SPS Nano Tank

[AvaS]

Hi! I would like to set up a nano reef to upgrade from my 7, while I really enjoy it keeping sps corals in it is a large challenge! I would like to upgrade to a waterbox 15/20 gallon cube, or IM nuvo 20 ( I know I should go larger if possible) depending on how much space I have in my new home. I do like the look of the cube though! So I already have a Kessil A360 tuna blue light for the tank, a thermometer, heater, and all three possible set ups come with a basic return pump. Since I want to do sps, acros are the goal, I would love some advice! I need recommendations of what I still need to pick up gear wise for the tank, and don’t really know what else to get, would anyone recommend a wave maker/powerhead, skimmer, doser, controller, to update the stock return pump, or any other gear for a tank of that size or no? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much in advance!
-Ava

 

[CNDReef]

Wavemakers
No sand
Doser
Ato
Controller for piece of mind but not a absolut
Return pump would only matter if you want the added flow but it’s fine otherwise.

 

[AvaS]

Wavemakers
No sand
Doser
Ato
Controller for piece of mind but not a absolut
Return pump would only matter if you want the added flow but it’s fine otherwise.

Thanks! Have any specific brand recommendations for any of that gear? I am 14 and using my own money so anything budget friendly is greatly appreciated

 

[NS Mike D]

the biggest challenge for an SPS tank is the stability of the water parameter. As you already know from your experience with a nano, water changes will go a long way in keeping good water.

How much time will you be able to devote to testing and maintaining stable water. The hard part will be alkalinity. If you can test and dose daily, then you can save a lot of money topping off your tank and dosing the necessary amount of 2 part.

Wave makers are nice, but you can save a lot using a tunze nano powerheads on a timer or even better a hydor wavemaker and two $40 tunze pumps (if you go this route, I will donate the hydor wavemaker).

Apex and the like can run a lot of money. @Ranjib has a great thread on making your own controller using raspberry pi. The one place I believe a controller is necessary is on the heater. They are the cheapest piece of equipment and most likely to fail. If you don't spend the bucks for an apex, or build your own, WillHi makes a temperature controller for about $30. It will overrider your heater should the heater fail, and it has alarms to let you know if something is wrong.


I have a thread in the nano forum on whether or not a skimmer is needed in a nano. I believe water changes are sufficient and that nano skimmers aren't as nearly effective as their big brothers, but there are good posts pro and con. If you don't over stock with fish and can keep the feeding light, you should be fine without a skimmer, but certainly you have lots of time to decide as your tank matures.


let me know if you want that hydor wavemaker

 

[AvaS]

Thank you so much for all of the helpful information! The kind and helpful community on here makes me so happy! I can probably spend the time daily to test and dose the tank, but may try to save up for the aqua auto top off micro as I have heard many good things about it! Thanks so much for the offer on the wavemaker, ur help is SO GREATLY APPRECIATED! I think that may be my best and budget friendly option, yet an efficient set up to get some nice flow! Which Jebao would you recommend, the SW4? OW? I think I can keep up with water changes to keep the tank ok on nutrients without a skimmer, and will definitely reach out to WillHi about the temp controller because an Apex is definitely out of budget,(I make my own money through my own small business), but you made a great point about keeping temp steady and not wanting it failing! Thanks so much and let me know! And the hydor would be great! PM me
-Ava

 

[Ranjib]

Lots of good advice here. My pick will be an mp10 first.

 

[Ranjib]

Ato - smart ato micro.
I am assuming you have rodi setup, if not get a ro buddy . You dont need a controller , but it can be useful.
It’s better to discuss the equipment and rest of the things holistically , with you livestock and maintenance plans than just suggesting one off things. That will help us keeping things in perspective as the tank matures

 

[Steven Garland]

If you arent going to sump this,I would get one of these:

-Skimmers-

- Eshopps Nano Skimmer (MarineDepot @ $135)

-Skimz Nano Skimmer (BRS @ $120)

-AquaMaxx NF1 Skimmer (MarineDepot $120)

-IM NuvoSkimz Nano Skimmer $140 (MarineDepot)

-ATO'S-

-CoralBox NS50 ATO (ReefBreeders @ $50)

-Tunze Nano ATO-$100

-ReefBreeders Optical Eye ATO-$90

-RETURN PUMPS-

-IM Mighty Jet $90 (326gph) or $100 (538gph) depending on what size you go with.

