6 gal tank diary

C

Claude

Small Fish
#1
Oct 16, 2005
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#1
Crossing over from F/W because of this tank, it was an inspiration for me to check out nanos


Bought a 22 lt (6gal) tank

Here is my progress

The space i have to work with


Proposal


I want to have a sump so i built an overflow box



Modded the overflow a bit


Hung some T5's above the tank


This is it to date


I am pushing about 5wpg but i am mainly gonna stock softies at the moment, i am also going to keep a prawn goby/pistol shrimp combo



Thanks for looking, comments welcome :)
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#2
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#2
Hopefully after a bit of cladding this is all that will be on display



Hallide off, fuge lit with a pc (in hood from aquaone tank)


probs will run the PC in reverse tandem with the T5's, because the sump and tank are so close, the fuge will recieve light from the t5 during the day and be lit with the PC at night, that should be adequate?
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#3
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#3
Tank size = 22lt (6g) [-52 including sump]
Water throughput/flow = about 500lt/hr (intent to turn over water with an aditional powerhead)
Lighting = 2 x 14W hallide = 4.6wpg
Filtration = Berlin method plus refugium
Experience = n00b

I'd like some advice/help on stocking issues please, bearing in mind the above

Corals (frags);-Leather polyp
Xenia
Mushroom
Candy cane

Fish;-
- Prawn goby/pistol shrimp combo
- Helfrichi's Firefish
+/- Yellowhead Jawfish (depending on territory issues with the ground dwellers - you think there would be enough room for 2 burrowers?)

Others;-
- Blood shrimp (a bit expensive tho)
- White banded cleaner shrimp
- Bristlestar
- Red and blue legged hermits
- Turbo snails
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#4
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#4
The overflow box has been tested for 2 1/2 days now, constantly running and there appears to be no probs, i have tested it for;-

integrity - no leaks, baffles work great (i'm actually getting a lot of skimming action already with tank empty!)
power outages - if the pump cuts out the tank drains to about 1/2" below the full level as i have put a hole in the inlet to prevent too much reverse siphoning and flooding of the sump
power outage then back on again - i have tried this a number of time (and this is what worries me most) - but everytime i try it the overflow system never breaks siphon and kicks in straight away.
clogging - i've tried to clog the overflow up by sticking some sand in and whirling it around, lots of rubish comes through the overflow and ends up in the sump (which is nice)

I'm using a feature of the overflow box as a failsafe, alot of people strive to stop their overflows 'gurgling', mine does gurgle slightly but i use it an an audio check to make sure the system is still working.

here are some update photos (they are cloudy because i've been trying to clog the system up and i added a 400 lt/hr powerhead to mix things up a bit).



 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#6
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#6



i'm pretty pleased so far considering i know sweet fa about DIY (i have learned alot tho!), also i so far the whole project has cost me approx £100 and i'm ready for rock and water now :) who said this marine malarky was expensive? :p
 

radamsk1

radamsk1

Large Fish
#9
Apr 23, 2005
153
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16
45
Long Island, NY
#9
Good job with setup there! I'd never do such an integrated tank system, number one because I'm often messy with maintenance and my furniture would be ruined... and that wouldn't come cheap! I look forward to seeing the future development of the tank! Good luck!
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#10
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#10
Well its a slippery slope from here, i've put together the final components needed for my nano reef and here they are :)

Overflow box (now a bit less bulky and sporting a milliputted sucker to keep in from flying away :) )


Miracle mud (£25 \0/ )


Sump



Left = inlet with mechanical filtration (plus space for rowaphos etc)
Middle = refugium (deep bed of m.mud then coral gravel, then coral sand)
Right = Equipment bay, loadsa space in here, will probs build a skimmer in the future
Sump is lit with a PC bulb from original Aquaone hood


Live rock added and everything running successfully



Night lights
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#11
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#11
Wide shot of unit now


Door open, guts out



The total flow through the system is;-

Maxi Jet400 in the main tank, (hidden by aquascaping) - 400lph
Variable flow from the eheim pump in the sump (between 120 - 1000 lph) - set at about 600lph
= total 1000lph
= display tank (22lts) water is turned over 45 times every hour
= total water (display plus sump - 50lts) - 20 tomes per hour

Lighting is by means of 2 x 14W T5's - therefore lighting provided is (for the display tank = 6gals) 4.6wpg

Cheers for looking, hope i haven't missed anything out, comments, suggestions, critiques, etc etc are more than welcome cheers

:)

Cost is approx £150 to date
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#12
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#12
Toying with ideas for top up, i haven't noticed too much evaporation so far since i have turned the heaters and lights on full time :\


20lts RO water in cupboard above tank

Above 20lt water container (with tap) feeds the sump via a tap (looped back up in this pic)


Some random shots while i'm on ....

The rock on the right is one i killed to get rid of aptasia, its even changed its surface markings an colour in response to the fresh water :\


A shot of one of the stowaways ?staghorn?....
 

Last edited:
W

wayne

Elite Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
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#15
Some comments, though generally it all looks good, and you have technology on it than I have on any of my tanks!
1. T5's are not halides. It might be pedantic but it somehow it irritates me to see this written.
2. Your lighting is good for your choice of corals. Softies may be ok under poor light but do better under good.
3. Your fish choice contains too many similar fish. I don't think a helfrichis is a good idea as it's a dep water fish, and will probably bleach it's colours under that lighting.
4. I've since dismantled my nano (I needed the stuff for a 20 long I've set up on a strict budget (10 dollars, everything else from my box of stuff)), but I found I kept my water quality high through weekly + 50% water changes.
 

C

Claude

Small Fish
#16
Oct 16, 2005
30
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#16
wayne said:
Some comments, though generally it all looks good, and you have technology on it than I have on any of my tanks!
1. T5's are not halides. It might be pedantic but it somehow it irritates me to see this written.
Click to expand...
yeah yr right it is being pedantic ......... slip of the finger ,,,,,, halide = huge hot l ight T5 = cute linear light :)
 

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