Toph's 5g Nano

[toph]

I started my aquarium 3 years ago as a small 10g for a GSP I bought at wal-mart and it slowly evolved to a 20L without a sump, then with a sump, then without a sump again, then to a 29g Solana. Then I had found having a big tank tedious for my place and I'm a little paranoid about a big tank leaking as I live in a 3rd story condo too. I decided in the end to make a nano setup from extra parts I had around here and keep the budget within $100.

What I had:
Ikea PS metal rolling cabinet
10g cheapo tank
Drilled 5g bowfront (eclipse clone) wal mart tank
rio 180 pump

The idea was to fit the 10g in the cabinet and have the 5g bowfront on top. First step was getting it drilled for the plumbing:

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Even though I was being ghetto and using a wood hole saw...keeping it oiled made it easy work and the hole saw survived.

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Test fitting everything...verrry tight. Working on the sump will have to be minimal. The price to pay for form over function.

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I made a trip to lowes to get some glass for baffles, miscellaneous plumbing. That took care of the first $20 of my budget

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Everything plumbed and baffles installed

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The cabinet was rated to handle well over the weight of both tanks, but it still felt too weak on the bottom shelf to hold the weight of the sump. The bottom tray rested on supports that just didn't feel like they could hold the weight. It's hard to see, but I drilled and ran machine screws around the bottom holding/supporting the bottom shelf from all sides to the frame of the cabinet. It definitely sured up the whole thing.

Here's a picture with everything running

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[toph]

NM on that last picture...got that wrong. In that one, I had just finished putting everything together. The filled, running pictures start below.

The stock lighting was pretty weak...just a 12" t5. To keep things within budget, I decided to add a 20w Coralife 50/50 CFL. Luckily home depot had the exact socket I needed for 1c. I got an extra one for the refugium. Added another $20.02 to the cost thus far. I also used a half of an ed hardy energy drink can for a temporary heat shield/reflector. I'll end up replacing it with something better eventually.

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Here's another picture with the live rock/sand moved in, everything running and the new light added.

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Never noticed all the feather dusters on my live rock.

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I let the tank run for just over a week, ran tests and everything checked out, so I decided to get a yellow tail damsel and some caulerpa for the refugium. I also installed the lamp in the refugium.

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Some more recent pictures. I replaced the rio 180 pump with a maxi-jet 1200 I had laying around. It was a bit too powerful, so I trimmed the impeller a little bit to reduce the flow.

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Next, I plan on adding more live rock, some inverts and possibly another fish. Any suggestions?

 

[jead85]

im digging the setup, nice budget build. I was considering doing similar with a 5 aga, and a 10 gallon sump. just havent gotten around to it.

 

[weaglereefer]

Good looking build! If you add another fish, you'll want to get rid of the damsel...I'd recommend a small goby.

 

[smallblock]

When i saw 5 gallon nano I was like awe man this is gonna be crappy, but to my surprise this is a really cool little build. I'm lovin it man!!!. The stand looks awesome with the fuge light on. Looks like some polterquest are gonna come flying out. Keep us informed on this one thumbs up

 

[siren's eye]

What a great looking tank! I wish I had drilled my 5 when I first started.

 

[rizmaher]

That is really cool!! I always wanted to have a small one for the office and this may be the key.

 

[jdabs]

The build sounds great, but is anybody else not seeing the pictures anymore?

 

[weaglereefer]

JDabs;570097 wrote: The build sounds great, but is anybody else not seeing the pictures anymore?

I still see all the pics.

 

[reefmaker]

I dig this build.

 

[tsunami]

This system is gangsta. I like it!! Great job.

 

[toph]

Thanks everyone! I was between a damsel and a small clownfish, but I figured the clown would be really cramped in there.

Next step is another piece of LR, some inverts and frags!

 

[superclown]

That is a very nice tank and great placement in front of the fireplace good job

 

[toph]

Took some pics...and some updates

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I bought another piece of LR to fill out the tank, re-arranged everything. Added some caulerpa and then removed it when it went sexual (friggin caulerpa). Added a serpent star to help with cleaning.

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For some reason I have an outbreak of sycon sponges too...I guess it's a good sign

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I also found a hitchhiker polyp...like a dummy I picked it up with my bare hand. No reaction...crisis averted...lesson learned.

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Trying to decide if I want to upgrade the lighting...tempted to build a budget MH out of a 35w or 50w automotive HID. ($25 for the kit...use an old computer psu to power it). Any thoughts?

 

[siren's eye]

How's the serpent star doing? I wanted to add one to my 5.5 gallon, but I'm undecided if they're too big or not.

 

[toph]

Great...it's smarter than the hermits in finding food...I really enjoy watching it chase food and make its way around.