Shark Bait's 29 gallon nano reef.

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

I have a spare 29 gallon tank sitting around, so I decided to set up a nano reef. I'm starting with the stand. This is oak plywood with a solid wood face frame. I used pocket screws to assemble the box. I used glue and biscuit joints for the face frame.

The door will be a simple shaker style. It will be inset, and will close flush with the plane of the face frame.

The top that is on it now is just a mock up so I can get a sense of the scale. The finished top will be solid oak.

I will also cut an access port in the back to allow for plumbing into the sump that I will eventually add to the system. the back is a piece of 3/4" oak plywood. This will make the stand rock solid, even after I cut the access port. I'll update the thread as soon as I start to make the doors.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Following to watch it come together!

 

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

Following to watch it come together!

Thanks! It will be a slow process, but hopefully it will be a steady one.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

There is nothing wrong with a slow build.

 

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

There is nothing wrong with a slow build.

I always want my projects to go faster, but then pesky things like work and bills get in the way. My wife would say that I also have too many projects going at one time. There may be some truth to that.

 

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

This is the aquascape for the nano reef. This is the first time I’ve actually tried to plan out how the rocks will look in advance. (My wife calls it “playing fish tank.”)

In my FOWLER tanks up to this point, I have just stacked the rocks up in a way that looks good to me. I’m fairly new to coral, and I’m learning the value of planning ahead.

The lights in the pictures are not the lights I’ll be using in the reef setup. I just threw this light on to get an idea of how it will look. I’ll also have a sandbed in the final setup.

 

[NS Mike D]

while nearly everything is debatable in this hobby, I am coming around the the idea to limit rock in the DT for fish hiding places and mounting corals and use something like marine pure in the sump. As explained by a member whose opinion I respect, live rock gets clogged and traps detritus over time and he finds it much easier to replace the marine pure in the sump. I find the open space (like the way you set up your tank) to be dramatic making for a more exciting display. My only concern is whether or not you have enough hiding places for fish.

 

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

while nearly everything is debatable in this hobby, I am coming around the the idea to limit rock in the DT for fish hiding places and mounting corals and use something like marine pure in the sump. As explained by a member whose opinion I respect, live rock gets clogged and traps detritus over time and he finds it much easier to replace the marine pure in the sump. I find the open space (like the way you set up your tank) to be dramatic making for a more exciting display. My only concern is whether or not you have enough hiding places for fish.

That may be an issue. I haven’t decided exactly what fish will be in the tank yet, but right now I’m thinking the fish load will be pretty low. I may decide to add a bit more rock around these structures later. Or I may look at putting another shelf on the structure. The initial plan, though, was to have open sand space to add coral clusters as I go.

 

[Sharkbait HooHaHa]

Here is the second edition of the aquascape. I added some rock to create more hidey holes for the future residents