soeminpaing Posted May 3, 2017 I was inspired by Totm winners on nano reef forum and that drive my desire to set up a nano tank. On the other hand, I dont want to spend a ton of money. So I decide to go cheap by doing some diy. I bought an ADA knockoff tank made by Yiding, a chinese manufacturer rumored to be OEM of ADA tanks in the past. The tank dimension is 45cmx 30cmx27cm which approximately hold 34 liter of water. Here is the current tank info. I will keep on editing this as the tank develop. Tank – Yi Ding curve glass ( 45x27x30 ) cm around 8.5 gallons ( Net volume – 7 gallons) with DIY compartments and loc -line return nozzle. Return Pump – SOBO 600L/hr Light – DIY LED ( Cree XTE 12000k x 6, Cree XTE 450 nm x 4 ) driven at 650ma & (Philips Rebel 470nm x 6, Cree XPE 450nm x 5 ) driven at 300ma Skimmer – Bubble Magus NAC QQ Wavemaker – Jebao RW-4 Refractometer – BRS refractometer TDS Meter – HM TDS-3 TDS meter Salt – Marinium Reef Sea salt Salinity – 1.025 @ 28 C Temperature – 27-28 C Top off - manual 300ml daily Soft Corals Pulsing Xenia Zoas ( Zoanthus sp ) Toadstool Coral ( Sarcophyton ) Discosoma Mushroom Rhodactis Mushroom Green Star Polys ( Pachyclavularia sp. ) LPS Brain Coral ( Lobophyllia ) Button Coral ( Cynarina ) Torch Coral ( Euphilia Glabrescens) Flowerpot Coral ( Goniopora sp. ) SPS Forest Fire Digi ( Montipora Digitata ) Pink Birdnest ( Seriatopora Hystix) Radioactive green Birdnest ( Seriatopora sp. ) Cauliflower ( Pocillopora Damicornis ) Fish & Invertebrates Bangaii Cardinal x1 Tailspot Blenny x1 Trochus Snail x2 Full tank shot ( 6 Dec 2017) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 3, 2017 I decide to make an internal compartment that can hold skimmer or media rack and a return pump. I use 6mm white acrylic sheet and cut the pieces using cnc router from a signboard shop. I used acrylic cement to bond the front plate and baffles. And then glue to the glass using silicone. The finished tank, I use 1/2 inches loc line nozzle and 600l/hr pump for the return 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 3, 2017 Testing for leak and everything held up nicely. The skimmer is a bubble magus nac qq rated for 100L tank and fit snugly in the first chamber. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 19, 2017 It is time to start the rockscape. I use D-D aquascape epoxy and superglue gel for bonding the rock together. Rocks are some tonga mixed with the rocks I collect on the beach. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 19, 2017 Unsatisfied with both the color and spectrum provided by my 50/50 white:blue 12W par38 led, I decided to build a DIY led using 50W CreeXTE 4blue, 6 white coupled with 6 cree XPE royal blue and 5 philips blue 470nm. I also add 5730 warm white led strip. Running these leds at 30% of their power made the fixture runs really cool. I used old cpu heatsink and aluminium square tube for heatsink. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
Lula_Mae Posted May 19, 2017 Nice start! I'm a little jealous of your DIY skills! Rockwork is cool. What do you plan to put in it? 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 19, 2017 1 minute ago, Lula_Mae said: Nice start! I'm a little jealous of your DIY skills! Rockwork is cool. What do you plan to put in it? Thanks, I decide to try sps. I have never kept such a small tank before and keeping sps in it is going to be an epic adventure for me 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 21, 2017 I got a stainless steel stand for the tank and add some tube to hang the light. Cost me round 30$. That's how the tank look with the stand and lighting. 3 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted May 21, 2017 12 hours ago, Type-H20 said: Cool build. What par bulb? If you are referring to the par38 bulb that I have tested on before switching to DIY LED, it is a 6 blue, 6 white 12 watts cheap bulb from ebay. I suspect the blue is more like 460-470 range instead of 450 royal blue and the color seems washed out. Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted June 5, 2017 After cycling, started adding gonio and a few sps. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted June 28, 2017 Recently added corals and some update shots. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
JR! Posted June 28, 2017 what a beautiful little tank. cant wait to see it grow in. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted July 19, 2017 Just diy a magnetic single frag holder for future corals. Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted July 19, 2017 Got myself an illumagic x-mini. It is quite good but I am satisifed with my current DIY Led, so for now I am saving it for future project. That's how Bubble magus nac qq skimmer perform on such a small tank. Very easy to tune and really consistent in producing skimmate. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Lula_Mae Posted July 20, 2017 On 7/19/2017 at 5:54 AM, soeminpaing said: Just diy a magnetic single frag holder for future corals. Neat frag ring, but is the metal coated? Don't want it to rust or otherwise leach metals into your tank! Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted August 19, 2017 On 7/20/2017 at 9:01 PM, Lula_Mae said: Neat frag ring, but is the metal coated? Don't want it to rust or otherwise leach metals into your tank! Magnet is encased in the acrylic. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted August 19, 2017 Feeding the brain. The clowns are temporary residents. A friend is upgrading his tank so I am keeping them for a while. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post
soeminpaing Posted September 25, 2017 The clowns are back to their owner and I am left with just a bangaii cardinal. So a new resident was offered to take the place of the clowns. Corals are growing and thriving. I think the skimmer play a great role in keeping the water clean since I usually change water once a month. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
