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Out with the 5.5, in with the 9.6


Superdave

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Have mentioned here in there in threads about my plans to upgrade my old tank (5.5 AGA set up around 2003) to a Lifeguard Aquatics Crystal 9.6 gallon tank. 

 

Was excited ordering the tank through @Marine Depot as I was able to use some of reward points (most of which I earned back when I bought my Kessil A80 Blue Tuna light a couple of years ago.  I included several pictures of the packaging as I figured I'm not the only one curious about how glass boxes are successfully shipped across the country.  Arrived in perfect condition, which is not surprising considering Marine Depot's track record--cannot recommend them enough!  

 

Next few pictures are of the leak testing next to an empty 5.5, prepping it for Plasti-Dip paint on two sides (back and one end with filter), finished paint job, application of leveling mat (by far the trickiest part of whole transfer!), as well as the transfer of rock, corals from old tank to the new one.  

 

As the tanks are relatively small and I do not have currently have a fish (or anything larger than hermit crabs), the whole process was quite simple.  I plan to get a fish, but will wait a while until I am sure things have smoothly settled post move.  Went with a larger grain size substrait (CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand -- 1.0 - 2.0 mm dry sand) so I would not have any issues with my filter (AC70) kicking up sand and to make cleaning easier.  Used the dry version as I "seeded" with a cup of my old tank's live sand; 16 years of bacteria seemed sufficient~ 

 

Rinsed sand 10+ times, but still had to wait several hours for dust to settle.  Will need to vacuum sand at some point as I know there is still some dust in there.  

 

Ended up adding about 80% new saltwater (full/real 5 gallons, plus a bit more) and some water from my old tank I used to house the corals (all of which are on live rock) in a 5 gallon bucket during the transfer.  Tank is on my bathroom counter which sure comes in handy with a sink nearby.  Took about an hour and a half from start to finish, since (as seen in pics) I was able to "setup" new tank right next to old one.  This allowed me to move livestock from old tank into a bucket and then right back into new tank as soon I had old tank empty enough to move. 

 

Included a picture of the old tank with its algae and coralline glory.  Was originally a quarantine tank I bought in the late 1990s, so it has more than earned it's keep.  Will clean it up eventually and use it for future quarantine or another project at some point down the road.  I am imagine my 5 year old son will eventually want a little freshwater tank of his own..!  

 

Also showed the painting (with Plasti-Dip) I did today of my home-made surface skimmer.  The last few pictures are actually with the skimmer off as I want to let the paint dry/cure for a full 24 hours before it goes into the water.  I like this paint, over the Krylon Fusion, as it essentially a rubber "coating" versus an actual paint.  Obviously, putting anything chemical in the tank has it's risks but this one seems to be the best route from my online based research.  

 

I cranked the AC70 up to its 300 GPH max, which I love as it takes care of filtration and water movement.  When I re did my rock work yesterday however, I ended up placing rocks/corals "higher" up in tank.  Flow was too much for the softies and while I love the lay-out of the rocks, wondered if I needed to move stuff around.  Spent nearly 2 hours messing with the rocks so I hated to have to do that again.  Cranked down the filter and everything (even corals lower down in the tank) opened right up so I think I will keep the lower flow (just below 50% output) level for now.  Can't argue with happy corals!  

 

Really like how my rock work turned out, with a cave on the left and a "volcano crater" to the right.  Top down pics show you can see down to the sand.  I think future fish will love these hiding places.  

 

Absolutely love the look of the rimless tank.  Loosing the black trim (on top and bottom of AGA) really changes look of the tank.  Might just be my imagination, but I feel like I can see the difference of the low iron.  Pictures turned out well and were taken this afternoon, in less than ideal lighting conditions so I think the glass is to thank for that.  

 

Moving forward I plan to add a glass lid as I want to avoid fish jumping deaths.  Unfortunately led to the demise of my fat (although a bit cranky) ocellaris Francis a few months back.  Not planning on any lighting or filtration upgrades anytime soon.  Reason for the tank selection was to that I could keep those items (AC70 upgrade is only a few months old) and keep it on my bathroom counter without any additional supporting/carpentry work required.  Not sure what fish I will go with, but want only one.  Will add some more hermit and snails, though my bristle worm population kept taking out any snail I added.  

 

Am big fan of zoas, though I have never had much luck with them long term.  Have some tiny little guys so hope they hang around for a while.  Really like the mushrooms, several of which were added over the years from other local reefers.  Wish I had picked up more of the giant red one in center of tank as well as bluish ones.  Guy few miles north of me was shutting down his tank a few months ago that literally (not exaggerating) had several hundred of them.   Will troll the DFW Marine Aquarium Society forum this summer for more good deals; highly recommend it to any Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex reefers.   

 

Without further ado, on to the photos~  

 

Enjoy!! 

 

--Superdave

 

(seems I took too large of pics, so it is a bit choppy with multiple responses/posts..)

 

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Video of AC70 of highest setting.  Once I re did my rock work, the corals did not like the flow but it sure cleared up the tank quickly after the transfer!  

 

 

Low flow, with filter at about 50%.  Corals opened right up, so I feel like this is what I should stick with.  

 

 

 

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Nice!  I looked at this tank when I was trying to decide what to do a few months back (I ended up going with a Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon bowfront). Did you really have the 5.5 up for 16 years? That is so impressive!  I love 5.5 tanks, they're one of my favorite sizes.  The extra room will be really nice after the smaller tank for so long.  I would suggest looking into a pink streaked wrasse or possum wrasse, they're a bit shy but being the only fish in the tank might make them more bold-I found that was the case with my PSW Merlin (RIP).  I also love my green banded goby, he's tiny but so cute and will swim up and down the walls of the tank in between perching on the rocks (or the sand lol).  If you're interested in inverts, I really like pom pom crabs, porcelain crabs, Pederson's anemone shrimp and blue or yellow coral banded shrimp (the blue and the yellow varieties stay much smaller, around an inch, and are much less aggressive than the bigger varieties).  The tank looks really nice!

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Thanks for complements and suggestions on fish/other critters! 

 

Tank has been through quite a lot. It went totally dark for over a year, with no light and just tap water for top offs; life got way too busy but I could never bring myself to shutting it down. 

 

It has has become a bit cramped so is nice to have some space again! 

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11 minutes ago, Superdave said:

Thanks for complements and suggestions on fish/other critters! 

 

Tank has been through quite a lot. It went totally dark for over a year, with no light and just tap water for top offs; life got way too busy but I could never bring myself to shutting it down. 

 

It has has become a bit cramped so is nice to have some space again! 

I've been there myself, where tanks get little more than occasional topoffs and such.  It will be nice to have the extra room to play with!

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