NanoReefaholic
New Member
Well here's my Nanocube that I've modded. It's still a work in progress as it needed to be setup quick and I didn't get to fully mod it.
Well the powers that be have decided that this tank needed a jump start so all the live rock, water, and coral was transported across the room, well five steps away, from the 40g to the NC. The sand is new so I can avoid the issues associated with stirring up a sand bed and the rock was out of the water for less than 10 seconds so I can't foresee any die off effects.
I did do some mods before it was filled up and have another planned as well as a few maybes. First thing I did was rip out the wall between the first and second chamber. The Tunze 9002 will fit in this area (front to back) but the wall was in the way. Now with the wall removed the skimmer fits but will block the overflow if placed to the left. So a skimmer stand was needed.
For the skimmer stand I decided to pull triple duty to maximize space. I used egg crate to form the stand and it will also be a cryptic fuge and the top layer could also be a bubble trap should any bubbles escape the skimmer. Simply put it's an egg crate cube the skimmer sits on. I'm using xenia and GSP as bionutrient export rather than just chaeto so the cryptic fuge seemed ideal as a replacement.
I was able to place the skimmer all the way to the left, and a bit higher to enhance the skimmers performance, by placing the normal mounting bracket area of the skimmer body under the cubes lip. I redesigned the cryptic zone/stand with hopefully enough surface area that many sponges will be able to thrive yet enough space that they shouldn't pose a problem. The skimmer sits close to the overflow but hasn't effected the water level.
I can place probes to the left and a heater to the right and when I decide to run carbon I have the return chamber. Having the skimmer stand also gave me the ability to flip the skimmer so the collection cup doesn't interfere with the light's clamp. The light is a 150W Viper K2 with the stock light swapped out for a 20K lamp.
I swapped out the stock pump for a MJ900 and have future plans to put a spray bar on a wavemaker/timer to switch the flow and give a bit more now and then. I've built a temp surface skimmer that houses polyfiber prefilter pad (filter floss) when needed.
I ended up modding the MJ pump. Nothing big, just a trim of the output nossle and an addition of a modded 3/4" F/M elbow. I trimmed down the male end and bored out the hole a tiny bit so the trimmed MJ would fit into it. The female end oddly enough is large enough for the green tube that came with the tank. I've since replaced this with 3/4" pipe but it could be used if necessary. The elbow that normally comes with the tank can be replaced with a normal 3/4" F/M elbow, which I have done. This will come in handy if I can get the ok for the CL, or even the SCWD that I'm looking at.
Once the pump was in place all the way to the right of the last chamber I placed a LDPE fence (yes it's food grade) with PVC tubing along the sides to hold it in place. I thought of placing another bulkhead in there but the possibility of a vortex and the fact that I have a low evaporation rate didn't make messing with underwater epoxy too appealing.
After that I pealed back the vinyl from the back for the fuge light. I used a coralife aqualight mini and odd enough the fuge compartment was just shy of the light's output area. That worked out good but I also needed a stand so the light would stay in place. We were getting rid of an old baby gate to I salvaged a but of it, trimmed it down so the ledges of the aqualight just fit inside and it was seated. Now the light sits just off the tank so I can use a fan to keep the unit cool because it is enclosed behind the tank.
I've also snapped a few pictures of the anemone and feather duster. A few people have asked about the anemone and how small it is. Well here's a pic of one (I only ever keep one, my tank!) that has made a home in some zoas, go figure.
The feather duster seems quite happy given the upward flow and perhaps the crown is a bit fuller, or it could just be me. I tried to get some more pictures but my camera still doesn't like the 20K and I just snapped these so I wasn't expecting much. When I get some good pictures I'll have to post them.
I got a mated pair of clowns off a LFS here but the female is in a bit of rough shape. They were housed in a tank (larger tank but the only salt tank) with a pair of tomato clowns so this little girl got a bit beat up. The male seems to be unharmed thankfully.
To make a long story short, they have paired up and previously have mated (the owner knows they have at least once) so maybe I'll get lucky.
