Looking for comments on my Nano

[Ricordia]

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=64828

Any comments? Questions? Criticisms? I understand why the threads in the Nano buildoff are restricted to the thread owner, but I'd really like to hear some comments on what I've done so far.

Ricordia

 

[Anonymous]

I will give you some comments

How deep is the actual usable part of the tank now?

I don't see any unpainted acrylic

I like the look of that rock.

What kind of light do you have on it?

 

[Foosinho]

I love your Solar Wrasse. What a great looking fish.

 

[Anonymous]

looking pretty freaking cool IMO

 

[Ricordia]

knucklehead:
* Thanks for your comments! The whole tank is "usable", the front display part is eight inches deep. The fuge/sump is just shy of 4 inches deep.
* At the moment I have two 20watt florescent lights in a shop light, a Coralife 50/50 and a Coralife 10000k (see below)
* I'm not sure what your point about unpainted acrylic means...

Foosinho and LordNikon:
Thank you very much for your comments! I'm really encouraged to continue now!

About my lighting... It's a temporary solution at the moment, but I'm not sure what to use permantly. I would really like to keep some SPS in this tank, but I'm not sure how to go about lighting it for that purpose. I plan to make a custom hood for it, but the best idea I've had so far is to use PC's. I've no idea how to make a hood that could stand up to MH lights, and I'm not sure that wouldn't be overkill anyway. I've been looking at the SunPaq retro kits at Marine Depot, any other ideas??

Ricordia

 

[Anonymous]

This has certainly been a learning process! This is my first real project working with acrylic and it shows. Originally my internal sump/refugium had three "sections" with small overflow notches on the right side and two return pump holes on the left. After filling with water and installing the pumps, I discovered that the overflow notches were too small (with only ~120gph the water was flowing over the whole length of the partition, not just the overflow). I also decided that one of the partitions wasn't necessary and impeded flow through the fuge. So, because the thing was already glued in place with aquarium silicon, I did some creative but not-so-pretty modifications in place. Now there are un-painted areas that show through to the front of the partition and I'm not sure what to do with that. :lol:

That is what I mean by unpainted acrylic

I have 2 175 watt Metal Halide setups I got from someone, and they had both of them on a 20 long, so I don't think its too much light for that size tank.

 

[Ricordia]

Now there are un-painted areas that show through to the front of the partition and I'm not sure what to do with that.

That is what I mean by unpainted acrylic

Ah! I had forgotten I'd written that! Sorry. I was able to paint the cut edges by spraying the paint onto some foil until there was enough to get onto a brush. It worked out pretty well. The rock hides most of the remaining blemishes.

I have 2 175 watt Metal Halide setups I got from someone, and they had both of them on a 20 long, so I don't think its too much light for that size tank.

I should have thought about lower wattage MH too. I have an Aquaspace Light over my 150 that has two 250 watt MH bulbs. I guess I figured that since it puts out way too much heat for a little 20 gallon tank, all MH was out of the question. Thanks Knucklehead!

Ricordia

 

[smontanus]

I like the setup a lot. The divider was a great idea. I searched a lot for an idea like this, went with an external overflow, kinda like this better. Curious...did you say you painted the acrylic? What with?

 

[Ricordia]

Thanks! I used "Premium Rust-Oleum Satin Black." It's the same paint I used on the return pipes in my 150; after more than three years the paint looks the same as when I first sprayed it on. This application is a little bit different, but similar enough that I think it'll hold up the same.

Ricordia

 

[ricky1414]

Looks good.