Cammy
New Member
Hiya again,
Figured that as I begin to close my Reefer nano down in its current form (majority sps) that I’d begin this thread. I’ll *hopefully* be running this tank as a slightly cooler NPS majority but still mixed reef featuring some deep water species… This isn’t my first NPS tank, my previous one was a 200L mainly focusing on gorgonians.
The tank will run around 74F (still to decide exact temp based on stocking but between 72F and 76F for sure), and I’m also hoping that by starting this thread I can get as much input as possible from all of you to make it as successful as possible.
General Equipment
Tank : Red Sea Reefer Nano G1 (Sumped Version) - total volume 105L / 28G(US)
Lighting : TMC Reef Photon
Flow : Jebao SLW-20 (x2)
Skimmer : Deltec 400i
Return : TMC Reef Pump 2000
Heating/Cooling : D-D Temperature Controller + D-D 100W Heater + Aquarium Cooling Fan
Dosing Pump, Dosing Product, Containers : D-D P1 (x2), Tropic Marin All for Reef + Red Sea NO3 : PO4X, TBC on the containers
Feeding Equipment
- Fridge : Some kind of mini-fridge TBC
- Dosing Pump : Peralistic Dosing Pump (with extra large 6.4mm internal diameter tubing to hopefully prevent clogging and allow for easily passing frozen food)
- Timer Plug : Digital Plug Timer that has a function for seconds and able to turn on every 4hrs
Foods
Cultured by me
Rockscape
I plan on scaping the rocks into a “dumbell-shaped” pillar with a larger flat section at either end. I’ll be doing this using three main acrylic rods and drilling small pieces of liverock to create the pillar with lots of gaps/holes for fish and water flow. To allow for easy coral placement and cleaning I’ll be building the column in two pieces 1) the bottom flatter piece, and 3 vertical acrylic rods that create the column; and 2) the larger flatter piece that will sit approx 10cm below the water surface. This will allow me to remove the top piece easily for better access.
Livestock
I have a list of corals and inverts already, but as for fish I’m not incredibly set on anything. I have had a LOT of helpful suggestions, and am leaving my thoughts on each one here…prepare for an ADHD fueled list. I want this thread to allow me to look back at my thought processes as well as the tank itself, and love to learn along the way too. Anyway, this is where I’d appreciate YOUR input…
Dwarf Angelfish
Jawfish
Cardinalfish
Gobies
Basslets/Wrasse/Misc.
Figured that as I begin to close my Reefer nano down in its current form (majority sps) that I’d begin this thread. I’ll *hopefully* be running this tank as a slightly cooler NPS majority but still mixed reef featuring some deep water species… This isn’t my first NPS tank, my previous one was a 200L mainly focusing on gorgonians.
The tank will run around 74F (still to decide exact temp based on stocking but between 72F and 76F for sure), and I’m also hoping that by starting this thread I can get as much input as possible from all of you to make it as successful as possible.
General Equipment
Tank : Red Sea Reefer Nano G1 (Sumped Version) - total volume 105L / 28G(US)
Lighting : TMC Reef Photon
Flow : Jebao SLW-20 (x2)
Skimmer : Deltec 400i
Return : TMC Reef Pump 2000
Heating/Cooling : D-D Temperature Controller + D-D 100W Heater + Aquarium Cooling Fan
Dosing Pump, Dosing Product, Containers : D-D P1 (x2), Tropic Marin All for Reef + Red Sea NO3 : PO4X, TBC on the containers
Feeding Equipment
- Fridge : Some kind of mini-fridge TBC
- Dosing Pump : Peralistic Dosing Pump (with extra large 6.4mm internal diameter tubing to hopefully prevent clogging and allow for easily passing frozen food)
- Timer Plug : Digital Plug Timer that has a function for seconds and able to turn on every 4hrs
Foods
Cultured by me
- Icochrysis
- Nanochloropsis
- Tetraselmis
- Rotifers
- Red Plankton
- Brine
- Mysis
- Lobster Eggs
- Reef Roids
- Reef Myst
- TMC Nori Sheets w/ Garlic
- TMC Nori Sheets w/ Added Omegao-3
- Red Sea AB+
- TMC Ammino and Vitamin spray
Rockscape
I plan on scaping the rocks into a “dumbell-shaped” pillar with a larger flat section at either end. I’ll be doing this using three main acrylic rods and drilling small pieces of liverock to create the pillar with lots of gaps/holes for fish and water flow. To allow for easy coral placement and cleaning I’ll be building the column in two pieces 1) the bottom flatter piece, and 3 vertical acrylic rods that create the column; and 2) the larger flatter piece that will sit approx 10cm below the water surface. This will allow me to remove the top piece easily for better access.
