It has been quite a while since I have been on the forums and since I have had a reef tank, but I am back now.
I have been plotting and planning for the last few months just waiting to pull the trigger. Well last night I decided to stop by the local fish store and saw the perfect rimless tank for me. Up to that point I was having a hard time deciding on the tank. Ok, enough of the Blah blah blah......
The tank is a rimless not sure who makes it 5.5g. and here is the plan
Lighting - 12 Cree Leds 6 Royal blue and 6 Cree XP-G Cool white. All of which I ordered from rapidled.com I also plan to add some more Royal blues on a separate driver for "color pop" viewing pleasure at night.
Filtration - Hang on back, not really for a filter though. I just wanted to water movement. So far it is pushing the water around. I might add a powerhead at some point.
Live Rock - currently I have a few pounds that I picked up from the LFS to get the cycle started. The plan is to order some from TBsaltwater.com guessing about 10lbs or so.
Inhabitants - I am thinking a goby of some sort, but not sold on the idea yet. Open to suggestions. Along with some hermits and a couple shrimp.
Stand - will be hand building that in the coming weeks. I want to set this up in the corner of the room, so I might make a triangular corner stand.
Lastly, Here is a pic for your viewing pleasure. Not much yet, but it is a beginning.
Thank you all for the kind words. I am excited also, can't wait for my LEDs to come in so I can start building the light. If I get a chance this weekend I will start working on the stand also.
Any suggestions on how I should mount the light? I was thinking make a wood canopy that is suspended about 7 inches over the tank, that way you get to enjoy the beauty of the rimless look. Still not sure yet though.
I would say YWG and pistol, but not sure if 5.5 would be big enough. Love watching them work together. Looking at your avatar, I'm guessing you have watched them before too.
I received my order from Rapidled.com today. Too bad they didn't ship the thermal adhesive which was supposed to come with the kit. I sent them an email already, and I have heard that they have great customer service so I am not too worried. I think I will just go to Fries and see if I can pick some up, I want to get started on putting this together.
Here is a pic of the kit, the heatsink is not part of the kit and was ordere separate.
12 LEDs total 6 Cool White and 6 Royal Blue. All with 60 degree optics and a 700ma power supply. The LEDs will be under driven, but this should be more than enough light for the size tank that I have.
Here is the skeleton of the stand, it sits about 3 feet high. I didn't want to do a typical rectangle stand, I wanted a triangle since this is going in the corner. Couldn't make it work since it is so close to the window.
Here it is with the top attached. Best part is the top portion is reclaimed wood from the dresser. This frame only cost about $8 is supplies so far.
I brought it home in it's current state so that I could test fit it in the spot I want it to go. This is my view from the couch.
looks great so far, love the rimless look. for the light i was thinking exactly what nate posted. having it suspended above the tank and the ability to adjust the height would be slick looking and make cleaning easier.
personally, i think the rock would look cool if you could epoxy it in the middle of the tank and have it branch out like a tree if that makes sense. these are 2 that inspired me to make my rock the way i did.
Good suggestion on the rock work, that looks great. Not quite sure if I have the skill/patience for that. I might give it a try though.
When I was at the hardware store today I was looking at was to mount the light. I saw an aluminum rod that I might be able to attach to the stand and suspend the light from it.
im pretty sure it cures very quickly and underwater so it should be ideal for doing that. i was going to order LR from tbsaltwater.com for my current build but decided to try DIY rock before i dropped mad cash on rocks. im very very pleased with my DIY rock, and the fact that i spent about $20 to make mine rather than $700ish on LR i was in tampa about a month ago and wanted to see his place, but it was sunday when i had time and he wasnt there
The rock is rather pricey, but I have had it before and fell in love with it. The amount of life in and on the rock is just amazing. It is exciting watching the rock and checking out what hitch hikers you got. You always find something new.
So yeah the price is high, but well worth it in my opinion.
DIY rock is pretty cool, but I don't think that would be the right thing for this size tank. If the opportunity to build another large tank comes up again, I just might DIY my rock work.
I built an enclosure for the light today. Mounted the fixture and tested fitted over my tank. Also moved the tank during a water change today so that I can see how it looks on the stand.
Thank you very much. I am putting my heart and soul into this one, making sure that it is every thing that I want it to be.
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