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15 nano build - Picture heavy

7K views 28 replies 10 participants last post by  willieturnip 
#1 ·
Seeing as the 150 is probably going to take the best part of a year if not longer, I have decided (persuaded into doing it by a friend..) to set up a 15 gallon nano in the mean time.

It's probably for the best, takes my mind of the big tank and makes sure I don't rush it.

I started with a Juwel Rekord 60.

Firstly I yanked the internal filter box out as it would be totally pointless in a marine tank.

Then I added three Aquarium Systems micro-jet 320's that I found in a charity shop for four quid each! They were brand new in box too.

I added a Visitherm 50w submersible heater.

Then mixed the salt and water and added that to the tank. A day or two later I added the sand.

I used Tetra marine seasalt and Caribsea ocean direct Caribbean live sand.



This completely (and I mean completely) clouded the tank. I left it a few days with everything running.


While all this was going on, I retrofitted 4x9watt power compacts into the hood, to compliment the stock T8 (which will be actinic come tuesday).










So for all this effort and money this is where I am.



All I need to do now is tidy the ballasts up, add live rock, wait for the tank to mature, fit the rest of the power compacts, source some decent lamps ( I can find them in american, coralife do a 10000k and an actinic but with shipping it would cost me more than a halide pendant!), get the T8 actinic, add clean up crew, add corals, add fish, get a skimmer, build the algae scrubber, build the refuge (any point?) and then sit back and enjoy the reef. :lol:

And plump a sump in if I can be bothered..
 
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#3 ·
Here they are!

A lot has happened in the last few days. The photo's will explain everything..

All the lights on.



Just the actinic.



A little brittle star that came on the rock! I.D? I thought they normally had five legs?




The rock is sensational. I got it from my LFS and at about £12 (maybe more!?) a kg it certainly wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. Fantastic coraline and LOADS of life. So far I've spotted two little (really cool looking!) crabs, the above starfish, a shrimp, some sort of muscle/clam/filter feeder and what appears to be a tiny feather duster!

I almost took a little bicolour blenny home in the rock too, luckily I spotted him before it was bagged. He'd hidden himself in the rock and I spotted something squirming. We put the rock back in the water and he swam off. Many jokes were made on the trip home, with ideas thrown around involving duct tape and a koran angel that was in the rock tank. :lol

There's about 4-5kg in the tank at the moment and while this may be enough technically, I still think it needs another 4-5kg.

I'm not sure what to do with the crabs. I have heard bad things about non hermits, but they seem to be great cleaners. Might just group them in with the clean up crew. The bigger of the two is a bright coraline purple, with yellow bands on his legs. Handsome chap indeed (will try to get a photo!) and he digs the substrate like a loon!
 
#4 ·
I forgot to say that I added an Azoo Mignon skimmer too, which despite mixed reviews online is great! Tons of bubbles, good contact time and it's already pulling a bit out.

I also saw some sort of bright orange tentacle coming from a whole in the rock under the actincs at 2:30am (yes, I have been watching the tank all night)..
More on that as and when..
 
#7 ·
Here's the clam/muscle/filter feeder creature I'm talking about.

What about the green growth, it looks like carline but green. Is this bad or good? It looks nice so I suppose it can't be bad unless it gets completely out of control..







Uploading to imageshack has completely flattened the colours :-(.
 
#9 ·
Nitrates should be dropping soon then. Looks good though. GJ. I'm considering putting up a 10g, but i don't really feel up to setting up another tank ATM. Perhaps you can inspire me.
 
#10 ·
First fish is in. A bicolor blenny. Doing a great job of picking at the diatom. Very interesting watching him weave in and out of the rock too, especially when he pops his head out to make sure he's safe.



A picture of one of the crabs, rather oddly named "Tunk" by a friend.



And the compulsory FTS.

 
#12 ·
Nice bi-color, although you may want to be a little careful with it, they can be aggressive and sometimes not reefsafe, but every fish is different.

"They normally make a good addition to reef aquariums, but use caution in smaller set ups, or with smaller fleshy corals, as they have been know to pick at the mantles of clams, and at fleshy large polyp stony corals when underfed"
-Liveaquaria.com
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the tip.

I thought it was a bit of a gamble (though I couldn't actually recall why at the time), but my LFS recommended him and I trust their judgement. Time will tell I suppose. I'm actually more worried about Tunk catching him.

On another note, I saw two brittle stars simultaneously earlier. I haven't bought a clean up crew yet, but I think I'l leave it a week or two longer. A few assorted snails have been spotted and who knows what else is in there. I suppose thats the upside of buying LR locally, though it can go either way.
 
#15 ·
wow the pictures look wonderful and great!.. i'm waiting for my own rocks to mature...
 
#21 ·
lies!!!! update, update, updaate!!!


lol this is so cool, i just got my blenny and he never comes out lol
 
#25 ·
Cheers guys.

As for dosing, I don't do any.

I bought the live rock from my LFS and at the time it looked fairly similar to that. I have had lots of growth on those rocks though, which I put down to the high calcium levels in the water I use (tap water).

I live on a small island off the south coast of England, with one half of it being essentially entirely made out of chalk. This is definitely beneficial.
 
#27 ·
Well, I have been away for a week or so and just popped back to make sure the tank was alright. It was doing both fantastically and terribly.

The bad news was that cyano bacteria had taken over the glass, though interestingly not the sand or rock.

The good news is that I'm finally seeing some half decent coralline growth on the equipment (mainly the powerheads). In a week a 1cm circle had grown on the rear most pump, which can't be bad.

Once again I'm moving everything into a larger tank. I picked up a beautiful new clearseal 36x12x15 and a 1200lph powerhead to bring the circulation up to 21x in the new tank.

The big move is sometime this week, wish me luck! ;-)
 
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