ReefWaters Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 Im in the planning stages for my first Nano. I have had a 55 gallon reef and a 110 gallon reef in the past. Those gave me a great deal of experience but they were not set up as well as they should have been. I want to do this one right the first time. So here is my idea. 20 gallon tank (30x12x12) 10 gallon refugium 5.5 gallon sump No skimmer for now. I want to run the sand bed in the refugium with macro algea on top of the sand bed. I want to keep the sand out the show tank b/c of space. I have a 660 IceCap Electronic ballast, so I can run as much lighting as I want. I was thinking of at least 200 watts (PC) for the show tank. What is a good mix of white/actinic? 2/3 white, 1/3 actinic? 3/4 white, 1/4 actinic? Or just 50/50? How many watts should I use for the macro algea and do I need actinic or just white light for that? Does anyone think that the refugium is overkill? Im going to have a 1 inch drain drilled in the middle of the back wall of the tank which will feed slowly to the refugium and more quickly to the sump. The fuge will then drain to the sump. The return pump will feed back to the tank via a 1/2 inch bulkhead on each side of the back wall and serve as the only circulation inside the tank. Ive thought a great deal about this little system and feel that it will do great. Please let me know your thoughts; good and bad. Thank you, Ross W Link to comment
tinyreef Posted April 10, 2003 Share Posted April 10, 2003 bump, sounds pretty good. a couple of comments, it sounds like the feed to the refugium is reversed. i'm an adey advocate, so i believe the refugium should gravity feed to the main tank for optimal plankton survivability. some peeps don't think that matters tho but since you have the sump and fuge separated i don't see a logistical problem in doing the gravity feed method. (tank) to (sump) to (fuge & tank), just need a tee or tee valve imo. the other thing is running everything from the one icecap. unless you're planning timers after the ballast for some reason, you'll be having everything on the same photoperiod. you could take advantage of RDP or even 24/7 photosynthesis if you break off the sump and/or fuge from the icecap. go vho imo, i like the light more than pc. heck, with 12" height you could probably get away with NO's if you want to go cheap. jmo. Link to comment
ReefWaters Posted April 10, 2003 Author Share Posted April 10, 2003 I see what you are saying about having the refugium feed into the tank. My problem with that is that I REALLY want to build a matching stand and canopy to make the system look like a nice piece of furniture. Do you think that with the refegium being half the size of the show tank that more plankton would survive the return trip? Also, any thoughts on a submersible pump that would provide adequate circulation to avoid adding powerheads to the show? I will definately look at the VHO or NO option. All other comments are welcome. Thanks, Ross W. Link to comment
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