Rex’s 7 Gallon Nano Build

[d2mini]

Appreciate it! I’m not very sure why the labeled it as only freshwater. My guess would be that the stock lighting and other equipment that came with the tank is designed for freshwater tanks.

Correct.

And from personal experience, never try to run a freshwater tank using marine lighting! ;Facepalm

Solid build so far!

 

[Preme]

Correct.

And from personal experience, never try to run a freshwater tank using marine lighting! ;Facepalm

Solid build so far!

Thanks for checking it out Dennis!

 

[Mebeknob]

I plan on doing a mixed reef but primarily acros. Also going to have a small CUC, along with some other interesting inverts. As of now for fish I’m looking at getting a Picasso Clownfish.

This will be fun! I had a small 9 gallon rimless nano for a long while. I tried the A80 and it wasn’t enough to keep across for me. I ended up adding two T5 bulbs to make it work and I had much more success. You might consider the Kessil 360 if you want to grow sticks.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I plan on doing a mixed reef but primarily acros. Also going to have a small CUC, along with some other interesting inverts. As of now for fish I’m looking at getting a Picasso Clownfish.

If you're looking for a couple acros, I know a guy just to the south of you

 

[WallyB]

All the best on your new build.

You are off to a good start with the Sicce Pump (reliable with a great Warranty) and even better with the Kessil Tuna Blue light (Great Colors and Pop from this Light).
I have both and no regrets.

Will be interesting to see how a smaller tank runs compare to something larger like you had before.
Could be easier, but at same time will provide unique challenges.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Nicely planned out nano. Might I suggest a yellow clown goby.....nice little fish with personality.

 

[Brew12]

I was looking at the photo of your equipment... are these for some new type of filtration system?

Off to a great start!!! Looking forward to a review of the powerhead after you have it running!

I'm very interested in this, too! I haven't seen one in the wild yet. Would love to see your opinion on them!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I was looking at the photo of your equipment... are these for some new type of filtration system?

I'm very interested in this, too! I haven't seen one in the wild yet. Would love to see your opinion on them!

It's a step by step process

 

[Preme]

This will be fun! I had a small 9 gallon rimless nano for a long while. I tried the A80 and it wasn’t enough to keep across for me. I ended up adding two T5 bulbs to make it work and I had much more success. You might consider the Kessil 360 if you want to grow sticks.

So far the a80 looks fairly intense, so I’ll try it out and if it ends up not working I’ll get something else.

All the best on your new build.

You are off to a good start with the Sicce Pump (reliable with a great Warranty) and even better with the Kessil Tuna Blue light (Great Colors and Pop from this Light).
I have both and no regrets.

Will be interesting to see how a smaller tank runs compare to something larger like you had before.
Could be easier, but at same time will provide unique challenges.

I’m hoping it’s some what of a challenge!

Nicely planned out nano. Might I suggest a yellow clown goby.....nice little fish with personality.

Was actually looking at getting one of these! I like them quite a bit

 

[Big G]

Very cool I'm curious, how/why did you decide upon 10 gallon tank size? My daughter is kicking around the idea of a small salt tank. It would be a big step out of her "freshwater" comfort zone.

 

[Preme]

Very cool I'm curious, how/why did you decide upon 10 gallon tank size? My daughter is kicking around the idea of a small salt tank. It would be a big step our of her "freshwater" comfort zone.

I wanted to try something new! I’ve never had a tank below 10 gallons, so I thought it’d be fun to try out! Also I wanted to set something up in my room and didn’t have room from anything over 10 gallons. On the bright side I won’t have to spend as much on equipment.

 

[jdpeters]

When I was building the equipment list, I wanted a very compact powerhead since I’m working with such a small tank. Originally I was going to go with a MP10, but as soon as I found the CoralBox RN-1 I knew I wanted to try it out.

So it’s very similar to an MP10 but there’s about a $115 price difference. It comes with a controller which you can use to change the modes, speed, frequency and feed modes. You can also set channels which allow you to run different modes and speeds throughout the day. The footprint of the RN-1 is very small, I think it has the same length of an MP10 just a larger diameter. As far as noise goes I haven’t had much time to play around with it yet, but from what I can tell it’s fairly quite on speed 2 and pulse mode (which is what I’ll most likely be running when everything’s set up).

I would really suggest this pump to anyone setting up a small tank, or really any tank that’s looking for a cheaper alternative to a MP10. Here’s a few pictures so you can visualize the size of it.

The price point on that is very exciting

 

[Preme]

The price point on that is very exciting

Yeah it’s a super amazing piece of equipment

 

[Chrisfish]

Looking forward to seeing this nano set up, I’m looking at getting the JBJ 10 gal. Lol it’s in my amazon cart just waiting for me to push the “buy” button . Will be following.

 

[mta_morrow]

Looking forward to seeing this nano set up, I’m looking at getting the JBJ 10 gal. Lol it’s in my amazon cart just waiting for me to push the “buy” button . Will be following.

 

[mta_morrow]

Nice setup you have going on!

I’m interested in your review of the power head........and seeing it get wet!

 

[hart24601]

I have that same powerhead on my nano 34g build and it's really impressive. I have it alongside an MP10 and it's a superior powerhead over the mp10 by far, however people should be aware that the flow is so broad if you were to get one and expect to have it push a long distance it will not - for most reefers this is exactly what they are looking for, but some might be disappointed to not move water across a 4ft tank like powerheads with jet-like outputs. It is larger than the wetside of an MP10, I would more put it as a replacement for mp40s even though it's right between the 10 and 40 max flow wise.


Can’t wait to see the tank come together!

 

[Preme]

I have that same powerhead on my nano 34g build and it's really impressive. I have it alongside an MP10 and it's a superior powerhead over the mp10 by far, however people should be aware that the flow is so broad if you were to get one and expect to have it push a long distance it will not - for most reefers this is exactly what they are looking for, but some might be disappointed to not move water across a 4ft tank like powerheads with jet-like outputs. It is larger than the wetside of an MP10, I would more put it as a replacement for mp40s even though it's right between the 10 and 40 max flow wise.


Can’t wait to see the tank come together!

Yeah it’s a really great pump for it’s price point! I actually just got it set up, working great so far! What mode do you run yours on?

 

[hart24601]

Yeah it’s a really great pump for it’s price point! I actually just got it set up, working great so far! What mode do you run yours on?

I run the mp10, a DC tunze (forget the model) and this all long a long pulse setting so it makes all sorts of various currents. What I like about this and the tunze is they actually stop between pulses. The mp10 just slows so you can't get that great random movement with them alone.

 

[Rakie]

Looks like a good build so far. If you have experience you won't have trouble with a smaller tank. It's the new people who have trouble with nano tanks, the experienced people just have a small kalk drip and do weekly water changes religiously. That's all you need and you'll be fine.

As for a small powerful pump... If you want a wide varied flow, consider the Tunze 6040. it's silent, more powerful than you will ever need, small, discreet, and has a wide gyre type flow pattern. You can do much, much worse for flow than this pump. I recently added one to the pair of 6095's in my tank, and you'd be surprised to know it pushes a LOT of water even in a 50 cube.