jgraz's SPS nano build

[jgraz]

Well i have a nice 5 day weekend so I started the sump today and ran into a bit of an issue. After my so called careful planning and my awful measuring I just noticed that I will not be able to fit a fliter sock in the skimmer area. Here is the sump as of right now only 1 more piece of glass to place.

and the top view

Do I really need one? I was thinking about placing the skimmer in the middle section and killing the fuge altogether. There is not much space in there to begin with and I was only gonna do LR anyway. Should I put the LR and a sock in the first section and skimmer in middle? What do you guys think?

 

[NyteGTI]

Id just run a reactor for the chemical filtration.

 

[redsea]

Ok here are some aquascapes I came up with. Opinions please.

My wife is likes the 3rd one. I like the 2nd and 4th

I really like all of them, it is so hard to decide! I would probably go with the 4th or the 1st.

 

[ChizerBunoi]

I vote #4 but it doesn't leave much room at the top for the colonies to grow out.

 

[jgraz]

Thanks guys, Redsea, your actually the only person on 4 forums to choose #1.
Anyway, I also made some more progress today. Baffles held and sump and sections are water tight.

And the 20H is drilled and overflow and return are installed. I was nervous about drilling. Afterward I realized it was really nothing to it.

Next up: Plumbing. This part worries me. I can handle electric but plumbing, we'll see.

 

[jgraz]

painted and ready for plumbing

 

[jgraz]

Could someone please confirm this for me. Everything is dry fitted. But want to make sure it looks good before I glue.

Thanks in advance for the help
John

 

[jgraz]

Well the plumbing is done. Hopefully, I get some pics up soon. Made a few changes from suggestions in the "plumbing assist" threat I had. We will see how it goes. The can of glue for the PVC says 2 hr curing time. Does that mean I can add water after that?
Also on a side note, the nem that I bought from Xavier(fellow Jersey Reefer) a few weeks ago split. I now have 2 GBTA, one is about 1" the other 1.5" I did not know they would split that small. Anyway I get some pics ASAP.

 

[jgraz]

Here we go filling with water. Hopefully everything is tight. At the rate my system makes RODI it could be a long time.
Couple of pics

Thanks for looking
John

 

[NyteGTI]

I just realized im following this thread both here and nj reefers lol

 

[jgraz]

Well here we go. Filled and leak checked. Everything good.

Gonna work on scape tomorrow then salt and seeded sand/rock.
Got some ideas to run by you guys about what to do in the fuge. I have a pretty small area to use and was wondering what way to go. The area is only 7"x7.5"x9.5". I was thinking to do one of the following.
1st) DSB only. How deep?
2nd) Macro only
3rd) use the area for reactors. GFO/GAC. Or Bio-Pellets?
Any thoughts?
Anyway thanks for looking.
John

 

[jgraz]

I don't even know why im posting here anymore. But here it is, cycle underway.

 

[User]

Looks good! What kind of light did you go with?

Also what did you decide for the area underneath? I am probably going to go Macro for mine in the spring (when I make it).

 

[jgraz]

right now there is just some L.R. in there but once things are going it probably only getting macro.

 

[MDChurch]

Please do continue to post here. Looks great so far. I too am working on a 20gal. build and would like to put in a sump like you have. The pics have been a great help. Thanks
MDChurch

 

[jgraz]

Well its been a bit since I updated, so here we go. The tank is up and going. Mostly stocked, though I may get 2 more fish not sure what though one will be a clown to replace the one I lost. The other is up for debate, so im taking any and all suggestions, so fire away. Anyway the inhabitants are a Snocasso, Yellow Clown Goby, Blood Shrimp, Sexy Shrimp, and the usual CUC. I added a couple of Snocasso's a couple of weeks ago and right away one was not doing so well. He hung in there for about a week or so, then gone. Not sure what was happening. I saw him eat and he seemed very happy at the store, but I guess these things happen. So im on the hunt for a mate for my other one. Coral has been getting added often. I need more(please someone have a sale). Sump is running good, though I need to find a way to keep stray cheato out of the display. Skimmer is awesome. I just added a CPR Nano Reactor that I am running a bag of Chemi-Pure in, but I may just change that to GFO/GAC when needed. I was also tinkering with the idea of running pellets in it, but I may not be able to get output to the skimmer and have read that, that is a must. Anyway enough rambling. Here are the pics. Thanks for looking
Also don't forget the ideas for my last inhabitant

 

[jgraz]

Well I just wanted to do a quick review of the CPR Nano Reactor that I decided to run. I was looking for something small that I could run GFO/GAC if needed. I came across this
http://************.com/2011/09/09/nano-mini-reactors-cpr/
It the on on the left. It is currently housed in my fuge section and running with bag of Chemi-Pure Elite. The contents of the bag have remain fluidized at least for the last few days. Not sure if it will remain that way as the bag becomes clogged, so that remains to be seen. It came with a RIO 90 pump and seems to be powered perfectly for this unit. It has the ability like most pumps to adjust flow. The water flows out of the top of unit and falls back into the fuge. I was concerned that that would be a bit noisy, but I really can't hear it even with the stand door open. I may change to GFO in the future and possibly GAC if/when I need it. I was considering pellets, but have read that flow should be diverted to skimmer and that is gonna be tough in my setup. All in all it seems well made and takes up little room. Unfortunatly I can't get a good pic because of it location in my sump. I'll see what i can do later for that. I think it is perfect for those with small spaces and wanting to run a reactor. It can also be put in the DT, but that would probably be an eyesore even with the black cover the sell for it. Here is a pic of it in pieces If anyone has any questions about it let me know. There are also some vid on you tube of it running. Thanks for looking
John

 

[redsea]

I really like the Clown!

 

[jgraz]

The last week or so I have spent pretty much all extra money on some new coral. I just wanted to update my new finds. My pic skills suck. Part of it is that im working with only an iPhone, the other part is....well its me, I just can't take a pic. Here goes.
Jason Fox Setosa

ATL Limeaid Acro

Cali Tort

And a few others that I aquired over the last week
Superman Digi

Superman Monti and a Unknown Acro

Here is a purple bonsia that bleaced under my previous lighting starting to make a turn around

Got a few other new things, but like I said my skills with a camera are lacking and those are actually worse then the one I posted. Well thanks for looking.
John

 

[redsea]

Cool, congrats!