tigrtraps Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 New AIO frag tank build!! After seeing the JBJ 20 Rimless tank I started looking around at options. The JBJ was nice, but I didn't like the price. I've had too many frags sitting on my sand in my tank and I'm tired of battling a wrasse to keep them face up. Of all places, Ebay had the tank that I ended up going with, A 20x20x8 rimless acrylic AIO. 1/2" thick acrylic, two different heights for the frag racks, and the right price . No pump with it, but I have pumps sitting around to fit the job. The tank came yesterday!! (Not even the holiday temp workers at Fedex could destroy this packaging) I was leery of an Ebay tank, but it's put together a lot cleaner than my 65 gallon GlassCages display tank. For lighting I've been wanting the MicMol LED. It's a compact little light, has timers built in, and claims 30 watts of power. Should be enough for an 8" tank. Ebay was the source for the light as well as a seller on there has a "full spectrum" light. It has what I care about, at least one 'UV' led. It also comes with a aluminium bracket that can sit on the filtration area lip. (Iphone potato pic, don't mind the extreme blueness) So now I just need to find a 20"x20" stand of some sort. Turns out that isn't so easy . PAR measurements coming tonight. Link to comment
patrickbruno91 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 This will be a nice little set-up. Are you located near an ikea? They have some stands for a reasonable price. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 This will be a nice little set-up. Are you located near an ikea? They have some stands for a reasonable price. Unfortunately no . I've found a few side tables that are 20x20 but they are sitting in the $150 range. Might try a used/antique furniture store. The tank itself shouldn't be more than 105lbs when full. Link to comment
patrickbruno91 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Unfortunately no . I've found a few side tables that are 20x20 but they are sitting in the $150 range. Might try a used/antique furniture store. The tank itself shouldn't be more than 105lbs when full. A nice antique stand would look nice. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Blergh!! The PAR meter wasn't available tonight, after driving to the LFS to try and get it. Anyone have a good idea for building media racks for the all in one portion? I was thinking of using eggcrate to support some filter floss in the first chamber and then will likely keep chemipure that can just float around in the 2nd chamber. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 New AIO frag tank build!! After seeing the JBJ 20 Rimless tank I started looking around at options. The JBJ was nice, but I didn't like the price. I've had too many frags sitting on my sand in my tank and I'm tired of battling a wrasse to keep them face up. Of all places, Ebay had the tank that I ended up going with, A 20x20x8 rimless acrylic AIO. 1/2" thick acrylic, two different heights for the frag racks, and the right price . No pump with it, but I have pumps sitting around to fit the job. The tank came yesterday!! (Not even the holiday temp workers at Fedex could destroy this packaging) I was leery of an Ebay tank, but it's put together a lot cleaner than my 65 gallon GlassCages display tank. For lighting I've been wanting the MicMol LED. It's a compact little light, has timers built in, and claims 30 watts of power. Should be enough for an 8" tank. Ebay was the source for the light as well as a seller on there has a "full spectrum" light. It has what I care about, at least one 'UV' led. It also comes with a aluminium bracket that can sit on the filtration area lip. (Iphone potato pic, don't mind the extreme blueness) So now I just need to find a 20"x20" stand of some sort. Turns out that isn't so easy . PAR measurements coming tonight. Very beautiful and priced at a steal! I am impressed, bent 1/2 acrylic is very hard to do! From the pics on ebay the acrylic looks dark, is that polycarbonate? Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Very beautiful and priced at a steal! I am impressed, bent 1/2 acrylic is very hard to do! From the pics on ebay the acrylic looks dark, is that polycarbonate? Thanks Mike. The bottom and filtration area are straight black. Is there any way for me to tell if it is acrylic vs poly-carbonate? Are there advantages or disadvantages if it is poly-carbonate? You are the expert around here on tanks like this so I'd like to hear good or bad . Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks Mike. The bottom and filtration area are straight black. Is there any way for me to tell if it is acrylic vs poly-carbonate? Are there advantages or disadvantages if it is poly-carbonate? You are the expert around here on tanks like this so I'd like to hear good or bad . No worries, It all makes sense as soon as you said the bottom piece is black. That is why in certain photos and in person the top will appear to look dark. Light travels through acrylic so, if you have a black base you will see that hue appear on the surface of your edges. The reason I asked poly-carbonate is that the edges are never as clear as acrylic in my experience, it's a shade darker. Also you cannot flame polish poly-carbonate it burns. It must be polished differently. The greatest difference that I see is that poly-carbonate is much more impact resistant than acrylic. There are some really nice videos on youtube that can be seen for comparison. The clearest color is where you want acrylic over poly-carbonate. Here you can see one of my builds appears very clear on the top and side edges because of the bottom, had I gone with black bottom then it would change the overall appearance of the tank above. