Intarsiabox's 2012 Nano Contest Entry

[intarsiabox]

I just got back from a family vacation in southern California so I thought I better get going on my nano entry. Since I spent a small fortune on my holiday(lucky me got a heat wave of 105 during Disneyland and water is $4.00, this alone became pricey) I decided to do my entry on somewhat of a budget. I had a 10g tank, lid, heater and light fixture in the garage so I decided to use some elbow grease and use this equipment.
[IMG][/IMG]

This is what I ended up with after some cleaning.
[IMG][/IMG]

I did have to buy a filter so I went with a new HOB model for $24. This will be OK for filtration but not enough flow for the entire tank so a Koralia Nano will be tracked down and added soon. I also need to get some black paper to tape to the back of the tank. All in-tank components are black so I'm hoping it'll all blend in.

[IMG][/IMG]

I also had a few pieces of dry rock laying around that I'll be using. I have a bunch of live rock in my sump but most of it is covered in anthalia so I may have to buy some fresh stuff.

[IMG][/IMG]
I haven't decided on a theme yet but I'm leaning towards an invertabrate only type of tank with a variety of shrimp.

Now I have to see if I can figure out how to post a link in my signature to my build thread.

[intarsiabox]

Well I figured out how to add the link to my signature but not sure on how to rename it, anyone?

[Enigma]

You got that cleaned up nicely! The HOB looks like it will be very discreet, too.

For your signature, replace the text between the URL tags with what you would like it to read:

Intarsiabox's 2012 Nano Contest Entry

I removed the first and last bracket to foul the code . . . hopefully this will work and you'll be able to see what I mean. Don't remove those in your sig.

URL="http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=89972"]Intarsiabox's 2012 Nano Contest Entry[/URL

[intarsiabox]

Thank-you Shelly!

[intarsiabox]

Found a Hydor Nano for the tank, this will give me a total flow of 34X in the tank. Decided to just use the dresser in one of the spare bedrooms for a stand as there is an adjustable shelf bracket above it in case I don't like the lighting and have to switch to an LED fixture that I have laying around. My wife's grandmother made the dresser a number of years ago, it's rock solid and no particle board. I also leak tested the tank today to make sure it still holds water, no problems so I don't have to go out and spend another $15 for a new tank.

[reefwars]

sounds like its off to a great start, ill be following along for sure , you cleaned up that old tank pretty darn good i gotta say looks brand new now

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by reefwars

sounds like its off to a great start, ill be following along for sure , you cleaned up that old tank pretty darn good i gotta say looks brand new now

It has some minor scratches and smudges I can't get rid of mostly on the back and sides but the tank was really only dusty and didn't take much to clean up. The heater was another story as I've been using it off and on for 5 years, I hope it still works and doesn't blow up (old Stealth heater). I only used the tank as a low light dwarf seahorse tank before so it didn't have much ever grow on the glass.

I also bought a 50/50 bulb for the light fixture, it is only a 15W T8 so I'll have to see if it is actually capable of growing anything and not just sustaining. I'm going to add reflective tape to the inside to increase the amount of light being directed to the tank as I doubt the white plastic there now is really effective.

[Boxboy]

Looking good.. Glad your able to reuse that tank. very good cleaning job!

[Enigma]

I think the t8 would be enough for a lot of softies. You can always move them close to the top, too. NPS would be a challenge, but they would work as well.

[intarsiabox]

Actually the 10g wasn't my first choice. I had originally wanted an AIO tank and found an 8g model at Petsmart for $100. I took it home and found that the tank was acrylic and was already scuffed up around the top and a few scratches here and there. That's when I decided that I may as well use my 10g if it's going to have scratches anyway, mind you a 10g tank is only $15 brand new at Petsmart. So I returned the AIO and got a new HOB filter, nano powerhead and a 50/50 bulb for half the price of the AIO. I'll admit that I still like the looks of the AIO's better but I'm not sure if this tank will remain set up at the end of the contest or if I'll just put all the livestock into my main tank. I was thinking of drilling the tank and using a sump but then I'd need to build a stand and buy all new plumbing parts as well as a glass cutting hole saw and since I have a 2.5g pail for water changes I figure with 25% weekly water changes is it worth the hastle of a sump on a tank that will likely have no fish in it.