October NTOTM - Toofrigginswt's Rimless Cube
 

Introduction:

Thanks to all those who voted for me. I never thought that I could achieve NTOTM. It is truly an honor.

How I started:

My passion for reef keeping started when I was working part-time at a local fish store while attending college. I spent countless hours reading every single book and the labels of every single product available in the store. Working at the fish store gave me the luxury of conducting many different experiments and tests to see what worked the best. In the end, I've learned to keep things as simple as possible. A good skimmer, light, flow, live rock, and water changes is most important.

Tank:
17.7 gallon rimless glass tank made by Visio (16x16x16)

Lighting:
112pcs 1w LED (120w total)
-56 x 12k Whites
-28 x 455nm Blues
-28 x 420nm UV Purple

Equipment/Filtration:
20 lbs of Fiji Live Rock
20 lbs of Aragonite Live Sand
Nano HOB Overflow
12x12x16 Glass sump
Micron Filter Sock
Aquaticlife Nano Skimmer
Via Aqua Return pump
Koralia 1
Koralia Nano
300W Heater
Digital Thermometer
Zoo Med Fan

Maintenance:
I strongly believe that small water changes is very crucial to keeping a successful nano tank. I change approximately 2 gallons of water change every week. Since the tank is small, I purchase pre-mixed salt water from my local fish store and pour it in whenever I do a water change. Usually when I do a water change, I would also scrape the glass and use my powerhead to blow all the detritus off my rocks.

One of the biggest drawbacks of an open top tank is that water tends to evaporate quickly. Especially with a fan blowing on the surface of the water. I refill the tank with approximately 1 gallon of R/O water every single day. Once in the morning before I leave for work and once when I get home from work. This is getting tiresome so I am in the process of making an ATO.

Water Parameters:
I try to test my water at least once a week. So far my parameters have been pretty stable.

Specific gravity: 1.025
pH: 7.9 - 8.0
Calcium: 450 - 470 ppm
Alkalinity: 8- 9 dKH
Magnesium: 1400-1450 ppm
Temp: 78-80 F


Supplements:
Brightwell's Reef Code A and B
Aquavitro Magnesium
Chemi-pure Elite
Seachem SeaGel (Organic and Phosphate Control)

LiveStock

Corals
-Highlighter Acro
-Pot of Gold Acro
-Sapphire Millepora
-Blue Tip Tenuis
-Red Setosa
-German Blue Montipora Digitata
-Miami Orchid Staghorn
-Red Monti Cap
-Green Monti Cap
-Green Birds Nest
-Birds of Paradise
-Pink Lemonade
-Blue Umi Xenia
-Red Rose Anemone
-Red Planet
-ATL Raspberry Tabling acropora
-Assorted Zoas
-and a bunch of other un-named sps frags and colonies

Fish/Inverts:
2 Tank Raised Ocellaris Clowns
2 ORA Picasso Clowns
1 Purple Firefish
1 Chromis Damsel
1 Dragonface Pipefish
1 Sand Sifting star
4 Astrea Snails
1 Teardrop Clam
1 Crocea Clam

Feeding:
I feed the fishes every other day. I usually do a mixture of the following:
-Freeze Dried Cyclopeeze
-Marine Flake Food
-Mysis Shrimp

Now onto the pics:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-F...003_202700.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e...252520Tank.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...0/IMG_1469.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...800/setosa.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-T...s800/piper.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...0/IMG_1456.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-v...s800/milli.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...0/IMG_1335.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S...0/IMG_1321.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...0/IMG_1363.JPG

more pics:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L...0/IMG_1286.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z...003_202738.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...003_203019.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8...0/IMG_1391.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...2013.51.59.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...003_202956.jpg

Congrats on an absolutely stunning tank. *clap* *clap*


:beer:

I concur, this tank is gorgeous. Any of the clowns show interest in the RBTA?

Beautiful tank!

Congratulations !!! This is really a nice tank.

Gorgeous tank! Congrats!!

Job well done .
I tried one of those zoomed fans but it started making crazy noises after a week or two , Ditched it and got a chiller .
How much a n b are u dosing a day ?

Wonderful tank, great job! How long has it been setup? Do you have any progression photos?

Glad you entered, that's a well deserved win for such a beautiful tank! Looks like you got your hands on a good camera also :)

Congrats!!! Well deserved!

I guess if you have a great tank, you gotta have a great camera!!!

Congrats! Beautiful Tank!

Thank you for all your wonderful compliments.

Thanks! Unfortunately, they do not show any interest whatsover

I've read some reviews that those fans do get loud. I guess I lucked out and got a pretty quiet unit. I'll probably invest in a chiller next summer. In regards to the two part, I dose a capful of A and B every other day along with Magnesium. If I wait until 3-4 days, my calcium drops like crazy.

Thanks! The tank has been setup since July 1, 2011. I have a build thread somewhere in the nano forums. I'll try to find a link and post it for you later today.

Haha Thanks! Yea, I borrowed a friend's dslr camera.

Congrats. Id like to add I was to first one to nudge you towards enetering! Told ya you would win man! Love your tank

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Nice Tank! How does the Zoo Med fan stay on the glass? Magnet?

Haha. Yes you did and I thank you very much for the nudge. I was hesitant to enter because there are a lot of beautiful tanks on here so I didn't think I had a chance.

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It hangs over the rim of the tank with an adjustable clamp. It also has a suction cup that keeps it in place.

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great job! You got my vote your tank was awesome, I would love to see more of how your sump is setup I am about to start my build.

Congratulations on the well deserved win!! You have a truly awe inspiring set up. Congrats again.

Hi. Thanks for the vote! There isn't anything special about the sump. I had a shop custom a 12x12x16 glass tank which cost me about $36. It isn't divided or sectioned off. The purpose of my sump was to give the tank more water volume and house my Skimmer and a 4" micron sock. I was thinking about sectioning it off and adding a refugium but I was afraid that since my water evaporates so fast that the pump would run dry if I neglected to top off the water. Ill try to get more close up pics of the sump tonight.

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Congrats dude, this is a classic tank!

Wow very nice clean lil tank

Thanks Guys.

Congrats! Nice tank.

Congrats, insane looking nano