The 45 Gallon Almost Cube Aka The Clown Emporium

[bae1994]

well ive sold a few things and have enough money to buy a tank so i found a 2ftLx2ftHx1.5ftD tank for 40 pounds

it is on a budget so it wont all be highest tek equipment

so heres the tank

i spent the past couple of nights making the stand which is finished now

this is the skimmer (wich is for 120l so is too small but resolved later this post)

this will be running with lr in it (again only for 90l so too small but again resolved)

this is the skimmer addition + filter addition (made for 50 l so makes the skimmer 170l same as tank and filter 140 30l under tank size)

the planned stock is very vague

also gonna be lr in there + power heads

i know i want

2 x tb common clowns
1 x 6 lined wrasse (if the tanks big enough)
a goby shrimp symbiotic pair

any other ideas

cuc

5 turbo snails
10 algea hermits
2-3 mithrax crabs

im unsure on lighting but im probably gonna go for a 70w halide (is this enough for a clam) if the clam was on the sand bed

no sump as im not drilling

coral wise i really want a clam if so what kind

more updates soon i hope

 

[seffieuk]

A 2 x 2 cube - glorious Thats the way I would go if i downsize

Seffie x

 

[bae1994]

yeah sadly not quite cube as only 18inch back

ive been looking do you reckon a aquabeam 1000hd will be enough for a clam

also do you think a 70w halide be enough for a clam

 

[Harry1996]

if you want LED then get the 1500 hd

http/www.reefstore.co.uk/shop/Aquabeam-1500-XG-Ultima-LED-Tile.html

 

[bae1994]

apparently it is brighter but has less useful light for photosynthesis so they've put alot of viewable light for humans but not as much for corals so the 1000d is better

 

[bae1994]

ok added eggcrate to the base yesterday for lr to sit on

 

[seffieuk]

Whats the thinking behind using the eggcrate Bae?

Seffie x

 

[bae1994]

dunno i had it spare and i thought it would pretect the glass and hold the rock secure on the bottom so it cant slide

whats your thoughts on the halide seffie would it be enough

 

[demasonisrule]

The problem with using eggcrate on the bottom is it's making 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 deadspots.

 

[bae1994]

yeah but it will be under sand so wouldnt be getting flow anyway

 

[Morri]

If you want a Clam I would look at either 6 x T5s or the halide the LEds would not be enough in a 2ft deep tank if you go for the halide I would either look at 2 x T5s for clue/purples or look for a pair of reef blue aquarays to get some nice Colour/growth there are quite a few second hand aquarays about atm and there will be more soon as TMC will be releasing the 600s v soon

I 100% agree with you on the egg crate on the base its perfect for stabilising rock and also if you have a rock fall it will absorb the impact and safe the tank from smashing

Not sure what dead spots you are creating as it will be covered in sand I use this method and am happy with it never comfortable placing rock straight on glass

 

[bae1994]

yeah i have rock on glass in my 100gal and not that comfortable about it so thought id put it in this one

and with the lights

do you reckon (cant afford the leds unfortunatly)

70w halide + 2 t5 24w marine blue actinic

and if i went t5 4 24w marine white + 2 24w marine blue actinic

but that depends on what bargains i can find

 

[Morri]

Not a huge Halide fan but you cannot dispute the results in deep tanks 10k Halide with the 2 X T5s and you will get great results I might be tempted to get one tube Blue the other Fiji Purple

I would watch ebay etc over the next few weeks as well though as everyone rushes out to buy the new 600s the price on the second hand LEDs will plummet around £50 - £70 for a duo at a guess would be cheaper long term no tubes to replace

 

[bae1994]

yeah tbh im not either but i yeah the results in deeper tanks do seem good

yeah ill have a look out for the aqaurays chears

 

[bae1994]

well ordered the light and it arrived wednesday

60 pounds for the 70w halide (with new 10k bulb) 30w cooling fan and 14 blue led moonlights

and when i got it it seemed huge and like theyde nicked it from a football pitch

but now its on the tank doesnt seem that big and looks good

and when i first switched it on i was hugely disappointed with the output but then realised as it got warm it got to the propper out put and wow i am very impressed looks great (pictures dont do it justice)

now the moonlights look great also and the picture came out blurry and crud but here it is any way

theres no heater in there at the moment as the live rock was dried live rock i got off ac for 17kg for 20 pounds

i also have 7 kg of propper lr in my 100 gallon and it has lots of polpys xenia and a couple of mushrooms

ive made the base up and epoxy puttied together so will add the 7kg on top (got for 20 pounds)
great looking rock too

little cave for the fish but i really hope my shrimp goby pair that i get will take it as there home but probably not

i need to cut the lid out of plexi glass

and need to add the other skimmer and filter and gonna have to stock the tank slowly as i will only have 8kg with the rubble in the filters until the dry lr gets seeded

but its coming along

bae