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circusordie16
03/21/2007, 02:09 PM
hey everybody i just started posting on this site but ive had a 2.5 gallon tank up and running for almost 10 months so i thought id share. its a 2.5 gallon with an 18w current usa light, 25w heater, and an ac20 filter with live rock rubble in it. heres some pictures, hope you like it!
purple zoas
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07026.jpg
green zoas
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07025.jpg
candy canes
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/sale003.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/sale005.jpg
monti caps
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07005.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07004.jpg
birdsnest
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/birdsnest.jpg
my red ricordea
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07036.jpg
scarlet hermit
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07024.jpg
and an old full tank shot
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07001.jpg

Cyclone123
03/21/2007, 02:36 PM
nice!

cschwaj
03/21/2007, 03:56 PM
That is really clean. Nice job not overcrowding like some of us (who, me?) in an attempt for variety.

How is the birdsnest doing on only 18w? It looks ok, but that seems much too low.

Also, any additives?

circusordie16
03/21/2007, 05:07 PM
thanks guys.

the birdsnest is only a few days old but it has actually gained color since its been in my tank compared with the lfs. its at the top of the tank to get the most light and im thinking it should do pretty well. the monti caps i have have grown very nicely so i decided id give birdsnest a try.
i dont use any additives, just weekly water changes and daily topoffs.

mangus7175
03/21/2007, 07:44 PM
Very clean setup...

Since you are topping off daily is a weekly water change required? I'm fairly new to this and I am actually performing top-offs on my 20G every other day (doing this in the refugium) and I do perform a 20% water change every two weeks. Just though I'd ask.

circusordie16
03/21/2007, 08:41 PM
the water changes are still necessary. the topoffs are only to replenish evaporated water to maintain a constant salinity. the water changes eliminate nitrates and replenish calcium and other minerals.

chujai
03/21/2007, 11:33 PM
great macros of the candy cane

clayton07
03/22/2007, 12:35 AM
yea, very nice candy canes! my only suggestion is to do somthing with that heater

drummereef
03/22/2007, 01:08 AM
Nice looking tank. ;)

cschwaj
03/22/2007, 08:23 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9538100#post9538100 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clayton07
yea, very nice candy canes! my only suggestion is to do somthing with that heater

Slap a black background on this and switch to a stealth heater and the corals will really stand out. Extreme Makeover - Reef Edition. Actually, more like Design on a Dime.

circusordie16
03/22/2007, 03:24 PM
yeah the heater bothers me too but ive been too lazy to switch it yet. and im not a huge fan of backgrounds because i like being able to look in the back and see whats crawling around back there.

steph30
03/22/2007, 03:28 PM
Nice looking tank. It's a prime example of what can be done with a 2.5. Actually, I don't need to look at it too much or I'll end up changing out my 2.5 gallon refugium into a pico :D

Stephanie

NanoKat
03/22/2007, 08:28 PM
That's an awesome little tank! I had a 2.5g going until recently with very similar setup hardware wise, but I couldn't get past some crazy algae outbreaks (red, green, all kinds). I also did the water changes every week. Out of curiosity, how much water are you changing? I may have to try it again in the future...I love the effect of a little tank like that.

Congratulations on a job well done!

circusordie16
03/23/2007, 11:25 AM
thanks everybody, the only problem with a 2.5 is that soon you start to want either another one or a bigger one. i change about a quarter gallon a week but im currently going through a hair algae outbreak that i hope im slowly beating.

vessxpress1
03/23/2007, 11:10 PM
Hey circus, nice little tank you got going there. I'm glad I found your thread.
My wife's been wanting to get in on the action for a while now and she just picked up one of those 3 gallon deco kits for our kitchen counter. It has an 18w half and half bulb too. I think it's pretty neat and am excited to get it going.

Just a few questions though. Do you really need a 25 w heater for it? I imagine you got it because it was the smallest you could find but I really worry about a heater failing in a tank this small.

When the light's on, I can't imagine the heater would ever turn on. Do you think you could get away without one altogether? I'd think the filter would put out some heat.

Also, how much of a water change do you do on something like this and do you/can you use a small vacuum with any success?

Do you leave the cover on the top?

We want to get a Watchman goby and a shrimp companion for him. We're probably just going to make it a softy tank. Something easy for her to handle.

circusordie16
03/24/2007, 01:38 AM
i think the heaters needed only because my house is kept kinda cold and the filter doesnt put out much heat. i tried it without a heater before i added live rock but the water was only around 70. the heater only turns on at night but its the only way i can keep my temps constant.

i change about 1/4 a gallon a week and i havent had any need to use a vacuum, if i need to suck anything out i just use the tubing that im taking water out with.

the tank does have a glass cover to keep evaporation down. id be wary about adding a fish to a 3 gallon. after adding rock the volume of the tank really decreases. id stick with just corals and maybe some inverts but if you really really want a fish id go with a smaller one, maybe a clown goby or something a little smaller than a watchman.

vessxpress1
03/24/2007, 09:59 AM
Hey, thanks for the advice. I was going to try it without a heater but I think you're right. You could have major temp swings at night.

I think I'll take your advice on fish selection too and get a clown goby instead. They grow to a max of 2" which would probably be better. Yeah, I'd be perfectly happy just leaving it as a coral tank but she insists that it has a fish. I know it's going to be pretty limited on what it can handle. I've been telling her that since day one.

