34G Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I will be moving from Canada to Singapore at the end of this year for work. My contract is just a year but in the time I am gone, I will be renting my condo to my brother. He was not up for taking care of a large tank with sump and everything that comes with it, so I decided to downgrade to an AIO Solana. It's been really tough to let my big tank go but actually I love the idea of a nano tank! Maybe because all my reefs have been very large and ended up taking way too much time to maintain. Even with most everything automated! This is about a 241G downgrade! The new tank looks soooooo tiny but pretty sleek. I decided to build my own stand as I prefer a more modern look over the Solanas contemporary stock stand. The Solana stand would have looked very much out of place in my condo. For lighting I decided on a 250W LumenMax 3 HQI pendent with a Phoenix 14K bulb. Chiller is a Pacific Coast 1/13 HP chiller. Flow will be a Vortech MP10 once they come out here in Canada, for now I am going to use a Koralia 3 with the Sureflow Maxijet mod to make it a little more powerful. I will use my Aquacontroller from the big tank along with my JBJ ATO. I just bought everything all at once the other day from LFS and then yesterday built the stand and hung the light. I will take some pictures later. For now... Old tank: I built this stand with sliding doors. I will be doing the same on a smaller scale with the Solana. Actually the Solana stand will be the exact same style as this one. I have to let this guy go tomorrow. It's going to be a very sad day for me. I have always been a fish first person and I will miss him so much! I have lined up great homes for most of the fish though. The Solana will be home to my pair of Clowns and their Green Gigantea Carpet Anemone. They will get the bottom of the tank and there will be on 'pillar' or 'tower' at the back for some of my SPS. I have decided just to keep the toughest SPS with the least requirements. Stuff like Millies. I don't plan on using the skimmer the tank came with as I would like to go skimmerless. Although I may test it out since its there anyways. Just doesn't look like it could do anything really. I may also keep this guy too! Link to comment
34G Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 Here is where I am at. Stand framed. Stand skinned but still needs to be finished with sanding and paint. Need to clean up the MESS of cords and then hook up that chiller on the floor! Link to comment
davidr2340 Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 WOW... Just WOW!!! Stunning place you have bro! Think should be fun to watch! Link to comment
34G Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 WOW... Just WOW!!! Stunning place you have bro! Think should be fun to watch! Thanks man! It's actually just a studio place, so it's very small. That big cabinet you see to the right of the tank is my king size murphy bed! LOL. So my living room turns into my bedroom and the tank is right beside me at night. I will get better pics of that once I have more time to set the tank up. I have transferred the corals I am keeping over. Not sure how it went yet though. They do not look happy at all! Link to comment
34G Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 Everything is transferred over and seems to be doing ok. Some acros definitely are not happy and quite brown but I'm sure they will be fine. The carpet anemone is doing very well although it did move a lot last night! I was hoping it would move off the big rock it is on and onto the bottom of the tank but instead it moved up. I really want to take the big rock it is on out if possible. Very glad I went with the chiller too. Now way with this light over the tank the temperature would have stayed anywhere near 78 degrees. Right now it fluctuates between 77-79. I would really prefer even less of a change but can't do much more about that. Phoenix 14K is a nice bulb. I had never used one before. It was REALLY blue yesterday but already today it is a little more white with a blue tint which is perfect. So this is where the tank is in relation to the other one. As I said earlier, that big white cabinet to the right of the tank is the King sized murphy bed. So its my living room and bedroom. Nice to have the tank right beside me. And it is dead quiet when the chiller is off. If the chiller is on, there is a slight hum. I am not using the skimmer the Solana came with as I feel it would be pointless. The big tank will be moved out of my place in one week. Should feel really big in here once its gone. You can see a lot of SPS is kind of browned out already. This happens everytime I move them though and I am sure in a week they will be fine again! Clowns happy in their home! Link to comment
Pablo Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Looks great and your 241 also looked great. Link to comment
davidr2340 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Nice! That is one sexy Solana bro!!! Link to comment
34G Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Nice! That is one sexy Solana bro!!! Thanks man Had a bit of a rock slide today. Well I used acrylic rods, so more of a rock shift than a slide but I had to move some stuff around. Will take some pictures tomorrow. Link to comment
I Ate A Cake Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Wow... I dont need to say anything else. I love everything there. Link to comment
hlander Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 What kind of fish is on your 7th pic on the first post? Your Solana is awesome! Link to comment