-Jebao 1500 ($45),DC2000 ($50),DC300 ($65).

-Skimz QuietPro 1.5 317gph ($100), 2.0 528gph ($120).

-Dosers-

-AquaMedic Reef Doser-$210 @ Marine Depot

-ATI 6 head Dosing pump-$200

-Jebao Doser Wifi Doser- $180 (Reef Breeders)

-Jebao regular Doser-$70 (Reef Breeders)

-Wave Makers-

-EcoTech MP10-$235 (Anywhere)

-Jebao SW2-$40 (Amazon)

-Jebao RW4-$50 (Amazon)

-CoralBox RN1-$120 (Reef Breeders)

-CoralBox QP5-$90 (Reef Breeders)

Jesus that took for forever lol.

 

[AvaS]

If you arent going to sump this,I would get one of these:

-Skimmers-

- Eshopps Nano Skimmer (MarineDepot @ $135)

-Skimz Nano Skimmer (BRS @ $120)

-AquaMaxx NF1 Skimmer (MarineDepot $120)

-IM NuvoSkimz Nano Skimmer $140 (MarineDepot)

-ATO'S-

-CoralBox NS50 ATO (ReefBreeders @ $50)

-Tunze Nano ATO-$100

-ReefBreeders Optical Eye ATO-$90

-RETURN PUMPS-

-IM Mighty Jet $90 (326gph) or $100 (538gph) depending on what size you go with.

-Jebao 1500 ($45),DC2000 ($50),DC300 ($65).

-Skimz QuietPro 1.5 317gph ($100), 2.0 528gph ($120).

-Dosers-

-AquaMedic Reef Doser-$210 @ Marine Depot

-ATI 6 head Dosing pump-$200

-Jebao Doser Wifi Doser- $180 (Reef Breeders)

-Jebao regular Doser-$70 (Reef Breeders)

-Wave Makers-

-EcoTech MP10-$235 (Anywhere)

-Jebao SW2-$40 (Amazon)

-Jebao RW4-$50 (Amazon)

-CoralBox RN1-$120 (Reef Breeders)

-CoralBox QP5-$90 (Reef Breeders)

Jesus that took for forever lol.

Wow lol I can’t explain how helpful this is. I think I have decided on the IM nuvo 20. I also purchased a used MP10 this past weekend!! This will be my first ecotech pump and I am super excited! I think I will get the coral box ATO. Eventually I will probably pick up the eshops skimmer and jeabo doser once I see how the tank is doing! What would everyone recommend, live or dry rock?? Thanks, let me know, and I am excited to get this build going!

 

[Steven Garland]

I'm glad that can help. Definitely a good choice on the tank. All of that sounds awesome. You will definitely need all of that once the sps start to take off and consume elements quicker than you can dose them.

I would do with either once. I would really get a few lbs of live rock to seed the dry rock to help speed the cycle up.

 

[AvaS]

I'm glad that can help. Definitely a good choice on the tank. All of that sounds awesome. You will definitely need all of that once the sps start to take off and consume elements quicker than you can dose them.

I would do with either once. I would really get a few lbs of live rock to seed the dry rock to help speed the cycle up.

For sure! Is there any way to try to help avoid pests from the live rock though? No guarantees right? And I will definitely one I see my nutrients begin to be used more than they can be replenished! Any other tips and gear would be greatly appreciated so please let me know!

 

[Jacked Reefer]

What’s up. I’m in the same boat (I’m 15) with a 10 gallon. Some recommendations. FLOW. I’m running over 200 times tank turnover at some points and even things that are supposed to like lower flow like acans are thriving. My basis for literally everything in my tank is MOAR POWER. I have done it all on a budget and haven’t spent a dollar over 500. You could pull off a modest tank on a budget it just require reasearch. I reasearched 6 months almost non stop before I determined I was going sw. more for each decision I’ve made adding up to eight months and almost an hour of reasearch a day. Now I have it up and my fish is phat and so are my corals. Good luck bro and come to me if you have any questions

Kayden

 

[AvaS]

What’s up. I’m in the same boat (I’m 15) with a 10 gallon. Some recommendations. FLOW. I’m running over 200 times tank turnover at some points and even things that are supposed to like lower flow like acans are thriving. My basis for literally everything in my tank is MOAR POWER. I have done it all on a budget and haven’t spent a dollar over 500. You could pull off a modest tank on a budget it just require reasearch. I reasearched 6 months almost non stop before I determined I was going sw. more for each decision I’ve made adding up to eight months and almost an hour of reasearch a day. Now I have it up and my fish is phat and so are my corals. Good luck bro and come to me if you have any questions

