AloysiusMun

The current design uses a PAR38 14k XPG from Aquarium Artiste. I'm wondering if it would be better to use Maxspect G2-110W. Can anyone please inform me as to whether the Maxspect G2-110W can fit the width of 12" which is 1 foot? One more thing, what is the difference between with and without the CREE upgrade for the lights? The project is currently in the works of $1k! Haven't even add the media, chemicals, rocks, corals and live stock. The addition of the Maxspect will set me back even more! Gonna go broke soon. =/

The whole tank will be constructed out of 8mm glass. Water will flow down the screen to be collected in a shallow reservoir which will be channelled to a chiller under the tank. This is so as to keep the water level low in the reservoir to maximize the screen surface area out of the water. There will be no filters to trap pods. probably just a mesh to ensure that algae does not follow into my pump.

I will be using a chiller so there is no longer a need for the fan. I have also changed the design to exclude the Refugium. I will be running a nano algae scrubber instead. All calculations are done by myself and have double checked with the Tank Maker himself. It should be fine. Attached is my latest sketch of the tank. This is the latest plan bros! Please do comment on the intended placements of the individual corals. Many Thanks! =)

Finally met up with Vincent a few days back and now after my second meeting we have solved how to include a nano algae scrubber in the design! Will be running chiller and par38 led lights. Keeping my fingers crossed as the design is pretty tricky. Hopefully all goes well and my tank will be booming with coral growth! Will post up a sketch of my coral locations when I'm back later. Yep! =)

I will be running the return pump externally for the chiller if I feel there is a need. Two small PVC pipes will be running from the back for the tank, one on right and one on left. Will run the fan if i monitor that my water temp runs about 28degrees. Need to save to buy 2nd hand chiller la. Hahaha. I've been reading up on the Algae scrubbing. Seems like something I would be doing. Am pretty sure these Unicellular organisms would be more efficient than Chaeto. Thanks for the suggestion! Back to the drawing board! Main Topic: HOW TO INCLUDE SCRUBBING UNIT IN COMPARTMENT 6"x12"x18". p.s. No tank maker yet. So far emailed Vincent from AA and WeeYang from N30. Had replies but still yet to finalize my tank.

1) I would try without running a chiller first. As I believe that the temperature here should be suitable for Coral growth and sufficient sunlight is essential for coral coloration. If need be, I would be running a Chiller later on with another feed pump. I do not plan to keep SPS at this point in time. 2)I am quite confident of my scape-ing and I want a narrow tank as I have to fit it in my room. Any wider I would feel as though I have a very small room! Space constraint la! Would be using a Chisel and Hammer to scape the live rocks. Of course I have to find rocks that are already approximately in the shape I want. 3)Yes the water flow you quoted is correct. 4) I have been hearing alot about this Biohome filtration media, alright will use that instead of the Eheim. Would probably mix in other filtration media too. Any suggestions? 5) I factored in the dimensions of the Pump and gave allowance, it should be able to fit in as the Aquabee UP 2000 is less that 4" length, breath or height. I could consider widening the pump compartment and narrowing the filter compartment slightly. 6)Hmm Algae Scrubbers, that is something new. Jialat la, now new design again?! Lol. Algae scrubbing sounds like a good idea. I want to run all natural. Perhaps I will discuss with the tank maker and see what can be done. Headache la this Project. HAHAHH.

Finally finished designing my new tank! Was really busy these few days. DO tell me your views guys! It will be a 22G overflow tank. With everthing else its about 33G (all the data is in the attachment) The overflow pump would be Aquabee UP2000. Refugium houses mainly Chaeto sp. for nitrate and phosphate export. Decided to go the natural way, skipping the skimmer. Main tank lights would be Oceanus LED 24"x2 100+ watts. The Bioreaction Chamber would contain Eheim Substrate Pro and a mixture of the Ceramic Bio-Rings. For Activated Carbon I would be using the ROWA activated carbon. Cotton Sponge for Mechanical filtration. Corals I plan to keep are the simple ones Zoas Rics Blue Florescent Mushroom Heteroxenia Glove Polyp LS Pair of True Percs Turbo Snails Neon Goby Mandarin Cycling would take about 6wks. Wk1-3: Prawn with introduction of starter bacter culture and only substrate media in the IOS Wk3-4: Addition of Activated Carbon and Chaeto sp. in Refugium Wk6 : Tank should have stabilised by then Is it possible to use tapwater for weekly change? I plan to stand the Tapwater sea salt mix with Chaeto in a transparent pail under sunlight for a day to remove the nitrates. Are there any other harmful substances in Tapwater that I should take not of? Livestock would be introduced gradually. Do the corals have to be introduced gradually too? Many Thanks Bros! =)

Currently replanning my tank to fit. Decided to include quite a sizable Refugium with the tank. will show you guys the plan soon! What are your views on the Oceanus led lights?

