Wrangy's 13g Nano

Wrangy

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I've already mentioned in my other thread (Wrangy's CADE HL600) I plan on starting a 2"x1"x1" 13g (52L) nano tank in the new year to keep a couple of fish that I'm not able to keep in my main tank and also because I'd love another reef :yup:
The fish list for this tank is purely based on a single display fish because I want to be able to give it the best opportunity to be able to thrive without competition and some requirements of it clash with the way the cade is setup due to the high flow needs of my sps and my fish being quite loud and boisterous and the lack of a hood/covering on the tank. That single fish is a White Banded Possum Wrasse (Wetmorella albofasciata) and is literally one of the only reef-safe wrasse's suitable for a nano aquarium (8-10g min tank size) and having an old 13g laying around was more than enough inspiration than what I needed :) Now due to the way this tank is to be setup and run I am also looking to keep another suitable small quiet and peaceful fish. Now before I get torn to shreds about what I'm about to suggest :p I do know what I'm doing and would like to think I'm thank capable of making this commitment and while it may nudge a few boundaries, I can manage it :) The second fish is to be a Mandarin Dragonet/Red Scooter Blenny. This will definitely involve a live food culture being added to the tank on a regular basis to be able to keep up with the feeding demands of such a delicate fish. I'm over the common misconception that if you don't have a tank with ten thousand litres of water and a million kilos of rock that you can't keep one because you can't be bothered to add the quantity of live food required or take the time to train the fish so this is my attempt at a testament to proving this wrong and if all else fails the cade can handle the addition of a mandarin by the time I get one :) The corals will only be zoa's and ric's because I want to have lots of bright eye catching colours and growth everywhere but also have low maintenance as I don't need a second sps system :p

As for the equipment for this tank most of it is still largely undecided upon and not narrowed down to exact brands but most of what is needed has been thought about and narrowed down :)
The lighting is going to be T5's, 4x 24W because I'd love to try them out and I can get a reasonably cheap fixture to mount over the tank :) I love LED's but there's something about T5's that I have to try myself over a tank and a 4x 24W setup would be a great way to go about it over this tank. Mounted on legs as there is no way to hang it for the moment :)
There will be a small back section of the tank sectioned off to create the AIO look for neatness as there is no way else to hide everything on the kitchen bench and the heater, return pump, nano skimmer and some marine pure balls will be placed in there with any additional filtration changed as needed :) There will be a small powerhead on the opposite end of the tank being a WP-10 as I want enough flow in the tank but as little as needed due to the potential fish of the tank :)


The rockwork will most likely be a really nice wall with lots of swim-through's, overhangs, caves and generally interesting structure as it will be viewed from both sides of the length of the tank. It will either start lower and build up to the back near the filtration section or have a reasonably similar level running the entire length :) I want to get a little bit of height at some point but keep plenty of open swimming space for the wrasse as even though the tank is more than enough I still want plenty of room! I contemplate getting base/dead rock to really create and fine tune the scape but because it's a small tank I will be able to use a large tube to really create before placing it in the tank. I also can't really justify not using fresh LR because there are just far to many benefits and the inhabitants of any tank love having LR to pick and graze at :) Once again as well like my main tank I will be using natural saltwater unless I can get my hands on reasonably priced ZEOvit artificial salt

Well enough of the descriptions about what the plan is, here is the location of the tank and what it looks like (it needs a really nice vinegar bath to clean it out!) The sectioned off area is going to be the back closest to the ledge.
Here are some shots to give you all an idea of it and the views :)
From the kitchen:


Entrance from the hallway/near the CADE (yes pork roast was for dinner :yummy:):


From my study seat, best view of it :)


All comments, suggestions and words of encouragement are appreciated :) This is the early planning stage and the purchasing of equipment won't begin until Feb once I'm back in the country and have some time off to really plan

Wrangy! :D
 

PSU4ME

JoePa lives on!!!
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Sounds like a nice little game plan! When I think of a smaller tank, my biggest concern is stability but with your corals, that shouldn't be a big problem. The mandarin is tough but the main reason people "blast" situations like this is because they don't know why it's tough, but in this case you do. I would work hard to find one that eats prepared food and feed him out of a Petri dish once a week with the prepared stuff.

If you keep up with small, frequent water changes this tank should be a gem!

Good luck Dom!
 

Wrangy

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The stability is my biggest concern too, I've gone slightly tougher but no less beautiful corals as I know they'd be able to keep up with it if there is a minor fluctuation :) I'll be doing very regular water changes 10-20% weekly more if needed or smaller and more frequently.
Mandarins are a bit like having the tank police come after you :p I'd like to think I know enough of what I'm doing to be able to manage it :) I'll definitely be looking for one feeding on frozen and prepared foods but if I can't at the end of the day I'm more than willing to put in the time and effort to train it myself :) and hopefully have a nice fat healthy mandarin/scooter blenny :D
Thanks! I really hope it turns out like I'm envisioning it! :yup:

Me too Greg :) The ability to keep two of my favourite fish is something huge for me :) Don't get me wrong I love the fish in my tank now! but I really want to keep these fellas as well
 

Wrangy

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I'm hoping I can get some cheaper stuff while I'm in China at the fish markets where they have some awesome saltwater setups and stores :)

I really want to get this tank up and running but still in the early planning stages :) Not even sure about other equipment bar what I've stated, it's still going to happen though :D
 

Wrangy

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Bit of a plan update :) I've been thinking about the stocking and things have changed fractionally. After reading a few articles and seeing some pictures and pondering all these things, I've decided that I'm going to have to let the mandarin go for this build :( but replacing it with hopefully as equally awesome fish :D

The possum wrasse is still going to be one of the main attractions, can't not have one! However it's partner in crime will now hopefully be a basslet :D I'm currently talking to my favourite lfs about them and their costs and getting them ordered in specially for me and depending on prices I'm tossing up between either a Swissguard Basslet or a Candy Basslet. Regardless of either, they're going to be bloody expensive here and I'll most likely have to sell organs to pay for it on the black-market but it is going to be worth it :D
The aim for this tank is now sitting at three distinct possibilities, corals haven't changed though. The options are very much based around pricing and what my lfs can do fr me in terms of getting mated pairs:
1.) A pair of possum wrasse and a basslet (candy or swiss, depending on price).
2.) A bonded pair of swissguard basslets and a possum wrasse.
3.) A possum wrasse, a basslet and a tiger blenny.

