Tristan got his PicO

[Looselyhuman]

I dunno if you've gathered from my thread, but Greenbanded Gobies have a lot of personality for tiny fish. I have a pair and get to watch all sorts of cool behavior. Have been thinking about adding a trio of masked gobies for some water column action as well...

[Thelizardkin]

So I've been thinking about future stocking plans and i did a bit of research but id like some first hand experience if possible. How would a tailspot blenny do in my 7.5g? How about a tailspot and a true perc? I was planning on just one fish but id really like to keep a blenny. The tank will have a sump to bring water volume up a tad (5.5g sump). Is it wishful thinking to have both fish in the tank and still be able to keep water levels "clean" enough for my sps plans?

 

It depends on how much nutrient export you have with a good skimmer and an alage scubber/fuge you should be able to

[TristanC]

I dunno if you've gathered from my thread, but Greenbanded Gobies have a lot of personality for tiny fish. I have a pair and get to watch all sorts of cool behavior. Have been thinking about adding a trio of masked gobies for some water column action as well...

Yeah, actually ive been following your thread. I like the gobies quite a bit, they look very interesting.

 

It depends on how much nutrient export you have with a good skimmer and an alage scubber/fuge you should be able to

At the moment I'm not planning on a skimmer, but who knows i may end up throwing one in the sump down the line. I used to have a tunze 9002, was a really great nano skimmer.

[TristanC]

Just did a full range of tests on the tank

Ammonia ~0ppm (API)

Nitrite ~0ppm (API)

Nitrate ~5/10ppm (API)

Phosphate ~.06ppm (Hanna)

Salinity ~1.025 (Refractometer)

Temp ~79*

 

Im getting algae growth on the glass and the rocks. Pods are running around the tank, and my sandbed has a good amount of worms already (seeded). Id say the cycle is done at this point. I will be adding a cuc most likely on tuesday, then i will begin stocking in +/- 1 week.

[JR!]

sounds good. really excited to see this drilled

[TristanC]

Me too! I'm glad I was talked into drilling it, it really opens up the possibilities for the future of this tank. Thanks for tagging along!

 

And as always ill post plenty of pics

[TristanC]

Got my glass-holes order in today:

-Super Nano con dientes overflow kit

-1/2" Return kit (Flare nozzle)

-Mag 3 Return pump

-Fun dip

 

I still have to make the baffles for my sump, I'm hoping i get to that tonight after class. Tank should be drilled if nothing goes terribly wrong in the next couple of days.

 

[xilez]

Hey could you please post what you used for your lighting stand and fixture? I really love the look and would like to create something similar.

 

Good luck with the build!

[TristanC]

Hey could you please post what you used for your lighting stand and fixture? I really love the look and would like to create something similar.

 

Good luck with the build!

Thank you! I used electrical conduit from Home Depot, I used a pipe bender to put a smooth 90* angle and painted it black with krylon fusion. I then took a waterproof socket (I liked it because its rubber and black) and a universal plug (plug on one end wires on the other) and fed it through the conduit. I measured how far I wanted the light to sit and drilled a hole for the light to hang from. Wired up the cord to the socket which is hanging from the hole I drilled. Finished it up with some electrical tape to cover the holes and its done. It is attached to the back of my stand with pipe fasteners (u shaped brackets). The finishing touch is the par 38 full spectrum from ledtric. Hope this helps.

[TristanC]

Went to home depot today and picked up everything i need for my sump, pvc, fittings, cement, ect. I also picked up some acrylic and put my sump together. I wanted to do a bubble trap at the return side but i was unable to because i ran out of room. I doubt i will have any bubble issues though. Here are some pics.

 

 

[jlbzixxer]

kinda skim over the whole thread lol so now sure

what your doing with the sump but just wondering what

your going to run in there?

[TristanC]

kinda skim over the whole thread lol so now sure

what your doing with the sump but just wondering what

your going to run in there?

Well ill be running the sump so i can get all the equipment out of the dt also my ato. Ill have chemipure and purigen in there for now, but in the future a tunze 9002 may find a home in there, maybe phosban reactor, i may ditch both and just have a small place to grow chaeto. We will see what the tank wants.

