34G SPS Solana
 

I took down the big tank after accepting a job in Singapore and set up a smaller 34G Solana all in one cube that my younger brother was going to care for while I am gone. 3 weeks later and I have been offered an even better job here in Vancouver. A new animation studio is opening up this fall and its the best opportunity I have ever had so as much as I would prefer to go to Singapore, I kind of have to stay...

My fiance and I are going to vacation in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines for two months before I start the new job, so not all that bad.

Also the big tanks had started to really consume my life and it's been nice to not have them around the past few weeks. I actually go outside again and do things non aquarium related. My fiancee couldn't be happier ;)

34G Solana
DIY stand/light holder 'arm'
Vortech MP20
250 watt HQI LumenMax 3 pendant
250 watt Phoenix 14K
Pacific Coast 1/13 HP chiller
JBJ Auto Top Off
Aquacontroller Jr.

Lights are on 4pm to 10pm
Temperature stays around 80 so far, chiller kicks in at 81...seems to come on about once every few hours
5G water changes once a week with DD salt
I dose Ca, Alk and Mg manually each day but I will get some dosing pumps eventually

Skimmerless...the solana comes with a skimmer but I didn't want to bother since I want this tank to be really maintenance free.

Fish

Pair of clowns
Fang Blenny
Orange spotted sleeper goby

Inverts

some kind of small conch
5 peppermint shrimp
5 snails
Green gigantea carpet anemone

Corals are mostly SPS and zoas with a few gorgonians and a few LPS. All I really plan on adding to this tank are photosynthetic gorgonians and some more zoas. I had a AEFW scare and don't really want to mess with adding more acros since I can't QT them. I found some on a brand new colony I had bought and ended up tossing the whole thing :(

Stand being built:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6486.jpg

Finished:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6487.jpg

So same style as the old one as you can see here:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6489.jpg

Honestly, the room is so much nicer without the big tank too...

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6628.jpg

My SPS browned really badly after the move. I guess the combo of stopping ZEO and moving was hard on them. I didn't loose any luckily except some that already were not looking too good before the move. About 3 weeks later and they are getting better and better but the color is taking way longer than I thought to come back. Mostly the bases of the corals look good but the polyps are brown. Anyone know why? Polyp extension since the move has been crazy though...so much more than before. It really seems kind of weird. Anyone know why this might be? Most of the corals are kind of fuzzy brown LOL. Once they retract their polyps, the corals are much brighter again. All I can think of is that maybe the polyps take longer to color back up?

Anyways....

The carpet nem made the move just fine:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6502.jpg

Full tank:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6750.jpg

Kind of a top down:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6777.jpg

Always liked the Solana's, have to say your pads not to shabby either! Enjoy the trip and congrats on the new job.

Haven't had this long but I hope it colors up. I think it might be really nice eventually:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6741.jpg

This one lost a LOT of color :(

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6740.jpg

Same here :( But you can see PE is still good.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6742.jpg

This was white with purple tips...now brown with kind of purple tips:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6662.jpg

Some nice zoas:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6739.jpg

This frag is new. I can't get a good photo of it though. It's always blurry. It's still got some good color. Just need to figure out how to shoot it properly. I know this will be one of my favorites! Love anything with green tips...especially if the base is purple!

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6661.jpg

Used to be white with green tips and even greener polyps:

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6663.jpg

Haven't had this all that long but it's lost it's color too.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6676.jpg

This one hasn't! Most all LPS look great still :D

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6765.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6672.jpg

Looks great!! Really nice nano goin on there.

Is your floor and wall bare cement? That looks kinda cool. You're in Van, so it doesn't get that cold there, but is it tough to keep warm in the winter?

This is new too. I really, really like this one. Going to be interesting to see what happens because so far anything that has a white base color has browned. But maybe that was just the move. I hope this one stays like this!

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6762.jpg

The Blenny :)

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/_MG_6738.jpg

Thanks!

Yes the walls and floor are unfinished cement. We really love it since you can be pretty hard on them. Most of the floors are heated underneath, so easy to keep warm. But actually we rarely used the underfloor heating because gas is free in the building and the fireplace is easily warm enough. Being concrete it retains heat and cold easily. So easy to cool in the summer and heat in the winter.

Oh and silent! We can be very loud in here and not worry about neighbors. Actually you can never hear the neighbors unless they really slam something on the ground.

Hey Justin nice Solana! Very sweet indeed.

I thought about putting my MP20 in the same spot as yours but i was scared that if the power ever fails & the return pump stops then the drive part of the Vortech will get submersed.

Did you build something in the back there to protect it?

ps. didn't know you were an animator. I nearly made to jump to Singapore too a couple of years ago but ended up coming to Vancouver.

.

thats lookin sick Justin.

So your an animator too? :D

I made a dry box out of glass. I would suggest acrylic though since the glass is a little heavy. I was lucky because the box sits (rests) on top of the elbox for the return plumbing. Otherwise the MP20 magnets are not strong enough to hold up the glass box. I have seen people use acrylic though and it does hold the acrylic in place no problem. I made my box 7" tall and its perfect. I think it's 4"x3.5"x7". 1/4" glass. Lots of silicone. Still makes me nervous but it did hold water, so I assume its sealed.

