[TheReefDaVinci]

TheReefDaVinci's 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

Hello everyone, I have always wanted a large aquarium. However, I currently live in an apartment and until I purchase a home I cannot force myself to build a large reef aquarium that could possibly need to be broken down due to some unforeseen circumstances that are beyond my control. So I decided that with my current situation a small 20 gallon nano aquarium would have to suffice. But that doesn't mean that I have to skimp on the quality and performance of the equipment that I purchase. So please feel free to engage in this thread as comments, suggestions, and criticisms are always a welcomed factor in building a great aquarium.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer

I have had numerous recommendations from people that a Protein Skimmer would do nothing more then take up already limited realty in an 20 gallon aquarium measuring on 12.5 Inches in Height x 12.5 Inches in Depth x 30 Inches in Length and that water changes every 2 or 3 days would suffice. However, I feel that a Protein Skimmer is a necessity and would suite me better if I included one in this aquarium setup as I intend to hold sensitive SPS Corals. As a personal rule of thumb I believe that you should get the most efficient model protein skimmer that your budget allows.

I have personally used a Tunze Nano DOC 9002 in the past with great success so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to stay in the family. I contacted Tony at Reef Exotics in Long Island since he is my number one person for gathering all equipment manufactured by Tunze and has provided me great service with every transaction and had him send me a Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer. Many people I'm sure many would consider overkill for my setup since the Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer is rated for aquariums up to 264 gallons of total water volume. However, it's relatively small dimensions of 4.9 Inches in Length x 4.4 Inches in Depth x 16.9 Inches in Height and low power consumption of only 21 watts of electricity made it an ideal choice for my setup. It is even equipped to allow ozone to be equipped.

The protein skimmer is installed on the rear right side of the aquarium using the provided clamps and rails. It actually uses up a very small area of real estate within the aquarium. The foam production height can be altered easily by adjusting a small air intake screw located at the neck of the protein skimmer. One observation that I have noticed is that I will have very dense foam production for a short period of time such as around feeding time after adding food to the aquarium then the dense foam head is almost non existant but the water is absolutely clear! I'm thinking that the protein skimmer may be so efficient that foam production only occurs when their is dissolved organic matter exist to be skimmed? I'm not sure but that is just a theory I'm going on.










Photographs - Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer installed in my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium

[TheReefDaVinci]

Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer Skimmate Production.

The Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer has been running on my 20 gallon aquarium for its 3rd week now and I can say that I am extremely happy with the performance of the unit. I had a bit of a scare when the unit stopped producing foam within the reaction chamber during it's first week of operation which lead me to contact Tunze for some troubleshooting assistance. However, after going over the details of my setup Tunze stated that the unit is extremely oversized for my aquarium (approximately 13.2 times more efficient then necessary). This was consistant with personal observations as the foam head would return after events such as feeding, placing my hands within the aquarium and even after my inhabitants pooping. I have not personally observed any drawbacks from this over skimming but I can definitely say that the water is clearer than in any of my previous setups. That is definitely something to note since I do not have any type of mechanical filtration in place.






Photographs - Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer skimmate production in my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

YouTube - Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer Skimmate Production.
Movie - Tunze DOC 9010 Protein Skimmer operating in my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

[TheReefDaVinci]

20 Gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium

I'm sure everyone has been wanting to see photographs of the full aquarium and I finally received my new camera so here it is. I know that it doesn't look like much currently but I definitely have plans in place to transform this ordinary 20 gallon into something amazing. Just give me a little time.



Photograph - My 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium in the beginning stages of it's life.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Tunze Osmolator 3155 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System

One of the first issues that I had to find a solution for early on was rapid evaporation of water from the aquarium. On average the aquarium evaporated around 0.50 gallon of water a day which was enough to increase the salinity of the aquarium to an undesirable level. So I decided that I required an Automatic Freshwater Top Off System in order to stabalize the rapid swings in salinity due to the evaporation of water from the aquarium. I turned to Tony at Reef Exotics once again for my purchase and ordered a Tunze Osmolator 3155 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System for my aquarium.

In my personal opinion this is one of the top Automatic Freshwater Top Off Systems that you can purchase. The main sensor is an electronic eye the controls the water level and is uneffected by waves or even a small snail crawling around it. The unit also comes with a safety float switch to prevent accidental overflow of water from the aquarium which is a definite plus. I originally set up this system using a 2.5 gallon Freshwater Resevior but eventually upgraded to a 10 gallon Freshwater Resevior in order to prolong the period the time between refilling the Freshwater Resevior. All in all I have been able to maintain a constaint water level as well as salinity level in my aquarium.






Photographs - My Tunze Osmolator 3155 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System operating on my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Canon Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera

Well everyone knows that I like to be as detailed oriented as possible and why not keep that tradition going into my photograph hobby as well. So I purchased a Canon Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera boasting 15.1 Megapixels with DIGIC 4 Processor and Full 1080p High Definition Recording. So needless to say I'm a little happy right now!



Photograph - My new Canon Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Custome Wooden Cabinetry

I wanted an aquarium in my bedroom/office and even thought it's there it stick out like a sore thumb. My bedroom/office is Blue with White Furniture, so I decided to build my own Custom Cabinetry to enclose the aquarium in that I could paint to match the furniture in the bedroom/office as wel as to hide equipment and provide an area for mounting/hiding equipment in. This project will be down slowly so I can have time to fabricate all the pieces necessary.





Photographs - The start of my Custom Cabinetry project for my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Custom Wooden Cabinetry

I managed to squeeze in a little more time into the construction of my wooden cabinetry yesterday. So I completed the construction of the side pillers that would cover the corners of the aquarium. I always had a difficult time cleaning the clear silicone free of algae but over a period time it become extremely difficult. So these corners keep that out of sight. I ran out of wood so I wll be heading out to Home Depot for some more and hopefully I can get the canopy completed this weekend.



Photograph - My Custom Wooden Cabinetry for my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

[TheReefDaVinci]

Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus)

Since I have not completed the Custom Wooden Cabinetry for the aquarium I have been having a bit of an algae issue since my aquarium is positioned right in front of a bedroom window. So I thought that this issue required a very particular resolution. So I went to a House of Fins in Greenwich, Connecticut and purchased a Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus) to address the aglae issue and provide some company to my lonely Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion Ocellaris). Unfortunately he is underweight and on the smaller side since he was housed in an aquarium that contains no live rock with algae for him to graze on. I'm hoping that his new home will provide him a more then adequate amount of food. He was drip acclimate to my aquarium for a period of over 2 hours. He is a bit shy and has taken refuge within the rocks. Hopefully in the next few days his shyness will wear off.



Photograph - House of Fins in Greenwich, Connecticut.








Photographs - My Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus) being acclimate to my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.

YouTube - Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus) Acclimation to my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.
Movie - My Starry Blenny (Salarias Ramosus) being acclimate to my 20 gallon Vitruvian Nano Aquarium.