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New nano now what to do with it??

Y

ynotme4886

Just picked up a 37.5g acrylic setup on wed the 29th as a belated birthday gift for me :D

Now the question is what to do with it?

Am in the planning stage and probably wont fill it till the fall and all the specs are worked out but wanted to see if anyone had any great idea on what to do with it.

Now on to the specs and some pics.

37.5 gal custom built 3/8 cell cast acrylic dimensions are 36" long x 16" deep x 15" high with an external overflow and custom stand with cutout for a reefkeeper 1 or 2 (am looking for one but havent fount a good deal on it yet)
custom sump with mag 9 return pump and is drilled for a closed loop with a pan world 50 pump powering it.

Pics from when it was new
Tank
p1932275.jpg


Stand
p1932265.jpg


Sump
p1932253.jpg

p1932262.jpg


Plumbing
p1932273.jpg


Tank setup by previous owner
p1932257.jpg


Tank after getting it home....not cleaned yet
p1932271.jpg

p1932254.jpg


I got it at the uncleaned price :D

Now here are the questions I have.

Lighting....how much do I really need on this thing? At only 15 inches deep I dont wanna go overboard.
With 6 39w t-5's I should be able to keep just about anything correct.
I do have an 8 bulb retrofit but then would have to build a canopy.
Previous owner had 2 150w halides over it and I think that is a bit of overkill.

What to put in it?
With the closed loop and if I were to add a pair of vortech MP 10's this might make an awesome SPS mini reef.
Or perhaps a species tank for an anemone and clownfish pair....am worried that the loop may push too much water for that though so any suggestions on what type of anemone likes a ton of flow would be cool too.

Also the closed loop returns come out of the bulkhead in a y piece of lockline....dont really like it but need an idea on a way to change it to maximize the dispersal of the closed loop and get the best flow out of it possible

Thanks for looking and any ideas or suggestions would be great
 
V

vangvace

Is the 6 fixture the tek shown in the picture? If it is it will very much meet your lighting needs.

Maybe consider adding a sqwd to the closed loop to reduce the flow and change things up a little bit as well.

Maybe a Fiji biotope?
 
Y

ynotme4886

thats the previous owners light in the pic.....it just had the t-5 lights on when he took it.

He had 2 150w halides and a pair of t-5's over it.....Special order Maristar fixture with a blue wave ballast I believe.

I didnt get the lighting...was an extra $400 and I thought it was overkill for that little setup :D
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Beautiful tank, very nice deal with the whole setup. I don't think you would have any problem doing an anem with clowns. In our thirty we have 2 Koralia #2s and 2 maxijet 1200s providing flow for the skimmer and the refugium and our anem is fine. With a 6 bulb T5 setup you can pretty much do anything, just pay attention to where you position the coral. In our 20g we have a 4 bulb setup and all the corals are doing fine (SPS near the top, LPS and zoos near the bottom).
 
Y

ynotme4886

Maybe consider adding a sqwd to the closed loop to reduce the flow and change things up a little bit as well.
Click to expand...

Would need to replumb the entire closed loop.....previous owner only had the closed loop pump opened 1/3 of the way and I dont want to end up with a overpowering stream blasting through the tank. I gotta look and see just how many gallons this puppy pushes out per hour

Your more then welcome to come check it out and perhaps an idea or two will come to you by looking at it.

I am really liking the two small vortech idea.....gives me a reason to try them out....now just finding a way to do it without upsetting the wife is another story.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

A 6x36W T5 is going to let you keep just about anything, it is over 5.5W/G lighting.
I would go with that as the heat issues are going to be too great with MH...I agree it was overkill IMHO. It is fairly narrow so a Tek light might be little wide...just thought of something you might want to research. Looks great overall.
 
Y

ynotme4886

I had 2 36 inch 6bulb nova lights less than 3 months ago and got rid of them figuring there was no need to keep them. Am kicking myself for it now.

I have an 8 bulb retro I could use but then I need to build a canopy and that may just ruin the whole look of the tank by enclosing the top of it.

Hmmm....wonder if I can build an acrylic case for the retrofit with legs and fans mounted in the top of it.
 
Y

ynotme4886

Those are awesome setups.....I was never a big nano tank fan and had a 28g JBJ boxed setup and it did nothing for me.

I think if you build it and it doesnt come out of a box it makes it feel bigger than it is.

Those are some small tanks with great personalities....I cant wait till the fall and its time to set this thing up.
 
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