wetworx101 Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 I have been aquarium-active for over a decade now...and want to set up a nano...duh. I am looking for ideas and recomendations on how to proceed. I have built a DIY hood out of finish grade pine 1x4, it has individual ballasts and switches for each of 5 15w flo lights. Is 75w flo enough? I was going to go with 2 actinic and 3 triton, but I am open to suggestions since I havent bought the bulbs yet. I know, I know PC lights are better... but the parts I used to construct the flo hood were sooo cheap. BTW, it is a 10 gallon. I wanted to minimize maint and increase stability by adding a fuge...A DIY. It will be a full size hang on back, If I go with a pumping in method (like a CPR Bak Pak) the dimensions will be 20"Lx18"Hx5"W...and it would overflow into the main tank. If I go with an overflow and pump return, then the height will be the same as the main tank...12". It will be made out of regular 1/4" acrylic and weldon#16. Any opinions on which is the better method?? pump in and overflow...or overflow(surface skimmer) and return pump? The fuge will have a baffle for the initial overflow into the fuge, but I wonder if I need a baffle system at the other end or if I could save valuble space by just placing the return pump in the main compartment. I was planning on a pengiun 660 powerhead for this system. In the main chamber of the fuge...looking like it will be about 5"Wx12/18"Hx14"L I wanted to do as much as possible...light on 24/7 (although I wonder what I will use) to grow seagrapes and grassilaria...a plenum (how deep should I go...5"?)... and I was thinking of trying the eco-mud method by suspending a 2"deep tray a couple inches over the plenum with gaps at the front and end to allow water flow, leaving the macro algae on the mud...only 7" about between the mud and the top. I have heard conflicting opinions about flow around plenums. Should I be concerned about flow aver the plenum area...or, as long as all the crap falls to the bottom anyways, will leaving this area out of the main flow be okay or better. I will try to post a diagram if needed. Does this all sound okay so far? Can I get some light recomendations? plenum in a nano info? Thanks Link to comment
xofinnocent Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 First off if your gonna make a nano- You need beter lighting then Flo. Sorry to say but pc is the best for a starting tank. But even pc light set ups are fairly cheap now. Also if your gonna go to such trouble to make a fuge- then make it gravity feed into your tank- it is better for the live goodies your propogating in the fuge (pump impellers tend to kill living things .) Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted January 8, 2003 Author Share Posted January 8, 2003 I know PC is the way to go, but in this case I will have 75watts of flo lighting...isn't that good for most? I can live without clams and high lighting coral. About the fuge, I would actually prefer the gravity fed...overflow return because it would allow me to build the fuge taller than the tank...and gain some much needed height for extra algae. My concern was with the fact that since the fuge would be above the main tank...I wouldn't be surface skimming the main tank, id be skimming the fuge... Dont I want to be skimming the main tank? Or is their another way to do that? I just hate scum buildup on the surface. Thanks for the help BTW. Link to comment
glazer Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 Personally I think you'll be just fine with your NO tubes. It's only a ten gallon tank...small footprint and those may disagree but that is by far adequate lighting. I had a 29 gallon extremely well stocked "softie tank" that had only 80 watts of NO tubes on it. Prolly one of the most successful tanks I've had.... the coralline growth in it was nothing short of insane. My only concern about your set up would be possibly heat problems... I definitely would consider adding a fan to your hood. NO tubes or not that is still a big heat source. I would be prone to go with the pump in/overflow out scenario on your 'fuge. If you REALLY want to surface skim you could always just make a small corner overflow box the entire height of the tank. Put slits in it at the top and put your powerhead down on the bottom, OR.... ya just plain go with the other option and make it an overflow/pump it out thingie. Good luck with it and post some pics when your done.... Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 On a 10 gallon tank, 5 NO lamps will provide quite good lighting. If it were less than 4 though it would be a different story Link to comment
Jimbob Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 I agree with Glazier. 75W of NO flo overr this 10 will allow you to do many different things, including some of the higher light species of corals if they are placed toward the top of the tank. The caution for the NO bulbs is that if you do place some high light species in this tank, plan on replacing the bulbs about every six months to maintain the corals adequately. If you go primarily with softies and shrooms and such with maybe a leather coral or something, then you can stretch the NO bulbs out to about 8-9 months. Also, a good idea is to NOT replace all of the bulbs at once. At something around the 6 month mark, replace one two of the bulbs, then about two weeks later, replace another two of the bulbs, then finally two weeks later replace the fifth bulb. I like your mix of three triton and two actinic. As for the fuge... definitely a pump in and gravity out is the way to go. I would also agree with glaziers idea of building a nice little corner overflow box the full height of the tank. The only caution I will make with using a skimmer box (with the pump located in the bottom of that box) on a tank this small is that you will need to monitor your water level DAILY. If not, you run the risk of running your overflow area dry, cavitating the pump, and thus bruning it out. Other alternative for this would be a pressurized auto-top off set up which could be easily accomodated into your fuge with a float switch. Most of all... have soem FUN with it! Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted January 8, 2003 Author Share Posted January 8, 2003 Thanks for all of the advice. Just in case, I am making another hood thet it looks like I will be cramming 6 15w in...90w! I suppose I just find the hoods easy to make. What about my other concerns. I am getting my plenum suggestions right out of a book. The book says a 1" gap of water, eggcrate w/ fiberglass screening, then 1-2" aragonite, another screen to keep out the critters, and then up to another 1-3" of sand/live sand, and then mentions leaving out the plenum all together and just having 3" of aragonite...that would save me some space in the sump. Has anyone had experience with plenums and nanos or reef tanks for that matter? Is a surface area of 5"x13" going to be good for a nano-plenum? And what kind of flow/lighting over this area should I provide. I hear "just enough to see the plenum, but no more" (no algae), and water flow? The book, Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein, mentions a plenum needing enough area to have temperature pockets to give a slight flow to the water in the void...??? Input anybody? Link to comment
edying Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Hi wetworx - In your next hood, you may want to consider going the PC w/ reflector route. 75W should be fine, but remember most bulbs put out light in all directions. If you have bulbs lined up too close together, you'll get almost no reflection back into the water from the backside of each bulb. Also, with the bulbs so close together, it may be difficult to get good airflow to keep the temperature down. As far as your sump/fuge - I'd stick with gravity return if you can swing it. Also, I'd ditch the plenum and just go with a couple of inches of oolitic. Since you'll have LR and macros in the fuge, I doubt you'll have nitrate issues. just my .02 -Ed Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.