need help with building my nano

J

josh7owens

New member
I've decided on building my own tank from the ground up. the tank size is a 15" cube, with a 10" tall stand and I'll also build a hood and retrofit some lights. the tank will be alittle over 14 gallons and the sump will total about 4 gallons. Their will be doors so you can acess the skimmer, refuge, and electronics but i didnt draw them because i wanted you all to to see the inside better. also the sides wont be glass they'll be wood. what do you think? skimmer recomendation that has to fit in a 6"x6"x 9 tall.

Im going to keep clown fish and some coral so i need a lighting recomendation also. as well as a pump.

thanks


ps- what exactly does the refuge do beside grow plants to feed some fish? if my fish dont eat plants do eed one? also I was going to fill the top sump part of the tank with live rock/sand.

pics-

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=tank4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/tank4.jpg" border="0" alt="fish tank"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank3copy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank3copy.jpg" border="0" alt="fish tank"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=mytank1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/mytank1.jpg" border="0" alt="fish tank"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank2.jpg" border="0" alt="fish tank"></a>
 
here it is on either a night stand or a dresser. also I'm having a hard time finding a skimmer thats less then 10" tall so if i have to go to a 15" stand heres the difference in the look.

(dresser and night stand picture is with the stand 10")

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank23.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank23.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank24.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank24.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank2346.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank2346.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=fishtank.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/fishtank.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
macro algea in the fuge is for nutrient export I highly recomend it. Deciding on what corals you want to grow will determine your lighting requirments. A 75-150w mh with a led strip for actinics/moonlights would be good enough to support sps on down. You could try a skimmer like this one http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquar...kimmers_current_usa_fission_nano_skimmer.html there's a few out there similiar to it and theres always the diy option of building one like the big guys use only scaled down. shoot me a pm if you need any help/suggestions on your build, feel free to check out my gallery to see pics of the 2.5 gallon I built
 
will that skimmer be good enought for my 15 gallon tank? I know its cheap but will it still do the job? I'll also have live rock and sand so that would help with filtration also. what do you think of my set-up? is everything right? what have i left out?
 
Im wanting to do coral like this and clown fish

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=tank_082005_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/tank_082005_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

what other small fish could i put in with the clown fish? what lighting do you recommend? everything seems to be to wide, my tank is only 15" wide
 
I'm not really the best at deciphering drawings, are you intending on haveing the sump/fuge area under the tank? The halide unit will retrofit into your hood theres not much to them and the biggest chunk of it doesn't need to be in the hood (the ballast) the picture shows sps lps mushrooms and I think some zoa's (pretty much everything ) t5's or halides unless your wanting to spend a ton of money on some sort of led lighting is what your going to want. I wouldn't put anything other than the pair of clowns you've been refering to as that is quite a bit of bio load on that size of a tank(as far as fish) cuc could add some more variety and serve a usefull purpose as well. Make sure to find a smaller variety of clown. the issue I could forsee with the skimmer I showed you would be haveing to empty the skimmers collection cup often but a simple mod to the cup could alleviate that hassle. I would try to impliment a filter sock. personally I think there worth there wieght in gold but thats jmo. If I missed anything ask again and I'll try to catch it next time.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14250298#post14250298 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by josh7owens
Im wanting to do coral like this and clown fish

What other small fish could i put in with the clown fish? what lighting do you recommend? everything seems to be to wide, my tank is only 15" wide
Click to expand...

Hey! That's my old tank! Pretty nice huh!

Here is a link to the thread...but I think the originals were archived off...not sure where they are now..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=641219


Those clowns are black onyx clowns...very hardy although a bit pricey. They were a mated pair and are still at it...a neighbor of mine has them now. Also in the tank I had a yellow watchman goby...also very hardy. I also had a bi-color blenny.

The tank was a 30 gal oceanic cube with a custom overflow and sump build by http://www.barraquatic.com/ . In it I had an Aqua C skimmer.

