Minibow 2.5

[PaulS]

what lighting are you running on this

 

Bodhi-Licious, this might give a better idea of what's in the canopy.

 

 

All Hail Dremel Tools!

[PaulS]

Any updated pics?

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

texan

 

Well, what I'm proving to myself is that I have trouble taking photos of livestock. Part of my problem is not wanting to read manuals and I have yet to read the manual on this camera (Konika Minolta Z20). Oh well. Here's a few shots of the folks after the cleaning tonight. Not their finest moments since their house was pretty well disturbed tonight.

[non-photosynt]

Thank you, thank you! All details are seen on pictures - most helpful, it's very kind of you. Now I'm ready to make similar setup for a my new tank.

[PaulS]

Thank you, thank you! All details are seen on pictures - most helpful, it's very kind of you. Now I'm ready to make similar setup for a my new tank.

 

Glad it helped. Hope your setup goes well. If you have improvements to the basic design, please let me know!

[irishtexan]

So you have a total of 33w of lighting? Do you think it would be ok to just mod the hood for the 20watt and just use that as lighting or do you need that much lighting? If I will need the extra 13 watts do you know where I could order a 13watt online? Your tank and corals look really nice. What about a fts?

 

texan

[PaulS]

So you have a total of 33w of lighting? Do you think it would be ok to just mod the hood for the 20watt and just use that as lighting or do you need that much lighting? If I will need the extra 13 watts do you know where I could order a 13watt online? Your tank and corals look really nice. What about a fts?

 

texan

 

My original setup had the 20W Coralife bulb which was okay but I thought it was dim. Totally subjective viewpoint. The additional blue tube really seemed to bring the tank to life. I picked up the 13W bulb at the LFS ... I think it was around $10(?). The fixture I picked up at Lowe's for $15. I'm sure online retailers have similar bulbs.

 

Try it out with just the 20W and see what you think. The 13W you can always add later as I did. Thanks for the compliments. It was fun setting it up and, in some ways, easier than my 40G reef.

 

Um ... what's a "fts"? Sorry, you got me on the acronym!

 

Regards,

PaulS

[irishtexan]

Oh sorry , It means a full tank shot.

 

texan

[PaulS]

Oh sorry , It means a full tank shot.

 

texan

 

LOL. Got it. Duhh.

[irishtexan]

You know that if you take pictures of your tank without the flash they look more real and not so bleached out.

just my .02

[Bodhi-Licious]

how many gph are you running do you think. I just set up my mini-bow 2.5 and Im probably @ 100 gph. I think its too much though so Im wondering what other have in there 2.5's

[PaulS]

You know that if you take pictures of your tank without the flash they look more real and not so bleached out.

just my .02

 

Good idea. You know, if the camera was my old Nikon 35mm (all dials and switches, nothing "auto"), I probably would have thought about As it stands, this digital wizz-bang thingy is actually somewhat harder to use than my old Nikon! I'll give it a try, thanks!

 

how many gph are you running do you think. I just set up my mini-bow 2.5 and Im probably @ 100 gph. I think its too much though so Im wondering what other have in there 2.5's

 

The RIO90's got about one foot of height to lift the water, plus the outlet. When I first turned it on, it was blowing sand all over the place so I also throttled it back slightly using the restrictor fitting. I think right now it's doing about 40-50 gph although that's a guess as I didn't test it when I did the maintenance this weekend. Sorry, can't be more accurate than that!

 

Regards,

PaulS

[non-photosynt]

Hope your setup goes well. If you have improvements to the basic design, please let me know!

Thanks again, Paul! Any ideas about improving will be very useful - this is my first sump, I'm trying to keep it simple, and you have more knowledge than I do.

BTW, what volume of biofiltration material you have in 40g tank - something around 1/2 gal, not? My largest tank was 20 gal, basic, all HOB.

 

Side note about photography: I have digital camera, almost all is "auto", and because of this it's very difficult to make clear focus in expected place. Before this I had no problems with optical 35mm photo cameras - highest quality results, but, alas, cost of photo materials and processing is now cost-prohibitive.

[PaulS]

Thanks again, Paul! Any ideas about improving will be very useful - this is my first sump, I'm trying to keep it simple, and you have more knowledge than I do.

BTW, what volume of biofiltration material you have in 40g tank - something around 1/2 gal, not? My largest tank was 20 gal, basic, all HOB.

 

Side note about photography: I have digital camera, almost all is "auto", and because of this it's very difficult to make clear focus in expected place. Before this I had no problems with optical 35mm photo cameras - highest quality results, but, alas, cost of photo materials and processing is now cost-prohibitive.

 

Yeah, you're right on about the cost of the 35mm photos. I would have stayed with it but, like you, found it cost-prohibitive.

 

My 40G has an Amiracle sump that's about 10-12 gallons total capacity. I run it a little different than the manufacturer recommends (who doesn't?) and keep about 12lbs of live rock (the small bits and pieces) and about one gallon of chaeto. The chaeto I have to trim about every two to three months as it grows fast. There's an Urchin Pro standing in the sump as well along with the pumps and other sundry equipment.

 

Thanks for the compliment and good luck. Again, let me know how your setup goes. I'd be interested in picking up other tips along the way. Most of my ideas are not unique to me but suggestions/recommendations/ideas from others on this site and staff from LFS's who've been gracious enough to entertain ideas (as opposed to simply selling me something).

 

Regards!

PaulS

[non-photosynt]

Thanks!

[irishtexan]

Any updates?

[PaulS]

Any updates?

 

The weather got sort of warm down in SoCal the other week and I had a little trouble keeping the tank below 85 - no one was really appreciating that. This week is better and everyone is pretty well recoved, except the goniopora which, I think, is on its tail end. Sad.

 

Having the mini-sump for the LR, chaeto, and carbon has really helped a lot. The nitrates are either zero or less than 0.2 ppm (less than viewable using a Salifert kit). The coralline algae is beginning to show some new expansion as well after I started dosing with kalkwasser.

 

Here's a few photos from this evening in another semi-futile attempt to learn how to use the "manual" settings on my fully automatic digital camera. Last time I checked, I thought "idiot proof" meant that it was easy to use, not "it proves I'm an idiot".

 

Thanks for asking. Have a great weekend.

 

[PaulS]

Well, after practicing with the camera for a while, I have a few shots of the corals that are marginally better than the last post.

 

 

... and one of the resident felines ...

 

[irishtexan]

Looks great! Do you have an FTS without the flash?

 

texan

p.s Are you planning on adding any type of shrimp of small goby?

[PaulS]

Looks great! Do you have an FTS without the flash?

 

texan

p.s Are you planning on adding any type of shrimp of small goby?

 

Thanks for the compliment. I've been messing with my camera, trying to figure out the f-stops/exposure-thingy... Talk about a pain. Eventually, I'll get one with the exposure correct. Right now, they're all over the place. I may try again over the weekend when I can get some daylight to reduce the contrast between the tank and background.

 

I was thinking about a shrimp, actually - one of the Pederson or Lysmata Debelius shrimps. I only considered a goby in passing. I think the tank is just too small for anything other than a few inverts.

[PaulS]

It's been more than a year since I started that little mini-bow and last month, I took it down. All the inhabitants got moved to the larger 40 gallon reef tank. After a while, trying to maintain three tanks and three cats is too much. My wife and I have a second son and he and his older brother take up the majority of the time now. Thanks again, to all, for all the advice on setting this up.

 

Besides, having only one tank means the resources are no longer split. I can now spend more money on the primary tank ... and it's being all spent at OC Aquatics ~ thanks, guys!