Hey guys! my 6.6 gallon nano build

[user nayme]

hey guys! im new to the forum and i look forward to being a member of this site :D

i would like to introduce myself with a little back story, i started keeping reef tanks when i was 13 and i have been in the hobby for 11 years. i recently took a long break as i am a session musician and i went on tour so i had no time to take care of a reef tank. i have since left that business behind me and an devoting my time to a small nano tank for my desk in my studio :D

just recieved all the goods this morning, super sleek/modern 6.6 gallon nano tank with 5 watts total led lighting and built in filtration.

5 lbs of live rock from marco rocks (i was hoping for more smaller pieces as i specified in the order, but the 2 pieces have lots of corraline so im pleased:))

some photos of unpacking the tank

my apologies for the bad cell phone pics

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140116_004.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140116_003.jpg

the tank all set up in its place on the desk. the lighting options are crazy, i got a great deal on this tank for only $80 and this is much more higher quality than i ever could have expected :D
a couple examples of the lighting options.

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140116_007.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140116_009.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140116_012.jpg

[terrypercula]

You can hammer and chisel bug pieces of rock to more manageable sizes. Everything looks good so far! Respect on the musician too. I play bass for a local band and sub for a few different bands occasionally never toured though!

[NJKayakAngler]

That tank is sweet who is it made by?

[user nayme]

You can hammer and chisel bug pieces of rock to more manageable sizes. Everything looks good so far! Respect on the musician too. I play bass for a local band and sub for a few different bands occasionally never toured though!

exactly my thinking :)
it is just such nice rock that i didnt want to risk it :lolspin:
i think i may take a chance here though.

[user nayme]

That tank is sweet who is it made by?

its made by Deco, its not a well known brand, hence why i bought it. i wanted something unique.

some more crappy cell phone pics of the tank set up and cycling, the live rock looks very nice compliments of marcorocks. :D

any suggestions on anything? future livestock plans? i was thinking maybe a clown or firefish, or possibly a couple clown gobies?

also i was thinking a zoa garden possibly later on, or a mini maxi tank. however i think mini maxis may not be able to go with clown gobies as i fear the gobies coud become a meal haha.

im open to any other suggestions as well :D

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_003.jpg

good looking live rock :)

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_009-Copy.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_014.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_013.jpg

the crazy blue actinic led's

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_018.jpg

some more pics of the actual tank and lighting

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_023.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_024.jpg

[user nayme]

i have some big problems with cloudy water, i believe it was due to die off from the new live rock just arriving in the tank and also the lack of water circulation and surface area. i have since removed the splash guard to increase surface area. i also took off the flow valve on the filter pump to increase circulation in the tank.

this is what sort of circulation was in with the valve.

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa397/marcus-b-anthony/WP_20140117_028.jpg

[Biotopes]

Depending on what you are going to keep 5 watts of LED might not be enough, just a quick thought :) The tank looks AMAZING though!

+1 on musician respect. I play ukulele and guitar (and I'm working on the steel drum) and have sang in a band in California a few years back. I'm also doing the same thing here, though I'm thinking about writing/singing/playing more Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (In short Hawaiian inspired) inspired music, mixed with a little Jack Johnson and Dave Barnes ;)

[Biotopes]

Depending on what you are going to keep 5 watts of LED might not be enough, just a quick thought :) The tank looks AMAZING though!

+1 on musician respect. I play ukulele and guitar (and I'm working on the steel drum) and have sang in a band in California a few years back. I'm also doing the same thing here, though I'm thinking about writing/singing/playing more Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (In short Hawaiian inspired) inspired music, mixed with a little Jack Johnson and Dave Barnes ;)

[Biotopes]

No clue why that posted twice lol

[user nayme]

Depending on what you are going to keep 5 watts of LED might not be enough, just a quick thought :) The tank looks AMAZING though!

+1 on musician respect. I play ukulele and guitar (and I'm working on the steel drum) and have sang in a band in California a few years back. I'm also doing the same thing here, though I'm thinking about writing/singing/playing more Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (In short Hawaiian inspired) inspired music, mixed with a little Jack Johnson and Dave Barnes ;)

yeah its only 5 watts but that should be enough for a few softies correct? what would be a good sleek looking led add on i could do to up the wattage but keep the tank looking sleek?

[d2mini]

That tank is sweet who is it made by?

+1
Do tell.

[DBreefs]

Cool looking tank. Is it glass or acrylic?

[user nayme]

+1
Do tell.

its a deco tank 25 :D

[user nayme]

Cool looking tank. Is it glass or acrylic?

its all glass, which i prefer to acrylic as it does not scratch.

[Biotopes]

yeah its only 5 watts but that should be enough for a few softies correct? what would be a good sleek looking led add on i could do to up the wattage but keep the tank looking sleek?

I think for softies it should be good. Maybe go buy an Ecoxotic 12" full spectrum strip! They are pretty low profile. In a tank that small I think you'd be good to keep almost everything with that. :dance:

[user nayme]

^good deal

i will shortly be heading to the lfs to get some more essentials that i dont have (thermometer, a better heater, etc) any other ideas as to things i should get?

[Biotopes]

Sand haha Grab some Seachem Prime just so you can >help< (not permanently fix) ammonia/disease problems once you get livestock in the tank. It has worked wonders for both my freshwater and saltwater animals.

In a tank that small the filter should provide enough flow, so pumps won't be needed.

If you're planning to cycle the tank anytime soon, get some (Dead or frozen. Not live!) shrimp to cycle it.

