R Tyler Mack
New member
I'm new to this hobby, but I've read enough to understand that when starting a new marine tank, patience is key; things are to be done in order and steps are not to be skipped. For a succesful reef startup, a careful reefkeeper must plan carefully and cross every T.
Unfortunately, these things have never been my strong point. When I first eard about nano reefs, I was in the semi-planning stages of setting up a 29 gallon freshwater tank with the intention of keeping a Green Spotted Puffer (<i>Tetraodon nigroviridis</i>). As I continued my research, I decided that the puffer would inevitably require a larger tank (at 6" in maturity) and as a responsible aquarist, I didn't want to subject the fish to poor living conditions, as a larger tank was out of my budget. So I shelved the GSP plan, dejected and disappointed.
ALAS, I somehow followed a daisy-chain of links and found myself at nano-reef.com, a forum site dedicated to, well, nano reefs. On the site were a number of featured 2.5 gallon "pico" reeftanks which utilized Aqua Clear HOB filters as refugiums for filtration. As it happened, I had purchased a 2.5 gallon Top Fin tank (for breeding snails to feed the puffer) just before I decided not to <i>get</i> a puffer. Lesson one: don't make purchases before you are ready to commit to a tank, or something like that. In this case, I was lucky, because I decided to use the tank to make my very own pico reef.
Now, I understand the inherent difficulty for a beginner to start with a tiny tank. Sudden chagnes in water quality affect everything fast, thereby leading to a quick nuke. I know that the traditional rule of thumb is to start with the largest tank you can feasibly afford (right?). I took the opposite route, or the New Conventional Wisdom: start with a small tank -- you will learn quickly to pay strict attention to water parameters, as well as save money on initial start-up costs. With a tiny pico tank, I can get away without a protein skimmer, a calcium reactor, and often without a heater. I have learned about these things in my research, but until I move onto a larger tank, I can focus on the basics: biological filtration through macroalgae, live rock & sand; the nitrogen "cycle"; lighting and current; and how to care for corals.
OKAY, enough of the rambling. I don't know how I got onto this pedestal, seeing as <i>I haven't even finished putting the tank together</i>. All of the above is just <i>the way I see it</i>. Sincerely, let me know if there are any serious flaws in my logic.
Some photos before we continue:
The tank:
<img src="http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8674/1001973yu5.jpg">
2.5 gallon glass Top Fin aquarium, 12" x 6"
The filter/refugium:
<img src="http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6645/1001974us0.jpg">
It is an Aqua Clear 30 HOB filter with the media basket removed and cut. The square grille will be siliconed to keep macroalgae from sliding out. The long half-grille section will be placed where it would normally have gone on the left side of the main media area, protecting the motor and regulating flow. I am looking for relatively low flow out of this filter, but it pumps 108 gph (I think) at it's lowest setting, which is 43.2x the volume. I will be using the pump head from an Elite Mini in-tank filter for current.
The faint yellow arrows show where I trimmed the filter in order for it to slide further to the left in my tank and allow for an overflow panel to fit underneath.
...
This was basically all I had, and then I visitied the LFS (20 miles south in Waterford, MI called "Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc." There I got the itch. All that I knew about planning and waiting and being ready went out the window. I had plans, alright. For instance, the intake tube for the AC30 was unsightly and I had plans to hide it behind an acrylic overflow panel that would be int he lefthand rear corner of the tank. I had not yet purchased acrylic or even measure d the space it would fill. I had plans for lighting, based on Taikmono's DIY CF setup with 4x 13w bulbs. But I didn't have any of the stuff needed to make that. I even had ideas of what I wanted to keep in the tank (a dwarf seahorse, perhaps? maybe a nice starfish and a yellow clown goby?). I love clownfishes and have since childhood, but I knew the tank would be too small for them.
At the LFS I got so taken away with my dreams that I purchased Instant Ocean, a swing-arm hydrometer, some CaribSea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite sand, a baseball of chaetomorpha (mixed with a larger amount of caulerpa than I'd like), and 2 pounds of live rock rubble. Down the street at Pet Supplies "Plus" I bought a larger box of Reef Crystals for much less money than the box of Instant Ocean I got at Moby Dick, so I will take the Instant Ocean back.
Now that I had live rock and algae, my rationale was, I would have to get in gear and start setting up the tank. This was true, but it also made me realize all the things I don't have:
-- lighting
-- a heater
-- RO water
-- a bucket to mix saltwater
-- acrylic
-- a proper test kit
So I went to Home Depot, in search of mini CF ballasts, to no avail. (Eventually, I caved and bought Coralife Aqualight Double Compact Fluorescent Strip Lights instead [2x 18w 50/50 10k/true actinic].) While I was there I bought one of the famous orange buckets, some silicone, a sheet of Plastikote acrylic and some Krylon Fusion gloss black.
