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jgraz
12/07/2011, 02:39 PM
Well my wife put the kbosh on my upcoming 75 build so my nano is coming early. This is gonna be a SPS lovers nano.
My plan is as follows:
DT-20gal high
Sump-10g or a 20H if I can fit
Glass holes super nano overflow
Glass holes 1/2" return
SICCE SYNCRA 1.0 return pump
Skimmer- either the Bubble Magus 3+ or 3.5 not sure yet if the cone design is worth the extra $40
I have 2 Koralia 425's for extra flow
Lighting- I have one of the 120w LED units that I may a 12"stunner strip with magenta/blue for added effect.

Did I miss anything? Feel free to offer any input, its all welcomed. I imagine i'll likely have to add a calcium reactor later because like I said I want this to be SPS central.
Thanks for looking
Graz

teddyzaper
12/07/2011, 04:12 PM
auto top off?

also, i would go with the cone, it seems to work a lot better from what i have seen.

jgraz
12/07/2011, 05:12 PM
auto top off?

also, i would go with the cone, it seems to work a lot better from what i have seen.

Ahhhhh yes the ATO forgot that. Thanks for the input on the skimmer. I'm really in between on that. Forty bucks is not much so I may go that way. I'm in a BRS group buy right now do I can get it 20% off.

Stercus Accidit
12/07/2011, 05:13 PM
I just set up my 20h with 20h sump...you should check it out.

I bought the Sicce 1.5 for mine and actually wish it was a little bigger so I could tune it back a little. I am at about 3.5 ft of head with a few 90* in there and guess I am running 130gph.

Sounds like a great plan though, and I look forward to seeing it come together.

jgraz
12/07/2011, 05:21 PM
I just set up my 20h with 20h sump...you should check it out.

I bought the Sicce 1.5 for mine and actually wish it was a little bigger so I could tune it back a little. I am at about 3.5 ft of head with a few 90* in there and guess I am running 130gph.

Sounds like a great plan though, and I look forward to seeing it come together.

Where is your thread I definatly want to check it out. Or pics anything. This will be my first DIY sump so I need some assist there. As a matter of fact This is gonna be my first build from scratch.

jgraz
12/07/2011, 05:26 PM
Found this will be fun to go head to head. Though mine is not starting til just after christmas.

Stercus Accidit
12/07/2011, 08:30 PM
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2102352

I'll have to get pics of my sump tomorrow

jgraz
12/19/2011, 01:24 PM
Ok opinions needed. I got my skimmer in the other day, a BM nac3.5, and my overflow, return, and return pump are on the way. Yesterday I was at a LFS and they were giving away 10G tank to the first 50 customers so I go t that too. Now I getting ready to build the sump and I have noticed an issue that I need help with. If my calculation are correct between the skimmer, return pump and baffles im gonna use about 13" of the 20" available in the 10G. Not sure If that remaining room filled about 9-10" high will be enough for an effective fuge. Im considering just cutting the fuge altogether and just having 2 sections in the sump. What does everyone think.

The 10 gal in that cabinet leaves NO room for an ATO tank. I dont mind filling daily but in a small space that might be risky. So I was considering in place of a fuge I could make the last compartment for an ATO storage.

Lighting: Originally I was planning on using an LED I have on hand. The light has 40blues and 15 whites 20K, running at 2watts each for 110 total watts. 60* optics.
Recently I came across an ATI sunpower 6-bulb only 4 months old that I can get for a great price so im considering that also.

What do you guys think about all this. Any and all opinions welcomed

teddyzaper
12/19/2011, 02:44 PM
i feel that if you have a skimmer you dont need a fuge on such a small tank. I would go with the free LEDs. cant beat free. For the ATO, you can have it besides the stand or on a shelf in the stand, it doesnt weigh that much.

jgraz
12/19/2011, 02:55 PM
For the ATO, you can have it besides the stand or on a shelf in the stand, it doesnt weigh that much.

