My 1st marine tank... and its a nano! =0) ::UPDATED 10/5::

[Anonymous]

I also just paint - but use blue - just prefer the look i guess. A buddy of mine uses Al foil on his refuge to keep the light in, a mirror may be worth a try????You can always take it off if it causes trouble like shifting the light to red and growing algae (light from your tank would basically be going through 4 painsof glass before reentering the tank - 2 out and then 2 back in - which could cause a shift in spectrum????)

 

[r00onmac]

good point about the shift... maybe ill paint it... ill see if i can find a blue i like.. but if not i have black spray paint...

how do you recommend i do it? take out the HOB tape off the top and sides and just spray it?

 

[drty811]

i used a mini roller and some black paint i had around when i paint my stand for my 75gal. i didnt paint the sides though...just back.

 

[sadielynn]

i used a mini roller and some black paint i had around when i paint my stand for my 75gal. i didnt paint the sides though...just back

same heare but to allow it to dry I placed the filter on the front for 2 days and a fan on the back :lol: other wise the filter can get stuck as for taping take the filter off for the 20 minutes it will take to do this you should not need to seal with the roller method .

 

[r00onmac]

i just spray painted it yesterday and the difference is amazing... quick questions: do any of you ever have a problem with a fish bein soo shy that you never see it eat... im afraid my damsel is going to die of starvation cuz i never see him eat.. i drop like 2-3 flakes a couple times a day and they seem to float in the current and then fall between the two bottom rocks and lay on the sand...

which brings me to another issue: there is like zero current between/behind those rocks, is that okay? i mean its very dark there and i dont expect much to grow there but do you guys think its necessary (thinking about money and extra heat in this tiny tank) to get a powerhead or something and aim it back in that area?

 

[hooterhead]

yeah you probably need to. dead spots are a bad thing

 

[r00onmac]

well okay,,, looking at my seup there anywhere you see i can put it?

i was thinking that top left corner (when looking at it) and aiming it behind that rock, to go under the one that is horizontal and across to the other edge of the tank...

?

 

[incysor]

Yep, you don't really want any dead spots, even if you're not planning on putting corals there, it's likely to end up growing problem algae.

With smaller tanks a ph or two usually generate enough current to get all over the tank. You can experiment with pointing it in different places until you find the angle that works best for you. I'd go with one ph, and then if you end up trying a couple different angles and still think you've got dead spots, you can add another.

B

 

[r00onmac]

.... so heres my next question then... right now i have a 160gph HOB filter with no filter in it... ive basically been using to generate my current... and the current it makes is good,, food flows around, hits the walls.. hits the floor flows around etc.. but as soon as it gets under that horizontal rock in the middle its dead...

anyways.... should i take that hob out and replace it with the smaller one if im getting a Ph to generate flow? only reason i put that one there instead of the 100gph one was cuz i though 160 would be plenty for a little 5.5 gal and would move enough water to be used by itself...

 

[incysor]

Nah, I'd leave the large one on.

It's hard to tell from your pics, but the pics and the link you posted looks like what I've normally seen as fiji blue devils.

The description of it raising it's dorsal fin fits with the one's I've seen/kept.

It doesn't really mean much though, as LFS don't generally bother to be real exacting, there just isn't any real need for it in most cases.

B

 

[r00onmac]

id be very excited if it is... my fraternity is called FIJI and thats why i fell in love lol...

yea he hides sooooo much... i barely see him... only once and a while will he swim through the hole in the rock on the right,,, out around front and back underneath the horizontal rock into the dead zone..

 

[r00onmac]

the two week update...

newest pics of the tank... pretty sure its done/almost done cycling,,, but i wont be adding much more than a snail or two in the coming weeks... just because it cost so much to put the tank together that i cant afford anything else right now..

i am considering (once i have more money) doubling up the lights up there.. making it 72w by getting another 12" 2x18w fixture and turning them sideways... so the light goes over the HOB fuge and the tank too...

 

[puppetmaster_6000]

wow,i love your tank!!! Did u get rid of the damsel? I think a firefish would look good in there.Hope u get some $$$ so u could pimp this tank out.

 

[r00onmac]

the damsel ::surprisingly:: died... (catch the sarcasm?)

he literally never ate a flake of food, or copopod or anything.. he floated around the "dead zone" under that middle rock and just wasted away.. it was a shame too because he was really pretty and i would have liked him to live... but if he doesnt eat there is nothing i can do... i had seen pieces of food hit him in the face and he still didnt eat them...