Tigahboy's 20g Project - Still No Catchy Title Yet

[Tigahboy]

New project! 

 

After being out of the hobby for close to a decade, I came back in recently to participate in the current Pico Reef Contest with my volcano pico.  I was actually also working on a custom 20g project at that time, which led me back to nano-reef.com in the first place, but that project never came to fruition and I ended up focusing all my efforts on my contest entry.  If you want to check that out, here's my thread: Volcano Pico Thread.

 

Anyway, my son has been asking for "Nemo" fish for quite some time now, so I thought this set-up would be another good project for us to work on together. 

 

Details:

 

Tank: Innovative Marine Fusion Nuvo Pro 20g Peninsula (30" x 11.8" x 13")

Stand: West Elm Buffet (40" x 19" x 27") 

Return Pump: MightyJet 326 gph w/ Controller (came stock with the tank)

Circulation: 2 x Aqamai KPS

Heater: Cobalt Neotherm 75w

Lights: NanoBox Duo Plus M - Side Mounted (ordered)

 

Some initial thoughts:

 

1. The IM tank is pretty sweet.  This new version of the peninsula now comes with an upgraded pump and filter caddy, and it's great that it comes with a mesh lid and magnet cleaner.  The manufacturer is local to me, so I just put in the order and picked it up yesterday.  IM's customer service and responsiveness have been top-notch as well.

2.  The West Elm stand is great because it fits with the rest of my home and it is the perfect height for my son.  It's short enough for him to see everything in the tank.  But still debating whether I need to reinforce it to support the tank (though it is super solid and made of real wood).

3.  Not sure if I should do fuge or skimmer for the middle chamber of the tank. It's pretty small so not sure if a fuge is worth it.  

 

Theme: Minimalist and Sparkly Clean.  I've always been a fan of super clean-looking and minimalist tanks, and I plan to keep it that way for this one (maybe even more so this time around).  Probably keep the scape pretty minimal as well.    

 

Current Stocking Plans: 2 percs or ocellaris (haven't decided yet) and oodles and oodles of bounce and jawbreaker mushrooms.  I want em all!  Just kidding.  TBD, but likely keeping my stocking pretty light as well.  Also, everyone seems to have a BTA nowadays, so why not me?  

 

Feedback welcome.  Thanks for stopping by!

[Tigahboy]

[Reserved]

[This guy is extra salty]

🤙

let me know if you want an ATO or dosing container 😝

 

 

this looks great what lights are you planning on using?

[Tigahboy]

12 minutes ago, This guy is extra salty said:

🤙

let me know if you want an ATO or dosing container 😝

 

 

this looks great what lights are you planning on using?

Yeah, will definitely need an ATO container.  Doesn't have to be as fancy as my pico one tho.  😄  I'll let you know when I'm ready. 

 

No idea on light yet.  Need something with like a 26" spread or close to it.  🤔

[This guy is extra salty]

Are you going t5 or leds?

 

for sure no custom etching? That you can’t sell later 😂  no problem I’m guessing like a 5gallon one?

[pricewayne]

[FISHnChix]

Clean and minimal.. sign me up.. hard for me to get behind the janky tank contest lol.. there is a few that are turning out nice though.. Nemo tank huh?, I'm thinking a neme tank.  Would be awesome to see what you create

[WV Reefer]

2 hours ago, Tigahboy said:

New project! 

 

After being out of the hobby for close to a decade, I came back in recently to participate in the current Pico Reef Contest with my volcano pico.  I was actually also working on a custom 20g project at that time, which led me back to nano-reef.com in the first place, but that project never came to fruition and I ended up focusing all my efforts on my contest entry.  If you want to check that out, here's my thread: Volcano Pico Thread.

 

Anyway, my son has been asking for "Nemo" fish for quite some time now, so I thought this set-up would be another good project for us to work on together. 

 

Details:

 

Tank: Innovative Marine Fusion Nuvo Pro 20g Peninsula (30" x 11.8" x 13")

Stand: West Elm Buffet (40" x 19" x 27") 

Return Pump: MightyJet 326 gph w/ Controller (came stock with the tank)

Circulation: TBD

Heater: TBD

Lights: TBD

 

Some initial thoughts:

 

1. The IM tank is pretty sweet.  This new version of the peninsula now comes with an upgraded pump and filter caddy, and its great that it comes with a mesh lid and magnet cleaner.  The manufacturer is local to me, so I just put in the order and picked it up yesterday.  IM's customer service and responsiveness have been top-notch as well.

2.  The West Elm stand is great because it fits with the rest of my home and it is the perfect height for my son.  It's short enough for him to see everything in the tank.  But still debating whether I need to reinforce it to support the tank (though it is super solid and made of real wood).

3.  Not sure if I should do fuge or skimmer for the middle chamber of the tank. It's pretty small so not sure if a fuge is worth it.  

 

Theme: Minimalist and Sparkly Clean.  I've always been a fan of super clean-looking and minimalist tanks, and I plan to keep it that way for this one (maybe even more so this time around).  Probably keep the scape pretty minimal as well.    

 

Current Stocking Plans: 2 percs or ocellaris (haven't decided yet) and oodles and oodles of bounce and jawbreaker mushrooms.  I want em all!  Just kidding.  TBD, but likely keeping my stocking pretty light as well.  Also, everyone seems to have a BTA nowadays, so why not me?  

 

Feedback welcome.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Yay!!!!!! 

