Zarathustra2 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 So after this weekend I think I may have the most DIY modded nano tank in texas but I am hoping that someone will prove me wrong. Started with a 24g jbj nano used that had a huge fuzzy green algae problem and was all but "dead." After kicking up filtration, flow and lights my zoos are starting to visibily grow on a daily basis. The Blasto and Torch are growing quickly and mushrooms/rics are spreading like weeds. Upgraded Maxi-jet 1200 return through a hydor revolving spigot Ballast removed and replaced with a 175W MH pendant Fan on timer with pendant for cooling - Heater at 78 ensures temp stays between 78 and 80 at all times Upgraded old mod of middle chamber refugium to a external sump gravity fed back into the tank sump has sock into a Refugium followed by a DSB Used a floating breeder i had and attached with a cleaning magnet for a small frag rack I love this part of the hobby, fiddling with everything I can. So show me your nano Mods as I am starting to run out of ideas. Tho, I am thinking of a fluidized sand filter mod to put into the sump and if I could solve the bubble issue with the gravity feed return i want to make the return into a spraybar instead of needing it to go over some foam right now to reduce micro bubbles. Full Tank Shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Great idea for a thread. Moving it to the DIY section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Razor Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 So what brand and size of skimmer are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Its the oceanic biocube airstone fed one. You can see it in the first picture. I'm not all that happy with it. It does do the job but is very hard to tune right so I almost always am either running too wet or too dry. since I just got a sump I am looking to upgrade to a in sump skimmer and maybe just run it the day after feedings or something so I don't overskim my tank. Wouldn't want the feather dusters and clean up crew going hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 There are no other mod crazy nano reefers in ARC? Oh yea, just got a AquaC Remora Skimmer second hand. Will post a review once I get it up and running but the pump was blown out and I'm scrambling for a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 When I had my nano-sized tank, I did a few minor mods. I drilled a hole in the false wall to accommodate a second pump and spray bar. I also replaced the fans in the hood with some quieter ones. Nothing too exciting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 I like the idea of the spray bar. I want to do it on the return to my sump. Anyone have any experience with removing microbubbles from a gravity return feed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 i've modded my nano a bit, nothing too extensive yet but im working on it. i got my fuge in the middle chamber w/ a 15w spiral compact flourecent and i've replaced my stock hood with a 150w MH. i also have my k-nano on a DIY swirler stein that rotates it back and forth 90 degrees. coming up here im thinking of drilling the back glass to add an over flow so i can add a sump. i like your idea of pumping water from the display up into the sump w/ a gravity feed back into the display. i would do it like that to save myself the trouble of drilling the tank, but that would mean that any evaporation would end up showing in the display and i dont want to keep the float switch for my ATO where it can be seen. i also use the biocube skimmer and i dont know why people dont like it? ialso dont know how people "dial it in" ? there are no settings on it, you just stick it in the tank and let it do its thing. i used to change my airstone every month but im noticing that it works alot better after not being changed for 6 months. occasionally it blows the lid off the collection cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 With the gravity feed going back to the display the spot for the ato is still inthe third chamber. That's actually my next purchase. Which ato did you use and does it fit in the third chamber with a pump in there? Also I like the idea of the moving knano. Haven't seenthe kit yet. Where did you pick it up? The biocube skimmer does work. You dial it in by varying the amount of air in the restricter valve near the pump. I could produce foam but never the dark nasty stuff I see in other skimmers. I just got the remora and within an hour was taking out all sorts of nasty the biocube skimmer missed. I did notice the same as you with a new airstone though that it took like 2 weeks before it settled in and really started producing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 i guess your right about the evap. i might go that route now? i have the JBJ ATO. it works great and the float fits just fine in the 3rd chamber. i forgot there was a valve on the skimmer, i think i took mine off? there is no kit for the swirler stein, you have to make the whole thing. here's a pic i took last night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thats about what mine would produce. i was just never happy with the color of the skinmate. Just not dark. OTOH it was much better than nothing. I love that stein idea. I just looked up some plans on reef central http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1483439 and it looks like a fun project. How did you mount it on your nano? Seems like the box