Taqpol's 20 gallon nano

[Taqpol]

After over two months of borderline obsessive research, I finally have a tank with rocks in it! For the most part all live rock was cured, but I am still going to wait at least two weeks before I add the clean up crew.

Old tank cleaned and set up with salt water, live rock, live sand: 5/25/08

Major equipment ordered: 5/26/08

Specs:
20 gallon High AGA
28lbs Live Rock
30lbs Live Sand
Current USA Sundial (4x24w T5)
Tunze DOC 9002 Nano Skimmer
CPR AquaFuge HOB refugium (~3 gal)
Hydor Koralia 1 (Flow behind rock work, extra flow)
MaxiJet 900 (Surface agitation, extra flow)

I am quite sure there will be more questions to come, but instead of spamming the message boards with all my questions I am going to consolidate them here!

Pictures to come...

 

[Taqpol]

Current pictures of the Aquascape:

Front View:

Left Cave:

Right Cave:

View from kitchen:

Some LPS colony skeleton:

Acropora skelton:

 

[Taqpol]

All comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated!

 

[fshboy007]

im a fan of the black substrate! looks good! let the mini cycle begin!

 

[Taqpol]

Yeah, I was afraid the black sand would contrast too much with the live rock, but I think it ended up blending fairly well! That and my girlfriend really wanted me to get it because she didn't like seeing all the gunk that is much easier to see with white sand.

 

[Avi]

I'm just looking around in RC and I came across this thread. I think it looks very good and it seems to me that you're off to a great start. I suggest you consider putting a Hydor Flow Deflector on the MJ1200. The add a randomness to the overall flow in the tank that's very natural and beneficial to a system. The only thing about them that's negative is that they are a bit big. Look into those because maybe where you put your MJ, it wouldn't be obtrusive.

 

[BradsOcean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12630094#post12630094 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Avi
I'm just looking around in RC and I came across this thread. I think it looks very good and it seems to me that you're off to a great start. I suggest you consider putting a Hydor Flow Deflector on the MJ1200. The add a randomness to the overall flow in the tank that's very natural and beneficial to a system. The only thing about them that's negative is that they are a bit big. Look into those because maybe where you put your MJ, it wouldn't be obtrusive.

+1

 

[Lockhartia]

Grats on getting it going, and with the fuge no less I think you'll be very happy with the system! It is so very similar to what I have on my 20 and I've had nothing but success (minus the skimmer).

Best of luck and keep us updated with lots of pictures!

 

[Taqpol]

First of all, I might get crap for this, but I got the MJ900, not the 1200. I did this solely because the 900 and the 1200 put out very similar gph flow, but the 1200 literally takes over twice the wattage. I will also have a skimmer, HOB fuge, and Koralia 1 so i think my turnover will still be fine.

Also, my plan was to use the stock wide deflector that comes with the MJ's to create a broad flow that would hopefully cover the entire surface area of the tank (Surface agitation, gas exchange). Any comments on this plan?

Grats on getting it going, and with the fuge no less I think you'll be very happy with the system! It is so very similar to what I have on my 20 and I've had nothing but success (minus the skimmer).

Best of luck and keep us updated with lots of pictures!

Thanks Lockhartia! Your tank was an inspiration to me throughout the whole design process, it seemed to be exactly what i wanted! For anyone thats been tagging along with me on this adventure, I went for the HOB fuge of the AC70 mod and a skimmer over no skimmer for various reasons:

I think fuges are cool, I wanted to have a large volume (much larger than the AC70), and I wanted to actually be able to see inside it (also unlike the AC70).

As for the skimmer, I want my tank to be as maintenance free as possible since I plan on taking a few longer vacations in August and December. Also, right before the purchases were made I "came into" some money I wasn't expecting (Yay for apartments refunding you money you didn't pay! If thats how their book keeping balances, i'm not gonna complain).

