Cuttlefish Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Hey folks. This tank has been months in the making. A few of you will know all about my odyssey just trying to get the tank in one piece. So here it is. As we all know, the AquaPod is one of those all-in-one nano reefs. Mine is the twenty four gallon version with the 150 watt halide. It comes with a 1200 gph circulation and filter pump but I don't think anyone on this forum that has an AquaPod actually stuck with it and neither did I. Replaced it with a MJ 1200 and installed a second one by drilling a second hole and putting a 1/2 inch bulkhead. I ditched the Loc Line fan returns that came with it and put in two Hydor Flo's instead. They are continuosly running and so create turbulent flow pretty much throughout the tank. There's a titanium heater in it as well. This was an upgrade from a 16 gallon bowfront and fortunately I was able to fit the hang on the back DIY refugium I had with some chaeto and an awesome little mangrove that Iv'e had for a while now. It is lit with a hanging 18 watt power compact fixture. For now there is no mehcanical filtration and no protein skimming. The tank is stocked with various soft corals and a single Euphylia and Plerogyra specimen respectively. The transfer went okay but took longer than expected. If I could give anyone advice when doing an upgrade like this it would be to make up lots of extra water. Way more than you think you will need. Lastly I want to apologize for the quality of the pics as I haven't really played around much with my camera and am not too familiar with it. Plus I'm sight impaired so that makes it a little worse. Hopefully you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 So this is the layout of the tank as it is now. There's a yellow Sinularia behind the Leather. I stuck it there because it would have more room to grow and eventually you'll be able to see alot more of it as it gets bigger. Plan ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 This is a side view that shows that yellow Sinularia more clearly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 I think I forgot to mention I had a clam as well. It''s a T. crocea that I've had for a few months now. That thing is so greakin' tough. The torture I've put it through while moving it was stunning and yet it's doing great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 Another side shot but closer this time showing the yellow Sinularia. You can kind of see one of the Hydor Flo's that I stuck on there. They come with lots of little adapters so it was easy finding one that fit right on. The bulkhead, I had to cut some pipe to make an adapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 This is one of the newest additions, a Euphylia sp. I've had mixed experiences with them and understand they can be tempermental so we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 Ah yes the refugium! It's pretty DIY style but doesn't look too bad. As you can see the mangrove has gotten a little tall but I have a light on some cables so I can pull it up as needed. The refugium itself is tiny but has some chaetomorpha and some kind of caulerpa growing together. between two baffles there is about five inches of sand. I introduced some bristeworms to eat detritus as well as a Nassarius snail to dig through the sand. I don't feed it specifically however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Very Very nice. Pictures are great. Thank You for sharing:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 That's pretty sweet. The fuge is awesome. And the clown! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 VERY NICE! I like! You spent some time thinking this one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I was very close to getting that same tank. However, I figured that the final cost of resurecting my old 45g would be just about as much with twice the water volume. It is a sweet little tank though. Now I am starting to second guess whether I should have got one. Your setup is awesome. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 I was very close to getting that same tank. However, I figured that the final cost of resurecting my old 45g would be just about as much with twice the water volume. It is a sweet little tank though. Now I am starting to second guess whether I should have got one. Your setup is awesome. dsoz Thanks, I try. I hear ya on trying to conserve the water volume as much as you can. Especially if you already have the tank. I think what really drove me to get a setup like this was that fact that it was square-ish and the built in filtration hidden away with the option to modify it as I wanted. I wanted a clean look with no powerheads or a heater visible in the display. I was contemplating having an acrylic tank made but this was a heck of alot cheaper. I'm not sure the dimensions of your 45 but if the dimensions permitted I'd put an acrylic false wall in and throw all the powerheads back there with bulkheads and you might even be able to squeeze a refugium. If you're a firm believer in protein skimming you could hang that off the back. Just a thought. Thanks again for the compliment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnburn Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I love the Mangrove! Where did you find one that big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 I lucked out and got mine at Liquid Sunshine here in Eugene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 That is truly a beautiful nano. I assume you had to move this tank too because it has been running awhile. You mentioned earlier that you recently started at UO. Did you move it from the 16 bow when you moved to Eugene? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Looks great Eddie! I've eyed a tank just like that more than once! Sure would make a sweet zoo tank.... How does that damsel do? Does it attack your clown at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 That is truly a beautiful nano. I assume you had to move this tank too because it has been running awhile. You mentioned earlier that you recently started at UO. Did you move it from the 16 bow when you moved to Eugene? Yeah the tank was an upgrade fromt he 16 gallon. Man it was a pain in the butt to move it over but well worth it. I'll be setting up another 24 gallon Aqua Pod in the next few months. This one I"m gonna dedicate to keeping Montipora capricornis and digitata in. I think those should be fairly easy to keep. I'd love some input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 Looks great Eddie! I've eyed a tank just like that more than once! Sure would make a sweet zoo tank.... How does that damsel do? Does it attack your clown at all? Well I have three damsels in there. The mean one is the South seas damsel (Chrysptera toupou) and man that thing was pretty mean. I threw in three yellow tail damsels at once to try to mellow it out and it punked all of them so that they were trapped in a corner for about a month. One disapeared altogether and eventually they got along fine. The clownfish is the most recent addition and believe it or not they're totally fine. This particular percula is pretty ornery though so that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I think you'll be fine keeping montis in that tank. Your setting up another one!?! Are you getting a good price on these things? Cuz they are SPENDY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 Well sort of, there was a mix up with an online vendor and they were nice enough to give me a break on an extra Aquapod. I should mention though that I'm gonna be doing this one with a 2X40 watt PC fixture. Nn halides. I've read that Montipora capricornis does ok under lower light but I'm totally open to suggestions on other species of SPS corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Nice, thats a sweet deal for you! The montis would need to be under the tank with the halide to get the best growth and colors out of the corals. Or you could scrap the PCs and retro fit some T5s in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 27, 2007 Author Share Posted April 27, 2007 Yeah I've pretty much decided to do a tank with seahorses instead. I figure the tank will feature Tonga branch rock, several Caulerpa species, some mushroom rocks and some Hypocampus erectus seahorses. To update this tank however I broke down and bought a protein skimmer for it. There was no way I was going to buy a $ 130 protein skimmer when I could get the same or better results from a plain counter current air powered skimmer so I settled on an AquaMedic Minifloater and an air pump. Over the years I've messed with so many kinds of skimmers and the truth is that the original limewood air blocks produce way better foam than any venturi. Yeah they take more maintenance but not THAT much more than cleaning the intake on a venturi. Ok I've dismounted the soapbox. I should mention that I did have to modify it ever so slightly to fit it in the first chamber of the back filter part. I'll post pics of it running soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 I'm aquiring equipment to setup a seahorse tank too! Thats cool! What species are you going to get and how many? There are so few skimmers small enough to fit in the back of those tanks, and all of them perform sub-par. So i understand going with the airpowered one. But a meshwheel with venturi is about as good as it gets right now! I wonder if you could mod that thing with a maxijet meshmodded? Hmmm guess i'll find out when i get my seahorse tank ready! (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illcssd Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 I am going to meshmod my maxijet on my bakpak two. I will let you know how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 Man I was looking at some different species of seahorses to get and captive raised ones are so freakin' expensive. I was thinking of H. reidi but whatever's cheap at this point lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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