How do you guys even keep up with the weekly change of water? A 11G tank will need 4.1L of Seawater, 20G will need 7.5L, 24G will need 9.1L. That amount of DI water is just insanely expensive isn't it? The dimensions of a 20G tank would be 2x1x1.5feet. Need to do a lot more thinking. How to run the whole thing over since Clowns require at least 20G.

Oops. Now I gotta rethink again...

@radiative: Don't really like cubes you see. Just doesn't look right to me. @binosage: yes, yes lighting is still a very big issue now. Managed to fix up my mind on more or less everything EXCEPT for the lighting. @comycus: according to the site i think you can! hahaa. Will just be a pair, it should be fine. I can't afford to add more heat to the tank. Why is LED lighting so EXPENSIVE?#$%^&*

I mailed Vincent already, awaiting quotation. Hopefully not too pricey. =) Fixed my mind on 1.5x1x1feet, too much volume not nice. Will be careful with stocking since there is no room for error in such a small tank. It be a challenge but a good one. Which part of Singapore do you live in Comycus? I live in the East, Siglap area. =)

I found my solution! Chaeto and Caulerpap. Will keep them in a mesh bag in my tank where there is lots of light. Hopefully they are efficient enough since mine is a small tank! Wah so high huh? I thought of keeping mine below 5ppm as I read that nitrates can cause corals and fish alike to de-color. Seems like I found a way to save cost on my skimmer. I agree with you guys that for such a small tank, I think a skimmer is pretty redundant. My moola will be mainly spend on the following stuff then: Crystal Glass Tank Eheim hang on filter 2041 Live Rock and Sand PAR38 LED 20k. I want my Corals to be Brightly colored! Cooling fan hopefully to be upgraded to a Chiller ASAP Live Stock to be gradually included: Turbo Snails Pair of True Perc RED clowns Shrimp Corals: LONG LONG LIST. Still researching. Xenia, probably the fiji kind and many more. Blue Sponge. Zoas. Mushies Bubble Coral I'm looking at getting small frags and growing them. I think it be way more fun and satisfying. then when I get my Chiller Birdnest Sun Coral SPSes What do you guys think? =)

AH yes yes I forgot that fish are territorial. So kinda pointless in increasing my bioload capacity with the addition of a skimmer now. Very good point Bro! How to naturally remove Nitrates and Phosphate without a Skimmer? Suggestions anyone? Both Nitrates and Phosphate are harmful to the Corals, that I know. Can you chisel live rock to shape it? Will it affect anything? Thanks for everyone's patience!

Is it possible to run a nano tank without chiller? What are some of the possible consequences? Would the survivability of the coloration of the corals be affected? Lighting for the tank would be crucial to coloration of the corals in the tank yes? The Deltec MCE300 would mean that I could efficiently increase the bioload in my tank yes? Do Corals produce nitrates as well? Working on a budget really is not that easy. Hahah.

my other option is to do a 1.8/2x1.5x1.5feet tank. Any suggestions for where I could get the Crystal Glass tank made? @comycus: The lights you suggested is just a bulb ya? How can I mount it to my tank? A flexible arm to suspend it from the side walls of my tank?

@Ducados: Hahaha. I am trying, but its not easy as I as always out and running around training recruits and involved in Sch level projects. In fact, I am manning the phone, looking after all the administrative stuff in the office as I am the one in charge today, reading up online and all! Ok mind made up on the 1.5x1x1feet crystal rimless glass tank with Deltec MCE300 (such a simple piece of equipment but so expensive!). @comycus: 1) Currently scouting. 2) Though its experimental, I am sure it would take me almost a year to mature the tank. Furthermore the tank would be in my own room so I would definitely want something pretty to look at. 3) Hmm another 20bucks to the 20k lamp. I like cooler temp looking lights. Produces hell lots of lumens though wondering if it will be overkill or to the extend of even killing my corals. 4) Lets exclude the additive cost, LS and all for now. Those I can add on slowly when the time requires. Maybe except for the Test kit and Salinity test kit the rest I can buy one bit at a time. 5) Deltec MCE300 already overkill the 600 is way overkill and I think. If I do upgrade to a larger tank, I will have more budget then. 6) Is there any other way to run the chiller? Could get an addition low cost Eheim external set-up to run the flow and activated carbon filters with bio balls though. 7) Hmm.. May have to buy a simple table and place the equipment underneath it. Wouldn't want to place my chiller in the cabinet. Would 1 feet height be too low to hang my Deltec MCE300 outside the tank? According to my calculations should be ok. Better to check with the experienced to be sure! =) One more thing, anyone knows how much will the Crystal Glass tank 1.5x1x1feet cost? Any makers to recommend please? Thanks a bunch! =)

I can increase it to about 1k at most. My mind is quite fixed on the small tank 1.5x1x1 feet. I have already visualized and sort of plan the scape-ing and the livestock. Now its only for the equipment to put in. As this is the last batch of recruits I am taking, I am pretty certain by the time I get all my equipment together they would have POP-ed (Passing out parade on the 2nd of July). By the time the tank has cycled, I would have already ORD-ed or VERY close to my ORD. I think a small tank on my budget is better as its a lot easier to make a small tank look impressive as compared to making a big tank look impressive. The bigger tank would cost a lot more to make it look impressive. (Factoring in the running cost and the equipment cost). I am still reading up on everything I need to know. The different nutrients and how the waste would hider the grow of corals and all. I learnt that corals are very sensitive. Not that easy. Better read up more! =) So... Is the Deltec MCE300 a very noisy skimmer? More questions would be coming up soon once I read up more and get confused! hahah. Thanks so much for all of you guys help!

