Show me your cheapo weirdo tanks you set up just because you had an empty tank.....

redfishsc · 03/01/2009, 07:46 PM

I have a 25g tall tank sitting empty. It came with some used stuff I bought a while back.

I am thinking of doing something cheap with it and lighting it with the cheap Lowe's 6500K screw-base bulbs.

Maybe I'll set up a planted SW tank, inject CO2 into it like a FW tank (I have a spare CO2 system), dose with household ammonia, and see what happens.

Anyone got one they set up for no other reason than "it was just lying around"?

Mr James · 03/01/2009, 07:54 PM

Ye ole 5g reef tank on my desk at work...several years ago... a pair of 9w compact fluorescents, hang-on filter running carbon with cheapo surface filter, and weekly 1g water changes...

(Oh crap, sorry about the size...I used Photobucket too)

redfishsc · 03/01/2009, 07:57 PM

Lord have mercy those are huge pics! I bet they weigh more than the tank did!

Very cool though!

Alaskan Reefer · 03/02/2009, 07:26 PM

No camera with me but I'm looking over at my 20 hex here in the office. The tank used to be where I bred guppies to feed a predator tank. It features an Eheim 2227 cannister filter with modded spraybar from my old 29 FOWLR for flow, a Remora Pro skimmer from my old 75 reef for filtration, a 64W PC fixutre that used to grace a refugium, and some seriously funky live rock pieces that are just the wrong size -- too big for the sump crannies and too small to aquascape with. For fish it has a seriously honery gold stripe maroon clown, banished to the "just because I have the stuff" tank over 3 years ago. Damn it's probably time for new bulbs.

BuddhaKiss · 03/02/2009, 08:53 PM

10G aiptasia tank. Had it running for about 10 months and started with only one aip. I regretted it later when I decided to turn the 10 into a sump/fuge for my Mantis

Right in the center is the two headed aiptasia

squeezix · 03/02/2009, 08:58 PM

Beautiful Aiptasia, how did you get them to split like that? I just use a blender.

redfishsc · 03/02/2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alaskan Reefer
N For fish it has a seriously honery gold stripe maroon clown, banished to the "just because I have the stuff" tank over 3 years ago.

Would that be a seriously "ornery" gold stripe, or a seriously "horny" gold stripe? A couple of letters kinds changes the whole meaning... eh?

redfishsc · 03/02/2009, 09:06 PM

Buddhakiss, that is some wicked aptaisia!

I have a bright green majano that I'd like to see multiply in a separate tank, but mine won't do anything but sit there. I have killed it off a couple of times by blasting it with boiling water using a DIY syringe (cat medicine oral syringe) which usually does the trick for a month, then he comes back.

VaderWS6 · 03/02/2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BuddhaKiss
10G aiptasia tank. Had it running for about 10 months and started with only one aip. I regretted it later when I decided to turn the 10 into a sump/fuge for my Mantis

Thats tank of the month right there!

redfishsc · 03/02/2009, 09:14 PM

More like "buffet of the month" for some peppermint shrimp

sdfish · 03/02/2009, 09:15 PM

LMAO.. HOLLY PICS Mr James. that has to be the biggest bicolor iv ever seen fills my whole screen up lol

BuddhaKiss · 03/02/2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by squeezix
Beautiful Aiptasia, how did you get them to split like that? I just use a blender.

Its funny you should say that, cuz that's the reason why I set up the tank. They have a certain beauty to them. I even fed the tank zoaplankton from time to time

Actually this tank was originally suppose to be a pest tank. I had a majano in there, but it disappeared. I put sundials, pyramid snails, anything that was banished from my DT.

Lofty · 03/02/2009, 10:30 PM

I found this tank lying on the side of the road and I have an acrylic 75 gallon hex I bought for 75$ that I dream about setting up one day (time and money issues)

I built the canopy using half of a Retro JBJ 4X65, some acrylic i bought from a store closing fixture sale and some radioshack fans with LEDs.

