My 5.5 AGA Project

[kevxross]

Hi all. After presenting myself here as a total newb a couple weeks ago, doing a lot of research, and getting a lot of great info, I'm diving head first into a 5.5 AGA (nano or pico at this size?) project.! It's going to have a false wall/overflow to a refugium. Here's what I have so far:

 

 

5.5 AGA, black acrylic cut to size for the false wall, two pieces of glass for the fuge chambers. I got the acrylic and glass for free. Gotta love having a friend in the glass business

 

What I have on the way:

 

This retrofit PC lighting kit

but I'm swapping out those bulbs for 2 32W SmartPaq Daylight 10000ºK/Actinic 460nm.

 

And here's the rest of my shopping list from Drs. F&S:

• Mini-Jet 606 Adjustable 84 - 160 gph (will this be sufficient, yet not too much for my return? Should I downgrade to Mini-Jet 404 at 20 - 106gph or upgrade to a Maxi-Jet?)
  
• Visi-Therm Deluxe 50w (opinions? Wanted a Jager 75w but it's 2.5" bigger)
  
• Coralife Digital Thermometer
  
• Portable Refractometer
  
• Seachem Saltwater Basic Test Kit
  
• Instant Ocean 50 gallon salt mix
  
• Mag-Float Mini
  
• AquaClear Filter Basket - 300 (It's just the basket replacement part. I was thinking I could mount this in one of my fuge chambers to run filter media).
  

I'll try to draw up a sketch of my plan real quick to give a better visual, but mainly I want advice before I place my Drs.F&S order! Any opinions on my shopping list? Anything I'm forgetting, anything I should leave off, or anything I should replace? I wanna get as much as I need in this one order to pay one shipping rate. Thanks for any input and please follow me on my journey as I'm going to need more advice for sure!

 

Thanks as always!

[kevxross]

Here's a sketch of what I'm doing:

 

 

I'm also going to build a wooden hood and stand like this:

 

 

I know very similar projects have been done and I gained motivation and inspiration from various nanos I came across in my reasearch.

 

I figured out what else I want to add to my cart before checking out. What filter media should I get? Chemi-Pure, Purigen, Carbon? Do they all do pretty much the same thing? Sponge or no sponge?

[distantfire]

Don't waste your money on the coralife digital thermometer. It doe's not give consistent temp. reading's. The simple suction cup glass thermometer's that you put inside the tank work better. Don't waste your money on Kent marine carbon it add's phosphate to the water. Regular weekly water change's is what's needed to keep your water clean. A glass top will save your water from evaporation. But you need to leave some space open on the back of the tank for gas exchange. I'm using a glass top now. But i'm going to try arcylic and super glue some plastic mesh to the opening across the back. I drilled the bottom of my tank and i'm using a cannister filter for flow with extra LR for more filtration. Having a top keep's airbourne dust and dirt out but it also raise's the tank's over all temp. For lighting I have the coralife 96watt PC. Don't waste your money on pc lighting if you want to keep corals. All the coral's that you buy are kept under MH. So if you want your corals to thrive plan on upgrading to MH.

[Fishfreak218]

thats not neccesarily true.. my Coralife Thermometer worked great... but now it is all whacked out b.c. it needs a new battery.... the glass ones that suction cup to the tank.. the like $3 ones.. they stink b.c. they get covered in Coralline

[distantfire]

The reason that corallife gave for there thermometer being off. Is because there set to be plus or minus 1.5 deg.s. Even with a brand new battery. At least with a glass thermometer I don't have to worry about it needing a new battery. I wipe it off when I do my water change's so that it stay's clean. But everybody has there own way of keeping there tank's. As I'm sure you know this is an expensive hobby. Any mistake you make will cost you money.

[brent-konieczny]

hmmmmm...... I wonder where everyone is getting the ideas for the 5.5 tanks ?

 

The second baffle is greatly unecessary in my opinion. It wastes a lot of your fuge space that you could fill with algae+heater. You shouldn't need a sponge, but regular carbon works good. I am upgrading my rio 180 to a mini-jet 606. I should have it tommorow. I'll let you know how it works. Also, way overkill on the heater. Unless you plan to be eventually using it in a larger tank get a 25watt. Mines a tronic and my temp never varies. Check out my thread. It has a lot of construction tips and everything. I gave step by step instructions for NYPRODJ to help him figure out how to do stuff. Feel free to pm me with questions.

[kevxross]

hmmmmm...... I wonder where everyone is getting the ideas for the 5.5 tanks ?