The light was a 250W MH...I played around with a few different bulbs.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14250445#post14250445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by inkmates
I'm not really the best at deciphering drawings, are you intending on haveing the sump/fuge area under the tank? The halide unit will retrofit into your hood theres not much to them and the biggest chunk of it doesn't need to be in the hood (the ballast) the picture shows sps lps mushrooms and I think some zoa's (pretty much everything ) t5's or halides unless your wanting to spend a ton of money on some sort of led lighting is what your going to want. I wouldn't put anything other than the pair of clowns you've been refering to as that is quite a bit of bio load on that size of a tank(as far as fish) cuc could add some more variety and serve a usefull purpose as well. Make sure to find a smaller variety of clown. the issue I could forsee with the skimmer I showed you would be haveing to empty the skimmers collection cup often but a simple mod to the cup could alleviate that hassle. I would try to impliment a filter sock. personally I think there worth there wieght in gold but thats jmo. If I missed anything ask again and I'll try to catch it next time.
Click to expand...

yea the sump/fuge will be under the tank. there will be 2 tanks the top one will drain into the lower one which will have the skimmer and fuge and return. the top one is to maxaize the about of space to have as much water as posible but also keep a low profile. Ill add a filter sock to the pipes that drain into the lower sump.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14250614#post14250614 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrishet
Hey! That's my old tank! Pretty nice huh!

Here is a link to the thread...but I think the originals were archived off...not sure where they are now..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=641219


Those clowns are black onyx clowns...very hardy although a bit pricey. They were a mated pair and are still at it...a neighbor of mine has them now. Also in the tank I had a yellow watchman goby...also very hardy. I also had a bi-color blenny.

The tank was a 30 gal oceanic cube with a custom overflow and sump build by http://www.barraquatic.com/ . In it I had an Aqua C skimmer.

The light was a 250W MH...I played around with a few different bulbs.
Click to expand...

do you have a link to the light you used and what bulbs worked best? my tank will be half the s of your so i would just have the 2 clown fish. would i still need a 250watt or could i get away with somthing smaller? smaller= cheaper hahaha

and yes, its a very nice looking tank.

do you have a list of the coral you put in it?
 


The light was a 250W MH...I played around with a few different bulbs. [/B]
Click to expand...


like these lights? what bulbs?

I really like this tank also could i keep all of this?

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=AddedRics045.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/AddedRics045.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
i think if I'm going to mh way then this would be the best one to get....

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1491

its 14.5"x 14.5" and my tank is 15x15 sothat would leave a .5 inches all the way around to set up some sort of moon night setup? after the light and bulb recomendation what leds should i use to make the mood night thing and how many, I'm going to set up my tank like one of the pictures i posted.

also could someone give me some input on my sump and skimmer plans. i would like to start building asap but i dont want to have to go back and redue stuff bc i didnt do it right. thanks :)
 
i dont think i should go with a 250w though.. Ive read alittle bit on here and it seems like alot of people get 175w tops for a 15 gallon.
 
One of the issues I see with the fuge area below the other tank is with installing a fuge light, the other is accessability. sooner or later your going to have to get in there for some kind of maintainance. Just something to keep in mind. I'd go with an hqi setup like this one http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1533 and moonlights like this http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=221 for a bulb for the mh I like the 20,000k look myself but thats something your going to have to play around with to find what you like. hellolights has a whole section devoted to nano's one of there small 9w cf lights would be great for your fuge. as far as flow I'd go with a mag 2.5 or something simialar just depends on how much flow you want in the tank and if you plan on running extra pumps in the display
 
yea the only problem it my tank isnt wide enough for t5's unless i make it 20" wide. which would be a option... I'm going to start on the tank today so I'm trying to figure out if i should go 20 wide or not.

It would no longer be a square though...
 
ok guys I started on the stand today. i've decided I'm going with a bigger stand and alittle bigger tank. the stand is 20x15x24 and the tank is 20x15x20 (25g)

need recomendations for the skimmer, sump plans, and lighting
 
well i started on my build today. the stand is 20x15x21 tall on the inside. so I can go with a taller skimmer (prolly a needle wheel). I need alittle input on what kind of return pump i need and I need to know what bulb to get.

some pics....
start-
<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=IMG_0204.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/IMG_0204.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
framing done...
<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=IMG_0223.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/IMG_0223.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

cad rinder coming
 
I think I'm going to use this skimmer. is it ok?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...ri_100_to_250_Gallons~vendor~All_Seas_Marine_(ASM)~SearchStr~~action~view~idProduct~AG1133~idCategory~FIPSISVSHT.html

heres a rinder of a cut out of what I'm thinking the sump is going to look like. I need to figure out what return pump to use and get a comfermtion on thats how the sump should look. the water flow into were the skimmer is then the middle is the furge, then into the other part were the return pump pumps it make to the return pipe.

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/?action=view&current=2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r430/josh7owens/2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
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