I have plans for a coast to coast style overflow, closed loop, and enlarging the fuge in the near future. I just need to work out evaporation and how the ATO will be installed. Well here's a FTS
Well the powers that be have decided that this tank needed a jump start so all the live rock, water, and coral was transported across the room, well five steps away, from the 40g to the NC. The sand is new so I can avoid the issues associated with stirring up a sand bed and the rock was out of the water for less than 10 seconds so I can't foresee any die off effects.
I did do some mods before it was filled up and have another planned as well as a few maybes. First thing I did was rip out the wall between the first and second chamber. The Tunze 9002 will fit in this area (front to back) but the wall was in the way. Now with the wall removed the skimmer fits but will block the overflow if placed to the left. So a skimmer stand was needed.
For the skimmer stand I decided to pull triple duty to maximize space. I used egg crate to form the stand and it will also be a cryptic fuge and the top layer could also be a bubble trap should any bubbles escape the skimmer. Simply put it's an egg crate cube the skimmer sits on. I'm using xenia and GSP as bionutrient export rather than just chaeto so the cryptic fuge seemed ideal as a replacement.
I was able to place the skimmer all the way to the left, and a bit higher to enhance the skimmers performance, by placing the normal mounting bracket area of the skimmer body under the cubes lip. I redesigned the cryptic zone/stand with hopefully enough surface area that many sponges will be able to thrive yet enough space that they shouldn't pose a problem. The skimmer sits close to the overflow but hasn't effected the water level.
I can place probes to the left and a heater to the right and when I decide to run carbon I have the return chamber. Having the skimmer stand also gave me the ability to flip the skimmer so the collection cup doesn't interfere with the light's clamp. The light is a 150W Viper K2 with the stock light swapped out for a 20K lamp.
I swapped out the stock pump for a MJ900 and have future plans to put a spray bar on a wavemaker/timer to switch the flow and give a bit more now and then. I've built a temp surface skimmer that houses polyfiber prefilter pad (filter floss) when needed.
I ended up modding the MJ pump. Nothing big, just a trim of the output nossle and an addition of a modded 3/4" F/M elbow. I trimmed down the male end and bored out the hole a tiny bit so the trimmed MJ would fit into it. The female end oddly enough is large enough for the green tube that came with the tank. I've since replaced this with 3/4" pipe but it could be used if necessary. The elbow that normally comes with the tank can be replaced with a normal 3/4" F/M elbow, which I have done. This will come in handy if I can get the ok for the CL, or even the SCWD that I'm looking at.
Once the pump was in place all the way to the right of the last chamber I placed a LDPE fence (yes it's food grade) with PVC tubing along the sides to hold it in place. I thought of placing another bulkhead in there but the possibility of a vortex and the fact that I have a low evaporation rate didn't make messing with underwater epoxy too appealing.
After that I pealed back the vinyl from the back for the fuge light. I used a coralife aqualight mini and odd enough the fuge compartment was just shy of the light's output area. That worked out good but I also needed a stand so the light would stay in place. We were getting rid of an old baby gate to I salvaged a but of it, trimmed it down so the ledges of the aqualight just fit inside and it was seated. Now the light sits just off the tank so I can use a fan to keep the unit cool because it is enclosed behind the tank.
I've also snapped a few pictures of the anemone and feather duster. A few people have asked about the anemone and how small it is. Well here's a pic of one (I only ever keep one, my tank!) that has made a home in some zoas, go figure.
The feather duster seems quite happy given the upward flow and perhaps the crown is a bit fuller, or it could just be me. I tried to get some more pictures but my camera still doesn't like the 20K and I just snapped these so I wasn't expecting much. When I get some good pictures I'll have to post them.
I got a mated pair of clowns off a LFS here but the female is in a bit of rough shape. They were housed in a tank (larger tank but the only salt tank) with a pair of tomato clowns so this little girl got a bit beat up. The male seems to be unharmed thankfully.
To make a long story short, they have paired up and previously have mated (the owner knows they have at least once) so maybe I'll get lucky.
I have plans for a coast to coast style overflow, closed loop, and enlarging the fuge in the near future. I just need to work out evaporation and how the ATO will be installed. Well here's a FTS