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Buddythelion's Innovative 25 Gallon Build


buddythelion

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buddythelion

Hey guys,

 

I've shut down my Solana 25 for over a year now and have been working on this Nuvo for some time. I originally intended to make this into an SPS dominant tank but after realizing my own personal schedule and the size of the tank, I switched over to a mainly lps and soft coral tank to make maintenance easier for myself. My bioload is also relatively high for SPS since I enjoy keeping fish too much and also feed my corals heavily. The tank's gotten filled up to the point where I'm comfortable sharing a bit of it now.

 

Equipment list:

  • 24" ATI 4 Bulb Dimmable (3 Blue Plus, 1 Coral Plus) - one ballast died, so currently only a Coral Plus and Blue Run are running at 70%.
  • Two 24" ReefBrite XHOs
  • Two MP10s
  • 1 Flare Nozzle
  • 1 IM Spin Stream
  • Sicce 1.5
  • Eshopps HOB Skimmer
  • Tunze ATO
  • Cobalt Neotherm Heater
  • Two inTank Filter Floss Holders
  • inTank Fuge Basket
  • JBJ NanoGlo Refugium Light

 

Medias:

  • Chemipure Blue
  • Media Blocks
  • FHI Rocks
  • Jester6 Custom Scape Rock
  • Tropic Eden Sand

 

Livestock List:

  • Joculator Angelfish
  • Candy Basslet
  • Royal Gramma
  • Blue Spot Jawfish
  • Derasa Clam

 

Clean Up Crew:

  • Nassarius Snails
  • Fighting Conches
  • Astrea Snails
  • Cerith Snails
  • Banded Trochus Snails
  • Halloween Hermits
  • Blue Knuckle Hermits
  • Scarlet Hermits
  • Blue Leg Hermits

Right side of IM 25, ReefBrite XHOs only

34329731816_b34f4943be_o.jpg

  • Like 12
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buddythelion

Thanks, it's a collection of what I kept throughout the years. Going to so many coral shows and limiting myself to a small tank has really made me choose what I really like, which is the fun part of a nano.

 

I also just picked up a Canon 6D about a month ago, so I'm still learning how to take a few photos.

 

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  • Like 9
  • Wow 1
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Beautiful Jawbreakers. I've got one (several now) from you guys that I am anxiously waiting to color up. Awesome to see yours and what the future could hold for mine. 

  • Like 1
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  • 3 months later...
buddythelion
On 5/3/2017 at 8:56 AM, Esage said:

Wow, beautiful tank. How are you running your two MP10's 

Running one on ReefCrest mode at around 30% and the second one on constant at about 20%. I upgraded the return to a Sicce so I get a lot of flow in the tank. :)

On 5/3/2017 at 9:45 AM, Flexin said:

Beautiful tank!!!  Please take us on a tour of the corals and why type they are..

Haha there's so many! Perhaps a video in the near future?

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buddythelion

Took the time to take some more photos now that the left side has filled in a bit more. Not completely happy with how the tank is now that I tried to take some photos. I'll have to replace some of the more duller zoas with morphs with more pop.

 

Things on the left island:

image.thumb.png.0295b26ee028fa30831a4c7402fdb7de.pngimage.thumb.png.764a72802e52410ad736b8c9b9a57490.png

36303861006_16473a535b_b.jpg

 

The right island:

36211697311_fce720a4ef_b.jpg

36303863116_4073aa4d5d_b.jpg

 

On the sand bed:

35951449180_acaf8bf2f6_b.jpg

35539676673_62f53dcb38_b.jpg

 

image.png

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  • Like 5
  • Wow 2
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39 minutes ago, buddythelion said:

Took the time to take some more photos now that the left side has filled in a bit more. Not completely happy with how the tank is now that I tried to take some photos. I'll have to replace some of the more duller zoas with morphs with more pop.

 

Things on the left island:

image.thumb.png.0295b26ee028fa30831a4c7402fdb7de.pngimage.thumb.png.764a72802e52410ad736b8c9b9a57490.png

36303861006_16473a535b_b.jpg

 

The right island:

36211697311_fce720a4ef_b.jpg

36303863116_4073aa4d5d_b.jpg

 

On the sand bed:

35951449180_acaf8bf2f6_b.jpg

35539676673_62f53dcb38_b.jpg

 

image.png

image.png

 

Holy Wow. 

So what is it exactly that you're not happy with?

  • Like 1
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buddythelion

Just noticed that NR uploaded some of the photos I posted and it looks like duplicates now. Not sure how to get rid of them...

 

So here's a FTS of the tank. As you can see on the left ledge, the zoas I chose to put there don't have a lot of "pop" and kind of blend in with the color of the rock. Something brighter would help bring in color for the tank. Maybe let some rastas grow out? I did have a frag but they got smothered by the petroglyphs on the left of the frogspawn tree haha.

