ChrisF Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 After lurking around here a while, I decided to take the plunge. Stand and canopy: DIY red oak and pine Aquarium: All Glass 10G Lighting: 32w supernova and 14w NO 6500k Heater: 75w jager Powerhead: Maxi Jet Mj250 (78gph) Filtration: Aqua Clear 150 empty and Regent HOB with floss 10lbs of very nice figi rock and 15lbs of aragonite sand Salt: Red sea I've had it up and running about two weeks now, I'll let it run another month or so, then if every thing checks out OK, I'll add some livestock. Here's some pics- any suggestions? Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 Welcome to Nano-Reef.com ChrisF! Your nano reef looks very nice so far! I really like your stand and canopy too. Good job Link to comment
Delph Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 (Edited by Delph at 9:57 am on June 3, 2002) Link to comment
ChrisF Posted April 2, 2002 Author Share Posted April 2, 2002 Ok, the salesguy said that it was premium figi rock, but I contacted the owner and he said it was aquacultured rock from the gulf. What ever it is, they got me for $7.99 lb! But the rock already has all different colors coralline on it, several sponges, christmas tree worms, feather dusters, several snails, and maybe corals? If someone can, on the third pic I posted, there is a group of round objects, pinkish brown in color by the red sponge. Can someone tell me what this is? There are several groups of this on the rock. I tested the water for the first time today. PH 8.2 Ammo: trace No nitrites, but .20 nitrates. I did a 1 gallon water change. Does it sound like the cycle has about finished? Link to comment
My Eclipse 6 Posted April 3, 2002 Share Posted April 3, 2002 7.99/lb...? Looks well worth it!! Nice setup! Link to comment
minigeek Posted April 4, 2002 Share Posted April 4, 2002 Wow! I am in the planning process of setting up my 10gal and the last snag I had in the setup was a good looking stand and hood to match. Is there anyway you could post the plans of your stand/hood design for us to use? That is the look I want for my living room. Everything including my 55gal is wood that looks almost identical to your setup. Great work on the setup. I can only hope mine turns out this nice. Link to comment
ChrisF Posted April 5, 2002 Author Share Posted April 5, 2002 I'll do my best to get those plans up on the board. I'll have to make them, I kind of did it out of my head and scrap paper. What I did was make a 2 x 4 frame that was 3/4" smaller than the aquarium. Then I used 3/4" pine to cover the 2x4s.Then the aquarium sat flush on the 3 sides. The back extended 2 " for wires and such. The molding at the top of the stand goes 1" above the top of the stand allowing the aquarium to sit down in the molding. I put the same molding at the bottom to even out the look. The canopy is (4) 3/4" pine boards ripped to 6" mitered together. Blocks of hardwoord on the inside join the corners. These blocks are only 5" tall,so the canopy slips over the top of the aquarium.The top is made from a peice of "ponderosa pine" routered on the edge and secured with brass hinges. The door is red oak with a natural varnish. I don't know if you have ever priced red oak, but it would cost $200-$300 to make this stand. Minwax cherry stain on pine comes out almost the same color as natural red oak. It was a fun project, but very hard to get everything to fit perfect. Link to comment
minigeek Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 ChrisF, Thanks for the description. It was detailed enough that I could finish up minor details if I sat down and drew up some rough plans. The actual plans from you would be an added bonus. I have seen similar stands running anywhere from 180 to 270 dollars around where I live. I'm not great at wood-working but I'm sure this job is something anybody could do and save a lot of money. Thanks once again! Link to comment
Cam barr Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 can u take a pic of your filter/hang on sump si i can see how u have it set up thankx Link to comment
Toyfreek Posted April 7, 2002 Share Posted April 7, 2002 Those round things look like closed button polyps to me....not sure though. HTH, Toy Link to comment
NanoReefer53 Posted April 7, 2002 Share Posted April 7, 2002 those are button polyps. exactly how mine looked when they came on my lr. Should be about a week before the start opening up. Link to comment
mattdog Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 That has got to be one of the finest 10 gal setups I have ever seen. Nice job on the canopy and the stand. Makes it look a lot bigger. Have fun! Link to comment
ChrisF Posted April 8, 2002 Author Share Posted April 8, 2002 Thanks for the compliments! Yesterday, I purchased 5 hermits and 2 turbo snails. I'm getting some brown algae growth on the sand. Hopefully, the hermits will eat this up. Should I add more hermits? I added some gizmos to the lighting today. I couldn't keep the temp under 82 with the lights on, so I bought a 4" 12v fan blowing in from the back over the lights. I also added some timers. 11 am: 14 watt NO 6500 bulb comes on and fan kicks on. 12 pm: the 32w PC comes on 11 pm: the 32w PC shuts off, the 14 w stays lit 12 am: the 14w and the fan shuts down. This should give a nice dawn/dusk cycle. Next on the list a auto top off system. Anyone know a good DIY for little$? Thanks, Chris Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.