Thanks man :biggrin:

I am pretty happy about it. Even though I am 99% sure I will be staying here, I have enjoyed this tank much more than any big tank I have owned...maybe just cause it's new though. I miss the fish but they all went to great homes.

It's just nice because it's a fraction of the maintenance and cost of the bigger tanks.

My only concern still is skimmerless. We'll see how that goes with an sps tank.

VFX- This is my 'dry box' It's held up partly by the vortech magnet but also resting on the return 90 degree elbow. Sorry not the best picture.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6783.jpg


And one from a member on RC. His is acrylic and in the middle compartment.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_6734.jpg

My concern with the acrylic is that I had heard it can craze and it worried me that in such a small space, it could over heat the acrylic. Probably not a real concern but that along with the fact that glass is easier for me to work with was enough for me to try glass.

I've worked as an animator, but I've been comp for about 8-9 years now with occasional bits of animation work. I found that with my barely average 3D skills I got a better rate doing comp.

My Solana is virtually all SPS so I wanted to keep using a skimmer. I used the standard skimmer but it was way too loud & found I could only get it to pull really wet skimmate. Then I tried no skimmer & lots of water changes (10g a week) & now I'm back to skimming as I went from 2 fish to 4 fish. I might try a Tunze 9002 in there as I'm pleased with how they run on my 15g.

Cool, thanks for the box dimensions & pics. I have some acrylic lying around, I might knock something up & see how it goes. I think I'll still be nervous about it though (esp. with my DIY skills). Unless you want to build me a glass box in exchange for cash? :mr grren:

btw - don't you think the reef crest mode is just too damned sick in a 20" cube! Do you have yours turned up to max?

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Comp work probably makes more money than animation these days I think, so you made the right choice.

I am thinking of getting a 9002 as well actually. Under $200 and seems really nice for a nano skimmer. I just want to keep trying skimmerless for a while longer. I also have four fish, so I do worry a little. The plan was to only keep the two clowns but then I thought the goby would be good to keep the sand clean and I really didn't want to give up the blenny.

My DIY skills are not great either but I could build one for sure. I think you would be fine though if you go get the glass cut and then silicone it. It's really easy.

I do have the MP20 up to the max in reef crest mode. I think it's perfect for this tank. It hits the front glass and really swirls around.

Once all your corals settle down in there, I'd be interested to know how they are under 250w HQI.

I've been itching to change my standard 150w for a 250w Sunpod.

For me everything is looking nice & PE is decent but nothing grows very fast. Maybe going to 250w & less photo period may help.

I might give the dry box a go... I guess I'll test it extremely thoroughly before I use it!

.

Just build one and then fill it with water for a day to make sure there are no leaks. I honestly didn't test mine for all that long. I really should have but I used a ton of silicone and am confident its very well sealed.

You have me thinking now though...tomorrow night, I may take it out and fill it with water overnight just to double check. Obviously there is a lot to loose if it leaks!

So far I love the 250. My corals seem very happy under it. The browning is not from the lighting I don't think. More just the transition from big ZEO tank to skimmerless small tank.

I think I will give it a good month or two before I change anything. If at that point, things have not improved, I will get a skimmer and start to rethink things.

I would be a little worried about running it skimmerless for SPS too, but correct me if i'm wrong, I think you're fairly experienced, so that will help you out. The Deltec Nano skimmers are quite small, and quite good too, would it fit in the back compartment? They fit in BioCubes...

Looking good. Wish my cube had the filtration section like yours.

When I sold my Deltec, planned on another skimmer and still do but its been a couple months now running skimmerless and my tank and sps are all fine.

For a tank like yours, I would look at the new Euroreef nano skimmers. Seem to have good reviews and custom made for your own tank. I have the link to the store in the US, if you would like it. Talked to them a couple times now, in regards to their skimmers.

I have had salt tanks for about 7 years now but I have not really kept SPS all that long...I had an SPS tank when I lived in Miami for about 2 years that wasn't a great success and then I have been keeping one here in Vancouver about a year again. I am confident enough I can do it skimmerless but it may be more maintenance that way and I really want low maintenance.

I will look into the Deltec Skimmers. Which model are you talking about?

Did they ever come out yet? I kept hearing they were delayed? I would love to see that link when you have a chance.

My only concern might be the price...this thing is really starting to add up!

EDIT: Did some searching and the Euroreef looks really nice. Nice little mesh wheel skimmer. Looks like the one for the Solana is about $150 USD, so not bad at all.

What do people think about the Nano Euro-Reef (Solana version) compared to the Tunze 9002? I am still kind of leaning towards the 9002 but I am not really even sure why.

Yea, the prices are very good it seems.

How much volume do you figure the tank itself is? Just looking at one at Reef Solutions, unless I can find a better deal at one of our sponsors.