Just because this is getting freakishly long, I am going to continue it in a the next post, for a little break-up...
Unfortunately, these things have never been my strong point. When I first eard about nano reefs, I was in the semi-planning stages of setting up a 29 gallon freshwater tank with the intention of keeping a Green Spotted Puffer (<i>Tetraodon nigroviridis</i>). As I continued my research, I decided that the puffer would inevitably require a larger tank (at 6" in maturity) and as a responsible aquarist, I didn't want to subject the fish to poor living conditions, as a larger tank was out of my budget. So I shelved the GSP plan, dejected and disappointed.
ALAS, I somehow followed a daisy-chain of links and found myself at nano-reef.com, a forum site dedicated to, well, nano reefs. On the site were a number of featured 2.5 gallon "pico" reeftanks which utilized Aqua Clear HOB filters as refugiums for filtration. As it happened, I had purchased a 2.5 gallon Top Fin tank (for breeding snails to feed the puffer) just before I decided not to <i>get</i> a puffer. Lesson one: don't make purchases before you are ready to commit to a tank, or something like that. In this case, I was lucky, because I decided to use the tank to make my very own pico reef.
Now, I understand the inherent difficulty for a beginner to start with a tiny tank. Sudden chagnes in water quality affect everything fast, thereby leading to a quick nuke. I know that the traditional rule of thumb is to start with the largest tank you can feasibly afford (right?). I took the opposite route, or the New Conventional Wisdom: start with a small tank -- you will learn quickly to pay strict attention to water parameters, as well as save money on initial start-up costs. With a tiny pico tank, I can get away without a protein skimmer, a calcium reactor, and often without a heater. I have learned about these things in my research, but until I move onto a larger tank, I can focus on the basics: biological filtration through macroalgae, live rock & sand; the nitrogen "cycle"; lighting and current; and how to care for corals.
OKAY, enough of the rambling. I don't know how I got onto this pedestal, seeing as <i>I haven't even finished putting the tank together</i>. All of the above is just <i>the way I see it</i>. Sincerely, let me know if there are any serious flaws in my logic.
Some photos before we continue:
The tank:
<img src="http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8674/1001973yu5.jpg">
2.5 gallon glass Top Fin aquarium, 12" x 6"
The filter/refugium:
<img src="http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6645/1001974us0.jpg">
It is an Aqua Clear 30 HOB filter with the media basket removed and cut. The square grille will be siliconed to keep macroalgae from sliding out. The long half-grille section will be placed where it would normally have gone on the left side of the main media area, protecting the motor and regulating flow. I am looking for relatively low flow out of this filter, but it pumps 108 gph (I think) at it's lowest setting, which is 43.2x the volume. I will be using the pump head from an Elite Mini in-tank filter for current.
The faint yellow arrows show where I trimmed the filter in order for it to slide further to the left in my tank and allow for an overflow panel to fit underneath.
...
This was basically all I had, and then I visitied the LFS (20 miles south in Waterford, MI called "Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc." There I got the itch. All that I knew about planning and waiting and being ready went out the window. I had plans, alright. For instance, the intake tube for the AC30 was unsightly and I had plans to hide it behind an acrylic overflow panel that would be int he lefthand rear corner of the tank. I had not yet purchased acrylic or even measure d the space it would fill. I had plans for lighting, based on Taikmono's DIY CF setup with 4x 13w bulbs. But I didn't have any of the stuff needed to make that. I even had ideas of what I wanted to keep in the tank (a dwarf seahorse, perhaps? maybe a nice starfish and a yellow clown goby?). I love clownfishes and have since childhood, but I knew the tank would be too small for them.
At the LFS I got so taken away with my dreams that I purchased Instant Ocean, a swing-arm hydrometer, some CaribSea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite sand, a baseball of chaetomorpha (mixed with a larger amount of caulerpa than I'd like), and 2 pounds of live rock rubble. Down the street at Pet Supplies "Plus" I bought a larger box of Reef Crystals for much less money than the box of Instant Ocean I got at Moby Dick, so I will take the Instant Ocean back.
Now that I had live rock and algae, my rationale was, I would have to get in gear and start setting up the tank. This was true, but it also made me realize all the things I don't have:
-- lighting
-- a heater
-- RO water
-- a bucket to mix saltwater
-- acrylic
-- a proper test kit
So I went to Home Depot, in search of mini CF ballasts, to no avail. (Eventually, I caved and bought Coralife Aqualight Double Compact Fluorescent Strip Lights instead [2x 18w 50/50 10k/true actinic].) While I was there I bought one of the famous orange buckets, some silicone, a sheet of Plastikote acrylic and some Krylon Fusion gloss black.
Just because this is getting freakishly long, I am going to continue it in a the next post, for a little break-up...
