JBM Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 *** Rebirth starts on pg 22 So logically an upgrade would be going to a bigger tank right? Not in my case. I'm tired & bored of my 40 breeder. So I'll be setting up a 5.5 aga in the next few weeks. Altho I am pretty good with my hands & diy type things. I'm going to be supporting other members with this build. CoRps aka Brett is going to be building my aio to custom specs ( maybe then he will finish his 20L ). Eventually I'll contact Evil for a led fixture or retro. Ok so the short & long of the build is as follows: 5.5g aio display is 11.75x8x10 Custom media rack 2-tiered Maxi-jet 600 7 watt heater dual loc line 2 x 9w mini light. upgrading to wider optic par38 bulb once it's ready for purchase took a couple of scoops of sand from my 40b idk how much sand i have, nor do i know how much rock is in there right now. 6 lbs has been ordered from reef cleaners. The goal or idea behind this tank is crazy colors. I'd say there is a 90% chance of NO fish. Rare & exotic zoas, crazy colored rics & acan will be what I want to keep. I'll add pictures & update as I gather more materials. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the early days 12/7/2009 12/19/2009 added 4 lbs of reef bones from reefcleaners.org 3/27/2010 6/17/2010 (it's a bad fts i know 8/9/2010 (1 month after move & 1st day of led light) 8/17/2010 Link to comment
oceanbreeze Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 sounds great to me this is what i want to do next, so shall be following you, please keep updates (if only for me!) Link to comment
badfish816 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 to the pico side.... Link to comment
JBM Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 This post will be updated with a running tally of every penny I put into this tank; in hopes to show others how much it really costs to start up & maintain a pico. All of these figures include Ny state tax, but do not include shipping where applicable. 5.5g from petland - $13.01 Custom built aio & lid from CoRPS - $60 Maxi-jet 600 - $18.99 Plumbing parts for spray bar return - **went with a dual loc-line** plumbing was $29 from Dr Foster. Pico heater - $5 Lighting - $25 ________________________ Total spent thus far - $122.00 ** this does not include sand or salt for w/c as I had recently purchased a 5g bucket of marin salt. The salt was $54.50 after taxes (makes aprox 220 gallons) *** I will most likely take sand from my 40b as it is already seeded, so add another $10 if you see fit. So in reality I've spent $186.50 for the tank. This does not include live rock, media, timer, paint or a power strip. -------------------------- So rock cost me $21 from reefcleaners.org Bag of poly fill cost me $5 from wally world + the $29 for plumbing add an additional $55 total thus far $241 Link to comment
Warehouse41Ant Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I'm curious, because I want to setup a 5.5 aio as well....what is your custom built AIO, and where would I go about getting one? I'm going to try the diy thing, but I tend to be better with just buying. Haha. Good luck on the tank! Can't wait to see it progress. Pics when you can! Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 you wanna know who's the new hotness? JBM is the new hotness. that's who. Link to comment
ap123 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Sounds cool! I'll be following along. Link to comment
CoRPS Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Here's his wall so far. Just need to finish the plumbing, paint it up and add the egg crate baskets! Excuse the mess on the table Link to comment
JBM Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 I would contact CoRPs (he posted in this very thread) on specific pricing & what you need to get started. I say that the aio he is building is custom in the fact that: -It's being built to what I want, not what is easy for him to build. -It's layed out the way I want. Meaning it has things I specifically want like a dual media rack (to my specifications) on the intake side. While I do agree, DIY is great & I love those type of projects. I realized that having a 18-19 month old baby; who mind you puts everything in her mouth. Is not conducive to having acrylic glue & sharp knives around the house. So the job went to Brett (aka CoRPs). Believe me, many,many,many pictures will be taken of this coral only tank (unless I find a mated pair of yellow or green clown gobies). It will become home to the very rare & expensive lps & zoa's. Maybe, maybe a mushroom variety. I'm curious, because I want to setup a 5.5 aio as well....what is your custom built AIO, and where would I go about getting one? I'm going to try the diy thing, but I tend to be better with just buying. Haha. Good luck on the tank! Can't wait to see it progress. Pics when you can! Link to comment
wimby Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I can't wait to see this. It's going to be awesome. Have fun putting it all together. I hear ya on the baby and stuff in the mouth. They are a handful and more. Your daughter is so cute!!! Link to comment
JBM Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 So after some debate last night; I'm ditching the spraybar idea. It's a great feature on larger tanks. However I just don't see it being practical in a tank this small. Going to use a dual loc-line return instead. So that way I have 2 different circulation points. One for agitating the surface & the other for display circulation. That's it for now. Maybe another teaser or two tonight Link to comment
JBM Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 Nothing new really. Just gonna order new bulbs this week. Link to comment
JBM Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 At a stand still in the build. Couldn't find a bulkhead or loc-line locally. MarineDepot ftw! Parts should arrive on the 12th. Gettin a wee bit excited for the build. All I have to figure out is the stand ( if one at all ). If I make a stand it will have to be high enough to keep away from a baby. Alas I might just put it up on a dresser. Decisions, decisions Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 So after some debate last night; I'm ditching the spraybar idea. It's a great feature on larger tanks. However I just don't see it being practical in a tank this small. Going to use a dual loc-line return instead. I have used both spray bars and loc-lines on smaller tanks. I like the loc-lines cause they are easy to configure and adjustable but they are a little expensive. Whenever I did a spray bar in a smaller tank I used 1/2" CPVC -- 1/2" MPT are 1/2" threads regardless, so you can use a threaded adapter to screw into a threaded bulkhead. The CPVC is a lot smaller then regular PVC and can handle the pressure for a small tank spray bar. Still my next setup I'm building at the moment will use loc-lines. Tagging along for the ride. --- Charles Link to comment
JBM Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 Was gonna use the coralife. But I think Evil's Par38 led bulb is a better choice. Link to comment
JBM Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hopefully Brett (corps) gets ahold of me today. Should be giving me the final shipping quote. YAY!!!!!!!! I don't want to disapoint anyone. This tank will not see a cycle till early next year. While it will be built by the end of the month & FW tested. I don't want to start anything without having all of my equipment ready. I am really starting to get interested in the RKL. I feel that it will help me keep this tank very stable. Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I don't want to disapoint anyone. This tank will not see a cycle till early next year. While it will be built by the end of the month & FW tested. I don't want to start anything without having all of my equipment ready. I am really starting to get interested in the RKL. I feel that it will help me keep this tank very stable. I agree on both points. My current build is going slow cause of the high end equipment I want. I too want everything in place before I crank it up (did FW tank test this past weekend.) I have also been looking into a RKL especially since I just gave my son my JBJ ATO for use on his setup. Link to comment
JBM Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 SO to continue with interesting things in this thread. I stumbled across somebody that makes customs rocks on another forum. I kinda like it. i could totally see it covered in zoas & other nice things. but then again it is a "custom" rock which is probably made form concrete. I dont want to deal with high PH. meh, i need to have my eyes surgically removed so i stop looking at things i dont need to buy Link to comment
JBM Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 Umm...... yea, negative ghost rider on the table lookin rock. not gonna but concrete in my tank Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Did you see my thread where I did Bonsai Aquascaping in a nano?? It is sort of the same thing but done with real rock and not concrete. You can see the whole writeup at the link below. Was a fairly easy project. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=215491 Link to comment
wimby Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 No don't do it. No to concrete. I hear ya on having all the equipment. Thats what I did. I slowly over months started getting things for the tank. Link to comment
Nemo Niblets Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 This is definitely the Hotness. With a capital H Link to comment
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