Kickin' It Old School 2.5g Pico Reef Competition! 😎🎓

[billdeluz]

8 hours ago, asting said:

Will an ac30 fit a tetra 50w heater? Let's find out

Yes thats how i have it now

[This guy is extra salty]

https://www.marinedepot.com/Seachem_Laboratories_Tidal_Power_Filter_35_Power_Filter-Seachem-SC06500-FIFRHB-SC6581-vi.html?utm_source=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=SC6581&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpurlpryh4QIVELnACh3NigeGEAQYGCABEgJ0n_D_BwE

 

i really want to know if someone is using the 75 version 

 

cause it looks awesome and I’m surprised it doesn’t have a Uv filter and protein skimmer too but seriously  $71.40 for that beast..

 

found better price on Amazon 

https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-Tidal-Filter-Sicce-Gallon/dp/B01MCVYEOT?ref_=bl_dp_s_mw_3041096011

56$

 

 

Also im very curious about HOB refugiums are they allowed or do they have to be a certain max gallons?

Edited March 27, 2019 by This guy is extra salty

[seabass]

1 hour ago, This guy is extra salty said:

 Also im very curious about HOB refugiums are they allowed or do they have to be a certain max gallons?

You are allowed only one HOB filter.  You can certainly use it as a refugium if you'd like.  However, I believe you are specifically asking about HOBs marketed as refugiums.

 

@Christopher Marks will have to rule on this.  However, if allowed, this would count as your filter, and would still be subject to the half gallon volume restriction.

[Lingwendil]

11 hours ago, Beer said:

What are the dimensions on the 10 tall? Is it based off of a 5 gallon?

I’ve been thinking of starting some breeding projects and something like that might work. I need height for some of the breeding tanks. I was thinking of going with a 20 tall, but didn’t want to take up that much space, especially when the fish don’t really need it. I saw some 5 gallon breeders, which hare half height 10s. 20 talls are just double height 10s. It never even occurred to me to make a 10 gallon tall from a 5 gallon frame.

It's an older "Aquarium Masters" with black silicone and the same footprint as a 5.5. I really like it, perfect for a nightstand tank. Hard to scape but for freshwater in the kid's room it's perfect. Would be fun as a reef with a pillar of some sort for rockwork 🙂 Not sure how easy they are to find nowadays, but if I'm not mistaken I paid ~$18 for it maybe eight years ago. I should have grabbed a couple more. Would love to do a blackwater setup in one with leaf litter and lots of wood.

 

I really like the 5 gallon breeders, I can never find any for sale anymore. My favorite oddball tank that's unobtainium these days were the older 24"x8"x8" betta tanks (7.5 gallons?) that came with divider glass, leave out the divider glass and they were a really nice reef setup 🙂

 

 

 

A possible tank to use for this contest would be one of the Aquarium Masters betta tanks, a lot of hole-in-the-wall freshwater shops sell them, they are pretty nice-

[This guy is extra salty]

37 minutes ago, Lingwendil said:

It's an older "Aquarium Masters" with black silicone and the same footprint as a 5.5. I really like it, perfect for a nightstand tank. Hard to scape but for freshwater in the kid's room it's perfect. Would be fun as a reef with a pillar of some sort for rockwork 🙂 Not sure how easy they are to find nowadays, but if I'm not mistaken I paid ~$18 for it maybe eight years ago. I should have grabbed a couple more. Would love to do a blackwater setup in one with leaf litter and lots of wood.

 

I really like the 5 gallon breeders, I can never find any for sale anymore. My favorite oddball tank that's unobtainium these days were the older 24"x8"x8" betta tanks (7.5 gallons?) that came with divider glass, leave out the divider glass and they were a really nice reef setup 🙂

 

 

 

A possible tank to use for this contest would be one of the Aquarium Masters betta tanks, a lot of hole-in-the-wall freshwater shops sell them, they are pretty nice-

The product dimensions give it a 2.110 gallon 

 

but the title say it’s a (12x6x6) 1.87 gallon 😂 

[Lingwendil]

Yeah, and with rock you'll be down to maybe a gallon and a half 😆

 

Still cool though, I've had a couple, nice little tanks 🙂

[ChristopherDido]

19 hours ago, asting said:

Even accounting for the bow as if it were fully rectangular it is still within size limits so I hope it counts. I ordered it, an ac30, and that cheapo light above. Placed my autotopoff.com order and have a heater and fountain pump already. 

