Guillz's DIY 15g

[Guillz]

I've had a few tanks before this one (Biocube 8 & 29 (SOLD TO FUND THIS TANK), and currently a DIY 5g AIO recently converted to frag tank) and never made an attempt to journal any of them so this time around I thought I'd give it a shot. More so for my own reference but it doesn't hurt to have others input and maybe even help others along the way.

 

This tank build started around the end of January when I picked up the tank from a lfs where the owner was going to use it as a sump due to it being in pretty bad shape (acrylic was scratched on ever inch of the tank). For some reason I just had to have the tank and convinced him to sell it to me and so the build began. I went through a few sanding and buffing sessions and managed to get the tank looking like new again minus 2/3 small but deep scratches. I then had to drill and make and overflow box and durso so I could plumb into the sump. A DIY ADA'ish stand was made to fit the tanks dimensions and last came the DIY LED fixture.

 

As it stands now the tank has been up and running for a little over 2 months and is doing great. The LED's are working out better than expected, I have them on my 5g but just the standard NW & RB. I went Full Spectrum on this fixture with CW NW RB B TQ DR UV with the blues and uv on one dimmable channel and the rest on the other. The only downside is the color in this tank is more on the white side even with a 2:1 blue to white ratio due to the fact that the DR RB and TQ make a crisp white but the color has grown on me and I really like it now. It still has a hint of blue which I think is why I haven't fully disliked it and the colors of corals are more vibrant than just the white and blue combo.

 

LIVESTOCK

• 2 MISBAR BLACK CLOWNS
  
• CLEANER SHRIMP
  
• CUC
  
• LOOKING FOR ANOTHER FISH BUT HAVN'T DECIDED ON WHAT YET
  

 

CORALS

• GREEN/PURPLE TIP FROGSPAWN
  
• PULSATING XINIA
  
• CHRISTMAS CLOVES
  
• FRUIT LOOPS
  
• 3 UNKNOWN ZOAS
  
• GREEN/PURPLE ACRO
  
• GREEN/PURPLE RIM MONTI CAP
  
• RED MONTI CAP
  
• GREEN BIRDSNEST
  
• PINK BIRDSNEST
  
• GSP
  
• RICORDEAS (PINK&PURPLE/GREEN/BLUE/YELLOW&PURPLE)
  
• GREEN STAGHORN
  
• DUNCAN
  

 

EQUIPMENT

• SEMI-DIY 15 ACRYLIC TANK
  
• 10G AGA DIY SUMP
  
• DIY LED FIXTURE W/ HANGING KIT
  
• CPR SKIMMER FROM BIOCUBE 29
  
• RIO 1700 RETURN PUMP
  
• 2 KORALIA HYDOR NANO 425
  

 

FTS (5/12/12)

 

BUFFING SESH

 

BULKHEADS IN

 

TANK ON STAND FRAME

 

SETTING UP (INDENTS IN CARPET ARE FROM MY BIOCUBE 29 STAND SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE SIZE COMPARISON)

 

END OF CYCLE (ONLY HAD A PAR38 AT THE TIME BUT IT WORKED OUT FOR THE CYCLE)

 

INITIAL SET UP (NO LED HOUSING YET)

 

PLANNED LOGO FOR LED HOUSING (HOUSING IS ACRYLIC AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAND BLASTED AND PAINTED BLACK TO MATCH THE STAND BUT IT DIDN'T QUITE WORK OUT THE WAT I INTENDED AND I ENDED UP JUST SAND BLASTING IT, WILL REMAKE IT AGAIN WHEN THE FALL SEMESTER STARTS AND I CAN USE THE SHOP AT SCHOOL)

 

FULL SET UP

 

FULL SET UP INTERIOR

 

LTS

 

RTS

 

CLEANER SHRIMP

 

DUNCANS

 

RIC "GARDEN"

[hcsceo]

Awesome. More pics please

 

I like photobucket. You can send the photos directly from your iPhone via email.

 

Steve

[Guillz]

Awesome. More pics please

 

I like photobucket. You can send the photos directly from your iPhone via email.