I was thinking that also. My thought was to add a small shelf and put a 2.5gal tank on it filled with RO and pump the water down when needed. but that would create a siphon right. Is there another type of way to do it with a raised water sorce. Plumbing is new to me, not even sure how im gonna do it yet.

jgraz
12/23/2011, 07:27 AM
Ok here are some aquascapes I came up with. Opinions please.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/52f6c3a5.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/d1d2a992.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/84977bfa.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/8c83e36b.jpg

My wife likes the 3rd one. I I between on the 2nd and 4th.

jgraz
12/29/2011, 12:21 PM
Well i have a nice 5 day weekend so I started the sump today and ran into a bit of an issue. After my so called careful planning and my awful measuring I just noticed that I will not be able to fit a fliter sock in the skimmer area. Here is the sump as of right now only 1 more piece of glass to place.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/f4434838.jpg
and the top view
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/c12b97ac.jpg
Do I really need one? I was thinking about placing the skimmer in the middle section and killing the fuge altogether. There is not much space in there to begin with and I was only gonna do LR anyway. Should I put the LR and a sock in the first section and skimmer in middle? What do you guys think?

teddyzaper
12/29/2011, 12:38 PM
no you dont need one a sock. i dont run one and i dont have any problems. I like the 4th aquascape!

jgraz
12/29/2011, 12:49 PM
Thanks Teddy. I guess no mechanical is nessicary(sp?).
I like the fourth one also but my wife has overruled me.

TjwBlake
12/29/2011, 01:30 PM
i say 4th as well. looking good btw

jgraz
12/31/2011, 11:35 AM
Thanks guys for the input. I also made some more progress today. Baffles held and sump and sections are water tight.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/67f4a9b2.jpg
And the 20H is drilled and overflow and return are installed. I was nervous about drilling. Afterward I realized it was really nothing to it.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/5f9944d2.jpg

Next up: Plumbing. This part worries me. I can handle electric but plumbing, we'll see.

jgraz
12/31/2011, 05:14 PM
painted and ready for plumbing
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/2445fd08.jpg

jgraz
01/02/2012, 01:44 PM
Could someone please confirm this for me. Everything is dry fitted. But want to make sure it looks good before I glue.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/6e29fda4.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/dca21b10.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/51eba7e7.jpg

Thanks in advance for the help
John

jgraz
01/07/2012, 02:28 PM
Well the plumbing is done. Hopefully, I get some pics up soon. Made a few changes from suggestions in the "plumbing assist" threat I had. We will see how it goes. The can of glue for the PVC says 2 hr curing time. Does that mean I can add water after that?
Also on a side note, the nem that I bought from Xavier(fellow jersey reefer) a few weeks ago split. I now have 2 GBTA, one is about 1" the other 1.5" I did not know they would split that small. Anyway I get some pics ASAP.

jgraz
01/07/2012, 08:06 PM
Here we go filling with water. Hopefully everything is tight. At the rate my system makes RODI it could be a long time.

Couple of pics

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/d66c6361.jpg

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/88723536.jpg

Thanks for looking

John

jgraz
01/08/2012, 03:15 PM
Well here we go. Filled and leak checked. Everything good.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/d4cbd991.jpg
Gonna work on scape tomorrow then salt and seeded sand/rock.
Got some ideas to run by you guys about what to do in the fuge. I have a pretty small area to use and was wondering what way to go. The area is only 7"x7.5"x9.5". I was thinking to do one of the following.
1st) DSB only. How deep?
2nd) Macro only
3rd) use the area for reactors. GFO/GAC. Or Bio-Pellets?
Any thoughts?
Anyway thanks for looking.
John

