Shoelace

Ugh. I just looked up the price of the ATI's. I may not be doing this setup after all. Has anyone else ever had this problem with reef indecisiveness? I keep going back and forth and it's hurting my brain. Then I get guys like Ryan and Mike suggesting things and like, OMG. Argh!

So there may be a change of plans. I think I am going to save money to get an ATI for my 180G, so I'm going to scale back plans on this nano. But I agree that I think I will just do 2 T5's. If I get a fixture that sits on the tank, it will be very close and frankly, at that height, I don't think it matters if you reflectors are German or Chinese . I also don't think I want to drill. Maybe I'm getting lazy. I think I will use the K.I.S.S. principle and get an Aquaclear 50 and house the heater, etc.

Thanks, that helped a lot and gave me some ideas.

Nice! Could I please ask you for some specs?

All the little bottles intimidate me. I'm scared.

http://sevenports.com/brand/ma-730-serene-12-gallon/ You are pretty spot on: http://sevenports.com/brand/ma-730-serene-12-gallon/ If I'm going to do a nano again, I would like it to be unique. This will have its own challenges.

Any thoughts if there would be less room to play with bulb color mixing and matching with only 2?

Ryan, I didn't want to call you out, but yes, your rig is the reason why I want to try the T5's! Your tank is pretty awesome. Do you think there will be much drop off at the ends with a 24" or would it be pretty well covered?

Oh, and the tank in my second picture is NOT the final tank. That's only 18" in my pic. I bought that on a whim.

Yes. It is 36". That is why that tank is so cool and unique, IMO. I also have a Osmolator Nano on my QT. But the all optical AutoAqua caught my eye.

I totally hear you on the LEDs, but I was thinking of trying something new since I have LEDs on my 180g and I'm digging the uniform light output of the T5s. I can be persuaded. What 36" strips would you recommend? The group buy ReefBrite XHO 50/50 looks snazzy!

I like how you opened it up more. Definitely an improvement!

Yeah, they probably do taste like shrimp (or lobster, or crab )

Scary stuff when they get that big. It still amazes me how things can survive in such harsh conditions.

So here is my equipment list so far. Too many times in the past, I've gone through "buy cheap, buy twice" so I don't mind splurging a little here. I already have things listed in italics. Those with a "vs." means I'm still deciding. Tank: Mr. Aqua 12G Long, low iron Stand: DIY Stand of 2x3’s with Ikea Besta white stand shell Lights: ATI 36” 4 x 39W T5HO + ReefBrite 36” Actinic LEDs vs. AquaticLife 36” 4 x 39W T5HO + Lunar LEDs Circulation: Vortech MP-10 Return: Eheim 1048 (158 gph) vs. Sicce Syncra 0.5 (185 gph) Heater: Cobalt Aquatics NeoTherm 50W Overflow: 3/4” Lifegard Aquatics low profile strainer Return: 1/2” Lifegard Aquatics low profile strainer 1/2” ATO: AutoAqua Smart ATO vs. Tunze Osmolator Nano Sump: NextReef NRS-20 Skimmer: Reef Octopus BH-50 vs. Tunze 9002 Dosing pumps: BRS 1.1 ml/min vs. Apex DOS Controller: Neptune Apex vs. ReefKeeper Lite Rock: BRS Reef Saver vs. BRS Pukani Questions 1) Do you think the ATI is worth it over the AquaticLife for such a small tank? 2) If I get the ATI, should I splurge for the dimmable model? 3) Has anyone used the AutoAqua ATO? 4) Has anyone had a NextReef sump?

It's pretty normal with the two part epoxy. Take the skimmer off line for a couple of days There are a lot of threads on this: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1737201&highlight=skimmer+epoxy

Great cube!

And then I saw this build and I was hooked on a 12G long. So this is going to be my very long, slow, drawn-out build thread. I'm gonna need a lot of help for ideas on this one because I'm going places I've never been. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/296235-3-foot-office-nano-mr-aqua-12-gallon-long/

There is a 4' long cabinet that was begging to be nano'ed: So I went looking for something small but was horribly unsatisfied:

Happy Holidays, WAMAS. I'm unfortunately getting the "build bug" again. My 180 softie rebuild is finally starting to settle down. However, I recently remodeled my small basement home office with Ikea and I am on the kick of having a nano there.

I love the look. I'm curious... You were able to cycle the tank in three weeks?

I'm glad it wasn't an ER trip! As for no more bucket brigade, that is priceless.

Got a great bunch of frags in a trade. Thanks, John! This torch is starting to open up already

Finally got around to setting up my dosing pumps, and I'm nervously programming the Apex.

I built my CS-1 and it's running in vinegar. Man, this is kicks out some bubbles. Has anyone noticed that a vinegar solution seems to make more bubbles than your tank water, or perhaps my feed pump is oversized.