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Calling all 5.5's!!!


onthefly

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Ok....after my XMAS crash.....things are looking up!

 

Got my physh float switch.....need to get it mounted.....probably will do like birdy and put it in the fuge.

 

All my bleached out SPS have come back like gang busters.

 

Although it was sad......I swapped out my silica sandbed for aragonite last night....what a bee-atch! I started at 10pm (when my light go out.....finished around 1am...thought it was going to take an hour! On the brightside, I gained about an inch of hieght in the tank!

 

Anyway, I think it looks better and I like the "coarser" grain of the aragonite over the silica.

 

I also added 2lbs of LR rubble to the fuge

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I relocated my purple star polyps to the back middle (right side of pic) and it can be seen from the front. I also moved my GSP to the back left corner. In both cases, I'm trying to "train" in up the backwall of the tank. Also moved the pink pocillopora to the left side. Finally, I "slid" the orange rimmed zoos over to the left some to make room for the impeding clam.

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I built a small hood for over the fuge to hold the halogen "hockey puck" light I got from HD....20W and only $9....should be perfect for macro.

 

I managed to match the wall paint and the hood paint to "blend" it into the wall some....plus Mrs. Fly can't harp on me now!

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Thats pretty ghetto.

I guess everyone has a little ghetto in them.

Isn't halogen a bad idear? All I've heard is hate and negativity spewed about them. Nice project though. Nice tank, I bet it'll look reall killer in a few months, when everything grows in.

 

I'll give you a few ghetto points for the halogen though.

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Thanks Von!

 

The halogen is driving the fuge and I've read alot recently that the lower kelvin lighting is better for macro growth. Alot of people over at RC are running incandescents on their fuges. I'd never run them on a reef!

 

Figured for $9, I'd try it! If it doesn't pan out, then my wife wants a light in her closet...."there you go sweetie!.....I'm off to Hellolights to get some 13W'rs"

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heres one of my many sexy shrimp hosting my metallic frogspawn. this is probably one of my favorite corals because of how much it flouresces.... is that a word?

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last shot guys....

specs are:

 

5.5 aga

-CSL 2x 32 watt power compact hood

-50 watt ebo jager

-rio 50 powerhead

-millenium HOB power filter

-6 lbs fiji LR/2 lbs marshall island LR

-4 lbs LS

 

- many sexy shrimps

-many snails

-1 clownfish

-1 gaint feather duster

 

 

-pulsing xenia

-green/pink frogspawn

-metallic frogspawn

-green shrooms

-red shrooms

-pink/green richordia

-eucena gorgonian

-GSP

-blue/purple candycane

-baby blue/pink candycane

-green/brown zoos

-orange/red zoos

-monticap

 

-3 types of macro

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Here is my 5.5 with my brand new DIY 70w halide (ignore the scary wiring).

 

http://pottinger.dynu.com/ben/tank2.jpg

 

it looks so BLAND compared to all of the tanks you guys have. After looking at the rock work in most of the tanks I think mine might not be the best. Its 2 big rocks with that one bridging over between them and a couple fist size rocks in the back.

 

Does it look ok? suggestions? I'm planning on adding some montipora or acropora here soon, plus an auto-topoff setup of some kind and a 12 CPR on the back (I think i can even get away with using over-shoot light from the MH for the refuge).

 

Ben

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well the first thing I'd do is get something to cover the back of the tank... that'll improve looks by at least 40%... ;)

I always think my tank looks bland too... just wait till you find the perfect corals and take your time stocking your tank. by not rushing things with the "its gotta get full" mentality (trust me I know what I'm talking about...) you can achive some really nice tank setups, so I wouldn't worry too much for now, the aquascaping is ok. you can add different zoos, corals (like fungia) or clams (research!!) to the sand to fill in the tank too. maybe some more live-rock... I try to find niche small rocks with corals, sponges, zoos, etc. to "fill in" certain spots. jmo though...

 

hth

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i totally agree with shadow. i just added a backround to my tank....after two months, and it always improves the whole look of any tank. i would add a little more LR, and make sure to get smaller pieces because they can fit together much better than larger ones. much much easier to work with as far as aquascaping goes. just m 2 cents.

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oh... sorry one more thing. i would wait at least 6 months before adding a clam. that way it gives your tank enough time to mature and become a more ideal enviroment for it. just MHO.:P

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Ben - I would go breaking up the rock...it looks fine! Just add a few more smaller pieces "in and around" the other stuff.

 

As for adding SPS......start with the montis! Their very forgiving and rewarding. Much like clams that require a stable system, acros can be very fickle.

 

Great start!

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HA! I decided to revive the ol' five point five thread a little by sharing my 5.5. It really isn't very impressive compared to the tanks previously posted (especially OTF's), but hey, I'm just taking it slow, so hopefully my system will be rather stable in the future. I figure that if I don't add any more corals, I should have a pretty decent tank in a few years when everything eventually grows in.

 

VON DIGITY'S 5.5 SOFT-ish TANK

Specs:

-aga 5.5

-Dr.fostersmith cheap 1x36 watt fixture retro'd to 2x36 with a workhorse 5 (1x65k+1xact)

-DIY stand built originally for a 10 gallon. I used left over tile from the kitchen remodeling around the bottom perimeter. Hopefully this will be a good earthquake proof tank.

-1 harbor frieght power head

-1 cheap HOB filter with carbon

- 50 watt heater

-18 gallon sump *soon to be used (maybe, kinda cheating huh?)

-skimmerless, just waterchanges every week with LFS water (catalina or whatever they have in stock)

 

Livestock

-GSP

-pink star polyps

-a single blue speckled shroom

-orange/blue/green mouth ric

-green ric

-some type of encrusting acropora (bought totally dead with mushrooms growing on it. since the purchase, it has started coming back to life @ a rapid pace growing under pcs, so goodbye to the mushrooms.)

-assorted Zoos

-a bunch of snails, 3 hermits, masses of bristleworms.

-assorted macro, soon to be removed (I let it grow out of control.)

 

This tank has been running since May (me thinks).

 

4463front_tank.jpg

 

4463tanktop.jpg

 

4463tankside.jpg

 

4463tanksump-med.jpg

I dunno, it seems kinda cheap to use the 18 gallon sump that I built the stand to fit. Any thoughts?

 

My goal is that the tank will remain a hardy soft coral tank that requires little maintenance (well compared to other systems at least)

 

I have another 5.5 at my girlfriends house, well it's not really mine anymore. Anyways its lit by the Carbon Fiber 70 watt MH pendants I'm struggling to build, and it totally over-run by Xenia. I'll have to get photos of it eventually.

 

Now if only OTF could give an update.

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Figure I'll join in this one :)

 

Specs

 

Pictures

 

Display Specifications:

5.5 Gallon All-Glass Aquarium

70W 10000k Metal Halide

2x13W 03 Actinic Power Compacts

DIY Wooden Canopy

Thermal Controlled Computer Fan

SCWD Return

 

 

Sump/Refugeium Specifications:

5.5 Gallon All-Glass Aquarium Sump/Fuge

DIY Cabinet/Stand

DIY Acrylic Baffles

Mag Drive 3 Return Pump

DIY Automatic Top-Off System

1x13W Power Compact 6500k Refuge Light

Thermal Compact 25W Heater

Live Fiji Rock

Live Sand

Chaetomorpha Macro Algae

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