Latest Consideration Totally Nano: 1.5x1x1 crystal glass Deltec MCE300 Chiller Custom Lights Sump-less! Neat and Clean outlook =)

Hmm good point about the noise from the overflow system. Is the Deltec MCE300 a noisy protein skimmer? I think I will stick to my initial plan as i think the deal for the 3+feet tank will not succeed as the seller is doing a first buy first serve basis and I am only available to pick up on weekends. I am still thinking hard about going sump-less. The internal overflow system volume will not contribute much to the critical volume. I may just stick to getting a glass tank with the largest volume I can accomodate which is at max a 3x2x2 feet empty tank without sump and running on a Deltec MCE 300 with a Wavemaker for a start. Would you guys rather a smaller sump-less tank or a larger sump-less tank, both running on the Deltec MCE 300? Seems like a very raw and basis set-up for now but i think it would work! I am still amazed by the 5G nano on nano-reef.com. Just take a look at it! http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/?tank=35

O ya, regarding the course. I would only know closer to the date. Army commitments are very unpredictable. Will get back to you! =)

Is it idea to leave a tank next to a window which allows in morning Sunlight? I just left a note wanting to buy the 3x1x1.2 Feet tank "Selling 3 FT (L) X 1 FT (D) X 1.2 FT (H) (6mm) Tank Excellent Condition, Recently Decommissioned by cullypokman" hopefully all goes well. Looks like a good package with almost everything in for me. I can probably slot the 3x1x1.2 between my wall and my Queensize Bed. It will be where my legs are. Will probably get the Deltec MCE300 instead of the Tunze Nano ReefPack. Will probably scape the whole tank like a Underwater Cliff wall. MOOLA MOOLA =(

Well... 3ft would be too huge for my room! Hahah. I need something compact that sits nice and clean (in terms of clutter) beside my study desk in my room. One more thing, I am not a Fan of Cubes. I understand that water parameters would be easier to control with more critical volume however I guess its just something I will have to make do with and overcome. This project is my pet project, my mom is looking into getting a bigger tank once she sees results in mine. So this is like a seeder project. My parents used to keep a Marine Tank when I was like 4years old. I'm 22 now. Hahah. I am not keen towards custom as I think they would cost quite a fair bit please do correct me if I am wrong. I think what I am looking at is the Fiji Xenia but I think they would be very hard to keep! Are most Zoas photosynthetic? Feeding the Sun corals with Henry's Reef Gourmet with a dropper should be fine ya!

Hey there! I chanced upon this hobby a few days back and decided to read more into it. I realized its a very tough and costly hobby but I am not deterred! Been reading straight for the pass 3 days about water parameters, reviews and all online. I'm looking at getting a very simple nano-tank, rectangular about 2.5x1.25x1.25 preferably glass as I am afraid Acrylic would scratch. Tank would be slump-less. Any suggestions where I could buy the tank and for how much? How much LR and LS should I be looking at? So far I only decided on one piece of equipment I would get which is the Tunze 9002 Reefpack200 HOB. Need a suggestion for Lights; LED for less heat transfer as well as savings on Electricity bills! A low cost but efficient Wavemaker. Would probably allow the tank to cycle for 3weeks or so with a Raw prawn and only Wavemaker ON. When tank is STABLE I intend to house: Simple colorful Zoas XENIA FOR SURE Birdnest Sun Coral and MAYBE Bubble Coral Few more weeks into Stability: The inhabitants introduced gradually would be: 2x True Perc RED clownfish 1x cleaner shrimp snails to clean the sand 1x yellow wrasse to get rid of nudibranches and MAYBE a Mandarin. Food- I am looking at Henry's Reef Gourmet. Chemicals and Dosing- Oceanic Sea Salt Mix (saw a wonderful 5g nano on 'nano-reef.com' run on this salt without even a Protein Skimmer!) Coral FX (for cleaning of Corals before introduction to tank) Test Kits PO4 remover from MarineLife to be added into Tunze Skimmer If all goes well then Grotech from Aquamarine for Corals. Should Ca/Mg be dosed to help with the Corals? Water change will be 10% weekly may increase to 20% dependent on water parameters. Please do Comment your advise would be greatly appreciated! I really can't wait to jump into this hobby! At least at home I can stare at the tank when I can't go Diving due to me being in NS. 3 more months to ORD! Thanks a Bunch! =)