*TRUE* All In One, 5.5g penninsula

[mosquedaj]

please provide suggestions, experiences, design flaws

[Mini-Dude]

You do not need that much equipment to run a pico, I'm gonna tell you now so you don't waste your money.

[Cintax]

While I do agree with Spencer about the equipment being too much, if you do go ahead with this build I will follow the thread to see how it goes. It really would be a true all in one.

 

Are you planning on having a heater or are you going with the idea that ambient temperature plus all the heat from the pumps will do the job?

 

Are the 240's going to act like a wave box?

[mosquedaj]

I agree, it is alot of equipment...the overall concept is to create a tank that:

 

- is low maintenance

- to avoid common issues without daily maintenance

- can easily take with me incase of moving

- my wife and son can maintain while im gone on business.(just add top off to reservoir)

 

most of the equipment i already have from all of my previous setups, although the pico sized kalk stirrer, media reactor and possibly skimmer will be DIY...as for heating im sure the pumps will take care of that, and so depending on how hot the water gets i may add an ice probe chiller, which i totally forgot to add to the sketchup.

as for the 240s, the idea was to have enough flow to keep detritus suspended and corals stimulated but not too much where fish are constantly fighting it and the sand bed is all over the place. so im not really trying to create a wave but just random flow hence the timer. if i was able to create a wave, i think it would be un-natural looking because of the small size of the display.

i do plan on making a faux sand bed with the aquascaping attached to it by fiberglass rod and all epoxy'd together....hopefully creating a bonsai/minimalist effect...

[Cintax]

I fell some of the equipment like the kalk and skimmer would be made redundant with simple water changes. Are you looking to minimize that aspect as well?

 

You will have to be careful you don't take too many nutrients from the water too.

 

What are your stocking plans?

[gmod]

Looks very interesting...except i wouldnt run the UV...

[asting]

The volume will be so low due to all of the equipment. Also, your display volume is tiny. Consider a real return pump with a bulkhead instead of a koralia with a hole. There are plenty of nice 5.5 AIO's on this site.

[mosquedaj]

i would like to minimize water changes as much as possible as well, the reason being is whenever i have a tank up and running, i spend alot of time looking, changing, and maintaining it....so much that my family tends to gets jealous and despises it, i also feel bad because time just flys by when im messing with my aquarium...lol but its an addiction so, im trying to minimize the affects to find this happy median for everyone, where i can still have my reef and a happy family.....hope that makes sense.

 

i do agree about not wanting to strip all nutrients. i have had some overly clean tanks and experienced no growth and life in anything to include fish disease from too much chemical filtration. ive continually contemplated getting rid of the skimmer since ive never recieved noticable performance with them in small reefs, but i dont want to abandon the idea of oxygen rich water, so i thought about doing an oxygen reactor until i read its a touchy subject when theres too much oxygen. the only thing that has me holding onto the skimmer in the plans is that i would like to have a small RBTA in the tank, Anemones seem to be the only thing my family enjoys about my reefs..if it wasnt for that they wouldnt even glance at the aquarium.

 

im planning on doing a mixed reef, with some easy things to care for such as shrooms, zoas mainly softies,but perhaps xenia,kenya tree, small rbta, frogspawn, gorgonia and even some monti cap. im not sure about keeping any other SPS yet..id have to see how the setup goes and what light i end up choosing. it would be nice if i could throw a small birdsnest in there. as for fish, i may just have a pair of tiny clowns clarki or percs. i usually keep maroons but its getting old. i know a pair may seem like too much but they dont wander far from home if at all. or perhaps just a goby...any suggestions, something colorful, yet with some character.

 

a few years ago when i moved from arizona i tore down my reef and gave ALL of my livestock to a friend to care for so that when i reached my destination he could stock me up on frags...so over the years, he has an abundance of overgrowth..and thats what i plan on stocking this pico with.

 

 

why not the UV? ive read about possible over sterilization but i cant say i actually agree with it. but i havent had any experience with UV in a pico just large reefs and have had very good results.

[mosquedaj]

the koralias will take up a big amount of space, i do have a return pump in the middle chamber, but i like the idea of having a somewhat closed loop type of circulation with the koralias, if im working on the sump portion or transporting the tank....

 

i could remove the skimmer and push back the return chamber and remove the koralias and just use locline..although i dont like the way they look and how i constatnly have to move them around because it seems like too much directional flow. those extra 3 inches are enticing though.

[BulkRate]

Neat design...albeit a Nasa/Space Shuttle level of it.

