Baby Abby's pico ~Week 4~

[cdelicath]

• Little Abby loves my reef tank. She will just stare at it and coo all day long.So what kind of dad would I be if I didn't give her her very own tank?Because this is going in her room I need it to be up where she couldn't get to it but where she could still enjoy it at night when she falls asleep. I decided I would build her a 20" x 7" x 8"H All-In-One. Safety being #1 priority the tank will have a special film on it to keep it together if it shatters and will be made of 3/16 glass. It will also have a secure lid. It will be lit by a custom LED bar.
  

 

 

 

 

• 20" x 7" x 8"H AIO
  
• 144 GPH pump
  
• 5 LED light bar
  

 

• No Coral Yet
  
• Helfrichi Firefish
  

 



The Build

 



 

The Setup

 







 

The Lighting

 

 







 



 





 

 







 

The Cycle

 

Week 1



Week one of the cycle:

• No diatoms yet
  
• No spike yet "not that I even expect to see one"
  

Week 2



Week two of the cycle:

• Diatoms finally showed up
  
• Never saw a spike in levels testing every 2 days.
  
• Diatoms are starting to go away already
  
• That's about it for the cycle. nice and quick.
  

Weekly Updates



February Week 1

Added sand and dry rock.

 



 

February Week 2

Finished LED unit and added water and seed rock.

 



 

February Week 3

Cycle complete and diatom bloom has peaked and is starting to disappear now.

Now it's time to pick out a fish and plan for coral. I will be adding some CUC this week





February Week 4

Added more rock to help make the water more stable. The zoo's I added are not happy due to what I think is the difference in light intensity. I am going to try to acclimate them to the LED's if they don't open in a few days.



 

End of Week 4

Added the Helfrichi Firefish tonight! Lets hope it's healthy and dosen't jump on me.

[Mustang Boy]

i dont know if you have any ideas on what to cover the tank in so let me recommend window tint like used on cars and house windows. i am not positive but im sure you can get some that are clear or almost clear so that it wont affect viewing at all.

[cdelicath]

3m and LLumar makes a safety film I will be using on this and pretty much testing for use on my other tanks. My main concern is scratching. I don't know what a mag cleaner will do to it.

[pismo_reefer]

Awww..... thats a 'dorable kiddy, right durr. !

[cdelicath]

Got the tank built tonight. it's a start! Now I wait for the sealant to set.

 

I should be able to finish it up tomorrow, I HOPE......

[mbarton2010]

looks good.

[bschook5]

Cool tank, cant wait to see it all setup.

[ryeguy28]

i like the the deminsions on that tank looks sweet

 

cant wait to see it set-up

[TRIP23]

looking good!!!!

[farkwar]

I've read that today's kids can drown in an ounce of water.

 

Be careful with yours. K.

[cdelicath]

I've read that today's kids can drown in an ounce of water.

 

Be careful with yours. K.

 

It's going up high just for that reason. That and to keep little hands out once she is mobile.

[jestersix]

Geez, Miss Abby is getting big fast - must say she is a doll, must take after her Mom! That wall mount is a sweet concept! Can't wait to see how this builds out - may have to get you to build one for my grandson's room.

[cdelicath]

Geez, Miss Abby is getting big fast - must say she is a doll, must take after her Mom! That wall mount is a sweet concept! Can't wait to see how this builds out - may have to get you to build one for my grandson's room.

 

Yes she does take after mom.. And thank god for that

Just added the false wall tonight and I'm hoping to get it up and running this weekend but everyone's keeping me so busy."That's a good thing though"

I still have tons of LED's and a 12" cube sump sitting waiting to be finished for the 20G.

[mbarton2010]

hey i might need a new nano tank for college. i can only have 10g and under.

[cdelicath]

I know a guy that makes small tanks

[badfish816]

this is gonna be sweet. following this closely.

[cdelicath]

Another quick update:

 

 

 

Flow testing tonight and then I have to add the film to the glass tomorrow.

Not sure if I want to do a glass lid or acrylic yet. I am thinking acrylic for safety reasons.

Back to being busy tomorrow with Pico Aquariums stuff but i'm still going to try and get this thing up on the wall and cycling this weekend.

[badfish816]

that is frickin pimp!

[cdelicath]

Well the idea of having the tank on the wall is gone. After getting everything built and ready to hang I started looking at everything and thinking. " I don't know that the shelf would hold that weight very well". So all the time trying to find good brackets and anchors and I get scared off by the shelf. Fear not.. Mom came to the rescue and suggested I put it on her dresser across from her crib. This kinda threw me off my guard for a minute because my wife like i'm sure most wife's and girlfriends out there, doesn't think much of my aquatic obsession.

Turns out this is a way better spot for the tank. I will be able to hang a light bar from the shelf above and not have to come up with some weird mounting for it. WIN WIN for me.

 

Monday is dad and Abby day and after the normal Sesame Street and Dinosaur Train fix we where ready to get this sucker set up.

 

Break time for lunch

Sweet Potato's and Oatmeal.........MMMM

 

Back to work

 

Ok ready for water and rock. I'm not sure if we are going to add it today and get this thing cycling or build the light first. We might add some water after nap time. Either way Abby is very happy with the work we have done so far.

[Weetabix7]

Cute lil kiddo.

Tank looks cool too.

[cdelicath]

Thanx Weetie

[cdelicath]

FTW Contest shot

[c_k_kuehne]

Great tank. You did a really nice job on the silicone. This should be a kewl build and just think you have a future reefer in training.

[jestersix]

Looking good!

[pismo_reefer]

awesome lil ones....