Livestock
I have a list of corals and inverts already, but as for fish I’m not incredibly set on anything. I have had a LOT of helpful suggestions, and am leaving my thoughts on each one here…prepare for an ADHD fueled list. I want this thread to allow me to look back at my thought processes as well as the tank itself, and love to learn along the way too. Anyway, this is where I’d appreciate YOUR input…
Dwarf Angelfish
Golden Angel (Centropyge aurantia), Colin’s Angel (Paracentropyge colini), Multicolor Angel (Centropyge multicolor), etc.
I have had these suggested by a number of people. The price of these fish is not an issue, and they are absolutely stunning. My only issues will be coral-eating, and secondly tank size. I’ve had people say that they will be fine and only get around 3” in captivity, but I’m still not 100% sure that a reefer nano is big enough in my opinion.
Jawfish
Blue Spot Jawfish (Opistognathus rosenblatti)
I do intend to have quite a deep sand bed with rock rubble along the floor, the only question would be whether or not 3”-4” is sufficient and if 74/75F is too warm. I’ve seen many different quotes for temperature across the forums. Other Jawfish would also be considered since they may be better at 74/75F.
Cardinalfish
Yellow Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus luteus), Ghost/Blue Streak Cardinalfish (Apogon leptacanthus), Black Cardinalfish (Apogonichthyoides melas), Yellowstriped Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma)
Smaller, more peaceful cardinal species that could form a nice small shoal in the tank and enjoy the overhangs.
Red Spot Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus parvulus)
Lovely little fish, great shoaling behaviour but due to size are easily bullied and it is often hard to get them imported healthy. Hopefully the regular feedings and scape would help keep them healthy and comfortable though.
Bangaii Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni)
Have had a pair of these in the past and raised the fry. Enjoyable experience and only concern would be aggression if they started to breed in a small(ish) tank.
Gobies
Shrimp Gobies (Stonogobiops sp., Amblyeleotris sp.)
Lovely gobies, plenty of personality, and the symbiotic relationship with pistol shrimp is always interesting, but sadly I‘d have to choose between them and a jawfish due to floor space.
Trimma Gobies (Trimma sp.)
Amazing colours, brilliant nano fish but easily bullied and in some cases even preyed upon.
Neon Gobies (Elacatinus sp.)
Similar to the trimma species but thankfully slightly bigge
Cave Gobies (Priolops cincta)
Large enough to not be eaten by something like a basslet, and their upside-down behaviour would be cool to view given the plan for the rockscape.
Basslets/Wrasse/Misc.
Dartfish (Nemateleotris sp.)
Ideal in size, beautiful in colour, and would benefit from the regular feedings of small foods.
Gudgeons (Ptereleotris sp.)
Same as the dartfish, the smaller species would also be ideal in this tank such as the Chinese Zebra Dartfish. Also have loved the colours and fin shape of P. Grammica for a long time but the species is hard to come by.
Yellow Brotulid (Dinematichthys sp.)
We’ve had one of these cryptic beauties in the store a few years ago, and I can imagine this tank being a lovely little setup for one that will allow it to both be comfortable and actually be seen.
Blue Stripe Pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus)
Already have a pair of these that spawn for me regularly, one of my favourite fish and would enjoy this setup. Plus can handle the flow unlike some other pipes.
Deepwater Basslets (Liopropoma sp.)
Have absolutely adored a variety of the Liopropoma sp. for a while and would really like one (or more) for this tank. They aren’t always the easiest to come by, and I have wondered if anyone has experience of keeping different Liopropoma sp. in the same tank?
Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis)
Love these fish and think one of these little predators would be great, adding some real personality to the tank. Would only really need top watch for aggression with the smallest of fish and inverts.
Tilefish (Hoplolatilus sp.)
Incredibly cool fish, and perhaps one for an upgrade tank down the line as they’d benefit from the regular feedings, but feel that 6” is too big for this tank.
Anthias (Luzonichthys sp., Pseudanthias pulcherrimus)
These smaller, slender and more peaceful anthias species are beautiful. Again they would definitely benefit from the regular feedings but I worry that they may struggle with space due to their swimming nature even though they max out at 3”.
Flasher/Fairy Wrasses (Cirrhilabrus sp., Paracheilinus sp.)
There are some very nice deeper water fairy/flasher wrasses and I’ve fallen in love with a male blue throat in at work. My only concern is similar to that for the Anthias where they won‘t have enough swimming space.
Pink Streaked Wrasse (Pseudocheilinops ataenia)
One of the few lined wrasses with a peaceful personality, they’re a beautiful nano species to watch as they hunt for small inverts over the liverock all day. They’re also good for pest control.
That’s the shortest ramble that my brain could give for now, and I hope it all makes more sense to you, than it does to me looking back on it. Depending on the success of this tank, I may upgrade this nano into my old Reefer 250 after a year or two as that tank gets upgraded to a Reefer 525…
Lastly, its a pleasure to join R2R, hopefully get to enjoy speaking with more of you soon.
Cammy
Last edited:
