Underworld2.0 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Tank: 2.5 aqueon with rim Light: abi 12 watt tuna blue Filtration: seachem tidal 35 w/ matrix Heater 1x 10w Cobalt and a aqueon 7.5 as a back up with an inkbird controller I have 1.6lbs of real reef rock purchased from a local vendor @hudson valley reef and fish LLC I'm going back bottom, Used a dollar store cutting board and cut it with the $4 Plexi cutter from home Depot Tank - $14.99 Light- $24.95 Filter- $35.00 Top- $1.00 Cutting board- $1.00 Heater(s) - $10.96 and $11.98 Inkbird- $24.95 Rock- $16.00 $140.83 spent so far ! The start of my entry! To be announced March 30th I will be taking a different approach to this build, I'm going to try some things they say " you can't do" when it comes to traditional pico reefing! Here's a pic, Shasta cola inside to stick with the old school theme 👍 4 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 Was looking around for some pics of my old set-up only found these at this point but definitely my inspiration behind this build is the memories of my builds in 2005 when these pics were taken ! 4 Quote Link to comment
stevejo Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Looking forward to it! Non-traditional can be a hoot. 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 I will be doing some shopping tonight ! This for me will be a "Coral tank" So far I can say there will be 0 live rock. And matrix in my HOB Sps/monti pico! 0 live rock and 0 live stock other then coral. Bare/bottom lots of flow, my goal is to document coral growth in a pico reef with minimal equipment and excellent husbandry This is going to be fun . 3 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Only thing I'm having issues with is my light not sure where to go, but I gotta make a choice quick ! May end up getting an abi and if I dont like it switch it out idk 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Cool... following along 🙂 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 14 hours ago, banasophia said: Cool... following along 🙂 Me and my wife just peed our pants at this 2 Quote Link to comment
This guy is extra salty Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I’m here for the soda 🥤 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 Ok so I am stuck on lights at the moment Here's my dilemma .... Asta20 - seems great gets some shitty reviews, and sps growth may be non-existent Par38 : Abi tuna blue seems to equal the Disco ball effect that I hate about leds, but grows sps, most say the light spill is crazy and I'd have to keep it 2 feet above a pico. sb reef lights makes a par38 that's $50 and comes with a gooseneck but again worried about light spill and disco ai prime hd : seems like the best bet for sps, and at the same token is $200 reefbrite: lumi light pro 50/50 will sit perfect on top of a 2.5 perfect and as per an email from reefbrite has grown corals in a pico and should be perfect for this size tank Micmol g3: haven't seen enough to know if this is a great option, from the pics I've seen here yet another disco ball and the colors seem off . Idk what to buy but tomorrow is go time, thing that sucks is I've seen none of these in person. I know I can put a diffuser on most of these options, as far as price the par 38 with a diffuser seems the most cost effective , but the micol I can set and forget as well as the ai prime and $100 Less then the ai ... Come one jankers and janketts I'm going mostly montis and some sps, what do you suggest ... $$$$ wise ? Quote Link to comment
SeaFurn Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 How much do you want to spend? The AI Prime is a one and done for anything you want to do....even on a different tank in the future. If I was spending your money, that's what I'd get! But - I have read that the micmol is a pretty nice from others on here. I've already got 2 ABi bulbs in my storage closet so I don't have your dilemma. Quote Link to comment
MetaTank Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 52 minutes ago, Underworld2.0 said: Ok so I am stuck on lights at the moment Here's my dilemma .... Asta20 - seems great gets some shitty reviews, and sps growth may be non-existent Par38 : Abi tuna blue seems to equal the Disco ball effect that I hate about leds, but grows sps, most say the light spill is crazy and I'd have to keep it 2 feet above a pico. sb reef lights makes a par38 that's $50 and comes with a gooseneck but again worried about light spill and disco ai prime hd : seems like the best bet for sps, and at the same token is $200 reefbrite: lumi light pro 50/50 will sit perfect on top of a 2.5 perfect and as per an email from reefbrite has grown corals in a pico and should be perfect for this size tank Micmol g3: haven't seen enough to know if this is a great option, from the pics I've seen here yet another disco ball and the colors seem off . Idk what to buy but tomorrow is go time, thing that sucks is I've seen none of these in person. I know I can put a diffuser on most of these options, as far as price the par 38 with a diffuser seems the most cost effective , but the micol I can set and forget as well as the ai prime and $100 Less then the ai ... Come one jankers and janketts I'm going mostly montis and some sps, what do you suggest ... $$$$ wise ? I'm hoping the Asta20 will do fine since it's such a shallow tank. I wouldn't expect it to perform in 10 inches plus...but these 2.5s are pretty shallow... That's what I'm telling myself at least, since I went for the Asta20...lol ... But nothing will be deeper than 5-6 inches really, so fingers crossed! 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 14 minutes ago, MetaTank said: I'm hoping the Asta20 will do fine since it's such a shallow tank. I wouldn't expect it to perform in 10 inches plus...but these 2.5s are pretty shallow... That's what I'm telling myself at least, since I went for the Asta20...lol ... But nothing will be deeper than 5-6 inches really, so fingers crossed! So honestly I remember your user name since 2005 ish when I had my first child and quit reefing, I may just take your opinion and run with it, seems super bright to me on a 2.5 and for montis and some sps it just may be the way to go! Quote Link to comment