 

Steve

 

THANKS AND JUST EDITED AND ADDED PICS

[hcsceo]

Looks great! I've been trying to understand your overflow. Can you get a pic of it? It's very clean looking and is why I ask. On your stocking I'm not sure I'd add that third fish but if you do you might consider a pistol/goby combo. I'm fond of the yellow watchman. The other is the yellow clown goby. I think in both cases the streak of yellow would be cool. The clown goby is especially nice since he is normally found out on the open and is very small and shouldnt push your loading. However the symbiotic relationship of the pistol/goby is very cool to watch also. Great work!

 

Steve

[Pippin]

Do I see a use of Illustrator?

[jec11718]

do you have any other pics of your stand? I like the look of the build! thanks Josh

[dling]

If you dont mind me asking ,why could you not do this with the biocube 29. Seems like a lot of work getting the scratches out this one when you had a tank. You did a great job. I would like to do the same thing with my lights with the hanging set up.

[Guillz]

Thanks for the comments and checking the tank out guys.

 

Looks great! I've been trying to understand your overflow. Can you get a pic of it? It's very clean looking and is why I ask. On your stocking I'm not sure I'd add that third fish but if you do you might consider a pistol/goby combo. I'm fond of the yellow watchman. The other is the yellow clown goby. I think in both cases the streak of yellow would be cool. The clown goby is especially nice since he is normally found out on the open and is very small and shouldnt push your loading. However the symbiotic relationship of the pistol/goby is very cool to watch also. Great work!

 

Steve

 

The overflow is basically a big external overlow box. I didn't want to take asay from the internal space of the tank and I'm not a big fan of the obstructive internal boxes. I drilled holes in the top back panel of the tank and glued the box to the back with weld-on. It added 3-1/2" to the back of the tank but to me it was worth it. As far as another fish I'm still unsure what I'll do but have been thinking of a goby or blenny. I'll add pics tomorrow, out all day for mother's day.

 

Do I see a use of Illustrator?

 

Yes you do, I'm an architecture major so I use multiple programs and Illustrator is used a lot.

 

do you have any other pics of your stand? I like the look of the build! thanks Josh

 

What kind of pics are you looking for? I have a Digital model if you use any modeling software, just a thought.

 

If you dont mind me asking ,why could you not do this with the biocube 29. Seems like a lot of work getting the scratches out this one when you had a tank. You did a great job. I would like to do the same thing with my lights with the hanging set up.

 

Thats a good question! lol to be honest I had the cube for 2 years and an 8 for 2 before that and was just over them. It sounds corny but when I saw this tank the first time I had the vision of how nice it could be, the dimensions just felt right and after my buddy(the lfs owner) said he'd sell it to me for $15 I took it without thinking. It all worked out though, it's def a tank that I'll have for a very long time. The lights are easy even if you have limited diy skills. Although I did have a set back when I blew my whole white string when I plugged in the driver when I thought I swithed the timer outlet off so there went a good $50. Other than that it went well.

[Singlefin]

Very nice setup. What is your led recipe? And are you happy with the final color?

[Guillz]

Very nice setup. What is your led recipe? And are you happy with the final color?

 

 

Thanks, I'm running 10 RB 2 B 4 CW 1 NW 2 DR 2TQ 3TV. I really like the color now, at first it was a little too white because I prefer more of a 20K so the colors pop but after adding more coral I found that there was actually a lot more pop under this array than my other 2:1 NW RB. Especially with oranges reds. The one thing I wasn't prepared for was the "ocean coral white" effect from the RB TQ DR combo whitch is why the tank is so white. Overall I'm happy with it though.

[Singlefin]

Does the OCW make it really white? What's the "effect"?

[Guillz]

Does the OCW make it really white? What's the "effect"?

It makes it a crisp white but it doesn't over power or drown out the colors it actually helps bring out a lot of color without having to have a 20K look. I'll get a pic of some of the orange corals I have to show you.

[Guillz]

Not much to update other than I picked up a fire fish a few weeks back, I wasn't too sure about getting one but she's become very active after being bullied by the clowns for a while. Everyone is getting along and the clowns are actively looking for a good spot to "attempt" to spawn but we'll see how that goes. I need some help ID'ing these zoos that I've had for a while and have colored up super nice.

 

unknown zoas

 

Firefish