bennerkla's 5.5 AGA Nano Reef Diary (Lots of PICS!!!)
- Thread starter bennerkla
- Start date
Speak of the devil...
right when I pressed submit reply, the doorbell rang, and my lights are here!!!!!! They just BARELY fit, I am very lucky. Althought they don't make the tank as bright as I had hoped, I then realized, how much brighter could it get?
Enjoy.
This below pic is just the 2x 18 watt originals.
This pic is just the 2 20 watt new bulbs.
Here, below, are both together.
Cya guys, any comments welcome.
Ben
right when I pressed submit reply, the doorbell rang, and my lights are here!!!!!! They just BARELY fit, I am very lucky. Althought they don't make the tank as bright as I had hoped, I then realized, how much brighter could it get?
Enjoy.
This below pic is just the 2x 18 watt originals.
This pic is just the 2 20 watt new bulbs.
Here, below, are both together.
Cya guys, any comments welcome.
Ben
FishMachine
New member
nice
agarza
New member
Nice work! :thumbsup: you've got the best nano thread going on, your way of documenting your progress step by step is amazing 
, thank you for sharing. Congrats on the new lights and as you mentioned, even though the difference is barely noticeable, more watts are more watts and surely you'll be able to keep almost anything you like.
Have a great trip, bring back lot's of pics and double check on that auto top off before you leave.
Cheers :beer:
, thank you for sharing. Congrats on the new lights and as you mentioned, even though the difference is barely noticeable, more watts are more watts and surely you'll be able to keep almost anything you like.Have a great trip, bring back lot's of pics and double check on that auto top off before you leave.
Cheers :beer:
FishMachine
New member
the lights probobly are not as bright because they dont have reflectors.
agarza- Thanks a lot man! I'm really glad you found my thread awesome; that was my goal. I'm also hoping that I inspired someone to start a 5.5 gallon themselves, because I think they are the coolest size tanks: plenty of room for rock and corals, but definately keeps the nano-feeling. I've had so much fun with this tank: just when you think you're done, stuff comes back. For instance, I thought I would spend 150 bucks on drygoods. HA. What a joke. I also thought my canopy was done after I first brought it back. DIY'ing really isn't that hard, the hard part is getting past the first step of saying "this isn't going to work." I'm really pleased with this tank; it has turned out to be much, much more than I expected it to me. There isn't even any corals in it! I can't wait to see how it looks like corals. Oh well. BTW I noticed the additional lights much more when I walked in my room later on today. The front of the tank is much brighter than it used to be, it just didn't seem that way because my hopes were too high. It was worth the 28 bucks for the bulbs and 8 bucks for the sockets and cord. Crap, I'm beginning to ramble.
FishMachine- The lights are using the reflectors from the other lights that are right above them. I tried to put aluminum foil on the front of the canopy, but that didn't do much. Maybe I should put reflectors towards the front? If so, where can I buy reflectors?
I can't wait until Europe, I'm spending 3 days in Paris, 3 days at the beaches of Normandy, and then we're off the the Ardennes Forrest to see Battle of the Bulge stuff, through the Rhine River and Rhineland to see the castles, and into Germany to the concentration camp of Buchenwald, plus a whole bunch of stuff in between. I'll post a lot of pics when I get back. I'm a WWII buff, so looking at the D-Day beaches will be a moving experience for me. Big time.
Cya guys, I'll post tomorrow.
Ben
FishMachine- The lights are using the reflectors from the other lights that are right above them. I tried to put aluminum foil on the front of the canopy, but that didn't do much. Maybe I should put reflectors towards the front? If so, where can I buy reflectors?
I can't wait until Europe, I'm spending 3 days in Paris, 3 days at the beaches of Normandy, and then we're off the the Ardennes Forrest to see Battle of the Bulge stuff, through the Rhine River and Rhineland to see the castles, and into Germany to the concentration camp of Buchenwald, plus a whole bunch of stuff in between. I'll post a lot of pics when I get back. I'm a WWII buff, so looking at the D-Day beaches will be a moving experience for me. Big time.
