need help with 2 nano's quick!!!

[Wicked1z]

OK so heres the deal. I am kinda new to salt. I have had mt own 55 gal running for a few months now and it is doing great. I have been working at a LFS for a while now and they have helped me alot and I have also help them from the info that I have got from this wonderful site. I am now like the fish mngr's pet since I know quit a bit of the little things to keep a salt running and how to set up and the stuff that nether of us knows she knows that I am not afraid to spend countless hours on this board to learn the answer. I am also one of the few fish people at our store that she knows that I wont give out bull**** answers and I am not afraid to listen to customers that know a bit more than I do.

Ok so now a little problim. I want to set up 2 small nano reefs. When I say small I mean small.

The one at the store is going to be eather a 2.5 or a 5 gal. I have all the axx I need to water (from one of our reef tanks that is allready running stong or premixed RO/DI salt mix.) Wich would be better?

I will have plent of cured live rock and live sand from the store so I shouldnt have a problem there.

I am wanting to run a small Aquaclear HOB filter. Should I take everything out of the back and put rubble down there or should I leave the carbon and pad and bioballs in there? I will not be able to turn this into a refuge completly because they will not spring for a good light to go on the back of this thing.

As far as lighting we have a little duel compact light that is suposed to be used for lighting in a cage for reptiles. It has no UVA/UVB wavelenghts from this light. They are eather 6500k or 10,000k bulbs. The bulbs are both 9w lights so that would be 18w total. would one of these lights be able to light a 2.5 good enought for what kinda corals? would 2 of these lights be good on a 5 gal to do enough for what kinda corals?

I dont know if I am missing anytihng in the store project but if I am please let me know. The home job is gonna be a bit harder to do. I want it to be a 5 gal that I want to drill the back for a 2.5 fuge mounted behind it. Before anone says that sounds like a lot of work to do for such a small tank let me explain. I have a perfect spot on my TV entertainment wall that will hold a 5 gal easy with no problem but nothing much larger. But the whole is real deep so I could easly put an added tank back there and I figured I could creat a small fuge back there and not get alot of light spillof in the main tank or so much it would distract while watching tv. Please if some one has any advise on the home build please just chime in.

 

[clayton07]

I wouldnt put it next to the TV. That would distract me, and sound waves, and magnetic fields...no good

3.6 watts per gallon...you could keep mushrooms, zenia, zoos. Those types of things. It really depends on how deep it is. If its deep then you will have a little trouble with the light penetrating well all the way to the bottom. If its shollow however you shouild be ok. A fuge on a 5 gallon is kinda overkill IMO.

 

[Wicked1z]

It wouldnt be right next to the tv. I have a 52" widescreen with a whole huge entertainment area around it. It has enough little do dads and things in there so it really wouldnt hurt the tv viewing at all.

As far as the 5 gal goes it would have to have to lights on it. I measured them today. Then I would have to have another for the fuge. I know it is a bit overkill but I just really have alot of time on my hands and I can slowly piece this thing together till I have enough money saved up to put my 14g nano on the other side.

Tell me if you would think this would work and also if you know the cheapest places that you can get small bulkheads. HD lowes? I was thinking about drilling 4 small bulkheads in the back of the tank. 2 for the fuge. would like it to be a 2.5 for it being able to drain or if it would be easer I could do another 5. And I was also wanting to but a small closed loop in in the spare holes. If all this sounds to far fetched please tell me because all I really need to know is how small bulkheads I can get and would I need. And how hard do you really think a 5 gal would be to drill?
I could fit a 10 in there with a five fuge but by the time I got all the lights I could have saved the money to get my bio cube.

 

[Wicked1z]

Also 2 Lights at 18 watt total what would I be able to put under there? Also I read the pack wrong they do have 15% uva/uvb. Would this hurt anything? The lights have a plastic lid infront of them and I plan on placing that right ontop pf glass would this be allright?

 

[Wicked1z]

Well the lights did have a plastic lens in front of them but I removed it. I glued 4 cap ends from the little test tubes that you get when you get a test kit to the bottom of the light. My water is cleared up good. I got 3.5 pounds of rock in the 2.5 tank anout 1.2 to 2 inch sandbed in most places. I got about all of one of those little aquaclear filters can hold filled with rubble. I have allready decided that we got these little led moonlights for bettabowls that I am going to use 2 of the as moon lighting in the tank. My water just setteld down right before I had to leave to go home. I allready have 2 little blue leg hermits in there just cleaning away. The water came out fo my reef tank at work. I plan on doing a cup water change a week or maybe 2 times a week. If I keep on this schedual I reall shouldnt have to worry to much about top offs should I? Should I keep using the reef water as a water change or should I use new premix salt ro/di mix? I will try to take my camera to work tomorow and see if I can get som ruff pics on what it looks like now. Still reading up and taking advice on the best way to do my 5 gal.

 

[Wicked1z]

Any ideas?