Stoneys Nano. A moded 12 DX

[shao-lin nano]

Do both, get a ReefKeeper and get new corals!!!

[elimmel]

hi Stoney

 

my piccolo's working fine at the moment but i'm having thought to turn chamber 2 into a fuge.

you think it's possible to have a fuge and still keep the piccolo in chamber 2?

will the chaeto be messed up in the skimmer or vice versa?

[stoney waters]

Hey elimmel

 

I was recently thinking how I could fit a fudge in my tank also. Especially since the reemergence of the light through the back glass mod. I really don't have much room in any of my chambers, But thought I could fit some cheato in the second chamber around the skimmer. I don't think it would affect the operation of the skimmer as long as the bottom of the riser tube is not restricted by the cheato.

I cant remember what you have in chamber 1. If you do not have any pumps or other equipment in there you could put in some cheato and set up a small fluorescent through the back glass. It is such a simple mod you might as well give it a try. I really don't think it could hurt anything.

 

-Stone

[Stn 49]

hey stoney...

 

i have a skimmer similar to yours that i think is working ok... but i reckon it could do better.... it produces a really wet foam, that only just seems to make it to the cup, but the cup does somehow fill up slowly....

 

yellowy-creamy liquid.. but still a very runny liquid....

 

is this actually working well? or should i consider upgrading to a bigger air pump, sorry but off the top of my head i cant think what air pump i have...

[elimmel]

Hey elimmel

 

I was recently thinking how I could fit a fudge in my tank also. Especially since the reemergence of the light through the back glass mod. I really don't have much room in any of my chambers, But thought I could fit some cheato in the second chamber around the skimmer. I don't think it would affect the operation of the skimmer as long as the bottom of the riser tube is not restricted by the cheato.

I cant remember what you have in chamber 1. If you do not have any pumps or other equipment in there you could put in some cheato and set up a small fluorescent through the back glass. It is such a simple mod you might as well give it a try. I really don't think it could hurt anything.

 

-Stone

 

yep Stone, the light thru the back got me thinking too

hmmm... i'm having rowaphos, purigen and biohome in chamber 1 at the moment. maybe i'll relocate some to chamber 2 and stuff some chaeto into chamber 1. will the chaeto do alright under the sponges?

 

thanks

mel

[stoney waters]

Yea, chamber 1 looks like your best bet. Try using one sponge or a partial sponge. Cut the black mask below the sponge line so you won't get unwanted algae growth in the sponge. When I use media I usually put the bag in the bottom of chamber 3.

 

If you do this let me know how it works out.

 

-Stone

[stoney waters]

I had some free time last weekend and a lot of things to catch up on. The basement is being remodeled so there is lots of things to do down there, and the leaves needed to be raked in the yard. As I sat in front of my tank contemplating which to do, I got to thinking about how much I wanted to fit a fuge into my rear compartments. A light in the hood would interfere with the air flow and I didn't like the backlighting effect of the palm light behind the rear glass mod. I really wanted to find a way to place a light directly up against the rear glass so very little light would escape. I had tried different scenarios before with small fluorescent light fixtures but heat was always an issue. The units would overheat and soften the adhesive in the Velcro fasteners causing the units to fall down. There had to be a way. Now I was really torn. What should I do? Rake leaves, or design a fuge light. Hmm... Rake leaves or design a fuge light. Do I really need a fuge light? (No). Do I really need to rake the yard? (Yes).

 

OFF TO LOWES.

 

Twenty minutes later I was back with a PVC access box and a 13 watt curly compact florescent bulb which I would subsequently destroy to remove the ballast. All other parts I had laying around the house.

 

 

Special thanks to halfpint for helping on my ballast wiring dilemma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The unit has been running flawlessly for a week now. Every morning my temps have stayed at their preset 78 degrees. I tested it without the fan running and it heated up to the point where it started to fall back off the glass. Now I just need to get some cheato and watch it grow.

I did jump the gun a little when I cut the black mask off of the back of the tank. I forgot that the pump was directly behind the cut-out. If I move it over 2" I will have plenty of room for cheato. I will also have to keep up with my top-offs because of evaporative drop in chamber 3. I might just have to install an auto top-off. MY GOD WILL IT EVER END. I guess the leaves can wait another week.

 

-Stone

[shao-lin nano]

MY GOD WILL IT EVER END. I guess the leaves can wait another week.

 

Nope...it'll never end Stone. I still have a few mods to work on myself and have been lazy getting around to it.

[steelhealr]

Stoney...I"ll give you credit.....quite the engineer..both electrically and mechanically. You certainly take the road less travelled (and how does the rest of the saying go....was worth it all the way). Kudos. Nice light setup. SH

[NanoDog]

Stoney...I"ll give you credit.....quite the engineer..both electrically and mechanically. You certainly take the road less travelled (and how does the rest of the saying go....was worth it all the way). Kudos. Nice light setup. SH

 

Thanks for bumping this...

Man is this a clean install.......

[stoney waters]

Stoney...I"ll give you credit.....quite the engineer..both electrically and mechanically. You certainly take the road less travelled (and how does the rest of the saying go....was worth it all the way). Kudos. Nice light setup. SH

 

Thanks steel. Your right on. "Necessity is the mother of all invention" sums it up pretty well also.