might be a bit too big right? The JBJ seems like a good ato system and isn't that much more than autotopoff.com systems. With the digital controller that looks like a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 the way mine is mounted is just by being such a tight fit. i built it with zero play in the opening so that its fits nice and snug. i actually had to cut a bit off the tanks frame to get it into place because when i built it i was still using the hood and needed all the room i could get! since there is like NO room under the stock hood it had to be ultra low profile. the housing height was built to fit the components exactly with no extra room. i didnt use the suggested method on RC of the electrical box or whatever it was. i built a custon acrylic box. you cant really tell from this view but it doesnt go above the rim of the tank. its on the back left corner. i absolutley LOVE the JBJ ATO! its such an awsome little thing, i have nothing but great stuff to say about it! you literally just figure the height neede on the floats, plug the thing in and boom, there you go, simple as that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 its not much of a mod, but i get this fliter floss from aquatek that goes to a tunze filter. i cut it into pieces that fit the second chamber then put them on top of the removable grate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 I started using the carbon and phosphate reducing floss media. I just love the stuff. I do a layer of poly-fill (a couple of bucks for 1'x2' at RCA) then a layer of the black carbon and a layer of the phosphate stuff instead of the foam brick sponge in the first chamber. I put in a rectangle of egg crate (love that stuff) to stop it from going into the second chamber. Never thought to put it behind the flow restrictor. Great idea and would save some space. Also that stein box is just awesome. None of the plans I saw on the net were nearly that slick. I think I am going to steal your plan there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Also that stein box is just awesome. None of the plans I saw on the net were nearly that slick. I think I am going to steal your plan there. you got it! its pretty easy to build, let me know if you need any help with anything? you'll get a kick out of this! i'v been wanting to add the actinic light back onto the tank to add to the MH thats on there now. i thought i could build a little shroud to cover the light and then find a way to mount it out of the way of the MH. after i got to thinking about, i figured the best plan of action would be to cut the front 1/4 off of the origional hood since it already fits the tank. then i could mount the actinic light inside of it and the light would end up in the tank instead of in my living room. also, there would be plenty of room for the MH still. so thats exactly what i did. i ran the hood through my table saw and used some 1/8" acrylic to make some mounts. i mounted the light and i hijacked the origional wiring and ballast from the hood and put it all on a timer. it took about an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 That is exactly the kind of mod i like. Simple yet done to a great effect. Makes me wish I had kept my lid instead of tossing it when I was ticked off that it wasn't working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbear Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 This is my 29 gallon Biocube. I had the back drilled so that I could insert a 1'' bulkhead for my custom refugium. The refugium is about 10 gallons. It was originally a sump but I had the bubble trap added and the bio-balls removed (Dave aka Epic Reef did the drilling and bubble trap for me). I used 1'' tubing/PVC pipe for the drain line and 1/2'' PVC for the return. I’m running a Seaclone Protein Skimmer 100 from Aquarium Systems. I am also using a Rio 3100 for the return pump. I added the ball valves and tee so that I could cut back on the flow going to the tank since the return pump is very powerful. The tee allows some water to return to the refugium so that the water can stay circulated and move around the cheato. In the refugium I have a 2'' sand bed along with live rock, cheato, Mexican turbo snail, pods, and hermit crabs. I added the egg crate so that the cheato and other macro algae wouldn't fall into the middle chamber. In the back middle chamber of the Biocube, I am currently running carbon and phosgard. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 I love that setup Polar. Very clean looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbear Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 thanks. its been about 5 months in the making. I kept researching how to do the refugium so that I didnt have to drill it but just decided to go for it after Dave convinced me it was the best was to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 wow that sump is great. Did you build it yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbear Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 well I bought the sump which came with the bioballs in the first chamber. I then had Dave from Epic Reef put in the bubble traps for me. he did a great job. All i need now is to install my ATO which im going to do tonight and add some more algea to the sump. hey is the dragons breath macro that im trading you for good for the sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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