MarkSurrey
New member
Hi, Since I am now making some progress with my Nano Reef, I have started this "build diary" to document the various stages I am going through. This thread will tell you about me & my previous fish keeping experience along with how Im doing with my Nano.
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About me & my previous experience.
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I am 24 years old & from London, England. I have always been interested in aquariums & remember buying my 1st goldfish from the local supermarket when i was about 4yrs old.
At the age of 13 I got my first tropical aquarium as a birthday present in which I kept guppies, tetras & gourami's. A short while after I had the tank set up my dad got into the hobby & bought a large tank in which he housed & successfully bred discus.
After a while we got bored with our tropical tanks & almost every time we visited our LFS we found ourself being drawn to the marine section so we decided to set up our first reef tanks.
After safely rehousing our tropical stock, we both went out & purchased the equipment needed to convert our tanks to saltwater & since that day we have both been hooked on the hobby.
Just over a year ago we moved house & almost immediately I set up a 200L corner reef tank, which housed a few corals & some fish. I have recently decided this tank is just too large for me & I can't keep up with the maintenance so I have decided to get rid & set up a nano reef. The fish are going to my dad as he has a large enough tank to house them & I didn't really want to get rid of them. Here is a picture of my corner reef taken just before I started dismantling it.
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My Nano Reef (18x18x18" Braceless Cube Tank)
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Ok, so after doing much research & asking various questions (alot of them on this forum, so thanks to those who have helped) I have decided I want a 18x18x18" Cube Reef Tank with a Sump & Chiller. After some planning I come up with this sketch of what I want.
The top section of the unit will house the sump & the bottom section will house the chiller. I already have a small Teco chiller that I bought for my previous tank.
After deciding where & what size I wanted everything I finally got around to ordering my tank yesterday, more to follow on that once it arrives. The next job I decided on was sorting the sump so with some help I come up with these plans...
I am going to try & make things as close to these plans as possible but will make alterations where needed so I get the best results I can.
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Stage 1 - Making The Sump
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Well this afternoon me & my dad started putting together my sump. It had to be a certain size so we decided to fabricate it ourselfs. I had an old 4ft clear-seal tank doing nothing so we cut the silicone away & gently knocked the glass apart using a block of wood & a hammer. We then cut the glass down to the size & smoothed the edges before siliconing it all together, once it's dry tommorow I will silicone in the baffles but here's what I have so far,
Its not very interesting I know, but it's a start. I will update this thread whenever I make some progress on the tank & if I write in blue when i make some progress then you will know when I have posted.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Mark
-----------------------------------------
About me & my previous experience.
-----------------------------------------
I am 24 years old & from London, England. I have always been interested in aquariums & remember buying my 1st goldfish from the local supermarket when i was about 4yrs old.
At the age of 13 I got my first tropical aquarium as a birthday present in which I kept guppies, tetras & gourami's. A short while after I had the tank set up my dad got into the hobby & bought a large tank in which he housed & successfully bred discus.
After a while we got bored with our tropical tanks & almost every time we visited our LFS we found ourself being drawn to the marine section so we decided to set up our first reef tanks.
After safely rehousing our tropical stock, we both went out & purchased the equipment needed to convert our tanks to saltwater & since that day we have both been hooked on the hobby.
Just over a year ago we moved house & almost immediately I set up a 200L corner reef tank, which housed a few corals & some fish. I have recently decided this tank is just too large for me & I can't keep up with the maintenance so I have decided to get rid & set up a nano reef. The fish are going to my dad as he has a large enough tank to house them & I didn't really want to get rid of them. Here is a picture of my corner reef taken just before I started dismantling it.
------------------------------------------------------
My Nano Reef (18x18x18" Braceless Cube Tank)
------------------------------------------------------
Ok, so after doing much research & asking various questions (alot of them on this forum, so thanks to those who have helped) I have decided I want a 18x18x18" Cube Reef Tank with a Sump & Chiller. After some planning I come up with this sketch of what I want.
The top section of the unit will house the sump & the bottom section will house the chiller. I already have a small Teco chiller that I bought for my previous tank.
After deciding where & what size I wanted everything I finally got around to ordering my tank yesterday, more to follow on that once it arrives. The next job I decided on was sorting the sump so with some help I come up with these plans...
I am going to try & make things as close to these plans as possible but will make alterations where needed so I get the best results I can.
-------------------------------
Stage 1 - Making The Sump
-------------------------------
Well this afternoon me & my dad started putting together my sump. It had to be a certain size so we decided to fabricate it ourselfs. I had an old 4ft clear-seal tank doing nothing so we cut the silicone away & gently knocked the glass apart using a block of wood & a hammer. We then cut the glass down to the size & smoothed the edges before siliconing it all together, once it's dry tommorow I will silicone in the baffles but here's what I have so far,
Its not very interesting I know, but it's a start. I will update this thread whenever I make some progress on the tank & if I write in blue when i make some progress then you will know when I have posted.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Mark
