70l Nano Journal

[JaminRat]

Well after months of research and collecting of parts I've finally got everything in place to get started. I've been held back for a few weeks as I couldn't find a stand I liked the look of but have ended up settling for a Juwel Rekord 96 unit which is a little bit bigger than the tank but will give me some space to setup an auto topup in the future.

Well here is what I have:

Clearseel 24"x12"x15" tank (rectangle)
48W T5 luminaire (2x 10,000K tubes)
Sieo M620
Visitherm heater
Caribbean reef sand
Tropic Marin salt mix
Refractometer
Various test equipment
Oh and I'll be using DI as I have a unlimited free supply from work and a small lab sytem at home. Well I say small it'll still produce 160 LPH

I have already painted the back of the tank blue. You may have seem my poll about backgrounds and I have come up with something a little different that works well with no water in the tank but I've not seem it with water yet so only time will tell.

So here we go, nerves and all, I'll take some pictures as I get it together and post them up tonight.

One question before I start though what SG should I fill to most of my reference books state 1.0023 ideally but I noticed many on here are set to 1.0025?

 

[Betta5]

COOL, i voted for the dark blue background, Also are you doing it LRless or did you forget it or are you going to buy it later? Everything sounds good. Cant wait for pics!!!!

 

[JaminRat]

LR is put back for me at my LFS going to run the tank for a week with just substrate & water to ensure everything is ok. Then next weekend will be adding 5kg of LR wait another week or so, depends on levels, then add another 4kg as this is what I was advised by my LFS.

 

[Betta5]

OK, seems like a plan

 

[rhysiboy]

oooh this will be intresting my tank is only 5 litres less and isnt set up yet. will be at crimbo

 

[SkiFletch]

You mean 1.025 not 1.0025

Simple reason is that natural sea water is 1.025-1.026 on most reefs. Lots of LFS' will keep it lower at 1.019 for fish only tanks to keep ich at bay and at 1.023 on coral tanks to keep costs down.

 

[JaminRat]

Sorry yeah I did mean 1.025 and if it's just to cut cost's then 1.025 is the way to go. Pictures are on their way as promised just uploading them now.

 

[JaminRat]

Ok as promised photo's for you viewing pleasure.
Everything piled up ready to go.

This is how the background came out. For those who remember my poll I ended up using a combo of the two paints. There is 2 coats of the dark see through blue then a coat of the light blue solid colour over the top all applied to the outside of the tank. As I'm not too hot at spraying it came out a little darker in places but I think this gives a more natural look to it.

And finally everything in Lights off

Lights on

It's still very cloudy so I'll post another when the dust settles.

Still waiting for the temp to come up before adding any salt and there are bubbles on everything does anybody know what causes these?

 

[robbhp]

looking great mate keep up the good work, also don't forget we love pics so keep them comming

ROB job

 

[stang1]

I really like the background. And you're right, it does give a more natural look.

 

[SkiFletch]

The bubbles are normal. Keep in mind that bubbles are MUCH easier to make in saltwater as opposed to freshwater. Because of all the ions in the water, saltwater has a lower surface tension and allows bubbles to be produced and remain far longer than with freshwater. Our protein skimmers only work in the high specific gravity environment of salt water .

In your case, just have patience, the bubbles and cloudiness will pass

 

[JaminRat]

One of my posts is missing if you find it please let me know

Well here it is again.

The problems have started already. I was woken at 5am by the alarm on the dig thermometer saying the temp was out of tolerance. Got up to shut it up and found it reading 48.6°c my first thought was that the heater had stuck on (5am not really awake) so stuck my finger in and felt normal temp. So turned off the alarm and went back to bed.

Came in and checked it this morning and it read 68.9°c so I think it's fairly obvious that the digi thermometer was faulty. I'll swap it tomorrow thankfully found the box and receipt after a search through the bin. What a lovely task first thing in the morning.

On the plus side I fitted a small internal filter this morning with just filter floss in it as the water was still quite cloudy and I've just got home from work and it's crystal clear now . Also the bubbles have now disappeared. It still confuses me where these come from as I have had them in every tank I've ever setup but they only appear an hour or so after setup

 

[SkiFletch]

When using a digi thermometer, you should ALWAYS have a standard alcohol thermometer for confirmation of temps and diagnosis of the digi

 

[JaminRat]

Got 2 old school ones which are in my FW tanks and one of those cack stick on ones to. So help is always a quick wash away.

 

[rvdbarnes]

Hi there!

Your tank is looking very nice so far! i must agree, the blue background looks sweet! will be even better when you have your LR and everything in!

Just notice your hood is set above the tank? being a newbie to things like that, just wondering if theres any kind of cover glass in place? are these EVER used? and if not, how do you guys keep the dust and dirt from getting in the tank!

Keep the pics coming mate

Lee