doncb Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 After getting my 24g Nanocube going my wife thought a pico would look nice on the book case in our bedroom. So we went out and bought a 2.5g Mini-bow. Here is a pic of the equipment: Using a Coralife 10w 50/50 (I did remove the stock plastic guard and cut a piece of plexiglass to fit under the hood: Everything set up: Better pic of it on the shelf: Ended up only using about 3lbs of sand and 2lbs of LR. Might get one of the 20w Coralife bulbs. the 10w isn't bad but I don't know if it is really bright enough. With the 10w light on the tank stays @ 82. If I put in the 20w I'll add a fan to the hood. My wife is going to pick out all the livestoct for the tank and decided she wants a "Green theme" (My term. ) . So each of the corals will have green in them. After the cycle is over and we start to stock the tank,I'll be sure to post more pictures. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 You probably will want to swap out for the 20W bulb. I have the 10W right now, and I'm just not happy with the coloration of my zoos. Some of my zoos are also starting to stretch, indicating that they're not getting enough light. To be entirely honest, I'm not sure the 20W will be a whole lot better for color, but it would certainly be better for whatever you stock in there. Link to comment
doncb Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Originally posted by neanderthalman You probably will want to swap out for the 20W bulb. I have the 10W right now, and I'm just not happy with the coloration of my zoos. Some of my zoos are also starting to stretch, indicating that they're not getting enough light. To be entirely honest, I'm not sure the 20W will be a whole lot better for color, but it would certainly be better for whatever you stock in there. Yeah, I'll probably end up getting the 20w. Could always mod a 9w actinic in for better color on the corals. That would enable me to stagger the light times too. Plus there's always the need to add a blue LED or 2 for moonlights. Link to comment
NotGumbelWV Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 What media, if any, do you keep in the filter? Let us know how the temps go with the 20W lighting - looking forward to pics as you and your wife make additions Bryant Link to comment
doncb Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Originally posted by NotGumbelWV What media, if any, do you keep in the filter? Let us know how the temps go with the 20W lighting - looking forward to pics as you and your wife make additions Bryant Right now there is just a sponge while it cycles. I will probably use a 1/2 unit of Chemi-Pure to help w/ the water quality along w/ weekly water changes. Right now the temp stays at 82 w/ the 10w lamp. When I go w/ the 20w I'm going to put a small CPU fan in for added cooling. Link to comment
calvin Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 i hope the 20w fits. doesn't look like you have much space to work with and I remember the 20w being a good bit longer than the 10w. Link to comment
doncb Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Originally posted by calvin i hope the 20w fits. doesn't look like you have much space to work with and I remember the 20w being a good bit longer than the 10w. calvin, You're right about the length. Here is a reply I got from another thread so it is doable. I can use the old hole for power for the cpu fan and LED moonlight I'm planning. "Yes I have the 2.5mb and I removed the socket, drilled a new hole for the "light switch" and then used a dremel to remove any plastic supports that were in the way of moving the socket over. I then put the socket switch in the new hole, screwed the nut on the outside, and that is how it is held in place. so all you see on the outside of the hood is the old hole where the light switch used to be (but it is on the back side of the hood anyway). The 20w bulb is about 9" long, and the 10w bulb is about 5" long, so there is a considerable difference." Link to comment
doncb Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 Originally posted by haks Any updates? I've been out of town on business since the 19th . I think I going through reef withdrawl! :*( My wife has been taking care of tank duties (and doing a bang-up job I might add!). The pico is going through it's cycle and has had a small cyano bloom that is receeding and has a small amount of green algae growing. I get back in town Friday and Saturday calls for a trip to the LFS! Going to start looking for a small clean-up crew (snail) and see about a first coral if the water params look OK. Plan on upgrading the 10w 50/50 lamp to a 20w 50/50 too. Hoping to post some new pics soon! Link to comment
doncb Posted July 4, 2005 Author Share Posted July 4, 2005 Well. Time for an update. Added the first corals & a Hermit crab. The LR is starting to color up and there are lots of pods in the tank. Added a ric, GSP (2 kinds), mushroom & candy cane. The one GSP & shroom came from my 24g DX. The other GSP is from the LFS and has the neat bright green centers. Will probably frag some Yellow polyps from the 24g and move the GSP to a spot up on the rocks. Still need to do something w/ the lights. Right now, w/ the 10w 50/50 the temp stays a nice 80 - 81F. Full tank shot: Close-up: Red Hermit: I'll post more as the tank develops. Link to comment
Fish Freak Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Looks great! I'm in a similar situation as you, have a 2.5 Minibow set up with the 10 Watt Coralife. Will probably add the first corals this weekend or the following. Part of me is thinking of finding someway to cram the 20 watt bulb in there, but another side of me is wondering if its really worth it. I was anticipating on keeping this tank fairly simple, and if I have to screw around with the hood, I might as well set up a standard 2.5 gallon so dealing with the light isnt rocket science. Let me know how your corals do. 4 watts per gallon seems adequete for most softies and hardy LPS, and since the tank isnt that deep I imagine there isnt very much light loss caused by water depth. hmm ??? Link to comment