I just Built the sump and did a thread about it. Here is the link to the thread and some teaser pics.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1588936

redfishsc · 03/03/2009, 04:21 PM

Lofty, that is simply beautiful! Nice work!

....hmmmm but does that copperband have a bigger home somewhere.....?

Lofty · 03/08/2009, 09:10 AM

Thank you for the compliment. The copperband seems perfectly happy. Most of my research on the subject concerned with their eating habits and smaller tanks not being able to sustain aiptaisia for them to eat. I had a huge aiptaisa prblem when I got him... but I made sure that the LFS had him around for a while and was eating mysis as well. He has a cleaner shrimp friend, has eaten most all the aiptaisia and eats mysis every day.

His new home will be the 75 gallon hex when I can get it up and running, but unless he seems too confined, which he does not, I am not going to bother him. I considered trading him back to the LFS after he cleaned out the aiptaisia but have spoken to many who keep them is this size set up and have had similar success.

BTW... for the lighting... as proud as I am of the DIY set up...I have ordered a 24x4 t5 HO which arrives on Wednesday.

I noticed you have the same fixture, what size is your nano and how do you like the light? What kind of bulbs do you run? The one I ordered comes with 2 12k and 2 actinic... is the 12 k ok or should I look at 10 ks or 50/50s? Do you have any pics of this set up?

Bump this for a fun thread

redfishsc · 03/08/2009, 11:56 AM

I have the Nova Extreme, the older version that does not have the individual reflectors.

If yours is a Nova Extreme, you will have a couple of things to consider. The old style Extreme (still very easy to find) has a good fan (a bit noisy but effective) and keeps the tubes cool. But the reflector is not all that good: just one big reflector for all the tubes.

The new NE SLR solved that problem by giving each bulb an individual reflector (better than the old style by a long shot, but still NOTHING close to a true parabolic reflector). The problem is they LEFT OUT THE FAN on the 4X24 model. That's ridiculous and I'm annoyed greatly that they did that. Grim Reefer has demonstrated that non-fan cooled T5's can put out much less light than fan cooled ones. I think he got a 30% increase in PAR by blowing fans on his TEK fixture. I can't recall the exact number but that's pretty close.

If your bulbs are the Current USA Slimpaqs, they are so-so. They will get the job done but IMO look kinda washed out. I do like their blue (460nm) tubes, but I do NOT like there 10,000K tubes.

Right now I am running two of the 460 slimpaqs, but I removed the two 10,000K tubes and replaced them with one UVL Super Actinic and one UVL Actinic White (50/50) tube. This is much heavier in the blue/violet spectrum and the tank looks great to me. SPS growing well.

Here is an old pic of this bulb combo. The color is pretty accurate, but the tank's grown a LOT since then and the front of the tank is full of frag plugs, awaiting the arrival of my 20g frag tank later in the next couple of weeks.

I had some beautiful green palys that turned turd-brown with the original bulb combo (two blues and two 10,000K), but after I switched to this bulb combo, they greened up very, very very nicely. Also notice the turd brown acro in the forground, it is now a beautiful light tan with green and purple growth tips.

FWIW I just ordered a TEK-made 4X24 model that comes with their original TEK parabolic reflectors for $99.95 (plus $20 shipping). It's not an aquarium light (no waterproof endcaps nor plastic protective lens) so I'll need to be extra cautious with it. Kinda hard to beat for the price though.

Lofty · 03/09/2009, 09:28 AM

The one I ordered is a Oddesea which is made for aquaria lighting with built in moon lights and fans, separate reflectors, and fans. Ive heard mixed reviews on the forum about them but for the price I I didn't even think about it. 84$ including ground shipping and 4 bulbs (12 k and actinic). The biggest problem I've heard with them is noisy fans, but I think I can quite them down, if not replace them with quieter ones. Theres also a thread about someone's buring out and almost starting a fire... but that can happen with any light.

