Keyaamz Nano

[keyaam]

Hey all

I just recieved a boyu TL450. Any mods to share please post them here. This is going to be a softy coral tank only. No fish. Any advice will be highly appreciated.

[Manic]

If is like the TL550 and comes with that huge sponge, bio balls and ceramic rings. Then I would suggest taking them out and not using them. And if there space in the hood try adding an extra light. I think the TL450 comes with 2 18W compact fluorescents which might be fine for some softies but does limit your coral selection by a lot.

[Zombie_CT]

As mentioned rip all tthat stuff out. Then upgrade the skimmer to the Buyo WG308 or if you can find it a Buyo WG311.

Then add some broken live rock to the filtration compartment(last one - where the water returns to the tank)

About 5kg of LR, then add a goog pump for flow into the DT part of the tank.

I was using a Seio M250 (2000l/h) but started to have problems with red algae, I have just bought a Seio M620 (2400l/h) which will work alot better.

I had softies growing happily under the standard lights the tank came with, but now I have the hood open all the time with a small light unit fixed over the tank (4 tubes, 14watts 10000k 2blue 2 white)

[keyaam]

Can you post some pics of the lighting Zombie. I am aware of the bio balls and ceramic rings = nitrate factory

[Zombie_CT]

Wil try and do so tomorrow nite as I'm working night shift, here is a link to my nano: Zombie_CT's Nano - Nano Tank advice
you will see the flow pump, but not the light and skimmer upgrade

[keyaam]

This is my brothers TL450

[Zombie_CT]

Pics as promised:

Box that the skimmer came in


The filter compartment with skimmer fitted and LR


Top view of tank with light unit


Front view of tank with light fitted

[Apollo]

Hey Keyaam,

Zombie's given you a good indication of some mods to do to the TL450.
You can also have a look at what I have done with my Nano here :

Apollo's Nano chronicles - Nano Tank advice

The standard skimmer is crap , so best to upgrade as soon as you can. One way to improve the standard skimmer a bit is to add an external airpump to the air intake on the skimmer. Put a valve on the airline and throttle the pump to get the right level ow water and foamhead. This is not guaranteed to work long term , as you will soon see that the skimmer needs constant fiddling and adjusting.

Insofar the flow is concerned , I currently have a water turnover of approx 50 times , using a 800lph return pump in the filter compartment and a Seio M620 in the DT.

I found the PC fluorescents to be rather weak , especially when trying to keep some LPS's. I've upgraded recently to a 70W MH and the results are clearly visible.

[keyaam]

Thanks for the reply apollo

[Boendoe]

Sorry to Hijack, how does those Boyu skimmers perform?

[Apollo]

Originally Posted by Boendoe

Sorry to Hijack, how does those Boyu skimmers perform?

Boendoe,

IMO , the standard skimmers that come with the Boyu TL450 are not very good at all.
Not sure about the standard skimmers in the TL550, but I can't think that they would be that much better.

The upgrades to the standard Boyu skimmers are WG308 / WG310 ( For the TL450 tank)
While they do offer slightly better performance than the standard ones , they do require some fiddling and adjusting. After using my WG310 upgraded skimmer for about 2 months , I am again contemplating changing to a different skimmer.
But then again it might just be that I had some bad luck with the skimmer.

I think Tunze make a Nano skimmer , which should fit the compartments of the Boyu Nano tanks . Not 100% sure on this though , as I haven't checked the dimensions of the Tunze skimmer

IMO , if you have the space rather plumb out of the Nano into a sump and use a Reeftek TS1 or equivalent. This will give you more peace of mind .

[jacquesb]

I would then rather go ReefOctopus BH-100 hang-on nano skimmer..... FAR BETTER value for money!

[keyaam]

Jacques, I had a look at this skimmer on gawies tank and it will work well on the nano but if you do hang it on the back of the tank the lid wont open

[jacquesb]

Time for a mod on the lid, then, hey Keyaam?

[keyaam]

so i setup the tank for the lighty and did my own mods. Firstly the skimmer this tank comes with is crap. I had a look at the WG308 boyu skimmer and it just didnt work for me so I tested an air pump with wooden stone and this is the results

[keyaam]

Surface skimming

[keyaam]

That is the only mods and there is no livestock in the tank. Its been running for 5 weeks now. I used some fully cured rock from my main tank for the nano. Here is the FTS

[Mekaeel]

Comming along nice Keyaam
Is that a Sunsun powerhead? If so, what lph is it?

[keyaam]

Yes it is mekaeel. Its the 3000lph

[Kunhardt]

Hey, Keyaam good luck with the Nano!!! Are you going to try replicate Gawies nano?