Snake's 20g Nano Build thread

[snakeblitz33]

Hello Guys and Gals,
This tank has come a long way since this thread was first started. I wanted to update the first pic in this thread.

When the tank was just first started, there wasn't much to it at all. I moved the tank not once, but twice since this thread was started. I built a new, bigger custom stand for it to sit on, and I upgraded the sump from a 10g to a 20g long.
Current tank specs:
20g high display tank
20g long sump - about 6g for a fuge.
8x6" algae scrubber, cleaned and maintained weekly.
two little fishies phosban reactor with phosban media.
SC65 cone protein skimmer
Gravity fed auto top off system
Manual ca, alk, and mg dosing
40 pounds total live rock
Barebottom tank - the underneath of the tank is painted flat white.
Eshopps PF Nano (200gph) overflow
Mag 3 return pump
JBJ 500gph wavemaker kit
Koralia nano 240 circ pump
PH300 powerhead (300gph of flow)
4x24w T5HO Nova Extreme Pro lighting system with updated ATI bulbs (two blue plus, one coral plus, one purple plus)
Water parameters as of 2/7/12:
Nitrate: 0ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 80F
Calcium: 440ppm
Alkalinity: 10-11dKh
Magnesium: 1350ppm
Current tank inhabitants:
Bi-color blennie
2 tomato clowns
M. Capricornis Orange
M. Digitata "greensleeves"
M. Spongodes
M. Palawenensis green
M. capricornis "Purple Smoke"
M. Capricornis "Alabama Grape"
Pink birdsnest
Pink Valentine Damicornis
Halimeda algae
Various snails, hermits, stars, feathers, etc.
If you notice, I really like SPS corals - specifically Montipora. I enjoy Acropora, seritopora, and pocilliopora as well - but I am not going to chance loosing them in such a small volume of water.
If you would like to know more information on my methods of saltwater aquarium keeping, please visit this link: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/snakes-methods

 

[snakeblitz33]

I went on to design my sump with 1/8th inch ACRYLIC baffles. I thought that by roughing them up about a half an inch on the edges, they would hold in place alright. I was wrong - they weren't thick enough, and the flow made them bow out really far. Eventually it would have leaked. I fixed that problem, however.

In my original design, I had four baffles. The chamber on the right would be the input where water from the overflow would dump into the sump and then the middle chamber would be a 2" sand bed with some caulerpa mexicana macroalgae and 5 pounds of live rock or so. The chamber on the far left was going to be used for a small heater, and of course the return pump. The return pump that I am using is a RIO 1100. It's actually considered a powerhead in some circles - but it does just fine pushing water into my display tank. I have an Eshopps Nano overflow.

There is only one problem with the overflow. It's rated for a maximum of 200gph, which it can do but is EXTREMELY noisy. I throttled the return pump back to around 150gph and it is doing just fine. Another problem is that the bulkhead did not come with a gasket! So, I had to wait on that. I guess it was an oversight on the manufactorers (sp?) part. I'm sure other external overflows by Eshopps all come with gaskets in the bulkheads, I just might have gotten a defect. Oh well... my luck.

 

[snakeblitz33]

As a side note, I have taken out that pre-filter that is in the external overflow. I don't want any food to be trapped by filters and left to rot. I want it all continuously flowing through my system.
So, I decided that I didn't like my sump setup after all because of the bowing out and because it wasn't efficient enough and didn't make use of the space enough. So, I decided to go another route for filtration. I remembered from a thread by SantaMonica on this forum called "Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover, replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everything" that a few years ago turf algae scrubbers were coming back in-style so to speak. I read through all 100 of the pages of that thread and got a really good idea of how I wanted to set mine up. So, I went to the drawing board:

I opted for a horizontal turf algae scrubber. The way I designed it, it could filter up to 26.8 gallons of water extremely efficiently. So, I broke out the acrylic baffles in the sump that I had and put in some new glass baffles. I made the screen and got after it! I really enjoyed the idea of a horizontal turf algae scrubber to remove all of the nitrates and phosphates from my system. The only problem that I ran into with this design was that the light box was waaaay to big to be underneath my aquarium and the output from the overflow pipe A: wasn't enough flow B: splashed a lot of saltwater around and got everything wet. Another thing about this design is that the piece of glass on the furthest right side was lower than what it should be, so the water line was way higher than expected when the sump was running. So I re-designed it.

Now, this seems like it's a lot better planned. The problem for me was that I was already frustrated with the design, and the way the glass had to be removed every time I needed to clean the screen, so I scrapped the entire idea of a horizontal turf algae scrubber and opted for a vertical one. So, I went back to the drawing board again, and actually built a vertical algae scrubber without designing it on paper. Sorry for no diagram.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Here are a few pics of my failed horizontal turf algae scrubber. Maybe someone can look at it and re-design it where it could work for them. I'm sure my design is flawed somehow, and I know some other young entrepreneur may come across it and learn something.


