Craig's ultimate nano

I am in the process of setting up the nano I always wanted, and have been planning for a while.

The important specs will be:

Tank: 600 x 450 x 450 (around 100l). This is currently being built by Adriaan at Idol Marine, using starphire glass for the 3 viewable panels

Cabinet: Solid wood (cypress) - to be made by a local custom furniture manufacturer. There will be no hood.

Lighting: Aquamedic 150W + 2 x 24W T5 combination pendant. It should fit perfectly over the tank as it is also 600mm long

Filtration: Reeftek TS1 skimmer + automatic Zeovit reactor that I am planning to DIY.

Circulation: Small (~1200lph) return pump. Main circulation will be provided by an Ocean Runner 3500 running the closed loop. Output will run through an Ocean Motions squirt.

That's it for now; I will post some pics as the components arrive... at the moment all I have is a sketchup diagram and a lot of ideas

 

Craig,

Where are you from? I am looking for someone to build a cabinet for me but alas, no luck.

 

Sounds awesome Craig. You going to be keeping SPS in this tank ?

Automated ZEOvit rx sounds interesting

 

Sound great and with Adriaan, you are in good hands.

 

Craig it sounds awesome, have you seen the tank Adriaan did for Dimitri?

 

Sounds AWESOME, where are the pics?

 

No I haven't... in fact I'm not sure who Dimitri is? Would be interested to see pics though?

 

As I said, "I will post some pics as the components arrive... at the moment all I have is a sketchup diagram"

 

Here's the sketch:


Of course, I intend painting the back black and covering the overflow (probably in my normal "tooth" style).

I do intend keeping only SPS so I will have to find some choice pieces.

 

I have seen 1 or 2 of these on the net. Most people battle because of the weight of the Zeo, but since I will only need a small amount, it should be easier for me. I think I have a good, relatively compact design, but I have not yet worked out exactly how much it will cost to build. I'll post some pics when I get around to building it.

 

Cool !!!! - Yeah your "toothwork" is top notch

Have you got your closed loop outlets coming up through the base ?

 

Yes, I will be following Paul's design from Ocean Motions. The back 2 outlets push through the rockwork and the front 2 outlets have 45 degrees on them, aiming towards the overflow. Seems to be quite an efficient design for getting detritrus down the overflow.

I will be bridging the 2 back outlets and bridging the 2 front outlets, with a valve in the middle of each so that I can adjust the intensity of the OM squirt oscillations as necessary - either sending 100% flow to each outlet, or down to a bit over 50%.

Out of interest, the back and bottom panes are 10mm glass due to the number of holes in them

 

Nice Craig cant wait to seen the really thing...

 

sounds great....very similar to the nano adriaan is building me.......also starphire glass but my dimensions are 600 x 400 x 450......maybe we can hook up and talk design...???.....cool

 

Ok, I am looking to buy my pendant lighting this week (if possible) while I wait for the tank to arrive.

I am debating the 150W + 2 x 24W T5's that I originally planned vs a single 250W pendant (they are in the same sort of price bracket). The pendant will definately be an AquaMedic one, just debating which to get.

I am aiming for SPS.

The 150W + T5's gives me more options when it comes to spectrum (both the 150W and 250W pendants come with a 13k bulb). I know some people like the extra blue from the T5's, but I think the intensity of the 250W halide might be better, especially when using 13k/14k MH bulbs?

One thing I am a bit worried about with the 250W halide is the heat, since it will be over a 100l display tank. I can always raise it up a bit and/or add a chiller, but the 150W+T5's might run a little cooler and I don't want to add extra heat unless the 250W is likely to be better in the long term.

What do you guys think?