40gal Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 This is my first post here, I am a member of Reefcentral, but because of my new intrest in nano's, I decided to venture over here. I have been real interested in setting up a nano, but not sure on the best way to do it. I currently have a 40 gal long reef-2-be that has been running for about a year now (just added the first coral - mushroom - the other day) and want another tank (I'm addicted). I have looked at GARF's website, and they recommend the plenum setup, but I'm not sure if that would be the best thing. Has anyone had any experience with the "Bulletproof Reef"? All I have to base my comparison off of is my current tank, which has a DSB, small amount of live rock and the rest of the tank is full of soon-to-be-live rock and coral skeletons. I just purchased a remora skimmer for it and it works great. I would like to have either a 10 gal, or 15 gal that I would like to put on my dresser. Another thing, do you think it would be best to invest in a RO/DI unit before getting the nano set up? Right now I am getting water from the LFS, but with weekly water changes around the corner for a nano, it may be better to get that first. Any suggestions? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Has anyone had any experience with the "Bulletproof Reef"? wow, i think that was the first nano i saw when i started over five years back. i didn't do a true nano until a year later (FOWLR first) but that brings things full circle. i'm not sure if the one you're talking about is the same one as the guy i saw tho, the website that's linked to garf looks different (but then again it's been a while). i'd skip the ro/di. a $4 bottle of distilled water can last you 4 weeks of wc's if you even change at all. save it for the skimmer and lights. i'd never let anyone mix my water, i want to know what's in there for myself. i say go for the 15H as it best emulates a larger tank in viewing imo. i'm not a dsb'er so i won't recommend that but that and LR are pers choice things imo. Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 I happen to have a 10gal nano with a plenum, set up based on the garf system. It's been up and running for 2 years now. I've got 2 clowns, 20+ corals, a peppermint, a mix of snails and hermits and a couple small sponges. I do not skim and the system is completely self contained. It's doing so well, we're going to set up a 20L and use the 10gal for a little frag farm. I know that DSB's are the latest, but even Dr. Ron says that they should have a minimum footprint to be optimum. In a 10 gal, 4" is a lot of space to lose. My sand comes to the 3" level with the plenum so I've actually got about 2" of sand. Keep in mind the plenum system calls for a different sand size than the DSB. Let me know if you have any questions. It's hard to knock the GARF systems since they've been successful for many years with the bulletproof reef. CRE Link to comment
caja Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 we're going to set up a 20L and use the 10gal for a little frag farm. I'm in for the frags! Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Me too!! My husband now calls me "Frag Ho". Proud Frag Ho Link to comment
40gal Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Well I bought my tank. I ended up with a 20H instead of a 15H. The 15 was more expensive, and had to be ordered, and since the only difference is the height, I just went with the bigger one. I also decided against the bulletproof setup. I did come up with an idea (and already did it) to build a built in overflow/refuge/sump in the tank, since I ended up with 5 gallons more than I had planned on. This way I won't have to see the water below the trim and can set up a refuge (never had one before) to help keep stuff in check. I will give a brief explanation of the sump: I used 1/8" acrilic from HD. I basicly made a convex wall in the tank, with the middle of it being the farthest from the back of the tank itself. On the left side is the overflow. There is a partition that is drilled a little higher than halfway up the tanks height for the water to flow from the overflow to the refuge section. I plan on putting a very deep sand bed here 6-8", and add some macroalgae here also. Then there are two walls (over then under) before the return section, which will house the MJ500 return pump. What do you think? It's not up and running yet, but as soon as I decide on lights for this tank, hopefully it will be soon. As far as the RO/DI, I wouldn't plan on getting it if this was my only tank, but because I have a 40 gal also, it seems that it would be much easier to have water when I need it, instead of going to the LFS to pay $1 for 5gal of water (which is cheap, but not sure of the actual quality of this water). That lasts about 2 weeks of topoff for the 40 now, but when water change time comes around, and with an added nano that is bound to have more evap than the 40, wouldn't it be wise to invest in one soon? Last thing I promise - I am planning on running skimmerless. Will water changes be sufficient (weekly, most likely) to keep the tank healthy? If not I could probably find a way to incorporate the skilter I have into the sump design, but would rather not. (It would be nice to have a "quiet" tank for once-especially since it will be in my bedroom) Any input? Sorry for the long post! Travis Link to comment