 

I also used to have a black and white torch in between that green tip and gold torch, but took it out to try and find a brighter gold one for more pop. The chalice on the left also has some major sweepers and killed a yellow hillae I had (you can see some of the white glue that it used to be on). Need to find something to fill in that rock space, but can handle its sweepers.

image.png

  • Like 9
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Nano sapiens

That FTS looks like a 'Coral Candy Store'! :) 

 

The Petroglyphs are a beautiful Zoa IMO, but I found that once they take off their large skirts tend to shade out other Zoas (I too lost my Rastas).

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Sweet Momma that's a gorgeous tank! I'm incredibly jealous. 

 

I love the sleekness of LEDs, but the more I research, the more I find that corals seem to prefer T5s. Have you tried LEDs before, and why did you choose the lights you've used? Just curious, since whatever you're doing is working quite well. 

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nolanrob123
On 8/3/2017 at 6:12 PM, buddythelion said:

Just noticed that NR uploaded some of the photos I posted and it looks like duplicates now. Not sure how to get rid of them...

 

So here's a FTS of the tank. As you can see on the left ledge, the zoas I chose to put there don't have a lot of "pop" and kind of blend in with the color of the rock. Something brighter would help bring in color for the tank. Maybe let some rastas grow out? I did have a frag but they got smothered by the petroglyphs on the left of the frogspawn tree haha.

 

I also used to have a black and white torch in between that green tip and gold torch, but took it out to try and find a brighter gold one for more pop. The chalice on the left also has some major sweepers and killed a yellow hillae I had (you can see some of the white glue that it used to be on). Need to find something to fill in that rock space, but can handle its sweepers.

image.png

Wow! That's very beautiful.

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  • 1 month later...

Downsizing from my 75g deep blue edge to this tank now that I have moved into an apartment, and all I have to say is WOW!!!  If I could get my new 25 lagoon looking like this, id be the happiest person in the world! I am kind of taking the same strategy as you, easy LPS/Softies to keep maintenance at a minimum.

 

Here come my questions... :D:D

 

What does your water change schedule look like and what brand/type of salt do you run?

Are you dosing two part, kalk, or any other elements?

What do you keep your Alk/Calc at?

Looks like you are running 2 MP10's... I have two Tunze 6040's, but think I may trade in my MP40 for 2 MP10s to run instead. Looks like you have the one MP10 on the left pane in the back about 3-4 inches from the top of the glass. Where did you position your other MP10?

What flow patterns (reef crest, lagoon, tidal swell, etc) and power %'s did you run the MP10s at?

 

Again, killer tank! :bowdown:

 

 

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On ‎8‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 7:12 PM, buddythelion said:

Just noticed that NR uploaded some of the photos I posted and it looks like duplicates now. Not sure how to get rid of them...

 

So here's a FTS of the tank. As you can see on the left ledge, the zoas I chose to put there don't have a lot of "pop" and kind of blend in with the color of the rock. Something brighter would help bring in color for the tank. Maybe let some rastas grow out? I did have a frag but they got smothered by the petroglyphs on the left of the frogspawn tree haha.

 

I also used to have a black and white torch in between that green tip and gold torch, but took it out to try and find a brighter gold one for more pop. The chalice on the left also has some major sweepers and killed a yellow hillae I had (you can see some of the white glue that it used to be on). Need to find something to fill in that rock space, but can handle its sweepers.

image.png

WOW  !!!!   That looks really nice  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Buddy I'm not sure how I missed this build but this is one for the ages. Just an Incredible job. I love the colors and textures you put together...... you truly outdid yourself. 

 

Congrats on the TOTM it's very well deserved. Oh And thanks for the shout out :)

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  • 1 month later...
On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 9:19 PM, buddythelion said:

Thanks, it's a collection of what I kept throughout the years. Going to so many coral shows and limiting myself to a small tank has really made me choose what I really like, which is the fun part of a nano.

 

I also just picked up a Canon 6D about a month ago, so I'm still learning how to take a few photos.

 

34329626356_1b500af794_b.jpg

 

34240302001_2d351a2089_b.jpg

 

34329699776_857124f979_b.jpg

 

34329578886_65be872a2d_b.jpg

 

34371104755_2ede561b5c_b.jpg

 

34212767322_fa6b089597_b.jpg

 

34212783692_93d0b7fd57_b.jpg

 

33529150394_acb22fac5c_b.jpg

 

33986693790_9e2582feec_b.jpg

 

33986715780_0b4fb3a4a6_b.jpg

 

33529215434_b82e0bb227_b.jpg

 

33529237524_85c06c4096_b.jpg

 

33529251574_f8b021c215_b.jpg

where did you get such beautiful Rock Flower anemonies?

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On 8/3/2017 at 4:20 PM, Nano sapiens said:

That FTS looks like a 'Coral Candy Store'! :) 

 

The Petroglyphs are a beautiful Zoa IMO, but I found that once they take off their large skirts tend to shade out other Zoas (I too lost my Rastas).

They also grow pretty fast. Mine started to out grow a couple of zoas around them even though I gave them plenty of space to grow. And like you said, the large polyp and skirts out shade smaller zoas. Just another experience, next time I'll place some other large zoas around them so they can compete for space equally.

