull off something decent.

I think it'll be interesting to be able to showcase a small assortment of corals in a nano.

Thansk,
Tyler

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14222488#post14222488 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Electrobes
Looking forward to seeing your progress Tyler. Nanos are fun as doing maintenance on them is quicker, easier.. and cheaper! All I can suggest is making it as K.I.S.S. as possible... even nano people get frustrated when they do too much.

Yes, the big problem I had with my 140g tank was that the way I set it up I couldn't reach most areas of the tank to do maintenance (nuke aptasia, clean up sand, etc). With a nano this should be considerably easier!

I'm definitely trying to keep it as simple as possible. No calcium reactor (though I gotta say that was nice once it was tuned in and running), no sump (just the built in one), no horrifically oversized skimmer (the nano I'm looking at has one, but I will likely just use the Tunze 9002 I have kicking around), no ozone, etc.

Should be fun!

Tyler

 

[Octoberfest]

You know over the years I've had a 120 gallon, 110 gallon, 75 gallon, and a 72 gallon. I currently have a 29 gallon bio cube with a sunpod metal halide fixture and it has been by far my favorite tank out of all of them. I did it for the same reason you're stating above, just less work to do. It does have its own challenges, like the fact that there is less water volume the chemistry can change much easier, but other than that I love it. Its much cheaper to add corals and other fish because you dont need a whole lot. Some may disagree but mine keeps me happy.

 

[unda_da_see]

you could get a regular 20 gallon, or 20 longs are nice, power filter, nice t5 light and thats all you need. just do 5 gallon changes religously weekly with carbon filter change too and your good to go.

 

[tgunn]

Doh! Checked out the tanks at the LFS. Nice little 20g nanos, but the problem is the tank is 21" wide. So I can't possibly squeeze a T5 fixture into the canopy. The wood canopy it comes with is also only about 1-2" off the surface of the water, so not much room in there anyways. I mean I could possibly modify to work with a halide but that'd be a lot of woodwork and I'm kinda looking for a turnkey kind of setup at this stage in the game. Just no time to be building a new canopy at this time.

The tanks the LFS has are really nice though; 20g nano with 14g usable space. The back part has a nice integrated sump with enough room for my Tunze 9002 skimmer, and even has an auto top off with freshwater reservoir.

I COULD go with a canopy-less setup and use a pendant 175w halide, but the problem that my 1 1/2 year old daughter has just discovered the concept of "hey, I can put stuff inside of containers", and I'd rather not have to worry about her either pulling the tank over by grabbing the rim, or throwing toys/errant pennies/food into the tank.

So a canopy is kinda a must.

Might just have to go for a RedSea or JBJ. We'll see.

Tyler

 

[token]

Solana. melev's words, not mine. I admit I like the look but it was he who saw them at his LFS.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14229180#post14229180 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by token
Solana. melev's words, not mine. I admit I like the look but it was he who saw them at his LFS.

Again, LOVE the look of the Solana with a pendant HQI or what not but kinda limited to having a canopy.

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Hmm. My wife and I were talking; I think the Solana could work. I'd just need to work out a light mesh cover for it.

Now the only problem is finding someplace locally that sells it. Marine Depot wants $340-400 to ship it to Canada, where if I ship to the states its free.

Tyler

 

[noblerot]

I did a lot of shopping around online for my solana. This was the best deal I found for the stand and tank together without the light. $389.00, not sure what the shipping would be to Canada though. Just a note, I did not end up ordering from them, because I decided to go with a different stand than the stock stand.

http://www.toofishy.com/reef_aquarium_supplies/Solana-Aquarium-System-Tank--Stand-p-91694.html

Do you happen to know what lighting fixture you are looking for I did a lot of shopping around for them as well.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14231432#post14231432 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by noblerot
I did a lot of shopping around online for my solana. This was the best deal I found for the stand and tank together without the light. $389.00, not sure what the shipping would be to Canada though. Just a note, I did not end up ordering from them, because I decided to go with a different stand than the stock stand.

http://www.toofishy.com/reef_aquarium_supplies/Solana-Aquarium-System-Tank--Stand-p-91694.html

Do you happen to know what lighting fixture you are looking for I did a lot of shopping around for them as well.

That does seem like a pretty good price; I'll have to contact them about shipping.

