Aggie05 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Today I went to the LFS to pick up some snails and I also got a 2.5 gallon tank. Also went to lowes and picked up a bookworm light for the tank. I am going to be using a whisper HOB with no media for circulation. This is going to have nothing but ricordea in it, no shrimp no nothing, except for a very small collection of snails. My goal with the tank is to not have to feed it and only do top offs and water changes. If the rics aren't liking only having light to survive on I will start feeding, but I would rather this be a very low maintenence tank. It is going to sit on my desk next to my monitor. How much rock do you think I should start with? I am not planning on getting much since each ricordea I buy will have its own rock, I figure I will just fill the tank with rock as I buy more rics. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 I put around 5-6 Lbs in mine (including the LR rubble in the built-in fuge), but that is pretty tight. I used stometella for the normal work that snails do. If you are using a single 13 watt bulb (sorry I don't know what is in the bookworm) and want ricordia, then I would highly recommend the 13 watt 50/50 bulb from hellolights.com. It will really show off the colors of the rics. I have never fed my tank and it has been stocked for around 6 months now I believe. It has an internal fuge with a single pump. I have a very tight Plexiglass top on it to keep it from evaporating. This could inhibit gas exchange, but so far so good. I also only have one single hermit that was sold to me with a group of blue legs. It is a dark green or black hermit with yellow stripes down the legs. It was a small crab that didn't grow as fast as the blues and it ate a lot of algae. That is why I selected him for the tank. Anyway, I do water changes maybe once every two months or so. There really is only a few MM or evaporation between the water changes so I do no topoffs. It should be noted that this is an experimental tank. I only use frags out of my 10 gallon. So far it is stocked with one type of mushroom, two types of leather, xenia, and green star polyps. The GSPs looked like crap under the stock light. With that new 50/50 from Hellolights, they really light up now. Very attractive. Anyway, good luck. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 Cool deal. I plan on ordering a 50/50 bulb from hello lights and it is a 13 watt. I need to figure out how to mount the light over the tnak though. I guess I will have to build a hood for it, which means it will probably look like sh!t. Anyone know where I can get a 2.5 gallon hood? Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Just grab some cheap craft pine and some of the square popular rods. You can make quick cheap hoods usually for under $10 this way. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 problem is I am up at school and it is kinda hard to get 45 degree cuts done in my apartment. Does anyone know if lowes will make all the cuts for me? Link to comment
schrader Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 I am in the process of setting mine up also.I just ordered a50/50 and an actinic bulb for mine.I currently have the tank running with LS,LR,and a refuge.Good luck on your I hope it goes well. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 That is what the square "rod" is for. It is like 1.5"x1.5" square popular. You place it on the inside corners to attach your sides to. This way you don't have to make any fancy angles or joints. Also, you can just get a cheap miter box and hand saw to make the angled cuts if that is what you really want. They won't be as precise as they would be with say a table saw, but nothing a little wood putty and paint won't cover. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Well I went to lowes today and picked up the wood to make the hood. I have been working on it all afternoon and should be able to put the light in it as soon as the last coat of paint dries. I made a simple hood that looks decent but nowhere near nice, and I painted it black. I will post pics when i get it finished. Tomorrow I am going to get some sand and then I will fill the tank up. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 here is the hood finished. Like I said, it isn't perfect but its good enough for me. Link to comment
JJshiv Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 I think that hood came out really nice. You might have just inspired me to make one myself. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Went and got around 3 pounds of LR today and filled it up so it can start cycling. I am hoping that the light will be able to keep the temp stable as I don't really want to put a heater in it. But we will see. Also, does anyone know if there is a way to dial back a whisper filter. The one I have is a 5-15 and it will probably be too much current for rics. Here is the pic. Oh yeah, the light isn't that yellow in real life. I have also ordered a 50/50 bulb from hello llights and it should be here next week. Link to comment
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