I'm On The Edge!

jennybugs

Eternally pruned fingers!
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She can't be setting up ANOTHER tank already, surely? Can she? :blink: :crazy:

Well, yes, I think I can! To add to that I seem to be getting smaller! Well not me exactly...the tank size, more's the pity :lol:

This tank was a total surprise 'So Glad You're All Fixed And Feeling Better' present from Darren bought secretly yesterday while I was in my fave LFS buying more acans...

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So, let's have a looky inside then...well packaged but I hear the tanks can crack if stacked up in their boxes, so am glad this one is intact
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first boxlet opened...ooh filter media. Might not use it. I'll keep people guessing for now :D
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plumbing
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ok, that bit works...I have got it all the wrong way round so I gather from finally reading the destructions...I should have a spongey bottom layer...how well they know me :lol:
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the HOB slides into this bit snugly...I am impressed so far
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thus
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neat little 10W halogen bulbs on the top...independantly switched from the filter mechanism too. Lots of room for blue led strips I am pleased to discover
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on off switch in fetchingly tactile rubber bubble thing
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the filter has an adjustment ability to regulate flow - posh!
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it's just like one giant jigsaw really, all slotting in to place...childhood successfully revisited
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and of course there's the tank itself...solidly built glass with a plastic rim to the top. A good trap for chubby hands methinks!
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All slotted together....QA Cat, Emmy, inspects the base for irregularities
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the waterfall filter section hangs over the edge of the rim
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and the vital sniff test is undertaken
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results are thought about
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and approved by Top Cat, Podgey!
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The wise all knowing bodies at Fluval have decreed this small 20L tank is suitable for goldfish. I would have trouble squeezing some of my goldfish through the top so I am going to ignore their recommendations this time if they don't mind :rolleyes:

I need to get a heater and will be placing a koralia nano in there, but gimme a chance as I haven't even got round to filling the tank up with water for a dummy run yet :lol:

2 small 10W halogen bulbs sit in the top so flexi leds will be added to that too...white and blue ones methinks.

I have ideas for this tank that really need a bit of thought, so rather than just rumbling ahead with LR and sand, I am going to start making frames and stuff and then try to remember to make sure I can get the creations through the rather restrictive opening before glueing together :lol:

I am hoping to be able to create something to hide the heater behind. Whether I can achieve this or not remains to be seen though. Very much a 'suck it and see' experiment this one I think :dance:

Not sure about stock...it's only 20 litres don't forget...but hopefully with a little thought and a few stealings of ideas from others, I shall be able to create something new and exciting - for me even if it bores you guys to tears :lol:

A nice soft focus shot to end with for now...it may be a slow bit of progress for this diary to start off with, as I'm really not too sure what is going to evolve or how. Sorry 'bout that!

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haha omg!

this is gonna be wicked ;D

surely the way its supported (the glass part) it would cause an imbalance in pressure? so it would crack :S

or am i just plain crazy :p
 
They work ok with fresh water, short-term at least, as I've seen them full and working. Nice looking tanks, but I cannot see many stocking options with just 20l capacity...

All the best
Rabbut
 
surely the way its supported (the glass part) it would cause an imbalance in pressure? so it would crack :S

or am i just plain crazy :p
That's the worry I had and the reason why I am intending to keep the rockwork in the central area that's supported by the base platform ;) The amount of rock that I will have in there will amount to a small weight and I hope that will prevent any accidents.

They work ok with fresh water, short-term at least, as I've seen them full and working. Nice looking tanks, but I cannot see many stocking options with just 20l capacity...

All the best
Rabbut

I am a girl of simple tastes :lol: I am just looking for one small fish (if that), a collection of soft corals and maybe some sexy shrimp. I like small and interesting with marine so this is a nice challenge for me to have a go with. In my 90L tank I wanted something that kept alot of its stock hidden at first. The more you look at it the more appears to you. I've succeeded and am hoping to do similar with this :D

I like the challenges this small and oddly shaped tank will provide and am going to take my time and think about everything before I do it. All the necessary equipment etc will be purchased prior to even putting RO in and mixing the salt and adding the LR. If it doesn't work then I can transfer all the stock back to my other two tanks.


So, I set it up in it's final resting place and turned on the lights...
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Ohh, pretty! :D
the lights seemed quite bright when empty and a note to remember here...the little halogens are easily knocked...BEWARE!
Time to fill up...ahh bliss! Only two buckets to fill :laugh:

Interesting development of air bubbles collecting under the top
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Time to entertain oneself by chasing bubbles with a mag float
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a plain shot for those who despise 'arty farty'
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et voila! Almost bubble free!
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Priming the filter pump is much easier if you remember to fill the HOB first :eek:
Recommended water level when filled and decorated is 5mm above the top of the tank
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the sound of a gently churning pump greets my ears and a soft trickle of water
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looks a bit empty so I put some wildlife in for a dummy run
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I think the water's too cold....he looks shocked
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Now to put the Koralia in...oh b*gger...time to empty some water out of the tank and lift the HOB out so I can thread the flex through the back section to hide the cable
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well at least it works!
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I am going to leave the tank running for a bit - it hasn't got a heater in yet, but I want to see how warm the halogens get. It's quiet and at present there are a few bubbles popping out of the HOB and settling under the top of the glass. Apart from that it's nice and I'm a happy pea for now
 
Nice start. After a while those halogens do get hot-hot-hot, raising the water temp about 2-3 degrees above that of the room apparently, unless the heater has a higher temperature set on it...

It will be interesting to watch this one progress :nod:

All the best
Rabbut
 
I can't get hold of the Edge heater that goes with it at the moment...hen's teeth...but am looking into the Newattino Plus heaters. The 10W is set to be a constant 26 degrees which would almost be ideal! I am leaving the tank on at the moment to see how much the lights alone heat the water up without the addition of a heater.
The tank is in a north facing room so I have absolutely no worries with room temps, unlike my 90L tank in the south facing front room -_-

I am also trying to find inspiration for the aquascaping. Livestock wise I am not worried that it may or may not be feasible to have any fish in there...I can picture sexy shrimp all over the place quite well...but I would like to try for something that looks good, rather than a bit of sand and a bit of rock and some corals dumped on top :lol:

I like the idea of tonga branch, but also have been given an idea of sea lettuce, normal sand and outcrops of LR with a few corals on...kind of like a shallows style set up.

Already my mind is bursting with research overload :S
 
Cool looking tank. Its going to be a pita to 'scape with only that little hole but will look really good once its going.

The only thing I would say is dont fill it all the way to the top. If you do the only surface area you have for gas exchange is going to be the little square bit.
 
That's something I'm going to be looking at Barney...I expect it will just be a sexyshrimptopia tbh, but we'll see how this goes.

It's going to be quite experimental, obviously, but Fluval are insistant that the HOB filter allows for much better gaseous exchange than just the little area of the opening. I don't want to cause suffering to anything I put in there so if it comes to the crunch and a single coral goby doesn't look like it's doing too well, it will be whipped out faster than one can say 'does that fish look like it's struggling to breathe?' ;)
 
Yeah, I guess they would know what they are doing and that sounds right so probably nothing to worry about :)

Cant wait to see it progress :)
 
heya =]

how about a yellow tail damsel is it? or a yellow clown goby? or is the tank to small for them?

i gotta say, love the design!
 

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