I am starting this thread to document my new 5.5G nano build. Primary goal of this tank will be the ability to grow harder to keep SPS (e,g. red dragon) in as low cost as possible.
A bit of context. I already own a 3 year old nano and a pico. I always loved pico and at one point I had two of them. But had to downsize during last apartment move. Being an city apartment dweller who frequently travels, nano tanks are perfect for me. Although I have been able to grow softies, LPS and some easier to keep SPS (like monti cap or pociliopora), Acros and miliporas remained a tough challenge to solve. During this time I have been worked on an opensource reef tank controller called reef-pi, and after 3 years of rigorous development, I think I have enough know-how to give this a serious try. In short, the tank will be used to test if I can maintain such a nano tank with minimal cost and maintenance involved. Just to reiterate, my three main goals:
Equipment:
- Kasa HS300 6 outlet smart powerstrip with current monitoring
- Stock HOB Filter
- Hydor 50W heater
- Kessil A80 for light
- Two 12V DC submersible pumps for wavemaker
- A 12V DC peristaltic pump for ATO
- reef-pi controller, with float switch for ATO sensor, temperature sensor, kessil control, and pH monitoring
Except for the light, rest everything is fairly cheap. This build will be pretty heavy on DIY electronics and 3D printed components. The idea is to keep overall complexity as low as possible while attaining all the key factors for SPS growth, which is stable and pristine water chemistry, intermediate to strong light, strong flow and stable temperature, salinity, ph, alk and Ca.
Filtration: I am attempting to reduce the filtration requirement as much as possible. For this, I am going with bare bottom. Rockscape done with tonga branches. Low on livestock (only snails and maybe a single fish). I am planning to go with only HoB filter. The filter will have filter pads and chemipure blue. Feeding will be primarily done with reef roid and before weekly water change.
Stocking plans, pretty much everything will be sourced. I'll start with easy to keep zoas, then leptos , then some easy to keep sps and finally the hard to keep sps.
- One trochus snail. I may add another one if needed in the future.
- Assorted zoas (bambam, blondes, la lkers etc)
- A couple of lepto (any of these: jack o lantern, klepto lepto, tangerine juice )
- A couple of easy to keep SPS (rainbow monti, no-name acro, green slimer etc)
- Red dragon or one of my no-name millipora.
I plan to take it slow and giving myself 3 years to test if this is possible. Expect once every two weeks or once a month updates.
A bit of context. I already own a 3 year old nano and a pico. I always loved pico and at one point I had two of them. But had to downsize during last apartment move. Being an city apartment dweller who frequently travels, nano tanks are perfect for me. Although I have been able to grow softies, LPS and some easier to keep SPS (like monti cap or pociliopora), Acros and miliporas remained a tough challenge to solve. During this time I have been worked on an opensource reef tank controller called reef-pi, and after 3 years of rigorous development, I think I have enough know-how to give this a serious try. In short, the tank will be used to test if I can maintain such a nano tank with minimal cost and maintenance involved. Just to reiterate, my three main goals:
- Grow a hard to keep SPS ( one of acro or millipora)
- Keep cost as low as possible
- Keep maintenance, reliability and other operational requirements to a known limited set.
Equipment:
- Kasa HS300 6 outlet smart powerstrip with current monitoring
- Stock HOB Filter
- Hydor 50W heater
- Kessil A80 for light
- Two 12V DC submersible pumps for wavemaker
- A 12V DC peristaltic pump for ATO
- reef-pi controller, with float switch for ATO sensor, temperature sensor, kessil control, and pH monitoring
Except for the light, rest everything is fairly cheap. This build will be pretty heavy on DIY electronics and 3D printed components. The idea is to keep overall complexity as low as possible while attaining all the key factors for SPS growth, which is stable and pristine water chemistry, intermediate to strong light, strong flow and stable temperature, salinity, ph, alk and Ca.
Filtration: I am attempting to reduce the filtration requirement as much as possible. For this, I am going with bare bottom. Rockscape done with tonga branches. Low on livestock (only snails and maybe a single fish). I am planning to go with only HoB filter. The filter will have filter pads and chemipure blue. Feeding will be primarily done with reef roid and before weekly water change.
Stocking plans, pretty much everything will be sourced. I'll start with easy to keep zoas, then leptos , then some easy to keep sps and finally the hard to keep sps.
- One trochus snail. I may add another one if needed in the future.
- Assorted zoas (bambam, blondes, la lkers etc)
- A couple of lepto (any of these: jack o lantern, klepto lepto, tangerine juice )
- A couple of easy to keep SPS (rainbow monti, no-name acro, green slimer etc)
- Red dragon or one of my no-name millipora.
I plan to take it slow and giving myself 3 years to test if this is possible. Expect once every two weeks or once a month updates.
Last edited:
