Mirage's 2.5 gallon, yeah I've been bored!

mgdmirage

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I always liked these little AGA tanks but one thing that drove me nuts was the silicone job, so I retouched all of the corners. Secondly I can't stand using HOB filters so I decided to just go ahead and drill this tank with 3/4" bulkheads. Not much comes close to the fun of drilling 1/8" glass! Here are some pics of what I have done so far.

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I was shopping around in Lowes the other day and stumbled on this awesome little cabinet. It was clearanced for $9.50 down from the regular price of $91! So for under $10 I figure I can't go wrong by purchasing it. The cabinet has two shelves also but I only have one in place at the moment. I plan on placing the sump on a shelf somewhere in the middle to limit headloss from using a small pump. I will also be putting a board or a 12" x 12" tile on top of the stand, and perhaps the bottom for stability. Here are some pics of my find.

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This tank should be up and running very soon. I will be working on this and my 12 gallon long at roughly the same time.
 
Looks like a cool project! Please keep the pics coming!
 
This is where I am at currently. I'm working on the overflow strainer and trying to decide on a sump.

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Not sure I've mentioned the lighting but it will be two par38 12watt bulbs.
 
Very small inverts, maybe a tiny goby or two, i have a 7 gallon sump attached. I will also be adding a skimmer soon, i already have a 100 micron filter sock running. As for corals, maybe a birdsnest as centerpiece and zoanthids and mushrooms(rics) for rest of it.
 
How hard was it to drill it? I thought about drilling mine so I could put the pump on the outside to prevent overheating the water.
 
This tank is now a 5.5 gallon I picked up at Petco the other day. It had a small chip on the corner of the front so i asked for a discount and got 20%. I got it home and removed the chipped glass and took a junk 29 gallon i had in the garage and cut a piece out of the side out. I already siliconed the new 1/4" glass to the back of the 5.5. I will water test it tomorrow and then start drilling new holes. I wasn't happy with the 3/4" overflow on the 2.5 so I'm going to try and find my 1" bulkhead bit for this one.
 

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