Enigma's 2012 Nano Contest Entry

[Acipenser]

I like the way you have everything shoe horned in !

[nanoreefnewbie]

Nice trick lol..everything stuffed in back looks great open tank no equipment showing

[Enigma]

Hmm. Apparently "Notme" and/or "Idunno" struck again last night.

I finished modding the hood this morning for all of the cables. Yea! It will work nicely. I went to grab the zip tie holders that will keep everything nicely aligned (the same ones supplied with Vortech pumps) . . . And they're gone. Gone!

#1 son says "Notme." #2 son says "Idunno." Hubby said something unintelligible and pulled the covers back over his head.

*sigh*

[Enigma]

No one likes it when mom is unhappy. Notme was the culprit.





One of the annoyances about Nano Cubes, is that the aquariums just aren't designed for a lot of equipment. I had to hack out the hood in a few places so the cords from the devices inside the back chambers could be run out of the aquarium.

The cords then need to be aligned and held in place. In the event one doesn't do this, the cords will shift and get pinched in the hood when it is closed. I had this happen with my NC12 a couple of times, and the hood cut through the protective coating on the cables leaving exposed wire. There is still a little positioning work still required inside the aquarium to ensure that everything lines up perfectly. I think zip ties should take care of that.

The cable holder on the far right of the top photo is just there to keep that cable shifted over a little: so that it doesn't creep out from behind the tank and become noticeable to viewers.

[Enigma]

The fans in the hood have been replaced, with ones that are more powerful (though just as noisy):







The fans I chose are a bit thicker then the original fans. The screw holes line up perfectly, but the original screws are too short for the mounts towards the front of the hood.

The fans (in the third photo) are being run by Modular LED's fan power supply and adapter. They worked perfectly, and there was no indication of overheating. I let them run for 12 hours.

This is going to be a HUGE improvement over the original components, as the fans can be left running when the lights are off. What I consider a major design flaw with the Nano Cubes is that the fans shut off when the CF bulbs shut off. It is true that the fans will be underneath the splash guard (when I finally have the hood all put back together), and they don't do much for air exchange. But, with these closed systems, and the challenges in maintaining pH, I do feel the fans should run 24/7: no potential source of O2 should be left off.

The fans came from Memory Express. Unfortunatly, Modular LED doesn't offer a 60mm fan.

[reefwars]

ooooo quite the "enigma" ya got there :P

[nanoreefnewbie]

And happy wife = happy life lol... ..this tank is looking great

[fishoholic]

This is looking pretty cool so far.

Originally Posted by Enigma

If I do have to go VDSB . . . I'm totally going to get a blue spot jawfish!

FYI (I found out the hard way) blue spot jawfish generally survive better in colder water tanks, 72-73. They are very prone to disease in warmer tanks.

[Enigma]

I just made the cutouts in the hood a bit bigger: in the event more equipment is squeezed in, and for the airline for the skimmer to poke out.

With the pH issues in these little tanks, I decided it was definately worth running the airline for the skimmer outside the tank. This could be risky, but as long as the airline stays above the waterline it shouldn't siphon any water out. I'll zip tie the airline to the power cord for the skimmer, so it doesn't fall.

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

This is looking pretty cool so far.



FYI (I found out the hard way) blue spot jawfish generally survive better in colder water tanks, 72-73. They are very prone to disease in warmer tanks.

Bummer. I'll be running this system at 79F.

I'm very glad that you chimed in about the temperature issue, as that was something I was totally unaware of. I did know that they require a VDSB, as they build their borrows four inches deep in the wild.

Now I really don't want a VDSB . . . The only consolation in it for me was the potential to house a blue spot jawfish.

If I have a hard time filling the void, I may slip in some pieces of dense base rock underneath the dry rock. I have given myself a half gallon of wiggle room, but I don't want to use any of that.