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angelacbishop's 5.5 gallons of fun


angelacbishop

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sept004.jpg

 

My LFS said it would be best to cycle the tank with a small clown fish. Don't worry, I'll take him back to the store once he grows a little bigger.

 

 

 

Current Budget: (updated 2/17/09)

item from cost

Top Fin 60 Filter already had $22.49

Nova Extreme 18" T5 DFS $62.99

Mini Jet 606 pump already had free

5.5 gallon AGA already had free

magnet cleaner already had free

glass tops already had free

timer already had free

fuge light already had free

8 lbs live rock already had free

8 lbs live sand already had free

Pico CUC from Reefcleaners Reefcleaners free

1 hermit LFS $1.00

1 green striped mushroom hitchhiker $5.00

wild caught mystery anemone already had $5.00

yellow fiji leather, quarter sized already had $15.00

Nano Spiny Orange Sea Rod Gorgonian Sea Life Inc $9.50

Masked Goby Sea Life Inc $7.50

Hi-Fin Goby LFS $10.00

peppermint shrimp Sea Life Inc $5.50

Purple Sea Feather (1/3 of 15.00 piece) Sea Life Inc $5.00

small gorg frag already had $5.00

22 misc. zoa polyps already had $22.00

titan macro algae NR Classifieds $5.00

orange zoas LFS $10.00

finger leather LFS $10.00

neon green leather LFS $5.00

orange monti cap local reefer $8.00

blue cloves local reefer $15.00

small green acro frag already had $5.00

birdsnest, pocillapora, digi, green kenya local reefer $15.00

TOTAL $248.98

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sept004.jpg

 

My LFS said it would be best to cycle the tank with a small clown fish. Don't worry, I'll take him back to the store once he grows a little bigger.

 

 

 

Current Budget:

5.5 AGA - "free"

Live Rock & Sand - "free"

Top Fin 60 Filter - $22.49 (already had, originally $29.99 from petsmart)

Nova Extreme 18" T5 - $62.99

Mini Jet 606 pump - $16.99

____________________________________

TOTAL $102.47

 

Does anyone know where I can find one of those submersible fuge lights?

 

 

sheesh...you spend money quick! :P

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OMG, you added that fish too soon and he's going to grow too big for a 5.5gal. tank!!!!!!!!! omgomgomg

I think he looks happy in there! The LFS said he would be fine for awhile.

 

 

sheesh...you spend money quick! :P

I know!! I figured if the budget gets tight I can take out the extra powerhead. My plan is to use super tiny frags from my 60 gallon to keep the budget down. Like 2 polyp zoa frags and 1/4" SPS frags ;) Those can't be worth THAT much $ can they?

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I think he looks happy in there! The LFS said he would be fine for awhile.

 

 

 

I know!! I figured if the budget gets tight I can take out the extra powerhead. My plan is to use super tiny frags from my 60 gallon to keep the budget down. Like 2 polyp zoa frags and 1/4" SPS frags ;) Those can't be worth THAT much $ can they?

 

No, they shouldn't be too expensive unless they're big name stuff. I'll help you without figuring out how much to deduct from the budget for those.

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No, they shouldn't be too expensive unless they're big name stuff. I'll help you without figuring out how much to deduct from the budget for those.

 

Thanks Weetie, I'm putting together a list of everything I want to stock in here so I'll send it to you when I get it all figured out.

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I've never heard of Mainland Mart but hopefully some place like Home Depot will carry a good submersible light I can use for the fuge. All I could find on ebay was a light that was wired in with a little pump.

 

Here's the 18" 40W T5 light that I actually ordered the day before I found out about this contest. Should work perfectly!

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As you can see, it actually fits the 5.5 quite well. Oh yeah, I painted the back of the tank black over the weekend too.

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Here is my Top Fin 60 filter. It tops out at 300GPH and last time I had this set up on my old 5.5 tank I was actually able to run it full blast without kicking up any sand because of the duel outlets. This filter along with my adjustable powerhead will give me anywhere from 150-450 GPH of turnover. SPS here we come!

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I plan to run cheato and rubble in one side as a fuge and the other side will hold the heater, purigen, and maybe some filter floss if needed. I also might use this side as a fuge too depending on needs and space.

55006.jpg

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nice! you should mod a surface skimmer to it

I had considered making a little overflow box to stick the filter intake inside of but I decided it was more work than it was worth since I should have enough flow to break up the surface of the water pretty well. Also didn't want to take up valuable space in such a tiny tank.

 

lookin' good..nice light..that is the same one I ordered and doesn't get here till Friday :(

Thanks! I'm really kicking myself because I have seen better prices on this light since I ordered it at DFS. Could have had an extra $15 or !20 to put towards my livestock budget. Oh well! Also I really wish they would have made it so you could use the actinic bulb independently.

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Ha, it looks like quite a few of us are using that same light! The online fish retailers must be a tad confused "Why are we selling so many 18 inch t5's all of the sudden...!?" :lol:

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Try painting the filter inlet tube black to match the back.

 

Hmmmm, interesting idea. I was going to try to cover it up as much as possible with my rock scape but what sort of paint would be safe to paint it with?

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Is that fish a hat?

Excellent question, in fact! It's actually a stuffed animal that I won at a carnival by playing that silly game where you throw darts at balloons. But I did get my picture taken in disney world wearing a nemo hat a couple years ago...

 

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Wow, 3! I wonder if we can get up to 5 tonight? This is making me feel like I need to make some interesting updates on my tank status but I'm not setting it up in my office until sunday...

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