PDA

View Full Version : My 20 gallon nano 4 months in....


mooch1982
12/06/2011, 10:02 AM
Just a quick shot of my 20 gallon nano. Equipment is as follows:

20 gallon tank
10 gallon sump
ASM G2 skimmer
250 watt Phoenix 14K, soon to changed to a a radium
Galaxy slect-a-watt ballast
Reef optix 3 pendant
453 nm LED strips for dawn/dusk and supp
Vortech MP-10WES
Auto top-off
Prodibio dosing

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MJsVCn6D9sM/Tt47qExbf9I/AAAAAAAABBE/Gc-GeJOpPAk/s1024/DSC_0170.jpg

Honest opinions would be great. :D

phyber
12/06/2011, 10:13 AM
looks good! keep up the work!

MHG
12/06/2011, 10:28 AM
Nice set up. I dont feel so bad as I thought I was the only one with a tank that old and no coroline.

ange062
12/06/2011, 10:33 AM
Looks great for a relatively young tank. Once you start to get some coralline growth on your rocks and your SPS grows out some I think it should be a truly amazing tank!

mooch1982
12/06/2011, 10:42 AM
Coraline has been extremely slow. I have seeded the tank multiple times, but I think the PAR coming of the halides is keeping it in check. I actually plan to reduce the PAR by going with a 150 Radium. Some of the corals are actually bleaching, so is should be a interesting experiment.

Thanks for the kind words by the way guys!

mooch1982
12/06/2011, 10:57 AM
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kmqV0pTET9g/Tt5JO5AZGjI/AAAAAAAABBQ/YziDPSp2yT0/s800/DSC_0176.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zi8LtmIrD28/Tt5JQ8lpoaI/AAAAAAAABBY/Bxv8Lq2tXlA/s576/DSC_0175.JPG

thejerzboi
12/06/2011, 06:29 PM
tank looks awesome and I really like your rock work, I am currently building a 20gal as well :D So i'll be following along as well, besides the chromis and the firefish is there any other fish?

sahin
12/07/2011, 09:23 AM
This is a very sweet little tank. Love the look. The tank has potential to become something spectacular! Keep up the good work. Is that Key Largo Rocks? - If so, did you get much algae issues?Post some more photos! :)

tpallas
12/07/2011, 01:07 PM
Slick tank! Are you dosing the Prodibio nano? And Reef Booster?

Cheers

mooch1982
12/07/2011, 09:10 PM
Thanks for the comment guys.

Yes the rock is Keylargo rock from Marco rocks. I purchased them "cooked" so they did not leach any phosphates. Excellent rock, but they take forever to get that aged look with coralline. Honestly, next time I would just go with some live rock for a small set-up.

As for Prodibio dosing, I do dose reefbooster once weekly. As for the bacteria supplements I do not use the nano pack, but rather the regular size pack. Same goes for the Reefbooster.

mooch1982
12/07/2011, 09:12 PM
I have one other fish by the way. It's a Bangai cardinal

8220
12/08/2011, 02:09 PM
It looks really nice and stylish. What brand is it?

jgraz
12/08/2011, 02:17 PM
Very nice setup. I am starting a 20 gal myself in a couple of weeks just getting everything together first. Is that cabinet just the standart 20 gal Cabinet. I was hopeing to get a 15 or 20 under there for a sump but I guess not. Isd you sump baffeled or just wide open.

mooch1982
12/08/2011, 02:37 PM
Sump is wide open. You would not be able to get a 20 gallon under there. Way to tight.

I run a very low flow through the sump (3x) and use a filter sock, so I can leave it wide open.

And for the above post, what brand of what?

thejerzboi
12/12/2011, 09:19 PM
are you planning on adding any cheeto to your sump or live sand?

mooch1982
12/13/2011, 10:48 PM
No. I dose Prodibio, so no need for any sort of biological filtration.

Nelz
12/14/2011, 09:46 AM
Well, not sure how much weight a newbs opinion matters, but I think it looks pretty daym good. I am very interested in starting one of these myself, I love looking at others peoples tanks and getting ideas.

teddyzaper
12/14/2011, 04:51 PM
meh, you could do better, this tank is mediocre at best. JUST KIDDING! this is probably one of the prettiest tanks, i LOVE how clean it is and the rockscape is just amazing!

sahin
12/14/2011, 05:10 PM
Can you shed some more detail on the prodibio dosing regime? I'd like to know what and how often you were dosing especially in the first coupe of months of the tanks life. Many thanks.

mooch1982
12/15/2011, 08:07 AM
Hey guys,

Thanks for all the comments. My Prodibio dosing regimen goes as follows:

Ever week I dose the regular size Biodigest then Biodigest/Bioptim every other week. Essentially I am using the non nano pack, and dosing the biodigest (bacteria supp) weekly as opposed to bi-weekly.