MetaTank Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 3 hours ago, Underworld2.0 said: So honestly I remember your user name since 2005 ish when I had my first child and quit reefing, I may just take your opinion and run with it, seems super bright to me on a 2.5 and for montis and some sps it just may be the way to go! Well, I joined here in 2011 when I set up my first reef tank, and then from 2015 till now I didn't actively have a tank running, so I'm just "getting back into it"...lol The benefit is this tank is so small, that you can use the 60 degree lens that comes with the Asta20 without losing tank coverage, and I think the more focused light gives it a little extra oomph! LOL Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 Ok so I got the chance to see an abi tuna blue in person and I loved it. For it's proven ability to grow sps, and the pop on the coral. I'm going this route but definitely will fabricate a diffuser So light is solved Now onto a reliable source of heat! Does anyone know if the Cobalt preset 10w will work with an inkbird, and if so do they preform well ? 1 Quote Link to comment
A Little Blue Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 8 minutes ago, Underworld2.0 said: Ok so I got the chance to see an abi tuna blue in person and I loved it. For it's proven ability to grow sps, and the pop on the coral. I'm going this route but definitely will fabricate a diffuser So light is solved Now onto a reliable source of heat! Does anyone know if the Cobalt preset 10w will work with an inkbird, and if so do they preform well ? I don’t see why not. Inkbird will be in charge when heater is ON and OFF. 10W should be more than enough. 1 Quote Link to comment
SeaFurn Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 17 hours ago, Underworld2.0 said: Ok so I got the chance to see an abi tuna blue in person and I loved it. For it's proven ability to grow sps, and the pop on the coral. I'm going this route but definitely will fabricate a diffuser So light is solved Now onto a reliable source of heat! Does anyone know if the Cobalt preset 10w will work with an inkbird, and if so do they preform well ? I have a Cobalt Mini Therm 10w...it's not a preset, it's just on. It works with an Inkbird and I've used it with a Finnex temp controller. 1 Quote Link to comment
Wingy Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 What HOB are you using? It looks like a Tidal 35 or 55. Does the intake pipe fit or do/did you need to cut it down? Quote Link to comment
MetaTank Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 18 minutes ago, Wingy said: What HOB are you using? It looks like a Tidal 35 or 55. Does the intake pipe fit or do/did you need to cut it down? Pretty sure the intake on the Tidal55 would have to be cut, but looks like the 35 fits. Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 It's the 35, had to cut a small portion of the inner rim to fit, but fits perfect The 35 has no intake pipe so it's perfect for our contest, I was gonna get an AC50 but that plus a overflow box from intank I could've gotten an entire AOI reef tank, the tidal was $39 on Amazon and looks clean enough to put the heater in the tank and not take up to much room so I can actually use the filter which came with some matrix and a cool media bag with a non corrosive zipper 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 So check this out , bought an rodi unit, tds meter , ran 10gs through it ... Tds reads 86tds Bought distilled from store reads 0tds every time Ran 25gs through rodi reads 84tds... I'm gonna use the distilled at this point .. so pissed plumbed that shit to my sink and all that.. grrrr ! Decided to run my tap that reads 267tds We don't drink our tap, it taste like bleach. Just thought an rodi would have brought it to 0tds, so it's distilled water for me in upstate Ny Quote Link to comment
asting Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 brand new? sounds like something is wrong. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 Ya, something isn't right. My tds levels are between 350- 470 and after DI stage they are 0 1 Quote Link to comment
pricewayne Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 21 hours ago, Underworld2.0 said: So check this out , bought an rodi unit, tds meter , ran 10gs through it ... Tds reads 86tds Bought distilled from store reads 0tds every time Ran 25gs through rodi reads 84tds... I'm gonna use the distilled at this point .. so pissed plumbed that shit to my sink and all that.. grrrr ! Decided to run my tap that reads 267tds We don't drink our tap, it taste like bleach. Just thought an rodi would have brought it to 0tds, so it's distilled water for me in upstate Ny The membrane may need to be rinsed out more? I just got mine about a week ago and instructions were to run 30 gallons and toss before the membrane was fully flushed out and ready for use. Haaated wasting so much water — used as much as I could on plants lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
Underworld2.0 Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 So my buddy came over with his tds meter and my tap read 536, after my rodi was 112, he brought his 5stage and was still 76tdi, also he noticed I have all copper pipes, sucks but distilled it is Quote Link to comment
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