New 37-Gallon Special Order Oceanic Show Nano-Reef Upgrade Project

[OscarBeast]

Well here is my new "not so nano" nano-reef. I had been seeking a tank that would be perfectly lit by a single MH bulb as an upgrade for my current 10-gallon nano. The 37-gallon Oceanic Show fit the bill. It is 24½ x 18½ x 21 ½. This makes it very similar to an AGA 25-gallon tank except it is wider. So it holds more water than your typical nano, but takes up about the same space. So really it holds too much water to be considered an actual nano-reef.

This is a standard Oceanic tank, but I wanted cherry trim, so it had to be special ordered and I had to freaking wait for it to be made and shipped from Oceanic (there weren't any at the distributor’s warehouse). I guess not too many people have this tank made with a cherry finish, but I wanted mine to look like the cherry finished 30-gallon cubes.

To save money and retain my Oceanic warrantee, I also ordered an Oceanic unfinished pine stand. I stained it to be a close match to the cherry trim on the tank, and then I varnished it with a marine spar varnish. It isn't oak, but it still turned out pretty nice.

Here is the tank and stand when I first got it:


It will be lit with a 250 watt MH system and I am going to use my existing PC setup for actinic supplementation. It was bought used for $75. I am however now thinking I want just a 175 watt MH though. I don't really think I need to burn the extra power.


I have 65Lbs of LR and a 5" DSB using the all holy SD sand and just a little bit of CC since a little was still in my 10-gallon. The LR was cured for about 4 months in my 75-gallon tank. The Southdown was the YardRight packaging.



Well, here it is on the 24th of July with the finished stand. I still lack a canopy though:


Here is a picture of it on the 25th with the 5" DSB installed and the LR added. The lighting is still my old PCs that were over my 10-gallon that have been "rigged" to sit on top of the tank.


And here it is on the 31 all nice and clear with some of the livestock spread around. I still need to move some around as a lot of it is till bunched up or hidden. It took me a while to aquascape. I wanted to get it just how I wanted it. My 10-gallon really wasn't aquascaped that great and I felt I had to make up for it by creating two nice pillars and an arch across the middle of the tank. The middle is designed in hopes of holding a nice big Rose Anemone with a couple of Black Clowns.

[blown63chevy]

Looks good so far. I like the way you did the stand. Being a woodworker, I think you did an awsome job at getting the wood to match. Question for you and the group. Being new to the sight and all, I'm setting up a 150 gallon tank and was wondering what the sand is that you are using? It looks like something I could get at the local Home Depot which would be way cheapier than buying 200 lbs of live sand to fill the tank. Any special requirments to look for in an alternate sand or special cleaning instructions before putting in the tank? I assume that you add some live sand to the top of this dry sand. Thanks and good luck with it.

[hcp28]

It looks like something I could get at the local Home Depot which would be way cheapier than buying 200 lbs of live sand to fill the tank.
I assume that you add some live sand to the top of this dry sand.

You hit the nail on the head, no pun intended.
South Down is the sand and they sell it at home depot as play sand. It is the same thing used in carib sea. It works just like regular dry sand and you will have to add live sand to get it started but it is a lot cheaper than buying sand from the LFS. oh and WELCOME TO REEFLAND!!

Henry

[OscarBeast]

Thx!

This sand is just a CaCO3 based sand (rather than normal brown silica based play sand). It is a white “coral” sand. It is sold at a lot of home improvement stores (or anywhere else that might have sandbox/play sand) as "tropical" play sand. Very cheap stuff if you can find it in your area. No need to rinse. Just dump it in and put some good live sand on top.

[blown63chevy]

Thanks for the info. I'll check Home Depot next trip down there. No problems with Silicia or phosophates in it?

[OscarBeast]

No problems with Silicia or phosophates in it?

Not that I have ever heard of.

People use Southdown all the time. Do a quick search on any of the major reef forums for Southdown and you will come up with a ton of information. Southdown was the company that made these, though the bags vary. The ones I have are marked YardRight but are still made by Southdown. From what I understand, Southdown has sold out to another company called OldCastle or RockCastle or NewCastle, or something like that. I can't remember right off hand. Anyway, it is the same stuff, but the reefing community knows this sand by the name Southdown.

[Barry N.]

Looking good my man.

Barry