Occ_motorcycles 2.5 nano build

[occ_motorcycles]

Well to start I am fairly new to the hobby being in for about 3.5 years and only having salt water and reef. I started with a 15 and moved to a little bigger (40 with a 40 refuge). I will use terms that are probably not the proper term for what I am talking about but you can stop reading if it offends you. So to give a little more history on my tanks. A friend told me that it was impossible to keep a 2.5g running with a fish for any amount of time successfully. Well I kept it going long enough to prove him wrong and so now I have decided to go small again and take a couple ideas from a few other people and put them together. I read about a desk build that had no live rock. This is something I have thought about but not gone into details looking at. My local fish store has a product called tank clear. The pack runs $10 and is a live rock substitute. Not replacing the actual rock in the tank but replacing the home for bacteria that are in the cycle. One pack of this can replace live rock for a 50g tank. I will use about 5 pieces from the pack for this build. So I seem to have forgotten to tell you about the build. I recently lost my job and am searching for something to do while not looking for work. Well after looking through my old aquarium stuff I have a 2.5g that I will now turn into an all in one reef without fish. (Just to mean to put a clown goby in that small of a tank) I am leaving some details out for the moment but I will be putting Lps and zoa in this tank. Brighter colors but only things that I have on hand. I am putting a cap on my spending for this to $50 total. Call me crazy but I know this WILL turn out good. So this is my first post and I have gotten most of the things together that I will use.

1/4 inch plexiglass sheet
Aquarium silicon
Superglue gel
Protein skimmer for biocube 29g
100w theo hydor heater(probably replace or trade for 50w)
Tank clear pellets
Tiny fountain water pump 75gph submersible
12x3watt Cree LEDs (rapid led) w/ meanwell lpc-35-700 driver

I will post more in the next few days for all that care and want to see how this turns out.

As for now we can admire some possible friends to get moved into the 2.5gallon nano.

Sorry about the brown sand it will be better soon. Running mh and blew a bulb so had to use an old bulb for a week and it grew brown for my sand

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Well today was not to productive but I managed to seal up the wall that was placed 4 inches into the tank. I also drilled the wall and ran the hose from my 75gph return pump.

I am also getting busy with my other main project. It is dual 40 gallon tanks with a 40 refuge/sump.

So I purchased another 40breeder today this makes 3 in the living room. While I was out at Petco I picked up two things for the pico/nano build. I got a new wooden airstone for the biocube protein skimmer and also a new tube of aquarium silicon. These totaled $11 from my total of $50 designated for this build.

I was thinking about the coral selection for this tank today and was wanting some feedback on this thought. Do you think Lps and zoa would do well with the protein skimmer running or would sps be better? Do you think I should even use the skimmer for Lps and zoa?

 

[revsgirl]

Lookin' forward to seein' it!

 

[skinz78]

Nice looking corals!

 

[alberthiel]

Corals all look nice and the brown are diatoms .. You can use Aluminum oxide to reduce the silicates and stop them from growing. Siphon out as many diatoms as you can as if you blow them around they are still in the water and they will just regrow, usually overnight.

Looking forward to your updates

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Corals all look nice and the brown are diatoms .. You can use Aluminum oxide to reduce the silicates and stop them from growing. Siphon out as many diatoms as you can as if you blow them around they are still in the water and they will just regrow, usually overnight.

Looking forward to your updates

Thanks guys. I am having a wee bit of trouble with my heater. Seems that the small compartment in the back is well ...... To small so the heater will now be diagonal in the back.

I am also going to get some better quality valves for the air line into the skimmer. Getting that thing dialed in is difficult with the crappy quality.

So today y'all get a sneak peak at the tank

Also remember the heater will be moved

 

[alberthiel]

Thanks guys. I am having a wee bit of trouble with my heater. Seems that the small compartment in the back is well ...... To small so the heater will now be diagonal in the back.

I am also going to get some better quality valves for the air line into the skimmer. Getting that thing dialed in is difficult with the crappy quality.

So today y'all get a sneak peak at the tank

Also remember the heater will be moved

As long as most of the heater is in the water don't worry about it .. it does not need to be totally submerged unless the instructions say so.

And on the skimmer a lot of people get a HOB one that works better and is venturi operated.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[occ_motorcycles]

As long as most of the heater is in the water don't worry about it .. it does not need to be totally submerged unless the instructions say so.

And on the skimmer a lot of people get a HOB one that works better and is venturi operated.

Good luck and keep us posted

I am not to worried about the heater but 100watts is extremely high for this size tank.

Also can you please explain hob skimmers.

And I forgot to mention or show y'all that the "return" pump is behind the skimmer.

 

[alberthiel]

Yes 100 watt is a strong heater but if you set the temp for what you want it to me then it does not really matter.

The HOB skimmer is similar to HOB filter, it is a skimmer that hangs on the side or back of the tank. I use the Red Sea Prizm Pro on my 20 gallon tank and it is a venturi valve operated one.

