Ricenoodle's Dual Nano Build

[ricenoodle]

What's up R2R! Been away far too long. Finally retired from military and kids are now grown. Glad i am done with moving every few years and breaking down every setup i've had along the way. Really good to see some of the OG's still around. Now that life has settled down a bit, hopefully i get to bring something to life for my forever tank, at least that's what i tell myself. As with all my tanks i like to document every step along the way, see where i could have went different in the decision making process, failures and success, all with a date stamp for reference, it's always fun to share different takes on reefing among the community for growth, it's the reef geek nerd in me. This time around i decided to be a bit different while still going for a mimimalistic look since it will be going in the corner of my office. I'll be adding on, modifying and upgrading as the need arises on tank styles i haven't owned before and push some boundaries where i can to try something new. Always looking for feedback to improve, some of you guys are wayyyy knowledgable in this stuff in areas i can't imagine, feel free to add some feedback to the build as we progress. I've always missed my Davinci's Harem below a few years back raised from a single clutch, will definitely be drawing from some of it's features and other tanks i've had in the past to put the vision together. I'll be updating frequently as i go along. -Chris




My old gaming setup was an industrial workbench, This space will work well for a tank.

My current pc setup is to the left of the stand and i had a few major needs to start:

1. No water splashing on the pc side.
2. Has to be simple to maintain, minimal mess and any equipment cannot be too overpowered as to accidentally over spray if a connector was go to loose around electronics. Been around air, power, water all my career so first and foremost i gotta make sure everything is as safe as i can make it.
3. Has to be as quiet as possible as i'm sitting 2 feet from the tank daily.
4. Do things differently this time for me
5. Build from scratch using local sources as best as possible, supporting all the local businesses and reefers on this one. Stay tuned!

 

[ricenoodle]

I knew i wanted a nano this time around since that's my comfort zone to build upon and go sumpless for now if possible to reduce more maintenance, noise, equipment space, and just overall flow of the area. Huge Thank You to @StanD for setting me up for success with this IM Nuvo 10. He may have mistakenly hooked me up with a new tank! this thing is immaculate and well taken care of. Even hooked me up with the polycarbonate lid and all accessories which will definitely come in handy for the livestock later. Never had a 10 gal cube before in my nano adventures so it checks that box in new challenges and we're off to the races. Like a kid in a candy store all over again.

 

[ricenoodle]

I still have the biggest challenge which is the left side of this bench where it's located so it has to be the right tank for maintenance space and accessibility down the road in case of equipment upgrades and the biggest thing of all, water away from pc side as much as possible. A regular tank would also mean i would have to turn right all the time to get the full view, even though the space is adequate. I consider the overall load of the table with 2 tanks, equipment, rocks, sand and water! Even though it's rated for 500 lbs and in the end i'll be around 400 lbs if i plan right with volume. Whatever this second tank is will be toward the left edge to balance the load of the IM 10 on the right since the bench does not have a center support although it's solid wood. It's gotta meet a few needs for this unique situation.

1. Be small enough to not require a huge light for tank spread since i'm sitting 2 feet away. A huge XR30 at eye level even with diffusers at that distance long term don't seem like fun.
2. Not be a cube again and can't be a regular tank because of having to turn fully right to view the whole tank.
3. Lighting has to be mostly from the right side of the tank to mimimize on glare, has to have diffusers so a lagoon is out the picture.
4. Have enough volume to build from as to not limit too much with size, have adequate space for aquascape and livestock choices.
5. All the maintenance and tinkering should be done away from this left side and near the center of the bench to keep it safer.
6. Most importantly, the main flow of the tank has to flow away from the left side to mimimize surface agitation splashing all over.

That leaves only one choice in my eyes...a peninsula. A dang hard tank to find nowadays on the fly and especially in nano size to meet all my needs. The challenge is i've never owned a peninsula before either, so i gotta find one now.

 

[ricenoodle]

Given those requirements the IM Peninsula 20 caught my eye and meeting the specs i'd need. Long enough for fish to swim laterally if aquascaping is done right. High enough to have a decent selection of fish to be able to swim in all 3 zones. Have enough space to create a cool aquascape to breakup the deadspace zones where livestock flow around it without being over crowded. This definitely works.

Although between this and IM 10 these small back chambers will be a challenge with gear size as i normally would run a Tunze 9001 in the middle chamber, gonna have to get creative or this will be both be skimmer less while keeping good parameters and managing nutrients in other ways. I can see a sump in the future to drive it with a decent skimmer.

 

[ricenoodle]

Like a blessing from the reef gods a local reefer hit me up with his IM 20 Peninsula! Nothing a few wash of vinegar water and a razor blade can't clean up. Even hooked me up with some nozzles and a caddy. Stars coulnd't have aligned better. So glad I found it!

Huge shout out to Stan once more for coming through with not 1 but 2 fixtures! A XR15 Gen 4 with diffuser and an AI Prime. With the included RMS hardware and gooseneck for the AI prime, that's going to be helpful. Going to be perfect what we're going to build on both tanks. I have a few ideas on aquascape but not haven't decided on direction yet so we'll cross that road when the time comes. 2 major pieces of equipment checked off, couldn't be happier.

 

[ricenoodle]

Going to have to look into a poly lid for this setup, losing livestock is never fun, definitely had some heartbreaks over the years with jumpers. On that same note my livestock choices gotta be tame too as to not jump or splash, so i gotta be careful there. Loved my last tank but everyone love to jump daily and splash a ton of water everywhere lol. Can't have that this time around with all the electronics in close proximity

 

[ricenoodle]

Clowns and Nems have always been my first love so i've been brainstorming how to tie in it all in. Miss these little dudes.

 

[ricenoodle]

Still have to clean it up a bit more but i had to fit test to see how it line up with my vision. I'd consider a MP10QD here but the dry side magnet would obstruct the floating look. With a Nero 3 pushing the far left corner down the length of the tank back into the weir, that should eliminates any deadspot and creates agitation toward the right, with the different patterns. Smaller magnet too so i should be able to create a mini gyre effect combination with the return, it should work out. Now i get my full view of the tank with this orientation and maintenance is done center of the bench. Oh yeah!