ok well i was all for the stock contest until i put my lights on...it just doesnt cover it right..so for now i have 18w of light but will eventually upgrade to 36w.....anyway here is a picture of the equipment:



and here is my entry picture:


and here is the tank half filled:

and here is the FTS..as of hour 1..day 1:


the equipment is:
1 coralife mini (18w) will be upgrading to two of the in a custom hood..alreday have an extra one
1 aquaclear 20
1 50w All Glass Aquarium heater..(cant find 25w anywhere)
2.5g perfecto (black silicone)
Livesand from established tank
3lbs. of uncured LR
one 3/4w moon light
Livestock:
hitchhiker corals...called cup coral..or sumthin like that
one hitchhiker macro
shaving brush macro
caulerpa prolifera...and thats it for now

ohh yes and i forgot to add on my equipment list a fan..is the smallest one i could find that i wouldnt have to go and do wiring to an ac adapter....it comes witha plug and stuff...its for the coralife lights...anywway....i am going to do a macro/shrooms (including rics..yumas..etc)/zoanthid tank maybe 1 LPS....anyway i want a more open look.....and their are future stocking plans for this but i am goin to keep that on the down low...
ill give you a hint though..it wont be any cleaner shrimp
and
I HATE SEXY SHRIMP AND POM POM CRABSSS..!!!!!

I didn't even think they mayed the the 2.5g black silacone.

at one of the FS's i go to they probably have every single tank there...they have 30g XH (extra high) 20l 20h 15 15h....20xh...anything from oceanic and aga they will deff. have...but there was no maker's name on my tank...no peaice of paper saying the maker or anything...so i assumed it was perfect....i guess not...could be aga....but i dont really know..it was more of an assumption....anyway it has to same dimensions...but when i filled it up for water leak test it was only 2g. does nayone know how to figure out the tank volume...like do they know the math to do it....can you please tell me..thanks in advance..

i dont see the photos

never mind. they loaded. photobucket is just the slowest server ever.

Some one else did a leak test on his "2.5g" and he said it only held 2 gallons also.

whew..gil you scared me...sorry man...maybe its ur computer because for me everybody's photos load up fast...well than maybe it's my computer...lol..anyway
travis that was me..i talked about it in the other thread before the rules came out...lol...hmmm..the water volume calculator on www.garf.org said its 2g also..hmmm thats strange

lol, oops.

Well, I guess it's like the NC 12g is actually 8 gallons?

Fishfreak, my friend, are you sure you meant "on the down low" and not "on the low down"???

no...i meant on the down low...is on the low down the way you say it??? where are u from...well i have heard both of those so i guess its just a metter of what you like most...or maybe im wrong or maybe im right..who knows

You can do a simple search for "on the down low" on Amazon.com and I bet you'll be very surprised.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...7219046-8778417

OMG! I googled that! I had no idea!

weird. we say "down low" all the time.

Looking very good so far ; I'm having a major problem with mine right now. I can't keep the sand from blowing around and then going up my AC and stopping it from running. Then, my sand is all clumped together .

well....i keep the flow turned down to almost the lowest it can go..but not quite the middle either.. and it hits my LR and then kinda makes a nice flow through the tank...IMO having it on full power is just to much flow for a standard 2.5g but i think b.c. the minibow is taller....it wont make as big a deal for them...they can have the full flow

Hm...I wonder how my AC 70 (300 GPH) will do? good think I won't have any sand

I'm thinking of doing a no sand tank at this point.

Click on the link in my Signature to see my tank for the Contest. I am using egg crate for the bottum.

ohh yeah travis....well if you click on my pic in my sig than it will take you to MY pico ....... stop advertising on MY thread ...im just kidding...i dont really care b.c. if they are lookin into the pico contest then they are probably going to look at yours..but i way (cough:tigahboy: cough) and a few others....lol..oh well

Sorry to intrude on this thread but I just set-up a 2.5 with a millenium 1000 and I made an overflow for the filter
keeps the sand from going in and clogging up the filter
i made it out of a 100pack CD-R spindle case
just an idea for you guys
I'll try to post a pic in my gallery
Edit: ok pics are up in my gallery

wll those pics up there stink so im going to be adding some more pics tonight (like in 20mins) b.c. the tank has cleared up and stuff... so things look alot better..

here is a better FTS...the water is clear in this one...im lovin the look ..i dont want the cycle to start..i hate diatoms....grrrr:


ohh yes and that fuzzy stuff on the rocks is die off....this rock must be fresh from being shipped to LFS b.c. i have never seen so mush on rock...except at the other fs which sells turf live rock

The AC150 impeller fits into the AC300 if you're looking to reduce flow.

-David

He's not using a AC 300, it's too small to be one lol.

ok well an update i got a new macro algea..its red and looks like a fern....well ill post pics in a sec... (i have to load them first)

new macro..anyone got an ID??? thanks in advance

P.S. it take a little while to load....i had to host on tinypic.com because photobucket isnt workin

anyone at all know what this macro is????/

try posting it in the id forum

Its L x W x H divided by 231 to find the gallons. I measured my 2.5 aga and did the fomula and it came out to be 2.49. Does perfecto have the same dimensions of the AGA?

anyone know what this is????? please...someone....well if no one gives me an ID then fine...it wil be called the red fern macro.......anyway..wheresthe competition..not alot of people have LR in their tanks yet...o well..i dont care...gives me a head start.....

Haha, maybe we are spending alittle but more time planning

well maybe i did that WAY ahead of time....

