15 gallon nano build

[tlsrcs]

So i got a decent deal on craigslist about 2 weeks ago it was a 15 gallon with a sump, filter, some live rock, heaters, a return pump, a marine land single bright LED light, and even a small moray eel!

I put the eel in my 55gallon community tank and he as far as i can tell is happy he just swims in and out of the rocks and peeks his head out to see whats going on when i am doing maintnance.

Now for the 15 gallon it did not have any plumbing for the sump so it is not being used at the moment i am just running the HOB with some poly fill(witch works AMAZING) and a small bag of carbon. it had two peices of live rock so i wen and got about 8 lbs of base rock for it i think there is a good amount now. there is about a 2in sand bed in there too.
I want this to be stocked with mainly corals my girl friend wants the pair of clowns a have in the 55 in there but i do not know yet.

I will be getting a odyssea 18in 178w metal halide t5 combo light. Now i know it is not the best quality but at this point it is what i can afford. so any input on if i will need addional wattage would help. What kind of corals do you think i will be able to keep and grow out? i would love 1 clam but if the light is noe enough i can do with out.
also i am going to build a skimmer from another forum i think it will do good but only time will tell. so regarding that does anyone know if plastic weld form hobby town usa will be enough to bond acrylic in a in-sump skimmer? it will be running of a maxi jet 400 so not alot of pressure. It is impossible to find weld on localy. i plan on having the light here with in a week or two so if any one plans on haveing some good starter frags for sale at a good price i will be interested.

If you have any suggestions tell me i am pretty new i have had my 55 FOWLR(well i guess it has a condy in it so not really a FOWLR) for about 6 months or so.

 

[bsharpe]

Looks really good, just keep watching the site and there will always be some good deals on corals, I am not the expert on lighting or fixing things, but the guys are, I am the expert on run on sentences.

 

[Cake_Boss]

First, welcome! Second, any additional pics?

Is the mh/t5 combo going on the cube? If so, I believe you can keep whatever you want in there. The issue you might have is overheating.

 

[tlsrcs]

i can i am at work at the moment......love getting paid to post in forums! and yes im going to build a stand and canopy for it so i was thinking of some nice sized cooling fans. and maybe only running a heater at night if needed. It is in my basement the heat for the house is just hot water radiant heat and it really SUCKS! so i am thinking it might be ok. Have you had or read any super bad reviews on the light fixture? i have read that they have improved. i know its not the best but it is affordable.

 

[Cake_Boss]

Think Wicked needs to chime in about the fixture, I'd stick with it though

 

[tlsrcs]

ok and i have a guestion for flow should i put a [power head in the tank? i dont really want to clutter it up. when i ge the sump going i hope to not have anything but a surface skimmer or a overflow box in the tank. Do you think the flow from the HOB is enough? i am noticing dead spots within the rock work but do you think a CUC will help keep these areas clean?

 

[Cake_Boss]

How I did it, I opened up the rockwork so I could have the return get to the more stagnant areas that the powerhead didn't get (120g). Does that make sense? I angled the return to get the dead spots behind the rock.

 

[tlsrcs]

ok so that will work once i get the sump going. I need to find a new return pump the one that i got with the tank is shot. do you have any ideas on how to help it with the HOB ? there is no creatures in it at the moment just rock and sand and of course water. but the tank was not cared for well so there is some stuff i have still coming out of the nooks and cranys......found half a silver side the other day......

 

[hurrafreak]

I think the mh/T-5 combo will be fine over the 15 gallon for keeping whatever you want. If the 15 gallon has a sump why not get rid of the HOB and look into putting a small skimmer?

 

[tlsrcs]

i dont currently have the sump running yet i am looking for a return pump the one that came with it was bad. it would just pulse. so as soon as i can get a pump and some plumbing......also i have to decide what iam going to do for a over flow.......

 

[tlsrcs]

and ok i hope the light will work cause i am placing my order today hopefully

 

[Cake_Boss]

Talk to boogie, he has a plethora of used equipment right now. You're good with the light.

 

[tlsrcs]

ok good cause it is shipping today.....and i have i am going to get some mj's and live rock. but he said he didnt have any small return pumps. do you think a mj would do it? i also have a API nexx canister filter it has a feed pump maybe that will work.....anyone have some used plumbing parts that are gathering dust??? of course for a decent price....

 

[rajah]

Cool to see a 15 gallon in the works. I've run a 15 gallon for years now and it's kind of an uncommon size. I'm getting some updated pics up of my tank so check out the thread.

My tank isn't drilled so it's clutterd with equipment but, has been running well. Right now I have a Remora Nano skimmer and two maxijets in there. I've had lots of other equipment on the tank over the years, but I've never gotten around to drilling it. I also just upgraded from VHOs to 24 inch T5s. Looks like you are off to a good start with it.

 

[tlsrcs]

I like the size i would not like anything smaller that is for sure! i would have prefered a 20long but it is growing on me....i am going to make a stand and maybe a canopy for it with in the next week or two. Any suggestions on if i should hang the light or maybe a adjustable mount inside the canopy. by the way your tank looks amazing i love the diversity! about the only thing i am really wanting right now is my back glass to have xenia on it...........am i wish full thinking or do they grow well on glass?

 

[SteveT]

xenia will grow well on anything, anywhere....just gotta place a frag right next to the glass so its base is touching it will be all over the glass in no time... I have a bunch if you want some.

 

[tlsrcs]

i am awaiting my lights and i have to make sure my tanks params are good. it was going through i mini cycle i think about a week ago. but no algea so i may do a water chang and test when i get my lights in. But for sure i would love some how much were you thinking??

 

[SteveT]

Free!

 

[tlsrcs]

say what! no way i couldnt ill have to give you something. Hey i used to live in lafayette.....random but i just saw your location

 

[rajah]

I like the size i would not like anything smaller that is for sure! i would have prefered a 20long but it is growing on me....i am going to make a stand and maybe a canopy for it with in the next week or two. Any suggestions on if i should hang the light or maybe a adjustable mount inside the canopy. by the way your tank looks amazing i love the diversity! about the only thing i am really wanting right now is my back glass to have xenia on it...........am i wish full thinking or do they grow well on glass?

I had a canopy on my 15g for a long time and it worked fairly well. Heat was a major issue in the summer so that's a disadvantage. And it's easier to get into the tank with an open top. On the other hand, the open top I have now means lots of evaporation, so frequent topping off is necessary or you need to put a piece of glass on the top (or make an auto top off system). Check out the hood and VHO lights at the beginning of my thread - that stuff is all for sale if you're interested. I'm enjoying not having the canopy on there currently, but it's a slightly less "clean" look with all the gear visible in the back.

SteveT is right about the Xenia - it will grow like a weed on anything, and likes to "climb" up stuff like the back glass. Most of the coral on my back wall is actually Anthelia I believe, which grows even faster for me than the Xenia. It forms sort of a mat instead of the individual stalks made by Xenia. I can hook you up with some of it when you're ready. It will peel right off my back glass and then you can attach it to something.