peacemaker

Thanks! I have a limited budget as well, that is why I have to go small. However, having smaller water volume means any fluctuation would lead to disaster. To answer your questions: 1. This tank has been running for more than 6 mths. Most of my corals have been with me for 4 months plus, except for the Coco worms (about 2 months) and rics (about a month). The fishes are new (about 3 weeks) and I just got my shrimp last week. I had a false clown and a bi-colour dottyback before, but brought the clown home for my 2 Ft tank and gave the dottyback away. 2. I used to have a PO4 assorber, but stopped using it for some time. The pics of the empty tank are taken recently, when I made a 100% water change due to algae bloom. It was a mistake as I started with tap water & salt mix. Even DI water top offs were barely able to keep the algae at bay, so I changed it to 100% DI water this time round. Scrubbed the rocks a little, and gave my tank a good bath. That's also one of the main things I like about nano tanks: you can literally carry it to a kitchen sink and give it a thorough scrubbing. I'm not very hardworking on water changes, usually about 3 weeks once. I dun feed that much, so less contamination. 3. I bought both the tank and the light quite some time back, so I can't really remember exactly how much... I think its about S$50 for the custom tank and S$20+ for the 11W PL light. I just changed the tube as it has been with me for a long time. I was also pleasantly surprised that even under such lightings, my corals weren't struggling for lights. Perhaps its the right choice, since most dun require that much light. I have a timer set from "Sunrise" 8am (time that I start work) to "Sunset" 5pm (an indicator its time to prepare to leave for home ) I came across a site that custom makes acrylic tanks. You might wanna give them a try. Here's the link: Iaquatic Was thinking of changing this into a slightly bigger nano (1.5Ft cube), but still seeking my boss'es approval.

The whole setup is pretty much low in cost compared to the big guys out there. Being an office nano, temp is taken care of. Distilled water top offs have been done manually. I was thinking of an auto top off system, but its like a huge thing for such a small tank. I dose a capful of 5 in 1 coral food once or twice weekly (depending if there's a water change during the week), and an occasional cyclopeeze pinch. Pls feel free to post your comments! Still plenty to learn from all the "old birds" here.

Since it is an office tank, I have to care for their feeding needs during weekends and whenever I'm on leave. Thank God for technology! With this auto feeder, I can leave the office in peace...

The culprit in action!

Sand on top of my rics...

Flame goby. This guy keeps staring at his own reflection... flaring and challenging his own image all day long.

Now for the inhabitants: Check out the shy guy...

More rics. I may need to shift this group. Too close to the hammers... Notice 2 mouths on the second pic? Hope it splits soon!

My coco worms. Love them. They look like twin cannons firing in my tank!

Hammer. Was my 1st coral when I set up this tank. Been 6 months already, and doing quite fine.

I ever posted a question on the differences of Yumas and rics, but never got any reply. Can someone ID this for me? Looks like a yuma to me...

A random piece that floated away...

Red mushies.

This guy got detached and fell behind the rock. Need to place him somewhere better.

Probably one of my fav corals.

Btw, that's one of the hermits taking a break there.

Some close up shots: I'm not sure what type of zoa is this. Can anyone ID for me?

My skimmer is placed at the back compartment with the return pump. Kinda "squeezy" there. Thought of getting a hang-on skimmer. The lifestock is listed above. I change the filter wool whenever it turns brown. Hardly touched the bio media, since I dun wanna disturb the "beneficial bacteria" inside. Temp is around 24 - 25 deg C, 24/7 (my office is a segment off the production floor).

LS: Flame Goby x1 2 Spot Goby x1 Cleaner shrimp x1 Electric blue legged hermit crab x2 Coco worms x2 Tube worm x1 Zoanthid (I'm not sure of the ID) x1 Red mushies x2 Hammer coral x1 Rics x10 Green Yuma (I think) x1

My first FTS.

I can't find any semi decent skimmers that could fit into the back compartment, so I had to make do with a cheap china brand wood diffuser skimmer. If anyone has any good recommendations, pls let me know. The little hang-on filter keeps the surface of the water clean. I'm only using 11W PL lights (1 white 1 blue), so clean water surface is important.

A simple return pump. Budget stuff...

Back view with the filter compartment. Filled with bio-home, ceramic rings for bio filter, and filter wool for mechanical filter.

Top view

Dimensions: 12" x 12" x 10"