How are you figuring out how hot your tank is running?

I was talking about the AC150 impeller in response to this post.

i believe the gallons is estimated from the measurements of the exterior of the glass, and also the hood (in some cases). i saw this on another forum

well an update on today....the tank has already started what seems to be a diatom bloom....its all over the sand and a little tiny bit on the rocks....hopefully it will cycle quickly b.c. some people have LR that is already cured..and aged...

wow, you certainly wasted no time getting started.

I haven't even bought anything except the light yet.

looks good so far.

i like that red fern algae. that name works for me

yes but im thinking of just taking LR from my other tank....and this stuff i dont know what to do with it yet but w/e i dont feel like waiting for the cycle...im alreday getting impatirent...ut oh......anyway i got a free frag the other day and i am diciding between 3 things to choose from for my stocking...i am still at odds...but w/e i dont know...anyway i will not be doing any other mods..i just went into the custom cat. b.c i wanted freedom...what if i want more light down the road...and their is SO SO SO SO SO manny people in the STOCK category but not that many in the OPEN/Custom cat. so i guess i does and it doesnt give me a better chance .....another reason is b.c. i want to see how well i do towards the big guys..like Tigah and travis and them.... Tigah seems to have alot in store for his tank....but i am in this for the fun too not jsut the prizes

Why do you think it's weird you say it all the time?

well the zoanthids in my sig are either diying from some kind of disease/fungus or their is a pest eating them...i think it is a fungus b.c. my cleaner shrimps and my fish keep picking around them near the base...anyway i cant even get a good frag so i was planning to put these in my pico....but i guess not....but an update on my pico

the Halmidea that came on the LR is coloring up while the "sargasum" is discoloring i dont know if this is a good thing or a bad thing...anyway can we have custom tanks in this??? like dif. dimensions....cause tigah seems to be doing that and if he is then i really want a cube tank...if i do go with a cube it will have starphire glass in the front and be really nice and clean..with like back chambers to hide stuff....it would be pretty cool...anyway il see how that goes but otherwise my shaving brush seems to be doing pretty well....about 1/5 or 1/4 of the base was nearlyt ripped/ate of by my hermits in my other tank..also this Caulerpa Prolifera is growing like a weed...it makes me a little nervous but w/e..... algea (the bad kind..not macro) ois taking over the rock and sand so the cycle has begun...anyway hurricane Wilma coming this weekend so hopefully i will be able to reply sincde i have laptops....does n ayone know if a hurricane can nock out the internet even thought we have a BIG generator that runs most of the house...i think the only ting it doesnt run is all of the A/C's only one of them..anyway thanks in advance

Josh

ok...nevermind...i just found out about not being able to have back chambers....ok so the scratch the cube idea,...oh well

hey fishfreak if you have a cable line the signal will be intermittent. so you may be able to use it but if the power goes out for the main cable hub the cable would be out so internet would be ou. i'm not sure about dsl and dial up though. I hope tampa doesnt get hit by this thing.

Best movie ever made good luck man

well an update for today.... diatoms have realy taken off....i added 4 dwarf blue leg hermits even though the tank is only a week old..it was try and make it throught the cycle or....get flusheddown the toilet or ....leave out of water till they suffocate...so i thought why notgive 'em a chance....anyway i got them b.c. the zoa's in my sig. had a fungus so i took it back to FS and got an acan. for it....and some orange mushrooms...and other green zoanthids....anyway....they have A HUGE clean up crew in EVERY tank so when you get some of there corals you always get either crabs..or various snails...anyway i didnt want to put them in my 30g....so the pico was the next best thing...they are eating all the diatoms off the floor...if they starteating my macro like my scarlet hermits did then they will have to go down the toilet...anyway thats abouot it for the update except i MIGHT get a custom tank made....dont like the dimensions or the color of the glass (wink wink...no green=a certain kind of glass which is very ) anyway thats it for now..

ok.....well at 1 in the mourning (now) i turned on the lights and there was these white bugs on the front of my glass and on the rocks...what where these??? could they be some kind of parasite to my coral??? are they coral eating bugs?? should i be concerned???

If they look like little white dots with legs hanging out, there copepods completly harmless fish food.

Free food man!!

it was a joke....i know what they are.... were you guys being serious???? if you where then: lol...i would lauph if someone entered a pico contest and then asked about pods...lol....

as an update...i almost bought more LR today...but i didnt...got a ricordea and some chateo instead (you never see chateo around here so i had to grab it while i could..) anyway...would coulda shoulda.....well... the crabs went dont the can...flushed em' they were wating my Red Fern Macro and my Sargassum (which by the looks of it...will die anyway but w.e...couldnt have them in my tank so..they went down the drain...and i gave them a chance...no one backstabs me

you should of put them in your aquaclear

ohh...that is a good idea....to bad i didnt think of that before...o well.....now i feel kinda bad but if you think about it how many hermit crabs probably die in horrible ways....probably allot

well last night at 11 o'clock this ANEMONE came out....i already ID'd him and he is one od these: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1703 so i think i wil research him and seee if they can become pest like...or their lighting requirments....anyway should i keep him on his own litle Bommie or should he go down the flusher.... or should i try hot lemon juice???? which one...he is kinda cool...anyone keep one of these before???? anyway....the halmidea is coloring up...very nicly and everything is doing finr.... picture to come of the Anemone...

EDIT: i looked at some pics and maybe it is Aptasia....i think it is kinda cool..can anyone help me ID this thing...pics soon