Craig's 25g Nano

[Craigk]

Hey Reefers


Having realised that I enjoy nano reefs more than any of my larger tanks, I've started a build based on a Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25. I've sold off my larger tank and equipment, I've only kept my 4 favourite small fish, shrimps and snails to make the transition fairly easy.

Yesterday, the tank passed its first water test.

While I'd like to orient the tank peninsula-style, finding a cabinet / furniture is troublesome. So instead I've chosen to simply leave a bit of space behind the tank so that it looks open and I can clean the back pane quite easily. Of course, once I filled the tank I realised that the cabinet wasn't stable enough for my taste, so I spent the afternoon creating a bracket solution to firmly anchor it to the wall.

The tank has since been filled.

And the livestock has been moved over.

Since this is basically an insta-tank, I've kept one fairly decent piece of mature live rock, as well as the Maxspect bio blocks from my previous system (cut down to fit in the middle filter compartment). In a few months, both will be removed.

Current equipment list:

• Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25.
• Inspire 60 Cabinet.
• Tunze Silence 1073.008 return pump. This is quiet, not silent. It's much better than the Hidom pump Waterbox supplies, which is basically a piece of junk.
• Jebao SOW-4 for temporary circulation. Will be replaced.
• AquaEL 150w heater (Neotherm equivalent).
• Radion XR15 Pro G5.
• Tunze Osmolator 3155.
• Tunze 9001 DC skimmer.
• D-D PP1 Pro single channel doser for All For Reef (kept from previous system, not yet in use).

Still deciding:

• Circulation: MP10, Nero 3 or a Gyre. MP10 has the least flexible mounting options in this style tank, but has easy battery backup.

On order:

• Tunze 9001 3D-printed mounting bracket.
• 15l fresh water reservoir.
• InTank media basket for chamber 1.
• D-D Jumpguard.

Future equipment:

• ApexEL or Profilux 4e. I enjoy automation / monitoring.
• May add a Tunze MAR 3181. Could be fun to see how an algae reactor performs on a system this size, and this one can be mounted in the cabinet.
• Cooling fans.

Livestock:

• Pair of clowns.
• Springer's Damsel.
• Royal Gramma.
• Cleaner shrimp.
• Peppermint shrimp.
• Blue starfish (which had hidden itself in the rockwork).
• Too many Trochus snails, a couple Cerith and Nassarius.

Edit 14 April 2021: updated equipment list.

 

[zukihara]

Looking good so far!

 

[tjohnson3]

Looks awesome... I’d get that blue starfish out of there though unless you want it to starve to death. Those suckers are high enough maintenance in an established tank, much less one that hasn’t completely cycled yet.

 

[Craigk]

Looks awesome... I’d get that blue starfish out of there though unless you want it to starve to death. Those suckers are high enough maintenance in an established tank, much less one that hasn’t completely cycled yet.

Yeah, I'll have to rehome it. Was a serious "how did that get there" moment.

 

[tjohnson3]

Lol I’ve had plenty of those!

 

[Craigk]

One shopping trip later...

I'm pretty glad I went for the XR15 Pro rather than the Blue. The AB+ preset is WAY too blue for my liking.

 

[Craigk]

Skimmer arrived, too. The DC model is pretty nice actually, but not silent.

Of course, using the middle chamber for the skimmer means attaching the lighting arm to the rear panel...

... which doesn't look too bad, except the RMS clamp fitting is quite bulky. So I currently have it "perched" so that it's out of the water.

I'm not too happy with this arrangement. I've got a few ideas, including a wall support. I guess if all else fails, I'll fall back to a hanging pendant. Other thoughts welcome.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Nice I have the same tank and love it! I’ve been struggling to find a stand I just have it on a chunky table.

 

[Zach B]

Very nice! Following

 

[Craigk]

Nice I have the same tank and love it! I’ve been struggling to find a stand I just have it on a chunky table.

It’s a real pity WB haven’t made a cabinet for this model, especially since it’s a peninsula. I was lucky to find a cabinet with the right dimensions, but I think it’s only available here in the UK.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

It’s a real pity WB haven’t made a cabinet for this model, especially since it’s a peninsula. I was lucky to find a cabinet with the right dimensions, but I think it’s only available here in the UK and it’s not great quality unfortunately, although it looks ok.

Yeah they really should. I’ll probably just end up making my own.

 

[Pkunk35]

Love the setup looks super clean! Gonna look real good with some coral.
How the heck did you find that tunze 9001? Been trying to find one for months.

 

[Craigk]

Love the setup looks super clean! Gonna look real good with some coral.
How the heck did you find that tunze 9001? Been trying to find one for months.

Thanks. It helps that I'm a bit closer to Germany than you... but even over here, they're generally out of stock and it took some searching.

 

[Craigk]

#MODS can you please move this thread over to the nano reefs section?

 

[Peace River]

#MODS can you please move this thread over to the nano reefs section?

Done. Nice setup - good luck with your build!

 

[Craigk]

So the ATO came in. I went with the good old Tunze Osmolator 3155, and found a nice water container. One of my major gripes with the Osmolator has always been the pump noise, so I drilled a hole for the outlet pipe that allows for a tight fit so that the pump sits suspended just above the bottom of the container.

 

[Peace River]

Looks great! Where did you get the container? Another solution to the pump issue may be a silicone mat.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Following! Can’t wait to see it come along

 

[Craigk]

And then it was time to pimp a nano algae cleaner magnet (in Tunze's words). 1 x nano cleaner + 1 x booster set + 1 x wider blades set = a franken-cleaner. It's still a bit bulky for such a small tank, but the benefits far outweigh that: the wet side now floats and you can fit stainless steel blades to the wider plastic blade - something not possible with the stock nano cleaner.

 

[N3mo]

Looks great

Those tunze Glass cleaners are really good.