nanoty Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Well my FOWLR NanoCube DX went south with Hurricane Rita and it's been sitting around for over a year. I think my ballast is bad (light turns off sometimes by itself) but a new one should be here tomorrow. Today my wife bought me some ReaSea salt so I decided to fill her up. I'm using CaribSea Bahama Oolite as substrate and hope to have the LR in by the weekend. Follow along with my first reef tank (I am also starting a 5.5g at the same time in the pico section) and help me make good decisions. Thanks for looking and I am always open for advice. Here is a crappy pic of it right after being filled up. Link to comment
Gerber77 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 What are your stocking plans for this tank? Link to comment
nanoty Posted February 22, 2007 Author Share Posted February 22, 2007 I have no idea........isn't that great Like I said I am open to suggestions. As far as fish I was thinking maybe a clown goby, a couple of neon gobies and a pair of firefish but I don't want to overstock. Cleaner shrimp, and of course the usual cleanup crew. As far as corals I've been told zoas, rics, mushrooms and pehaps a kenya tree would be nice beginner corals. Anyone got something they would like to see???? Link to comment
drjuice28 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 My opinion on the nanos is that you should definetly take your time when deciding which specimens to put in. We deal with such limited spaces, you need to make sure that you'll absolutely love each coral that you put in. Not only now, but also for what it will look like in 2 years, 3 years, etc. Meaning, don't be in a hurry to pick out what's immediately available to you. take your time and find exactly what you want! get some bright rics, zoas, and a nice frogspawn/hammer or something. I'd stay away form any shrooms unless the color just grabs you. they have a way of becoming a neusence later on.... good luck! Link to comment
nanoty Posted February 22, 2007 Author Share Posted February 22, 2007 My LFS had some absolutely fantastic looking Silver Pulsing Xenia and I fell in love (does that sound gay?). Anyways, I know I'm a long way from stocking so I have plenty of time to research but if at all possible I would love to have some in my nano. Link to comment
Needreefunds Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 My LFS had some absolutely fantastic looking Silver Pulsing Xenia and I fell in love (does that sound gay?). Anyways, I know I'm a long way from stocking so I have plenty of time to research but if at all possible I would love to have some in my nano. Er, um, nah. Just sounds like your hooked. Take your time, enjoy each step and just think it all out. Hey welcome back and good luck ! Link to comment
nanoty Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 Ok so I went to my LFS today and bought all of the nano sized pieces of LR they had. It came out to right at 10lbs. plus some rubble for my back chamber. I think I am going to go back and buy a piece of tonga branch to go across the top. I think it's kinda cool because there was a flat piece of old coral that I kinda made a shelf out of. I know it looks kinda bare but picture it with frags and feather dusters, I wanted to leave room to add pieces of rocks with the frags. The water was kind clear until I disturbed it. Now the wait begins. BTW, I'm still waiting on the acrylic for my 5.5g and then it will begin also.........am I crazy?? Link to comment
nanoty Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 Got a few more pounds of LR today and did some new aquascaping that I think looks a lot better. Let me know what you think. Sorry the pictures suck. Front view: Side view: Link to comment
Needreefunds Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Nice job!! Looks good !! Link to comment
Lokel Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 what size is ur nanocube? Link to comment
nanoty Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 12 gallon DX. I am fixing to order a MJ900 and a rotating nozzle for it. I also want a new overflow although the cassette case one I made about 2 years ago still works and even has old coralline algae on it. Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Well my lights crapped out so I had to rig something up until I could figure out what to do. Rearranged the rock and I'm starting to get an algal bloom. I think I am just going to order a new nanocube dx and use the hood to mod with the nanocustoms 96w PC kit then I will have a spare tank in case I need it. I don't know yet. Meanwhile enjoy the pics of my horribly dirty tank and my southern engineering. This is the 5.5g and 32w light I am using for a tank in the pico forum but it's gonna have to wait until I get this damn thing fixed. Nice huh Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Alright, I get it. No one likes me and I'll just keep talking to myself . I am in the process of aquiring parts to install a DIY 70w MH light in my stock NC hood. When I get them I will try and post the process unless I electrocute myself or burn the house down. I am a little worried about heat but I have a few ideas so just keep not talking to me . Link to comment
