Silver's 10g Simple Reef

[SilverStruck]

My new tank comes in today so I figured I would go ahead and kick off my build thread. But before I get in to that let me just say I welcome comments and especially suggestions! I have a decent amount of experience but no one can ever know everything. I have had a 30g nano for many years but this is my first time with one sub 10g.

Because I am a programmer, I spend a lot of time at my computer. All that time is spent away from my main tank. Solution: build a desktop nano tank. I am completely in love with the Mr. Aqua series tanks and this will work nicely.

I am a huge fan of minimalism and I am going to apply this to my new build. I will try to keep the tank view-able from all sides as well. This means I need to keep wires and anything coming out of the tank nice and neat. Since this is going to be small I want my colors to pop as much as possible so I will be using black sand.

Equipment list:

• Mr. Aqua 7.5g 12"x12"x12" Low Iron Glass https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/7-5-gallon-cube-tank-low-iron-glass-mr-aqua.html
• Zetlight Controllable Pico Light https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/za1201-l-aqua-system-pico-led-light-zetlight.html
• Koralia Nano 240 (this may be a bit strong) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036S4YZ0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Hydor Smart Wave Controller https://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Smart-...rd_wg=Ugi9c&psc=1&refRID=26SATPJ7AQCDZ5XWPZ54
• Cobalt Neotherm 50w heater (this may not be needed eventually) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AGWZCC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bio Filter:

• Pukani Dry Rock (This was cured in water and then placed in my main tank sump for the last 3 months) https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-pukani-dry-live-rock-sold-by-the-pound.html
• Hawaiian Black Arag-Alive 20lbs (will make a DSB but may not use it all, this has been rinsed and placed in my main sump for a month) https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/hawaiian-black-arag-alive-live-reef-sand.html

My hope is to push the cycle by having the sand/dry rock in my sump for so long. That said I will still perform an ammonia test before I put my livestock in here from the QT. To do this I have created a 5g ammonia bucket. This bucket is up to 2ppm ammonia as of this morning so it should be ready to go once the tank comes in today. I'll update with livestock information next time!

-Silver

 

[Palyzoa]

Following along, I love the idea of nano desktop tanks.

 

[SilverStruck]

OK, so the tank came in a bit earlier in the day that I expected. So of course instead of working I got it in place.

I am a bit disappointed in the epoxy I used for the rock. I have never had a hard time getting the stuff into rock in the past. Usually a small touch of water on my finger and I can push it in to place. I was trying a new brand that should have been better than what I usually use. Maybe I didn't knead it enough, or too much. The point is it wasn't the exact right amount. Hopefully it holds up, I will test once it has had 24 hours to set.

I am surprised at how nice the light is considering it was a cheap alternative.

The real beauty is the tank. This thing was amazing. The seams are barely visible and the low iron glass is crystal clear.

The entire equipment setup:

And just to throw in the first in tank shot.

I really will get my livestock list up here. Maybe a picture of them in the quarantine tank...

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Cool and following!

 

[SilverStruck]

Following along, I love the idea of nano desktop tanks.

Thanks, me too! This is my first attempt at one, but I already love where it sits.

Cool and following!

Thanks for the support.

Snapped a picture with my phone when I woke up before the lights came on. The lights were pretty easy to program last night and when they switch between modes it is a stepped process which is pretty cool.

 

[Palyzoa]

Are you gonna have a glass lid to help with evaporation?

 

[SilverStruck]

Are you gonna have a glass lid to help with evaporation?

I have cut an acrylic lid for when I am going to be away for too long. I am hoping to not need to use this daily as I like the open top look. I love looking down into the tank. That said while I am in the process of testing with ammonia I am also watching to see how much evaporation I will have on a daily basis.

As long as the daily evaporation does not spike my salinity too much I will leave it topless.

 

[SilverStruck]

So the corals I plan to add came in a few days ago as well. They got the dip dip potato chip and are just waiting to be moved over.

Also, the water tested no ammonia or nitrites and a few nitrates today so my ammonia water test looks good. I drained that water just to have a clean start and am refilling now.

The Bayer Dip:

The Fluorescent Tip Torch Coral from Vivid Aquariums seemed happy almost immediately. I will probably have to move this guy to my 55g once he grows. For now I think he will give some nice motion and color:

Not a great picture but I love these Radioactive Zoanthids from Vivid Aquariums:

Another not so great picture of the Raging Inferno from Vivid Aquariums:

I'll update with pictures once they are settled in their new home. Also the other livestock update is still coming!

 

[Palyzoa]

Need a full tank shot! Nice corals btw, I want to start a nano desktop now....

 

[SilverStruck]

FTS as requested. I took a shot from the 3 sides. All three corals are in and fully open. I am a bit concerned about the level of light but we shall see. One day I will get a PAR meter. I will give them a few days to fully adjust then I will cut down the plugs and permanently place them.

Front with all equipment:

A bit closer:

Right side, from my doorway:

Left Side from my desk chair:

 

[SilverStruck]

OK, so it has been a bit over a week now, sorry for the late update. Everything is doing well including the new additions. I have been working all weekend to build a new cabinet for this little tank. I love the tank. It is great when I am working and need a relaxing minute. So I decided this week to upgrade a bit. What I do not like is the visible equipment so that has to go as well as the desk. Ill update more about that later this week.

For now lets look at the new additions. I got a mated pair of Neon Gobies. They are small enough to live together in such a small place. On top of that I added some Red Gracilaria. This was added mostly to try and keep some balance in the tank and to build a full Ecosystem. Now that it is in I like the way it looks as well so yay.

Sorry for the hazy image but I had just done a water change and things had not yet settled. One issue with a small tank is any water movement = stirring the whole system up. You can see one of the gobies in this picture. This one chases the other one around so the other like to stay just behind the power head at the top right.

The torch seems to be very happy and he ate well this week.

The Radioactive Zoas are also doing well (the others are fine but there are not enough heads to get a good picture yet.

 

[SilverStruck]

Are you gonna have a glass lid to help with evaporation?

I forgot to mention, the evaporation isn't too bad. I have to put just under a gallon from my RODI in the main tank every day and there is more than enough leftover to pour into this one. I measured it once and it was less than 1/4 cup and the salinity did not go up enough to see in my refractometer.

 

[SilverStruck]

It has been one of those weeks. But on the bright side the new cabinet is almost done. All the parts are in to plumb this guy up.
Pictures of the cabinet build:
Just the frame.

Top with the bulkhead holes cut out and sanded

Stain drying.

 

[SilverStruck]

Well the bad news is we cracked the tank during drilling. The good news is I had a spare 10g QT to throw in while I wait on a replacement. I'll get pictures soon.

The thing is I like the way the 10g sits on the cabinet better so I may try to find an all glass tank with similar dimensions.

 

[SilverStruck]

It has been a run of bad luck lately. I've never had major issues with any of my tanks. Last week I spotted dinos in my main tank so I went 3 days without light and have been dousing peroxide. The tank looks much better now but several corals did not make it.

During this I decided to use my carbon reactor to catch the nasties as the dinos died off. Sometimes I don't think. To get the reactor running I had to go to lowes and the only parts that fit were for hoses not PVC fittings. I was just happy that things fit and totally not thinking about the fact that those fittings are brass. Brass is part copper. so my main tank now has copper in it. I am an idiot.

So while I work to get replacements for the main tank I moved the surviving corals and inverts over the the ten gallon. I'll get pictures up shortly. They all seem to be slowly recovering.