These choices are also dependant on how the tank will go bioload-wise but even with three of these fish fully grown I will still be safe but I'm not taking any chances with such expensive choices! I plan on having top quality fresh LR as biofilter, a decent skimmer and then I will be running either some carbon and purigen or some marine pure ceramics as an extra source of filtration :) Due to the fish enjoying picking at LR and the corals only being zoo's and ric's I can run a slightly higher nutrient level :)
It's all really dependant on what my lfs comes back to say with what the pricing's on them all are :) I'm fully expecting to be paying more than the tank costs so I'm just waiting to see how far my socks will be blown off :laughroll:

That's all for now folks :)
 

Wrangy

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Wow, this sounds awesome whichever way you go. I love Swiss guard bassets.

Thanks mate, that's what I'm hoping for :yup: I saw the Candy Basslet on LiveAquaria and it piqued my interest so I went on a basslet crusade haha and decided I wanted to get a pair of the Swissguards or if the Candy Basslet isn't super SUPER expensive (which it will be for it having come so far) I'd love one or two :D But we shall see what my lfs comes back with :)
 

Choff

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Sweet little tank Dom!

Why did you decide against the mandarin? I'm only asking because I'm thinking of putting one in my fuge once I get a large enough pod population (and of course I actually get the thing up and running)
 

Wrangy

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Sweet little tank Dom!

Why did you decide against the mandarin? I'm only asking because I'm thinking of putting one in my fuge once I get a large enough pod population (and of course I actually get the thing up and running)

Thanks Mike :D

I think the reason I decided to drop the mandarin vs the possum wrasse is because I want this tank to be truly unique. There are very few possum wrasse here in Melbourne (Victoria) and I've only ever seen one listed in stock lists once and I love them, such different little fish! The other reason is because the other night while scrolling through LiveAquaria (which I do a lot haha) looking at fish and dreaming, I came across the bonded pair of Swissguard Basslets in Diver's Den and well I instantly fell in love with them and the thought of having a mated pair of fish to go into this nano which is being setup with the intentions of being all about the fish :) Basslets are even rarer down here and so they would make just as stunning show pieces as well! It's pretty much because I want the rare and different looking fish in this tank, not that a mandarin isn't one of the most stunning fish I've ever laid eyes on and it also wasn't because I thought I wouldn't be able to manage to keep one healthy in a smaller tank. I know that's do-able and I was prepared to put the necessary work in for it :)

That being said, a mandarin isn't off the table :) Too much love for them, I suspect I will be adding one to my cade (the big tank) as the last addition in a few months time once I have stocking settled and the tank is truly mature. I may be changing the sump in the cade (it's very inefficient and poorly designed) to something that incorporates a small fuge but if I don't I'll just put in the effort required to train the mandarin onto other than live foods to help keep it fat :)

So after all that, haha, I have no doubts you'd be able to happily keep one or a pair in your tank, especially with such a dedicated fuge and a large system for pods to grow in :) They are such amazing fish
Even if you weren't to train them off frozen foods but I think it's always a good idea in case you have to supplement with frozen food for some particular reason :)
 

Mr.Reeefer

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DOM!!!

G'day mate, you back in oz yet??

Which ever you decide will look great mate, can't wait to see it all up and running....
 

Wrangy

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Landed this morning mate! :D Soooo amazing to be home again :yup:
I'll be updating my 50g thread shortly if you'd like to stop by :p
Neither can I! I've got the skimmer for the tank coming in the next few days and I've found someone who should be able to make the 'sump' I want, so all I need is a heater, powerhead, return pump and a cheap t5 fixture :) then I can start to fill and stock :D
 

Wrangy

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Drawing up the the acrylic backing that I want to use to create an in-tank 'sump' today.
I'm aiming to create three sections, the first will have an overflow grate into the skimmer section first, the section section will be for media and the third is for the return. Nothing complex but simple enough to hide everything and the heater will squeeze in there somewhere haha
Media is either going to be bagged media (ie. CPE, purigen or that sort of thing) or I'll buy a small reactor (minimax reactor from IM) and run that with some carbon or biopellets or something undecided yet haha but it'll live in the media section. This tank is going to be reasonably dirty as it's a zoa-ric tank and I want to have slightly higher nutrients so that they can thrive :)
 

Wrangy

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Unfortunately progress has stalled for the moment but not cancelled :) This is due to my time allowance and also funding, hopefully mid-year and tax return time progress will come back firing :) As I still really want to set this tank up :)
I'm still also waiting to here about getting the basslets in as they are really hard to get here (there aren't any in Australia to date) so I'm still waiting to here about that as well but hopefully things will progress well once everything is sorted and back on track :)

Thanks for stopping by :)
 

Mrsalt

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Bit of a shame mate but come the summer - your winter? - it'll be sweet as, I just know it.

Also best basslets come to those who wait. ;)
 

Wrangy

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Yep, winter here! Hopefully it will be or if not there's always next year ;) haha I'm determined now!!

Let's hope so!! I just want to hear he can get them in as it's very unsure if that will even happen but we shall see :)
 
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