[Thelizardkin]

The sump's looking good I'm exited to see this thing with a sump even if you don't run anything the extra 1-2/3ds extra water volume helps a lot for stability and it lets you have a larger bioload are you keeping the aqua clear I would they make really good refugiums I'm thinking of getting one for my tank eventually when I need it

[TristanC]

The sump's looking good I'm exited to see this thing with a sump even if you don't run anything the extra 1-2/3ds extra water volume helps a lot for stability and it lets you have a larger bioload are you keeping the aqua clear I would they make really good refugiums I'm thinking of getting one for my tank eventually when I need it

Thanks man! I am keeping the aqua clear but I'm not sure where or how I'm going to use it. I don't want anything hanging off the dt so if I can fit it in the sump I will. I have a small area in the sump that I can grow some chaeto in. Should be drilling in the next few days (pun intended)

[Looselyhuman]

Sweet! No baffles?

[Thelizardkin]

Thanks man! I am keeping the aqua clear but I'm not sure where or how I'm going to use it. I don't want anything hanging off the dt so if I can fit it in the sump I will. I have a small area in the sump that I can grow some chaeto in. Should be drilling in the next few days (pun intended)

 

The problem with refugiums under the tank is the return pump kills most pods before they can get back into the tank having a small refugium above the tank lets the pods and other good microfauna safely fall into the tank you should try both the fuge in the sump for nutrient export the aqua clear for pods and stuff

 

Sweet! No baffles?

 

Other than stopping micro bubbles what do baffles do exactly?

[TristanC]

Sweet! No baffles?

There are two baffles, I just didn't put in a third to make a bubble trap at the return side.

 

The problem with refugiums under the tank is the return pump kills most pods before they can get back into the tank having a small refugium above the tank lets the pods and other good microfauna safely fall into the tank you should try both the fuge in the sump for nutrient export the aqua clear for pods and stuff

 

 

 

Other than stopping micro bubbles what do baffles do exactly?

 

We will see how it goes, I'm not planning on having any livestock that has a diet of pods so I may just have a small fuge for nutrient export. Baffles also allow the sumo to have a constant water level and flow. The only water level that moves is on the return but that is where the ATO goes.

[Looselyhuman]

Bubbles are the main thing. Even without a skimmer the drain section will get a lot of bubbles. Most will put 3 sheets of glass, separated by about 1/2", in a high/low/high or low/high/low configuration that water has to traverse. Cuts bubbles returning to the display (or messing with your fuge) by quite a bit.

[Thelizardkin]

Bubbles are the main thing. Even without a skimmer the drain section will get a lot of bubbles. Most will put 3 sheets of glass, separated by about 1/2", in a high/low/high or low/high/low configuration that water has to traverse. Cuts bubbles returning to the display (or messing with your fuge) by quite a bit.

 

I have no baffles in my tank and a skimmer and micro bubbles aren't an issue I did put a filter sock at the end of the skimmer to help though

[JMCollins24]

Things are coming along nicely man! Thought I'd stop by to say thanks for the recommendation on the ledtric bulb... I got it in yesterday and I have to say you were right.. awesome bulb!

[TristanC]

Things are coming along nicely man! Thought I'd stop by to say thanks for the recommendation on the ledtric bulb... I got it in yesterday and I have to say you were right.. awesome bulb!

Congrats, and great choice! thanks for stopping by, im going to be drilling the tank tonight

[Thelizardkin]

What are the specs of the ledtric bulb? Colors, watts est?

[TristanC]

Well i successfully drilled and plumbed the tank last night/tonight. It was definitely a learning experience. I drained the tank about 3/4 of the way and drilled it as carefully as possible, everything went well. Next time for sure i will plan ahead and drill while its still dry. The plumbing was a pain in the ass, and i ended up using vinyl tubing for the return because i didn't like how it looked with it hard plumbed. It looks a little ghetto but it works well and thats all that really matters, plus its hidden in the stand. Next issue was i definitely underestimated the mag 3, waaay too much flow, had to switch it out with a rio 900. I will take some more pictures later.

 

 

 

What are the specs of the ledtric bulb? Colors, watts est?

It is the full spectrum par 38. 18W (Dont judge a book by its cover, this thing puts out tons of par). Royal blue, White, True Violet, Red, Cyan. It uses epistar leds, and i have 60* optics on it.

[JR!]

looks perfect. well done

vinyl tubing is better on the return any. cuts down on noise from the return pump. plus if you have to move it to clean the pump its much easier too

[TristanC]

looks perfect. well done

vinyl tubing is better on the return any. cuts down on noise from the return pump. plus if you have to move it to clean the pump its much easier too

 

Thanks man, yeah i figured out that one the hard way after i already cemented the pipes and needed to move the pump haha. Its a little loud at the moment but i know after it build up some biofilm it will quiet down quite a bit.