Red Sea Reefer Nano

[firedancer414]

holy moly a soccer ball?!?

 

[CoralDanimal]

holy moly a soccer ball?!?

Haha yea the Kessil H380 does some serious work on the fuge. Whenever I leave town I really need to trim it back because it will be a solid brick in there if I don't.

 

[CoralDanimal]

Updates!

It's been about a month since the last picture and I'm happy to report the accelerated growth I was seeing then is continuing. I'm really happy with my tank right now and I'm even contemplating upgrading to a RSR 170. The 170 isn't that much bigger than the nano, but I think in the next 6 months I'm going to need the extra 3 inches on both sides and my current DT has some scratches that annoy me (bad frag rack I bought on Amazon did the damage). As for some notes:

• I discovered both of my mandarins were males even though I purchased a Male and Female from Algae Barn. I contacted them and they took really good care of me and also noted their disclaimer that since they sell them so young they can't guarantee the sex. The bigger of the two is currently in my refugium nom'ing away on pods (he was starting to chase the other male around) and if anyone lives in NorCal, I'm looking to find him a home.
• I did have some GHA getting a little out of hand and I dosed Fluconazole, which did kill off the bulk of the GHA, but it also nuked a large portion of my chaeto. I know there are mixed claims here around whether fluco impacts macroalgae, but the timing and the fact I made no other changes makes it hard to believe it was something else. I value my chaeto and the pods more than a squeeky clean DT so I don't plan to use fluco again.
• I do have a fair amount of small bubble algae on the rocks so I promoted my emerald crab from the refugium to the main tank to help out. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to mess with my acro colonies again or he'll be headed straight back to refugium jail.
• I'm playing around with using blue bucket Red Sea salt as I think it matches my normal CA/dKH levels better than the Red Sea Coral Sea Pro salt which has elevated levels. I'll report back if I see anything worth noting.
• I'm about 3 months in with no carbon, no GFO, and no other filter media. Just skimming, chaeto harvesting, and water changes. It's hard to understand the causation or correlation between my great SPS growth and the removal of media but for now I don't want to mess with a good thing.
• I splurged on a big purchase this past week that arrives next Wednesday ;Greedy I'll post again soon once I have it hooked up

 

[CoralDanimal]

I'd love to get everyone's thoughts on something. The big purchase I alluded to was a new G4 Radion XR30W light. The light is great (especially the coverage), but I did expect it to be a bit more powerful. I had a AI Hydra 26 + Kessil A160 Tuna Blue over the tank previously and the Ecotech is more powerful than both combined so I shouldn't be too disappointed.

Anyway a little project I've been working on is plumbing in the Red Sea ATO into my sump. The main reason (other than always enjoying a new hands-on project for the tank) is that I want to stabilize my pH swing. Most days the swing is 7.95ish to 8.2ish. I'd love to keep it more consistent (maybe 8.15-8.2). Originally my thought was "Let's put that Kessil A160 Tuna Blue to work" and I'd turn the ATO into a mini frag tank. The problem is that I'd need to remove the Tunze skimmer because it's in the overflow chamber of the sump and my skimmer is hooked up to a C02 skimmer so removing it would actually hurt pH.
My next thought was "Oh I can slide the ATO toward the front of the sump and create a support structure to hold it up", but then it's taking up valuable refugium space. Then I came across this guy:

That's the Kessil H160. What's better than 1 refugium? 2 refugiums! My current thought is two different lighting schedules. My main chaeto refugium powered by the H380 from 8pm - 5am, the smaller H160 from 4am - noon, and then my primary Radion on the DT from 11am - 8pm (at full intensity from 12-7). This way my tank is always experiencing powerful light somewhere with necessary downtime as well, which would keep my pH high and consistent and maximize refugium output (my captive bred mandarin will appreciate the extra pods).

Anything I'm missing with this idea? Any better alternatives? I was also thinking mangroves could be an alternative because then I wouldn't need the ATO as I could put 3-4 mangroves where the filter sock holder is. If I did the secondary fuge, this is where it would go (above the filter sock area):

 

[CoralDanimal]

And here's a FTS with the new light in place:

 

[rishma]

Your thread has been quiet for quite a while. I found it searching for ideas to improve my refugium on my 170. Did you actually add an H160? I have been thinking about this for the area you are lighting with the H380.