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 No worries, It all makes sense as soon as you said the bottom piece is black. That is why in certain photos and in person the top will appear to look dark. Light travels through acrylic so, if you have a black base you will see that hue appear on the surface of your edges. The reason I asked poly-carbonate is that the edges are never as clear as acrylic in my experience, it's a shade darker. Also you cannot flame polish poly-carbonate it burns. It must be polished differently. The greatest difference that I see is that poly-carbonate is much more impact resistant than acrylic. There are some really nice videos on youtube that can be seen for comparison. The clearest color is where you want acrylic over poly-carbonate. Here you can see one of my builds appears very clear on the top and side edges because of the bottom, had I gone with black bottom then it would change the overall appearance of the tank above. Now that is a good explanation. I'd like to say the tank I bought is as clear as the ones you sell, but I haven't grabbed one of your tanks yet . All your pics make your acrylic work look like glass. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 It lives!! The light has a nice sharp blue hue. No PAR meter yet though . The pics don't show the blue as nicely as it is in person (as is common). I'd say it's right on an 18k look. Salt has been mixing in the tank for a few hours. I had to order a 1/2" bulkhead but I have the return pump running in the main portion of the tank right now. Photo of the frag tank beside the 65 gallon display tank. Link to comment
patrickbruno91 Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 I was looking at one of those lights a few months ago, but didn't really see too many reviews on them, I will follow your thread to see how it is working out. I do like that it is programmable. The color looks great, can't wait to see that thing stocked up. Link to comment
cichlidtx Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 That's a great looking tank and a awesome price. The seller does some nice work. Will be following along. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 25, 2013 Author Share Posted December 25, 2013 That's a great looking tank and a awesome price. The seller does some nice work. Will be following along. The tank is farrr better then I ever expected. I've, poorly, put together a couple acrylic tanks before. I know what bad seams look like . The rounded edges are something I wouldn't pass on now. They look nice from across the room. The seems themselves are clean!! (tank still has bubbles around it, that's mainly what you see on the edges). Otherwise my Amazon Prime paid for itself again. Ordered a bulkhead kit and put overnight shipping on it yesterday at 4pm. It arrived today, on Christmas Eve without issue. Thanks UPS! I just put some mushrooms in the tank along with a piece of live rock from my sump to see how they fair. Link to comment
Bropez Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 Man I like that tank...I just wish it wasnt 240 bucks... Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Frags are in, and they are digging it. Anyone have opinions on high flow vs low flow for a frag tank? Right now its a bunch of acans and a few SPS. This tank will likely see a lot of everything. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I found fish....and they're Damsel's!! Mwuahahaha I have 3 of these little Talbot Damsel's in the frag tank. They add a nice amount of activity as well as giving me some of the natural fish waste corals love. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 2 weeks in and the acans are diggin the frag tank and the new MicMol light. Still no PAR numbers, but I'm running the light at 80% across the 3 channels and the acans are at the edge of the tank. It's so awesomely easy to spot feed them in this shallow of a tank . Link to comment
patrickbruno91 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 looking good. Great color on the acans! Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 looking good. Great color on the acans! Thanks patrickbruno91, I'm always paranoid they will color shift. I feed Fauna Marin LPS pellets and I've never seen them change since I got them though. I've been waiting for this arctic vortex of death to pass so I can order a ReefCleaners pack. I'm thinking one emerald crab and a fair amount of snails to keep everything nice and clean. I forgot how flipping easy it is to do a water change when I'm only dealing with 13 gallons! I've also thrown a small amount of carbon in as I just always run carbon in my tanks, keeps the water clean and sucks up some waste. Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Not much to update. The 3 damsels dart around between the holes and chase each other. I've added a 1 armed emerald crab for general cleanup, along with a bunch of snails. A comparison pic below of the corals from today, similar to the pic from 3 weeks ago. Link to comment
Fishstiks Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 2 weeks in and the acans are diggin the frag tank and the new MicMol light. Still no PAR numbers, but I'm running the light at 80% across the 3 channels and the acans are at the edge of the tank. It's so awesomely easy to spot feed them in this shallow of a tank . I LOVE the acan you have in the top of this pic. Gorgeous! Link to comment
chlwodud85 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Any update on this frag tank Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Will be tonight! Acan's are growing like crazy in it. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Yup, ordering one of these for sure....185.00??! Friggin STEAL. Do you have a link for that light? Beautiful acans btw Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.