Cya guys, I'll post tomorrow.
Ben
FishMachine
New member
when you get an incendecent fixture, they come with 2 small reflectors that i think would be good. have fun in europe.
Cool, I'll check that out.
I thought these were some interesting before/after shots. Time elapse: 21 days.
Right after this below picture, I was quoted saying "Tank is almost complete!!"
BEFORE:
NOW:
----------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE:
NOW:
And here are some more pics just, well, because I love pics. And people look at tank diaries to see pics, and lots of them! Enjoy.
All for one tank! (And some desk stuff)
Cya tomorrow!!!
Ben
I thought these were some interesting before/after shots. Time elapse: 21 days.
Right after this below picture, I was quoted saying "Tank is almost complete!!"
BEFORE:
NOW:
----------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE:
NOW:
And here are some more pics just, well, because I love pics. And people look at tank diaries to see pics, and lots of them! Enjoy.
All for one tank! (And some desk stuff)
Cya tomorrow!!!
Ben
FishMachine
New member
many wires like me.
FishMachine
New member
i got a little water on mine during mainence and it steamed up so i got a 7 outlet one and it is very durable.
jcm1229
New member
Just a couple of thoughts.
Definitely get those plugs off the carpet - its a firehazard. Try using 1 or 2 6 outlet striplights and maybe tacking the strip light to the desk. Cable tie cords that won't move often.
When you are off to Europe, make sure you have enough water in your top-off reservoir, maybe add a glass top to limit evaporation, and only use one light. In a tank this small you definitely will get big salinity swings if you don't watch the evap over the course of 7-10 days. Even with no fish or corals, it will stress other living organisms - pods, worms, other rock hitchhikers etc ...
Definitely get those plugs off the carpet - its a firehazard. Try using 1 or 2 6 outlet striplights and maybe tacking the strip light to the desk. Cable tie cords that won't move often.
When you are off to Europe, make sure you have enough water in your top-off reservoir, maybe add a glass top to limit evaporation, and only use one light. In a tank this small you definitely will get big salinity swings if you don't watch the evap over the course of 7-10 days. Even with no fish or corals, it will stress other living organisms - pods, worms, other rock hitchhikers etc ...
jcm1229
New member
Aquafuge on 5.5g
Aquafuge on 5.5g
I though I'd add my observations on adding a small aquafuge to my 5g to this thread since it will be a good place for others to research.
My first idea about adding the fuge was the extra water volume for more stable water params.
Pluses
Added 2.5g of water volume.
Great refugium for the small tank
Lots of space for heater and more rock
Minuses
Had to remove HOB filter (or run it off the side of tank)
Less water movement
No water agitation = less oxygen exchange
Some of these can be averted by adding powerheads etc ... but in a small tank where real estate is at a premium, everything takes up valuable space. I'm going to let it run this way for a bit and see how it does.
Aquafuge on 5.5g
I though I'd add my observations on adding a small aquafuge to my 5g to this thread since it will be a good place for others to research.
My first idea about adding the fuge was the extra water volume for more stable water params.
Pluses
Added 2.5g of water volume.
Great refugium for the small tank
Lots of space for heater and more rock
Minuses
Had to remove HOB filter (or run it off the side of tank)
Less water movement
No water agitation = less oxygen exchange
Some of these can be averted by adding powerheads etc ... but in a small tank where real estate is at a premium, everything takes up valuable space. I'm going to let it run this way for a bit and see how it does.
FishMachine
New member
me too
FishMachine
New member
is it bad to put 2 powerstrips in one pair of plugs?
clown fanatic
New member
those pictures of those wires reminds me of when i had a 25gallon and this mod that i tried to copy resulted in a 4gallon spill on the carpet! and on top of that the spill was right on top of all of my powerstrips. needless to say it was a "palm sweater" when i went to unplug them!!