 

Also ordered some smart wifi outlets so I can easily turn off ato, filter, heater for water changes.

 

Is an ac30 sufficient flow? Should I nab a small fountain pump to use as a powerhead?

What Smart Wifi outlets did you go with?  I'm curious because I need a new one, the IRIS ones from Lowe's will stop working this weekend.  Thanks

[This guy is extra salty]

6 minutes ago, ChristopherDido said:

What Smart Wifi outlets did you go with?  I'm curious because I need a new one, the IRIS ones from Lowe's will stop working this weekend.  Thanks

I know I’m upset about the iris ones but I never got them to work anyway lol

 

i changed over to these and I’m trying to convince my ole lady that we need more

https://www.amazon.com/DILISENS-Smart-Wi-Fi-Sockets-Outlets/dp/B07B4CNJKG/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=29R5V1ZJQ5O4W&keywords=smart%2Bwifi%2Bplug%2Boutlet%2Bcompatible%2Bwith%2Balexa&qid=1553697877&s=gateway&sprefix=smart%2Bwifi&sr=8-8&th=1&psc=1

[This guy is extra salty]

8 hours ago, seabass said:

You are allowed only one HOB filter.  You can certainly use it as a refugium if you'd like.  However, I believe you are specifically asking about HOBs marketed as refugiums.

 

@Christopher Marks will have to rule on this.  However, if allowed, this would count as your filter, and would still be subject to the half gallon volume restriction.

Well it’s kind of borderline a reactor of sorts with blinding lights.. ooooo shiny

[seabass]

How about a shoal of fish in a 2.5 gal?

My male cardinalfish just released these.  How he keeps these in is mouth is astonishing.

 

[Christopher Marks]

10 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

Also im very curious about HOB refugiums are they allowed or do they have to be a certain max gallons?

Only 1 HOB filter per tank. You are welcome to modify a HOB filter into a refugium if you like, and no restrictions have been placed on lighting. 

[Tigahboy]

27 minutes ago, seabass said:

How about a shoal of fish in a 2.5 gal?

My male cardinalfish just released these.  How he keeps these in is mouth is astonishing.

 

That's so cool (and cute)!

[Lingwendil]

58 minutes ago, seabass said:

How about a shoal of fish in a 2.5 gal?

My male cardinalfish just released these.  How he keeps these in is mouth is astonishing.

 

Whoah!

[Lingwendil]

 

Well, I ordered the tank, picking it up tonight on the way home! I'll piece together all the equipment slowly, but so far the plan is to go nice and simple. I'll start a thread soon.

 

#teamjank

[Lingwendil]

 

Oh dang!

[asting]

6 hours ago, ChristopherDido said:

What Smart Wifi outlets did you go with?  I'm curious because I need a new one, the IRIS ones from Lowe's will stop working this weekend.  Thanks

The primary criteria i went for were integration with google (so i can use google home/assistant on my phone to turn off) as well as being compact. IFTT integration is nice to have too. I then paired with a 3 outlet splitter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY5WZVT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The outlets i ordered are out of stock now, but something like thishttps://www.amazon.com/Gosund-Compatible-Required-appliances-Certified/dp/B079MFTYMV/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=smart+outlet+google&qid=1553720128&s=gateway&sr=8-3

 

should work.

[skyscraper2290]

Finally got a thread together, can't wait to start!

 

 

[Beer]

9 hours ago, Lingwendil said:

It's an older "Aquarium Masters" with black silicone and the same footprint as a 5.5. I really like it, perfect for a nightstand tank. Hard to scape but for freshwater in the kid's room it's perfect. Would be fun as a reef with a pillar of some sort for rockwork 🙂 Not sure how easy they are to find nowadays, but if I'm not mistaken I paid ~$18 for it maybe eight years ago. I should have grabbed a couple more. Would love to do a blackwater setup in one with leaf litter and lots of wood.

 

I really like the 5 gallon breeders, I can never find any for sale anymore. My favorite oddball tank that's unobtainium these days were the older 24"x8"x8" betta tanks (7.5 gallons?) that came with divider glass, leave out the divider glass and they were a really nice reef setup 🙂

 

 

 

A possible tank to use for this contest would be one of the Aquarium Masters betta tanks, a lot of hole-in-the-wall freshwater shops sell them, they are pretty nice-

 

9 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

The product dimensions give it a 2.110 gallon 

 

but the title say it’s a (12x6x6) 1.87 gallon 😂 

 

 

I believe Aquarium Masters is who made the DeepBlue tanks, at least the smaller ones. I recall trying to find tank trim to make my own aquariums at one point, but wasn’t able to find that brand. DeepBlue didn’t manufacture their own stuff.

