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[liverock27]

I have had large tanks in the past, but due to a few moves and my new location I have not had a tank in almost a year. I am interested in putting together a nano tank in my home office, but I am unsure on what the best options are ( I have seen a lot of Biocubes around my LFS). I am interested in making it a reef tank, since that is what all my experience has been with. Just wanted to see what some of yall's opinions were. Also I am unfamiliar with MH's on small tanks. Would a chiller be needed? I am not interested in dealing with any SPS(acros esp.) or anenomies(sp?), but would like to be able to keep much of the other beautiful corals that I have had in the past. Thank you for any help in advance. This site got me started with my first tanks and I figured this was the best place to restart at.

 

[joebob7]

Do you plan on going for the Biocube? If so you can get the hood with HQI. If you just want a regular tank then you could have MH if it was higher above the tank. Also a few fans could help cool the heat from the light.
Im sure you already know about the upkeep and everything for smaller tanks but if not just say so.

 

[liverock27]

I am planning on going with the Bio cube 14 gallon. Can you get it with HQIs? I was wondering about if the Bio cube came ready to run or if there are any upgrades that should be made to start with? I have made the mistake in the past of upgrading down the line and having to take apart systems and it is a pain. Also with a tank this small I was wondering about heater size. I have three heaters, but they were on much larger systems. As for up keep I can imagine that the water can go bad in a hurry, so I was thinking small weekly water changes would be the best way to go. I am big on testing my water and I have dosed with Kalkweisser(sp?) in all my other reefs. Thanks for any help you can provide. I would like to get the system setup soon, but understanding that I am going to let it cycle for as long as needed.

 

[modilla]

You should check out the info at nanotuners.com, just food for thought and good luck with the new project.

 

[new2salt1]

You say this is for your office? Do you own the office? How big is your desk/space.
I work in a cubicle deal so I went with a 3 gal pico. I love it cause the lighting is intense for floros (6 watt per gal), and the coloring is awesome. THe one I have is SILENT. And I mean it makes NO noise. The best part about it is everything is so minimized (especially cost), that I can afford to splurge on the best live rock, corals, etc. Right now I just have a tiny kenya Tree and 3 different colored zoas. Im thinking of just carpeting the LR with multi-colored zoas and shrooms, and maybe adding a pompom crab.
Anyway, if you want info on the picos, let me know.

 

[liverock27]

Thanks for the website MoDila, I am about to jump on it now. Salt1 this tank will be for my home office, so I can have a little bigger tank since I have the room and no office mates to complain about the noise. Thank yall for the suggestions and help so far and I am getting really excitted about starting this new project.

 

[liverock27]

Quick couple of questions. I was looking at Nanotuners.com and I like the custom BioCube 14 with the 3x24w hood. My first question is if this would be enough light to keep most corals? My second question is should I have a light over the fuge that they sell seperate and my last question is has anyone delt with 50/50 or actinic lights compared to the regualr 10K? I know the 50/50 and actinic will add some blue tint and it is probably just a personal choice, but wanted to see what yalls experiece was with these lights. Thanks.

 

[paintballer768]

Nanotuners is a competitors site, and the moderators will have a problem if they see it. Just saying.
3x24 watt PC lighting youre asking about or what?
Ive got 50/50 32 watt daylight and 32 watt actinic on my aquapod, both 10k I think, and it looks great. Nothing youre going to hate.

 

[liverock27]

Thanks for the warning and the suggestion. I am leaning toward getting the cube with the 3x24w pcs and doing two as 50/50 and one as an actinic. I am pretty sure this light will be able to allow the corals I want to grow and thrive in a 14gallon tank.

 

[liverock27]

I baught the biocube14 with the 3x24w pcs and replaced the stock pump with a mj900. I'm going to replace the bioballs and rings with live rock and take out the filters and sponges and use filter floss like i read about. I'm exiceted about getting this tank up and running, but won't be able to get to the lfs till next weekend to get sand and lr. I'll post pics as I go along. Thanks for the help so far. Any suggestions on a heater for this tank would be great!

 

[liverock27]

I snuck out of work a little early today so I could get by the lfs and picked up my sand and some great looking live rock. I ended up going with the 50w stealth heater. I'm starting to put together a wish list of corals and other than zoos and mushrooms I was wondering what anyone might suggest. I have had success with frogspawns and leathers in the past, but that was under MHs, so I am unsure about how they will do. Thanks again for all the help so far.