Pics of my newly set-up nano reef

[Mr Fixit]

A little background:

 

Since 1992 I have had the pleasure of setting up 4 marine/reef aquariums in total.  The most memorable being my 90 gallon reef which ran with great success from 1995-2000.  It housed over 35 different species including corals, invertebrates, and fishes.

 

During those years I spent countless hours studying marine life as a hobby.  I must have read volumes of marine related books and even attended oceanography classes at University as I was truly captivated by the science and beauty of it all.  In 1998 my dreams were truly awakened when I obtained my SCUBA license at PADI and went diving in the reefs around the island of Cozumel in the Caribbean Sea.  The knowledge and experience gained during these long years have been very enjoyable and interesting to say the least.

 

And now the reef bug has bit again.... >:E

 

 

 

 

Bought a 20gal long tank (Dimensions:30x12x12) on March 01, 2002.

 

 

 

The birch wooden canopy which took 10 mins to assemble and 2 hrs to paint.  

 

 

 

On goes the canopy.

 

 

 

 

 

I managed to find some really good pieces of LR for real cheap.   This is what the tank looks like after 5 days.  

 

Will keep you posted within the next few weeks when livestock is added.  

 

 

(Edited by Mr Fixit at 4:58 am on Mar. 9, 2002)

[Mr Fixit]

BTW, this is a great website.  Been around for awhile too if I remember.  Keep up the good work Christopher.

[Christopher Marks]

Thanks Mr Fixit!  You're off to a great start on your nano reef!  I especially love your rocks and how you've layed it all out.  Good job!

[Mares77]

Thats an excellent setup....

[aquajones]

10 min to put together. It takes me 15  to remember what I did with the hammer. Great job DIYer can do any thing if they try enough times. I'm going to make a tank completly out of wood as soon as I can figure out how to make the wood see through. LOL look for this story in your supermarket check out lines.

[Mr Fixit]

I checked out your little nano, aquajones.  The setup looks real good and a great custom job on the wooden box.   Hehe.   Also, the fit and finish of the refugium is top class m8.  

 

I threw in a little pulsing xenia yesterday to keep my eyes occupied while waiting for the water to cure and cycle even more.  I've had experience with this coral and found that they adapt to 'less then perfect' water quality quite well.  Heh.

 

Here are a few pics.

 

 

A side view of the tank.

 

 

 

Front view.  The coraline is slowing creeping already.  I told you they were good rocks.  >

 

 

 

A close up of the side view.

 

(Edited by Mr Fixit at 5:12 am on Mar. 9, 2002)

[Delph]

(Edited by Delph at 10:01 am on June 3, 2002)

[quiksilver5768]

Nice tank! I used to have a 20 long but the tank got into trouble....started a leak on the side But i moved everything into a smaller 10 and it all fills the tank very nicely.

[Mr Fixit]

Reef update:

 

I finally had time to take some new pics.  Added livestock over the past week, lots of livestock...  

 

All very hardy corals.  >

 

- Blue cup coral

- Green pagoda

- Hairy green mushroom

- Green star polyps

- Pink-tip hammer

- White/pink sinularia

- Green tip button polyp

- Green donut

- Cabbage leather

-  Pulsing xenia

 

Fish & inverts

 

- Magenta dottyback

- 2 fire/blood shrimps

 

 

 

PICS....

 

 

Pink-tip, green tentacle hammer

 

 

White/pink sinularia

 

 

Green tip polyps

 

 

Hairy green mushroom

 

 

Pulsing xenia still doing really well

 

 

Blue/green cup coral

 

 

Also picked up 2 fire shrimps cause they were 1/2 price at my LFS.  $60cdn for the pair, what a deal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Edited by Mr Fixit at 9:01 pm on Mar. 16, 2002)

[Mr Fixit]

Here are a few shots from the top...

 

 

The blue on the cup coral comes through better from this angle.

 

 

Here's the green pagoda, one of my favs.

 

 

You can really see the colors of the hammer from the top view as well.

 

I will post more close-ups soon...

[Christopher Marks]

Sweet!  Thanks for sharing the photos!

[Mr Fixit]

>:]

 

Thanks for having a board to share our hobby, Chris.  The pleasure is mine...

[Mares77]

Thats a first class set up

[Mr Fixit]

LOL

[NanoReefer53]

having fun w/ the digi cam ?? =P

[Meowpowerkitten]

Very elegant mr. fixit! What are your lighting specs and for how long per day? Thanks I was also thinking about a 20 long setup....i just love the way you set up your live rock!

[Mr Fixit]

Meowpowerkitten:  right now I'm only using one 55watt 10,000K tri-phosphor powercompact and one 20watt Zoo Med coral sun actinic.  So roughly 4.5 watt/gal.  I usually leave the actinic on 16hrs and the PC on about 12hrs.   I might get another 20watt reef sun 50/50 later on.

 

NanoReefer53: yes, I use my digicam all the time so I have a habit of taking tons of pics in one sitting just incase some of them don't turn out well.  heh.

 

And thx for the comments guys/gals.  Ever since I started my first reef many years ago I've always put extra effort on rock scaping.    It's all part of the fun.

 

(Edited by Mr Fixit at 7:43 am on Mar. 19, 2002)

[jtown]

d*mn I really want a 20L now.

[Mares77]

Yo...Fixit....the xenia binded onto the the rock and its starting to do fine...surprised that it survived, and the pagoda are fully extended since I increase the water flow towards it to help with the slimage...Good job on your tank dude....Have to go shopping for more corals as soon as Chris sends me my d*mn light....

[Cam barr]

nice tank just wonering what kind of lights do u have on this peice of art

[Kapelakin]

That does it! Here I'm looking into retrofitting PCs since I can't find a good 15" tube for my 7 gal AGA FW planted.  Next thing I know, I'm looking at your 20 long and realizing that I have a 2x55 watt PC, pine stand, 20 gal, and a sack of Instant Ocean out in storage.  Thanks for the inspiration, I think.  I'm seriously missing reefing right now.  :jump:

[Kapelakin]

Me again. I'm wondering how much and what kind of live rock you have?  Is it branched Tonga, or did you just handpick it?  Also, are you using a live sand bed, and how deep is it?  One concern that's kept me from setting up a 20L reef is depth of water once a few inches of sand is in place.

 

Did you buy your rock offline?  If so, from who?

 

Ahh, this reefing stuff is all coming back to me now...

[Mr Fixit]

Cam barr: my light specs are a few post up.

 

Kapelakin: Those are Fiji live rock bought at my LFS.  They were cured for over 2 months with good coraline growth at the store and I did take my time selecting pieces I want.  I bought just over 25 lbs.

 

I'm not using any live sand, only aragonite mix.  I've always gone with the concept 'as little sand as possible' for all my reef setups and have been successful.  This way nitrates won't collect in the sand bed over time.  Also, I just bought a six spot goby to stir up my gravel so it keeps it clean.  

 

However, you can go with live sand as well.  I've done it with my 40 gallon reef and it works too.  You'll need atleast 2 inches for it to be effective.  Either way works, it's just a matter of how much money you want to spend.  Live sand is pretty expensive here.

[printerdown01]

*VERY* sweet tank!!!! Everything in it looks perfect, all the way down to the rockwork (which by the way I think looks great!)!!! This is seriously one of the nicest nanos I have seen: and this is only the begining of it! FANTASTIC! -if you can't tell I am extreamly impressed...

[SD619]

Mr. Fixit,

 

Could you please post a DIY thread on your canopy assembly and setup with the lights?  I think you've inspired a lot of people on these boards (including myself) to start a 20L of their own.  Thanks.