Mikeeal's 2.5

[Mikeeal]

I'd like to thank Kogo for the trim idea. Ever since I saw his 5.5 thread, I knew I wanted to do the same thing. Here is a link:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=739519

My wife and I got into a two day fight over me starting ANOTHER tank. She finally agreed when she saw it finished, and I owe that to Kogo. Thanks dude.

Well enough yackin, here it is:

And with Golden Oak stain:

More to follow.

 

[fishes2889]

sweet molding or w/e that is.lol. give us the details....=)

 

[mr pink floyd]

awwwwwww snap son:bum: :uzi:

thast str8 gangsta yo


hehe im sooo white

 

[Mikeeal]

Thanks for the comments so far.

I wanted a minimal setup with this one. My 20G has something like 14 cords, damn, no thanks. So this one has four, and is the bare minumum in my opinion.

1. Stealth 25W
2. Mini Jet 606
3. 2X18W PC retro kit from http://nanotuners.nanocustoms.com/nanotuners/
4. 2 50mm cooling fans from local computer junkyard

It has about a half a pound of sand out of my 20G, and 2 lbs. of hand picked LR from my LFS.

That's it!

Pics of the lights:

How do you all like the custom reflector? You wouldn't believe it, I found it in our kitchen!!! :lol:

I made it so the top of the hood can be lifted up for feeding, top off, etc.

Tempature rose to 85 by the end of the day, so I went to this place called Computer Corps, and they gave me four of these 50mm fans for free. He had a HUGE box of them, and he said they were just gonna use them for the plastic. SCORE!!!

I was having trouble figuring out how to mount them. I figured out that these wire connectors fit right in the mounting holes with the plastic covering pulled off. Then I just bent them to the angle I needed.

77-78 degree's all day now.

More to come.

 

[Kigs]

lol, loving the reflector The setup looks good Mike, can't wait to see what you do with it.

 

[Mikeeal]

Thanks Vince.

In the first three pictures you can see a piece of glass in the tank, I had the glass shop cut this to fit, and siliconed it into place, about two inches from the back wall. I did this so I could place the heater and pump back there mainly to hide them, but also I don't have to worry about the sand getting into my pump.

I mounted the ballast on the back of the canopy:

And here is where I'm at so far:

I got the diatoms right now, so it's ugly. I put a couple turbo's from my 20G in there, and I plan on painting the elbow on the pump outflow, and replacing the clear tube with a black one.

Stocking plans are sexy shrimp, and mostly zoo's and ric's.

 

[Kogo]

very nice.
good work on the lights and fan.

did you use any sealers after you stained the trim?

 

[Mikeeal]

Thanks again Kogo. I didn't. Do you think I should've? I still can if I need to.

 

[Kogo]

well, i used a polyurathene sealer and find that it causes the water to bead up when it splashes or spills. i think this will prevent warping at the vary least, but also possibly prevent any stain from leaching into the tank.

however, i dont realy know if that was neccassary, or if it makes any difference.

it does keep it nice and shiny though.

 

[Mikeeal]

Well I did think about this when putting it together. I like the fact that it would seal it, but I don't know if I want it to shine. Maybe I could find something in a satin finish that would do the same. I'll have to look, and keep everyone informed.

 

[Mikeeal]

Update:

Update:

I bought some zoa's last night:

22 bucks:

This was five bucks, we'll see how it does:

Closeup:

FTS:

I don't like the rockscape at all. I'm gonna mess around with it when the zoa's get comfortable. The plan is to just let these guys take over the whole tank. I'd like to find some fire and ice, and maybe one different type, and just let it be.

 

[aural]

looks great - i really like the branching rock you put in.

 

[chocolateblnt]

Nice Zoo's Mike!

 

[alien9168]

Nice base and hood! and zoos!

 

[jasutton]

Mike: regarding the sealer. I think you should use one. I just made a hood for my 20 and it works wonderfully, as kogo said. You can order danish oil on line for like 7$. if you use fine wool (.000) in between coats (make sure the coats are THIN) you will get your desired satin finish. Other than that man the tank is phenominal.

one question: how you guys get the carving and trim so nice? And where do you get the wood? Is it a precarved peice?

i am going to make one of these once i move and get settled in. Any advice would be extremely helpful.

thanks
Jamie!!!

 

[Mikeeal]

aural, thanks. I really like the rock itself, just not how it is placed. Hopefully I can come up with some better placement.

blunt and alien, thanks guys.

jasutton, I know I need to find one, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll look into the danish oil you're talking about. About the carvings, I sat on my porch for a few months and widdled it all out. :lol: :lol: Nah, just kidding. I went to Lowes. They sell 8' pieces of many different styles and sizes. I think I paid 13 bucks for it. I used a miter saw, and cut the 45 degree angles. There are frames on top and bottom, that I used for support, made from 1X2 poplar. Then I just nailed them to that. PM me or get back to me here if you need some help.

 

[jasutton]

haha i figured that but if you did go through the widdling i didnt want to offend...but google danish oil and you will see the first hit is something like woodfinishing.com or something.

Rpoblem is you are going to have to keep your hood inactive for around 2 days. If you go the danish oil route, i suggest four coats. You should do it. Clean up is a breeze and it acually makes it look nicer.
Nice stuff
jamie
PS you may be getting a PM from me later when i actually have time to do all this.

 

[alien9168]

Whats wrong with its current placement?

 

[Mikeeal]

It's got too much of a "box of rocks" look to it. Kinda like I just dropped it in there when I've actually messed with it three times. It's somewhat difficult though because I'm trying to conceal the glass wall that's got the heater and pump behind it. I'm gonna see what I can come up with tonight when the lights go out, and I'll post pics.

 

[alien9168]

Oh...well post pics when you reaquascape. I think it looks good the way it is, which means itll look even better upon reavaluation