(cut and pasted from a uk site so please forgive any product info thats uk only etc....i just couldn't face writing it all out again! :lol: :lol: )
about a year ago i toyed with the idea of stripping my tank down and having a break from the hobby after a nearly two decade affair.
my better half victoria said 'no,i know the tanks a lot of work but if you get rid of it you'll really regret it"
i left it at that but with a young family and an very old house to renovate my time was getting more and more precious.
last autumn i finally made the hard descision to sell up and after futher discussions with victoria i decided to start a nano. i had been eyeing them up on some of the american reefing sites for the last four or five years but with bigger tanks in the house my golden rule was 'there can be only one'....tanks that is!
it's a stock D+D NC24 apart from a koralia nano pump.a maxi jet (stock
pump replacement) and a 50w mini heater(not really needed as i have a wood/coal burning stove in the same room on 24/7)
tank temp has been stable at 27 since day 1 and will not rise in summer due to it being in an intergral lounge with 2ft thick stone walls....300 year old houses are great for reefs!
oh yeah and 20 blue leds from maplins to add a bit of zip to the colour.
i have done the standard retune aka stripping out all the media in the rear chambers and filled that with live rock rubble,purigen,phos remover etc etc
all liverock and sand is from my old 200 as is the majority of the lps in the tank.
i cant see any SPS or clams ever being kept in this tank as i neither have the lighting which they crave or the safety net that a larger volume gives you with regards to stability.
those that know me know i love SPS but imo these tanks are just not suitable without an added sump,lighting upgrade and chiller etc etc......all of which i do not want in my living room.
dont even ask about nems s it just aint gonna happen but i have considered the fireworks type but the jurys still out until i get some advise from anyone wh has tried and suceeded with them in a tank of this type.
the only upgrades planned at the moment are the new tmc 120 nano skimmer but my birthdays in Feb and thats enough time to see longer term reviews from this new product!
livestock additions.....well....i was planning on no more fish in the tank but by a twist of fate yesterday one of my black (TMC BRED) clowns took a jump over the rear chamber wal land went through the unguarded maxijet.
i hate losing fish
naturally another will be added at the weekend to allow a pair to bond early and the rear compartment made safe also with diy i read about on a U.S website....i'll keep you updated on this once i find it again.
another thing i had a crack at when i swapped over was keeping my stunning little male scooter blenny.He was fine for the first month but over the last few weeks he was (as i expected) startingto lose weight fast...as a direct result the home that i had already arranged took him last night and he new resides in my friend brads larger tank that has the most pod life that i have ever seen in any tank anywhere!
i have often warned people about the keeping of dragonet sp. like scooters and mandarins in small tanks with little live rock and wanted to see how mine would get on with live rock that a few weeks ago was brimming with life......hopefully anyone with(of planning to keep) this species type in a tank of this type will now think again as imo (and now ime) it will not work.
i also gave brad my red goni as it stood more chance of long term life in hs tank that a nano.
coralwise there will be very little added after this unless something really grabs me....one of the things i love about this tank is that searching for corals is more of a challenge due to the lack of room etc.
in recent weeks i have swapped my old bubble coral with one my mate bought....his was a lot smaller and mine had got just too damn big for the tank!
this tank will be more of a 'nursery' with regards to some of the larger species and once they get too big they will be moved onto larger homes and smaller replacements will be bought with any cash from selling them.....a bit of a stock rotation once in a while will suit me also.
i hope you enjoy the pics and give me some feeback be it positive or negative.the only coral (typically) not on show is my stunning purple fan in the top right. i'll add a piccy of it another day.
well...here we go again!
about a year ago i toyed with the idea of stripping my tank down and having a break from the hobby after a nearly two decade affair.
my better half victoria said 'no,i know the tanks a lot of work but if you get rid of it you'll really regret it"
i left it at that but with a young family and an very old house to renovate my time was getting more and more precious.
last autumn i finally made the hard descision to sell up and after futher discussions with victoria i decided to start a nano. i had been eyeing them up on some of the american reefing sites for the last four or five years but with bigger tanks in the house my golden rule was 'there can be only one'....tanks that is!
it's a stock D+D NC24 apart from a koralia nano pump.a maxi jet (stock
pump replacement) and a 50w mini heater(not really needed as i have a wood/coal burning stove in the same room on 24/7)
tank temp has been stable at 27 since day 1 and will not rise in summer due to it being in an intergral lounge with 2ft thick stone walls....300 year old houses are great for reefs!
oh yeah and 20 blue leds from maplins to add a bit of zip to the colour.
i have done the standard retune aka stripping out all the media in the rear chambers and filled that with live rock rubble,purigen,phos remover etc etc
all liverock and sand is from my old 200 as is the majority of the lps in the tank.
i cant see any SPS or clams ever being kept in this tank as i neither have the lighting which they crave or the safety net that a larger volume gives you with regards to stability.
those that know me know i love SPS but imo these tanks are just not suitable without an added sump,lighting upgrade and chiller etc etc......all of which i do not want in my living room.
dont even ask about nems s it just aint gonna happen but i have considered the fireworks type but the jurys still out until i get some advise from anyone wh has tried and suceeded with them in a tank of this type.
the only upgrades planned at the moment are the new tmc 120 nano skimmer but my birthdays in Feb and thats enough time to see longer term reviews from this new product!
livestock additions.....well....i was planning on no more fish in the tank but by a twist of fate yesterday one of my black (TMC BRED) clowns took a jump over the rear chamber wal land went through the unguarded maxijet.
i hate losing fish
naturally another will be added at the weekend to allow a pair to bond early and the rear compartment made safe also with diy i read about on a U.S website....i'll keep you updated on this once i find it again.
another thing i had a crack at when i swapped over was keeping my stunning little male scooter blenny.He was fine for the first month but over the last few weeks he was (as i expected) startingto lose weight fast...as a direct result the home that i had already arranged took him last night and he new resides in my friend brads larger tank that has the most pod life that i have ever seen in any tank anywhere!
i have often warned people about the keeping of dragonet sp. like scooters and mandarins in small tanks with little live rock and wanted to see how mine would get on with live rock that a few weeks ago was brimming with life......hopefully anyone with(of planning to keep) this species type in a tank of this type will now think again as imo (and now ime) it will not work.
i also gave brad my red goni as it stood more chance of long term life in hs tank that a nano.
coralwise there will be very little added after this unless something really grabs me....one of the things i love about this tank is that searching for corals is more of a challenge due to the lack of room etc.
in recent weeks i have swapped my old bubble coral with one my mate bought....his was a lot smaller and mine had got just too damn big for the tank!
this tank will be more of a 'nursery' with regards to some of the larger species and once they get too big they will be moved onto larger homes and smaller replacements will be bought with any cash from selling them.....a bit of a stock rotation once in a while will suit me also.
i hope you enjoy the pics and give me some feeback be it positive or negative.the only coral (typically) not on show is my stunning purple fan in the top right. i'll add a piccy of it another day.
well...here we go again!



