My 10 gallon reef office project

[SaltSolutions1]

After much input from fellow reefers on this site(thank you by the way), I've put my new tank equipment on order. Here's what I ordered:

I purchased a Perfecto Marineland 10 gallon aquarium from Pet Supermarket locally: $15.98

I tried pricing this other stuff out at the same store as well as local fish stores, but online was the cheapest way, even with shipping.

On order:

Odyssea 20" 72W (4x 18W) T5 HO Light Fixture Extendable Series - $49.90 shipped
http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-20in-4x18W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-Extendable-p/52302.html

On order:

Small Mag Float Algae Magnet - $5.16
http://www.petmountain.com/product/.../11442-500571/mag-float-small-30-gallon-.html
Hydor Theo 50 Watt Submersible Shatter Proof Heater - 7" Long - (rated for 5 - 14 Gallons) - $14.58
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...07901/hydor-50-watt-7-long-5-14-gallons-.html
Koralia Nano Powerhead - (260 gph - 3.5Watts) - $19.69
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...4/koralia-koralia-nano-260-gph-3-5watts-.html
LCD Thermometer - $1.67
http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-thermometers/11442-519780/marina-lcd-thermometer.html
Living Sea Hydrometer - $5.96
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...11442-519794/hagen-living-sea-hydrometer.html
Ocean Nutrition Formula One Marine Pellets - $4.82
http://www.petmountain.com/product/saltwater-fish-food/11442-506235/ocean-nutrition-100-grams.html

I plan on getting my sand and saltwater from the inlet in Jupiter, FL.

I found a great place to get some base rock and I just need some rubble or one nice piece to seed it. Haven't figured out where I'm gonna get that from yet.

More to come. I'll be taking pictures every step of the way......as I receive stuff.....and as I set it up on my desk at work.

I would love some suggestions on stocking. I was thinking about doing one yellow tail damsel as the one and only fish and then some inverts. Taking suggestions on fish choices and invert selections for the 10g.

The 10g tank:

Disregard the date in the pictures. I fixed my camera's date after taking the photos. These pictures were taken today.

 

[cody6766]

You may want to consider going rimless. It's easy and apparently safe to do with a 10g tank. I pulled the rim off of my new 10g frag tank last night, trimmed up the sloppy silicone and ted a water test. It held w/o leaks or bowing all night and into this afternoon. I should have it up and going in a few days.

 

[sayn3ver]

or find a LFS who carries the marina tank kits. They are built rimless.
I was excited when I discovered my LFS has them. Gonna pick one up soon i think.

 

[SaltSolutions1]

I am taking the rim off of it tonight. Did you take the top and bottom off? I was told that the bottom is unsafe to remove.

 

[zma21]

I highly advise that you do NOT take the rim off of your 10 gallon tank.

Although some have had some success, way more than that have experienced trouble. On top of that, long term success is highly unlikely.

Rimless tanks have special silicon and thicker glass, allowing them to maintain shape at higher stress. Your 10 gallon tank has extremely thin glass, and somewhat of a shotty silicon job. I know because I just purchased that exact tank this week to use as a sump.

Think twice before chopping the supportive rim off of there, it's put there to serve a purpose.

Rimless 10 gallon aquariums are available, and around $70 I believe.

I've witnessed them begin to bow in a week's time. Quite a gamble in an office atmosphere, in my opinion.

 

[Clavius]

i highly advise that you do not take the rim off of your 10 gallon tank.

Although some have had some success, way more than that have experienced trouble. On top of that, long term success is highly unlikely.

Rimless tanks have special silicon and thicker glass, allowing them to maintain shape at higher stress. Your 10 gallon tank has extremely thin glass, and somewhat of a shotty silicon job. I know because i just purchased that exact tank this week to use as a sump.

Think twice before chopping the supportive rim off of there, it's put there to serve a purpose.

Rimless 10 gallon aquariums are available, and around $70 i believe.

I've witnessed them begin to bow in a week's time. Quite a gamble in an office atmosphere, in my opinion.

+1

 

[cody6766]

Humm...I haven't heard of any failures, but I'll have to look into it before filling mine. There was no visible bowing while I did my leak test (15hrs or so), but i guess it could happen. I'll post back here if I find any damning info.

 

[zma21]

A buddy and me were curious in highschool and were going to do a shrimp species tank.

His took a week to bow, mine too two days, and the silicon started to separate.

 

[SaltSolutions1]

Well, for $15 I thought it was worth a try. I tried just the top for now. I'm okay with having the bottom rim. Here are some pics. Since all of the other equipment won't be here for a while I have time to let it sit for a while filled with water. I won't begin my cycle for another month. If it bows or fails on me I'll just get the GLA 11g tank I planned on in the first place. Here ya go.

Filled 01-02-2011 @ 11:15pm EST

One friend to help. One Domino's medium pizza for $5.99. 8 beers. And no more top rim.

 

[zma21]

Well, good luck anyway.

I wouldn't sleep well at night having that on my desk, lol, but you sound like your mind's made up.

Hope you have a successful reef, afterall.

 

[SaltSolutions1]

Well, good luck anyway.

I wouldn't sleep well at night having that on my desk, lol, but you sound like your mind's made up.

