Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Hey folks, I've decided to turn my .75g pico into a little planted tank, and move the critters (GSP, Zoanthids, Shrooms, C-crew) into my Ex's guppy tank. It's a *bright* green Minibow 2.5, with ~3lbs Aragonite, ~3lbs Fijir LR, a 100gph PH, and a spiral 19w 6500k PC bulb. It's currently got a mini heater in it, but I'm having some temp issues, which I'll go into in a minute. Pics: Tank: Closeup: Perspective (wicked bright, eh?): As you can see, it's pretty bright -- I've even got MH-like shimmer going on. That's kind of a problem, with the translucent hood and all... I think I'll glue some foil inside the hood to cut down on glare (and green glow). The big problem is temperature. With just the bulb and PH running, the temperature increases by almost 1 degree/hr. So, I cut a hole in the left side of the hood, and wedged a 60MM fan (12DC) in there. It brought the temperature down from 85 this morning to 69 this afternoon! Yeah, I guess I won't see a big hitchiker survival rate... (BTW, the fan is running on a 9V transformer.) Anyway, I added the mini Wal-Mart heater, and it went up to 70, so that isn't going to work. So, now, I'm planning to buy a Ranco temperature controller to operate the fan intermittently. We'll see how that goes. Unless anyone has a better idea? Any other comments might be welcomed. :-) Ian Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Some pics of the .75g. Excuse the film algae on the acrylic. My Cerith is a lazyass. Ian Link to comment
Von digity Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Ummm, unless you gotta a ranco conveniently lying around (and if you do, then I strongly urge you to sell it to me for a good price, j/k), why not just by a better heater? Maybe one that you can actually adjust. Also, put the fan and lights on a timer, so they come on at the same time. As for the light, just buy some mylar, plastic stores sell them, they are used in patato chip bags, shoot, if you have a emergency kit lying around, you can use the blanket it comes with (who needs a freakin "emergency" blanket anyways?). The lime green reminds me of an ABS canopy I made. While your at it, either get one of those retro"bubble" t.v.'s (lime green of course) or a cool techno flat one. And whats up with the beaker? I smell a meth lab in the garage... Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Oh, the answer is way better than a meth lab... But you'll never know. :-) The fan and light are on a timer. I really don't want a heater in there at all. I guess that's why I'm thinking about the controller. They're external. I am working on finding a cheap one. Mylar, check. Thanks for the input, v.digity. Ian Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Get a Hagen thermal, that little wally world heater is how I learned the hard way in my 2.5 mini bow. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 I guess that's what I'll do. That $20 Ranco fell through. Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 On my setup I am running a Hagen Aquaclear Mini, a Hagen Thermal heater(smallest one on the market I think), Purigen, Coralife 18 watt hood, and around 3 lbs of LR. My tank has been set up since november, but due to some learning mistakes it has taken me some time to perfect it. As of now I have coraline algae growing everywhere, but at the begginging I didn't. Tip: That hood will work so long as you just want to run one of the Coralife 10 watt 50/bulbs, but I suggest you buy a retro kit with two 13 watt bulbs from hello lights. If building stuff isn't your thing you can always buy one of the 13 watt Azoo Galaxy fixture at www.drsfosterandsmith.com Buy two of those for a very clean setup then buy one 13 watt act. and one 13 watt 10 k from www.hellolights.com Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 I've done retros with the HL 13w before. The reflector rocks, but it's a bit pricey. I've got a 19w in there now - 6500k from HD - that is really the cheapest retro you can do ($7). It grows plants well, so I thought I would try it on corals. I am definitely considering an AC HOB for chem filtration, and possibly a mini fuge. Ian Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Here is an idea of what I was talking about, hope you don't mind the shameless insert of my own tank. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Not at all - but I've seen it. :-) Nice tank. Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Yeah the only problem is you don't get that actinic effect where it floresces everything. The little gallaxy lights are 26.99 at drs. and they have everything reflector remot balast, and the best part is that they are already put together. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Yeah, I may have to do something like that down the road. More likely, I'll upgrade this one to a MB7 with 70w DE within the year. I may even force that by picking up a .75" Blue Velvet damsel from my LFS... Anyone have a problem with a tiny damsel as sole fish inhabitant of this tank for a few months? I've also got a mixed 20L, but I've decided not to post pictures of that until it's "perfect". It's going pretty well. Ian Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Nah....I did it for a while, just be vigilant about you water changes...toping off, and use the health of your corals as a way to tell you how your tank is doing. All I can say is that don't do any type of additives, because the magin for error is way to great. You have been at this for a while so i don't even have to explain. Yeah that was basicly what plagued me with this tank for the first few months. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Cool, will do. Thanks for all the good advice. Btw, that heater is on the way... Ian Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Good deal man....guess what I did today. I got another fish. I haven't had one for abotu 5 months, but decided to get another so that my tank would be a little more colorful. I got an almost fry sized False perc, and more than likely it will be moved to my thirty after a bit. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Sweet! Where is that Damsel, anyway? Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Changed the aquascape. I guess I'll put the new heater vertically down the crevice. Pic: Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Also, the intakes for the PH are now against the left acrylic (1/4" clearance), and behind the suction cups. This should make it fairly safe for the little Rock Anemone (Epicystis crucifer) that I have on hold at my LFS. Ian Link to comment
Whitten Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Look'n good. The Damsel that I had is actually in another friends tank now. Link to comment
jmt Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 You should check into those little 25w titanium heaters. I wish I had a link to give you. They are nice and small, and the temp controller is on the wall wart. Also, couldn't you just spray paint the inside of the hood a flat, thick color? White maybe? Chrome if you want to take it to the level of ghetto. Looks like some nice begginings though. I still wish I had gone through with the goby/pistol combo in an MB2.5. -Justin Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Originally posted by Whitten Look'n good. The Damsel that I had is actually in another friends tank now. Thanks, dude. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Originally posted by jmt You should check into those little 25w titanium heaters. I wish I had a link to give you. They are nice and small, and the temp controller is on the wall wart. Also, couldn't you just spray paint the inside of the hood a flat, thick color? White maybe? Chrome if you want to take it to the level of ghetto. Looks like some nice begginings though. I still wish I had gone through with the goby/pistol combo in an MB2.5. -Justin Yeah, I've seen those heaters at my LFS. They talked me out of them at one point due to "reliability issues." I can't remember the brand they carry... I'll look into it again. Good idea on the spray paint. A couple layers might filter the light nicely, but allow a little "glow" which would be perfect... Yasha Hase (sp?) Goby + Pistol Shrimp? That would be sweet. The only thing that would scare me is an expensive fish in a system that is inherently unstable. I guess If I get the temp thing rock solid, and follow W's advice re: dosing & water changes, it might be pretty stable. Iffy though. Thanks for the input! Ian Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 What I really wish is that my ex had liked blue. The green is kinda cheesy, IMO. Link to comment
jmt Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 I was going to get the "Goldfish Kit" one. It's solid black. Link to comment
Looselyhuman Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 Yeah... Isn't that the one with the built in UGF that ReefPirate is using (supposedly) for the LED mod? I wonder what's up w/that? Link to comment
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