peacemaker's office nano tank

[peacemaker]

The whole setup is pretty much low in cost compared to the big guys out there. Being an office nano, temp is taken care of. Distilled water top offs have been done manually. I was thinking of an auto top off system, but its like a huge thing for such a small tank. I dose a capful of 5 in 1 coral food once or twice weekly (depending if there's a water change during the week), and an occasional cyclopeeze pinch.

Pls feel free to post your comments! Still plenty to learn from all the "old birds" here.

[dragonfly_sg]

I am very impress with your system and I am also into economical (equates I am poor ),effective and sustainable micro tanks like the tank you have. I have many questions and hope you don't mind answering them for me.

1. How long has this particular tank been running ?

2. What is your water change routine like ? Frequency and volume ? (Interesting because I don't see a nitrate export source )

3. Can you tell me where and how much for your

a. PL light set ( could you describe more )

b. custom tank

I am looking to setup one like this, so I better get all my facts before I attempt it

[scubajazz]

I had a similiar one like urs n the lady boss that I bought from told me is a Yuma mushroom

I ever posted a question on the differences of Yumas and rics, but never got any reply. Can someone ID this for me? Looks like a yuma to me...

[Salty_Creature]

Hello there,

I would like to give a little bit of suggestion since u r using same auto feeder like me. Its adjustable white damper tends to lose and difficult to adjust the amount of food u wanna drop. So Error and Correct before u install it over the tank. Another things is that damper will be sometime tilted over the time and so it's better use tape or glue it when u find the suitable position for u..

Just my 2 cents...!

[peacemaker]

I am very impress with your system and I am also into economical (equates I am poor ),effective and sustainable micro tanks like the tank you have. I have many questions and hope you don't mind answering them for me.

1. How long has this particular tank been running ?

2. What is your water change routine like ? Frequency and volume ? (Interesting because I don't see a nitrate export source )

3. Can you tell me where and how much for your

a. PL light set ( could you describe more )

b. custom tank

I am looking to setup one like this, so I better get all my facts before I attempt it

Thanks! I have a limited budget as well, that is why I have to go small. However, having smaller water volume means any fluctuation would lead to disaster. To answer your questions:

1. This tank has been running for more than 6 mths. Most of my corals have been with me for 4 months plus, except for the Coco worms (about 2 months) and rics (about a month). The fishes are new (about 3 weeks) and I just got my shrimp last week. I had a false clown and a bi-colour dottyback before, but brought the clown home for my 2 Ft tank and gave the dottyback away.

2. I used to have a PO4 assorber, but stopped using it for some time. The pics of the empty tank are taken recently, when I made a 100% water change due to algae bloom. It was a mistake as I started with tap water & salt mix. Even DI water top offs were barely able to keep the algae at bay, so I changed it to 100% DI water this time round. Scrubbed the rocks a little, and gave my tank a good bath. That's also one of the main things I like about nano tanks: you can literally carry it to a kitchen sink and give it a thorough scrubbing. I'm not very hardworking on water changes, usually about 3 weeks once. I dun feed that much, so less contamination.

3. I bought both the tank and the light quite some time back, so I can't really remember exactly how much...

I think its about S$50 for the custom tank and S$20+ for the 11W PL light. I just changed the tube as it has been with me for a long time. I was also pleasantly surprised that even under such lightings, my corals weren't struggling for lights. Perhaps its the right choice, since most dun require that much light. I have a timer set from "Sunrise" 8am (time that I start work) to "Sunset" 5pm (an indicator its time to prepare to leave for home )

I came across a site that custom makes acrylic tanks. You might wanna give them a try. Here's the link: Iaquatic

Was thinking of changing this into a slightly bigger nano (1.5Ft cube), but still seeking my boss'es approval.

[peacemaker]

I had a similiar one like urs n the lady boss that I bought from told me is a Yuma mushroom

Ah... thanks for the ID! I kept coming across on the forums about people talking of their "melting" yumas. I think this guy came close to it once some time back (due to multiple shifting of corals)... almost thought it would disappear... then it managed to revive and was opening up pretty well. Whew...

[peacemaker]

Hello there,

I would like to give a little bit of suggestion since u r using same auto feeder like me. Its adjustable white damper tends to lose and difficult to adjust the amount of food u wanna drop. So Error and Correct before u install it over the tank. Another things is that damper will be sometime tilted over the time and so it's better use tape or glue it when u find the suitable position for u..

Just my 2 cents...!

Oh my... thanks for your warning, Salty Creature. I did tape a small piece of plastic to control the amount of food. The 1st time I used it, it poured chunks, and I had to scoop up the excess to prevent polluting the water. Due to my water level, the rotating food container seems to get damp all the time... I've also noticed that there is a min and max level, but I have no trouble with keeping less food inside. I felt that by doing so, I'm able to supply fresh food weekly rather than having so much inside getting stale and all. My setting is 3 times a day within 24 hrs. What is your setting and how long does your battery last?

[peacemaker]

Managed to take a shot of this little fella today... anyone knows how fast do they outgrow their shell and need new ones? His shell is hardly bigger than a 10 cent coin... I've seen him molting a few times already. I have a collegue that used to keep hermits, and prepared plenty of shells for them to change "house" anytime they wanted to. They didn't like the choices, and soon died one after another... anyone experienced this?

[dragonfly_sg]

.......................... I'm only using 11W PL lights (1 white 1 blue), so clean water surface is important.

Your light can hold two PL tubes of 11W each? Since you mention 1 white 1 blue.

[peacemaker]

Your light can hold two PL tubes of 11W each? Since you mention 1 white 1 blue.

Nope. The PL light tube is joined at one end, making it similar to a 'U' shape. Its a Dymax tube.

[peacemaker]

The green ric doing much better after I picked it up from behind the rocks. The blue cluster seems to open bigger after shifting away from the hammers.

[peacemaker]

I've noticed that the left most head for the hammers seem to retract itself almost everyday in the afternoon, but not the rest. Anyone can tell what's wrong with it? The little powerhead that I used for curculation is just blowing slightly above it. Could it be causing them to retract?

[peacemaker]

Some new corals added...

[peacemaker]

[peacemaker]

[peacemaker]

Was thinking of changing this into a slightly bigger nano (1.5Ft cube), but still seeking my boss'es approval.

I'm glad to announce that I have received the green light to upgrade my tank!

Last FTS...

[peacemaker]

Check out my new tank.

Literally 50% bigger than my old tank.

[peacemaker]

[peacemaker]

Just finished transfering all the LS over to the new tank today. Will post pics in another thread when they acclimatize to their new environment. Unfortunately, I have to mourn for my 2 spot Goby... It became very thin and went MIA for 2 weeks, and I have comfirmed his death today. I transferred everything, and couldn't even find a body, so he has pretty much, vapourized. Note to myself: make sure to have a much deeper & mature sandbed if I ever want to keep it again.

Thank you all for taking time to view and/or comment in this thread. I hope to improve in this next adventure of setting up a bigger tank and making it a much better one!

[Firestarter]

Any updates? You got pm.

[qingshun]

nice !