 

I’ve got a couple of the 7.3 tanks, or whatever they are, and one of the smaller ones. The 12x6x6 is labeld a 3 Betta because it had two glass dividers to separate it into three compartments. The 7.3 is labeled as a 5 Betta, because. I bought them off a guy that ended up getting a Fluval tank. One of them had a cracked pane, so I rebuilt it with a coast to coast overflow with a sump behind it.

 

I am now realizing that I could use that smaller tank for this contest. I was considering building something, but if I don’t get around to it in the next week or two, I at least have a backup solution.

[Lingwendil]

I've been wanting another of those 7.3s for a while, I really wish I could still find them. Great for a peninsula at the side of a desk 🙂

 

Use that betta tank! They are nice little tanks for sure.

[MetaTank]

Got out a mitre saw for the first time in years, spent the past hour or so making the frame for my stand, still needs sanding... Gonna panel the sides and back later, need to run to home depot... Also going to figure out a door, but for now, I'm torn between whether I should stain it, or just paint it black..... Its rough, needs wood putty and some TLC...lol 

 

Prefer the look of stain, but black would hide imperfections better, where I'm afraid staining it might highlight them

 

 

[Beer]

42 minutes ago, Lingwendil said:

I've been wanting another of those 7.3s for a while, I really wish I could still find them. Great for a peninsula at the side of a desk 🙂

 

Use that betta tank! They are nice little tanks for sure.

I was completely dislexic with that. It is 3.7 gallons, not 7.3. And that was total system volume after I rebuilt it with a sump. They are closer to 2.7 gallons. The original dimentions were somewhere around 17.75 x 6 x 6.

[Lingwendil]

36 minutes ago, MetaTank said:

Got out a mitre saw for the first time in years, spent the past hour or so making the frame for my stand, still needs sanding... Gonna panel the sides and back later, need to run to home depot... Also going to figure out a door, but for now, I'm torn between whether I should stain it, or just paint it black..... Its rough, needs wood putty and some TLC...lol 

 

Prefer the look of stain, but black would hide imperfections better, where I'm afraid staining it might highlight them

 

 

My suggestion- take a torch to it and lightly toast the wood. Give it a good sanding after and give it a simple oil finish. It'll look great 🙂

 

It's what I'm doing to my 40 breeder-

 

[MetaTank]

4 minutes ago, Lingwendil said:

My suggestion- take a torch to it and lightly toast the wood. Give it a good sanding after and give it a simple oil finish. It'll look great 🙂

 

It's what I'm doing to my 40 breeder-

 

I might just spray it black to hide as many flaws as I can...lol

 

But I was gonna do a "driftwood" color stain, and then a "satin" matte protective clear coat

[Lingwendil]

Wipe it down with water first to raise the grain, then the driftwood stain after it's dry, then a light sanding. You'd be surprised how well even cheap wood takes to this sort of technique. Toast it first for maximum effect 🙂

[ChristopherDido]

5 hours ago, asting said:

The primary criteria i went for were integration with google (so i can use google home/assistant on my phone to turn off) as well as being compact. IFTT integration is nice to have too. I then paired with a 3 outlet splitter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY5WZVT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The outlets i ordered are out of stock now, but something like thishttps://www.amazon.com/Gosund-Compatible-Required-appliances-Certified/dp/B079MFTYMV/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=smart+outlet+google&qid=1553720128&s=gateway&sr=8-3

 

should work.

Thanks! Been trying to figure out what to replace mine with. I'll look into these.

 

11 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

I know I’m upset about the iris ones but I never got them to work anyway lol

 

i changed over to these and I’m trying to convince my ole lady that we need more

https://www.amazon.com/DILISENS-Smart-Wi-Fi-Sockets-Outlets/dp/B07B4CNJKG/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=29R5V1ZJQ5O4W&keywords=smart%2Bwifi%2Bplug%2Boutlet%2Bcompatible%2Bwith%2Balexa&qid=1553697877&s=gateway&sprefix=smart%2Bwifi&sr=8-8&th=1&psc=1

Alright now I got two options. Thanks y'all!