audandash Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I have a 20 h and was thinking about doing something similar. can you post some pics. i checked out the acrylic and hd but havent pulled the trigger yet. Link to comment
palaegic Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Sounds like a solid plan for your sump. You will always have the option of modifying later to suit. My 2 cents for lighting is a 175W Metal Halide (or higher) with some supplemental NO or PC actinic tubes for a 20H. Go this route and you won't ever need to be concerned about whether or not you have enough light to keep a desired species. You of course have many other options. Link to comment
40gal Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 Just tried posting, but for some reason it didn't work. Lets try this again..... I ordered all of the stuff I need to get my tank going, except for the LR. Although I was a bit skeptical to go the MH route, I went for it. Here is the setup that I got. Let me know what you think. Hellolights MH Retro I went with the 175W 20,000K XM bulb, and have heard mixed opinions about it, but I don't want to run extra actinics if I don't have to, so I decided to try it. If I get 6 months out of it, I will be satisfied, but I do hope it looks like they say it does: "XM 20,000K bulbs produce a nice white/blue color after about 100 hours of burn in." We will see. I will draw some diagrams of the setup of my tank since unfortunately, I don't own a digital camera yet. Eventually I will take some "old fashioned" pictures and scan them unless I get my hands on a digital camera. Well thanks for taking the time to comment on my setup, and please don't hesitate to give more ideas/opinions about my setup to help me and the others here at Nano-Reef. Thanks Travis Link to comment
40gal Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 Here is a crude drawing of the tank design...... Link to comment
palaegic Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Wow. To make you feel better about your MH purchase, I spent $475.00 for a 175W 5500K w/ 2 20W Actinics full canopy in 1989. Also for a 20H. I have not seen the 20,000K bulbs so can't comment on appearance. For intensity however - you have made the right choice. Effectively the field is completely open as to what sort of corals you wish maintain. I also liked your diagram. Just don't get squeezed for real estate. Your LR will likely require a good deal of front to back space. Best of luck, let us know how things are going. Link to comment
40gal Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 Yea when I came up with the design, I didn't want to go with a straight wall across the back of the tank - takes too much room, and you would be able to see through to the sump from the sides of the tank, which will be visible. I figured that the overflow and return sections would need minimal space, and the refuge would require the most space (to be effective). That's when I came up with this idea. You can see about 1.25" of the sump from the sides of the tank, which will help in checking water levels, etc., and the sump protrudes about 3.5" in the center of the tank, so it really doesn't use too much "real estate" as you said. I'm glad you agree on the lighting situaton. I was considering 4-24" VHO's, which would give me 300W, but I think I would have had more problems with lighting then than I will with MH (again I have no experience with MH to know, I based my decision on what I have heard here and at RC.) I am just really looking forward to getting this thing running. On another note, does anyone get emails after a post here? I don't and I have the option check to send one, but have never got one from NR, works fine with RC though. Link to comment
palaegic Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Our esteemed administrator has been wrestling with some gremlins on the site as of late. Emails following posts is one of them. Link to comment
40gal Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 update on the 20H. I am having a problem with cloudy water. I believe it is plankton, but not sure. Any suggestions on what to do? I have hardly been able to see my rock for the last 2 weeks. Should I cut back on the lighting period? The tank is almost (it may be by now) finished the cycle. Last I checked the ammonia was down to about .25 and that was a couple of days ago. The water is RO/DI from the LFS, and I had the phosphate checked and it was undetectable. Not sure what else it could be. My next question is what should I put in this tank? I need a good cleanup crew - right now I have 2 hermit crabs and one nerite snail from my 40 gal in there, but what else/how many should I add? Also I want a clown, and maybe a coral beauty if they are compatibe together (I haven't checked yet), and then maybe another small fish (royal gramma?). I won't put more than 3 fish in there, and I want to put small fish in there so I can watch them grow. Then comes the corals. Not sure here either and would love some reccomendations. And should I add the corals first or the fish first? I know that it probably doesn't matter that much, but what are the pros and cons? Thanks for all the help guys (and gals) Travis Link to comment
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