Lofty · 03/09/2009, 09:38 AM

FYI... The site I ordered from is www.aquatraders.com

03/01/2009, 07:46 PM	#1
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Show me your cheapo weirdo tanks you set up just because you had an empty tank..... I have a 25g tall tank sitting empty. It came with some used stuff I bought a while back. I am thinking of doing something cheap with it and lighting it with the cheap Lowe's 6500K screw-base bulbs. Maybe I'll set up a planted SW tank, inject CO2 into it like a FW tank (I have a spare CO2 system), dose with household ammonia, and see what happens. Anyone got one they set up for no other reason than "it was just lying around"? __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/01/2009, 07:57 PM	#3
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Lord have mercy those are huge pics! I bet they weigh more than the tank did! Very cool though! __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/02/2009, 07:26 PM	#4
Alaskan Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Eagle River, Alaska Posts: 2,360	No camera with me but I'm looking over at my 20 hex here in the office. The tank used to be where I bred guppies to feed a predator tank. It features an Eheim 2227 cannister filter with modded spraybar from my old 29 FOWLR for flow, a Remora Pro skimmer from my old 75 reef for filtration, a 64W PC fixutre that used to grace a refugium, and some seriously funky live rock pieces that are just the wrong size -- too big for the sump crannies and too small to aquascape with. For fish it has a seriously honery gold stripe maroon clown, banished to the "just because I have the stuff" tank over 3 years ago. Damn it's probably time for new bulbs. __________________ Unattended children will be given double shot espresso and a free puppy. Current Tank Info: 125g FOWLR -- Conversion Back To SPS In Progress

03/02/2009, 08:58 PM	#6
squeezix Premium Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 338	Beautiful Aiptasia, how did you get them to split like that? I just use a blender. __________________ Necessity is the Mother of Invention; Frustration is the Father Current Tank Info: 25 Tall lit by 250 DE, Moonlights. 10 gallon sump with CPR Bak Pak. New Tank 4/23/2007

03/02/2009, 09:06 PM	#8
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Buddhakiss, that is some wicked aptaisia! I have a bright green majano that I'd like to see multiply in a separate tank, but mine won't do anything but sit there. I have killed it off a couple of times by blasting it with boiling water using a DIY syringe (cat medicine oral syringe) which usually does the trick for a month, then he comes back. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/01/2009, 07:54 PM	#2
Mr James Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kernersville, NC Posts: 6,192	Ye ole 5g reef tank on my desk at work...several years ago... a pair of 9w compact fluorescents, hang-on filter running carbon with cheapo surface filter, and weekly 1g water changes... (Oh crap, sorry about the size...I used Photobucket too)

03/02/2009, 08:53 PM	#5
BuddhaKiss Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Northern Va Posts: 1,068	10G aiptasia tank. Had it running for about 10 months and started with only one aip. I regretted it later when I decided to turn the 10 into a sump/fuge for my Mantis Right in the center is the two headed aiptasia

03/02/2009, 09:14 PM	#10
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	More like "buffet of the month" for some peppermint shrimp __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/02/2009, 09:15 PM	#11
sdfish Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 367	LMAO.. HOLLY PICS Mr James. that has to be the biggest bicolor iv ever seen fills my whole screen up lol __________________ The fish made me do it.... Current Tank Info: in wall 170g starphire 48x24x36, 75 gallon sump w/dsb, MRC MR6 skimmer custom (in the works), 3-250watt MH 14k, 2-110 vho actinics, Aquacontroller jr, 1200gph closed loop, 2000gph return

03/02/2009, 10:30 PM	#13
Lofty Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 779	My Roadside Treasure I found this tank lying on the side of the road and I have an acrylic 75 gallon hex I bought for 75$ that I dream about setting up one day (time and money issues) I built the canopy using half of a Retro JBJ 4X65, some acrylic i bought from a store closing fixture sale and some radioshack fans with LEDs. I just Built the sump and did a thread about it. Here is the link to the thread and some teaser pics. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1588936

