very awesome! Thanks for the video.

I think i will be looking into adapting that into a system that i'm cooking up.

Mike, This is what I have been waiting for. After building my JBJ 12 with a Chris C. custom hood and a 5 gallon fuge I was kind of without direction, but as the song says, "I was blind, but now I see". I have orderd my TruVu, but after looking at the first photo's you posted I have a question. I was under the assumption that the MH you mounted was a 70watt, but it is a 150watt. Just how hot does the tank get? Are you running a chiller as well?

Mark

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the club, the Tru Vu 6 gallon is an amazing beautiful tank that compliments any home decor...

I too owned not one but two 12 gallon JBJ modded cubes from Nanocustoms; they were fun but I moved on...

Since a lot of reefers are filtration junkies, the Tru Vu 6 is a lot of fun since it has a larger capacity in filtration to play with than the JBJ line...

I feel that a 70watt MH is more than enough for this tank and the only reason I got a 150 MH is because it was free...

Having said that, my tank runs warm and it's not a problem because I'm awaiting for my micro chiller; this will resolve my heating issue hands down...

MG

so.. what fish/inverts do you plan for this tank?? got a particular coral that the tank will be dominated by or is it going to be a mixed reef??

This mini reef will be a surprise, I'm going to try for the best color variation money can buy; also trying to go for one/two small rare gobies...

I really have no clue yet, just that they are going to be very small frags and I'm going to do a lot of glueing to the rock...

In an attempt to get more space, I re-aquascaped the rock, pushed the top rock further back at a viewable angle. This should give me more space to glue neat frags...

I'll have to take a picture...

I forgot to mention I got my locline in yesterday and I connected it to the tank; it helps so much since before the flow would hit the sand and rush sand all over the rocks...

MG

You know I love your thread. I've mentioned these tanks on threads complaining about JBJ issues for awhile now and have received a negative response. I think there hot looking tanks and scratches can be removed, cracks cannot.

hey do you think id have heat problems with the 70W viper?

At a 6 inch distance, the answer would be no... I'd also recommend you run a simple fan over the top on like a timer with the lights...

That would keep it from going over 82 degrees at the hotest...

Hope that helps out...

I've been tired of seeing every single tank a JBJ,,,, and nothing else to stare at, like a broken record over and over and over...

Just like a different tune to play for a while.... So here I am... Making it happen, again,,, hehehehe

Let's dance....

MG

Mike, is that the original 14,000 K bulb in the light? I am thinking of getting that light for my JBJ 24 and going topless. Exactly how hot does your tank get and how long do you leave the light on each day?

I cannot answer the question on how hot my tank gets as I'm still cycling my tank. Once it is cycled I'll be able to comment on how hot this little guy gets...

I've seen it climb to 83 degrees with only 2 hours of usage, but as most of you know I have a secret chiller on order; it will be debuted on this site soon....

Regarding the Kelvin of the bulb, I love the 14K bulb everything looks so natural, each grain of sand is so detailed under this hue it's incredible....

I run the 20,000k bulbs in my 72 gallon reef in the living room.... And the 14,000k is so different from it's brother...

Two different themes to look at, that's why I didn't want to get the same hue in each tank....

Hope that helps out...

MG

NICEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tank Where did you get it?

Some of you guys don't seem to have read everything. He bought the tank at Aquarium Concepts in Hayward, CA ...

Cameron

Hey mike nice tank. Do you leave the Phosguard in all the time? I was reading that it is only effective for about 5-6 days.

Mike,

Any update on the tank? and the chiller you mentioned earlier?

Doug

Yeah, what's going on with this beautiful setup?

Hey Reefers,

After much deliberation, I decided to hold out for the JBJ compressor based chiller; I'm going for the one that is for 25 gallon and below...

It will hit the market in June... In the meantime I have just a cleanup crew working and I haven't been using the lights...

I plan on saving some cash and getting me the Reef Keeper 2 to run my MH in short burst so I can start this tank and I'll add a fan...

