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EcoPico 5 gallon LED reef build....Refreshed tank on page 6!


alaskan84

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The light fixture is 10 inches long roughly with the curvature, just a hair over 3 inches wide and it sits exactly 3 inches off the top of the glass rim. You could in theory line two fixtures up together to double the usable lighting space if needed.

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Thanks for the measurements, I appreciate it.

 

Yeah, I can't wait until they release those light fixtures. I saw an article that said they were planning on selling them separately within the next few weeks. I'm curious to see how they price them. If they're reasonably priced people will snap those up for DIY projects based on the good looks and being aluminum for the built in heat dissipation. Even for the the non-DIY crowd, just adding a 2nd light would be an easy and attractive solution to upping the light levels.

 

I can't wait till you stock it and get to test out the growth. I'm going to guess that the 9w will do just fine.

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at work today, updated all the RKL modules and the NET module, later this afternoon I will get to hook her all up and begin configuring the light cycles etc.

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at work today, updated all the RKL modules and the NET module, later this afternoon I will get to hook her all up and begin configuring the light cycles etc.

 

 

So this is what I ended up with so far...its a bit overkill but I wanted as much light as possible, also needed to be plug and play.

 

Swapped out the flat hydor heater for a 50 watt eheim, its a little unsightly, but it will keep the temp where it needs to be.

 

Running 5 ecoxotic light strips total:

 

-Dawn from 7AM-8AM 1 strip of 453NM and 1200K mixed (on its own power supply)

-Daylight from 8AM until 5PM 2 strips of 1200K (running on a 4 way splitter)

-Dusk from 5PM until 6PM 1 strip of 453NM and 1200K mixed( same light as dawn)

-Night from 6PM until 7AM 2 strips of 453NM actinic ( ruinning on a 4 way splitter)

 

The RKL makes it real nice to schedule everything. I will snap some updated shots next week.

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I updated the lighting on mine as well and it feels like total overkill when I look at it, but I think it is the right way to do it in this tank. For the other commenter asking questions about the light and the stock structure, I was able to get all five concealed under the hood of the light fixture, but the base of the outside strips probably sticks out by about 1mm. It doesn't bother me too much and I find I'm pretty sensitive to doing things to mess up how sleek the tank and fixtures are.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3287531

 

Still following your thread & can't wait to see things take off. Jealous of the RK system!

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I've been testing, all looks well within specs....I'll probably do a large water change tomorrow in preparation for the friday arrival of my new CUC! :) I'm not quite sure they are all going into the the small tank as I picked up from live aquaria:

 

Trio of Orange Stripe Hermits

Trio of Blue Stripe Hermits

2 Nasarrius

4 ceriths

2 turbo

and a sweet new rhodactis rock for my 28 gallon :)

 

 

I will bring the dslr into work when I do acclimation and plop these guys into the tank to make sure the pictures are proper. I welcome any comments on what combination of my package would suit my 5 gallon best.

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So I've been testing, all looks well within specs....I'll probably do a large water change tomorrow in preparation for the friday arrival of my new CUC! :) I'm not quite sure they are all going into the the small tank as I picked up from live aquaria:

 

Trio of Orange Stripe Hermits

Trio of Blue Stripe Hermits

2 Nasarrius

4 ceriths

2 turbo

and a sweet new rhodactis rock for my 28 gallon :)

 

 

I will bring the dslr into work when I do acclimation and plop these guys into the tank to make sure the pictures are proper. I welcome any comments on what combination of my package would suit my 5 gallon best.

 

 

 

Any comments on how much of that cuc order should go into a 5 gallon? anyone think the orange and blue legs will fight?

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Any comments on how much of that cuc order should go into a 5 gallon? anyone think the orange and blue legs will fight?

 

Sadly, I haven't learned enough about crabs to give an input.

 

But have a bump :D

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Drift Monkey
Any comments on how much of that cuc order should go into a 5 gallon? anyone think the orange and blue legs will fight?