TjwBlake
01/08/2012, 05:59 PM
I do believe a DSB is useless at that size. I think that to be effective they need to have a fair amount of surface area.
If anything i'd probably use it for macro

jgraz
01/10/2012, 09:37 AM
Well cycle underway. I added some live rock and the filter pad from my frag tank and the sand im using is also from my frag tank. Only going with a thin covering for the substrate. basically just enough to cover. So much for all that rock work I did eariler, as soon as I took it apart I could not figure it out again, even with pics. Anyway this is what me and my wife came up with. Lots of place to put things.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/7168e2b0.jpg
Question: Since im using well seeded items from my other tank should I still add an ammonia source?
Well tanks for looking.
John

ange062
01/10/2012, 11:23 AM
If it's established LR from another tank no need for ammonia addition, IMO. You may not get much of a cycle. Sweet looking setup! And from your previous suggestion, I say go with the reactor for GFO. Biopellets shouldn't be needed on this small of a setup, that skimmer will easily keep your nitrates at 0, but phosphate control will always be an issue from feeding.

jgraz
01/28/2012, 11:35 AM
Well its been a bit since I updated, so here we go. The tank is up and going. Mostly stocked, though I may get 2 more fish not sure what though one will be a clown to replace the one I lost. The other is up for debate, so im taking any and all suggestions, so fire away. Anyway the inhabitants are a Snocasso, Yellow Clown Goby, Blood Shrimp, Sexy Shrimp, and the usual CUC. I added a couple of Snocasso's a couple of weeks ago and right away one was not doing so well. He hung in there for about a week or so, then gone. Not sure what was happening. I saw him eat and he seemed very happy at the store, but I guess these things happen. So im on the hunt for a mate for my other one. Coral has been getting added often. I need more(please someone have a sale). Sump is running good, though I need to find a way to keep stray cheato out of the display. Skimmer is awesome. I just added a CPR Nano Reactor that I am running a bag of Chemi-Pure in, but I may just change that to GFO/GAC when needed. I was also tinkering with the idea of running pellets in it, but I may not be able to get output to the skimmer and have read that, that is a must. Anyway enough rambling. Here are the pics. Thanks for looking
Also don't forget the ideas for my last inhabitant
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/fabbeb11.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/edcf8dc3.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/19dc56ff.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/4157a682.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/1533b649.jpg

Mongo77
01/28/2012, 08:14 PM
Hello, beautiful set up. I would add a canary wrasse, the yellow color would stand out in there and they'll help keep down unwanted pest that may get into your system. Your clown is very nice looking, looks almost exactly like mine which is black ice.

jgraz
01/29/2012, 09:33 AM
Nice fish. Got yellow with the clown goby. Also hoping to keep topless, so a jumper might be a problem

jgraz
01/30/2012, 01:44 PM
Well I just wanted to do a quick review of the CPR Nano Reactor that I decided to run. I was looking for something small that I could run GFO/GAC if needed. I came across this
http://************.com/2011/09/09/nano-mini-reactors-cpr/
It the on on the left. It is currently housed in my fuge section and running with bag of Chemi-Pure Elite. The contents of the bag have remain fluidized at least for the last few days. Not sure if it will remain that way as the bag becomes clogged, so that remains to be seen. It came with a RIO 90 pump and seems to be powered perfectly for this unit. It has the ability like most pumps to adjust flow. The water flows out of the top of unit and falls back into the fuge. I was concerned that that would be a bit noisy, but I really can't hear it even with the stand door open. I may change to GFO in the future and possibly GAC if/when I need it. I was considering pellets, but have read that flow should be diverted to skimmer and that is gonna be tough in my setup. All in all it seems well made and takes up little room. Unfortunatly I can't get a good pic because of it location in my sump. I'll see what i can do later for that. I think it is perfect for those with small spaces and wanting to run a reactor. It can also be put in the DT, but that would probably be an eyesore even with the black cover the sell for it. Here is a pic of it in pieces If anyone has any questions about it let me know. There are also some vid on you tube of it running. Thanks for looking
John
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/5e4e9e91.jpg

