PuddingTime
New member
OVAS 4 Life!!!!
Updated Photos of 2 Gallon Cube
- Thread starter ninjafish
- Start date
ninjafish
New member
Stephan,
Thank you for the kind words. I am glad that some of my ideas have got you thinking about saltwater, it is really a rewarding hobby. And just so you know, I hadn't even kept freshwater before I started my 90gal. I have found this 2gal nano to be extremely simple to run. I don't dose any suppliments, I just rely on frequent water changes with water that is the same salinity and temperature as the tank. I know that you will do great!
As for your setup, the fluval that you mentioned would give a good amout of flow for a 10gal tank. I think that the 40gal sump is also a great idea and would give you a lot of options. If you used a sump, you would have to put an overflow in the main tank and buy a return pump (I don't think you could use the fluval as a return from the sump to the main because cannister filters should sit below the water sourse they are drawing from). However, having an overflow/sump means that you could fit more equipment (like a protein skimmer) underneath and allow you to use one of the less expensive forms of fresh water topoff. The other advantage is that the surface of your tank will always be spotless and the water level in the main will remain constant. Let me know what route you decide to go because there is a member on the board named Herbie who posted about how to have a completely silent overflow that is also safer than most methods and doesn't require any purchases other than a ball valve. The only thing is that you require two drain bulkheads to do it. Feel free to write or PM me if you have any questions. Or if you wanted to start a thread so you get opinions from other people, and not just my biases
- just make sure you send me the link. Thanks again! (And I hope that things went alright with your assignment) 
.
Cheers,
- Chad
Thank you for the kind words. I am glad that some of my ideas have got you thinking about saltwater, it is really a rewarding hobby. And just so you know, I hadn't even kept freshwater before I started my 90gal. I have found this 2gal nano to be extremely simple to run. I don't dose any suppliments, I just rely on frequent water changes with water that is the same salinity and temperature as the tank. I know that you will do great!
As for your setup, the fluval that you mentioned would give a good amout of flow for a 10gal tank. I think that the 40gal sump is also a great idea and would give you a lot of options. If you used a sump, you would have to put an overflow in the main tank and buy a return pump (I don't think you could use the fluval as a return from the sump to the main because cannister filters should sit below the water sourse they are drawing from). However, having an overflow/sump means that you could fit more equipment (like a protein skimmer) underneath and allow you to use one of the less expensive forms of fresh water topoff. The other advantage is that the surface of your tank will always be spotless and the water level in the main will remain constant. Let me know what route you decide to go because there is a member on the board named Herbie who posted about how to have a completely silent overflow that is also safer than most methods and doesn't require any purchases other than a ball valve. The only thing is that you require two drain bulkheads to do it. Feel free to write or PM me if you have any questions. Or if you wanted to start a thread so you get opinions from other people, and not just my biases
- just make sure you send me the link. Thanks again! (And I hope that things went alright with your assignment) .Cheers,
- Chad
clown fanatic
New member
this has always been one of my favorite tanks, i love the fact that you have a mantis. lets get some more hunting videos!
egdevilboy
In Memoriam
thats a neat little tank. i had a guy come into my work tryin to setup a 1 gal
Chad, your idea saved my bacon last night! I'd gone on a huge round trip to pick up a mantis for my original tank and literally as I got onto the train with him (4 hour journey ahead of me) one of the seams on the bag he and his hidey hole rock were in gave way!
Instead of going home I went to my parents house and tried to setup a temporary tank for him to survive the night (I'd brought 2L of pre-mixed SW, a heater and a small powerhead just in case).
THe first thing I saw was a small, cubic glass vase
See where I'm going here? So he's now happily at home in his little vase with a huge desk lamp ovr it for the shrooms on the rock!
I'll send you some pics, it looks like an extremely ghetto, imitation of yours that went wrong
Cables everywhere etc...)
CHeers for the ideas!
Ed
Instead of going home I went to my parents house and tried to setup a temporary tank for him to survive the night (I'd brought 2L of pre-mixed SW, a heater and a small powerhead just in case).
THe first thing I saw was a small, cubic glass vase
See where I'm going here? So he's now happily at home in his little vase with a huge desk lamp ovr it for the shrooms on the rock!I'll send you some pics, it looks like an extremely ghetto, imitation of yours that went wrong
Cables everywhere etc...)CHeers for the ideas!
Ed
ninjafish
New member
clown fanatic said:
Thanks bro!
My apologies for not getting any new photos/video yet. Work has been retty crazy and I was working outside of the office the last three days. Next week for sure.
Today I started pricing out materials for my upgrade. Got a quote on a 12" starfire cube with polished edges...
- Chad
brandon429
Well-known member
--
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Congratulations from an old Jedi Sir
Anytime someone can pull off an sps/lps nano as diverse and well-planned as yours at work is a master manipulator of both reef and man.
My boss would cut my toe for having any fun much less having such a beautiful tank on the desk. Yours is plumbed well, stocked well for the long term life, and free of wires and tubes (leak worries) which is the #1 decline reason from bosses concerning nanos-at-work. I couldn't be more impressed.