That's all I can really think of! Since you've already kept reef aquariums before you know overall what you need, but I'll let you know if I remember anything anyways! :D

[user nayme]

Sand haha Grab some Seachem Prime just so you can >help< (not permanently fix) ammonia/disease problems once you get livestock in the tank. It has worked wonders for both my freshwater and saltwater animals.

In a tank that small the filter should provide enough flow, so pumps won't be needed.

If you're planning to cycle the tank anytime soon, get some (Dead or frozen. Not live!) shrimp to cycle it.

That's all I can really think of! Since you've already kept reef aquariums before you know overall what you need, but I'll let you know if I remember anything anyways! :D

my lfs didnt have any seachem prime or good live sand so i had to pass on those for today. i got some snails and a few hermit crabs for a clean up crew. i have the live rock so that should cycle my tank well enough i believe :D

also i am having quite a problem with cloudy water, at first i thought it was because of poor gas exchange so i increased flow a bit and took off the splash guard. but the water only seems to get cloudier. i added a heater to the tank that i purchased today and i also purchased a small bag of carbon to place in the back by the filter. should this help clear up the water? what other steps can i take to clear up the tank?

[Biotopes]

That's most likely just sand stirred up by adding water, it should clear soon. Your best bet is just to not mess with it and just let it be, it'll most likely clear on it's own. Do you have pics for us? :D

[user nayme]

hopefully i can get some more pics up of the newly added CUC and such:). the tank does start to slowly be clearing up :D good thing!

[KirbyBTF]

Great tank man! Never seen one like it. Only thing I suggest is going custom with your rock work. See below, I took a lot of small rocks and epoxied them together to make the exact scape I wanted. Turned out great! Feel free to ask questions on how I did it, good luck with the tank!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/epaberyz.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/y7edudev.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/yzezemu3.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/ypuhevah.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/20/yhamu9aj.jpg

[user nayme]

^awesome dude! what do i need to do that sort of thing? i was thinking of getting some pvc and drilling the rocks to make the scape i want. but if i can just epoxy them together that would be wayyy easier.

[user nayme]

although, i do have concern for the rock because wont it have to be entirely dry to stick together with the epoxy?

[KirbyBTF]

Thanks! All I did was measure the tank and lay it out with electrical tape, then get a bunch of rock and mess with it till I found something I liked. After that I used the epoxy and glued it all together. I did use completely dry rock and then seeded the system with a piece of live rock. I don't think it would work with wet rock. The way I see it though, spend the extra time getting the right scape and you will be happy with your tank forever! Instead of regretting something you threw together real fast. That scape took three days of sloooooooow glueing, cause I let each piece of rock set for about a day before moving on. If you're gonna give it a go take your rock out and let it dry completely, then get LOTS of the 2 part epoxy cause you're gonna need to apply it generously, then glue it together how you want it. Give it a good couple layers around the "seams" of rock that fit together to make sure it will set correctly. Once I was done with mine I could lift up the 10lb structure with the smallest piece of rock and it wouldn't budge an inch.

[user nayme]

Thanks! All I did was measure the tank and lay it out with electrical tape, then get a bunch of rock and mess with it till I found something I liked. After that I used the epoxy and glued it all together. I did use completely dry rock and then seeded the system with a piece of live rock. I don't think it would work with wet rock. The way I see it though, spend the extra time getting the right scape and you will be happy with your tank forever! Instead of regretting something you threw together real fast. That scape took three days of sloooooooow glueing, cause I let each piece of rock set for about a day before moving on. If you're gonna give it a go take your rock out and let it dry completely, then get LOTS of the 2 part epoxy cause you're gonna need to apply it generously, then glue it together how you want it. Give it a good couple layers around the "seams" of rock that fit together to make sure it will set correctly. Once I was done with mine I could lift up the 10lb structure with the smallest piece of rock and it wouldn't budge an inch.

i think i may be ordering another 5 lbs of rock from marco rocks. only this time ill probably do some dry shelf rock. i can work on the scape with that rock and glue it together and put it into the tank. then place the live rock back in to seed it i suppose :D

[KirbyBTF]

That would work great! Keep us updated, I'd love to see what you come up with.

[d2mini]

its a deco tank 25 :D

Nice find! Cool looking tank for sure.
What does the filtration system consist of? It was hard to tell from pics I saw online.

Looking good so far. I agree that maybe a little more rock would be good. :)

[Biotopes]

i think i may be ordering another 5 lbs of rock from marco rocks. only this time ill probably do some dry shelf rock. i can work on the scape with that rock and glue it together and put it into the tank. then place the live rock back in to seed it i suppose :D

Go to Bulk Reef Supply's website and check out their shelf rock, its really cool! I'm thinking about going with a minimalistic scape with all tonga shelf in my next tank :beachbum:

[user nayme]

Nice find! Cool looking tank for sure.
What does the filtration system consist of? It was hard to tell from pics I saw online.

Looking good so far. I agree that maybe a little more rock would be good. :)

the back filter isnt really an overflow filter, it just sort of conceals a canister filter haha. the filter consists of just a sponge and a pump to pull water through and pump it back into the tank with the spray bar. the back also had room for a heater but the heater i purchased did not fit so i just slipped a small pouch of carbon in that area and placed the heater in the back corner :D

[user nayme]

Go to Bulk Reef Supply's website and check out their shelf rock, its really cool! I'm thinking about going with a minimalistic scape with all tonga shelf in my next tank :beachbum:

awesome dude! :D i have always ordered from marcorocks and i am always pleased but they these prices are awesome. and that shelf rock does look pretty nice :) i may just have to order some from these guys to see how it competes

[Biotopes]

Updates? :D I totally forgot about this!

[Reef Man Dan]

Like the scape!

[hersheyb]

That's a really nice tank, keep us posted.