CalmSeasQuest's 36" Nano Build

[creefer]

I concur with all previous posts....this is a really cool nano!

[Heidi]

What a neat idea with the slabs, great place to put coral! I will be watching this tank to see it come along!
-Heidi

[2pairs]

It looks good wet and will look even better with coral.

[cg5071]

Nice again. I like the price of their led kits but wish I could mix up the colors a little differently. I think I will do mine in stages (like everything else w/ my tanks lol), get a kit for moneys sake and then when I can switch a few out, do so. Change some of the royals for blue and a few cool whites to neutral and hopefully get a better spectrum.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Really nice job! I like, especially, the draw bridge effect near the top, where those two slabs just don't quite touch.

Thanks Dan. I had in mind the rock formations of the west that are carved through centuries of wind and erosion. Still tweaking a bit to get the desired angles and interaction between the individual pieces.

Really looking nice so far, keep up the good work, look forward to watching this one for sure

Thanks Chris - Just need to get the cycle out of the way - Then break out the forcepts for placing corals in the tiniest of places.

I concur with all previous posts....this is a really cool nano!

Thanks Chris

What a neat idea with the slabs, great place to put coral! I will be watching this tank to see it come along!
-Heidi

Thanks Heidi - Because most of the attachment areas are perfectly smooth - I'm hoping I can "tack" the Frags with just a couple drops of cyanoacrylate or epoxy.

It looks good wet and will look even better with coral.

Thanks Jim - I was sitting at my desk and found myself staring at the tank - with nothing in it but rock. I'm worried about how much productivity I'll lose once it's full of life

Nice again. I like the price of their led kits but wish I could mix up the colors a little differently. I think I will do mine in stages (like everything else w/ my tanks lol), get a kit for moneys sake and then when I can switch a few out, do so. Change some of the royals for blue and a few cool whites to neutral and hopefully get a better spectrum.

Thanks Chris. The 50/50 Royal Blue/whites should be fine, adding the desired shimmer and a PAR bump. I'll adjust the spectrum with the T5s. My plan is to mount the LED bar of the front side of the tank angled slightly backwards. It should provide shimmer throughout, higher PAR on the front side of the tank and a lesser increase on the back where many of the lower light corals will be.

[brandeewyne]

exceptional, Tom! i love the variety of corals you'll be able to meet requirements for with such a wide range of light and flow throughout the tank. function and form, wrapped neatly in one package.

now, about the expected productivity loss .. i didn't see so much as a sheet of blank paper on that desk anywhere. i think your levels have already gone to "sleep with the fishes!"

looking forward to the next update!

[CalmSeasQuest]

Thanks Brandee

A few updates -

• I received the Tunze 6015s and will swap out the 6025s to reduce the flow slightly.
  
• It took a wile, but I was finally able to gain Internet access to the Apex. Our security mandates (locked down firewall) made it a bit of an IT project.
  
• I've given up on the Tunze 3165 surface skimmer. The shallow depth made it virtually impossible to keep the water level constant enough (even with the Osmolator) to avoid air intake and micro-bubbles. Instead I'll hang an AC 20 (Mini) on the end for some mechanical filtration (emulating a filter sock) and for occasional use of GAC and/or GFO. I'll add a TOM surface skimming attachment that should pull off any surface films that collect. I'm hoping I might also be able to hide either the temp, pH and ORP probes or the heater inside.
  
• To conserve space and reduce visible mechanics, I've been trying to find a way to install the Osmolator using only 1 magnet mount. It looks unlikely as the failsafe float needs to be mounted lower than possible (it's designed for installation is a sump where more vertical glass is available.)
  
• I installed the AI hanging kit (Griplok) using a DIY mount with a stainless steel rod. The drop ceiling clips allow for simply, 3 axis adjustments (pics coming.)
  
• After much some research, I decided on the 36" Reef Brite with 50%/50% Royal Blue / White. I'll mount it on the front edge of the T5 fixture angled back for shimmer and additional PAR.

Hopefully I can grab a few photo's tonight of what should be close to the final configuration.

[CalmSeasQuest]

I managed to hide most of the mechanics and probes behind the skimmer. I'm hoping there will be just enough room for the AC 20 beside the skimmer.




The Apex and Osmolator displays are mounted just right of the tank. The ATO feeds from a 7 gallon bucket hidden below the desk. I'll probably add a Kalk dispenser to the bucket.



The challenge in hanging the lights was that the desk and tank aren't parallel with the drop ceiling tiles, and the tank sits mostly below a light panel. I needed to find a way to adjust the hanging kit on all axis. I used some standard 15lb drop ceiling "T" hangars and ran a stainless steel rod through them. This allows for complete 2 axis adjustment.



The Griplock hangers (originally for AquaIllumination LEDs) work great. You can control both the height and the angle of the fixture.


The Reef Brite LEDs shipped today - Hopefully I can get them mounted and PAR measurements done by weeks end. With any luck, the tank should be cycled in about another week and ready for stocking to begin.

[Heidi]

Awesome problem solving on the lights dude. I love it when you can hide as much of the controls as posable resulting in a very clean well planed out tank. Lovely!

[CalmSeasQuest]

Awesome problem solving on the lights dude. I love it when you can hide as much of the controls as posable resulting in a very clean well planed out tank. Lovely!

Thanks Heidi The ability to control the angle on the fixture was very important, as the ReefBrite LEDs will be mounted on the front, shifting the CG way forward.