My Custom 6G Nano

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aquemeni5110

New Member
I just set up my 6 gallon nano. It's originally a 10 gallon (rectangular glass) but with the built in wet/dry filter, it's now a 6 gallon. It took me about 3 weekends to build. I thought I would save more money by building own but it looks like I spent just as much. However, I am very pleased with the results.

Here's a the equipment:

- (1) 15" 36w 50/50 PC Bulb
- (2) 40mm Cooling Fans
- (1) Coralife Blue Moonlight
- (1) Fission Nano Skimmer
- (1) Rio 600 (200GHP) Return Pump
- (1) Rena 50w Heater

Here's what's in the tank so far:

- 20lbs of Live Reef Sand
- 6lbs of Live Rock (Not Sure what kind)
- 6 Blue Legged Hermits
- 3 N. Snails
- 2 Damsels (Test Fish)


May 13th: First day





May 16th: Added Live rock

Back Shots of the tank:






I will be taking more pictures as the tank progresses. Your feedback is appreciated.

I plan on doing frequent water changes but not sure when and how much I should change. Can anyone help? Thanks.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
That is one very nice looking setup. I do wonder what you plan to put in there. If you want corals I think you will looking to upgrade rather quickly. That rock is :shock: AWESOME :shock:, is it one piece? It's kind of hard to see what is in your back area. Is there some way for you to have a light pointed at it? I'm curious on your setup back there. Weekly water changes will be best of course. Anywhere from 10-30% depending on how ambitious you are. 10% makes the process of a nanotank water change real quick and easy(less than 5 minutes with premixed water). Very nice. :)
 
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Anonymous

Guest
nice set-up i like home-made false wall set-ups - pretty much all i do these days. one thing though i would remove a bunch of that filter floss from the overflow cause you really don't want it to go biological. it would be better just to have a layer or two to use for mechanical filtration and then clean it weekly which leads to less entering the nitrogen cycle and a healthier tank overall.
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member
Yeah, it's epoxy. I've had reef tanks in the past where I'd move the rocks around constantly and would end up scratching the glass and arcylic.

My plan is to get a couple more snails, brittle star fish and a fire shrimp or coral banded, mushrooms, polyps, soft corals, feather dusters. Basically whatever my buget can handle. They have small coral packages on Petsolutions.com. I'm thinking about starting with those.

As for fish, maybe a 6 line wrasse, mandarin goby, percula clown, still not sure yet.

Thanks Tim, I'll try to take more pictures of the backside. Would 1 gallon be enough for a decent water change? or is it too much?

Thanks for the comments!
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member
johnanddawn - Thanks for the tip. I removed most of the filter pads and left 3. The second chamber below I'll probably used for media.
 
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reefman23

New Member
Please no Mandarin's... they will thrive in large tanks with a mature population of pods. While you may have seen them in nanos before, it just is so unlikely that they will thrive in our small tanks and will most likely die after several weeks or months, BTW, they arent gobies, they are dragonets.

that being said, I love you setup! False walls are way cool. This tank has a ton of potential and I look forward to it blossoming!

Jesse

p.s. Welcome to nanotank.com! :welcome
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
:welcome and let me tell you what anice setup you have there... i cant wait until is stocked with corals and fish... this tank will rock... :mrgreen:
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member







5-23-06: Added (3) N. Snails

Signs of life

Cooling Fans

Under the hood



Moonlight



Power Supply

My Goodies

As requested, back shots of the tank





I still have a couple more modds to do. An automatic top off for sure and maybe a fuge. Thanks for the welcome and comments!!
 
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mikeguerrero

Active Member
Nice setup,

I really like how organized you kept the power supply cords and how each chamber in filtration has it's function...

So how do you like the nano skimmer? Is she pulling out skimmate? Are you using chemipure in chamber #1?

I see your diatoms have made their presence, how long have you had the tank running, how long do you leave the lights on?

Your cleaning crew should help out a lot...

MG
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member
I've used the skimmer once so far. It works pretty good for a nano. I have it set on timer for 2 to 3 hours when all the lights are off. The tank gets a bit bubbly when it runs all day. I don't like it. :neutral:

Question!?! Should it be skimming the additive/supplements? The cup collects but the waste is clear.

The media that's in the chamber is an aquaclear carbon bag. I had the lights on for almost 12 hours a day but just recently adjusted it 10. The moon light goes on 3 hours before and after PC bulb. The tanks been running since 5-13-06.
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member
UPDATE:


Bought a Nano Customs 2.0 ICA (running it with a Micro-Jet 450 pump)

I got tired of opening the cabinet just to check the temperature so I fitted next to the chiller.

My Rena heater started heating up more than it should. Temperatures would rise to almost 89 degrees when it was originally set at 82 degrees. So I found and ordered a Finnex Titanium Heater from Premium Acuatics. I had plans of mounting the digital contoller inside the cabinet but the length of the cord from the heater to the controller was not long enough. :sad:




JBJ ATO (running it with a Rio HF 350gph)

(2) 13watt PC kit from Nano Customs. One is for my quarantine tank below and the other is for a fuge which is still in the process.

A look below: I added 2 more power strips. One is right above the ATO and the other is actually in front of the one up top. So I have a total of 5 power strips!

Nice and Snug: I managed to fit a 5 1/2 gallon which will be used for a quarantine/top off tank.

Finally new shots of the tank.

Recently added: (4) Mushrooms, (3) N. snails and (1) scarlet hermit.



Bad news: I now have ich in my nano. I took out my damels and placed them in the quarantine tank, removed the carbon bags and have been dosing both tanks with NO ICH since last Tuesday. Hopefully by next week they'll be gone. I figure it will be a good time to do my first water change by then. I plan to change 1 gallon and put in a phos-zorb and chemipure bag. Suggestions please!!!

My chiller set up is runing on one power strip. I'm think of putting a timer on this strip to run during the day only. Any suggestions?

I removed my nano skimmer since it wasn't really doing the job. I'm thinking of removing my bio balls and converting the chamber to a fuge.

I want to change my lighting. It's not as bright as I want it to be. I'm thinking of going with a 14,000k MH w/ a 13w actinic pc or 96w quad pc. Which would be better?

Your feedback is appreciated.
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
If you go with the MH you will be able to keep clams and SPS corals when you get everything settled. I think that these Fission Skimers need to be run with a set of baffles after them to control microbubbles. If you intend for this to be a reeftank you may want to replace the bioballs with LR rubble, the bioballs promote increased nitrates.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
I'd kick the skimmer and the bioballs. Mike had a huge fight with ich not too long ago. He used a UV filter among other things. Do a search for his thread and it should provide some insight. HTH.
 
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aquemeni5110

New Member
Skipm - I'm leaning towards the 96w quad pc because its cheaper and it should fit pefectly on my tank. I still want to go Halide if not on this tank, for sure on my next!


Tim - Okay, so the skimmers out. I'd like to remove the bio balls for a fuge but the water level is not consistent. It could be if I modded with more acrylic but then I'd have to take everything out and I don't really want to do that. I saw the AC 70 Fuge thread and thought it was a good idea. The only reason why I haven't done that yet is because I want to retrofit the 13w pc kit I bought (for the fuge) with a canopy I plan to build for the new lighting. Is it worth buying a uv? what's HTH?


Brian
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
Hey you should doit dont waste time or then you'll regreat it ....and well putting LR rubble instead of the bio balls will do the same or add little by little until the weight is compensated to have the same flow that the bio balls were helping you with....and well know that you got out the skimmer i personally dont like the fussion skimmer i had it and is gone to MR. trashcan stupid bad skimmer and well i always say and never will stop selling why Skimmer on nano's just keep with the water changes and you wont have any problems at all....do regular water changes every week %25 or 2 times a week 15% or big water change every week 75% and you'll be fine you'll see.... :mrgreen:
 
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