Hope you have a successful reef, afterall.

It will have water in it on my patio for about 3 weeks at least to make sure. And like I said, if it doesn't work I'm only out $15. The GLA 11g is only $77 shipped to my door so I have a backup plan. Thank you very much for the warning. I appreciate it. This is just a trial run to see if I get lucky and save $60 I can spend on other things for the setup.

Happy Reefing!

I'll be adding more pics as I begin to receive all of the equipment. And I'll be updating the progress on the experiment as well.

:beer:

 

[Agu]

My ten gallon tanks bow about 1/8" in the middle with the rim on, I wouldn't trust them rimless.

But if you want to risk an eventual catastrophic tank failure that's your choice.

Good Luck .....

 

[Clavius]

Good luck. But one thing I've learned in this hobby is to not cut corners. Do it right the first time and you'll have fewer headaches down the line. If I were you I would bite the bullet and go ahead and order the Green Leaf.

 

[SaltSolutions1]

Good luck. But one thing I've learned in this hobby is to not cut corners. Do it right the first time and you'll have fewer headaches down the line. If I were you I would bite the bullet and go ahead and order the Green Leaf.

Thanks for the advise but I'm gonna let it sit outside for a month filled with water before I spend $77 on a tank. Not worth it if this works IMHO.

 

[marius880]

lets hope he can make it work... i cant wait for updates... it does look better witout the trim IMO

 

[zma21]

Thanks for the advise but I'm gonna let it sit outside for a month filled with water before I spend $77 on a tank. Not worth it if this works IMHO.

Throw a couple powerheads in there for good measure.

Some people underestimate the pressure applied by water current, even in small scale.

 

[dogstar74]

The cheapest part of this hobby is the glass. For the cost of two premium frags, you can have the purpose built rimless tank. I can't believe you'd cut a corner here. And if you get the tank from a good online retailer, then have them throw in a refractometer. You'll be glad you did.

I think the desire to save a little money on the display points to a symptom, not the cause. The real disease here is, do you have enough money to invest in this hobby? If you're worried about the costs now, then will you skimp on water changes? Lighting requirements? chemical additives? a good skimmer? Etc. What that equates to, is frustration in the future. Anyone's tank can look good at the 1 month mark. But in a year or so when you're losing that battle with hair algae, then you'll be wondering why. It comes down to the commitment to do things right the first time. So that tank lasts a month, big deal. Do you only plan to have that thing last a month? I would rather the tank be built to last through a california earthquake! And I live in wyoming where we don't have many earthquakes. Point is,
Do it right or do it over.

Just my .02
Aaron

 

[SaltSolutions1]

The cheapest part of this hobby is the glass. For the cost of two premium frags, you can have the purpose built rimless tank. I can't believe you'd cut a corner here. And if you get the tank from a good online retailer, then have them throw in a refractometer. You'll be glad you did.

I think the desire to save a little money on the display points to a symptom, not the cause. The real disease here is, do you have enough money to invest in this hobby? If you're worried about the costs now, then will you skimp on water changes? Lighting requirements? chemical additives? a good skimmer? Etc. What that equates to, is frustration in the future. Anyone's tank can look good at the 1 month mark. But in a year or so when you're losing that battle with hair algae, then you'll be wondering why. It comes down to the commitment to do things right the first time. So that tank lasts a month, big deal. Do you only plan to have that thing last a month? I would rather the tank be built to last through a california earthquake! And I live in wyoming where we don't have many earthquakes. Point is,
Do it right or do it over.

Just my .02
Aaron

I see where you're coming from. Money isn't really an issue here. I just like projects. I could have easily got the tank from GLA but researching all the threads where people have taken the rim off successfully sparked an interest to try it myself. I think it's fun to experiment and DIY. If it fails, oh well, I just get another tank and transfer the livestock over. It's all about having fun. This isn't my main display tank or anything. This is gonna be just a DIY project that I will proudly display in my office.

As for skimping on water changes, etc., that really isn't an option with a 10g tank. I have to do a minimum of weekly on such a small tank. I've been maintaining reef tanks for over five years now. I know what is necessary to make this happen.

And I have a list of equipment that is going in the tank up above at the beginning of the thread. I don't really think I'm skimping on anything. The equipment I am getting, to my knowledge will work quite well.

I appreciate your .02 and thanks for the input.

Happy Reefing!

:beer:

 

[SaltSolutions1]

Throw a couple powerheads in there for good measure.

Some people underestimate the pressure applied by water current, even in small scale.

All I have for powerheads/pumps is a Mag 12 that I use for water changes on a 180g. I was thinking of putting it in there and letting it run but I don't know if it'll be too much. I can try it I guess. I'll do that tonight. If it holds up with that pressure for a month, I would have to say it's pretty much water tight.

 

[dogstar74]

Cool, Alright. I wondered if I really should post that last post because I often like to let people experiment. One of my pet pieves is stiffled ideas rather than just letting people try it and see. But with all the dire warnings I do hope it works out well for you. And truely people who are posting only want to help.

I see now that you have been doing this long enough to make educated decisions. So carry on! I can't wait to see what you put together.

Aaron