The JKreef 16g Nano Project...

[Newt]

Welcome to the Madness!

Well I decided that this morning is just as good of time as any to start the thread for my future 16 gallon acrylic nano chronicle.

First off, the tank dimensions... 30"x12"x10" some very interesting dimensions for a 16 gallon tank, and the 10" depth will be perfect for a reef setup. For the furniture I'm looking at an All Glass stand (Cherry) made for a 29g but same foot dimensions as this tank.

I plan on using this tank as mainly a LPS/soft coral tank with a very light fish load.

The tank is drilled, so as of now I'm planning on the addition of at least a 5.5 gallon (preferably as large as I can fit under the stand) sump/refugium with a DSB (sand taken from 75) so I can have little (or no) sand in the main display. (I'd like to go BB.) LR-wise I would like to put in around 15-20lbs of precured Fiji/Tonga mixed from work, and another 15-20lbs of Reef Bones. This setup should have little to no cycle with the cured rock, established sand, and then filling it with water from the 75...but like always I'll go slow and test test test.

For the filtration besides the fuge I'm going to employ a skimmer, and a small Rena canister. Circulation will be only via the two returns drilled into the tank, so I'm still debating what size the return pump should be, but as of now I would like to aim for at least 35-45x turnover in the tank, so I'm thinking a Mag9.

My only dilemma that I'm having at this point about equipment is the lighting...I would just go with an 175w MH pendant, but I figure that on a LPS/soft tank it would be major overkill, and I wonder would a single MH pendant even cover a 30"x12" tank evenly and thoroughly? Should I go with just a nice PC fixture or better yet for about the same amount of money, T5s? Specifically this fixture, would the 24" work fine?.
Or this PC fixture.

The planned livestock in this tank will be:
1x Black Percula Clowns
1x Purple Firefish
and maybe 1x Yellow Fin Fairy Wrasse

Going Crabless in this tank (Hallelujah, right Wit? LOL),,,too many bad crab experiences in my big display.
Inverts:
Astrea Snails
Margarita Snails
Cerith Snails
Nassirius Snails
Linkia or Fromia Starfish
Feather Dusters from 75g
Coco Worm
Fighting or Queen Conch (Will move to 75 when too big)
1 or 2x Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
1 or 2 clam/s (depending on lighting, and will also move to 75 later on)
Various Softies
Various LPS

And the list goes on.... and will probably change in the coming weeks. LOL

Well that should be a good start for now, the tank is on its way and I should be off to a start in a few weeks.

[Newt]

Comments/Suggestions always welcome. And let me know if I forgot to list any important specifications.

[Newt]

Oh and I forgot, where can I buy some eggcrate? So I don't have to set all of my rock on the bottom of the tank, and help creat a more stable structure. I'm not taking any chances in scratching this puppy.

[Woodstock]

Sounds like fun!!

One MH pendant would work but you would have no 'dusk/dawn' affect like you can with those flouresent light fixtures nor would you have the moon lights.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...id=287&aid=350
I was comparing T5's with PC's ... for a 24" fixture you will be replacing 4 bulbs for the T5 but only 2 bulbs with the PC which equates to less cost; unless the T5's bulbs last longer than PC. The T5's produce less heat (if that is even a concern) than the PC's. I have never had T5's before but I have had PC's and they worked good. Good luck choosing.

[docklink]

Eggcrate at Home Depot or Lowe's, etc. in the lighting department. Sounds very cool. I've been thinking along the same lines for my office and will be very interested to see how yours goes.

[Newt]

Originally Posted by Woodstock

Sounds like fun!!

One MH pendant would work but you would have no 'dusk/dawn' affect like you can with those flouresent light fixtures nor would you have the moon lights.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...id=287&aid=350
I was comparing T5's with PC's ... for a 24" fixture you will be replacing 4 bulbs for the T5 but only 2 bulbs with the PC which equates to less cost; unless the T5's bulbs last longer than PC. The T5's produce less heat (if that is even a concern) than the PC's. I have never had T5's before but I have had PC's and they worked good. Good luck choosing.

I'm leaning towards flourescent fixtures versus the MH pendants, I do want the dusk/dawn effect.

That comparison chart says that T5 bulb life is 16-24 months and PC is 14-24. Niether should be much of a heat issue, but I've heard that T5 are higher intensity lights than PCs and certain types of clams (ie...squamosa, derasa, and gigas) can be kept under them, and can actually thrive. I don't know the truth behind that however...I have used PC lighting on my old 10g setup when I first started, but it was the 96w powerquad, and I didn't really care for the lack of the dawn dusk, it was all lights or no lights.

Thanks Doc, I guess I've never really ventured in to the lighting department on HD, I'll have to check it out.

Anyone here running T5s on their tanks, if so how do you like them? Or does anyone have an in depth reading/or research on the use of T5 that I could look at?

[Newt]

Well I answered a little bit of my own question. I was looking around at different lighting fixtures and found this...

Originally Posted by www.reefgeek.com

Notes: T5 fluorescent bulbs are simply 5/8” diameter fluorescent tubes. (Less than ½ the diameter of a standard output fluorescent or VHO bulb which measures 1-1/2” in diameter.) The slim profile makes T5’s much more efficient than other types of fluorescent lighting. In fact, on a watt per watt basis they put out more light per X amount of energy consumed than standard fluorescents, VHO’s or powercompacts. Also because of their slim profile it is much easier to create a highly effective parabolic reflector that directs more light down on the tank than reflectors for oddly shaped powercompacts or bulky VHO’s. Normally driven T5 bulbs also last longer than VHO’s or powercompacts.

So T5s DO in fact put out more light than standard flo, PC, and VHO.

[Newt]

Got the tank delivered today,,,it's in immaculate condition, and will make a wonderful reef.

More fun, and pics to come!

I still haven't decided on the lighting as of yet. I've been asking questions about T5s over at RC, and one of their lighting gurus told me that on a 10" deep tank the 4 bulb fixture would be overkill or too intense for most softies so he recommended a 2 bulb fixture, or said I could even keep clams thriving under PCs at that depth....Still thinking T5s would be best.

[mps9506]

Originally Posted by JKreef

Got the tank delivered today,,,it's in immaculate condition, and will make a wonderful reef.

More fun, and pics to come!

I still haven't decided on the lighting as of yet. I've been asking questions about T5s over at RC, and one of their lighting gurus told me that on a 10" deep tank the 4 bulb fixture would be overkill or too intense for most softies so he recommended a 2 bulb fixture, or said I could even keep clams thriving under PCs at that depth....Still thinking T5s would be best.

T5's are suprisngly bright with great color rendition. There is a local guy with a 8 bulb fixture over his 75 and it looks as bright as my old dual 250 setup over the same size tank (Eye's however are not a good judge of actual useable light for the corals though).
I won't claim to know anymore about t5's than that
I personally would do a sinlge 14k 150watt metal halide, but that's just me