rnewhou Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Sandeep, How did you heat up the butter knife to make the overflow slots? I was thinking about doing this on a 5.5 AIO, but I wasn't sure what the best method would be to heat the knife up. I didn't even think about melting through the acrylic when I did my 2.5 AIO. I just ended up drilling holes like the ones you made with the soldering iron. Thanks for the help, and keep up the good work! Robert Link to comment
AaronJ Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Looks very cool. I'll be tagging along. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 Update as promised. I've removed the purigen and the chaeto and replaced it with another type of macroalgea - Caulerpa which seems to be thriving and growing faster. The foam on the maxi-jet intake has been removed to allow small animals to freely circulate between the refugium and the main tank. Corals: zoas, hammer, frogspawn, xenia Animals: 2 porcelain crabs, 2 blue legged hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp, yellow clown goby Answers to questions and comments: 1) Cost - figure it out from any online aquarium store website or your local LFS. To that cost add $20 to $30 for acrylic, acrylic cutting knife, silicone or other cement and cut glass top from glass & mirror shop or picture framing shop. 2) Dimensions Refugium/Sump partition wall is 10cm from the left edge of the tank. Semi-partition between sump and refugium compartments is 8.5cm from the back left edge of the tank. This allows a snug but enough space to easily remove and insert the maxi-jet 400 for the weekly cleaning of it's intake. If you make the partition too small, it's going to put too much stress on the acrylic wall glue joints in removing and reinserting the maxi-jet. 3) Water Changes I do weekly water changes of 0.5 gallons (2L). 4) Parameters After a couple of weeks it's pretty easy for me to judge what to add and when so testing is not needed. Currently I top off with 50ml of fresh water daily to maintain stable salinity. When I do weekly water changes, I add approx 1/8 teaspoon of Kent Turbo Calcium pellets to my Tropic Marin salt mix. Alkalinity has stayed stable in the 7-8 range with the weekly water changes so no need to adjust. Temp is 76F to 80F during a 24hr cycle. 5) Small Tanks Agreed folks don't realize the smaller the tank, the tougher and more challenging it is. If you are getting into small tanks, I would suggest that folks first start with at least a 20g nano (see my thread on mine) and run it for at least 6 months before even attempting or thinking about a pico reef. The key is really patience and discipline, you can't slack off. 6) Melting the Intake Slots Just place it with the flat blade on the top coiled oven elements of your stove set to Hi (the ones used for pans and to boil water on top of the stove, not the ones inside the oven). And then I used a oven mitt to hold the knife. It cuts just like butter and when it's getting cold and slowing down, just put it back on the stove for a few more minutes. Make sure to practice on a scrap piece of acrylic to get the hang of it before doing the real thing. Make sure you place the slots at least 1cm apart, too close and the plastic looses it's structural integrity when melting the slots. Link to comment
superduperwesman Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Updates...? I love this tank any new pics? Link to comment
superduperwesman Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I see you gave some updates on your 5.5 how about this guy?? Link to comment
Sandeep Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 The pictures I posted above are pretty new - just from last week. Only update is that the yellow clown goby starved to death refusing to eat anything, they are very picky eaters. Link to comment
superduperwesman Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 so no heat problems with that light? Link to comment
ununknown Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Wow. Look at the size comparison of the goby and the powerhead nozzle. Link to comment
I Ate A Cake Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Great tanks. I would love to start one eventually. How big is the standard 2.5G? Can't seem to remember. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Dimensions of the tank are approx 12"Lx6"Wx8"H No heat problems with the light at all, temps are 78F with it sitting on the glass top and running all day. Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Sorry to hear about your goby. The tank seems to be coming along nicely. Link to comment
IceTurf Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Update as promised. I've removed the purigen and the chaeto and replaced it with another type of macroalgea - Caulerpa which seems to be thriving and growing faster. The foam on the maxi-jet intake has been removed to allow small animals to freely circulate between the refugium and the main tank. Corals: zoas, hammer, frogspawn, xenia Animals: 2 porcelain crabs, 2 blue legged hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp, yellow clown goby I'm missing something here, wouldn't/doesn't the propeller in the max-jet chop up anything trying to pass between the refugium and the main tank area? Link to comment
Rocket Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 overflow into sump. Maxijet pumps back into tank. No impeller problems. Link to comment
noirlotus Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Do you think if you added more rock to gain more vertical space that would mess up your ability to keep the water params stable? Also do you think your lighting would provide enough light for sps? Thanks. Link to comment
superduperwesman Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Dimensions of the tank are approx 12"Lx6"Wx8"H No heat problems with the light at all, temps are 78F with it sitting on the glass top and running all day. What is the temp where you live? I have the same tank and light and today my temp is up around 84.5 Link to comment
NotAPiscivore Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 You should really try to avoid caulpera taxifolia as it is an invasive species. For example San Diego as spent millions of dollars eradicating it and is illegal in California (I know that's not where you live). Just dispose of it properly when you trim it back. FYI check out the following links SCCAT Article Link to comment
NotAPiscivore Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Oh, saw a posting quoted by someone and thought you were in Canada... anyway regardless of your location it is something to think about it. Also apparently there are 9 types of caulpera that are banned. ...not to distract from your tanks, your 2.5 and 5.5 are awesome! Keep up the good work. I am thinking of trying something similar w/ a 10g and the 2x18w T5 fixture. I hope this is enough light. I don't want to worry about temps though. Link to comment
Jenna Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I am thinking of trying something similar w/ a 10g and the 2x18w T5 fixture. I hope this is enough light. I don't want to worry about temps though. Don't the T5's run cooler than PC's? Jenna Link to comment
clownfish1124 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 update! i wanna see how this is doing, and my friend is gonna set up one of these, maybe tomorrow! Link to comment
capsfan Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Haha! This thread reminds me of my 2.5 reef. Link to comment
clownfish1124 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 i know, i already read yours Link to comment
coralcor Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 how much did that whole setup cost you i think i might do 1 just a few corals and a fis so ill do atleast a 10 gal cuz i want a clown fish Link to comment
clownfish1124 Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 hey capsfan, what are the dimensions of your acrylic pieces? We are gonna get our acrylic cut today. Link to comment
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