Nano Reboot - 20 Gallons of Fun

JALIASC · Jul 16, 2017

My tank is back up! After being conquered by a rusting magnet, I've finally got water back in my tank and the cycle has begun. Super excited to use this thread to show off the fun that will be going on.

The plan for the tank is for anemones and clownfish but I'll likely add another fish or two, probably from the goby or firefish family.

CUC will be mostly trochus snails, may try for some dwarf ceriths and a fighting conch. Hope to get some sexy shrimp as well so they can hang out with a maxi mini nem.

Equipment list is as follows:
Return Pump - Eheim
Lights - ATI 4 Bulb (haven't decided which ones yet)
Power head - MP10
Skimmer - AquaticLife Internal Mini
Heater - Cobalt Neo-Therm 75 watts
Controller - Apex Jr
ATO - Autoaqua Smart ATO

So it's just water and rock but the sand is coming in a few days and I'll update as things move along. The rocks have been curing/cycling for a few weeks so hopefully I can start putting some snails in within the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for checking my build thread out and enjoy!

RamsReef · Jul 17, 2017

That suuucks! Hopefully the reboot goes well.

needbiggertanks · Jul 17, 2017

Awesome

JALIASC · Jul 17, 2017

Ramasule said:
That suuucks! Hopefully the reboot goes well.

Thanks! I learned a lot with that build and am excited to use that new knowledge with this tank. Most important lesson, keep cheap magnets out of the tank.

needbiggertanks said:
Awesome

Thank you!

JALIASC · Jul 18, 2017

Just a smidge of progress for today, measured out the board for the base of my stand so now my ATO reservoir is in its final place. Had fun cutting the piece with a hand saw boy was it hot outside!

Sanded down the rough edges and now it's good to go, fits snug and everything (thank goodness). Tried getting my Apex Jr set up so I could start putting the electronics board together but it needed a firmware update and after fussing with it for a while I lost patience and will try again tomorrow.

Inserted my skimmer as well so at least I got a couple of things done today.

Current status

JALIASC · Jul 21, 2017

Added live Tropic Eden Tonga Reef flakes!

JALIASC · Jul 24, 2017

Apex Jr is mounted, along with an EB8 and an MP10! Will test my ammonia levels throughout the week and I'm pretty sure this tank is ready to go!

RamsReef · Jul 24, 2017

Looking really great.

JALIASC · Jul 24, 2017

Ramasule said:
Looking really great.

Thank you so much!

JALIASC · Jul 29, 2017

Had a bacterial bloom this week but it seems to have subsided and the ammonia level has been at 0 all week. Work has been crazy so I haven't been able to spend as much time tinkering as I would have liked.

Next tasks are to connect my light stand to the wall so it doesn't lean, hang my ATI 4 bulb fixture and get a Trochus snail or two.

JALIASC · Jul 30, 2017

Light fixture is up! Got a 4 Bulb ATI with 2 Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus, and 1 Aquable Special to add some white.

Borrowed a PAR meter from @MaddyP and found that my sand bed reads between 100-200, the right rock in is the low 200s, and the left rock is in the high 200s. Absolutely perfect spread, super stoked about it. My light fixture is higher than I though it would be, guess these T5s pack a punch!

And just for kicks, here's a pic of my cord octopus of an electronics board. Definitely gotta fix this up soon

That's all for now!

JALIASC · Aug 5, 2017

First fish is in! Picked up a purple fire fish today and am super stoked! Temp/drip acclimated him and once I got him in the tank I saw what looks to be a fluke. Major bummer but at least it's easily treatable, just gotta hit the LFS tomorrow morning to pick up some PraziPro. Went to Petco and Petsmart and came up empty. Good to know I can't really count on them for saltwater stuff.

These guys are super shy so its hard to get a good pic of him but this will have to suffice for now.

Also got some PE Mysis portioned out for him. Figure I'll do frozen food a couple of times a week and do pellets for the rest. I've got some Hikari S and Neptune Crossover that I'm sure he'll enjoy. May even infuse the pellets with some Selcon or Oyster Feast when the mood strikes. This is going to be a spoiled fish!