My first nano :)

[Shaar]

So i decided to build my own nano tank the other day with an intank sump. i used a new 10 gal and some 1/4" acrylic to make the baffles in the rear. painted the back wall black to cover the sump from view from the front. i filled it 2/3 of the way full with water from my 55, and the other 1/3 with new water.

i then moved some of my corals over and all the little rocks that i had that were completely covered in coralline. I cut down one of my PC's to 22" so it would fit nicely over the top of the tank. i'm using a single 65w which i think is fine since technically, i'm only lighting about 7 gallons. Everything is doing GREAT so far. I"ll have to snap some pics but i was wanting to post on here while i had time up here on campus.

Corals i have in there so far:
-2 frags of xenia
-green ricordia's
-small rock of green star polyps
-and some other polyp i never got the name for

anyways, updates soon to come

 

[Shaar]

 

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

Sweet!

 

[Shaar]

the water is really clear in person, my cam is getting some major reflections from something. but i'm really happy with the sump. this is the first sump i've ever had/used. i wish i could do an intank sump on my 55 after my opinion on my nano.

and last night, i added a small rock covered in green zoos

 

[fewells]

Looks Good!

 

[SoupySteve]

ID on your polyps

ID on your polyps

If your unidentified polyps you spoke of happen to be the brown ones on the cone-shaped peice of rubble, I was told they are called protopalythoa (not the kind that will cause you to stop breathing in 30 seconds flat :bum: - FWIW
What are you considering for livestock besides your softies? Do I remember you saying someting about a citron goby? I've considered a nano for my "office" and I always thought a reef set-up with a shrimp goby and its shrimp would make a fascinating combo in for a tiny space. I'd throw in a snail and/or hermit or two for good measure (don't know if the shells I see in there are dormant or not).
I guess weekly 10% water changes are a breeze on that badboy! I'm sure you don't need reminding, but I'd stay ontop of your top-off and water changer - as having a tank only ~20% the volume of your other system means (to me) that the water params are 5x as hard to keep in line...
Looks good man!

 

[Shaar]

hey yea thats the name of that thing! yea i got that citron goby from matt. its so tiny! perfect! anyways, he was out and about when i put him in the tank, and i haven't seen him since.... i checked the filter area and didn't see him so i assume he found a few spots he likes and plans to stay there...

also, when i first got the tank running, i tossed in 4 or 5 hermits and 3 snails

i haven't given any thought to upgrades in corals, but i have been thinking about upgrading my return pump. i'm using a really weak powerhead and its working great, but i want a little more flow in there. the star polyps aren't blowing around and neither is that xenia that will change soon i hope just have to find the perfect pump/powerhead.

there are also 2 spots that i need to work on in the tank. there is a leak from the main display area to the return pump area through the wall, i'll have to silicone it up maybe tomorrow. and also, water overflows back into the return pump baffle a little where return tube goes over the wall. shouldn't be too hard to fix.

so far a good experience, theres little kinks in it that need to be ironed out, but its my first time with the nano and i'd recommend it to anyone who has a few extra bucks laying around

 

[noapollono]

It looks great. As far as the return pump I would be careful, I just did the same thing but with a 20L and a maxijet 900 pumps water out faster than it overflows. So my water level is crazy close to the top of the tank. As far as the leaks i had to re-silicon my tank twice. What was happening was since there was a large distance between the baffles in the sump and the sides of the tank the wieght of the water was making the lexan flex breaking the seal. I ended up using scrap lexan and making braces against the sides of the tank, worked like a charm.

Good luck.

 

[Shaar]

awesome. is there something smaller than the maxi 900?

also, what do you do about the temperature? mine fluctuates between 78-82-84. i'd like to keep it more constant. if i put a fan on it, it drops to 78 with the heater on. fan off, light on for 8 hours, temp is at 83-84.. should i not worry about this or do i need to try harder to get it to stay pretty stable.

 

[SoupySteve]

Steve - have you considered raising your lighting further from the surface? Just moving your lighting up a smidge could help you out considerably. The fans may do you more harm than good - with such a small amount of water you may have significant SG swings between top-offs due to the accelerated evaporation caused by the fans... that is strictly straight out of my tookus.
Is there ANY way you could make an EXTERNAL sump for this? I think that would be the least feasible but best way to cool your tank :lol:
my tank swings from 78-81 from lights on to lights off. I hope that when I add my sump, I can get this under better control.

 

[Shaar]

well i have new legs for the light, and the light is as high as it goes right now. its baout 4-5 inches from the water surface. i dont have room for an external sump i dont even have room for a sump for my 55 unless i change my stand, but at that point, i might as well double my tank size and get me a 110 or 125