# Nano Reef



## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

How hard and expensive would it be to set up a new 10 gal nano-cube reef tank as a desk top tank. Instead of live rock I would make a DIY Foam rock structure and then and soft mushrooms and polyps to that. Will this work and could I do it for less than $200?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

In order for it to work properly you'd probably have to spend $200 dollars and it would have to be topped off once a day, water parameters would have to be checked once a day, and your stock list would be very limited as far as corals and invertabrates and fish. I would highly recommend getting a bigger tank such as a 40 gallon. You don't even need 2X the amount of money for more than you could put in your 10 gallon.


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## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

I looked today and am going to see if I can get a 50 gal. I would make a DIY sump, prefilter, refugium, stand and 3D bckground. I was wondering what a pump that could be used in the sump would cost and where I could find acrilic to make my prefilter. Also I was wondering if I could attach coral to my 3d background, and if so then couldn't I just make most of my basic live rock setup out of the foam?


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Personally i wouldn't. I would take this route though:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=725727


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## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

I am going to make the vertical and some of the bottom out of foam and then look at a few pounds of live rock, my possible tank placement is all on top of standard 2X4 contruction that I am worried about weight and want to go bigger than my 10 gal. I'll make a topo of my plans then post it.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

what do you mean ontop of 2x4 construction, if you want to go bigger, build a bigger stand, i can show you tons of ways to support any tank,


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Why do you want to use foam? Have you any idea what sort of hassle that will cause? ( while not doing the filtration job of rock )


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## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

No I am talking about 2X4 house structure on a second floor not stand structure foam is another way to save weight


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Weight or no, you can't use foam in the place of rock. The various critters will chew it up something awful, filling your tank with little foamy bits at best, and killing everything at worst, and that's assuming it even holds together when wet.


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## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

I am going off the DIY thread for aquarium backgrounds that includes a hard covering over the foam. I asked my brother and he said that he once actually walked in on the owner of his LFS making one out of a caulking material and a silicone cover to put in the display aquarium


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

yeah I've heard of that method... still doesn't do the good things rock does though.


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## madman3000 (Mar 29, 2006)

I would use a half and half. foam for the first layer and background then live rock on top of that, I am still brain storming the rock config


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