My Mini Reef construction

[mr pink floyd]

birds nest is an acro right?

those need MH

 

[mr pink floyd]

not acro, but it does need high lighting

 

[shookbrad]

Is 5.8 Watts per gallon considered high lighting?

 

[gearqueer]

I think 5.8 is considered moderate but 7-9wpg is considered in the high catergory. When you went to all the trouble to create such a beautiful setup why not go ahead and spend a little money on a Metal Halide. You can get 70 watt retrofit. That's almost 13 watts per gallon. Not sure is that too much?

 

[shookbrad]

I can run two 32W PC for cheaper than 1 70W MH and it will not produce near the heat.

 

[shookbrad]

Yeah!! I finally completed the stand and tank this weekend! Here are some pics.

Notice I had to scrub the surge box. I could not get the siphon to break with any kind of reliability. I needed to lift surge box higher above the water line. So I just added two return lines.

The lights are attached with a hinge on the left side of the ballast This makes accessing the tank for feeding and maintenance much easier. I went ahead with one 32W PC light. I can easily add another 32W PC light if needed in the future since the ballest will run both.

I will post updates as the Sand Rock and live stock is introduced.

Cost:
Acrylic
Bottom 14½”X12” 3/16” $7.44
Sides 10”X49” 3/16” $19.84
Navy Blue divider 14”X10” 1/8” $7.92
Tax $2.38
Total $37.58
Stand/hood
Plywood $12.00
Molding $20.00
Paint $6.00
Total $38.00
Lighting
Ballast $15.00
1 32W lamp $16.95
1 end cap $4.75
1 lamp clamp $1.99
Shipping& Handling $6.95
Total $45.64
Equipment
Skimmer $30.00
Rio Pump $13.00
Tubing $12.00
Connectors $3.00
Total $53.00
LIVESTOCK
25# Live Sand $35.50

Grand Total $214.72

 

[chocolateblnt]

Looks good brotha! Is that the same tank as before? Because the one I saw in the other picture was so scratched up! Oh and are you covering the PC's somehow to keep it away from salt evap/creep?! Keep up the work man ...

 

[oddiseus]

This tank looks like it has a lot of potential, I can't wait to see it with LR and some nice livestock. Keep up the good work.

-Odd

 

[shookbrad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7549915#post7549915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chocolateblnt
Looks good brotha! Is that the same tank as before? Because the one I saw in the other picture was so scratched up! Oh and are you covering the PC's somehow to keep it away from salt evap/creep?! Keep up the work man ...

Yes, this is the same tank, what you saw before still had the paper on it. I left it on it until I was finished to keep the tank from getting scratched.
I will put a glass lid on the top of the tank to shield the lights from the salt creep.
I like to use glass for the lids because they are much easier to clean and less likely to scratch.
I am ordering the Moon lights today!