5.5 Gallon Pico

[Argent]

This --

 

can turn in to this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then at the $5 frag sale I picked up this colony of zoas and a 6 head blasto frag

 

 

and the other LFS gave me this cute feather duster I spotted in their live rock rubble tank (for free!)

 

 

All three of those frags are currently housed in my quart pico (it's getting crowded in there) and the zoa and blasto will probably move to my 3 gallon tank at work on Monday.

[KMitch]

you gotta watch out for that argent chap-- hes a trouble maker!

[Argent]

hopefully 96 watts of light won't be overkill on this tank (it's a quad bulb - (2) 10k and (2) actinic)

[NanoClown]

looks good

[Argent]

fully cured rock -- I'll reaquascape after the water clears up etc.

[NanoClown]

sweet

[Argent]

I have a Marineland Penguin 200 on the back of my 15 gallon tropical tank that I might try to turn in to a HOB fuge for this tank (looks big enough to stuff some purigen and LR rubble in the back)

 

I think my poor Rio 90 needs some assistance generating surface aggitation.

 

And I need to get new legs for my 96 watt coralife fixture

 

Oh yeah and I need to find a background for the tank.

[tinyreef]

i was about to say you need legs for that fixture. move the heater into the hob (when you get it).

 

although an over-sized hob (e.g. AC70) might give you more options. you could "close-loop" it from the reservoir area to add additional flow directions without cluttering up the tank. that way the only equipment in the tank is the intake for the hob.

 

i'd invert the branching/tonga LR (in the middle) over the one on the right. see how that looks for cave-action. or just place it "cupped" for tabletop-effect.

 

looks good so far!

[Argent]

Yeah the aquascaping is no where near finished -- it was late last night when I was putting this together and just wanted to get the rock/sand/water in the tank and starting to cycle - the 50 watt heater looks like it should fit in the Emperor 200 (I'd go with an AC fuge but I already have the emperor so I'm saving cash)

 

I'm not sure I get the closed loop comment - you mean put the rio in the HOB's media chamber?

[tinyreef]

I'm not sure I get the closed loop comment - you mean put the rio in the HOB's media chamber?

yes, i was picturing a AC hob and a powerhead intaking in the media/reservoir area. so instead of the intake having to have to be in the tank you're just intaking from the reservoir area and returning to the tank however/wherever you eventually plumb it.

 

this is just another way of slowing the hob flow-thru further if tuning it down to lowest (for an Aquaclear unit) is still not sufficient, which it often isn't for true refugium setups. it's also a step-saver versus trimming impeller blades and adding additonal flow via a "closed-loop". there's also the additional aesthetic quality of lessening equipment in the viewing area.

[Argent]

Hmm I would think placing the powerhead in the media chamber would INCREASE the water flow back in to the tank (since it just waterfalls back in to the main tank anyway) The Emperor 200 is probably going to be overkill in itself since it moves 200 gph as it is.

 

Now I don't know what I'm going to do with this tank...

[tinyreef]

Hmm I would think placing the powerhead in the media chamber would INCREASE the water flow back in to the tank (since it just waterfalls back in to the main tank anyway) The Emperor 200 is probably going to be overkill in itself since it moves 200 gph as it is.

no, you're diverting the flow via the return plumbing. you're not just letting the powerhead spew to "atmosphere".

 

while you'd still have to setup a return pipe from the powerhead but this setup (above) avoids any drilling of the tank, piping to the powerhead (if external), eliminates equipment in the tank (by placing it in the hob, think of the hob as a sump), and lowers the flow-thru of the hob by diverting it to the return pipe.

 

you can still get very fancy and complicated though, e.g. adding a swcd to the return line, spray bars, multiple returns, etc. it all depends the intake capacity of the original hob. as long as you're below that limit, the hob won't run dry and you can get a very low flow refugium (cryptic fuge or breeding fuge).

 

btw this is all based upon the premise that you'd want more flow via a closed-loop setup or another powerhead in addition to the hob's flow. your rio comment made me think that so i suggested this closed-loop option.

[Argent]

you lost me somewhere after --

no, you're diverting

 

hehe

[Kingofthejungle]

Its an obsession..........isn't that right Argent?

I really like the salt n pepper sand.

[tinyreef]

sorry, a picture is worth a thousand words but i can't find one of the setup i did once. i don't even know for sure if i ever took a picture of it.

 

but let's try another analogy that just occurred to me as i was looking thru my pics archives.

 

this setup i'm suggesting is basically like an semi-aquafuge (CPR's hang-on-back refugium unit).

 

but instead of the powerhead being in the tank to feed the aquafuge, it's in the hob's reservoir.

 

instead of it flowing back via gravity, like an aquafuge, it's returned via piping connected to the powerhead (just like a regular closed-loop would be).

 

please don't make do mspaint or photoshop, it won't be pretty.

[Argent]

Sounds a lot more complicated than just tossing my HOB on the back of the tank and letting it do its job.

[tinyreef]

Sounds a lot more complicated than just tossing my HOB on the back of the tank and letting it do its job.

you could do that but a 400-gph hob will direct all that volume over its return (not really controllable).

 

whereas this setup allows you to dial down the return but add a closed-loop without sacrificing aesthetics. i.e. the hob is down to 150-gph, while the rest of the 250-gph is diverted to the CL and directed/piped exactly where you want it (just like a regular closed-loop).

 

ok, you asked for it. i cobbled together a quickie paint diagram. hopefully, this explains it better than what i've done so far.

 

[KMitch]

Enjoy that quad bulb. I have one and it took me months of searching every LFS and still I have not found the exact replacement. I just hate to ship a bulb if at all possible.

[Argent]

Ahhh I see -- get some black piping and plumb out of the HOB and in to say a T with two loclines and duckbills to help direct flow while still maintaining the HOB's overflow (albeit at a slower rate due to the Rio pumping out water on it's own too)

 

or something like that

[irishtexan]

Looks nice. Will be neat setup.

 

 

texx

[Argent]

Something like this (if I'm understanding correctly) I love Paint!

[NanoClown]

sorry aregent but is it ok for me to stal this idea?

[Argent]

sure but I don't think it's really my idea -- I was just trying to clarify what tiny was trying to explain.

[tinyreef]

Ahhh I see -- get some black piping and plumb out of the HOB and in to say a T with two loclines and duckbills to help direct flow while still maintaining the HOB's overflow (albeit at a slower rate due to the Rio pumping out water on it's own too)

 

or something like that

something like that.

 

whew! i was getting worried there for a bit.

[Argent]

heheh it's a miracle!

 

I can be taught!