[ef4life]

Are you keeping the back clear or going frosty like the 🌋

[This guy is extra salty]

You better have a harem of clowns or

[Tigahboy]

4 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

Are you going t5 or leds?

 

for sure no custom etching? That you can’t sell later 😂  no problem I’m guessing like a 5gallon one?

Lol. Yeah. No etching this round. 

 

Not sure on lighting yet.  Either LEDs or LED-T5 hybrid.

 

2 hours ago, pricewayne said:

Glad to have you!

 

2 hours ago, FISHnChix said:

Clean and minimal.. sign me up.. hard for me to get behind the janky tank contest lol.. there is a few that are turning out nice though.. Nemo tank huh?, I'm thinking a neme tank.  Would be awesome to see what you create

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to do the janky tank for the contest.  Once you go rimless, you can never go back.

 

Nem tank would definitely be cool, especially with all the cool varieties out now.  Time to save up for a Colorado Sunburst!

 

2 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

 

Yay!!!!!! 

🙌

[pricewayne]

5 minutes ago, Tigahboy said:

Lol. Yeah. No etching this round. 

 

Not sure on lighting yet.  Either LEDs or LED-T5 hybrid.

 

Glad to have you!

 

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to do the janky tank for the contest.  Once you go rimless, you can never go back.

 

Nem tank would definitely be cool, especially with all the cool varieties out now.  Time to save up for a Colorado Sunburst!

 

🙌

The WYSIWYG black widow BTA is still at Golden State Corals..... I want it so bad

[Tigahboy]

1 hour ago, ef4life said:

Are you keeping the back clear or going frosty like the 🌋

Hmm. Not sure yet.  I have tons of extra vinyl film left over so I could frost it up.  But I'm leaning towards clear.

 

7 minutes ago, This guy is extra salty said:

You better have a harem of clowns or

LOL.  That would be sweet.

 

1 minute ago, pricewayne said:

The WYSIWYG black widow BTA is still at Golden State Corals..... I want it so bad

Those are really nice too!

[Tigahboy]

So I added the same backlight LED strip that I had on my volcano pico to this tank (it's just a longer version).  The colorful backlighting works well for the volcano pico, but not 100% sure it fits this tank.  Yay or nay?

 

[pricewayne]

I love the backlight! It may not pop as much since it's so much taller, but I think it's great.

 

Have you seen the rainbow bottom nems yet?

[748S911]

Love it bro! 

[Snow_Phoenix]

9 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

I love the backlight! It may not pop as much since it's so much taller, but I think it's great.

 

Have you seen the rainbow bottom nems yet?

My LFS sells them at RM 1.5K each. I looked at them up close. I was a little bit disappointed. The fluorescence isn't as strong as I'd expected, or as seen in some of the pics online. 

[This guy is extra salty]

14 minutes ago, Tigahboy said:

So I added the same backlight LED strip that I had on my volcano pico to this tank (it's just a longer version).  The colorful backlighting works well for the volcano pico, but not 100% sure it fits this tank.  Yay or nay?

 

You need to have the tank so it’s viewable from three side not two

🤔

[Tigahboy]

13 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

I love the backlight! It may not pop as much since it's so much taller, but I think it's great.

 

Have you seen the rainbow bottom nems yet?

Yeah, those look cray.   Like a unicorn and a sea cucumber had a baby.

 

7 minutes ago, 748S911 said:

Love it bro! 

👊

 

5 minutes ago, This guy is extra salty said:

You need to have the so it’s viewable from three side not two

🤔

But then I can't do backlight and/or frosted back.  And nobody wants to see how messy my living room is through the tank.

[Tigahboy]

 Pico meets nano.

[haks]

Following, I'm doing the same tank!

For lighting I went with NanoBox's Duo Plus M. 30x18" max coverage so should work out perfectly.

 

Are you still toying with going with two Aqamai KPSs for flow?

 

Cabinet doesn't look like it needs any reinforcing, I think you'll be alright.

[Tempestas]

Following...

I say keep the light. Gives your tanks something unique and brings some coherence between the two.

[Tamberav]

Nice start 🙂

 

You had me going with the shrooms idea lol

 

5 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

My LFS sells them at RM 1.5K each. I looked at them up close. I was a little bit disappointed. The fluorescence isn't as strong as I'd expected, or as seen in some of the pics online. 

I wish I could see some in person. I am curious about them. I did assume they are not as crazy bright in person (coral photo magic) although I assume some are nicer than others. 

 

They are a super common nem (where they are found) so if they prove hardy and keep being imported (and they split)....price should come down eventually.

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Nice start 🙂

 

You had me going with the shrooms idea lol

 

I wish I could see some in person. I am curious about them. I did assume they are not as crazy bright in person (coral photo magic) although I assume some are nicer than others. 

 

They are a super common nem (where they are found) so if they prove hardy and keep being imported (and they split)....price should come down eventually.

I don't think they're too hardy. 2 of them at my LFS melted within a few days although the tank temp. was 25°C. I think they *might need lower temps. for long-term survival. 

[Tigahboy]

12 hours ago, haks said:

Following, I'm doing the same tank!

For lighting I went with NanoBox's Duo Plus M. 30x18" max coverage so should work out perfectly.

 

Are you still toying with going with two Aqamai KPSs for flow?

 

Cabinet doesn't look like it needs any reinforcing, I think you'll be alright.

Nice!  Solid choice.  How are you mounting those lights? Gooseneck? Hanging them?

 

I am leaning towards 2 Aqamais, but I do really like the Nero 5 as well.