Mike G


I have to wait for my Reef Keeper to come in so I can run the lights in small burst...

Mike,

Does Tru Vu make this type of Nano in other sizes and how do they price in comparison to the JBJ systems? I want NC 12 DX, but after reading and seeing this I want a TRU VU of a comparable size.

thanks,
Scott

checkout their site
http://www.truvuaquariums.com/nanoaquariums.html

they are more expensive then any glass all in one.

150W for a 6 gallon - whoa

Scott,

They do make a 12 gallon cube and a 24 gallon as well. I saw the 24 gallon at my LFS...

They have a ton of room to place corals and critters.... I choose the 6 gallon because I already have a 72 gallon in the living room...

Give Ken at Aquarium Concepts a call, let him know you saw my thread and are interested in what sizes he has and if he can cut you a deal...

He is super cool guy to work with, has your best interest...

MG

And she continues to evolve. Today I went and purchased the JBJ ATO, with 2 gallon jug, MaxiJet 600 and 8 ft of tubing. Since I already own a JBJ ATO for my 72 gallon reef this setup was easy...

However, as easy as it was to install when I fired it up I had water back flowing to my reservoir and spilling all over my wifes shoes...

I disconnected everything and ran to clean up my mess, trying not to let her see my disaster; apparently I forgot that back flowing occurs when the pump shuts off if the hose is submerged into the tank...

I had the hose half way down the tank so it wanted to empty half of my 6 gallon tank into a 2 gallon reservoir. End result was overflow rushing into the closet. After I cleaned everything thoroughly it was time to face the music with the wife...

I bargined with my wife for her space in the closet next to my tank; otherwise I couldn't keep the reservoir out of sight and you know I love the clean look...

So after she gave me my precious real estate of her closet space I fired the ATO back on, this time making sure the hose doesn't enter the water so no back flowing can occur, and presto she runs flawless...

Here are the pictures of my setup:

Very nice work Mike... as always.

Jesse

great setup mike........ wish i had the money to start up a project like that!

Tank is coming along real nice Mike. I like the night stand too.

The tank has a clean look and IMHO the clip on light fixture looks much better than the NC or AP canopies. Even the fixtures with the legs that sit above look better, but that coralife your using is cool and the overall bling factor of the tank is high. I can tell you like the bling Mike. lol

Mike,

Tank looks great. I can't wait to see the chiller from JBJ.

I am using a float switch ATO from aquahub.com with an aqualifter from TOM.

It pumps pumps slowly, but only for 10-15 seconds when it comes on. Works great. Tubing is just airline tubing so its a little easier to route and hide. If its lower than the tank you can even install a one way airline check valve.

Do you have any thoughts about the aqualifter?

Doug

Doug,

I use the aqualifter in my 72 gallon reef for my calcium reactor. It's continuous pumping action makes it a great addition for my system. They are small and very efficient.

On a side note, messing with my digital camera at night I took a pic of the tank up close.

Messing with camera at night here are some pics...

That is a sweet setup! It's going to be fun to watch this one evolve. Nice work!

wow this a nice nano indeed. i have seen pix of your other tanks and i can certainly say that you have that magic touch. my inlaws have a 60g truvu and seeing this nano im most definately upgrading from my 2.5 to the 6g this summer. i just have a quick question, whats the specs of the return pump and seeing as how its in the bottom does it kick alot of sand? thanks and keep up the amazing work. ^_^

Thanks for the comments on my tanks... Regarding the sand being kicked up, yes it's a big problem so that's why I placed a loctite return nozzle pointing upward. Takes care of the problem completely...

Now I have a flawless running tank with no sand kicking...

MG

Hey Mike,
I am moving to Davis this summer for school and am looking to downsize from my 24NC. I was going to get a 6NC but I think that this is a better tank. I love the 150w lighting but I was just wondering, do you think that there would be heat issues if I were to go with th 70w JBJ Viper light? It sounds as if the heat issues you are having are pretty severe and I don't want things getting too complicated while I am away at school. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jordan

Ive been following this post for a bit and love the tank, bought one myself and just came yesterday. Ive got a few questions if you could help out; what do you keep your water level at, besides the luft pump, what size airpump would you recommend for the skimmer(the guy at my lfs asked the size of my tank and handed me some brand of pump that said 1500 on it, didnt buy it though)

wow 01. You sir are my hero

omg is right

Jordan,

My tank does get extremely hot without the light becasue of the massive heat I'm having in my upstairs condo...