I also dose the regular size reefbooster, not the nano every Friday.

My feeding schedule is as follows:

Friday: Reefbooster
Sat: No feeding
Sun: Mysis Shrimp
Mon: Mysis Shrimp
Tuesday: Rods Coral Food
Wednesday: Flakes
Thursday: Rods Coral Food

By the way, I am making the switch next week to a Sunlight supply Lumen max 2 pendant and a Radium 250 watt bulb. As much as I like the Phoenix, it washed out some color. The Radium is sill by far my favorite bulb. I am also putting together a new lamp tree made from metal to support the new light.

Will post pics soon!

mooch1982
12/15/2011, 05:54 PM
So went to lowes today and picked up some parts to start building the lamp tree. So far, so good. I had to move the tree 4.5 inches behind the tank as the new pendant is 15 inches deep hence the wood blocks. The reflector however is only 11.5 inches deep and covers the tank perfectly. I made it so it is super easy to adjust up and down. Pedant can be adjusted from 2 - 15 inches from surface of the water.

Materials cost me no more than $20 to build. I had all the tools, except the pipe bender which I will be returning. Will be painting, drilling, and adding reflector to it in the coming days. Will post some more pics when complete. For now, enjoy:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--FLs9lX_bA0/TuqHP7sgErI/AAAAAAAABBo/Guie54E0k1A/s576/DSC_0295.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C1WKRHy3_M4/TuqHSOeYK7I/AAAAAAAABBw/Zqvl_RjjXmA/s800/DSC_0300.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-86iEyC7HIgc/TuqHUIyzweI/AAAAAAAABB4/pT54IU6BpyY/s576/DSC_0296.JPG

Boring, I know! :D I just posted to give other ideas.

tpallas
12/16/2011, 11:23 AM
Well done on the tree!

Hey out of curiosity - what level do you keep your alk at?

Cheers

mooch1982
12/16/2011, 04:00 PM
My alk stays between 8.4 and 8.9. It is probably consistent, but the hanna checker has a accuracy of +/- .4

In all honesty, consistency is by far the most important thing have learnt, and next patience. I use to mess around with, Alk, Mag, anc calcium, but never had the results I was looking for when compared to consistency.

mooch1982
12/16/2011, 04:18 PM
Hey guys,

Primed my tree today. Used the Rust-Oleum Cold galvanizing compund. This will act as an agent to help paint bond to the metal. Without it, paint would chip off in time and not stick to galvanized piping.

Also received my pendant. Should have my bulb tomorrow. Looking to have it up by Sunday and will be painting the lamp tree flat black tomorrow!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lhS8m7tUgmE/TuvEZ96DEtI/AAAAAAAABC4/LnHIyvoCnzc/s512/DSC_0303.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQIhATj3OY0/TuvBI6CQlUI/AAAAAAAABCY/swt_AcGGBL8/s512/DSC_0301.JPG

Hawkingcolorado
12/16/2011, 04:18 PM
That first piture is fantastic!! One of the clearest I've seen.. Tank looks fabulous!!!:fun2:

mooch1982
12/17/2011, 06:57 PM
Installed my new tree today after painting it black. Also hung my new pendant with a 250w radium bulb and all I have to say is wow!

Phoenix is simply not as good as the radium. Radium is king. It truly provides a full spectrum light without washing out other colors. I ran both bulbS on the hqi setting on my galaxy ballast and just love the radium. I am also supplementing with 450nm LEDs. Will post some pics after a week to show how corals are responding.

Picano
12/17/2011, 08:41 PM
What overflow and return pump are you using? I'm so jealous of your setup! The G2 skimmer isn't way overrated for your tank?? It still functions very well?

mooch1982
12/18/2011, 09:56 AM
I use to have the G2 on my 90 gallon set-up, but it really has been just fine for my nano set-up. Works well. I really don't pull much gunk, but credit their goes to prodibio dosing!

I would most definitely recommend the G2 for a nano set-up without hesitation. Only problem it is that it does release a lot of micro bubbles. They are know to do that. I remedied that by having really slow flow through my sump and a filter sock. Has worked out perfectly!

mooch1982
12/18/2011, 09:59 AM
Overflow is from glass holes. Return is a Ehiem pump, quite and reliable.

mooch1982
12/19/2011, 08:41 AM
Some new pictures. Tank is brighter in person. Moved around a few corals, and added new pendant and Radium bulb.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QCE80jh8O0s/Tu9Mc5sqVrI/AAAAAAAABDE/rqGFC7x07no/s720/dsc_0335.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EiJSbfUlAvk/Tu9MenmwBMI/AAAAAAAABDM/bNT3BPAn7uA/s512/DSC_0337.JPG