Craig's 45cm nano reef

[pleco4me]

Hey everyone!

System Objectives:
To create a marine ecosystem in my own home.

System Type:
Mixed Reef

Display System:

Strike up Date:
26th October, 2008

Display Tank:
45x25x30cm (35L)

Display Lighting:
2x24W T5 10000K/Actnic

Support systems:

System Water:
Natural salt water

Display Water circulation:
2x Hydor Koralia Nanos @ 900lph each
Aquaclear HOB Filter with Live rock chips, filter foam and Phosphate remover.

Skimmer:
Tunze 9002

Evaporation Top Up:
Manual Top Up

Chemical Support:

Calcium Addition:
Seachem Calcium

Alkilinity Addition:
Seachem Carbonate

Other Chemical Maintenance:
Seachem Reef Plus

Current Water Chemistry:
Nitrates: 10
Phosphates: 0
Calcium: 390
Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.023
Ammonia: 0.2
pH: 8.0


Images:





Regards,
Craig :cheers:

[blue33]

Nice job mate. Maybe i should start one also. Feeling itchy hand now.

[Jervis]

Welcome to the club

[blue33]

How to start? Let me think...

[EvolutionZ]

How to start? Let me think...

"2ft optic-white"

[blue33]

Maybe this time Crystal glass from Weeyang

[Jervis]

Display Tank:
45x25x30cm (35L)

Your tank definitely looks larger than 1 1/2ft

[pleco4me]

Your tank definitely looks larger than 1 1/2ft

Thanks Jervis

I think this may have something to do with the small rocks i selected

[dnsfpl]

mind sharing what Phosphate remover are you using in your HOB?

is it effective?

thanks

[pleco4me]

Im using Seachem PhosGuard.

So far so good

[whitefang]

your tank is a real beauty. my tank with the same dimension doesnt even look half as good as yours.

i'm gonna strive towards you as my goal!

[dnsfpl]

Im using Seachem PhosGuard.

So far so good

i notice some need high flow to optimize the effectiveness
how about this? any special requirement for this media?

[pleco4me]

Ive just put it inside my AquaClear 20 HOB filter.

Seems to be doing well as long as you keep up with waterchanges

[pleco4me]

G'day Folks,

Its been a while since I updated my journal properly so im gonna go all out now!

Specifications:

Lighting: 2x24W T5 - But i've ordered a 150W Clip on MH with 2 LED's and a fan for $99.00 from Guppy's. Im still trying to comprehend how much of bargain this will be if it works!
Filtration: 10kg LR + 500lph HOB filter with LR rubble and phosphate remover
Heater: 50W
Skimmer: Tunze 9002 Nano skimmer - I love this!
Water movement: Hydor Koralia Nano 900lph
Temperature control: Clip on fan - Works great, apart from evaporation.
Top up: Manual - Filtered tap water
Waterchange: NSW

Supplements:
Liquid: Seachem Calcium, Seachem Carbonate, Seachem Reef Plus, Nutra Kol Reef feed.

Water Chemistry:
Ph: 8.3
Kh: 8
Ca: 400
PO4: 0
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
N03: 5
SG: 1.025

Inhabitants:
Fish: Pair of Percula Clownfish
Shrimp: 1 Peppermint Shrimp
Cleanup Crew: 4x Trochus snail and one hitch-hiker snail
Corals: Zoos, Torch, Hammer, Xenia, Fungia, Morphs, Acans, Favite, Elegance, Lobophyllia.

Total cost you ask? We'd have to be close to the 900's now!

So far everything has gone well, but there have been a few problems/lessons learnt along the way;
The first night of introducing the clownfish, we find one on the floor, luckily she survived and is looking great - lesson learnt: Don't always trust what your LFS tells you, FISH WILL JUMP!
Make sure your corals are placed in a sensible position on the rocks! Ive noticed countless times that my corals have fallen off because of the rogue snails.
The bluer the better! Blue coloured lights bring out the colours of the corals a lot more - especially in fluro corals! Actnic or 20000K will give the best results.
Im constantly removing live rock. Dont start your tank FULL with live rock, because most corals come attached to it, and it becomes VERY difficult to squeeze them in, and ive removed about 6 or 7 pieces so far.

My advice? Don't let people tell you that “it can't be done” - Because it can! Nano reefs are easy!

Pics:

FTS

My Morphs field

My new 'rustic zoos'

Favite


Cheers,
Craig

[Jervis]

My advice? Don't let people tell you that “it can't be done” - Because it can! Nano reefs are easy!

I'm sure everything is possible if you put enough effort into it... your tank is a shining example of such effort... now the real challenge is to keep your water parameters consistent for a long period of time

[BFG]

Nano tanks can be done but sometimes folks do not want to invest in quality equipment. Not knowing about what they're keeping is another factor. When they fail, they'll lament that saltwater is hard but if you look at the setup, most will not have the necessary basic equipment needed to maintain their tank properly.

Craig, your setup is the exception. Keep up the good work!

[Cacatuoides]

Very nice nano reef, brings back fond memories!
Keep the pictures coming!!

[Mez]

Cracking looking Nano mate - loving that Lobo, you just cant get those that colour here. The blue zoos are looking good too.

[JadeIceGreen]

Very nice reef tank.. To do this in just 35l, awesome.