Jump to content
Cultivated Reef

Nano Reef Options


Franco's UP

Recommended Posts

I have been out of the hobby for about 10 year and am looking to get back in.

NkBoIdR.jpg

 

That was my 55 gal back in the day. (sump, MH lighting, skimmer, the whole shabang) I built everything but the tank. I hope I'm not considered a noob but...

 

Here is my current issue.

 

I would like to get back but on a smaller scale. Say 10-20 gallons but with a tank that is more all in one. No sump etc. LED lighting. Mainly soft corals,

 

1. LED's weren't a thing when I was reefing so I have little idea to know how much I need.

 

2. Which tanks are worth it.

 

I have looked at the following:

 

JBJ - CF4 (old design I assume)- not LED and was the 28g model. Mainly looked at because I can get it cheap locally. I don't think I like the quality or the CF lighting. Why buy it only to tear it apart and dump in more money.Hood holds in heat, noisy fans from what I have read.

 

Fluval M40 - like the design but a little pricey for what you get and there is no top. Which means I have to make something to keep fish from jumping out.

 

Innovative Marine Fusion 10 or 20 - Like them both but dont know much about the lighting it comes with. If I went tank only which I could do, then what light should I be looking at.

 

What other options should I consider?

 

Here is my basic plan for this build.

10-20g tank

build in rear or side chamber for equip - no sump

LED lighting to softies mainly

back needs room for media, heater, skimmer

 

Budget for tank and equipment with no sand/rock/fish/etc

around $500

I am thinking

$200 tank

$100-150 lights

$100 skimmer

$100 heater, pump, circ pump (if needed)

 

Any help would be great. Like I said nano is a whole different equipment world from where I was coming from.

Link to comment

Agree with Lawn. Check out that link, Teeny really has a beautiful fusion 10 and it is a great example of what you can do in this little tank. Unless you want to go bigger, but the Fusion 20 will cost a bit more and you would need to use a larger light, like the AI Hydra 26

 

Edit: Love your old tank!

Link to comment

Thanks Elizabeth94. It was a great tank. I miss it.

 

Lawn your tank is amazing! I love those plates.

 

Are there any reasonably prices LEDs that are more strip style or is the pendant style the way to go?

Link to comment

Thanks Elizabeth94. It was a great tank. I miss it.

 

Lawn your tank is amazing! I love those plates.

 

Are there any reasonably prices LEDs that are more strip style or is the pendant style the way to go?

 

There are all kinds of LED lights. The Prime is 200 dollars and has built in wifi. Here is my new tank 24x20x20 and the Prime is doing a great job. Just my 2 cents plenty of great options out there.

788FB10A-2AF5-4A9C-8A46-660A15D5C9A7_1.j

Link to comment

Also when looking at LED's what am I looking at for output? Lumens, watts? how much?

I can't help you with all that. I recently started using LED I always used MH and T5. Sure someone else can help you with that info.
Link to comment

+1 for a nuvo.

 

While you could fit under $500 I would budget for some upgrades in the future. A really nice Nuvo 20 setup will run around $1,000.

 

Something I learned a while back is save and buy the equipment you want the first time around. Buying stop-gap stuff that you aren't going to be happy with long term gets expensive fast!

Link to comment

Fusion 10 w/ ai prime or nanobox tide (a little more pricey but worth it imo) and an intank media basket is a must upgrade. For go the skimmer and spend some more money on a heater. Neotherm heaters are really good though pricey. Bulk reef supply did a review on heaters and the neotherm didn't fluctuate in temperature at all.

Link to comment

Also thoughts on this light bar

http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA_Orbit_Marine_LED_Aquarium_Light_20_Inch_LED_Light_Fixtures-Current_USA-CU04100-FILTFILDTN-vi.html

 

Thanks heif. I am not trying to cheap out but I'm also not one to need the best of everything to make it work. I do like a little value. Taking leaning 20g which is why I am thinking light bar plus I don't like the look of hanging lights

Link to comment

Also thoughts on this light bar

http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA_Orbit_Marine_LED_Aquarium_Light_20_Inch_LED_Light_Fixtures-Current_USA-CU04100-FILTFILDTN-vi.html

 

Thanks heif. I am not trying to cheap out but I'm also not one to need the best of everything to make it work. I do like a little value. Taking leaning 20g which is why I am thinking light bar plus I don't like the look of hanging lights

 

Before you get too deep into researching lighting decide on a tank. You've decided to keep lower light corals - this is a plus in that it allows you to stick to a pretty low budget for lighting. The other important factor is aquarium depth. If you keep the tank 12" deep or so then you'll have better luck with a less powerful lighting setup. You would need a better light to penetrate to a 24" depth for example.

 

The current light doesn't seem too bad. I've usually liked their stuff. I told this to a guy a few days ago, but try to resist just posting a bunch of links in your thread. You'll get too many opinions and you haven't decided on other important equipment choices yet.

