PhatSOB Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Hi guys, I figured rleon3003 has been a gracious host to our ramblings about lighting our new 2.5g's (I actually don't even have the tank yet) that I should move to my own thread so he can continue to discuss his tank peacefully. My LFS is waiting for some new 2.5g tanks to come in hopefully this week. In the mean time I have been preping a filter and some homemade lighting to get ready to cover the new little tank. The filter is going to be a AquaClear 150 that is currently running in my 10g. I had a spare AC 200 that was sitting around so I fixed it up and have it ready to go into the 10g and will pull the 150 out for the 2.5g. There probably isn't a whole lot of difference in the two but I figureed the larger one would be better for the bigger tank. I may still change my mind b/c the bigger filter will add a tiny bit extra volume to the smaller tank, flow can be adjusted down if needed. Lighting will be handled by a pair of Coralife 20w 50/50s that I have left over from changing my 10g to a 96w coralife quad 50/50. Should be lots of light The whole contraption phew it should fit lights will be mounted with these inside a canopy that I haven't built yet Lighting was all wired by me 2 pigtail sockets - $3.69ea 2meters of 18g wire - $2.99/m feed through switch - $5.79 2 prong plug - $2.99 14" PFO CF reflector cut in half - $13.99 ( already had this and the lights) all prices are Canadian and all those electric parts are available at Home Depot, I got mine at Canadian Tire. wires are held together by marrettes and then wrapped in electrical tape to seal them up as much as I can. Basically that is what I have so far. A custom stand and canopy will be built as soon as I have the tank in my hands to get a feel for how I want it set up. All corals will be coming out of my 10g aswell as possibly some rock. I hope to be able to find a lb or 2 locally. Updates will come as soon as I get the tank and can start playing around with it. Link to comment
irishtexan Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Looking good. That should be plenty light. Can't wait to see it! texx Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted September 24, 2006 Author Share Posted September 24, 2006 yeah I hope it isn't too much Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 yea! you made your thread. that's cool. I want to see it set up. I can't wait till you get your tank. I'll be watching this thread. You wanna know something krazy? I had a dream about this lighting set-up. It was weird. I'll you about my dream becaus eit was your idea of the lights. I dream that I was being chased by some guy and i saw these lights laying on the ground. So i picked thm up and thought that they would go perfect in my tank. Then i woke up because i wanted to set them up on my tank. Yea, it sucked. lol Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted September 24, 2006 Author Share Posted September 24, 2006 hehe weird dream Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 I have my filter already to go into the tank when it gets here. I decided I am going to go with rleon's corner overflow idea b/c his looks awesome. But I added a couple of pieces to my filter to direct water into the middle of the tank Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 do you guys think having those baffles on the filter like that will actually hep circulate the water. I am going to go run it in the sink for a few minutes and see what happens, I can't wait for a tank. edit: Just got back from the sink and it definately turns the flow sideways and it also slows down the flow quite a bit which is probably a good thing since the filter has quite a lot of flow Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 thats a real good idea on redirecting the water. ill think about doing that cuz all the flow is only on the side of the tank. did you use those pieces from the AC150? or are they something you had around the house? Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 they are from the other side of the filter basket in the AC200 that I used. One side for the seperator, bottom where you see it and the other side for these 2 baffles Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 ok. kool. i think ill try that right now before i get to stock my tank up. thanx for the idea. EDIT: actually, i think the AC20 is too small for that. If it did work i would definetly do it. And a question for you. how do you plan on slowing down the AC150? Cuz i would have liked to get a bigger AC but i here the flow is too much for a small tank. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 I decided to use the AC200 and keep the 150 on my 10g. The baffles directing the water slow it down alot and I will adjust the flow with the intake a bit if needed. I will have to wait for it wo be all setup before anything is finalized. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I decided to use the AC200 and keep the 150 on my 10g. The baffles directing the water slow it down alot and I will adjust the flow with the intake a bit if needed. I will have to wait for it wo be all setup before anything is finalized. o ok. thanx for the info. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 no prob, thanks for the info you have given too Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 I stopped by my LFS today and they had their tank order in. They ordered the wrong size so my 2.5 turned into a 1.6, I got the tank anyways so it should be fun. I am not 100% sure that I can fit both of the 20w lights over it so I may build the canopy so that it goes back over the fliter aswell to light the fuge or I may drop down to 1 light. I also picked up a clear piece of acrylic at work thinking I could paint it for my corner overflow but then realized I can't paint it if it is going to be in the tank, I guess I will have to head to a sign shop and grab a proper piece of acrylic for the overflow. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 aw, that sucks. how much smaller is the 1.6g than the 2.5g? wat are the dimensions? Link to comment
outcold720 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 that sucks that you didnt get the 2.5 but thats a sweet looking tank you got there Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 yeah, it is only an inch on each side smaller on each side I believe so it should be ok, I am pickingup a piece of black acrylic at a sign shop this afternoon to get the overflow setup so I hope to have it running with water by the end of the weekend. Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 thats a really nice tank. you got me jealous. haha Link to comment
irishtexan Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I wouldnt worry about the tank size different. That is an awesome tank! When are you going to get it started cycling? texx Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 I just painted the back about an hour ago, I have the acrylic cut and ready to be siliconed in in the AM or shortly before I go to bed tonight. a couple of days for the silicone to set and water by the end of the weekend. I need to get started on the canopy and figure where the hell I am goign to put it. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 The back is painted and the overflow is siliconed in. Why can't that stuff dry faster than 2-3 days? ugh Link to comment
irishtexan Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Looks good! I really like the way that tank looks. texx Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 thanks Tex, I am now trying to figure out how I want to build the canopy, I have an idea way at the back of my head that I just can't visualize yet. Link to comment
PhatSOB Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Here is the canopy on the tank, it is being painted as I type this, just waiting for it to dry so I can get another few coats on it and then clear coated Link to comment
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