03/03/2009, 04:21 PM	#14
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Lofty, that is simply beautiful! Nice work! ....hmmmm but does that copperband have a bigger home somewhere.....? __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/08/2009, 09:10 AM	#15
Lofty Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 779	Thank you for the compliment. The copperband seems perfectly happy. Most of my research on the subject concerned with their eating habits and smaller tanks not being able to sustain aiptaisia for them to eat. I had a huge aiptaisa prblem when I got him... but I made sure that the LFS had him around for a while and was eating mysis as well. He has a cleaner shrimp friend, has eaten most all the aiptaisia and eats mysis every day. His new home will be the 75 gallon hex when I can get it up and running, but unless he seems too confined, which he does not, I am not going to bother him. I considered trading him back to the LFS after he cleaned out the aiptaisia but have spoken to many who keep them is this size set up and have had similar success. BTW... for the lighting... as proud as I am of the DIY set up...I have ordered a 24x4 t5 HO which arrives on Wednesday. I noticed you have the same fixture, what size is your nano and how do you like the light? What kind of bulbs do you run? The one I ordered comes with 2 12k and 2 actinic... is the 12 k ok or should I look at 10 ks or 50/50s? Do you have any pics of this set up? Bump this for a fun thread

03/08/2009, 11:56 AM	#16
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	I have the Nova Extreme, the older version that does not have the individual reflectors. If yours is a Nova Extreme, you will have a couple of things to consider. The old style Extreme (still very easy to find) has a good fan (a bit noisy but effective) and keeps the tubes cool. But the reflector is not all that good: just one big reflector for all the tubes. The new NE SLR solved that problem by giving each bulb an individual reflector (better than the old style by a long shot, but still NOTHING close to a true parabolic reflector). The problem is they LEFT OUT THE FAN on the 4X24 model. That's ridiculous and I'm annoyed greatly that they did that. Grim Reefer has demonstrated that non-fan cooled T5's can put out much less light than fan cooled ones. I think he got a 30% increase in PAR by blowing fans on his TEK fixture. I can't recall the exact number but that's pretty close. If your bulbs are the Current USA Slimpaqs, they are so-so. They will get the job done but IMO look kinda washed out. I do like their blue (460nm) tubes, but I do NOT like there 10,000K tubes. Right now I am running two of the 460 slimpaqs, but I removed the two 10,000K tubes and replaced them with one UVL Super Actinic and one UVL Actinic White (50/50) tube. This is much heavier in the blue/violet spectrum and the tank looks great to me. SPS growing well. Here is an old pic of this bulb combo. The color is pretty accurate, but the tank's grown a LOT since then and the front of the tank is full of frag plugs, awaiting the arrival of my 20g frag tank later in the next couple of weeks. I had some beautiful green palys that turned turd-brown with the original bulb combo (two blues and two 10,000K), but after I switched to this bulb combo, they greened up very, very very nicely. Also notice the turd brown acro in the forground, it is now a beautiful light tan with green and purple growth tips. FWIW I just ordered a TEK-made 4X24 model that comes with their original TEK parabolic reflectors for $99.95 (plus $20 shipping). It's not an aquarium light (no waterproof endcaps nor plastic protective lens) so I'll need to be extra cautious with it. Kinda hard to beat for the price though. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

03/09/2009, 09:28 AM	#17
Lofty Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 779	The one I ordered is a Oddesea which is made for aquaria lighting with built in moon lights and fans, separate reflectors, and fans. Ive heard mixed reviews on the forum about them but for the price I I didn't even think about it. 84$ including ground shipping and 4 bulbs (12 k and actinic). The biggest problem I've heard with them is noisy fans, but I think I can quite them down, if not replace them with quieter ones. Theres also a thread about someone's buring out and almost starting a fire... but that can happen with any light.

03/09/2009, 09:38 AM	#18
Lofty Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 779	FYI... The site I ordered from is www.aquatraders.com