jgt246 Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Does anyone have experience using the M Tank (http://www.northcoastmarines.com/MTANK.htm) as a nano? I'm looking for something as self-contained and simple as possible for my office. The M Tank is similar to the UniQuarium, with integral filter area in back of tank, but includes a skimmer and lights (72w PC). They call it 18g but multiplying their dimensions of 24" x 14" x 15" and dividing by 231 I get 21.8g. In any case I'd probably want to upgrade the lights and have asked NCM if they'll sell without. I also asked if the wet/dry area (4.5" of the 14" depth) could be converted to a refugium. Any input would be appreciated. I formerly had a 150g reef and have been jonesing for 2 years since we moved into an apartment where it's not practical to set up a tank. I figure I spend more time in the office anyway, so want to try a nano there. Thanks. Link to comment
Lebowski Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 hehe, they sell those at my LFS. I have the exact same lighting as well, except 110 watts and 2x 55. Anyways, it works pretty good, but the skimmer ain't the best but overall it's a pretty good setup, i'm sure that you could set something up on your own for a little more, but much better items, accesories equipment etc. Link to comment
jgt246 Posted April 10, 2003 Author Share Posted April 10, 2003 Yeah, I mainly liked the tank itself -- the integrated filter/refugium seems like a good setup, and the M Tank has the best dimensions (and price) I've found so far. Anyone have comments or alternatives? Link to comment
mxpro32 Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 i made a tank for my girlfriend that looks almost exactly like that tank only its a little narrower and 15 gallons. im gonna have to take some pics of it to show everyone. its been running almost a year now. Link to comment
jgt246 Posted April 11, 2003 Author Share Posted April 11, 2003 mxpro, look forward to your pics and details. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 The main problem I see with the tank itself is the narrow 9.5" depth for landscaping in combination with the 24" width. I think the lighting would be fine since the main tank is the size above. As for using the filter section as a fuge I doubt it would work as set up, the pump looks to be setting in the bottom of that section. Though the pictures aren't clear. Link to comment
technoshaman Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 Looks nice. I just pulled my nano apart and here's why, may give you something to think about. I have an 18 gallon acrylic nano and cleaning algae off it is a real pain - 10x the work of glass. That alone will keep me from doing acrylic again in a nano - cleaning around the rockwork and knocking frags over constantly got old. Ditto on not much space to aquascape. I am going to pull all the sand out of mine and just put a dusting of gravel on bottom instead this time and redo the sump area since it's bowing a little bit (going to glue a piece of acrylic bracing in). Link to comment
AbSoluTc Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 NOW ONLY $299.99 Oooh, such a wonderful price! : Link to comment
jgt246 Posted April 11, 2003 Author Share Posted April 11, 2003 That is something to think about, thanks. No doubt there are copious past threads on acrylic vs glass, so I will search the archive rather than re-igniting the debate here. The lack of front-to-back space you and lizbeth flagged is also a worry. The M Tank is better proportioned than similar built-in filter tanks like the UniQuarium, but you're right that it's still pretty skinny. A better configuration would be a 24" cube with 16" for the tank and 8" for the filter/refugium...but I haven't found anybody making that yet! Link to comment
Brooklyn Johnny Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 This guy is in my reef club and has one setup... here's a link... don't know much about it but maybe you could e-mail him... http://www.phortawesome.com/tank/nano/10ap...r03/page_01.htm Link to comment
jgt246 Posted April 11, 2003 Author Share Posted April 11, 2003 Thanks...kind of hard to see from the photos, but looks like he might have added a partition to one of those 18g glass bowfronts that someone was writing about recently. I'll e-mail for details. I also dug into the rest of the site and discovered their 575g "mega sump"! Thing looks like it could double as a hot tub. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 Originally posted by Brooklyn Johnny This guy http://www.phortawesome.com/tank/nano/10ap...r03/page_01.htm http://www.phortawesome.com/tank/nano/10ap...03/PDR_0062.JPG mmm. zoo pie. :| Link to comment
Brooklyn Johnny Posted April 11, 2003 Share Posted April 11, 2003 In the words on Homer Simpson... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Link to comment
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