Brandon429
--
Congratulations from an old Jedi Sir
Anytime someone can pull off an sps/lps nano as diverse and well-planned as yours at work is a master manipulator of both reef and man.
My boss would cut my toe for having any fun
much less having such a beautiful tank on the desk. Yours is plumbed well, stocked well for the long term life, and free of wires and tubes (leak worries) which is the #1 decline reason from bosses concerning nanos-at-work. I couldn't be more impressed.Brandon429
ninjafish
New member
Re: --
Re: --
Brandon,
Haha the "master manipulator of reef and man" killed me!
Ya, I'm pretty fortunate that my boss allows me to keep the tank at work - especially because it is a government owned building. I think the real reason I got away with it is because it doesn't really look DIY and the boss doesn't fully understand how much heat and electricity is involved (so close to all that water
).
Oh well, so far so good.
Thanks for your kind words.
Cheers,
- Chad
Re: --
brandon429 said:Congratulations from an old Jedi Sir
Anytime someone can pull off an sps/lps nano as diverse and well-planned as yours at work is a master manipulator of both reef and man.
My boss would cut my toe for having any fun
Brandon429
Brandon,
Haha the "master manipulator of reef and man" killed me!
Ya, I'm pretty fortunate that my boss allows me to keep the tank at work - especially because it is a government owned building. I think the real reason I got away with it is because it doesn't really look DIY and the boss doesn't fully understand how much heat and electricity is involved (so close to all that water
).Oh well, so far so good.
Thanks for your kind words.
Cheers,
- Chad
I think this is the most spectacular tank I've ever seen, big or small. [violation] I can't believe the beauty of this merely 2 gal tank. It's awesome. I'm hooked. I'm gonna put one on my entertainment center. What kind of filter would you recommned for a 5 gal tank Ninja? Does it have to have chaeto algae to survive or can I just supplement with some zoe e and other marine nutrients?
Last edited by a moderator:
sandlot13
New member
okay, just figured i would finally post on the tank that pretty much solidified my addiction to nano reefing. To make a long story short, ive always been interested in saltwater tanks, but knew absolutly nothing about them (always thought they were too hard as the typical rumor is) so i never pursued it (also, money was a huge factor). But this last summer, my brother finally got enough money saved up so together we built him a nice 37 gal saltwater tank..... I WAS HOOKED! seriously, like hours of my summer were spent staring at a computer screen looking at fish and browsing the internet. About a month into just researching, i found this site and nr.com and have not left since. I figured small tanks would be too hard, and seeing as i am a college student in a dorm room, i was slightly let down on that thought. But when i saw this site and your tank, you have NO idea how extatic i was! it was a dream come true. long story short, ive started my own 10 gallon reef, and then just recently, a 2 gal hex tank (which will be inhabited by a mantis shrimp that was inspired by Ike). You have truly inspired me, and i just want you to know that even though you may have just created that tank for something fun and cool to look at during work, you have CHANGED my life in a sense (seeing as i spend at least 2 hours a day either gazing at my tanks or browsing these forums) 
Though if you could reimburse me for all the money ive spent that would be great...... haha, just kidding! ( i just had to say that).
Okay, now after reading through your thread again, i am considering a canister filter for my 2 gal hex. is there any direction you can give with that??? what kind of stuff do i have to mod to get the same cheato/media setup as you kind of had? any idea if there is a cheap canister that you would recommend? I dont want to jack your thread, so you can PM those details to me if you would rather. thanks for everything!
your tank is amazing,
tanner g.
Though if you could reimburse me for all the money ive spent that would be great...... haha, just kidding! ( i just had to say that). Okay, now after reading through your thread again, i am considering a canister filter for my 2 gal hex. is there any direction you can give with that??? what kind of stuff do i have to mod to get the same cheato/media setup as you kind of had? any idea if there is a cheap canister that you would recommend? I dont want to jack your thread, so you can PM those details to me if you would rather. thanks for everything!
your tank is amazing,
tanner g.
perpetual98
New member
non-tempered should work fine. The starphire has better glass "clarity" than regular glass, but I'm not sure how much clearer it is. Chad's tank has the glass itself looking more of a "crisper" white than regular glass.
fishman805
Premium Member
tankslave said:
You're talking about balci..?? Was he removed again from RC..??
( there's no room here for personal attacks )
Bob
ninjafish
New member
ocdocd said:
Thank you ocdocd and welcome to RC. I'm not sure if this tank is the best reflection of Canadian ingenuity though
As far as a filter goes, I would figure out how much turnover you are shooting for (I try for about 30-40x's) and then get a filter to match. Here is a pretty good list of different models:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Info.aspx?id=59
You can always get one with more than enough flow and then shave down the impellor to what you need.
The tank will run fine without chaeto but I use it because it is a great way to export excess nutrients. Adding suppliments to your tank can not accomplish this... if anything it would only add more pollutants to the water. If you don't want to modify the cannister, you can always just put some macro in the main tank or else accomplish nutrient export via frequent water changes.
I hope some of this info is helpful.
Cheers,
- Chad
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