Kayden

Thank you so much for all of the information! Also nice to know that there are kids in the same boat as me. I have been researching tons and tons and will definitely continue to research. I am planning on getting the IM Nuvo 20 and have a Kessil A360 for light and an MP10 for lots of flow. I would love to see your build thread if you have one and any tips you may have to share. Let me know
-Ava

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Thank you so much for all of the information! Also nice to know that there are kids in the same boat as me. I have been researching tons and tons and will definitely continue to research. I am planning on getting the IM Nuvo 20 and have a Kessil A360 for light and an MP10 for lots of flow. I would love to see your build thread if you have one and any tips you may have to share. Let me know
-Ava

I have a build thread in another forum pm me if you really want to check it out. Sounds like a good plan. You may have shadowing issues with one a360. And it is nice although most teens I find drop it after a bit. Too much money lol. I wish you luck and will be following this thread! Good luck

 

[AvaS]

I have a build thread in another forum pm me if you really want to check it out. Sounds like a good plan. You may have shadowing issues with one a360. And it is nice although most teens I find drop it after a bit. Too much money lol. I wish you luck and will be following this thread! Good luck

Thanks so much! I would love to check out your build thread, it’s on nanoreef right? I have my own business where I bake cookies and a percent of every sale goes to charity, the money I have left over as profit I put towards college/ a car and reefing lol. Do you think an AI prime would be better?? Or a Radion? Let me know and I will be sure to keep you and everyone else updated!

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Thanks so much! I would love to check out your build thread, it’s on nanoreef right? I have my own business where I bake cookies and a percent of every sale goes to charity, the money I have left over as profit I put towards college/ a car and reefing lol. Do you think an AI prime would be better?? Or a Radion? Let me know and I will be sure to keep you and everyone else updated!

Yep nanoreef, if you want lighting that would cover everything in the tank with minimal shadowing. There is radions, t5s, two ai primes, blackboxes, and my personal favorite, reefbreeders. I’m not discrediting kessil but the coverage is pretty lame. If you love the shimmer you could always do halides or two kessils (160s) but there are cheaper and better options. And the baking business is super cool. I just mow lawns and babysit. Gonna work for my lfs when I turn sixteen and try selling frags eventually.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Thanks so much! I would love to check out your build thread, it’s on nanoreef right? I have my own business where I bake cookies and a percent of every sale goes to charity, the money I have left over as profit I put towards college/ a car and reefing lol. Do you think an AI prime would be better?? Or a Radion? Let me know and I will be sure to keep you and everyone else updated!

I love the AI Prime lights! I use them on my nano tanks.

 

[hart24601]

I am also running an sps nano reef but on the larger side of nano with 34g deep blue tank. Flow is my favorite thing! Running mp10, tunze DC nanostream, and 2 coral box rp-m. Around 80x actual turnover. BM 3 head doser, kessil h380, orphek v4, sicce return pump, tunze 9001 DC skimmer, eheim heater, smart micro ato, and alkatronic. No sand.


Good luck and can't wait to see the system mature!

 

[AvaS]

I am also running an sps nano reef but on the larger side of nano with 34g deep blue tank. Flow is my favorite thing! Running mp10, tunze DC nanostream, and 2 coral box rp-m. Around 80x actual turnover. BM 3 head doser, kessil h380, orphek v4, sicce return pump, tunze 9001 DC skimmer, eheim heater, smart micro ato, and alkatronic. No sand.


Good luck and can't wait to see the system mature!

Sounds like a great build with a ton of great gear!! Do you have a build thread??

 

[AvaS]

Yep nanoreef, if you want lighting that would cover everything in the tank with minimal shadowing. There is radions, t5s, two ai primes, blackboxes, and my personal favorite, reefbreeders. I’m not discrediting kessil but the coverage is pretty lame. If you love the shimmer you could always do halides or two kessils (160s) but there are cheaper and better options. And the baking business is super cool. I just mow lawns and babysit. Gonna work for my lfs when I turn sixteen and try selling frags eventually.

I have similar plans when I turn 16, and thanks for the lighting advice! Which Radion or reefbreeder would be the sufficient size for a 20 Gallon SPS dominant mixed reef, or mixed reef in general??