30g Nano Cube

[michika]

Since I'm moving in the near future, and can't take my 230g with me, I'm setting up a nano so I can get my fix.

I picked up a cute little 18"x18"x18" cube from Outtafocus. As soon as it got here I set it up with freshwater so I could see it in action.

The tank came with the stand, sump, Coralife skimmer, an ebo jager heater, a SCWD, and a mag 7 return pump. It arrived fully plumbed, and ready to be set up.

After letting it run for a couple of hours I decided that I would need a different flow pattern, and possibly more flow. I intend to keep the tank full of SPS, clams, and limited livestock. That being said some changes were made.

First I changed the standpipe. I opted to go for a gurgle buster design. This was the original:

This is the new standpipe:

After that I changed the drain pipe to maximize sump space. It went from this:

to this:

I also changed the return plumbing. So far this was the biggest change I made. I started by drilling the tank and adding in bulkheads. Through some clever plumbing, thanks to KrazyKuch, I now have two 90s pointing down to the bottom. Later they will hold two spray bars which, I hope, will alternate flow from top to bottom of the tank.

The returns before:

New returns, still on the SCWD:

Overall from the back the return plumbing looks like this:

Yesterday I was the recipient of some practically free, 'cause it didn't cost me anything, lights. This a 10k mogul 175w MH that came from Ed Holland. It even came in a lovely reflector ready to go into my hood, whenever I get around to it.

So far I have made numerous trips to the hardware store, and will probably be making a bunch more. I made two useless ones because my new puppy has learned how to use chairs to get onto tables.

She chewed up the first 90, so I went back to the store. When I got back, I found she chewed the second one, which resulted in a third trip. Nothing is tall enough when your dog understands how to use chairs...

Remaining things to do before adding actual salt water and life to my tank:
- add in a refugium to the sump
- refugium lighting
- hood to hold display tank lighting; 1xMH, 2x PCs, and moonlights
- add in spray bars
- repaint the blue on the back of the tank

So that is my tank in a nutshell so far. I hope to have it up and running by May 1st.