[stoney waters]

Just an update on my third chamber fuge.

 

I built a divider out of egg crate and fiberglass screen to separate the pump from the fuge area. This keeps the macro away from the pump.

 

 

 

Chaeto was added about three weeks ago. I haven't noticed a change in my water params, they have always been in line. However, I now only need to clean the glass twice a week. Before I was cleaning it almost daily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just for kicks

 

 

-stone

[halfpint]

I love your tank mods. Moving the pump further over and adding the divider is a really good idea. I have a rpoblem with cleaning the Cheato out of my pump every week or so. I think I'll try my hand at the divider you did. I also like the idea of the back-lit Fuge light. The skimmer mod is cool also. Your tank is so awesome! I envy it so much! I better stop now before I start beggin for your tank.

[stoney waters]

Thanks for the compliments halfpint. I will keep you in mind if I ever get bored and decide to sell. I am planning another tank and should be getting started soon.

 

Thanks again.

-Stone

[pbareiss]

Nice tank.

 

I was planning to do a similar refugium set up. I was wondering if any light from the fuge light leaks into the main tank (through top)?

 

Thanks

[Genin]

Wow that is an amazing job you have done modding that tank! I am a threat to everyone withing a mile radius if you give me a power tool, so modding myself is usually out of the question. Phenominal tank!

[stoney waters]

Nice tank.

 

I was planning to do a similar refugium set up. I was wondering if any light from the fuge light leaks into the main tank (through top)?

 

Thanks

 

I have it running on a reverse lighting schedule, still no light is visible in the main tank even with the moonlights off. I think it is low enough in the rear chamber that no light escapes. There is some spillover with hood mounted fuge lights.

[Sean Duclaux]

Just ordered a Hydor for my 12G DX as well. Great idea with the swing arm - you just pushed them together or used some epoxy as well?

 

What is the white covering over them in the "pre-setup" pics?

[10" Red Devil]

Dang Stone! Your tank is awesome! One of the few tanks I have seen that is very mod heavy, while also having great aquascaping!

 

I could look at that tank all day.

[stoney waters]

Hey Sean

 

The elbows I used were 1/2" cpvc street fittings. They are snug enough so no glue was needed. They can be twisted at the joints to achieve different angles. The street end fits perfectly into the stock return tube. I have never had it pop of from there. However, I had to wrap some teflon tape around the Hydor fitting to get it to stay in place.

 

The white stuff you see is reef sand. I brush on a thin coat of silicone and roll them in it. My hermits picked most of it off within a few months so I peeled off the silicone. Now they are just black and cover in coraline.

 

Dang Stone! Your tank is awesome! One of the few tanks I have seen that is very mod heavy, while also having great aquascaping!

 

I could look at that tank all day.

 

Sorry, I didn't see your post. I was looking at my tank.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

[10" Red Devil]

How did you do that second hidor flow?

[asiankidd2]

very nice stoney waters, i did something similiar on my set up with a submersible ccfl, the only problem i had was with the cheato getting sucked thru the pump, althought i had it isolated in the middle chamber by itself small pieces would get caught when i was trimming it and get stucked thru, are you having the same problem? and if anything are you noticing any real difference in y our water parameters, cus my nitrates and phosphates were pretty much the same before and after the adding of the refuge, since then i have taken out the fuge and replaced it with a nano fission skimmer and that too has made little difference.

[10" Red Devil]

very nice stoney waters, i did something similiar on my set up with a submersible ccfl, the only problem i had was with the cheato getting sucked thru the pump, althought i had it isolated in the middle chamber by itself small pieces would get caught when i was trimming it and get stucked thru, are you having the same problem? and if anything are you noticing any real difference in y our water parameters, cus my nitrates and phosphates were pretty much the same before and after the adding of the refuge, since then i have taken out the fuge and replaced it with a nano fission skimmer and that too has made little difference.

 

How long did you give the fuge? Seriously you have to give chaeto time. Also it may not have been getting enough light. How much light did you have in there?

 

Also you need to harvest it ocassionaly like once a week or so.

 

Just trying to help.

[stoney waters]

How did you do that second hidor flow?

 

 

I was able to this mod without having to use a bulkhead. I just used a 1" long piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe. I drilled a 5/8" hole in the back wall and inserted the piece half way through sealing with PVC cement. The result is almost identical to the way the return in chamber 3 is from the factory. On the back side I attached a 90 degree elbow and fitted a hose to the pump in chamber 1.

 

 

 

Jon.

 

I have not had a problem with cheato getting to the pump yet. I think the screen does a pretty good job of keeping it out. I do know what you mean about the parameters. My numbers haven't realy changed since I added the fuge. They were right in line before I added it. I have noticed the green algae on the glass has really slowed, I don't have to clean the glass as freqently as I used to.

My skimmer has been running since startup so I don't have any before and after comparisons, but by the look of the skimmate it is pulling it has to be doing some good.

[nano_reeflover]

hey stoney do you think you could post some pics of the cold cathode in action?