12 Gallon Nano - Feat. Corals!

[Meech]

I started this thread to document the progress of my first SW reef. I'm going with a 12 gallon with the goal of a natural filtration reef.

 

Here's the evolution:

11/16/2009

 

11/19/2009

 

11/30/2009

 

12/04/2009

 

12/07/2009

 

12/13/2009

 

Here's my equipment list:

 

Sand: 20lbs Nature's Ocean Australian Gold Dry Sand

Live Rock - 12lbs cured Indo

Powerhead -Koralia 1

Lights - Nova Extreme 24" 2 X 24 Watt T5HO 10K (on basic timer)

Heater - 50w Marineland Stealth shatterproof

Mag Float 30

 

CUC - Now in Tank:

1 Turbo Snail

3 Blue Margarita Snails

3 Scarlet Reef Hermits

3 Nassarius Snails

 

CUC - Proposed:

More Snails

Tuxedo Urchin

 

Corals - Now in Tank

Hammer - 4 heads

Frog Spawn - 3 heads

Candy Cane - 8 heads

 

Corals - Proposed:

A Monti Cap

Brain/Maze

Toadstool

Sun

Elegance

Plate

Zoas

Rics

 

Inverts - Proposed:

Tuxedo Urchin

Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Nem (Maybe way down the line)

Scaled Clam

Fromia Star

Coco/Feather Duster

 

Fish - Proposed:

Paired Clowns (I know... cliche...)

Longnose Hawkfish

 

Plans

4 blue LED moonlights

DIY ATO

 

I don't have a set plan for livestock yet, that will become my hobby while the new tank is cycling. I feel my setup will allow for a reasonably broad base of fish, inverts and corals, and I can always modify if I absolutely need to.

 

Any advice is appreciated. I'm looking forward to the learning process.

[Meech]

Alright... the rim removal went well. After reading a fabulous article on how to remove the rim on your tank found here I managed to scrape away the top trim relatively painlessly. Here it is:

 

 

I'm in the midst of testing its integrity now... hopefully it holds up without the rim.

 

Next step - Paint the back black.

 

If you have any tips on painting, like what paint to use or any other tips please post!

 

Will update when painted.

[MGDMIRAGE]

Sounds good. Is that a 15 gallon never heard of an AGA style tank that is 12 gallons. 15 gallon dimensions are 24"Long x 12"Wide x 12" High. Also your tank should be fine without the rim since it's a shallow tank. Heck i have a 29 gallon that has been rimless for 2 years and nearly full to the brim.

 

Also keep the glass wet while you scrape with a razorblade it will help the glass from getting scratches or micro/hazing scratches.

[Meech]

Also keep the glass wet while you scrape with a razorblade it will help the glass from getting scratches or micro/hazing scratches.

 

Thanks for the tips MGD... it was damp while I was doing it as I was wiping it down as I went... next time I'll keep it good and wet for sure... most of what you see on it is just grime... I figured I'd clean it up after I test it and paint it before the equipment goes in.

 

I'm not sure about the volume... it's shy of 24x12x12 on all fronts coming in at 23.75x11x11. Its a really old tank (like 20 years give or take) so I don't know what the deal with it is...

 

I saw your 10g custom build thread. Very impressive. I'll be following it!

[BlueAbyss]

Hmm... nice 12 gallon love the trimless look.

 

You should really consider not painting the back. Try to get some auto window tint, and use that, it gives the tank a lot of depth. 35% will do it, go darker (or lighter) if you like.

[Meech]

Hmm... nice 12 gallon love the trimless look.

 

You should really consider not painting the back. Try to get some auto window tint, and use that, it gives the tank a lot of depth. 35% will do it, go darker (or lighter) if you like.

 

Thanks Blue. Do you have any pics of a tank using the tint? I see tons of people on here painting and I quite like the look... but I haven't seen one using tint... let me know!

[got2envy]

Hellur

 

Looks great so far and it is def a 15g AGA does not make a 12g

[Meech]

I didn't know AGA was a brand... just thought it was an acronym for all glass... oh well... the dimensions are off of a 15 gallons 12x12x24... its less on all fronts... its over 20 years old and I don't know what brand it is... thanks for the encouragement

[MGDMIRAGE]

Maybe it's an O'dell? their measurements were a bit different than AGA's are. Like my 29 gallon odell is slightly shorter than an AGA 29.

[gregzbobo]

I didn't know AGA was a brand... just thought it was an acronym for all glass... oh well... the dimensions are off of a 15 gallons 12x12x24... its less on all fronts... its over 20 years old and I don't know what brand it is... thanks for the encouragement

 

AGA WAS a brand once, originally based in Texas, bought out by a chinese company and renamed Aqueon.

 

Could possibly also be a Perfecto, some of their tanks had odd dimensions, the 55g FW I had from them wouldn't take full glass tops made by AGA, I had to have them trimmed at a glass shop slightly to fit, that was 15ish years ago, and that tank is long gone now.

[Meech]

Alright... painting took a bit longer than I thought... Having a low patience day...

 

Here it is all wrapped up:

 

and here it is painted:

It looks better in person... dirty tank combined with crumby photography made for a couple rough pics.

 

Next Steps:

Give it a good cleaning

First trip to the LFS to pick up my equipment!

[Meech]

Alright... so today's not a good day to be impatient. I met the guys at my LFS... a couple of them were awesome and another was pushing me into buying stuff... I may be new but I'm gonna listen to you guys... I stuck to my guns and got (most) of what I thought I wanted rather than what he thought I needed.

