As Cheap as I can get it - Ghetto Beauty?

[yardboy]

Okay, so maybe I'm spending too much time in front of this little tank, but it sure is a peaceful place to enjoy the first cup of coffee in the morning!

Find an interest in "nano in nano" pictures, I spotted this enigma, the Acan eating a cerith that ventured too close. This evening there still wasn't a shell laying on the floor, so he must have dissolved the whole thing and digested it. Maybe I need to feed him more?

 

[yardboy]

This is my "nano" Favia. 4 polyps! It was hungry so I fed it a piece of mysis.

[yardboy]

I finally got a closed loop system on the Ghetto!

A small shelf built on back of the stand, a Mag 3 I got on a deal used. Lots of PVC from Lowe's and she's pumping away, and the two powerheads are out. It took a few minutes to catch a prime and begin pumping. The screw plug on top of the suction is used to pour water down into the pump to get it going. I had to throttle it back quite a bit as the sand was blowing everywhere and the Acan started "snotting".

 

[Mr. Fosi]

I have been following this thread and I really like that closed loop!

 

What is your opinion of that mag3? Quiet? Does it run cool?

[yardboy]

The Mag 3 is replacing two of the little mini-jets. We'll see if it causes a problem. With a sump I can always put a little fan and blow across it. Of course then I'll have to figure out a topoff system, but I've been using Seachem calcium and reef builder, I'd prefer to be dripping kalk anyway. Let's see, where's that orange juice container!

Thanks for looking in Mr. Fosi. I was wondering if maybe I was "talking to myself" since the last 4-5 posts have been only me! Well, it's documented anyway!

Here's looking down through the canopy at the overflow and the "ghetto nozzles" on the returns. I've just about run out of space in that overflow! Had to whittle on the pipe to get it in there, but at least I didn't have to modify the canopy.

The acropora's got some nice purple color to it, must like the 70W Astralux. I wonder how long it will take that T. reniformis to get much size on it? I count like 5 polyps on there now!

[Mr. Fosi]

Glad to see that it is working well.

 

Have you found any negative aspects of that mag? Does it run quiet? Does it run cool?

[yardboy]

I've only just set it up on this system. I've never had any heat problems with mags in the past. Quiet? That's all relative. In a quiet bedroom it might cause a problem with it's slight hum, but where it is there is no problem.

Quietest pump I've ever had is a Velocity, but I think even their T1 would be way too much for this app.

[tremolo]

Love the ghetto tank, and it look like it is coming along great. Are you having any problems with that mag 3 for your CL? I made one with a mag 7 just like that a while back and had problems with the pump leaking.

 

where can i find a light fixture like the one you have on your fuge? I have been looking for one like that but cant find one. Can i see a close up pic of your fuge light?

[yardboy]

I've had no trouble so far with the Mag. I got it used so I took it apart and cleaned the seals and sealing surfaces before trying it. As for heat, I'll have to wait and see about that. Not so far, but summer's coming and there's lots of windows in the room the tanks in.

Here's the box I got the light in. You can find them at Lowe's for about $30.

 

I glued two strips of acrylic to the lens to hold it in place on the tank, they fit inside the lip of the frame. That way it doesn't slide all around.

 

 

While I've been satisfied with the LOA floodlight (and the price was right, at a garage sale), it is 65W and still not bright enough to grow zoanthids or corals. I'd go this route next time if it was just a refugium:

http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

[yardboy]

I took a couple of shots from either side of the 70W fixture looking down on the tank. With no skimmer and 20% WC every week, the refugium seems to keep the water nice and clear!

 

 

 

The substrate bugs me a bit though. I would have preferred oolitic, but somehow..... I may remove a part of it at the time, to replace with finer stuff. I hesitate only because even though the bed is shallow, it's full of life. There are little piles all over the bottom from "somethings" rooting through the bottom making tubes and stuff.

[cweber]

Hey yardboy, Im new to this site, but have been hangin around for a little while. Ive enjoyed your thread, and like your tank. Im starting a setup similar to yours. I have two tens, plumbed together with a return manifold. Im waiting on money for my light(still debating). Im seeing diy 70 mh from shop lights everywhere, but dont know much about balasts. Where do you find them and how much?

