Tentacles Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 hey everyone Ive got my 2g up and running with the ac20, a topfin 25watt heater keeping it right around 79-80degrees, and a 20watt bulb. Ive had the water running for about 2 and a half days and Ill be heading out to the store today to pick up some rock and sand now that my levels are good. Ive taken about 50 hydrometer readings, and its settled down for the past 24 hours to giving me one constant reading, after giving it its first top off this morning Its staying at right about 1.024, sometimes dips to 23 a bit, but much better than when I had it first running. I put a blue background on it too to hide the filter and mask the heater alittle bit, we'll see how that looks once I get some sand and rock in it. tell me what you think and send some suggestions, im all for them. Ben Link to comment
Tentacles Posted September 30, 2006 Author Share Posted September 30, 2006 One question: what is a good cycling agent for once I get the sand and rock in? Ive seen alot of people say they use a piece of shrimp, what all does everyone use? Thanks. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 i never used anything in my tank but my uncle said a dead fish would be good. Link to comment
irishtexan Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Both my tanks have cycled under 2 weeks with adding anything to aid the cycle. I know when my cycle is complete because I see a huge amount of pods. texx Link to comment
Reef Casa Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I always wanted to go smaller, but maybe I can just enjoy yours instead. Not sure if that light is going to work?.. And I seeing heaters but what can you do. I wanna see your how you decide to aquascape it Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yea i had to order my rock so Ill get to the scaping soon. What do you mean about the heater, and what might be my problem with the light? Thanks! Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 Well i got my rock and sand in and set it up. I guess I have about 2 or 2.5 lbs of rock and 4 lbs of live sand in there. I changed bulbs because the other one was way too hot and brought the water temp up and I removed the heater for now until it gets real cold outside. Anyone know of some tiny heater mine will have some trouble fitting in there in the winter. The rock came with a bit of seaweed or something on it, just leave it on and let the cleanup crew eat it later? Any suggestions for anything, rock scaping in particular, I still have 2 more big pieces left to use, then ill be giving away the left overs. Let me know what you think. Sorry my camera sucks. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 Well the tank has been happy and clear and lot of stuff is building up on the rock-the cleanup crew will have a feast for them- ill try to get a nice camera to get some good pics sometime soon. The rock was cured and the water was filtering for awhile, so Im gunna go out and get a ph tester and some ammonia nitrite and nitrate testers and do it at about two weeks and see where we are at. Ive found 2 hitch hikers so far, a very small featherduster and an exceptionally bigger one I am assuming- he hasnt come out of his hole yet just moves in and out a bit everyday...and then theres some little critter, very small shrimp or something. Anyway its coming along pretty well salt level is good, topoffs and changes are all good. What does anyone think, suggestions comments? Thanks Link to comment
tinyreef Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 good start! try finding a heater that can fit in the hob (or get a bigger hob). that way you remove that aesthetic distraction. it looks a lot better without the heater in the back. sometimes you can't do anything about it (like mine) but i always try to tidy it up to only sand and rock. if you can, put the thermometer in the hob too or use one of the coralife digitals, i.e. just a small probe. think about your coral placement and horizontal surface area. your rockscape is interesting but does it leave you with sufficient or appropriate horizontal space for frags and such. crevices/crannies are also good for fitting in frag pieces. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 One question for everyone with a pico, how often do you actually break the tank down completely and clean it all out and then put everything back? How helpful do you find it? I understand the necessity of a clean tank but wouldnt keeping the filter clean and having a good cleanup crew and letting the sand and rock do its natural job be enough? Thanks. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 One question for everyone with a pico, how often do you actually break the tank down completely and clean it all out and then put everything back? How helpful do you find it? I understand the necessity of a clean tank but wouldnt keeping the filter clean and having a good cleanup crew and letting the sand and rock do its natural job be enough? Thanks. i dont think anyone does this. just keep up woth ur water changes and scrape the walls with w/e gets on them. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 yeah for sure, it isn't a gold fish in a jar on top of the fridge that gets fed a handful of flakes every day. These little guys don't need to be taken down or torn apart unless something went really wrong or you are moving it all to another tank. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 One more question, did anyones live rock get ugly and lose some of its color since it got covered in algae and bacteria and whatnot. I just put a piece of rock I got in the same shipment in the tank to keep it alive until I get it to someone, and its got alot more color than the others do, but the others were like that at one point, that ok? Thanks. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 the color of the rock will fade if there is not enough light and calcium in the water to maintain it. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 the color of the rock will fade if there is not enough light and calcium in the water to maintain it. It doesnt have anything to do with the fact that its covered in san colored growth? Would that get eaten away once i get my cleanup crew? Thanks Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 well ive put together a hood out of a cardboard from an apple keyboard box. for now it will do-its quite sturdy and doeasnt get wet at all, but id eventually like to use it as a guide for building a wooden one. the only issue i have is of course is heat issues. how does everyone deal with these, i know alot of people use cpu fans from old computers, how did you wire them up, other options? thanks Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 well ive put together a hood out of a cardboard from an apple keyboard box. for now it will do-its quite sturdy and doeasnt get wet at all, but id eventually like to use it as a guide for building a wooden one. the only issue i have is of course is heat issues. how does everyone deal with these, i know alot of people use cpu fans from old computers, how did you wire them up, other options? thanks i wanna see a pic of your cardboard!! haha. you can look at my thread of my 2.5 for pix on how i set up my fan. im using a fan from my old Aquapod that i dont have set up anymore. the fan says this: DC 12V 0.18A my dad said to look around the house for an adapter plug that has an output of 12v or greater and something to do with mA. i found this one and used it to power one 12VDC 500mA. im thinking of adding another one of the same fans but right now im staying at 80 with one fan sucking air out of the canopy. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 a PC fan will run with almost any power supply 7, 9, 12v but it will only run at its full speed with 12v. If you re running several fans or adding LEDs to the mix you will need to keep an eye on the mA that the power supply gives out. Radio Shack or the Source carries them if you can't find them around the home. 500mA will easily powere a few fans. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 i wanna see a pic of your cardboard!! haha. i agree on the haha part here it is, i dont get why my camera makes the pics so huge i tried to make it smaller, the quality just goes away completely when they get so huge, so sorry about the camera and pic number 2 for the huge picture that takes up an entire post's space id like to try to get a wooden one built sometime when my fall break comes up, but im sure heat will be an issue then too, i looked at the hog-hood guys stuff and its great, but i dont have 40 or 50 bucks to throw at one right now. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 that cardboard box looks very professional. looks better than what i was expecting. good job. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 you that cardboard looks preety darn good, too bad it will probably eventually get soft and mushy Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 yep itll get nasty, im gunna use it as the mold for when i try to put a wooden one together Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 anyone have suggestions as to the best type of wood to use for a home made hood and base? did you woodglue them or staple-gun them or nail them or a combination of these? any acquired tips appreciated. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 idk what king of wood mines made of but the guy who built it used both wood and glue, and some hinges. make sure to treat your wood or it will warp like mine a little bit. i have light leaking from the fron tof my hood cuz the wood curved up. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 all of mine are made out of 3/4" pine. My first one is about 5-6 years old now and the outside is stained and the inside is painted blue. It is over my 33g fw tank. It has never warped or made any movement. The next one I made was just stained inside and out and is a little over a year old, it is also still straight. I used to just nail them the old fashioned way but I now have a nail gun that I use to drive brad nails or staples depending on the job. I used staples on my pico canopy. Then you just use some wood filler to fill in any holes and sand and paint/stain. Not much to it but having the tools really helps. Link to comment
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