doncb Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 Originally posted by Fish Freak Looks great! I'm in a similar situation as you, have a 2.5 Minibow set up with the 10 Watt Coralife. Will probably add the first corals this weekend or the following. Part of me is thinking of finding someway to cram the 20 watt bulb in there, but another side of me is wondering if its really worth it. I was anticipating on keeping this tank fairly simple, and if I have to screw around with the hood, I might as well set up a standard 2.5 gallon so dealing with the light isnt rocket science. Let me know how your corals do. 4 watts per gallon seems adequete for most softies and hardy LPS, and since the tank isnt that deep I imagine there isnt very much light loss caused by water depth. hmm ??? I like the Coralife 10w, but it just doesn't look bright enough. Maybe I'm too used to my 24g DX. I am thinking of going ahead and putting in the 20w bulb (just have to move the socket over some. easy mod). I also want to put in a blue CCFL on a timer like I have in my 24g. Corals really look nice and it staggers the lights. Also want to put in a blue LED for moonlight. (Mod, mod, mod.....!) My wife picked out a bunch of Zoo's today and some macro-algae. As soon as the Zoo's adjust I'll post another pic. The tank is really starting to come together. Link to comment
Fish Freak Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Hm, so there is a way to put the 20 watt bulb in without changing the external appearance of the hood? I'm really not all that handy when it comes to dealing with wires, but if its just a matter of drilling or what not, doesn't sound to difficult. Looking forward to the new pictures! Link to comment
doncb Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 Originally posted by Fish Freak Hm, so there is a way to put the 20 watt bulb in without changing the external appearance of the hood? I'm really not all that handy when it comes to dealing with wires, but if its just a matter of drilling or what not, doesn't sound to difficult. Looking forward to the new pictures! The 20w lamp is longer than the 10w so you have to remove the plastic cover from over the socket, then unscrew the socket. Drill a new hole far enough over to move the socket as far as it will go. Remount the socket and that should be it. No rewiring needed. When I get the 20w, I'm also going to mount a CPU fan in the hood to vent some of the heat. Link to comment
doncb Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 Updated pics of new zoos, etc. Got the Zoos from Tranquil Scape in Arlington, TX. Absolutely wonderful selection and great service. Full Tank Shot Looking Right Looking Left Pink Zoos Orange & Greens Link to comment
Pet-Lover Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 what is the reason why your not supose to put a 20 watt in the mini bows Link to comment
doncb Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Here is a pic of the mod I did to the hood. I was planning on ordering a 20w 50/50 so I wanted to move the light over to make room for the new lamp. Had an old 9w Actinic laying around and after a trip to HD this is what I ended up with. Now the light is more even. The tank looks better and I can stagger the lights on timers. Now I don't think I need a 20w!. The socket is a lamp socket with the mount removed. I epoxied it in place with a screw holding it in place from the outside. The 9w is held in place w/ superglue and epoxy. The plexiglass is held in place by 2 clips on the hood. Some of the Zoos under just the actinic (pic doesn't do them justice). Link to comment
Fish Freak Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Couple questions.. Why did you move the 10 watt Coralife farther to the left if you aren't utilizing the extra room anyways? How were you able to get another socket for an additional bulb on the side of the hood? Did you install a fan in there, or does it seem to be okay without one? Thanks Wish I was handy...LOL Link to comment
doncb Posted July 11, 2005 Author Share Posted July 11, 2005 Originally posted by Fish Freak Couple questions.. Why did you move the 10 watt Coralife farther to the left if you aren't utilizing the extra room anyways? How were you able to get another socket for an additional bulb on the side of the hood? Did you install a fan in there, or does it seem to be okay without one? Thanks Wish I was handy...LOL Actually, in the pic the hood is flipped over. The lamps are mounted to the right side of the hood when it is in its normal position. I moved the socket to the side with the intention of buying a 20w 50/50 which is a longer lamp. After doing the mod I realized that with the 10w lamp in the center of the hood and the added 9w Actinic the light had evened out to the point where I might not need the 20w afterall. With the socket in the stock location, the lamp was all the way to the left, which left the right side of the tank a lot dimmer. You can see where I had painted inside the hood to try and reflect more light to the right side of the tank. In order for the base of the lamp to fit in the new position I needed to cut away the plastic webbing in the hood (which doesn't affect the hood). Also, I wasn't going to use the socket cover any more. This gave me enough room to mount the socket for the 9w lamp. The lamp is from an old Custom Sealife kit and uses a remote balast. I don't have a fan and the temps stay around 80 - 82F. If I do put in a 20w I would probably mount a small CPU fan to help with any extra heat. The plexiglass splashguard seems to help keep heat from the water too. Link to comment
doncb Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 Here are some new shots of the tank to show its progress. FTS Nice Zoos GSP Zoos & Torch Actinic Zoos Link to comment
doncb Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 Wow! over 2,000 views! :) But so few comments. :( Is it that bad? :*( :*( Or does it leave you speechless?! lol Link to comment
lgoins Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I think it looks awesome, I'm very impressed, I love the clean look. How is the growth on the macro algea? Link to comment
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