I personally don't like keeping hermits in small tanks...but I suppose 1 per gallon seems about right if you're intent on havin' 'em.

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I personally don't like keeping hermits in small tanks...but I suppose 1 per gallon seems about right if you're intent on havin' 'em.

 

I want alaksan's tank to be my tank's crab doppelganger and filled with an all crab CUC with one snail.

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I want alaksan's tank to be my tank's crab doppelganger and filled with an all crab CUC with one snail.

 

The electric blue legs are just so sweet looking...i suppose I may try 2 blue legs, 2 orange legs, 2 ceriths, 2 nassarius and 2 turbo's. They may end up getting moved to either of my two other tanks if they run outta food or decide to wage war on eachother.

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The electric blue legs are just so sweet looking...i suppose I may try 2 blue legs, 2 orange legs, 2 ceriths, 2 nassarius and 2 turbo's. They may end up getting moved to either of my two other tanks if they run outta food or decide to wage war on eachother.

 

With a second tank you have the luxury of changing in/out CUC members without much hassle. I say go for it, and if it doesn't work, then lesson learned.

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Monochrome5
So I've been testing, all looks well within specs....I'll probably do a large water change tomorrow in preparation for the friday arrival of my new CUC! :) I'm not quite sure they are all going into the the small tank as I picked up from live aquaria:

 

Trio of Orange Stripe Hermits

Trio of Blue Stripe Hermits

2 Nasarrius

4 ceriths

2 turbo

and a sweet new rhodactis rock for my 28 gallon :)

 

 

I will bring the dslr into work when I do acclimation and plop these guys into the tank to make sure the pictures are proper. I welcome any comments on what combination of my package would suit my 5 gallon best.

 

 

That's not a good idea for a CUC...

 

Trio of Orange Stripe Hermits - The orange stripes can get really big. Far too big for a 5g. They would also likely kill your blues.

 

Trio of Blue Stripe Hermits - 3 blues is more than enough in the crab department. I would suggest one blue and one dwarf scarlet (they reportedly have slightly different algae diets).

 

2 Nasarrius - great for your tank

 

4 ceriths - Maybe a bit much. I'd only do 3

 

2 turbo - They get to the size of a golfball and knock over everything. Not a good pico snail. Go with Nerites (like tiny turbos, though some people hate them for the same reason as turbos - they can bulldoze) or the lesser seen astraea.

 

Suggestions - Dwarf ceriths in picos are awesome. There is a reason everyone has them. A healthy dose of dwarfs keeps a reef nice and sparkly clean.

 

Disclaimer - I'm not infallible when it comes to CUC. JohnMaloney, however, is. Send him a PM or use the form on his webpage (reefcleaners.org) for the best advice possible. Send him your CUC list and what you want to do with your tank and he can tell you everything you need to know!

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[That's not a good idea for a CUC...

 

Trio of Orange Stripe Hermits - The orange stripes can get really big. Far too big for a 5g. They would also likely kill your blues.

 

Trio of Blue Stripe Hermits - 3 blues is more than enough in the crab department. I would suggest one blue and one dwarf scarlet (they reportedly have slightly different algae diets).

 

2 Nasarrius - great for your tank

 

4 ceriths - Maybe a bit much. I'd only do 3

 

2 turbo - They get to the size of a golfball and knock over everything. Not a good pico snail. Go with Nerites (like tiny turbos, though some people hate them for the same reason as turbos - they can bulldoze) or the lesser seen astraea.

 

Suggestions - Dwarf ceriths in picos are awesome. There is a reason everyone has them. A healthy dose of dwarfs keeps a reef nice and sparkly clean.

 

Disclaimer - I'm not infallible when it comes to CUC. JohnMaloney, however, is. Send him a PM or use the form on his webpage (reefcleaners.org) for the best advice possible. Send him your CUC list and what you want to do with your tank and he can tell you everything you need to know!

