Jenn's 20G Nano Reef

[MCHRKiller]

I am stoked to downgrade my 55G...I am honestly tired of the scape and the old scratched up tank. Here is my checklist so far:

*20G High SeaClear
*Aragonite sand....from previous setups it will be cleaned well
*Live Rock....will come from the 55G
*Corals....will keep my large hairy mushrooms, red palys, clove polyps, and some of the yellow zoas
*130watt fixture....I won a brand new Coralife 2x65watt on Ebay shipped for $40, it comes with a 10K and 420 actinic. Perfect for a polyp tank I think.
*AC110....I am going to mod it as a Fuge, I have a clip on Tom Rapids light which I have used on my 8" cube for months. It will be ran reverse daylight to the tank. Ill Leave enough room for a bag of ChemiPure Elite and some Carbon tho.

Tank is going to be skimmerless....I am also debating the benefits of a custom waterflow setup versus just using Koralias. One of the problems I have had with the 55G has been dead spots which I could never completely fix. I am hoping to eliminate this in the future.

I have 2 Koralia 1s and a Koralia nano...I may or may not use them. I am also going to keep 3 of my fish....Female black Ocellaris, Royal Gramma, and the Damsel.

Wont be setting the tank up for several weeks. I am having a stand built which will hold my new 30G acrylic and this 20G plus have a cabinet under both for canisters. I may toss the Fluval 105 on the 20G as well.

What are some thoughts on an AC110 Fuge, think its worth the bother for a 20G?

[smaug]

My experiance is limited but the box on a 110 is pretty big. It should hold enough chaeto to work as a scrubber. I'm looking forward to seeing this tank take shape Jenn.

[Cliff]

I've never had a fug either so I can't say for certain.

But you certainly would get benefit from the reverse lighting long with the chemi-pure and carbon. The option for some cheato as Smaug mentioned should also help allot as well.

I'm looking forward to following your journel

[MCHRKiller]

They say as algae builds up on the modified screen it does somewhat act as an algae scrubber as well. I ran CPR HOB fuges many years ago when the 150 was a reef...but those are nearly as large as this tank. I have always had skimmers and no fuge, now I will have a fuge and no skimmer :14:

I am looking at something like this for circulation:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/180489727574?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

It seems to have enough pieces to split into 2 spraybars...I also have various random stuff laying around to supplement. I would be using 2 smaller pumps hidden behind the rock. Something like that along with the AC110 and possibly the Fluval 105 would give me a great deal of circulation. If I do decide to use the Fluval 105 it would put longer lasting Chem. media in it. Probably scrape the ChemiPure to the canister along with Phosban and a load of Purigen.

For those interested here is the DIY mod for the AC filter...
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=180570&st=40&p=2004830&#entry2004830

[MCHRKiller]

I have decided to go bare bottom on the setup...and I bought some natural slate wall tiles from Home Depot. This should give a neat look to the tank and provide an awesome place for coraline to grow.

[smaug]

Bare bottom is THE way for you to go Jenn(blush)

[sheamurai]

Just to confirm - the wall tiles are for the back glass? That will be cool. Might be an idea for the bottom glass too...protect the bottom from live rock.

I didn't really like the look of the bare bottom tank that I ran for a bit...I could see the top of the stand thru it (seeing the screws bugged me)...and I'd want something on the bottom anyway to protect the glass...

[Cliff]

I wish I would have set-up my 90 gallon without substrate. The more and more that I read about that, the better it sounds to me. You have to be careful to make sure you are going to have enough rock, but I would still like to try it one day. The only real draw back is that it can limit what you stock, ie,.. certain fish and some anemones.

I'm really looking forward to seeing pics of your set-up Jenn

[MCHRKiller]

The wall tiles are for the bottom of the tank. Home Depot either had 12x12 floor tiles or 4x4/6x6 wall tiles in the color range I wanted. I picked up a pack of 6x6 and 4x4 wall tiles. The back of the tank is black acrylic, and the sale is dark grey with copper hues...should be an interesting effect.

I am going to work on modding an AC110 into a Refugium tomorrow...I will have a space for media and typical fuge things.

I will use as much LR as I deem acceptable for the scape...at least 25-30lbs plus the macro/rubble in the fuge. I should be fine without sand, Ive never ran a deep sand bed anyway never more than 1/2" so I doubt it had much benefit outside of overtime becoming a nitrate sponge.

[sheamurai]

ah that really will be nice!

I'd like to do without sand as well, can't wait to see what your set up looks like!

[sheamurai]

How are you going to keep the light on the HOB from shining into the tank?

Maybe a stupid question but when I tried one, I ended up with an (ugly) aluminum foil sorta wrapped around the clip on and the filter, and it was a pain to put off and on, the clip light would fall off...I ended up removing the fuge mainly because of that, and I didn't have a good enough light to grow chaeto.

[MCHRKiller]

Im going to run the fuge reverse daylight from the main tank...given the solid black acrylic back I doubt that much light will get into the fuge during the day or much light into the main tank during the night. For light I was planning on a Tom Rapids Clip on light but the replacement bulb costs more than I paid for the fixture so Im now thinking of just using a 12" incandescent aquarium fixture fitted with a 15watt 6500K CFL. Im going to build a "light stand" using an extra AC110 media basket. The filter is currently being soaked and cleaned so the silicone will have a viable surface to attach to. I will start the mod once it is dry tonight, hopefully with photos :11:

[sheamurai]

ah, ic. I just used a clip on light, but the light shone into the tank over the top, not thru the back. So I never ran it reverse, tho I'd originally intended to.

Interested to see how the 110 mod looks...its going to be a cool little tank!

[MCHRKiller]

Going to need to run to the store and pick up some plastic mesh before the mod is complete. Pics to come in a few days...it should work pretty awesome. The first compartment will be chemical media(Purigen/SeaGel/Polyfilter) then the other 2/3 will be full on fuge with rubble and macro.

I hope it ends up being a cool tank, and not a PITA like the 55G has become. :14: