Dan's nano build

[Youngster Dan]

Well, I have been lurking in the dark corners of Canreef for a little while now, and I figure it is as good a time to start posting as ever.

I am in the process of building a peninsula style 33 gallon nano. Currently I am running a sumpless tank, and I have made pretty much every newbie mistake, and every newbie problem in the book. From Cyano, Ich, hair algae etc etc etc...

My plan is to have less of these newbie problems, and I figure the best way to do that would be to show you fine folks exactly what I plan. Hopefully averting the inevitable screw ups before they happen!

Alas, I say this. But I have started already with my stand, and plumbing. I hope it is smart but we will see.

Here are some pictures of what I have done so far.

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/YoungsterDan/IMG_3705.jpg

Just painted it black

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/YoungsterDan/IMG_3710.jpg

And what the plumbing looks like

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/YoungsterDan/IMG_3711.jpg

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt311/YoungsterDan/IMG_3712.jpg


I plan on building a "ledge" around the tank, hiding the black at the bottom of the tank, and something to put stuff on (test kits, tools, umm... beer)

And finishing it with doors on one side and making it look prettier. I also want to build a part that will hide the overflow and connect with a canopy that I will later build.

Just a note, that this will be an LPS and softie tank as my wallet is on the light side and school is just around the corner.

Please let me know if what I done is silly, or needs some improvement. I am happy (or at least I pretend to be) to hear criticism.

[danny zubot]

I think it looks good so far. I like your idea about hiding the overflow, they're such ugly contraptions and noisy too. Good job.

[Dez]

Looks awesome. Is that a hang on back overflow? If it is, I would suggest taking the time to drill the tank as it is sometimes tough to keep the siphon on those overflows and they are noisy as well. I'm sure you can find someone to drill a hole or 2 for you on here. You will not regret it. Keep us posted. :)

[Snaz]

Looks fine so far. What lighting ideas are kicking around your head? +1 on borrowing or getting help with drilling the tank.

[kien]

I have made pretty much every newbie mistake, and every newbie problem in the book. From Cyano, Ich, hair algae etc etc etc...


Don't beat yourself up. Some of these supposed "newbie mistakes" are actually a part of the hobby and the process that we all face and live with sometimes.

Setup looks great. If I may be permitted to make a couple of suggestions though. You have a lot of room under the tank and could easily eliminate those 90 degree corners in your return line and replace them with a couple of 45 degree elbows that will help with flow. Everytime water hits 90 degrees flow is reduced and there is back pressure on your pump. Something like this..

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af144/muzanji/IMG_3735.jpg?t=1248428927

Every little bit helps right? :-)

I also noticed that you did not have any unions in your return line.. or maybe I just didn't see it/them. Correct me if I'm wrong here. If you don't have any, I would recommend putting one in as it will make servicing your return pump a lot easier and trust me, you will need to service your return pump eventually. Here's what a union would look like on a return pump/line..

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af144/muzanji/IMG_1397.jpg?t=1249029225

Screw it on and screw it off for easy access.

[Youngster Dan]

Thanks for the responses, and the kind words!

I had originally thought of drilling it as well, problem is I have no idea if the glass is tempered on the bottom or not. I guess I could always find that out, also, I do have my running tank as a back up so I don't see why not. My reasoning behind using the overflow, was simply that I had one, and figured why not use it and save me the hassle of drilling.

Kien, thanks for the idea about the 45 elbows. I will swap out what I can, it makes plenty of sense to me. As far as unions, never even thought about them. I will throw some on as well and I don't mind making my life easier down the road one bit! P.S. pictures are very clear and I appreciate them!

Snaz - I will be using a 36" 96 watt atinic and 96 watt 10000 K PC that I have on my other tank. Nothing fancy, but down the road (as in when I have a few dollars) I plan on using the 33 gallon tank as a sump for a 90 or 120 and then upgrading to metal halide or some HO T5.

[Lance]

Hey Youngster Dan. Welcome to Canreef. I'm sure you will enjoy it here.
I absolutely agree with the drilling of the tank for the overflow. Much better system and you will not regret the extra time and expense.

[scumchug]

Lookin good danny boy. I agree with the unions and 45's. While you have everything apart. Raise the return high enough so you can use some of those screw on pipe holder things to secure the pipe. Loose pipes tend to get broken or pushed places they should not be. I wouldn't stress about the overflow too much. Drilling is superior, but that setup should be fine, just make sure you replace the aqua lifter pump every 6 months or so, if it needs it or not.

[Snaz]

I think you can ID tempered glass with a pair of polarized sunglasses. Something about seeing a checkered pattern in the glass, the same effect seen on automobile windows.

[BlueAbyss]

Hey Dan, looks pretty good.

I would suggest drilling also, just remember that you don't necessarily need to drill the bottom of the tank since you are doing a peninsula style anyhow (you could easily drill one of the short sides). The sides are less likely to be tempered, and as Snaz suggested you can use polarized sunglasses (or polarizing film) to ID tempered glass.