TheLadyCrash's Nano Rebuild

[TheLadyCrash]

Part 1 - Initiate Reboot Sequence

I am currently in the process of rebuilding/rebooting my husband's old JBJ Nano. I've decided to move it into my office at home (I work remote) and have own little tank up here away from the main DT in the family room.

After the loss of his Valentini Puffer, he decided he wasn't interested in having his own tank anymore. It sat in his office basement for MONTHS. It was never emptied out or even the water drained. It's basically sat long enough for all of the water to have evaporated leaving a nice thick layer of salt on top of the sand.

I had him haul the tank out to the garage and put it next to the garbage can so I could basically just put on my rubber gloves and scoop then dump everything straight into the garbage. I don't have pictures of this step and even if I did, I don't think anyone would want to see them.

Part 2 coming soon....

 

[Diesel]

Nice move!
Looking forward to another great build.
What's your game plan so far?

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Part 2 - Burn the nasty with fire...or in this case, vinegar

After scooping as much of the sand and nastiness as I could with a cup and my hands, it was time to start sanitizing the tank. I decided that I was going to reuse the existing pump as well as the thermometer (assuming it was still working). This made cleaning the tank out a lot easier as all I had to do was fill her up and toss in the thermometer (unplugged of course).

I debated between using bleach and vinegar but opted for vinegar. While I know bleach cleans things out really really well and disinfects things better, I didn't really want to fill a tank that I'm planning on keeping things alive in with bleach and letting it run for a few days. I would estimate I used probably 1/3 gallon of vinegar and the rest tap water and just let it run for a few days in the garage. You can see some of the sand that was missed while cleaning it out but I didn't want to scratch the acrylic so I figured it could rinse out after sanitizing. In the background of the 2nd picture you can see 2 more tanks that I plan on rehabbing sometime in the future (hopefully) - they are going to be much bigger jobs.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Nice move!
Looking forward to another great build.
What's your game plan so far?

This is going to be a bit of an experimental tank for me. My main DT is a barebottom reef. This one I plan on using Black Arag sand and the only coral going in is a large rock of GSP that I don't really care about. If it gets eaten or doesn't last due to the basic lights, I won't be upset.

I also want to move some critters out of the main DT....especially the peppermint shrimp who I swear is the spawn of Satan.

 

[Diesel]

This is going to be a bit of an experimental tank for me. My main DT is a barebottom reef. This one I plan on using Black Arag sand and the only coral going in is a large rock of GSP that I don't really care about. If it gets eaten or doesn't last due to the basic lights, I won't be upset.

I also want to move some critters out of the main DT....especially the peppermint shrimp who I swear is the spawn of Satan.

Peps are bad, not only that they are ugly as well.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Very cool! What size is that one?

 

[TylerMoralez]

Following along! Love it so far

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Very cool! What size is that one?

It's only 12g but I'm totally ok with lugging less water up the stairs for water changes.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Lol. Totally agree. All my water is downstairs too.

It's actually a great size. They are great lil displays.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Found what I think will be a good spot in my office so moved the stand up. Unfortunately it's behind my back but it shouldn't get much direct sunlight. I think I'm going to put a piece of nice, finished wood underneath the stand to help protect the carpet. I'm a bit clumsy sometimes.

Can you tell this is my "zen" corner??

 

[GaretMac]

Following! Any updates?

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Part 3 - Taking on Water

I finally got the tank cleaned out, rinsed about a thousand times, and scrubbed out any stubborn spots. Moved it upstairs and filled her with 5 or 10 lbs (honestly I forget how much was in the bag) of well rinsed CaribSea Arag black sand.

Next I pulled a rock full of GSP and about 5g of water out of the DT (from a normal water change) in the hopes of skipping the 1st cycle. Topped off the tank with fresh saltwater.

Things didn't look quite right so I added another piece of dried out rock that I've always thought looked so cool but could never find the right place for. The GSP opened up right away and got a SeaChem badge in the tank so I can get a quick visual (while still testing periodically).

First attempt


Second Attempt

 

[Alfrareef]

The rock seems to me a little to big for the tank, but what do I know about aesthetics!

 

[GaretMac]

It'll be fun to compare!

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

Looking good!
I'm enjoying watching this come together!

 

[TheLadyCrash]

The rock seems to me a little to big for the tank, but what do I know about aesthetics!

I'm not 100% sure if it's going to work yet or not either. I'm thinking I may try to prop it up so it has more of a diagonal line across the tank but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I'm determined to use this piece because it's so cool looking! If it doesn't work in here, I'll try to find a spot in my main DT for it.

 

[najer]

Imo the front right should be the back right, I would rotate it, gorgeous bit of rock.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Imo the front right should be the back right, I would rotate it, gorgeous bit of rock.

I'll move it around a bit and snap some pics of different positions. I'd love to get feedback from everyone on which one looks the best.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

Looking good!
I'm enjoying watching this come together!

Thanks @Ergodyne !!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following!