Need ideas for pico tank

[the frag master]

ok, i'm either going to do a 2.5 or 5.5 aga tank . i have a guy who is going to give me a pair of baby false percs (they are tiny, not more than a 1/2 inch long). I want to put them into this tank until they they get about 2 inches and can fend for themselves in the big tank. this tank will be kept running with coral though as i need a desktop tank for my room. how much did u guys spend on the 2.5 and 5.5 aga's? what lights are the best? thanks

[Tentacles]

ok, i'm either going to do a 2.5 or 5.5 aga tank . i have a guy who is going to give me a pair of baby false percs (they are tiny, not more than a 1/2 inch long). I want to put them into this tank until they they get about 2 inches and can fend for themselves in the big tank. this tank will be kept running with coral though as i need a desktop tank for my room. how much did u guys spend on the 2.5 and 5.5 aga's? what lights are the best? thanks

 

if ur gunna keep them in the pico until they are 2 inches id get the 5.5 if not a 10g. id be pretty mad if I were a 2 inch clown in a 2.5g pico, without having a tankmate. all those sizes are like 10 bucks at petco or petsmart. maybe a 27w 50/50 bulb or something? depends on the corals

[the frag master]

if ur gunna keep them in the pico until they are 2 inches id get the 5.5 if not a 10g. id be pretty mad if I were a 2 inch clown in a 2.5g pico, without having a tankmate. all those sizes are like 10 bucks at petco or petsmart. maybe a 27w 50/50 bulb or something? depends on the corals

im planning on zoos, shrooms, palys, xenia (i want the back wall to become covered in it) and some small lps frags that i have near the light.

the clowns will go into it with a pair of sexy shrimp, pom pom crab, a a small cleaner shrimp. i plan to buold a small canopy and a small base for this tank. im goona go out thursday and get my tank and rock and start the cycle on it. im thinking about using an ac 300 or the next one up from the mini as my filtration. im also going to add a baffle to the tank to sepreate the intake from the rock. and idea as for snails and crabs, im thinking 10 crabs, and 15 small snails, a mixture of nerites, bumblebees, and turbos ( or are the small one margaritas?). im keeping it small. i might add a small pistol shrimp and yashia goby from my 15 gallon to this when the clowns leave.

[moe sizlack]

I decided on using 2 12" 18w 50/50's for my 5.5G.

 

Seems like the best bet due to size limitations and heat exchange.

I wanted to do MH at first, but I decided that was overkill.

[Hekim]

im planning on zoos, shrooms, palys, xenia (i want the back wall to become covered in it) and some small lps frags that i have near the light.

the clowns will go into it with a pair of sexy shrimp, pom pom crab, a a small cleaner shrimp. i plan to buold a small canopy and a small base for this tank. im goona go out thursday and get my tank and rock and start the cycle on it. im thinking about using an ac 300 or the next one up from the mini as my filtration. im also going to add a baffle to the tank to sepreate the intake from the rock. and idea as for snails and crabs, im thinking 10 crabs, and 15 small snails, a mixture of nerites, bumblebees, and turbos ( or are the small one margaritas?). im keeping it small. i might add a small pistol shrimp and yashia goby from my 15 gallon to this when the clowns leave.

 

I would stay away from the bumblebee snails (cooler water species) and the turbos (get to big). Nassarius, cerith, margarita, nerite, maybe a trochus. Go slow and watch the bioload.

[the frag master]

ok i have decided im going to do a 5.5 and forget the clowns, they will go into something else. in this 5.5 i am going to build a caseing for it and a hood, ill have 28 total watts, 3 bulbs (im doing a false wall with fuge). i took my old azoo palm lights and removed everything but the wires and the power switches and will be retro-ing them into the canopy. ill have a 13 watt 10k and a 13 wat actinic and a 2 watt 65k for my fuge light. my fuge is going to be clear though not amber in color, unless i can find it at home depot tomorrow. i will get plain silicone form home depot too, gm silicone (no mold protection or anything like that jsutplain 100% silicone. hopefully i can get my tank too but i dont know if im going to have enough money becuasem getting a new dremmel too. as for a return pump, ill use a rio 900 or a little strnger depending on what i plan to place where. as for stocking im going to do a peppermint shrimp, and a mated pair of neon gold gobies. if those are not available ill do neon blues, and if they arent available, ill do a small banded goby/[istol shrimp pair.

im going to have small zoos and leatehrs and maybe a small blasto near the top (i have tons of frags of blastos so its worth a shot i guess). any suggestions for wood for the canopy? i need to be able to screw my bulbbs clips into the top and be able to glue the metal reflector to it. i want to build it where insted of the tank being like this

_______ (front to back)

 

it will be like this

_______________________ (left to right on my desk)

thanks for the help. oh, ill be using the dremmel for the working of the acrylic, the overflow and the return hole for the rio's flare nozzel, great tool i guess.