I was thinking a gallon water change but you're right. After the rock and everything gets in there, it'll be down to about 2 gallons by the time we're done. I don't think I want to do a 50% change every time, unless there's problems. It will be nice having that simple option though.

circusordie16
03/24/2007, 12:33 PM
you might want to look for a smaller heater, i know ive seen pictures of people who have small heaters that fit in their ac20s so that you dont have it in the display.

as for water changes, thats the good thing about a small tank, you can do water changes of any size whenever you want because its so easy.

murfman
03/24/2007, 01:57 PM
here is the heater I am ordering for my tank

http://cgi.ebay.com/HYDOR-MINI-AQUARIUM-HEATER-7-5-WATT-AQUARIUM-TANK-BOWL_W0QQitemZ270101984902QQcategoryZ46311QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

circusordie16
03/24/2007, 04:49 PM
yeah the only problem with that one is that yuo cant control the temperature, it just heats it up a certain amount.

nanoreefboy
03/24/2007, 08:17 PM
Having had many 2.5 gallon set ups I will chime in here about your idea. First of all Beautiful tank, glad to see it. As for the background to each their own, but if you would like to be able to peek back there and still have a background here is what I did. Buy the backing from the store and cut it to fit on the back of the tank. Tape it with some clear packing tape and just pull it up a bit for a peak every now and then. You really dont notice the tape if you only have it around the edge a tiny bit because it will blend in with the silicone.
As for the heater there are pretty much needed more for stability especially during the night. I will post a picture of mine to give you an example of how to set it up in a HOB filter. Actually I have the same filter, AQ 20, and all I had to do was cut a bit off the corner for it to stick out. The heater I am using is a Tronic 50 watt. I believe it is one of the smallest out there and will be fine standing up straight in the HOB filter. Here is a pic showing what I mean.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p178/nanoreefboy/PB070041.jpg

If you wanted you could probably get a bigger HOB filter and be able to fully submerge the heater instead of it sticking out. I will say though that a faulty heater will burn the tank very quickly, and is always one of my biggest worries about having 2.5 gallon tanks. So I recently went to a 5.5, I know huge step right...

Thanks and good luck.

Agu
03/24/2007, 08:38 PM
Very nice :thumbsup:

I agree with moving the heater to a hob filter............

circusordie16
03/25/2007, 02:19 AM
yup thats the heater i was talking about. i couldnt find that one though so i ended up with my current one. i never worried about a heater failing until you guys came along haha. now im worried!

nanoreefboy
03/25/2007, 06:53 AM
If I were you I would not worry about the things you can't control( a heater failing) and just make sure to keep everything going ok for them. A heater failure will only happen once in a blue moon but when it does, it is most of the time a disaster in that small of a tank.

If you want you could buy a $200+ controller and have your heater plugged into that to make sure it shuts off after your tank gets to a certain point........ or not. Just take my advice and do not worry about it and enjoy your tank.

circusordie16
03/26/2007, 03:10 PM
thanks nanoreefboy, im really not worried, ive had a heater going strong in my freshwater tank for over 11 years.

just some new pictures from this weekend. im waiting til summer to pick up some new additions, hopefully some more lps.
my blue ric thats slowly splitting
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/3-25-07/3-25-07BlueRic.jpg
my green ric
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/3-25-07/3-25-07GreenRic.jpg
the start of a new zoa frag
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/3-25-07/3-25-07Frag.jpg
and a full tank shot after fragging out some gsp and candy canes
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/3-25-07/3-25-07FTS.jpg

and heres a quick growth comparison of one of my monti caps.
here it is a month ago.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/2-25-07005.jpg
and on sunday
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/3-25-07/3-25-07002.jpg
not too bad for a 2.5 gallon with no dosing i dont think.

cschwaj
03/26/2007, 04:05 PM
A heater is needed just to offer some stability. Buy a quality one to reduce your risk of failure. I use a 25W Hydor.

The flat betta tank heater from Hydor is a bad idea. It heats all the time and will add 3-5 degrees even when the room is hot (summer is coming). The only time I have seen this work is when is is set to run on a schedule opposite the lighting.

I still love your aquascaping; well done.

I just jumped from a 9W strip light to the 36W Coralife fixture and WOW, what a difference. I haven't even removed the second acclimation screen yet and my mushrooms have doubled in size.

circusordie16
03/26/2007, 10:36 PM
ive been thinking about upgrading the light but since everythings doing so well right now i figure if im gonna spend more money on lights, ill spend a little more and get a bigger tank so i have more coral room. once you start this hobby, you just cant stop haha.

nanoreefboy
03/27/2007, 09:10 PM
Yeah I can understand the wanting more room bit. Just think though even if you go up to the next standard glass tank at 5.5 gallons, you will more than double your water volume. Which just happens to be what I did in the past couple of weeks. I set up a 5.5 but now have the 2.5 sitting around empty and trying to figure out what to put in it.

circusordie16
04/16/2007, 11:49 AM
so i had my first loss, the birdsnest frag i got died from what i think was rapid tissue necrosis. it turned white from the bottom up and even 2 fraggings couldnt save it. its too bad cuz it was starting to have a nice pink color to it. maybe ill try again this summer. other than that, im just waiting 4 weeks until schools out and i can grab some micros.

circusordie16
05/19/2007, 03:43 PM
ive got a couple new additions. a blue micro, an orange micro, and a red/green/purple acan. have a look!
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/bluemicro.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/orangemicro.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/circusordie16/acan.jpg

vanmo92
05/19/2007, 09:00 PM
Thats an awsome pico!

reefin'aggie
05/19/2007, 09:27 PM
Very nice pico!!! Everything looks very happy.

Jacob