 

On 8/3/2017 at 6:32 PM, TatorTaco said:

Sweet Momma that's a gorgeous tank! I'm incredibly jealous. 

 

I love the sleekness of LEDs, but the more I research, the more I find that corals seem to prefer T5s. Have you tried LEDs before, and why did you choose the lights you've used? Just curious, since whatever you're doing is working quite well. 

I actually started with LEDs! I was a large fan of Kessils and they worked for a long time. I made the switch the main intention of growing SPS, but after having T5s for some time I noticed all of my corals growing and coloring much better than when I had LEDs. T5s have a much better spread than LEDs since they're a tube of light rather than multiple diodes and LEDs tend to be very harsh for corals (they're very strong). T5s are proven and true for years, which is most likely the #1 reason why people switch back to them. Having the reassurance that your light isn't the issue for your tank's health lets you focus on other issues that your tank may be having.

 

I also noticed that while being able to control LEDs is a blessing, it's also a curse. Being able to adjust our lights means it's another factor that we play with. Different light settings mean different environments for our corals to grow. It's far better to have a set intensity for a coral to adjust to, allowing it to settle down and focus on growing vs getting used to a new environment (lighting be the new factor). With LEDs, you'll constantly have the urge to change your settings, making the coral having to constantly focus on getting used to the new settings. 

 

Just my 2c! But most of the corals that are popular for Nanos (LPS and Softies) can definitely grow well under blue LEDs.

 

On 8/5/2017 at 9:50 AM, nolanrob123 said:

Wow! That's very beautiful.

Thank you!

On 9/14/2017 at 6:04 AM, Scalion said:

Very impressive Coral !

Thanks :)

On 9/15/2017 at 9:23 PM, eslatts11 said:

Downsizing from my 75g deep blue edge to this tank now that I have moved into an apartment, and all I have to say is WOW!!!  If I could get my new 25 lagoon looking like this, id be the happiest person in the world! I am kind of taking the same strategy as you, easy LPS/Softies to keep maintenance at a minimum.

 

Here come my questions... :D:D

 

What does your water change schedule look like and what brand/type of salt do you run?

Are you dosing two part, kalk, or any other elements?

What do you keep your Alk/Calc at?

Looks like you are running 2 MP10's... I have two Tunze 6040's, but think I may trade in my MP40 for 2 MP10s to run instead. Looks like you have the one MP10 on the left pane in the back about 3-4 inches from the top of the glass. Where did you position your other MP10?

What flow patterns (reef crest, lagoon, tidal swell, etc) and power %'s did you run the MP10s at?

 

Again, killer tank! :bowdown:

 

 

Wow, I'm doing the opposite! I'm upgrading this tank to a 70 gallon shallow cube. I was pretty satisfied with this nano, so it's time to move onto a bigger project. Sadly this tank is almost empty of corals now since I wanted to make the transition over to the new tank easy. I still have all of my fish though since they're my precious hehe.

 

For your questions, here are your answers:

  • Water Changes - Ideally 5 gallon WC weekly, I sometimes put it off for 2-3 weeks when life gets busy. I use Fritz for my salt.
  • I use B-Ionic 2 Part on a Bubble Magus doser. I don't dose much since it's mostly softies in my tank so it works great for me. For trace elements, the water changes take care of that.
  • I keep my Alk around 8-9 and CA anywhere from 400-450, which is around what my salt mixes. I don't focus on numbers too much, just as long as they're in an acceptable range and are kept stable. 
  • My second MP10 is on the front right side. I have my MPs almost diagonal from each other so I get a nice circular flow all around the tank. The one that's running higher (the 3rd dot on the controller) is moving water across for the zoas (they like higher flow) and the weaker one (the first dot on the controller) moves water to the torches and then bounces off to the shroom island. They're both run on Constant mode. I run a Sicce as a return pump with the IM Spin Streams so I get a lot of flow from my returns, thus the need to run my MPs lower.

 

On 9/16/2017 at 8:57 AM, medinar83 said:

WOW amazing tank!! 

Thank you!

On 9/19/2017 at 9:30 AM, Fishy snowman said:

WOW  !!!!   That looks really nice  

Thanks. :)

On 9/19/2017 at 10:15 AM, SantaMonicaHelp said:

Gorgeous tank! Congrats! :)

 

-Paola

Thanks Paola!

On 10/3/2017 at 10:00 AM, Rehype said:

Hey Buddy I'm not sure how I missed this build but this is one for the ages. Just an Incredible job. I love the colors and textures you put together...... you truly outdid yourself. 

 

Congrats on the TOTM it's very well deserved. Oh And thanks for the shout out :)

Haha you've been busy making too many different tanks. Wouldn't have had the motivation to make this tank without having pretty ones like yours to look up to.

On 10/9/2017 at 12:07 PM, markalot said:

Beautiful tank, congrats on TOTM!

Thanks!

6 hours ago, Noinoi24 said:

where did you get such beautiful Rock Flower anemonies?

I purchased them from various places but I'm also a coral vendor (Legendary Corals), so I bring in Rock Flower Anemones from the wholesalers time to time.

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