I am probably going to go for the HQI pendant. It looks really cool and would provide more than enough lighting for my SPS corals.

Tyler

 

[melev]

Many Canadians drive down across the border to pick up their shipments. Is that even an option?

The Solano does have a glass cover, to keep the toys out of Nemo's home.










You could also beat your kid. That's the other option.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14242940#post14242940 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Many Canadians drive down across the border to pick up their shipments. Is that even an option?

The Solano does have a glass cover, to keep the toys out of Nemo's home.










You could also beat your kid. That's the other option.

Yes, driving across the border is an option. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive to the Pembina border crossing. I'm waiting to hear back from Current-USA to see if there are any distributors locally.

I'll also have to see how big the boxes are for the setup; I drive a Jetta, which is not exactly a cargo van. :lol:

Ah, okay, a glass cover would work then. I was mainly worried about her finding a penny and putting that in the tank

:lol: Well, that would theoretically be an option I suppose, but not really the best one. Although I guess she is at the age (1 1/2) where we can finally start teaching her what she should NOT be doing).

Tyler

 

[melev]

If driving to the U.S. saves you hundreds of dollars, I think it is worth crying out "Road Trip!"

The boxes may be rather large, although the stand was in a flat box. The ballast was in a small box, which I think was in the tank when I helped the LFS unpack it. The light was in its own box too. Considering that the tank is a nano though, I'd quite sure the entire thing could fit in your car's trunk and front seat.

Kids will find a way to slip a penny, a battery, small toys - you name it - into your tank because they want to be involved in what you are doing all the time. Truly you will have to have a hands off rule right from the start to avoid heartache.

Some people have put those divider gates around their tank just to keep the toddlers away. It looks like a plastic perimeter fence in their living room, but it keeps both kids and pets at a safer distance. It won't be pretty nor will it be fun, but it does work if you can't guard it yourself 24/7.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14246046#post14246046 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
If driving to the U.S. saves you hundreds of dollars, I think it is worth crying out "Road Trip!"

The boxes may be rather large, although the stand was in a flat box. The ballast was in a small box, which I think was in the tank when I helped the LFS unpack it. The light was in its own box too. Considering that the tank is a nano though, I'd quite sure the entire thing could fit in your car's trunk and front seat.

Kids will find a way to slip a penny, a battery, small toys - you name it - into your tank because they want to be involved in what you are doing all the time. Truly you will have to have a hands off rule right from the start to avoid heartache.

Some people have put those divider gates around their tank just to keep the toddlers away. It looks like a plastic perimeter fence in their living room, but it keeps both kids and pets at a safer distance. It won't be pretty nor will it be fun, but it does work if you can't guard it yourself 24/7.

I found a distributor in Quebec, but he said no shipping companies in Canada are willing to ship and insure the tank (which begs the question of how he gets them in the first place). The only other source would be Big Al's Canada, but they don't actively stock the Solana products.

Okay, that is encouraging to know the size is manageable for a car. I have a feeling a road trip is going to be in order. Guess it means I can also stock up on some of the other products don't get here such as Cherry Coke Zero, Pringles made with olestra (mmm, fat free seepage chips) and Pretzel combos.

Yes, you are right. I think I'll just have to make sure to keep an eye on her around the tank and make sure to set the ground rules from the start. Though I definitely want to make sure she can still see what's going on in the tank -- from the start my 140g has been the source of many hours of entertainment for her.

I know the perimeter fences you're talking about; a friend of mine set them up in his living room to keep his little guy away from the TV and stereo equipment. Might be a good option for something like this.

Tyler

 

[melev]

I think you really should make the drive. Get some Coke Zero while you're here.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14251486#post14251486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I think you really should make the drive. Get some Coke Zero while you're here.

:lol: Now my wife is all excited to go shopping; she wants to go all the way to Grand Forks now. Hey, whatever works I guess.

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

FYI, the dimensions and weights for a Solana setup are:
Tank: 27"x27"x25", 80 lb.
Stand: 34"x26"x9", 65 lb.
HQI light: 30"x16"x15", 25 lb.


I found a border parcel pickup place that only charges $5 for each parcel regardless of size/weight.

Now I just need to measure the 'ol Jetta to see how this will fit.