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Well, since I had a couple credits with live aquaria, I was limited to what they had available. I have blue legs in my 28 gallon and they seem to get along nicely with the various regular hermits i have. As far as the turbo's go, it must take them a loong time to get golf ball sized, as the ones in my 28 gallon are pretty small...maybe quarter sized or smaller. I also dont have any rockwork that they would be able to knock over. I would have loved to get some dwarf ceriths, and maybe I will end up having to place a seperate order for some of them.

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he meant they will knock over any frags or freshly glued corals.

i second the dwarf ceriths, but being in alaska maybe CUC choices are limited, so go with what you can get.

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he meant they will knock over any frags or freshly glued corals.

i second the dwarf ceriths, but being in alaska maybe CUC choices are limited, so go with what you can get.

 

 

 

well we all have the internet this day in age, so I wouldnt say we are limtied, we just have no lfs. Depending on how this cuc fares in the tank, I may end up ordering a slightly different package.

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nevermind, i thought you had an LFS.

 

 

depends what the definition of "local" is...how about 260 miles and an hour plane flight? Problem is I dont get off "the rock" near enough.

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my point was, are there any hobbyists around you or a cheap source of dwarf ceriths? even a small amount will do, a pair will breed up to a proper amount for your tank.

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my point was, are there any hobbyists around you or a cheap source of dwarf ceriths? even a small amount will do, a pair will breed up to a proper amount for your tank.

 

 

There were 2 other people I know of in town who had saltwater tanks...I bought the one guys whole 125 gallon setup, and the other guy has had constant problems with his tank and I wouldnt bother with anything he might have.

 

Sooo,my cuc order arrived...I do need to apologize and state that I have never had turbo's before and god damn these two that arrived are already at least the size of golf balls! I'm almost afraid to put my hand in the bag :lol: . They are definitly destined for the 125 gallon I have as they are totally not suitible for my 28 gallon, let alone the 5! When I get home I will actually find out what type of snails I have in the 28, that I thought were turbos. The ceriths are actually very small imo so all 4 will go in, the nassarius are what i would call normal size and two are perfect for the 5, and I am going to try 2 blue legs and see how they fare. I wont be able to acclimate them until work is out at 5, but i've got them on my desk with my dslr so photos will come after 5pm today!

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my point was, are there any hobbyists around you or a cheap source of dwarf ceriths? even a small amount will do, a pair will breed up to a proper amount for your tank.

 

Random Q, do dwarf ceriths change sexes / require sexes to breed? I'm aware that snails generally do. Did some quick googling to no avail.

 

There were 2 other people I know of in town who had saltwater tanks...I bought the one guys whole 125 gallon setup, and the other guy has had constant problems with his tank and I wouldnt bother with anything he might have.

 

Sooo,my cuc order arrived...I do need to apologize and state that I have never had turbo's before and god damn these two that arrived are already at least the size of golf balls! I'm almost afraid to put my hand in the bag :lol: . They are definitly destined for the 125 gallon I have as they are totally not suitible for my 28 gallon, let alone the 5! When I get home I will actually find out what type of snails I have in the 28, that I thought were turbos. The ceriths are actually very small imo so all 4 will go in, the nassarius are what i would call normal size and two are perfect for the 5, and I am going to try 2 blue legs and see how they fare. I wont be able to acclimate them until work is out at 5, but i've got them on my desk with my dslr so photos will come after 5pm today!

 

Awesome, look forward to it.

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i believe dwarf ceriths can be hemaphrodites, but am not 100% sure. all i know is that i got a pair and now i have hundreds lol.

 

alaskan, the snails you called turbo in your 28 are likely astrea snails, because those are also called turbo snails by some. the huge ones you got are true mexican turbos. biggest of them all i think.

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Drift Monkey
i believe dwarf ceriths can be hemaphrodites, but am not 100% sure. all i know is that i got a pair and now i have hundreds lol.

 

alaskan, the snails you called turbo in your 28 are likely astrea snails, because those are also called turbo snails by some. the huge ones you got are true mexican turbos. biggest of them all i think.

So the dwarf ceriths do breed in our tanks?

 

Hundreds? You should share your ceriths with me! ;)

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