 

The second baffle is greatly unecessary in my opinion. It wastes a lot of your fuge space that you could fill with algae+heater. You shouldn't need a sponge, but regular carbon works good. I am upgrading my rio 180 to a mini-jet 606. I should have it tommorow. I'll let you know how it works. Also, way overkill on the heater. Unless you plan to be eventually using it in a larger tank get a 25watt. Mines a tronic and my temp never varies. Check out my thread. It has a lot of construction tips and everything. I gave step by step instructions for NYPRODJ to help him figure out how to do stuff. Feel free to pm me with questions.

 

Thanks man, yeah yours looks great. Definately what inspired me. Already ordered everthing. Basically the same list as above except I switched out the thermometer for a good ol' glass one (thanks guys), threw in a 1/2" bulkhead, connector, and flare, as well as some Purigen media.

 

I'll go with you on the single baffle idea except how do you run media? Should I try to glue my basket to the single baffle and then the false wall or something? Or do you just toss the mesh bag right on your sand/rubble in the fuge? I'd love a picture of the back of your setup right now with everything operational. You'll probably get a few PMs from me along my journey Dunno what the hell possessed me to make my very first reef a DIY nano/pico reef

 

Edit: Nevermind, I found a good picture of the back of your tank. Just toss the mesh bag in the second chamber eh? Also, I'm planning a hood & base a lot like yours. When building yours did you just use glue? I'm thinking of just Gorilla glueing it all so I don't have ugly nail holes all over it, but will this be strong enough for the base?

[brent-konieczny]

I definately don't know about the gorilla glue. What I did was use contact cement to put all of the base together. I used the cement for the frame of the hood also. The corner supports were glued in with contact cement and then sealed around their edges with regular wood glue. I did use two screws in the hood on the back of each side going into the pieces with the hinges. The base doesn't need to be the strongest secured thing. All the weight is just on a flat board and the pieces around the sides are for decoration.

[kevxross]

Construction has begun.

 

 

What do you think, 1 baffle or 2? I already ordered that basket I was going to use for filter media. Would the trickle of water over a baffle down over the media be better filtration and worth the second baffle and decreased fuge space? Or should I just go with the single baffle and just toss the media bags in?

 

By the way, that false wall is just sitting there in that picture, it's not siliconed in so don't worry

[kevxross]

I hate to paint this birch, but as I kinda illustrated with this photo, I think it's going to have to be black (which would be even more evident if you saw my entire desk/office setup.

 

 

Hopefully my Drs F&S shipment comes tomorrow. I'll be siliconing the acrylic and baffle(s) in tomorrow, so last chance to tell me whether to do 1 baffle or 2!

[M.Ochala]

ha brent, i knew ur design was mint

[Mr. Fosi]

What do you think, 1 baffle or 2?... decreased fuge space... Or should I just go with the single baffle and just toss the media bags in?

 

Your call.

 

The basket would probably give you better flow through any media you use, but you would certainly have more space if you left out the second baffle. It all depends on what you want more.

 

Nice design by the way. If I would have been thinking, I would probably have done something similar in my 5.5g.

[nanospoof]

Brent your design is golden! I am thinking about doing a 10 gallon AGA like that down the road. But for now I am happy with my 5.5 gallon.

 

Kevxross man everything looks good so far. One baffle or two who knows I would just make sure you have room for everything you want in the back. And if you go with one I say just toss the cardon filter bag in the back. good luck.

[kevxross]

Thanks guys, I think I'm gonna just go with 1 baffle, anyone need a spare AC300 filter basket? My shipment came in

 

 

Only problem: The Seachem test kit I ordered was the Marine Basic which includes pH, alkalinity, free/total ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. What I received was the Reef Special which only includes phosphate, silicate, and iodide/iodine. I emailed them to see if I could swap it out, but is this Reef Special kit worth holding onto and just ordering a new Marine Basic?

 

Only other thing I'm wating on is the light fixture from Champion... I'm off to get some silicone now, but once everything's set up I'll be good to get my water, LR, and LS in the tank even without the lights right?

 

Edit: Holy crap F&S support is fast! I emailed them not 5 minutes ago and already got a personalised response. Going to just exchange this kit for the basic unless everyone thinks it's best to have these tests...

[M.Ochala]

keep us updated with how everything goes man, peace

[kevxross]

Well I got the false wall and baffle in place and all the silicone done a couple days ago. Just did a leak test and before I even finished filling the display, the pump chamber was already half way full. It's not a big surprise being that this is the first time I've worked with silicone and that the space I'm talkin about is only 2.5" x 2.5" I couldn't get my hand in there to do it proper.