kev24k Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 HAHA. Nice lighting. I like the aquascaping. I really agree with what drjuice said. I'm trying to be as patient as possible and only put in corals I know I wont get tired of in a hurry. Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Hey Kev, I was looking at your tank last night. That's funny as hell about the snail and the xenia. I'll be following your thread and I think I am going to steal your idea about the rubble basket Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Don't give up on me folks. Just got my 70w MH ballast and bulb in today (thanks nelsonrx) and tomorrow the MH retro will begin. I will post some pics when I get it up and running and if it doesn't burn my house down. Extra fans are on the way and my first frag (silver branch pulsing xenia) is in my holding/prop tank. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 So I finally started the mods for my 70w metal halide retro. Still waiting on the fans to get here so it won't be going on for a few days but I am making progress. Picked up a Nais 70w MH ballast and Current 70w bulb from nelsonrx here on the board for a great price. I'm using the Brink's bulb socket and reflector along with the UV glass. I used the LOCTITE Extreme Repair adhesive, it is rated for extreme high heat like for use on fireplace glass and it also says it can be used to make aquariums so it should be safe. After I stripped the hood of just about everything I epoxied the bulb socket to the underside of the hood. Then I took my perfect splash guard. And cut a horrible looking hole just smaller than the UV glass. After cleaning the edges up I used the same epoxy and glued the glass inside the splash guard. With my measurements it should just rest against the relector like it was meant to. Nevermind the extra adhesive. If I need to I will trim it off. The only thing I am worried about is water splashing the glass and since it will be hot, having the glass shatter. I didn't see any other way around it since I knew (from other peoples experience) that the heat would most likely melt or at least warp the plastic. The adhesive is setting now. I will give it 24 hours to fully cure before I put it together and give it a test run for a few minutes without fans. I did throw it together for a minute the other day to check out the bulb and like to blinded myself. I think the color of the 14K bulb is going to be perfect, it was extremely bright and had a nice blue color to it. More to come later on whether this will work out or not. Thanks for looking and I am open to feed back. Link to comment
Qwank Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 nice! theres no turning back now. lol. Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 I put the light together for a few minute test run to look for light leakage and just to check it out. It looked great. Still got some work to do but here are a few shots and a short video of the light on the tank. Please excuse how nasty it is. I have kinda let it go since there hasn't been any light for about a week and only a few snails and hermits. Anyways, here it is. Link to comment
BSimm Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Looks good!!! i'm doing a similar mod with a 150 MH in a 24NC. Am having some serious heat issues, so I'm trying to get those worked out before I add livestock and Rock. How Do you temps look? Anything you are doing to ease that concern??? thanks for sharing! BSimm Link to comment
Qwank Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Looks good!!! i'm doing a similar mod with a 150 MH in a 24NC. Am having some serious heat issues, so I'm trying to get those worked out before I add livestock and Rock. How Do you temps look? Anything you are doing to ease that concern??? thanks for sharing! BSimm the key to these mods seems to be getting air flow across the surface of the water. Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Looks good!!! i'm doing a similar mod with a 150 MH in a 24NC. Am having some serious heat issues, so I'm trying to get those worked out before I add livestock and Rock. How Do you temps look? Anything you are doing to ease that concern??? thanks for sharing! BSimm I haven't got my fans in yet, hopefully this week. But then I will begin to experiment with fan configurations to see which is the best. I really hope I can go without a chiller. I didn't run the light for more than a minute or two so I don't know the extent of the heat. Link to comment
nanoty Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 I wired the ballast into the stock nanocube box throught the fuse and switch. I thought it would be a lot better looking. It seemed to work fine this way but I only tested it for a few minutes. Anyone have any idea if it's ok to wire a 70w MH ballast this way? Here is a shot of the ballast, keep in mind this is not the final hood configuration since there are no fans but it's how the ballast will look. Never mind the dog barf on the floor Link to comment
BSimm Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Anyone have any idea if it's ok to wire a 70w MH ballast this way? I'm no expert on that stuff. So some others better speak up and give you advice on the wiring. What you're saying is that the 70 MH ballast is housed inside the stock NC PC ballast? I'm not sure there would be anytying wrong with it, but I hope others will pipe up. Good luck once you get the fans installed. Please post some pics and share your heat test results. Im on my 3rd round of configurations for my 150 MH in the 24 NC.... trying to beat the heat... sure is interesting! BSimm Link to comment
Qwank Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I'm no expert on that stuff. So some others better speak up and give you advice on the wiring. What you're saying is that the 70 MH ballast is housed inside the stock NC PC ballast? I'm not sure there would be anytying wrong with it, but I hope others will pipe up. Good luck once you get the fans installed. Please post some pics and share your heat test results. Im on my 3rd round of configurations for my 150 MH in the 24 NC.... trying to beat the heat... sure is interesting! BSimm yeah i think he took the stock ballast out and just used the housing though. this was my idea that i'm using too and i didnt see a problem with it. Link to comment
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