[Tentacles]

ok i have decided im going to do a 5.5 and forget the clowns, they will go into something else. in this 5.5 i am going to build a caseing for it and a hood, ill have 28 total watts, 3 bulbs (im doing a false wall with fuge). i took my old azoo palm lights and removed everything but the wires and the power switches and will be retro-ing them into the canopy. ill have a 13 watt 10k and a 13 wat actinic and a 2 watt 65k for my fuge light. my fuge is going to be clear though not amber in color, unless i can find it at home depot tomorrow. i will get plain silicone form home depot too, gm silicone (no mold protection or anything like that jsutplain 100% silicone. hopefully i can get my tank too but i dont know if im going to have enough money becuasem getting a new dremmel too. as for a return pump, ill use a rio 900 or a little strnger depending on what i plan to place where. as for stocking im going to do a peppermint shrimp, and a mated pair of neon gold gobies. if those are not available ill do neon blues, and if they arent available, ill do a small banded goby/[istol shrimp pair.

im going to have small zoos and leatehrs and maybe a small blasto near the top (i have tons of frags of blastos so its worth a shot i guess). any suggestions for wood for the canopy? i need to be able to screw my bulbbs clips into the top and be able to glue the metal reflector to it. i want to build it where insted of the tank being like this

_______ (front to back)

 

it will be like this

_______________________ (left to right on my desk)

thanks for the help. oh, ill be using the dremmel for the working of the acrylic, the overflow and the return hole for the rio's flare nozzel, great tool i guess.

 

sounds good, you might want to stay with sexies tho, peppermints are worthless imo unless you have aiptasia, they just pick at and/or eat corals, at least mine did, and good call on the clown, gobies sound like theyd be alot happier in that size tank than a clown...light sounds good too

 

maybe pine for the canopy?

 

put up some pics of your progress once you get started

[the frag master]

sounds good, you might want to stay with sexies tho, peppermints are worthless imo unless you have aiptasia, they just pick at and/or eat corals, at least mine did, and good call on the clown, gobies sound like theyd be alot happier in that size tank than a clown...light sounds good too

 

maybe pine for the canopy?

 

put up some pics of your progress once you get started

ill be starting today, as i am about to go get my acrylic and my dremel and cut the pice to fit. the tank will be next week but luckily my friend has the same size tank so i can measure his dimensions or take them from aga's website and cut the piece. i have decided i want to ue clear acrylic only because i want to grow star polyps along the back wall and i already have a huge frag ready to go of green ones. besides if it is going to be covered with star polyps why would i spend the extra money to make it black. now, all i need is to find a used rio 600 pump and ill be in business. any ideas on how many prongs would be best for the overflow and how large of a fge i shouldhave? i want to put in maybe 1 small piece of reef rubble into the fuge and then the rest be cheato this way the lr will already have some small pods living in it, as my cheato isnt going into the tank until i get the main lr and it cycles.

[Hekim]

If you plan on painting the canopy, MDF is cheap and easy to work with.

[the frag master]

If you plan on painting the canopy, MDF is cheap and easy to work with.

 

ok i might use that however i need to coat the wood with killz wood sealer. ok now for a major update

 

 

as of right now i am ready to begin work on m 5.5. only problem is, i dont have my tnak or the wood or the rio 600.

but not all is lost!!!

today surprisingly, i went out with my dad to home depot and instead of me having to buy the dremel, he got it for me and told me it was a late christmas gift, how luck am i, he even bought me a diamond blade for cutting into lps, hurrah.

i boughtsome silicone, and 2 sheets of plexyglass for 6 buxs total. i sheet was to practice with the dremmel as tonot screw up anything. my first try was almost a success howver the notces for the water overflow sucked. so this weekend ill be doing the final product. i am also doing this for my 15 long so i use all of the scraps. now, i need some help.

when i put thisa into my 5.5 and my 15 too, im going to have 3 chambers (2 on the 5.5), how do i silicone the baffles in the rear, the baffle to the wall, then baffle to flase wall or baffle to false wall then baffel to real wall? or how should i do this? ligts are ready to go and im dying to finish this. as for the 15, i have 3 chambers, 2 pumps and a fuge. thanks.

[the frag master]

ok im done with the tank. ill start y new thread soon. ill be setting it up tomorrow, today i bought the rock and the sand and a few fish (a baby bangia cardianl and a small black clown gobie). the cardinal is so tiny it wont be bigger than a wad of my SPIT!!!. pics soon