 

[CoralDanimal]

Your thread has been quiet for quite a while. I found it searching for ideas to improve my refugium on my 170. Did you actually add an H160? I have been thinking about this for the area you are lighting with the H380.

It has been a while! Over 3 months, yikes. The tank is doing really well. I would post a picture but the blue acropora tenuis has grown so much that it fell over and split into 2 colonies and a frag and haven't yet figured out how to replant it in the tank. I'll try to post a picture in the next week.

As for the secondary refugium, I did end up plumbing in the ATO reservoir (drilled the glass, hard plumbed, etc.) but I decided to revert the idea. It did have the effect I desired on the pH (it kept it between 8.15 - 8.3) and I kept it up and running for weeks. At the end of the day, I felt like I was kind of chasing pH at the expense of simplicity - more maintenance, more moving pieces that could create issues while traveling, and more clutter in the sump. I still have all the equipment, but it's not hooked up.

 

[rishma]

Thanks for the reply. Would like to seen an updated pic.

I need better refugium growth to compete against display algae. My current h80 doesn’t get the job done. I have hesitated to get the H380 due to heat and general overkill. I’ve been hoping the H160 could be the seeet spot.

 

[CoralDanimal]

Thanks for the reply. Would like to seen an updated pic.

I need better refugium growth to compete against display algae. My current h80 doesn’t get the job done. I have hesitated to get the H380 due to heat and general overkill. I’ve been hoping the H160 could be the seeet spot.

I started off with an H80 and I agree, it's a bit underwhelming if you're trying to light a larger refugium. Maybe if you only had an ATO reservoir as your refugium it would suffice, but if you're using the biggest compartment in your sump as a refugium like me, I definitely recommend something stronger. I agree that the H380 is overkill though and it does generate heat (I run it at night which is when I need heat, but sometimes it heats the area in my stand so much that it distorts my heater's internal temp. probe). I don't own the H160, but I do own an A160 and can confirm its strength. If I did everything all over again, I would go with the H160.

 

[CoralDanimal]

Long overdue update! Solid growth continues and I'm really happy with the tank (although I almost bought a 170 to upgrade slightly on Black Friday ;Greedy). Updates:

Recently my big acropora tenuis colony became dislodged from the rock work. I tried to chip off the frag puck it came on because it's big and cumbersome to mount, but that was a mistake. One whack with the hammer and chisel and one of the biggest branches of the acro just fell off. I didn't know what to do with the accidental frags and I really really don't like having anything on the sandbed (would sell the acan in a heartbeat) so I decided to buy one of those magnet rocks as a way to make more out of my tiny tank without the sandbed clutter. I've honestly never had real success with 2-part epoxy even when combining with super glue, but I bought the Ecotech Marine coral mounting gel and it is amazing!

Before:

After:

This is also the second time in as many months that I've had to move the rockwork to the left to make space for the big green blue-rimmed monti cap on the right hand side. I have one of those magfloats and when it starts to make contact with the monti, that's when I move it. Here's a better picture of the beast:

Also, here's a side profile picture of the magnet rock:

Last update: I did buy the 24" Aquatic Life T5 w/ LED retrofit so I could toss 4x24" T5s alongside the Radion XR30, but I'm not sure how to mount it. The screws for the mount are huge, but the Red Sea stand is fairly thin. Anyway - unclear if I'm going to go through with it or not (plus I don't think I actually need more PAR output anyway).

 

[infinite0180]

Hey, nice tank! Im setting up a reefer nano and im trying to decide on flow. I was thinking of picking up an mp10 and running it on the back wall. Do you think if i only run one that i would need to place it on the side of tank for proper flow? Idealy I would like to hide the dry side on the back of the tank however function is more important for me in this case...

 

[CoralDanimal]

Hey, nice tank! Im setting up a reefer nano and im trying to decide on flow. I was thinking of picking up an mp10 and running it on the back wall. Do you think if i only run one that i would need to place it on the side of tank for proper flow? Idealy I would like to hide the dry side on the back of the tank however function is more important for me in this case...

Nice - love the RSR Nano and hope you like yours. I run two at around 50% max during the day, 30% lagoon during the night. Most of my coral is SPS and I think the two MP10s on the back wall are sufficient. What kind of corals do you have in your tank?

 

[mmw64]

I’ve been out of the hobby for quite some time! My last tank was 6 years ago when I had a 34 gallon Solana (20” cube), but unfortunately when I moved to SF I wasn’t able to have a tank (no car, no LFS = no tank). I kept following Reef forums and I would do Google Sketch-up drawings of dream tanks, make ideal equipment lists, stock lists, etc. and I even went as far as learning how to drill tanks, plumb them, etc. even though I knew I couldn’t have a tank. Recently, however, I settled down in a new place and the passion to get back into the hobby was back and my beautiful fiancee was supportive (she’s always appreciated my inner marine nerd).

Once I had the green light, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the right tank. I’m still renting so I can’t go for anything big (I’d love to do a drop off tank or large shallow lagoon one day) and although the IM tanks look cool, I really wanted a sump this time around to obfuscate as much equipment as possible while making the equipment easily accessible to tinker/clean/etc. There are very limited options for nano-sized reef ready tanks that are already plumbed for a sump setup. Ultimately it came down to Red Sea Reefer Nano vs. Elos Mini. I couldn’t justify the Elos Mini cost vs. what it offered so I went with the Reefer Nano (loving my decision so far if you’re curious).

Tank

• Red Sea Reefer Nano
• 18”x18”x18”
• 28 gallons (21 in display, 7 in sump)

Lighting

• AI Hydra 26 w/ AI mounting kit
• Kessil H80 Tuna Flora (Refugium light)

Circulation

• Sicce Syncra 2.0 return pump
• (2x) Vortech MP10 w/ Reeflink

Filtration

• Eshopps X-120 Axium w/ co2 scrubber reactor for air intake
• In-sump refugium

Other

• Neptune Systems Apex controller
• Neo-therm 75W heater
• Trigger Systems Ruby 5g ATO reservoir (Tunze Nano Osmolater)
• ~18 pounds of dry reef rock seeded with a couple pounds of live rock
• ~25 pounds of CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand

Some reflective thoughts early on:

• I’d say the only thing I’m missing from the Reefer Nano is that I’d love to have a bigger refugium. Sometimes staring into them is almost as interesting as looking at the display tank. My dream fish is a Mandarin and a healthy pod population is essential for them so this is one of the reasons why I’m particularly obsessed with refugiums.
• Loving my first sump, but the extra convenience of what you can do with your equipment comes at the price of worrying about leaks, power outages, and having multiple failure points (return pump, plumbing leak, etc.). I don’t think I’ll go back to AIO tanks, but sumps aren’t as dreamy as I made them out to be in my head.
• This is my first venture in LED light and I absolutely love my AI Hydra (especially the app / web interface). Same can be said for the Vortech/Reeflink setup although I’ve used Vortechs in the past as well. This is my first time with a top tier controller (I’ve had a AC JR in the past). The price jump to the Apex is steep, but I understand the ROI now and I don’t think I’d go back to a smaller controller again unless Neptune released other wifi ready controllers. The web/mobile interface is amazing and gives great piece of mind. I’m also loving having the probes (although I’ve struggled a bit with trusting the salinity probe) and being able to monitor the relationships of ORP vs. pH as well as temperature vs. perceived salinity. I have a couple of vacations this year and Apex gives me the confidence that my tank can run on auto-pilot in my absence (I lost a frag tank in college from an ATO nightmare).
• Patience is a virtue. I worked at a great LFS through all of college and was mentored by a number of passionate & wise reef hobbyists and still I fell victim to moving too fast with this tank. It’s so hard to fight that urge when you get excited. I’m not proud to say this, but I didn’t wait for my tank to fully cycle before adding in livestock. I really hope for future tanks I can be more mature about this and give into the urge for that instant gratification.
• I never had a pH probe before so I didn't obsess about it until now and since mine was low (mid 7s), I kept exploring ways to raise pH. Running my protein skimmer airline outside isn't an option since I rent. Then I looked into CO2 scrubbers by BulkReefSupply. It's essentially a reactor you run your protein skimmer tubing into that houses CO2 absorbing media balls that change color with use. The downside I read was it runs through the media quickly and it's fairly expensive to replace. $50 for the media and it does 7 refills and I've read the media last 2 weeks so ~$15 a month. Not ideal but I figured it was worth a try. I hooked it up to my Axium X-120 skimmer yesterday (I put the canister behind the stand with the air tubing running to it) and well, it definitely works. I stay between 7.8 - 8.0 now.
• All of my favorite tanks are SPS heavy and naturally I thought that’s the direction I would want to go with this tank. I’m having second thoughts after having set up the tank however. There’s definitely an allure to the low maintenance world of LPS, softies, zoas, etc. especially since they can deliver the color diversity to give the tank that look that pops. I’m not afraid of work - I plan to do weekly 10% water changes, clean the glass every other day, rigorously test my water, change out reactor media, clean pumps, probes, etc., but I like that I wouldn't have to stress constantly about my calcium, alk, etc. levels. It also kind of sucks that SPS is so expensive and grows so slowly. I would probably want to get small colonies, but having a $200 mini-colony creates that water quality stress. We’ll see how it evolves, right now I have a couple of acroporas, a small millepora colony, a montipora cap, a torch coral, two different zoanthids, and some ricordia.
• My thoughts on livestock with regards to the fish have also changed since tank conception. As I mentioned previously, my dream fish is a Mandarin. After my tank is more established and I’ve seeded a copepod population, I would consider getting a captive bred Algae Barn Mandarin that is already eats frozen foods. To do that responsibly, I wouldn’t want to get any other fish that also consumes pods such as a wrasse which was the next fish I was considering (six-line or leopard) or midas blenny (I’ve always found their personalities so fun). We’ll see - I’m open to suggestions, but I don’t want to overstock or introduce anything aggressive.

There’s not much to see yet, but I posted a picture below of my current setup. I really wanted to implement a clean cable management system, but given the sump is the exact same size as the tank I’m really limited on my options.

Beautiful tank!

 

[infinite0180]

Nice - love the RSR Nano and hope you like yours. I run two at around 50% max during the day, 30% lagoon during the night. Most of my coral is SPS and I think the two MP10s on the back wall are sufficient. What kind of corals do you have in your tank?

Right now i only have a few pieces that will be moving into the tank and i will be stocking once its up and running. Mainly sps. I ordered an mp10 today actually. I can only afford one right now so hopefully if i play will placement it will be enough until i have some extra cash!

 

[rishma]

Long overdue update! Solid growth continues and I'm really happy with the tank (although I almost bought a 170 to upgrade slightly on Black Friday ;Greedy). Updates:

Recently my big acropora tenuis colony became dislodged from the rock work. I tried to chip off the frag puck it came on because it's big and cumbersome to mount, but that was a mistake. One whack with the hammer and chisel and one of the biggest branches of the acro just fell off. I didn't know what to do with the accidental frags and I really really don't like having anything on the sandbed (would sell the acan in a heartbeat) so I decided to buy one of those magnet rocks as a way to make more out of my tiny tank without the sandbed clutter. I've honestly never had real success with 2-part epoxy even when combining with super glue, but I bought the Ecotech Marine coral mounting gel and it is amazing!

Before:

After:

This is also the second time in as many months that I've had to move the rockwork to the left to make space for the big green blue-rimmed monti cap on the right hand side. I have one of those magfloats and when it starts to make contact with the monti, that's when I move it. Here's a better picture of the beast:

Also, here's a side profile picture of the magnet rock:

Last update: I did buy the 24" Aquatic Life T5 w/ LED retrofit so I could toss 4x24" T5s alongside the Radion XR30, but I'm not sure how to mount it. The screws for the mount are huge, but the Red Sea stand is fairly thin. Anyway - unclear if I'm going to go through with it or not (plus I don't think I actually need more PAR output anyway).

Tank looks great. Adding 4 more T5s to that nano sounds a little nutty to me. You’ve overkilled the PAR already!