Here is a link to what it looks like : Protein skimmers: Red Sea Prizm Deluxe protein skimmers for saltwater aquariums

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Yes I understand now. I have a sea swirl( sea storm) it's crap but yes I understand what hob means now. Hang on back.

 

[alberthiel]

Yes I understand now. I have a sea swirl( sea storm) it's crap but yes I understand what hob means now. Hang on back.

Sorry, my fault, I should have written it out rather than using an acronym .. there are plenty enough of those already that sometimes not everyone is familiar with Glad you now know what I meant, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I actually have a dedicate thread (see my sig)

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Sorry, my fault, I should have written it out rather than using an acronym .. there are plenty enough of those already that sometimes not everyone is familiar with Glad you now know what I meant, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I actually have a dedicate thread (see my sig)

It's ok. I don't like acronyms because the fact that there are so many.

Does anyone have ideas on how to keep sand from going everywhere? The return is very high and I have very little sand. Thought about a small rubble rock but not sure. What do y'all think?

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Well minor update. Got sand an water in it tonight. Also I got a new valve for the skimmer.

The temp jumped up to 90 degrees and that was with the heater set to 79. So it is turned down greatly to lower the temp.

In this photo you can see the tank clear in the back and the way the sand it forming with the water flow

 

[alberthiel]

Well minor update. Got sand an water in it tonight. Also I got a new valve for the skimmer.

The temp jumped up to 90 degrees and that was with the heater set to 79. So it is turned down greatly to lower the temp.

In this photo you can see the tank clear in the back and the way the sand it forming with the water flow

Odd that the temp went up that high ... if that is a new thermometer you may want to bring it back and tell them it is defective as it should not do that for sure. As to the front and the back, looks like the front is clearing up after you added the sand, as when you do so very small sand particles do take a longer time to settle

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Yes sand settling is not an issue just seems to blow out of the corner under the return.

And the thermometer is out of my show tank. The temp went up high and I turned it down a good bit. I may just have to keep the temp set at minimum on the heater.

I am using a theo hydor 100watt heater. They have a 25 watt that's adjustable. Not sure how it will fit into budget but we will see.

If anyone reading has a 25 watt theo hydor heater they wanna trade for a 100watt theo hydor let me know.

Currently the temp is at 86 which is better but I will check it in a few hours and go from there.

 

[alberthiel]

Yes sand settling is not an issue just seems to blow out of the corner under the return.

And the thermometer is out of my show tank. The temp went up high and I turned it down a good bit. I may just have to keep the temp set at minimum on the heater.

I am using a theo hydor 100watt heater. They have a 25 watt that's adjustable. Not sure how it will fit into budget but we will see.

If anyone reading has a 25 watt theo hydor heater they wanna trade for a 100watt theo hydor let me know.

Currently the temp is at 86 which is better but I will check it in a few hours and go from there.

You may need to angle the return upwards a little if you can as it is blowing the sand up and in the water column based on what you describe. Not sure if you can though

And on the heather ... it would seem that it may be off by some degrees as if you have it set real low then I am surprised that the temp is still 86, should be more like 78/80. Odd that it keeps heating when it should not, you may need to test it and check it out by setting it to the lowest possible in some water and see what the temp. goes up to FWIW

 

[occ_motorcycles]

The heater is no longer an issue. I just can't read and had it set to high. I think it will be ready for some friends to go in as soon as I get the light built and mounted.

The evaporation is surprising me this morning. In a 4 inch wide compartment the water level dropped 1/2 in overnight. This could have been caused by close to 90 degree temps. But I will make a plexiglass cover to try to limit the evaporation. If I do not get this under control and the water level drops to far then my heater will be exposed. I have a 1/2 inch evaporation play level between to high for my skimmer and to low for the heater.

I may also set up a float system for top off. But this would use the remaining area in the back compartment.

 

[alberthiel]

The heater is no longer an issue. I just can't read and had it set to high. I think it will be ready for some friends to go in as soon as I get the light built and mounted.

The evaporation is surprising me this morning. In a 4 inch wide compartment the water level dropped 1/2 in overnight. This could have been caused by close to 90 degree temps. But I will make a plexiglass cover to try to limit the evaporation. If I do not get this under control and the water level drops to far then my heater will be exposed. I have a 1/2 inch evaporation play level between to high for my skimmer and to low for the heater.

I may also set up a float system for top off. But this would use the remaining area in the back compartment.

The evap i probably due to the temp of the water and the lower temp in the room the tank is in so it may not be necessary to put a plastic cover in place. Check your evap when the tank temp is at the right level before you do anything is my suggestion.

Glad you figured the heater issue out

 

[occ_motorcycles]

Question. Can most Lps and zoa live in 76/75 degree water? I keep my aquariums at 80 so I don't let it get cold enough to see a difference in growth or in daily living.

 

[alberthiel]

Question. Can most Lps and zoa live in 76/75 degree water? I keep my aquariums at 80 so I don't let it get cold enough to see a difference in growth or in daily living.

I would not go below 78 although I am sure that some can take the lower temp, but I would suggest min of 78 to max of 82. I keep mine at 78/79