Baum 9g Nano Build

[baum89]

So im upgrading me year old 5g to a more spacious 9g
the tank will be significantly different so i believe it should qualify for the build.

currently i have ~

a fun 9g (formerly the Odyssea B9)
Tronic 50 watt heater
AquaClear 20 filter
5 lbs lr from 5g
48 watts pc lighting currently in transit. (only purchase made specifically for this project)
a bag of aragonite sand (plus 2" of sand/crushed coral from 5g to seed)
random inhabitants of 5g as well as various tools and other reefing equipment

my plan for the new tank is to have a wide variety of softies. i mostly want polyps and ricordia, probably some xenia and shrooms. a flame scallop would be interesting...
fish wise ill probably just stick with Claudius (yellow tail blue damsel) for now.
im thinking a fairly deep sand bed. 5" ?
i want the system to be healthy but low maintenance. suggestions on filters /skimmers would be great. im looking at a rio nano skimmer, Tunze nano filter ect...
oh and of course im not looking to break the bank, im just an addicted college kid trying to get by.

[baum89]

here are some photos of what i have, hopefully this works?

[baum89]

im going to run the tank fw for a few days seeing as its never held water...

i would also like to paint the back of the tank. is krylon the best for painting glass?
any suggestions as to black of blue?

[miniwhinny]

Welcome to the build off and good luck.

I like black backgrounds myself, mostly because tank equipment is usually black or dark gray and the black bg hides it well.

[baum89]

black it is.
as long as im painting the back i think ill just do all the plastic trim on the tank. currently its all grey but i think ill paint it black to give a more uniform look. ill do that this Friday when im back home.
i spent some time looking around town for the perfect stand. a few would work great but weren't necessarily in my price range. i may just settle for one at walmart and probably end up painting that as well.

anyway the big issue is what to get for filtration. as i mentioned i have an aquaclear.
i have been reading various builds and got some ideas for filtration but not enough to persuade me to buy anything.
i like the idea of an internal surface skimming filter such as...
subCurrent http://www.current-usa.com/subcurrent.html

another possible idea is a small canister filter...
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...lter_c_80.html

or i may settle for the Taam Rio Nano skimmer
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...l~vendor~.html

if anyone wants to sway my decision so i can make a purchase or suggest some other form of filtration i am more than open. i feel its time to bit the bullet and get somthing.

[Wiskey]

Welcome to the buildoff!!!!

I would definitively recommend a skimmer as your filtration, I would not use a HOB filter, or canister filter in a reef tank.

I would not reccomend the skimmer you have listed, there is a Aqua C nano skimmer that just came out I've heard allot of good about.

One thing you might consider is adding a sump so you can get some of the equiptment out of the tank,.. I drilled my nano and put one to the side, but if your going to have a standard stand you could drill the back and put a sump underneeth.

Whiskey

[Loverotties]

Nice little tank!

[miniwhinny]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Welcome to the buildoff!!!!

I would definitively recommend a skimmer as your filtration, I would not use a HOB filter, or canister filter in a reef tank.

I would not reccomend the skimmer you have listed, there is a Aqua C nano skimmer that just came out I've heard allot of good about.

Whiskey

Gotta agree with Whiskey. I'm running an Aqua C Remora on my 20 long. I'm amazed at what it pulls out. When I empty the collection cup I can't imagine that black tea still being in the tank. It does an awesome job (shows what it pulls out on my build thread)

[DarthOcellaris]

This will be neat to follow

[TheBeak]

rio skimmer - 30 bucks.

remora nano - 130 bucks.

the rio isn't fantastic, no doubt about that- but it does work worlds better than the old school piccolo wood air stone powered skimmer I had years ago.

the remora costs about what i spent on my whole nano build... probably worth it if you have the budget though.

[dobejazz]

Welcome to the build off !!

[baum89]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Welcome to the buildoff!!!!

I would definitively recommend a skimmer as your filtration, I would not use a HOB filter, or canister filter in a reef tank.

I would not reccomend the skimmer you have listed, there is a Aqua C nano skimmer that just came out I've heard allot of good about.

One thing you might consider is adding a sump so you can get some of the equiptment out of the tank,.. I drilled my nano and put one to the side, but if your going to have a standard stand you could drill the back and put a sump underneeth.

Whiskey

at one point i was really considering a sump. i just don't think im that ambitious.
could one house a heater within a remora?

[baum89]

Originally Posted by TheBeak

rio skimmer - 30 bucks.

remora nano - 130 bucks.

the rio isn't fantastic, no doubt about that- but it does work worlds better than the old school piccolo wood air stone powered skimmer I had years ago.

the remora costs about what i spent on my whole nano build... probably worth it if you have the budget though.

yea im currently a freshman in college. one can imagine what my budget looks like.
ill keep an eye on ebay ect but i may have to settle on the rio... what kind of maintenance are you looking at tank/skimmer wise daily, weekly?
your tank is looking good btw, innovative and inspirational. ive been keeping watch on your build

[baum89]

Thanks everyone for the interest and advice

[miniwhinny]

Originally Posted by baum89

at one point i was really considering a sump. i just don't think im that ambitious.
could one house a heater within a remora?

A resounding YES as I'm doing exactly that, check out my nano build thread (miniwhinnys 20 x 360) there are photos there (page 3 or so I think) of where I put my heater. It doesn't effect the remora in any way and the heat has remained constant for two weeks since it's been in there. I even contacted Aqua C about it to see if there would be any problems and they said no and loved the pictures LOL. I also explain how to get the power cord into the remora (doesn't take a rocket scientist)

Good luck.