Michika's 28g long nano-esque tank!
 

So I'm upgrading again!

My current tank isn't as SPS friendly as I had hoped, so now I'm upgrading once again. This tank will feature stronger and more random flow, more length, less height, and run with just T5s for lighting. I plan to DIY most items in an effort to keep the cost low. The tank will continue to house my 9 clams, a variety of SPS, and a few select pieces of LPS. This tank will house few fish, 4-5 at the most.

The tank:
Outside dimensions are 33" wide, 18" deep, and 12" tall, which is 30.9g. I will be limiting the water height to just 11", giving me 28g of usable space.

The tank will feature an external overflow with 2x 1.5" bulkheads for drainage. The external overflow will measure 10" wide, 5" deep, and 8" tall.

The water will be returned from the sump/refugium via a Reeflo Snapper pump, via a Calfo manifold. There will be four additional holes drilled into the bottom pane of glass to facilitate futher flow, as well as for easy water changes.

Lighting:
Since I'm on a Wattage budget I've chosen to go with T5 lighting for the display tank. At this time I believe I'll be going with 8 T5 bulbs run on two Workhorse 7 ballasts. While the initial investment for this lighting setup will be higher then just picking up a second MH, and supplimentary PC lighting, I think it will be better in the long run. T5s will put off less heat, as well as the power consumption will be lower. The cost of bulb replacement is comparable to MHs with approximately the same frequency.

Finally a few photos of the tank. I'm so excited to start the project I haven't even cleaned the tank out!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...PICT0007-2.jpg

With overflow sketch
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...PICT0001-5.jpg

wow
 

wow girl you just left my place and look at you go!
poor kevin!!!!

Grate looking tank you got your self cant wait to see it up and running!

" Dam" this sound like a great adventure...keep us posted, along with some Pic's.:onfire:

Neat stuff.

Just curious, how come you want to run the tank at 11"?

What do you use for Ca and Alk, do you run a reactor for those 9 clams or are you dosing manually?

Be careful about drilling so many holes in the bottom of your tank. You're probably only using 1/4" glass right? 4 holes may be much for such a thin piece of glass.

The total tank height is only 12" and since I would like a bit of a buffer I chose 11" incase of splashes, etc.

I run a kalk, calcium, and phosban reactor to keep all my levels in the right places. I also do weekly water changes and that seems to keep everything happy.

I think your right, I may skip on drilling the bottom pane. Although now I will have to look finding an alternative way to do easy water changes. Suggestions?

Just put in an extra valve in your drain line to your sump from the tank?

Love the colors bright green level, bright pink drink can :) did you build it?

Where do you get the t5's?

Nope I didn't build the tank, it came from Ed Holland! I haven't yet picked up the T5s, but I have two potential sources in mind for the bulbs. The ballasts are coming from an electrical wholesaler, and possibly the end caps as well.

As for the pink popcan and the neon green level....I have no comment!


Thanks Harvey, I'll figure out how to do that instead!

I'm now in the process of searching for a stand. It needs to be 35-38" wide, and I'm hoping for around 35-38" high. The stand probably only needs to be about 2ft deep. Its very frustrating not to have any place to work on this kind of stuff anymore. I'm also going to need a matching canopy, and I'm hoping a set of doors, or something to hide the tank itself.

The plumbing is mostly figured out now, its just a matter of getting the overflow done, and assembling the plumbing parts.

Quicky update:

The tank is about 80% ready to go now. I've gotten all my plumbing parts, my pump, and I've decided on my lighting.

I'm going to stay with a single 175w MH for the moment. After a really long hard look at T5s I've decided it isn't really the best option for me. The initial start up cost was more then my existing tank cost me to set up. In short the price drove me away. Maybe in the future I will revisit the idea, but right now I'm happy with keeping my budget small.

The manifold itself is complete. Its all plumbed up, it just needs a trial run which will be happening once I get the stand. I chose to go with the ReeFlo Snapper pump for its low power consumption, the fact that it is pressure rated, and that you can dial it back for futher power savings if need be.

I'm waiting on the following before the big change over:
- Drilling the overflow box and the back pane of the tank.
- The stand & canopy
- Finalizing a sump design, this will be after the stand & canopy arrive.
- Completing the plumbing from tank to sump.

The next step is the arrival of the stand and canopy. From there it is just plumbing it up and confirming my sump design. Everything else is ready for the change over!