 

With that amount of equipment, you may need a chiller to deal with waste heat. Or you could start streamlining out things that aren't absolutely needed (and then need a heater). A less capable but significantly smaller skimmer, less ATO capacity (but still some) perhaps offset by a less open lid to control evaporation. Would you really need a kalk dispenser/reactor in something this size? You may want to only concern yourself with maintaining a stable environment to ensure livestock health instead of one that fosters the absolutely optimal growth rates.

 

As for me, I'd really want more display tank real estate, at least 12" x 8" if trying to preserve your penninsula look and the overall system footprint. Maybe if the koralias weren't behind those faux bulkheads... And I'd try for a wavemaker if also pulling off the longer DT area.

 

But it's a cool plan you've drawn up...no arguing with that. Google Sketch or a real design software package?

 

EDIT: Waitaminute...where do you have any filtration? if planning on that many different SPS, you're probably going to need to run something, even if it's only a small bit of carbon. My apologies if I've missed it in your drawings.

[phattypeeps]

Looks great, I am working on a similar small 5 G tank with the same design intentions as you have and the same motivations. Making everything work in such a small volume of water is very tough, and I have found my 17 G much easier to work with as an AIO. My first thought after looking at your sketches is why not make the tank taller so as to hide more of your filtration and mechanics? This is solely an aesthetic consideration, but I find hiding my filtration and the collection of wires associated with a tank the biggest challenge in making the whole package attractive, and every change I can make to hide them makes the setup look better. Good luck!

[mosquedaj]

Neat design...albeit a Nasa/Space Shuttle level of it.

 

With that amount of equipment, you may need a chiller to deal with waste heat. Or you could start streamlining out things that aren't absolutely needed (and then need a heater). A less capable but significantly smaller skimmer, less ATO capacity (but still some) perhaps offset by a less open lid to control evaporation. Would you really need a kalk dispenser/reactor in something this size? You may want to only concern yourself with maintaining a stable environment to ensure livestock health instead of one that fosters the absolutely optimal growth rates.

 

As for me, I'd really want more display tank real estate, at least 12" x 8" if trying to preserve your penninsula look and the overall system footprint. Maybe if the koralias weren't behind those faux bulkheads... And I'd try for a wavemaker if also pulling off the longer DT area.

 

But it's a cool plan you've drawn up...no arguing with that. Google Sketch or a real design software package?

 

EDIT: Waitaminute...where do you have any filtration? if planning on that many different SPS, you're probably going to need to run something, even if it's only a small bit of carbon. My apologies if I've missed it in your drawings.

 

 

that is a great idea, in creating more of a stable environment rather than one driven on growth..i originally wanted to use a hydor slim skim then the oceanic biocube skimmer, i finally decided to just allocate 2in of space for the slimmest footprint i could possibly use, a DIY airstone skimmer if i even keep the skimmer..

 

..ill definetly go ahead and put a lid on the display. as for the kalk stirrer, i just figured it couldnt hurt since i had to allocate 2in width in that chamber for the pump and its filled with water already so not much taken away from the volume of the reservoir..ive made them before, and its pretty easy, i always saw great performance in using them, both in large sized reefs and nanos..

 

its funny you mention a 12x8, thats what i was shooting for in the beginning.i just couldnt wing it...i would really enjoy the extra real estate. i put the koralias behind the wall because i didnt want to lose any livestock(i have before) and was looking for a cleaner display.

 

i placed the media reactor in the plans so i could run some chemi pure elite and/or denitrate if i have any later issues. one thing i didnt put into the sketchup plans were some trays for filter floss, i wanted to put them right above the koralias but below the overflow teeth, although im not sure this will work with the eb and flow of the koralias on a timer. debris may flow right over into the sump area.

 

thank you very much for the input.

[mosquedaj]

Looks great, I am working on a similar small 5 G tank with the same design intentions as you have and the same motivations. Making everything work in such a small volume of water is very tough, and I have found my 17 G much easier to work with as an AIO. My first thought after looking at your sketches is why not make the tank taller so as to hide more of your filtration and mechanics? This is solely an aesthetic consideration, but I find hiding my filtration and the collection of wires associated with a tank the biggest challenge in making the whole package attractive, and every change I can make to hide them makes the setup look better. Good luck!