34G Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Thank you everyone! I added the last of the SPS that I am keeping to the tank today. I will try to get some pictures tonight. I had to move a few things around to fit everything in. I will really have to keep on top if trimming once things get growing as I have added way more SPS than I planned. Most likely I will weed out what I don't want as they all grow and get their color back. The fish in that picture is a 'Fang Blenny'. I actually decided to keep him, so he is in the Solana too. 3 fish now. Most likely will be it. I do plan to add sand but I have to go to the LFS and get some new stuff. I don't like reusing sand. Just going to be a VERY shallow sandbed. Just for looks Although this is the first tank I have ever owned that I could imagine keeping barebottom and being happy with it. Link to comment
ryanmilo Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 An amazing rock work display, makes me want to re do mine. Good luck in Singapore. I take it your brother will take care of the Solana? Link to comment
34G Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 An amazing rock work display, makes me want to re do mine. Good luck in Singapore. I take it your brother will take care of the Solana? Thanks! The rocks are drilled and then basically held together with acrylic rods. Yes my brother will be caring for the Solana. He doesn't know much about reefs though, so I am kind of teaching him now already and also trying to make the tank as easy for him to care for as possible. I have dosing pumps for two part coming, so he won't have to worry too much about remembering to dose but will have to test ALK, Ca and Mg every few weeks to make sure the dosing is keeping up and adjust the pumps accordingly. He will have to do my weekly water changes and fill the ATO up once a week. Other than that, just feed the fish! Link to comment
DAHNIC561 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 that stand makes it look just like an elos...pretty hott man...are you using a skimmer at all since i read you removed the factory one? Link to comment
seahorsejl Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I would be if I had to give up that beautiful big tank. But your new smaller one looks really sharp. Love the anemone and clowns! Link to comment
34G Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 that stand makes it look just like an elos...pretty hott man...are you using a skimmer at all since i read you removed the factory one? That was the idea since I can't afford an Elos! I am not using a skimmer as of now. I just don't think I need it with the small bioload I have. If I do think I need one though, I will try the factory skimmer. There was no reason I am not using other than I just prefer to keep things really simple. I heard it's decent though, so might be worth a try. I would be if I had to give up that beautiful big tank. But your new smaller one looks really sharp. Love the anemone and clowns! It was hard to give that tank up but this little tank is making it easier and easier. I am pretty happy with the new tank! I will take some updated pictures today if I have time. I have never been a fan of barebottom tanks but it doesn't bother me with this one for some reason. What do you guys think? I was going to add a little sand just for looks but now I am unsure. I have a feeling it would all blow to the back of the tank anyways. Link to comment
mew Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 hubba hubba. that 241G is my dream tank. that's a beautifully done solana. very nice scape, and a setup that looks like it belongs in the room. i think that's how every tank should be done. Link to comment
reefer413 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Here is where I am at. Stand framed. Stand skinned but still needs to be finished with sanding and paint. Need to clean up the MESS of cords and then hook up that chiller on the floor! what kind of chiller are you using? Link to comment
MGDMIRAGE Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 absolutely stunning, your big tank is amazing too! love your stands. Link to comment
mew Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 what kind of chiller are you using? Chiller is a Pacific Coast 1/13 HP chiller. Link to comment
34G Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 hubba hubba.that 241G is my dream tank. that's a beautifully done solana. very nice scape, and a setup that looks like it belongs in the room. i think that's how every tank should be done. Thanks! Not that it really matters but I keep forgetting to mention that the other tank was about 275G total volume including sump. So the downgrade was 241G all together. The display was actually just around 200G. 6'x2.5'wide x 22" tall. What I miss is the width of that tank from front to back! Link to comment
34G Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 1/13 HP by Pacific Coast. So far so good. I am happy with it. Pretty quiet compared to some of the larger units I have used in the past. The one thing about a chiller on a small tank is that it does go on and off quite a bit throughout the day. The problem I see with that is that the temperature is fluctuating a few degrees once an hour or so. The chiller kicks in when the temperature reaches 79 and goes off when its back down to 77. I wish I could set it to keep the tank within a degree difference but it's not possible. This is still better than letting the tank hit the mid 80's like it would without the chiller and I prefer not to use fans. Link to comment
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