[Brewspew]

no thanks

 

 

 

That's one sweet looking rock/flower anemone. Your sump/fuge looks much better than your main tank. I think it's time you move some of it up.

 

Good thing you didn't do the tinfoil idea; bad reflector. You can get mylar from Tap Plastics.

[yardboy]

Hey yardboy, Im new to this site, but have been hangin around for a little while. Ive enjoyed your thread, and like your tank. Im starting a setup similar to yours. I have two tens, plumbed together with a return manifold. Im waiting on money for my light(still debating). Im seeing diy 70 mh from shop lights everywhere, but dont know much about balasts. Where do you find them and how much?

Well, there's more than one kind or brand, but I've used only these:

http://ballastwise.com/item.asp?PID=112&am...=17&level=1

I've heard others claim they are not so good, but it always involves "my friend or my lfs or my cousin says they're no good." I've not compared them directly to the more popular (and more expensive and more difficult to find) NAIS ballast but I like them. Only once did I get a delay in shipping (two weeks instead of 7-10 days) The mod is super easy. Just get a bulb, 350-500W halogen shop light, and the ballast and wire the rascal up and mount it over your tank.

Be careful though. Too close and the UV or intensity or something will bleach your corals. Start up higher and work your way down.

[toastii]

haha as cheap as i can get... buy a plastic divider with holes... buy silicone.... silicone dividers in ten gl tank to divide it approx 3/7

buy cheato.. poof you got a super cheap fuge!

 

my only issue is that the divider goes above the water level.. should i cut the divider below because it blocks the flow

 

(this is a dwarf seahorse tank btw)

[cweber]

Wow thanks! 30 bucks is cheap i thought it would be around 100.

 

How high did you set yours?

[yardboy]

haha as cheap as i can get... buy a plastic divider with holes... buy silicone.... silicone dividers in ten gl tank to divide it approx 3/7

buy cheato.. poof you got a super cheap fuge!

 

my only issue is that the divider goes above the water level.. should i cut the divider below because it blocks the flow

 

(this is a dwarf seahorse tank btw)

 

The height of the divider defines the depth of the refugium. The water exits the overflow into the media filter holder, flows across the refugium and into the return pump/heater compartment. Since the flow is spread across the entire tank, there is no microbubble generation into the display. Here's a better shot of the divider, and a second showing the eggcrate glued to the top of the acrylic to act as a block to fish, etc. It's not too good against snails as there are lots in the pump compartment, along with brittle stars too.

Pardon the cloudiness of the water. I just finished removing the somewhat coarse substrate (actually I siphoned it into the refugium) in the display for oolitic sand, better proportioned for a small tank. I'll take pictures tomorrow to show the improvement.

 

 

Wow thanks! 30 bucks is cheap i thought it would be around 100.

 

How high did you set yours?

I found that 7 inches from the glass face to the water surface covered the whole tank with light.

Your coverage may vary depending on the reflector in your halogen light fixture. Just hold it over the tank with the light on (and I found that with cloudy water from the substrate helps you see much better how the light spreads!) until you like the way it covers the tank and build your canopy/ light holding device to the appropriate size.

[steelerguy]

Just ran across this thread. Simply awesome, I love to see people save money, use what is on hand or can be gotten cheaply, then make a stunning display out of it. Great job.

[andrewwl]

Yardboy, could you detail how you removed the bottom plastic and replaced the bottom glass with the thicker glass?

[coral_addict]

This tank is coming along nicely. Yardboy, how long have you have your SPS and what kind of growth are you seeing? 1" / month? I'm doing a test to see how my SPS does with no Dosing. I'm hoping that my weekly/biweekly water change is enough but I am using Instant Ocean Salt not Reef Crystal.

[yardboy]

Yardboy, could you detail how you removed the bottom plastic and replaced the bottom glass with the thicker glass?

 

Sure. I don't have access to the photos I took right now but will edit infill later.

Most 10 gallon tanks have tempered or very thin bottoms. I've cut holes in some with a dremel to put bulkhead but either immediately or after a short while managed to crack the bottom and cause them to leak. 1/4" thick plate from the glass shop in that size was only $5 and is very easy to work with drilling bulkhead holes.

