ysanford Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I tried searching for any other posting for mods that were made to the Solana but I didn't find anything. I've heard of a mod that makes the back area a refugium butI can't seem to find anything about it. If you have a Solana or know about this mod, please chime in. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I did it on my 24G jbj nano until I wanted a bigger refugium and went with an external sump. On the JBJ the back of the tank is glass with a vynyl sheet glued on to make it black. You just measure out where the vynyl sheet is in the middle chamber of the sump area and use an exacto knife to score a light shaped hole in it. Use a single edge razor blade to scrape the vynyl and glue off. Then just grab a small light and shine it through the glass. Throw in some chaeto and maybe some small live rock pieces and you are good. I used a worklight from home depot with a swirly compact flourescent bulb. (by the extention cords, not in the light section oddly enough) I actually got better growth with a halogen spot light but it generated too much heat. I tried a few different types of macro and Chaeto is really the only one that worked in this application. Everything else would flow over to the return pump and clog it over time. Hope that helps, not sure how the solano is put together. If the back isn't vynyl i did see a good number of people putting in waterproof LEDs into the middle chamber for light as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 The fuge mod on the Solana is actually easier than the JBJ as there is no covering on the back chambers. While I'm using a hang on back (side) fuge, I did look at clearing the center chamber for an 'in tank' fuge. Should have worked fine. A simple Home Depot clip on should work. Note, used some acrylic rod to support a 'wall' that leaned back to touch the rear of the tank without limiting flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I really wouldn't consider it a mod, but I just added cheato to the middle chamber and clamped a daylight bulb on. Could snap a pic if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 I really wouldn't consider it a mod, but I just added cheato to the middle chamber and clamped a daylight bulb on. Could snap a pic if you want. Yeah, that would be great. Also, are you all using koralias for flow and how many of which one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I have Tunze nano streams. One 6025 and one 6045. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 I was thinking of get two to three koralia nano's. Do you think that will be good enough for flow? I am planning on keeping acans, zoas, favia, and some other lps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I really wouldn't consider it a mod, but I just added cheato to the middle chamber and clamped a daylight bulb on. Could snap a pic if you want. I did the same thing. Seems to work pretty well, but I did it when I first got the tank so I am not sure if it did any good or not. Another thing I did was make a small stand to place under the stock skimmer to raise it out of the water a little more. It has seemed to make a big difference in the quality of the skimmate. Lastly, I removed my K2, K1, and K nano, and replaced them with a Vortech MP20. Since changing I have noticed a huge difference in my coral and fish activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 I think I am going to see how two nanos do and later, maybe upgrade to a vortech as well. I got the tank in today and I am hoping to have the stand finished by Sunday. Do you all use the glass top? I've heard that having a glass top on the tank makes a big difference in the quality of light that is getting to the corals... Thanks for all the input. I am getting super excited about this new tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 no glass tops here. I initially went topless, but got tired of losing fish due to suicide. I made a very low profile top using L trim and bird netting. If you would like to see it I would be happy to upload some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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