jgraz
01/31/2012, 12:26 PM
The last week or so I have spent pretty much all extra money on some new coral. I just wanted to update my new finds. My pic skills suck. Part of it is that im working with only an iPhone, the other part is....well its me, I just can't take a pic. Here goes.
Jason Fox Setosa
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/03e09a00.jpg
ATL Limeaid Acro
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/c2721cac.jpg
Cali Tort
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/f4552da6.jpg
And a few others that I aquired over the last week
Superman Digi
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/7f7958e3.jpg
Superman Monti and a Unknown Acro
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/89f965c2.jpg
Here is a purple bonsia that bleaced under my previous lighting starting to make a turn around
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/ed13fe44.jpg
Got a few other new things, but like I said my skills with a camera are lacking and those are actually worse then the one I posted. Well thanks for looking.
John

trigs
01/31/2012, 12:36 PM
Good looking tank, how is the overflow? noticed you just went right to a 90 and not a T fitting.

dorkymk3
01/31/2012, 12:54 PM
Beautiful 20g build you got there........

jgraz
01/31/2012, 01:19 PM
Good looking tank, how is the overflow? noticed you just went right to a 90 and not a T fitting.

Thank you. Yeah the just went 90* down to sump. Gotta say I can't hear a thing. Quite as a mouse.

Beautiful 20g build you got there........
Thanks for the compliment

Really wanted that 75Gal, didn't happen. But this has been a fun and so far rewarding experience

jgraz
03/12/2012, 01:04 PM
Just wanted to give a little update. Things were going well for a bit, then some problems struck.
First: I decided to add a bag of PhosGuard. Boy was that a mistake. I guess it pulled too much, too quick and I lost a few acros to RTN. There one night gone the next. Pulled the bag and since that has been fine.
Second: I started to notice that a frag of ORA Jeremys Monti that was doing very well did not have any PE. Afew days go by and I wake up one morning and find that it was completly eaten away. Upon closer inspection I find that there was Monti Eating Nudi's on it. Well I tossed that and inthe process I also lost a small Frag of Superman Monti, and Grinch monti. All gone. I pulled all the montis not glued down and dipped for a few days in a row and upon inspection I only noticed one more nudi on a purple cap. I have not seen any in the past couple of weeks so hopefully that was taken care of. I also did not find any eggs. My J.F. Setosa which usually has good PE has not shown any for the last week or so, and my Superman Digi is in the same boat. Both are epoxyed to the rocks they get inspected 2-3 times a day and with the exception of no PE they seem healthy with great color.
Third: I just noticed this.....Algae?(see pics) Showing up only on one side of my tank and more or less near the bottom. Yesterday I also noticed that the sun was shining through my skylights right onto the area. It is smooth to the touch, not slimey, and does not come off the rock easily when brushed or blown off. Definatly not diatoms or Dino's. Though I have not yet ruled out Cyano. And it does not have any flow to if that makes sense. The flow in that area of the tank is good, as it should be, I have a MP-10 in a 20H, set to reef-crest. The pump maxes out almost all the way during its high point. Any help on the ID would be great. Someone in another forum mentioned the possbility of it being sponges.
My Parameters are: Ammonia/Nitrites/Nitrates=0
Phosphates=.04 Hanna checker- I expect this is masked by the algea
Calcium=440
Alkalinity=8(at lights out)
PH=8.2(at lights out)
Here are the pics
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/a0b3744e.jpg
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/graziani4/db969b44.jpg

JAustin
03/13/2012, 06:33 PM
Have you chosen a calcium reactor yet? I've got a BC29 with a 20g sump and I'm up in the air on what cr to get. The octopus cr70 is looking like one I'll be getting along
With a plantedtank . Com co2 regulator. It's a $300 regulator but it's got a killer warrantee and it's said to be the best.

Cheers

jgraz
03/14/2012, 12:11 PM
I have decided to just dose 2-part. IMO easier and certinly cheaper.

secrest
03/14/2012, 03:11 PM
Great looking tank.