5g Hex Pico Extravaganza!

[Deleted User 6]

DISMANTLED - Upgraded to 10 gallon

 

I had a 5g Eclipse Hex that had some freshwater cherry shrimp in it. They were boring and never had babies, so they went to my 20g freshwater. Then they went to the LFS, which gave me 1/2 of what they could sell them for in store credit. So, here's the 5g overhaul.

 

Goal: SPS tank and maybe sexies or one small fish - haven't decided.

 

Equipment:

 

-AC filter

-Stock eclipse light with a 10w 50/50 for now

- 50w heater

 

Planned equipment:

 

-bigger AC filter for fuge

-MH light: options are a 70w viper or a 150w Aqualight (if the LFS that's having a big sale next weekend can get it in for cheap)

 

Tanks been up and running 3 weeks. Had live sand and cycled live rock.

 

Livestock:

- 1 cerith snail

- 1 dwarf red-legged hermit

- 1 mushroom moved from my 14g Biocube

 

Now the pics:

 

 

[Rehype]

Wow it looks really good!Love the aquascaping.

[tarajean0627]

kewl! i will be following along. have fun with it and keep us updated!

[o0xerog0o]

Yes!! I knew these would start becoming more popular for pico reefs! It was only a matter of time...

 

Very nice looking setup you've got there. Looks somewhat close to how my original LR layout was. Good luck with it!

[Deleted User 6]

I know! They're cool little tanks and I'm pretty excited about stocking mine!

 

I've carved out that front section for a small clam - there's some 3" ones at my LFS that I have my eye on - I'm thinking Crocea due to size requirements.

[nano reef boy13]

looks nice!!! keep it up

[Deleted User 6]

Thanks!

 

Question: I want to add the MH light but I can't figure out what to do about color. 14k is the best I can get with 70w. Should I just spend the extra on a 150w so I can use a 20k or is there some way I can rig an actinic to supplement the 14k? These hexes don't have much top room to work with, unfortunately...

[evilc66]

You could add actinic with either LEDs of CCFLs. They would be the only thing small enough to fit into the top of the hex and not obstruct the MH. The CCFLs come in 4" versions and you could mix it up with blue and UV to really make things pop. You need to use reflectors with the CCFLs though.

[Deleted User 6]

Any idea how to rig a reflector or where to get the 4" CCFL's?

[OceanNano]

I love your rock work ...Your tank looks great. BTW you can fit a AC 70 on with a little work. Take a look at my thread for photos.

[Deleted User 6]

Thanks! I plan to get the 70 for that fuge - I may run it simultaneous with my smaller AC and use floss in the smaller one for a true filter. I would love to be able to do an ATO, but I don't want switches being an eyesore in my tank. It may be a sacrifice I have to make.

[wow_it_esploded]

Plumb it to a sump? You could make a small stand that is like 8 inches tall and make a small sump in there.

 

I LOVE it though!

 

John

[Deleted User 6]

Ha! Yeah, it wouldn't be a bad idea - seems a bit too much work for such a small tank though. Maybe if I were a bit more enthusiastic I'd go at it.

[Scott_m]

Looks great!

[o0xerog0o]

I noticed how much clearer your shots are than mine. What kind of camera are you taking the pics with? I thought mine were coming up foggy-like due to the acrylic, I try to keep the sides pretty clean, especially when I take pictures.

[Deleted User 6]

I shoot with a Canon 20D with 28-135mm IS USM lens ( I wish I had a macro!). I used a tripod for most of the shots - I also go in with a digital photo editor to take out some of the lighting and chrominance noise to clear it up - I don't typically mess with the coloring much.

 

My acrylic isn't very scratched - just a small portion from where I tried to use a mag cleaner. I'm going to try the toothbrush method from now on...

[tarajean0627]

I know! They're cool little tanks and I'm pretty excited about stocking mine!

 

I've carved out that front section for a small clam - there's some 3" ones at my LFS that I have my eye on - I'm thinking Crocea due to size requirements.

 

I noticed that you are talking about a clam in there. How slow do these grow? Just wondering because I have seen some really small ones that would look so cute in my tank. I don't have a place to move them to when they get bigger yet but if they grow slow enough I should be able to get a bigger tank to put them in by the time they need it. LOL

 

Sarah

[evilc66]

Any idea how to rig a reflector or where to get the 4" CCFL's?

 

Reflectors could be done by cutting a piece of 1/2" pvc in half and lining the inside with aluminum flashing tape. Should be pretty easy to do.

 

As far as finding the 4" CCFLs, most online PC modding retailers should have it. Newegg has blue and UV here.

[Deleted User 6]

Crocea clams grow to about 6". Not sure about speed, but I'm thinking fairly slow (like a couple years to reach max size).

 

On the UV/Blue CCFL - how do you power them? I'm not an expert in electronics...

[Deleted User 6]

Ok, tanks pretty much been up a month (ticker isn't quite accurate) - how long should I wait for a small (2-3") Crocea clam or some SPS corals (provided I get my halide)?

 

Tank is cycled.

[evilc66]

You are going to have to wait a while for the clam. They need an established tank before you can add them safely.

 

The CCFLs are designed to run on 12v DC. You will just need a small 12v power supply (around 1A should be fine).

[Deleted User 6]

Figures on the clam. What about the SPS?

[Deleted User 6]

So my LFS is having a 50% off all livestock sale. I'm getting a 70w or 150w MH light for this setup - given that it's just over a month old now, what can I get and how much of it? I'd like some SPS, eventually a clam (not established enough yet), and some sexy shrimp. So what can I go for this weekend?

[constantocean]

So my LFS is having a 50% off all livestock sale. I'm getting a 70w or 150w MH light for this setup - given that it's just over a month old now, what can I get and how much of it? I'd like some SPS, eventually a clam (not established enough yet), and some sexy shrimp. So what can I go for this weekend?

 

You MAY have luck with the SPS, but its generally not the best choice for a new tank. Try picking up those sexy shrimp and maybe some nice soft corals or even LPS should do alright.

[Deleted User 6]

Got 3 sexies. (except one of them didn't make it through the acclimation and I found another one dead this morning after being alive yesterday and today ) I acclimated them for an hour and a half using the drip method so I'm not sure why they didn't make it. They had been in a bag shipped for a bit over 24 hours too.

 

My params were just fine, so maybe they just didn't handle the trip well.

 

I also did the AC70 Mod - it's awesome. Pics to come.

 

Tell me if this is overkill:

 

AC 10 for filtration, AC 70 (fuge), Koralia nano for flow. I think I might be overkill on the flow (I want a clam and SPS's).

 

I also got my Viper 150w halide - it's about a foot above the water right now and the temp hasn't changed any. I'm going to lower it slowly over the next few days and see what happens.