LondonAquascaper
Member
So, I've started reef tanks a few times, but never held onto them for long periods of time. My first tank was too big and I realised it was going to cost me about £2000 to fill with corals. My second tank got cycled and then taken down because I found out I was moving house and realised I couldn't take it with me (easily) and that brings us to today.
The goals of this Nano Reef are as follows:
First things first, you can't do anything without equipment so lets get that out of the way:
Now, on top of that you will also obviously need rock and sand.
In my opinion by far the best way to build any rockscape is to follow the process below
Then all you have to do is setup your hardware and fill it with water! When it comes to saltwater you can either buy your saltwater premixed from your LFS (most expensive at about £7 per 25l), buy RO from your LFS and mix it with marine salt (about £3.50 per 25l) or make your own RO and mix it with salt (I don't know what this cost but its by far the cheapest). Salt wise, I use Iquatics Ocean Reef Pro which is about £20 for 10kg. That will probably make about 250l - and last me about 10 months at a rate of 25% water changes every week.
Cycling wise - its the same as freshwater. Just keep dosing ammonia to 2pmm and it will do its thang! However, the use of products containing live bacteria to speed up the cycling process is very popular in marine. I used an evolution aqua pure aquarium bomb (which was free from Aquarium Gardens because it was out of date) and also some ATM Colony which I had left over from last time. However, these are not necessary.
The goals of this Nano Reef are as follows:
- Don't over spend. I want to explore the salty side without a huge financial commitment.
- Minimise equipment. This is not only a good way to save money, but marine is absolutely chock full of hardware you can buy to control or stabilise all types of parameters. On small tanks you can ditch most of this and replace with....you've guessed it, large frequent water changes.
- Success in growing two types of corals - Soft and LPS (Large Polyp Stony). For those who don't know, when it comes to corals, generally speaking it goes Soft > LPS > SPS >NPS in terms of difficulty. I'll also be keeping a few inverts.
- Low maintenance. I think about this with every single tank I build. I enjoy having a few tanks on the go at once, so I can't afford to spend hours cleaning or adjusting things.
- My final goal is that I want to ensure that this tank is portable, so that when I move I can take it with me. I've actually already created a freshwater scape that's entirely portable (all epiphytes on a single piece of wood)... but that's a story for another day.
First things first, you can't do anything without equipment so lets get that out of the way:
- Tank is a Opti white Dennerle Nano Cube (30l). It cost me £25 used. Importantly it comes with a lid to limit evaporation.
- Light is a Kessil A80. I bloody love shimmer, and at 15w it should be perfect for this tank. It cost me £80 used. An alternative option would be the Marine Asta A20 which can be found for about £50 new on Amazon.
- Wavemaker is a NewJet Wave Nano 900 - it cost me £23 but you also need a smart plug/timer if you don't want it on 24/7
- Skimmer/Filter is an All Pond Solutions Skim 2 - it cost £13. You may be thinking that that isn't an appropriate filter, but actually, in small marine systems the porous rock will provide most of the surface for your beneficial bacteria. I've cut a small pad of coarse foam out, and popped it in skimmer, and then filter floss on top. The filter floss can be replaced weekly or as needed and takes 5 seconds.
- Heater is a AqueEl Ultra 200w. Total overkill but I had it lying around. It cost £30 but you could get a 50w heater and save a lot of cash.
Now, on top of that you will also obviously need rock and sand.
- Sand wise, I opted for Caribsea Arag-Alive which supposedly is a "live" sand that contains bacteria that helps your filter mature.... difficult to prove whether it actually works, but can't hurt. You can use any sand you like in theory.
- For rocks there are loads of cool choices and shapes. I love to build my own hardscape so I went for Dry Ocean Reef Rock. Its cheap at £3 per kg, and you'll probably only need 5kg or so - however mine came in a 20kg box so I have a lot left over!
In my opinion by far the best way to build any rockscape is to follow the process below
- Once you have a rough idea of the structure, apply gel type super glue at various contact points between rocks
- Spray with super glue accelerator to bond them instantly
- After a few minutes apply some kind of reef putty between the rocks (I use the DD one but there are many others).
Then all you have to do is setup your hardware and fill it with water! When it comes to saltwater you can either buy your saltwater premixed from your LFS (most expensive at about £7 per 25l), buy RO from your LFS and mix it with marine salt (about £3.50 per 25l) or make your own RO and mix it with salt (I don't know what this cost but its by far the cheapest). Salt wise, I use Iquatics Ocean Reef Pro which is about £20 for 10kg. That will probably make about 250l - and last me about 10 months at a rate of 25% water changes every week.
Cycling wise - its the same as freshwater. Just keep dosing ammonia to 2pmm and it will do its thang! However, the use of products containing live bacteria to speed up the cycling process is very popular in marine. I used an evolution aqua pure aquarium bomb (which was free from Aquarium Gardens because it was out of date) and also some ATM Colony which I had left over from last time. However, these are not necessary.
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