I could use this stand along with some stuff stacked on top to hold a tank up above by a few inches. Now the problem is finding someone to drill a hole in a glass tank for me. Worst case scenario, I could grab a tank like this to use. The large one is 3 gallons and its plastic so I could easily drill a hole in that one myself. Total price would be somewhere in the neighboorhood of 75-80 bucks with a water pump. Obviously that doesn't include a light, live rock and live sand, but the small aquafuge (which has less space) is going for about 120 bucks not counting shipping. Not sure if it's better or not, but that "design" I just came up with would allow for more surface area on the bottom of the refugium as well.
Hmm.. 3 gallons is kinda small. I would aim for 4-5 as a minimum. I was thinking about a 10g AGA tank (which costs about $12 at Petco) drilled ($15 diamond bit, borrowed hand drill, $4 plumbers putty), $17 Maxijet 900, and some $4 tubing. About $40 not including lights ($10/gallon).
Breaking a $12 tank is not so costly, but the glass on the 10g is pretty thin; drilling 1/8" glass may be a bit more precarious than 1/4" glass.
I would rather see you buy a used 4g+ CPR Aquafuge at $80 (search craigslist.com in your area) rather than spend the same amount on a more gangly 3g arrangement. How about this large factory-seconds "minor blemishes" CPR Aquafuge for $89. Wow. At that price - I may buy one!
Just remember to leave 5" clearance behind your tank to hang an Aquafuge...
Just remember to leave 5" clearance behind your tank to hang an Aquafuge...
THANKS for the link!
I have another question that's sorta off topic with this one. I put some more live rock in the tank yesterday. I'm now up to around 36 pounds and there's roughly 24 gallons of actual water in the tank. (So I reached the 1.5 per gallon mark ) But I realized this morning that the tank is starting to smell. It's not an obnoxious smell, but it's not particularly nice. Is it simply the fact that it's a new tank and the smell is from live rock die off? I didn't think it would smell this bad this quickly so I'm a little concerned about it.
That normal for the first 1-2 weeks. But make sure you got your test kits and test every so often so you can see when your tank is done cycling. like everyday or every other I say after the first week I would start testing. O and a reminder change 5g every week to.
That normal for the first 1-2 weeks. But make sure you got your test kits and test every so often so you can see when your tank is done cycling. like everyday or every other I say after the first week I would start testing. O and a reminder change 5g every week to.
So the live rock stinking up my tank a bit is a normal part of the process? I plan on doing a 2 gallon water change tonight (started the tank on Tuesday) and then a full 5 gallons next Tuesday. I also plan on putting an extra powerfilter on with some nitrate reducing media and a filter bag. I want the filter bag in there for a few days to catch all the dust from the live sand.
I have never tried to cycle a tank before without a skimmer, so I can imagine that it will take longer. There is always a bit off die-off on the live rocks, even if they've already been cycled at the LFS. This is normal.
However, you should refrain from doing water changes until you know that you've gone through your cycle. You need to build up the number of bacteria in order for them to convert all the ammonia and nitrates. Get some test kits: measure ammonia, nitrates, nitrite, pH in the beginning. Once you're rounding the bend of the tank cycle, then you can do a water change.
That sounds good. ya it will stink really good for a couple of days. I got uncured rock and cured it in my room and had to leave the door open all the time. I could have passed out from the fumes.
=Reefbaby;72883However, you should refrain from doing water changes until you know that you've gone through your cycle.
well I just did a water change on my tank but had it cycling for about 2weeks before I put the live rock in and just put the rock in 2 days before doing a water change. So should I hold off on water changes for 2weeks?
test your water...let's see what your parameters look like. If you change the water too frequently, or too soon, you're never going to build up the population of bacteria that you need to get over the hump of your cycle. Be patient...let's see what your values are.
I have never tried to cycle a tank before without a skimmer, so I can imagine that it will take longer. There is always a bit off die-off on the live rocks, even if they've already been cycled at the LFS. This is normal.
However, you should refrain from doing water changes until you know that you've gone through your cycle. You need to build up the number of bacteria in order for them to convert all the ammonia and nitrates. Get some test kits: measure ammonia, nitrates, nitrite, pH in the beginning. Once you're rounding the bend of the tank cycle, then you can do a water change.
I'm going to get a skimmer in the next day or two (or at least order one online since LFS likes to kill you on those. So no water changes despite the smell? I was thinking a couple gallons to get some freshness in there after the never touched water got bombarded with all sorts of goodies (36 pounds live rock and 45 pounds of live sand).
test your water...let's see what your parameters look like. If you change the water too frequently, or too soon, you're never going to build up the population of bacteria that you need to get over the hump of your cycle. Be patient...let's see what your values are.
OK. I'll check them tonight. I'm still gonna put that extra powerfilter on though with a bag because the tank needs a little help collecting some of that stupid dust from the sand. It has sort of been stuck at the same cloudiness for a while now. There was an initial settling, but it seems to be sort of stuck at it's current cloudiness.
to TR Noobeef 
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
) But I realized this morning that the tank is starting to smell. It's not an obnoxious smell, but it's not particularly nice. Is it simply the fact that it's a new tank and the smell is from 