Well 34G minus LR...maybe around 25? But that's really just a rough estimate! Maybe even less since the tank is not filled all the way to the top.

I think it's safe to say between 20-25G though :)

Are you looking at a Euro Reef from Reef Solutions? I don't see any Euro Reefs on their site. Does any Canadian retailer carry the nano Euro reefs? I don't want to order from the US.

Sorry. I meant to ask the volume of the show portion, minus the sump portion. Just wondering how wide the sump was.

I was looking at the Solana @ RS. I,m going to add a sump to mine but for the price may go the same route as you. Your Solana has inspired me in that direction instead.

So far the only place I have found the Euroreefs was on their own site or the people I have talked with @ Global Aquarium Supply in the US

The show portion is 15.5"x20"x20" and the back is 4.5".

I would definitely recommend the Solana! I am very impressed with this tank so far and the back compartments are very well set up. I really didn't want a sump this time and other than going with a custom built all in one, the Solana was perfect.

The only thing about the Euro Reef is that it will stick out of the top. You will see the collection cup. I have a feeling its a better skimmer than the Tunze just based on design alone but I want to keep this thing really clean looking and free of equipment showing.

I wasn't even going to bother with a Vortech but only bought one because its less equipment in the tank. So to add a skimmer that sticks out of the back kind of defeats the purpose.

I think the Tunze it is. I can get it locally for under $200 and it fits right in the back, collection cup and all.

Cool. Thanks Justin. Thats almost 27g.

Hey Doug, what about this one? I hear good things...

http://ottawainverts.com/shop/produc...0dacbdec5b616e

It's a pretty nice looking little skimmer.

I seen them when they were introduced but no idea how good they are. Wonder if some on Rc are using them in their similar tanks.

Yeah I have found people on RC and nanoreefs.com who have used them in the Solana with good results.

Apparently the newer models are much better than the original ones.

From what I have read so far, they are probably about the same as the Tunze.

One guy who has used the Tunze, Sapphire and Euro-Reef said the Tunze was middle with Sapphire just a little below it and Euro Reef just a little better. I got the feeling from him that they were all about the same for a moderately stocked nano tank.

I think if I didn't add the goby to my tank, I would probably just not worry about it and get the cheapest one. But with four fish now, I do want to make sure its going to keep up!

I think I would probably go with the Tunze... I don't think I have ever come across a bad/negative review of them.

That or take a look at the Deltec MCE300... Might be a bit more than you want to spend, but I've seen the 500 in action and its super quiet, and pulls some nice skimmate..

Actually I would go with the MCE300 even but its hang on the back and there is no way! :lol:

I think it's going to be the Tunze...

Tank looks great. I was wondering if Pixar opening its new studio so soon after you accepted the Singapore jobs was going to cross your radar at all. Haha, I'm not surprised at all. :p

:noidea: I don't know what your talking about? Pixar? What's a Pixar?







I had heard Pixar might be coming for a year now because I have friends working there (San Fransisco) but I really didn't think it would happen. Vancouver was not the only place they were looking into.

Yeah, was sorta hearing bits and pieces about that too. Nonetheless, it's pretty cool it landed in Vancouver. Congrats. :)

Well...I never said that was the new job did I :wink:

I am going to wait to sign a contract before I say anything about the new job here in Vancouver. Technically as of now, I still have a contract to go to Singapore. I have the offer for a job here but until its in ink...well you know.

They are a very reputable studio though and generally if they say you have a job, you have a job ;)

... oh. Um, ok, in that case, file away the congrats and take it out when it's more appropriate. Or regift it in the meantime to someone else who needs it, I don't mind.

LOL...thanks Tony.

I just don't want to get too excited (although I am) until its 100%. It's still a few months away until I meet with the studio to sign a contract and work out details. A lot can change between now and then.

Back to the tank though...

I am getting such mixed reviews about the Tunze 9002 skimmer...

Some say its terrible, some say its great and others seem to say its just another average nano skimmer. I guess thats typical of skimmers but not so reassuring.

Actually on RC, more people seem to hate the thing than like it.

Ya, I read lots of reviews there last night also. Seems about split. Not enough with the Euroreef yet to say its better though. I loved my 9010 but have never seen the 9002.

And I mostly liked it for the simplicity and fool proof skimming it gave me. Also great customer service. However, for straight out skimming, most other models I have seen are as good.

I know I will go with Euroreef, if I switch to a similar type tank. However, that does not mean its a good skimmer. :lol: I just like the reviews I have seen and the price, plus the custom fit for ones specific tank.

Apparently ((and I don't know if this is true) I would have to get a new collection cup to fit the 9002 in the back of the Solana. I know I have to take the magnet off and that's a pain but I really don't want to have to buy a new collection cup too!

I spoke to Todd at Global Aquarium Supply and he can ship me the Euroreef nano for around $30 through regular post as a 'gift'. So customs is not a problem.

I really would prefer the Euroreef but I don't want it sticking out of the top of the tank.