Sean's 5G Nano Reef Lagoon Build

Discussion in 'Show Off Your Fish Tanks!' started by Seano Hermano, Sep 20, 2013.

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  1. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    Northwest Ohio
    Hello folks. Glad to be back. I currently have a 10g standard reef tank. The link is in my signature and a picture of it can be seen in my avatar. Due to various long-term issues during the life of this tank, I plan to dismantle it after replacing it with this new setup.

    Tank specs. below:

    Display: Gray Poly Restaurant Bus Tub 20" L x 15" W x 5" H (or 7" version, I haven't decided yet). This is cost-effective and gets the job done. The only problem is shipping is twice as much as the actual container. :-/

    Much of the equipment will be transferred from my current setup, keeping costs down.

    Lighting: 2 or 3 Boost par30 LED bulbs (10w each). I already have these. This is in hopes of good light spread, and less about actual intensity.

    Water movement: I currently have 3 Hydor Koralia Nano 425 powerheads and a Taam Rio+ 300. I will pick between these to decide what setup works best when it comes it comes closer to completion.

    Filtration: I have the Hydor NanoSkim on my 10g. But I feel like this would likely bee too much (aside from the water depth issue). I will likely go with a small power filter instead, running carbon and macro algae. KISS will definitely be key.

    Cabinet: I found out that Home Depot sells random lengths of oak 1x2s for very cheap - like a dollar for 6' long. This will be used to build the cabinet frame. It will likely be clad with old barn wood, but that's not final yet either.

    Substrate: undecided. I would like something small so it's easy to clean, but not so small that the powerheads make a sandstorm of it. I have sugarsand right now. I like it except for this factor.

    Rock: undecided. But it will be shallow, and I'm hoping to do a small island or two, with some rock along the sides.

    ATO: Toms aquatic aqua-lifter dosing pump and bucket?

    Dosing: Hopefully that won't be necessary.

    Inhabitants: Shrimp and crabs.

    Your thoughts and input are appreciated. It's been about 9 months since I've really done heavy research on the hobby. I'm pretty well read, but if there's anything new that would be of help to me for a nano set up, I'm all ears.

    P.S. - Along with the KISS theme, this tank will have no SPS (despite my long yearning for them). I would like a nice setup, with just softies and LPS.

    Cheers.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2013
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  3. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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  4. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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  5. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Very interesting setup. Looking forward to seeing how you put it together.
     
  6. 1.0reef

    1.0reef Giant Squid

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    Cool! :)
    Have you thought about a ric/mushie/zoa garden, just make a scape a large "piece" (< The piece could be a bunch of RR glued together) plus a few nem shrimps? I think that'd be neat.
     
  7. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    Cleaner shrimp
    Sexy shrimp
    Porcelain crab
    Cleanup Crew

    I haven't given much thought to exactly which corals I want. I know I'll have some various zoas, acans, and maybe frogspawn from my 10g. However I do want more zoas, green star polyps, and a hammer coral.
     
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  9. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    Seano, I'm not understanding the gray tub for the DT? You want it to be mainly a top down type of tank?
     
  10. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    That's the plan for now. I might price out glass just for kicks.
     

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    Last edited: Sep 21, 2013
  11. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    I'm not sure yet if the front of the tank will be the length (like normal) or the width (so it sticks out into the room a bit, as shown in the image above).
     
  12. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    oh, ok - I get the concept now and reading the title helped DOH!