 

Most important equipment:

1) Tank

2) Flow (get a circulation pump)

3) Lighting - LED is awesome. Make sure you get a spectrum you like. Since you were an MH guy I would strongly recommend going with a popular name brand fixture. The cheap Chinese ones one ebay and amazon usually use very low quality white LEDs which result in horrible color rendition compared to what you're used to. The popular ones (like AI Prime and many others) have known good coloration. The actual PAR output is important, but less so the shallower your tank gets.

4) Heater (don't cheap out here - get a quality heater or use a heater controller)

 

If you stick with a smaller tank and can keep up on water changes you can probably get away without a skimmer. The options aren't very good for smaller tanks anyways. So if you remove the skimmer you can put a little more into lighting and flow.

 

For tanks check out

 

Oceanbox designs (acrylic) - he does custom too and might be able to get something in your price or make an AIO insert for a standard all-glass tank.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/365598-oceanbox-10g-aio-build-your-dream-aio-tank/

 

CADLights - This one is cool - low iron glass and you can put together a package

https://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=61_63&products_id=303&zenid=872dedd1dfda87ed2502e0dc407acfc8

 

The Mr. Aqua 12 long is always popular, there are some really great examples of this tank in the members forum. Oceanbox may even be able to build an AIO insert, or just use a larger Aquaclear filter with a media basket (get a larger one and you can put a heater in there too!)

http://www.marinedepot.com/Mr._Aqua_Bookshelf_Long_Frameless_Glass_Aquarium_Tank_Saltwater_Aquariums_Nano_Cube-Mr._Aqua-AZ11665-FIAQNC-vi.html

 

My favorite, about $300 over your budget but it'll keep you from getting the upgrade itch for a long time and you'll love your tank so much it will always look great because you'll always be doing maintenance on it and making it better. For this tank a pendant style light would probably be best.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Innovative_Marine_25_Gallon_Fusion_Lagoon_Aquarium_w_High_Gloss_Stand_Saltwater_Fish_Coral_Reef_Aquariums-Innovative_Marine-0I052531-FIAQ-vi.html

Link to comment
reefernanoman

I have been out of the hobby for about 10 year and am looking to get back in.

NkBoIdR.jpg

 

That was my 55 gal back in the day. (sump, MH lighting, skimmer, the whole shabang) I built everything but the tank. I hope I'm not considered a noob but...

 

Here is my current issue.

 

I would like to get back but on a smaller scale. Say 10-20 gallons but with a tank that is more all in one. No sump etc. LED lighting. Mainly soft corals,

 

1. LED's weren't a thing when I was reefing so I have little idea to know how much I need.

 

2. Which tanks are worth it.

 

I have looked at the following:

 

JBJ - CF4 (old design I assume)- not LED and was the 28g model. Mainly looked at because I can get it cheap locally. I don't think I like the quality or the CF lighting. Why buy it only to tear it apart and dump in more money.Hood holds in heat, noisy fans from what I have read.

 

Fluval M40 - like the design but a little pricey for what you get and there is no top. Which means I have to make something to keep fish from jumping out.

 

Innovative Marine Fusion 10 or 20 - Like them both but dont know much about the lighting it comes with. If I went tank only which I could do, then what light should I be looking at.

 

What other options should I consider?

 

Here is my basic plan for this build.

10-20g tank

build in rear or side chamber for equip - no sump

LED lighting to softies mainly

back needs room for media, heater, skimmer

 

Budget for tank and equipment with no sand/rock/fish/etc

around $500

I am thinking

$200 tank

$100-150 lights

$100 skimmer

$100 heater, pump, circ pump (if needed)

 

Any help would be great. Like I said nano is a whole different equipment world from where I was coming from.

Fusion 10G would fit the bill nicely. I love mine after more than 1 year. Mine has a Kessil A160we on top of it. Good luck.

Link to comment

My .02, most of the "decent" strips that are sufficient for keeping softies (Current Orbit, etc.) have a minimum dimension of 18". For the Fusion 10 you are better off going with a spot as mentioned.

Link to comment

Check out ArtFully Acrylic's AIOs. The Signature AIOs have very generous sump areas for equipment and come with a return/circulation pump. They also include a really nice recessed mesh top to keep your fish from carpet surfing. Their Reef Crest drop off tanks are worth looking into if you want to have high and low light corals. They have a sponsored forum here.

Link to comment

I went with the Fusion 20. I am currently gathering all my parts and pieces and will make a build thread next week. Last night I added a breaker and ran 2 new outlets to my new fish corner. One at normal ground level and one up high on the wall to plug in the lights to. Tank is shipped, going to get stand Monday. I live 40 minutes from a major saltwater wholesaler so I can pick up live rock and sand next week. Probably Tuesday. I am pretty sure I am going with a some branch and shelf rock with a mainly. A few chunks of regular. I have a few ideas on how I want to aquascape it.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...