 

 

i wanted to make it a little taller, but with the financial constraits im holding myself to, i didnt want to have to get a custom tank made..so im using the stock 5.5g...im thinking if i make it a clean setup the whole thing may look interesting to see all the equipment. although that means ill have to do something about all the wires...i was thinking of perhaps cutting all the cords to size and terminating them with rewireable plugs, or have a container for all the excess wire to be rolled into. i even thought about putting some j-channel wire organizing track on the side of the tank to clean it up. thanks for your thoughts. by the way awesome tank, i like the aquascaping.

[11GTCS]

This is a really neat design! I'm new to this so I can't speak for equipment but I like the streamlined approach to things. Being in a dorm room really makes you appreciate space efficiency in tanks.

 

Let me know how it goes if you go with it! I might have to get a second tank going on my desk and if so, a custom fab one might be pretty fun way to go, though I would scale it down and just have a picotope probably.

[mosquedaj]

This is a really neat design! I'm new to this so I can't speak for equipment but I like the streamlined approach to things. Being in a dorm room really makes you appreciate space efficiency in tanks.

 

Let me know how it goes if you go with it! I might have to get a second tank going on my desk and if so, a custom fab one might be pretty fun way to go, though I would scale it down and just have a picotope probably.

 

a friend of mine told me to look for pico containers that can be used as aquariums at the goodwill and salvation army second hand stores..i went and was surprised that i found several perfect glass and acrylic containers that would be suitable for a low cost desk pico...i even saw a new aquaclear HOB filter still in the box for $3. since then i occasionally visit the stores and always see something i can use even for DIY projects...Just a thought.

[11GTCS]

a friend of mine told me to look for pico containers that can be used as aquariums at the goodwill and salvation army second hand stores..i went and was surprised that i found several perfect glass and acrylic containers that would be suitable for a low cost desk pico...i even saw a new aquaclear HOB filter still in the box for $3. since then i occasionally visit the stores and always see something i can use even for DIY projects...Just a thought.

 

Thats a pretty neat idea. I'll have to check that out. unfortunately being in rural NH (which is redundant) leads to not much happening here aquarium-wise lol. It's a pretty quiet state for the hobby.

[mosquedaj]

Thats a pretty neat idea. I'll have to check that out. unfortunately being in rural NH (which is redundant) leads to not much happening here aquarium-wise lol. It's a pretty quiet state for the hobby.

 

i know what you mean, i just got stationed south of kansas city, MO in a small town and im at least a 30 minute drive from the closest saltwater shop...theres only about 4 other places in the area but theyre all about 30 minutes away from each other...i used to live in arizona where there was a reef only shop like every 3 miles...lmao..i was spoiled.

[11GTCS]

i know what you mean, i just got stationed south of kansas city, MO in a small town and im at least a 30 minute drive from the closest saltwater shop...theres only about 4 other places in the area but theyre all about 30 minutes away from each other...i used to live in arizona where there was a reef only shop like every 3 miles...lmao..i was spoiled.

 

Oh nice you're in the military? Which branch? I'm currently contracted in AFROTC, hoping for a commission in 2014 haha but yeah nearest saltwater shop to me is more than an hour. There is a petco nearby but i mean the most they have on a day to day basis for livestock is like a couple clowns and some bleached anemones

[phattypeeps]

That J channel looks like a really good idea, I am going to check that out for my own use as well, thanks.

[mosquedaj]

Oh nice you're in the military? Which branch? I'm currently contracted in AFROTC, hoping for a commission in 2014 haha but yeah nearest saltwater shop to me is more than an hour. There is a petco nearby but i mean the most they have on a day to day basis for livestock is like a couple clowns and some bleached anemones

 

 

Im in the Army, Stick with ROTC its the easiest way to becoming an officer, if not your on your own its all politics and the good ole boy system if your looking for career progression in todays military..especially with the cutbacks and restructuring..the military is changing fast within the next couple of years...i dropped out of college ROTC my junior year..and applied for a commission a few years ago, i was selected but could not keep the rank for long because there were no positions for me on active duty...i could have kept the promotion and been a reservist but i didnt want to give up all those years of active duty plus i have a decent size family. SOooo here i am an E6 with a masters degree and 5 more years till retirement....the only other way for me to get my commission back is to become a Physicians Assistant and Re-Earn another masters... as for PETCO, i have to say some of their stores have come along way and are actually looking pretty decent..ive seen one where their saltwater tanks had actual reef lighting and protein skimmers, UV, Good flow, Media reactors and (not for sale) quarantine tanks..etc.etc...i wish petsmart would sell saltwater.

 

That J channel looks like a really good idea, I am going to check that out for my own use as well, thanks.

 

 

no problem, ive seen it at home depot and lowes in the electrical dept..in different sizes