 

Will this leak even be a problem though? I figure each chamber is going to be full of water anyway, so there probably won't even be any transfer through the leak and even if there is it won't make a drip of difference. I turned the pump on and it worked great. I could plainly see the cycle of the water. Am I correct that the silicone on the baffle and false wall are purely structural and that a leak won't matter, or should I try to seal it up nice and tight?

[brent-konieczny]

Although, my false wall doesn't leak any faster than a drip, I don't think it will matter.

[kevxross]

Nevermind! It doesn't leak at all, I'm just an idiot. It was going through my flare, through the bulkhead, and out the powerhead.

 

 

It has water in it, so some air bubbles make it look kinda sloppy. My silicone job looks good where it matters... The front sides of the false wall. But that's about it

 

Excellent, so I'm good to go except for my light fixture, which I guess Champion Lighting is gonna take their time getting to me, and my replacement test kit from F&S. Should I go ahead and get water, LR, and LS on Wednesday and start cycling? I won't need my lights for that will I? I've got some cheap all-in-one dip tests to hold me over til F&S comes through (should be by the end of the week anyway..)

[M.Ochala]

pretty neat, i might do same design but much much smaller, for a mini me sweetness type deal. same as brents, same live rock same corals same placement, to get the mini me effekt! jk cool though

[brent-konieczny]

I forsee a problem. The return chamber on your tank is exceptionally small. This means when you have evaporation the water level will drop very fast in that chamber. My return chamber is twice the size of that and the water level still drops fast. I would get an auto top off if you are going to leave it like that or move the baffle further over.

 

 

 

Here are my baffle dimensions just to show you how far over mine is.

[kevxross]

I was already planning to add an auto topoff of some sort, but given that info I may just have to expedite that I guess! How often are you topping off?

 

Thanks brent, it sure is nice having someone who's already been through this and can tell me just what to expect!

[brent-konieczny]

I have the entire display side covered with an acrylic top. Also, there is a fan blowing air into the hood for cooling. Lately I have been getting about 10-15oz evaporated per day. When the fan is off, the water evaporates half that much. If I had your baffle setup I immediately make a auto top off. Considering that the tank isn't fully setup I would also consider ripping the baffle out and re-siliconing it in a little further over.

 

BTW, I am going to make an auto top off for mine around next week. The only things I'll need are a float switch and battery powered air pump. Right now I have a 24/7 drip top-off which keeps my level relatively steady.

[kevxross]

BTW, I am going to make an auto top off for mine around next week. The only things I'll need are a float switch and battery powered air pump. Right now I have a 24/7 drip top-off which keeps my level relatively steady.

 

I'm gonna do the same top off probably. I'm just gonna keep going as planned for now I think. It'll be fine just cycling with manual top-offs until I get the auto system built.

[kevxross]

On the desk with SW! Finally there's at least something in it!

 

 

Don't worry, the hood just has primer for now

 

Going to get LR and sand tomorrow! My battery pump came in today and my light kit also finally came the other day. All I'm waiting for as far as equipment is the float switch so I can wire up my ATO.

[kevxross]

Had the day off so I got a lot done today. Live rock and sand! Wooo! I'm pleased with the rock. I went to Dr. Mac's and was allowed to rummage through it all and pick what I wanted. The pictures don't do the colors justice. Awesome purples and reds all over the rocks.

 

 

The hazy abyss

 

After the dust settled. I'm sure I'll be messing with it more though

 

I've seen several feather dusters so far. There's a bivalve of some sort (mussel maybe?) lodged in the big rock, but not in an easy spot to get a photo. He's still alive, I just saw him open up.

 

Is this algae? Looks cool whatever it is

 

The most intriguing thing, however, is whatever is in this hole:

It looks to me like a sea apple! That kinda worries me though, because if it is I know it's probably not going to survive.

 

I apologize for the poor shots, but the battery on my good camera is charging at the moment. Plus these things are tiny! I'll try to get some better macro shots tomorrow.

 

This is what else I worked on today:

Works like a charm! Just need the final paint on my hood so I can mount it.

 

Here's a stand I'm building which will fit between my computer desk and the wall.

This is what I'll put my topoff water on, as well as other misc. I'm also going to mount the surge protector to it. I made it short so it won't be seen above the desk.

 

 

What's the best thing I can do to keep these hitchhikers alive?