If you place a fan on top, the heat will be controlled, I know because I added one to the top of the tank and my heat is very much controlled without the light on...

Since I'm in the process of moving, I have not purchased my chiller for this tank. I'm waiting to do the move and then I'll see if a chiller is in need, since my new home will have central forced AC...

MG


Any size good air pump will work fine, I only dial up to about half on the luft pump so you'll have to play around with a couple of pumps untill you get the right distributuion of air to water...

MG

i love AC! they are very helpful and most of their fish are in great shape! i think tha next time i go imma get that fire shrimp...or maybe a clarki??...maybe some shrooms??...how about zoos?? they have such a big selection of live stock u could be in there for days looking for what u want and find it! and the best thing is if u dreamed of it they probably got it!

any new pics? any livestock yet?

sweet tank, you paid 26.99 for a MJ600????? lol

Any updates? Also did you ever get a CPR Nano 6g? What do you consider to be the differences?

Local fish store prices suck. My lfs sells aqua clear 70 filters for 70 dollars.

Yeah,

Paying full price for a pump sucks, but when you have to have it, they get the best of you.

I never liked the CPR6 as it leaked and when I called for support they were terrible, they really didn't care.

Tru Vu did leak but they were willing to help me out and threw in a lot of extra goodies as my new tank was rushed in.

I give them thumbs up for customer service...

I don't have any updates since I've been in the process of moving... I will take pictures as I do the move...

MG

i sent you a PM about this but i dont think my pms are working correctly.

how big is the display area? what are the dimensions of the chamber that you keep your skimmer? is it large enough for a fuge?

do you think you could fit a dremel flex hose into the display area to drill a hole in the divider wall?

thank you

How are you liking the skimmer? Working well still?

Tank is beautiful! I was curious to what kind of camera are you using!? Nice pics!

Just to let everyone know, I decided to take this tank down. I moved into a new home and the work for two tanks is way too much; I don't have the man power to keep it up. So I decided to stay with the 72 gallon bowfront....

I will be announcing the price of all my dry goods for this little awesome setup. I have a A+ track record both on this forum and reefcentral for selling items, if anyone is interested email me.....

MG

Sorry to hear that Mike, YGPM

aww that sucks...well hope life is treating you all right.

You got email.

By popular demand this tank has been resurrected. I decided just to downsize the light and I purchased the black matching canopy.

I'm in the process of getting a cooling system placed on this tank; I'm researching the ICA 2.0.

Does anyone have any feedback for me? Do I need the uprgraded powersupply of will the stock power supply do the trick.

I'm experiencing up to 85 degrees with ambient being at 82 or 83 degrees. This is with no lights placed on the system.

Just a 50 watt submersible heater and the stock rio pump as the return.

I do have the 18 watt coralife mini-light and it does heat this tank up because I have all the splashguards on the tank in place.

I'm hoping the ICA will do the trick and Nanocustoms list it as a hang on the side option for non owners of JBJ cubes.

Are there any users with ICA 2.0 out there???

Thanks,

MG

Mike

I have the same set up as you are going to have. I used the canopy and added a 70 watt mh with two 60mm fans for moving air around. I tried the ICA 2.0 hang on from nanocustoms.com. The way I see it you can only do it a couple of ways(1) drill a hole for a 60mm ICA fan in the back of the canopy over the chamber 1 and suspend the ICA from the hole using longer screws (2) Mod a piece of acrylic to fit over chamber 1 and cut a square so that the ICA fits in and then attach the ICA with longer screws (3) rig up some contraption to allow the ICA to HOT somehow.

I returned mine and picked up a small chiller.