 

Here's what I picked up:

-Koralia 1

-20lbs of dead sand(not sure this is going to be enough now that I have it home next to the tank... we'll see)

-Instant Ocean Salt

-Hydrometer

-API master test kit

-2 Thermometers (one for the tank one for the mixing bucket)

 

As for the patience bit...They had to order some stuff. Here's what I'm waiting for:

-T5HO 24W lighting

-Jager 50W heater

 

Hopefully I'll get them next week

 

It doesn't look like I'll be getting LR into the tank until next weekend to start the cycle.... oh well... at least this lesson in patience wasn't an expensive one!

 

Next Steps:

Pick up som RO water

Add sand and water to tank

Wait ever so patiently until next Fridayish when the ordered equipment comes in

[Meech]

Alright... Picked up some RO/DI water today and filled up!!! I've got a solid sand bed and water (with salt reading 1.024 on my hydrometer) so I'm pretty happy. Koralia 1 is in... doesn't seem like as much flow as I expected but I'm totally new so we'll see what happens.

 

Heater and Nova T5 HOs ready for pick up tomorrow along with my LR to get the cycle started. Will get some pictures up when the water clears. Looking forward to tomorrow.

[Meech]

Well what a disappointment... Light fixture and heater both backordered for at least another week... I'm struggling with patience here... both items are available from the local big box but I'm trying to do the right thing and support the little guy... he's willing to order the stuff in for me and offer it at a lower price... if it ever arrives. For now I'll just watch the water uncloud and continue to wait.

[Meech]

Got 12lbs of indo LR and a heater today! Super stoked for the water to clear... again... pics will follow!

[PaulE915]

Got 12lbs of indo LR and a heater today! Super stoked for the water to clear... again... pics will follow!

 

sweet

 

holla!

[Meech]

Here's a photo... I really have to work on my photo skills... so much for point and shoot...

 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

Next steps....

 

-wait for light to arrive

-test water for cycling

-wait for diatom bloom

-learn how camera works

-learn more about livestock

[ribbie]

Looking good man. I hope you have better luck with your ebo heater than me. I ended up having to buy a hydor theo because the ebo wasnt giving me enough heat.

 

I would also look at buying a K1 for your tank. I have the K1 in my 15 and it's perfect flow. I think a nano might be too weak.

 

I am in month 7 of my first fish tank ever. I will follow along.

[Meech]

Thanks ribbie! I forgot to update my original post (fixed now)... It is a Koralia 1 in there... I decided that a nano wasn't enough flow... also I ditched the ebo heater 'cause my LFS couldn't get one in, instead I've got a Marineland stealth shatterproof 50w. Thanks for following!

[PIPS]

Meech, thanks for posting that link on how to remove the trim to create a rimless tank.

Whats your plans for a cuc ?

[Meech]

Meech, thanks for posting that link on how to remove the trim to create a rimless tank.

No worries! That's what this place is for, isn't it?!

Whats your plans for a cuc ?

I'm still not sure... I'm leaning towards just snails... I only feel like avoiding crabs as a precaution for the future... seems as though they can ge a little aggressive and pesky unless you make a serious effort on feeding (and have some luck by the looks of it). I also think a tuxed urchin would be neat. Looking forward to shrimp too... not sure the one's I'm hoping for are much of a clean up crew in the sense I'll be needing shortly.

 

On that note:

Any one have any recommendations on their favourie snails?

What about snail friendly crabs?

Tuxedo Urchins?

Stars?

 

I better stop now because the list of questions could go on forever.

[ribbie]

Any one have any recommendations on their favourie snails?

 

What about snail friendly crabs?

 

Tuxedo Urchins?

 

Stars?

 

I have a tuxedo urchin, an emerald, one hermit, and a lot of snails. Originally I bought 6 ceriths, 6 nassarius, 3 astrea and 3 turbo snails. The ceriths seem to be the most active snails during the day. The astrea and turbos dont really seem to cover much area but I honestly dont pay them much attention.

 

My favorite snail is easily the Nassarius. They hide most of the time during the day unless they get bold during feeding. They are extremely fast for a snail and look awesome when they come up from under the sand. It almost looks like the sand is boiling.

 

I also have a tuxedo urchin. I like him but you really have to make sure you've glued your frags in because he's like a little bulldozer. It's neat to watch him move though using his little tentacles. Tuxedos naturally cover themselves with shells and crap they pick up off the sand bed to disguise themselves from predators. This makes him look pretty "ugly" at times or at least thats what my gf says haha.

 

From my experience, crabs are more like opportunists than PITA but I only have two. I got mad one day because I saw the emerald grab one of my nas snails that was going after a pellet. I blasted at him with the baster to save my $5 snail but it donned on me afterwards that the crab was just going for the free meal. I got a blue hermit because I wanted one in my tank to look at. I havent seen him in a while so I'm hoping he's molting some where but he has become a lot less active since I've got him. I think that's more a product of me having more lively stuff in the tank now that takes away from him. If I did it all again though I think I would go for snails only and get some ornamental shrimp to look at instead.

 

As for starfish, I had a couple of brittle star hitchhikers and it seems like they're reproducing because there's more and more of them! I dont think a red star would look very good in our smaller tanks to be honest.

[shaner014]

Tank is looking good, the wait will be worth it for your lights. For the price, they are very hard to say no to. As the fishneedit.com lights are cheaper, they aren't backed with current USA's warranty, or a LFS backing you up on it.

 

Can't wait to see this thing lit up! Cheers!

[Meech]

Thanks shaner! While I love my country... it seems tricky to get most of the good deals posted by NR's sponsors shipped to Canada... and if they will its no longer worth it with cross border duties, exchange rates and extra shipping costs... I make myself feel better by putting the "support local business" spin on it.

[reefrook]

coming along nicely! i love the rockwork as well... pretty similar to mine. you'll find that it leaves a lot of room for corals. will be following along.....