Michika's 28g long nano-esque tank!

[michika]

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!



With overflow sketch