The hardest part can be removing the bottom plastic trim. Some companies just put a daub of silicone, some run a bead all the way around. I've found that busting and removing the bottom first makes it easier to get the trim off it's glued heavily. I just use a hammer and bust it out, using safety glasses and leather gloves. Just go slow and don't get so zealous that you bust the sides of the tank. They are typically tempered and will shatter if you put too much pressure on them.

After the bottom glass is removed, run a utility knife between the glass and trim to seperate it and remove the trim. Be careful here too as I have torn the trim all to pieces in the process, but no huge loss as you can trim it later with wood if you want.

Every trace of the silicone has to be removed and the glass cleaned well to get a good bond between the new piece of bottom glass and the sides. As for the sides, it's generally agreed that the bottom piece should fit inside of the sides, so the weight of the tank is taken by the edges of the sides, but I have been "ruler challenged" in the past and have sat the sides on top of the bottom glass and had good results (but I would not recommend this to others as I won't be responsible )

Run a bead of silicone all around the inside edges of the sides and slip the glass in. Have the tank sitting on a piece of plastic to prevent the silicone from sticking to anything other than the glass! You can run your finger (in latex glove!) over the wet silicone to smooth it. After the glue dries, run beads on the inside of the tank to ensure that the silicone bonds all the edges of the glass and leaves no voids to leak later. After 48 hours of drying time, set the tank outside and test fill it to ensure there are no leaks. If there are (once I had a leak in the corner where not enough silicone was used), very thoroughly dry the glass and dry silicone and add silicone and wait for it to dry. Afterwards, reglue the trim (just a few daubs!) if desired to the glass. Fill with water and make a reef !

[andrewwl]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

 

That's interesting - the placement of the bottom glass, "within" the sides or the sides resting on it. I can't reason it out in my mind how it would make a difference - had you not mentioned it, I would have done it your ruler-challenged way

 

I guess the bottom trim trim is completely unnecessary on a tank of this size?

[yardboy]

This tank is coming along nicely. Yardboy, how long have you have your SPS and what kind of growth are you seeing? 1" / month? I'm doing a test to see how my SPS does with no Dosing. I'm hoping that my weekly/biweekly water change is enough but I am using Instant Ocean Salt not Reef Crystal.

 

The sps corals have only been in the tank for a little over a month, only enough time to see encrusting and tip development. When you are trying to do a tank on a budget, time is your ally since it is relatively "free". Another goal for this tank is to have nothing die in it, since loss of livestock represents lost money and increases the cost! Waiting for tank maturation increases the chance of not losing anything. I still haven't put any fish in it, though I was sooooo tempted today when I went to an lfs a couple of hours away and they had a tiny lawnmower blenny. A clam is hopefully in the future. I'd also like to get a clown for the condy, but my research suggests that a tomato will stand the best chance of hosting in the condy and I haven't found one small enough yet.

I dose two-part using Seachem ReefBuilder and Advantage. My alk measures 160mg/L CaCO3 and Ca is 470 mg/L.

You may want to read here for info on the feasibility of using water changes to maintain alk and Ca.

[yardboy]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

 

That's interesting - the placement of the bottom glass, "within" the sides or the sides resting on it. I can't reason it out in my mind how it would make a difference - had you not mentioned it, I would have done it your ruler-challenged way

 

I guess the bottom trim trim is completely unnecessary on a tank of this size?

I think the logic goes that if the glass is inside the sides, the weight is borne on the sides of the tank, with the bottom being held by the silicone bond to the sides.

If the sides are resting on the bottom, the weight is resting on the edges of the bottom and could be cracked easier. If you examine some tanks, you'll notice that most glass tanks are supported by the sides, while all acrylic tanks I've seen have the sides resting on the bottom. I got my information on building tanks from here on their How-to pages.

[willyboy]

Your fuge looks nice and healthy!

[yardboy]

Thanks Willyboy. I pull some Caulerpa out periodically for nutrient export and toss any inverts (copepods and brittle stars mostly) caught in the mechanical filters of my other tanks and that's about it. Surprisingly, the glass has not needed cleaning, guess the cerith's keep it cleaned. They seem to concentrate in the pump/heater compartment, which does get a bit of microalgae on the walls. There's one healthy sponge on the left side, but any attempts to start others hasn't been successful as of yet.

Your response prompted me to get a better shot of the fuge. Thanks.