If I kept at it and re-designed it and redesigned it to fit my needs, I'm sure it would have worked. But - I was tired and looking to move on with it. The light box is entirely too tall for the system. Yes, I know that is my stove in the pic. At least there aren't any dirty dishes in the sink! lol.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I scrapped the horizontal design and went after a vertical one. I was able to build one in about two hours with some scrap pieces of PVC that I had. I cut the slot with a dremel tool, but I probably didn't get it straight enough. I'm going to have to probably re-cut that piece of PVC with the slot in it for the plastic canvas. It's supposed to be extremely straight and even. I don't think it's that straight or even, but I'll just have to see how it performs when my pump comes in for it. I have two 43 watt CFL bulbs with reflectors on it 4.5 inches away from the screen on both sides. The pump that I am going to use for this scrubber is another Rio 1100, because it pushes 300gph, and I only need 210gph through the scrubber. I upsized it greatly - as far as scrubbers go, more light and more flow is better. One of the most important things is to rough up the plastic canvas with a hole saw blade as much as you can before using it.
Here is a pic of my vertical algae scrubber as of today. I still haven't glued everything together and it's missing a pump. I'll get to it next week when the pump arrives.


The plastic canvas screen is extremely rough and measures 6" wide by 8 1/2" long. The 1/2" is underwater and does not count as part of the scrubber surface area.
As you can tell, the sump is devoid of any other type of filtration at all. No carbon blocks (unless needed for chemical coral warfare) no chemical phosphate removers, nothing like that. I am going to lay live rock into the bottom of this sump, however. I think I will place a small maxijet pump in the sump to keep detritus stirred up so it can be returned back to the display tank for coral food.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I hated that canopy so much that I decided to take it off and just look at the stock hood for now until I can get my T5 Nova Extreme 2xDaylight, 2xActinic, 2x blue LED moonlight system It's also individual reflectors! I'm sure I can keep at least a monti under that. XD . Here is the tank now as it stands with nothing in it except a little piece of algae from a different project.

The little dots and lines on the back glass is from copepods trying to find something to eat. . I was ghost feeding the tank for a little while, but then I gave my fish food away. lol. Stupid me.
That's stock lighting- I think a little 18w florescent bulb in it.
My wife just gave me $1000 to spend on my tank! Today I ordered:
T5HO Nova Extreme 24" with individual reflectors 2xdaylight 2xactinic with 2 blue lunar lights.
Rio 1100 pump for my algae scrubber
Hydor Theo 100w heater
Hydor Koralia Nano 240gph
3/4" slip x slip bulkhead - gotta have the gasket for the external overflow. (it's doing just fine now, salt creep stopped the leak, but I want to fix the problem the right way.)
40# of Live rock (25# with shipping was $127 and 40# with free shipping was $140, so I paid the extra $13 and got double the rock. lol! )

 

[snakeblitz33]

Stock list options/opinions/thoughts
Fish:
Pair of clownfish
blue stripe neon goby
two firefish gobies
one green clown goby
If anyone has any other suggestions, please go for it! I am thinking about removing the green clown goby, even though I really like him. I enjoy watching firefish gobies. My wife really likes clownfish, so I'll do that for her. I enjoy watching neon gobies clean fish.
Inverts: (I know corals are inverts, but I'll put them in a different section)
skunk cleaner shrimp
2-3 large feather dusters
maybe a cucumber to stir up the sand a bit.
Clean up crew:
10 blue leg hermits + extra shells
10 astrea snails
5 nassarious snails
1 green emerald crab
1 small brittle star
Corals:
whatever I see fit. I'm also open to suggestions.

 

[meowzer]

I love the little goby fish...why not get the greens striped ones

 

[snakeblitz33]

green stripped ones? I'm not sure I know what fish you are talking about. I like blue stripped neon gobies. The little gold one's are cool, but I'm partial to the color blue.
Hmm, is there anything else I can splurge on as far as equipment goes? I think I have all my bases covered. If my main pump goes out, I have an instant replacement that's on the algae scrubber. I can just rob it until I can get another one. Maybe I could get another Rio 1100 for mixing salt and truly have a backup. lol! I'll need some home made food, maybe some selcon. I know I want to dose Vitamin C later on. I might go ahead and buy some pickling lime too while I'm at it.
I'm getting excited again!

 

[meowzer]

The green banded gobies...I have 3...LOVE THEM TOO
http://www.***************.com/images/products/Fish/large/Green%20Banded%20Goby.jpg

 

[snakeblitz33]

Oh yeah! Those are pretty cool. They are small as well, it could work.
Any coral suggestions?

 

[meowzer]

With the T5's in a 20G you should be able to keep anything...I do in the 29G
BUT space is the issue...so you have to be careful about stinging....I like ricordia....comes in all different colors...and zoas too

 

[snakeblitz33]

I like ricordia for the color. I think though that I am going to MAYBE do an SPS reef. Some neat/interesting color morphs. I'll probably end up gluing monti's to the back glass. I've always enjoyed that look.

