Streetsong's pico-de-guy-o

[rbaby]

+1

[streetsong]

Wow, you guys are very demanding . I accomplished quite a bit of work on this tank this weekend like drilling it for the return. I also divided my 2.5 AGA sump into 3 sections. The photo is pretty self-explanatory: The section on the left is the standpipe coming down from the tank. Heater and thermometer will also live in this chamber. Middle will be macro-algae. Chamber on the right will be return (right now I have a maxi-jet 900, but I have a whole box of pumps to choose from) and float switch for ATO. I have a stunner-strip mounted under the lamp until I get my Boost LED in the mail. The stock light is mounted on the acrylic divider in the sump (since the clamp is to small to fit on the plastic lip of the tank). The stock filter in the sump will house carbon and the stock cartridge. I am just waiting for silicone to cure then its time for water. I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday.

Comments? Suggestions?

[ReiningChick]

Looks great!! I love the stand and putting the lights in there makes it look like it was made for this purpose

[gupebreedr]

Wow, you guys are very demanding . I accomplished quite a bit of work on this tank this weekend like drilling it for the return. I also divided my 2.5 AGA sump into 3 sections. The photo is pretty self-explanatory: The section on the left is the standpipe coming down from the tank. Heater and thermometer will also live in this chamber. Middle will be macro-algae. Chamber on the right will be return (right now I have a maxi-jet 900, but I have a whole box of pumps to choose from) and float switch for ATO. I have a stunner-strip mounted under the lamp until I get my Boost LED in the mail. The stock light is mounted on the acrylic divider in the sump (since the clamp is to small to fit on the plastic lip of the tank). The stock filter in the sump will house carbon and the stock cartridge. I am just waiting for silicone to cure then its time for water. I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday.

Comments? Suggestions?

 

Wow Brandon, It looks great. I bet you can't wait to get that beast wet!

[streetsong]

Wow Brandon, It looks great. I bet you can't wait to get that beast wet!

 

Thanks, Rob! I am ready to get some water in this thing, for sure. All of my live-rock and water will come from my 76 gal. Besides a nice large rock that I have already picked out, I'm going to put some rubble in the sump; anything to add stability! I also made the last minute decision to paint the bottom (outside) of the tank. It was fairly scratched, so I'm hoping that the black paint will hide the scratches and give the tank a more sleek look since I'll be going bare-bottom.

 

Also, I just picked up a nice orange/green/purple Ricordea Yuma from the LFS. It will stay in my 29 gal. until this tank stabilizes. I'll put up a pic. once it opens up.

[streetsong]

I had a small setback last night. I added water and discovered two flaws with my design. 1- Having the standpipe outside the tank makes it hard to get a siphon started. 2- I am going to need a ball valve on my return line to the sump, because the flow was not matched by my Maxijet 900.

 

I'm thinking about drilling the tank for my return line tomorrow, but I really don't want to build an overflow box. I might just drill down about 1, 1/2" from the top of the tank. Any advice on what to do next would be very helpful!

[FlCandy]

So cool to see this coming together.

 

GL with drilling it!

[streetsong]

After some thought, I have decided to go ahead and drill the bottom of the tank and use the durso standpipe that I have already built. Since I have already painted my standpipe black, I am thinking about not having an overflow box since aesthetically, I think it will look fine. Any thoughts?

[streetsong]

Boy am I indecisive! Okay...I am going to drill the side and use my standpipe outside the tank so I won't have to cut a hole (and compromise the integrity) of my stand.

[streetsong]

Drilled....again! As I was drilling this hole, I thought for sure I was going to crack it (judging from the frightening sounds that my drill was making), but I made it all the way through perfectly. Tomorrow, this thing may actually have water it it!

[streetsong]

I made actual progress today and I have pictures to prove it! My external standpipe is working great, its very quiet. The only issue is that my maxijet 900 still is not cutting it. I'm assuming that is why I can't get the water level in the tank any higher than it is even when adjusting the ball valve. I'll borrow a mj1200 from one of my other tanks to see if it corrects the problem. If it works, I guess I'll be buying a new pump.

[streetsong]

I was correct about the pump not being powerful enough to keep the water level where I wanted it. I put a Maxijet 1200 in and problem solved. I also forgot to mention, all of my rock and water for this tank is coming from my two other established tanks so as long as my parameters are stable, expect to see corals filling this bad-boy up soon!

[gupebreedr]

I was correct about the pump not being powerful enough to keep the water level where I wanted it. I put a Maxijet 1200 in and problem solved. I also forgot to mention, all of my rock and water for this tank is coming from my two other established tanks so as long as my parameters are stable, expect to see corals filling this bad-boy up soon!

 

And it's moving right along, WTG. Glad you solved the flow problem. Am anxious to see it in full bloom.

[metrokat]

need bigger pics and close ups for everything Brandon. looks great.

[streetsong]

Sorry for the crappy pics. I'll try to get some better pics with my iphone. My birthday is coming up so maybe I'll get a decent camera. I created a much more interesting scape today:

[metrokat]

Happy Birthday!

[streetsong]

Happy Birthday!

 

Thanks, Kat! My birthday isn't until Dec. 12th but I'm already thinking ahead.

[streetsong]

Since parameters have been stable over the past 5 days, and my ato is keeping my salinity at a consistent 1.025, I added a few frags yesterday:

[gupebreedr]

Since parameters have been stable over the past 5 days, and my ato is keeping my salinity at a consistent 1.025, I added a few frags yesterday:

 

A few frag's, that's more then what I have in all my tanks!!! LOL Looks great. I'm impressed.

[streetsong]

A few frag's, that's more then what I have in all my tanks!!! LOL Looks great. I'm impressed.

 

Thanks for the compliment, Rob. These are all pieces that I have been growing in my biocube 29 for quite a while.

[FlCandy]

Nice!

[streetsong]

My Boost led par30 lamp shipped today. That means that I will be modding the lamp/stand so that the bulb will be hidden by the canvas around the top of the stand. My goal is to provide light to the tank and ambient light to the room.

[streetsong]

My PAR 30 bulb finally arrived from Boost LED yesterday. I'll be making modifications on the lamp this evening. Pics will follow!

[jgilvey]

My PAR 30 bulb finally arrived from Boost LED yesterday. I'll be making modifications on the lamp this evening. Pics will follow!

 

Cool! Still following along! Big pics please!

[streetsong]

The retro of the lamp-stand from target is complete!

 

I realized after I retrofitted this that I should have taken a "before" picture. Basically, the very top piece of the lamp was a frame which allowed the light to shine up. I switched its place with the piece below the lamp which has four round vent holes. I did have to trim the canvas shade with scissors so it would fit.

 

Also, I am really impressed initially with the coloration from the Boost par30 bulb. I went with the 2 royal blue, 1 blue, 1 cool white, 1 neutral white configuration. It is definitely on the blue side, which I prefer. The colors on my corals just pop! I am also getting some great shimmer!