Nano Prize Tank Build

Nano Tank Showdown 2 Contest Prize Build​

I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of the last contest. My daughter and I won the Eshopps Deskmate Florida and a box of corals from WWC. We received the tank the other day. WWC said they'll ship the corals when the tank cycles. Which is cool because we are in no rush. This is only our 2nd reef tank. This will definitely be fun.

Equipment So Far​

• Reef breeders Nano LED light​
• IM 30W Mini Helio Heater ​
• Sicci Micra Plus 158 gph pump​
• Vivid Creations Dual RFG​
• JBJ Nano ATO​

I still need to purchase the Kraken lid.

Aquascaping​

Today we sat down with epoxy, super glue and insta-set. We grabbed a bunch of old rock we already had and created this...

It's kinda hard to tell from the pics, but there is three points rising at diffrent elevations leaning in one direction. I think I'm gonna leave that rock in the corner as an island.

Here's a picture from the top. I didn't want to overload this tank with rock. I also wanted to have a lot of sand bed exposed. For sand we are going with CaribSea Special Grade.
Not really sure about fish yet. Probably just a pair of clown fish if the tank is big enough. A cleaner shrimp. Maybe a goby. I still have to research what fish can live in a 9 gallon tank.
Can't wait to get this tank wet.

To Be Continued...





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[fengshuicorals]

Good luck with the build, will be following along!!

 

[ScurvyFrog]

Awesome project to do with your little one - excited to see this progress!

 

[exnisstech]

Congrats on the win. Also congrats on on having a daughter that enjoys the hobby with you.

 

[Haggisman14]

Congrats on the win! I've been loving my Deskmate Classic! Love what you did with the rock, and can't wait to see what corals you get from WWC!

My little deskmate probably has about 30 corals from them and is thriving!

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[Pvtgloss]

Congrats on the win! I've been loving my Deskmate Classic! Love what you did with the rock, and can't wait to see what corals you get from WWC!

My little deskmate probably has about 30 corals from them and is thriving!

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Thank you. We are really excited. I've never had a small tank like this so I'm researching a lot. It's gonna be fun.

 

[Haggisman14]

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have a mixed reef if you don't want! You can also keep them pretty simple too. I"ve been having great success, and have a pretty stocked tank with no skimmer at all!

Feel free to check out my build thread!

 

[Pvtgloss]

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have a mixed reef if you don't want! You can also keep them pretty simple too. I"ve been having great success, and have a pretty stocked tank with no skimmer at all!

Feel free to check out my build thread!

Sweet. I'm definitely going to read through your build thread. Thanks

 

[kevgib67]

Congratulations, what a great thing for a father and daughter to share!

 

[Pvtgloss]

Congratulations, what a great thing for a father and daughter to share!

Thank you. If she had it her way we would make it a sea horse tank lol. It took some convincing that we are not ready for something like that. Lol

 

[Pvtgloss]

Quick Update ​

 
I placed the rock work in the tank tonight. Looks pretty good.

The tank is going to be in our basement next to our couch. As soon as we go down the stairs it'll catch out eyes.

It's already a fish basement. On the other side of the room there's a 75g and 125g cichlid tank. I think it'll be a great addition with the blue light and orange acrylic glow.
The only concern I have now is the light. After putting the light on I noticed that the arm is too short and the light isn't exactly in the middle of the tank. So I'll probably end up upgrading to a prime 16 with a 18" bracket.

Cant Wait To Fill It Up!​

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Gonna be a great little rig. Following along.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along! Also congrats on the win!

 

[Pvtgloss]

Sand or No Sand?​

We've been cycling since November 12th. Started with Dr. Tim's and threw in some food every once in a while.
Three weeks ago we did a tank transfer with our RS Max E170. There was a YWG/pistol shrimp and a diamond goby that used to live in harmony. Each had their own rock on each side of the tank.
During the transfer I put the YWG/pistol's rock in first then, put them in so they would instantly find it. A few rocks later I put the diamond goby's rock in and then him. Everything was good for a week and then all of a sudden the YWG/pistol decided they wanted both rocks.
There was a lot of bullying and the diamond goby was stressed and started jumping. He actually jumped out when the lid was off. So I put him in the deskmate so everything can cool off for a while.
I've been running the lights at 15%. The light is a reef Breeders Nano LED. I have a 12" grow and glow Blades I'm going to put on it when coral come in.
Next Thursday our Black Ice clownfish pair will be here from Dr. Reefs. I'll put the diamond goby back in the E170 before then and do a big water change.
When i reached out to WWC about the box of corals we won, they told us to go ahead and cycle the tank and then let them know. So, tonight I'll be reaching out to them. Hopefully they send out some nice stuff.
My big question: sand or no sand?

Here's the tank without sand. I do like it and how it glows. But I don't know how much that orange will take from the corals once they come in.

And here is the tank with sand. I put the sand in there because of the diamond goby. But I'm not going to leave them in there cuz I believe the tank is too small for him.
If I could put a piece of black acrylic to cover the orange glow I would but with the eurobracing I don't think I can squeeze a single piece in there. It would have to be two pieces or a piece just big enough to squeeze through the Eurobacing . I could, perhaps, put a piece of black acrylic in there that leaves a inch and a half orange border around the edges. That might look pretty slick. But I just don't know how much the orange will take from the corals.
Give me your guys's thoughts.

 

[Haggisman14]

I'm personally a sand bed kind of guy. But I do agree that if you leave it orange, it might end u becoming too much of a distraction when you have corals and fish in there.

 

[Katrina71]

I'm a sandbed girl. Why not just get some bright orange coral too? Go with it instead of try to hide it.

 

[Pvtgloss]

I think we'll stick with the sand bed.
I've been watching too many Jake Adams videos, lol. He has me wanting to go bare bottom. Man, I miss following all his new videos.

 

[Pvtgloss]

OUR CLOWNS ARRIVED​

We are really excited. Our Black Ice pair of clowns arrived from Dr. Reefs. They look great in the deskmate.

Next, I'm thinking a pair of sexy shrimps or harlequin shrimps. That'll probably be it for livestock. It's only a 9gal tank.

 

[Macbalacano]

Congrats! Gorgeous pair!

 

[Mikeltee]

Harlequin need starfish to eat. I'd pass on it... make sure you are quarantining your fish. I think the tank looked awesome with the orange but sand is the right choice. I hope you get some sweet corals. I'd wait a few more months though. You gals did an amazing job with the rock and a AI Prime would be perfect for this tank. You can get them here for about $120 with stand.