 

[snakeblitz33]

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a small SPS reef tank. It's a challenge, and that's what I love!
I have no idea what I am going to do with the extra 20 pounds of live rock that I bought. I know I might break 10 pounds of it up and put it in my sump. I might could sell some to a client if I fully cure it. Who knows, when it comes in, the rock might be really dense and the perfect amount for the tank. lol. We'll just have to see.
I'm really anxious to get everything together!!!! lol
I'm reconsidering my fish stock list. Since I want to do a lot of SPS corals and hardly any water changes, I'm considering limiting it to one clownfish and maybe two firefish gobies. Once the system establishes, I'll consider adding more fish or not. I'm not really big on fish. They are really cool and can be awesome pets - but I'm more interested in water chemistry, microbes and flora and fauna, corals and equipment/DIY aspects of saltwater aquariums more so than fish.

 

[snakeblitz33]

So, being inspired by another thread about culturing phytoplankton, I'm going to do it for my tank as well. I'm going to use a pretty simple method. I'm buying a bottle of nannocloropsis algae paste to use for grow out. I'm going to use a cardboard box that is lined with tinfoil and I'm going to suspend four 43w CFL bulbs from the top or sidesto light up 3, 2 liter coke bottles of it. I'm going to use a salinity of 1.009 for the grow out bottles and I'm going to use a simple 1ml miracle grow all purpose fertilizer and 1ml of kents essentials for grow out. Of course, the bottles willhave air line tubes down in them with a gang valve to control flow with an air pump. I'm excited to start building and take some pics... but it will be awhile, I gotta get the rest of my tank ready.
I ordered all of my equipment and my live rock last Friday, and I expected to see my live rock today or tomorrow. I never got a tracking number or anything, so I e-mailed the company and they said they didn't ship this week because of Labor Day! So, they are going to ship my rock out next Monday.

On an up note, I tracked my equipment shipment and it will arrive some time tomorrow. So, I'll be able to get my algae scrubber online and my lights and things all sorted out before my live rock comes. It will all work out, just have to remain calm. lol

 

[tur4k]

I was culturing phyto for a while. It was really easy, but I was concerned about all of the miracle grow that I was putting in my tank. I'm sure it wasn't getting completely depleted before I split and I was worried it would get too concentrated as time went on.
I did end up with some massive sponge growth and A LOT of little feather dusters. I haven't really seen a decline after I stopped dosing phyto. My clams are still doing great. Still have lots of feather dusters. Haven't noticed a decline in pods.
Edit:
You don't need nearly that much light. I was using a single 20W CF sitting between two 2 Liter bottles. About 3 inches of space between the bottles and the bulb. I didn't use any reflectors. I just put it on a shelf in my garage and set the timer to keep the bulb on from 8am - midnight.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, I might tune down the light on the system. I know I have two 23 watt bulbs and lamp sockets that I can use right now. It should be good to grow what I want. I'm going to make an order from carolina biological or somewhere else for some algae paste for a starter culture. With the scrubber going, I want to heavily feed phyto so I might be able to grow enough zooplankton to feed my corals.

 

[snakeblitz33]

UPDATES! My equipment came in today. Pics!!!

 

[mproctor4]

Nice looking tank. I will be tagging along. Your ATS looks good. I had one for a while and took it down because of space issues. I regret now that I took it apart, it did make a difference in the tank. I may reconfigure my sump to make more room and set it back up. I like the looks of the tank better with just your lights rather than the massive canopy--JMO.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, it does look a lot more "sleek." I like the looks of it now. I'm satisfied. Now I have to figure out how to hide all these power cords where my baby doesn't chew on em' lol! I'm thinking about mounting them inside a small wooden box with a couple of air holes, a hole for the cords, and maybe even a fan blowing in it. If I wanted to, I could probably add a controller to the system later on and put it in the box as well.
I'm also saving the cardboard boxes that my equipment came in. I'm going to be using it as a phyto light box. I might take some build pics later. I'm really considering growing nannocloropsis phyto because it stores in the fridge for a long time. I'm going to be heavily dosing my tank with phyto. This is kind of an experimental tank. lol.
So - here's a material list of the phyto box
Cardboard box - to cut up and fit.
Packing tape - to put the box together
Aluminum foil - for reflection
spray adhesive - to glue the aluminum to the cardboard and make it look good. XD
Two lamp kits - buy at walmart, ordinary light sockets (2)
Black spray paint - to match the furniture where I'm setting it.
Small brass pin and small rubber band - Keeps the lid completely sealed so it's not really bright at night.
Air Pump - small one from walmart
two, 2 liter coke bottles with caps.
two extra coke bottle caps.
Air line tubing - duh
1 24 hour timer - to time the lights for 16 hours a day
Kent marine essentials
Miracle grow all purpose fertilizer
a ml syringe
Tools needed:
1 small knife to cut cardboard
1 drill bit - to make a hole in cap for airline tube
1 phillips head screwdriver for lamp kit
1 tape measurer