I'll try and post photos of everything later this evening.

The promised photos:

The tank with the finished manifold.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0134.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0136.jpg

Corner bracing / manifold rest:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0145.jpg

Cool, more pictures, more pictures :biggrin:

Lookin' good, Catherine! I'm looking forward to seeing that manifold in action. It's an idea that's always interested me.

Where are you getting your stand and canopy from?

There will be more photos tonight possibly, if not Friday.

The stand and canopy is actually coming from Edmonton Eskimo. I'm super excited about it!

I can't wait to see how the manifold works too. I think there will be a crazy amount of flow, so much so that I'll have to go barebottom, or throttle the pump back considerably. I'll try and make sure to get photos of it in action.

I hope to have the tank running by Ed's Reef Meet on the 14th, but we'll have to see.

That should work. Are you going to paint it?

I most likely will, probably a blue if I have time. I'll be painting the back, and the overflow.

Looks good. Zylumn(Kevin) has a manifold similar to that on one of his tanks.

Thanks! I'll definitely have to go take a look at his system!

that's not the stand you're talking about painting I hope!

Nope, I mean the back of the glass! :D

new reef
 

ok ok
it,s been a couple days whats going on.

I'm not really sure what is going on actually...we have temporarily come to a standstill...but I'm on my way home now so hopefully I will post a photo layden update tonight.

sorry guys, I'm the reason for the hold up! I am trying as best I can to finish the stand but am having time issues as well as I need to get some more material and make sure the color matches etc. which can be tedious at best. I'm doing my best and I'm just not willing to sacrifice quality to rush the job. Be patient it will be well worth it.

So that was my previous to-do list.

The tank is now drilled, I have also fitted all the bulkheads into place. Drilling a tank in your bathtub is truly a pain!

I set up my sump, I think I will need 5-6 baffles to offset the pump I chose. The sump was free, again another awesome gift from Ed! In all my planning I failed to encorporate a refugium in my sump design. I hope that it will work itself out and I'll find a place for my refugium. :redface:

I'm sure the stand and canopy from Edmonton Eskimo will be more then worth the wait. I am more then willing to wait for a great end product. :mrgreen: I'll definitely be sure to post many many photos of it when it comes. :cool:

So next up:
- figure out a rock placement design.
- make a firm decision if I am going to go bare bottom or not, even if its just a trial run.
- make some decisions about livestock, should I add anything or keep it as is?

So far this is what my current tank has:
~60 different types of SPS (I won't be adding anything for quite some time)
~5 LPS, zoas, softies, etc.
10 clams, although unfortunately it seems that my favorite is on its way out. :cry:
- 1 yellow damsel
- 1 male mandarin goby
- 1 sixline wrasse
- 1 green clown goby (missing in action though)
- 1 urchin
- 1 lettuce nudibranch
- 1 1.5" foxface (going to a new home asap)
- various hermits and snails

Any suggestions on deletions/additions to my stocking?

Yay!

Stand and tank, with hitchhikers
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0019.jpg

Closer short of the dirty tank with hitchhikers
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...DSC_0023-1.jpg

Tentative 20g for a sump, with Reeflo Snapper pump.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/DSC_0027.jpg

Looks good, Catherine. I really like the shape of it. Long and low, eh? Also, the hitchhikers are pretty awesome :)

Thanks! The height is perfect if your standing, or sitting. I also no longer have to worry about wet sleeves :D!

Jason, Edmonton Eskimo, did a fantastic job. The stand looks amazing in person and its like touching silk its so soft!

I am just in the process of getting Kevin, Krazykuch, to put my overflow box on. I hope its going to be ready for a water test by tomorrow, or this weekend.

That stand is so nice! Did you get a matching canopy made?

Thank you.

Yes, there will be a matching canopy, and possibly a side cabinet for storage. We wanted to get the tank on the stand first to best figure out how to situate the canopy.

nice hitch-hikers

Dig the stand!!

Just my two cents, have you thought about painting your PVC with Krylon. I did that with mine so the white did not stick out as much in the tank.

All the plumbing will actually be hidden by the hood, so it won't be visible once everything is assembled. I may however paint the plumbing in the back of the tank.

What color did you paint yours?

I painted my return line black becuase I use a black background on the tank. I just find that it blends in a little more.

btw nice tank design and all, killer when its done!!

Thank you!

Is this tank in a dorm room?

Its an apartment that is just about as tiny as a dorm room.