 

[oceanparadise1]

your tanks only a 20 so the differnce between teh 900 and 1200 is no big deal plus u have enough flow from everything else so its no big deal

 

[gebrony]

i have the same size tank and light, does the tunze skimmer have plenty of room with the sundial light?

only asking because i have been thinking of buying the tunze 9002

 

[Taqpol]

I sure hope it does.....

I get both the sundial and the Tunze on Friday and I'll see then. The Sundials advertised width is 9.5", the tunze's width (in the orientation i plan on using it) is 2". My 20 gallons width gives me 11.5" to 12" to work with so on paper it all checks out. That being said, I have heard people say that the dimensions for the tunze do not include the collection cup. Stay tuned!

 

[Taqpol]

I actually just had a wonderful idea while writing that last post. Can any owners here give me actual dimensions on the Tunze 9002 including collection cup? because if the 13" height includes the cup I could just pop that guy in my HOB refugium.

This would be good for many reasons. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since my fuge has water pumped into and returns to the tank by means of a simple overflow shouldn't the level of water in the fuge stay constant regardless of evaporation? It would be the same concept as a sump with baffles, I think. If thats the case it would be the ideal place to put a skimmer because I know it would always be operating at top efficiency.

...right?

 

[gebrony]

i hope it fits also, if it doesent i guess im gonna have to go with the aqua c nano and i have heard that it is much louder than the tunze

 

[Avi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12631036#post12631036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Taqpol
my plan was to use the stock wide deflector that comes with the MJ's to create a broad flow that would hopefully cover the entire surface area of the tank (Surface agitation, gas exchange). Any comments on this plan?

Only that the broad flow that you're referring to isn't at all the same as the intermittantly directional flow created by the Hydor. The difference, IMO, is very significant.

 

[Taqpol]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12633108#post12633108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gebrony
i hope it fits also, if it doesent i guess im gonna have to go with the aqua c nano and i have heard that it is much louder than the tunze

Exactly. Noise was a big deal to me as well. Thats also why I was convinced to spend the extra money and get the Sundial over the Nova Extreme. Do you like your sundial?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12633108#post12633108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Avi
Only that the broad flow that you're referring to isn't at all the same as the intermittantly directional flow created by the Hydor. The difference, IMO, is very significant.

I know, this setup wasn't planned around having any intermittent or random flow. I know both of those are good, but are they truly crucial for a reef system?

 

[gebrony]

so far its been great, the ease of having everything in one fixture and only one power cord, I am waiting to see if I need to replace the factory bulbs although

 

[Lockhartia]

The water level in your HOB Refugium will stay constant, despite any tank evaporation. At least it does in mine.

And thank you for the compliement Taqpol!!! I'll have to post an updated pic or two. My elegance is at least twice the size as it was in that picture, I've since split the green frogspawn and added a huge Symphylia I couldn't pass up!

Are you using the same bulb that came in the light for the fuge? I forget what came with it initially, but I swapped it out for a 50/50 and I think that helped a lot. You got the newer version too, I think they painted the side that sits against the tank black to cut down on light seeping from the fuge into the tank (not that I see what harm its ever done to mine, never had an algae problem). Just curious, as time goes by, to see if it makes any kind of impact on the tank.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Lockhartia]

You know, a Yasha Haze Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair would REALLY pop against that dark substrate!

 

[Taqpol]

Actually, none of the new aquafuges that people are selling comes with a light, you have to buy that seperately. I went ahead and got a little clip on light that either has a small (9-13W) PC or regular energy saver bulb in it.

I'm pretty sure the painted black backing is for those people who want to run their fuge light on the opposite photoperiod from their main tank, which I think I might try doing. Of course, now i'm wondering if I actually purchsed the new one with the black backing. I was going to order everything from www.marinedepot.com , but then I found that www.drsfostersmith.com had the same fuge for about $20 and the price difference covered the extra shipping so i ordered it from there. In retrospect I looked back and their product description doesn't actually say AquaFuge2, and they have one picture with the black back and one with the clear...

If I end up getting the clear I'll probably just run down to a hardware store and pick up a bottle of Krylon fusion.