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**Miasma** · 10-06-2011, 09:13 PM

So Luke, you end up doing this?

I have a 20 gallon AIO zoa garden, and a 40 gallon mixed reef. Hoping to pick up a used 300 gallon tank this month... We have a nice size reef club here in Austin.

I know this is a year+ old thread bump.

**jw 325ic** · 10-06-2011, 11:32 PM

try grasscity.com...

**thebutcher37** · 10-06-2011, 11:38 PM

This was not what I thought this was....

**glucklich21** · 10-08-2011, 12:35 AM

Fish and E30s = awesomeness

Here's a few of my old tanks. I had to downsize and sell all of them when I moved. :(

My old 2.5g and 1g reef vase. I have some more pics of the reef vase somewhere....

My betta's 5g vase

Not sure if happy.....

Planted 2.5g

Planted 10g

**george graves** · 10-08-2011, 01:41 AM

Nice tall round tank. Can those be picked up cheap? I assume you can just buy the tube and DIY it? That looks great!

I was in PetCo or something last week, and they want an arm and a leg for an decent looking aquarium that isn't the normal square box kind of deal.

**glucklich21** · 10-08-2011, 03:27 AM

Everything I do that's aquarium related is DIY. I would go broke if I did everything pre-made. That particular tank was actually a vase I got at Michael's for $25 if I recall right.

I think grand total was $40 spent to set it up after I bought a pump (that black box near the top) and some pool sand to mix up the substrate.

I mix my own substrate, grow my own plants from clippings, make my own CO2 systems, and make my lamp fixtures from cheap CF bulbs and work lights. I never had any problems.

I hated going aquarium shopping because I would realize real quick that I couldn't afford anything I found pleasant looking. So often I found other methods and modified my tanks. The 10g I posted above was just a standard 10g. I wanted a rimless tank, so off the top rim came. It was a little risky, but I never had any leaks and the old timers had been doing the same for years laughing at the poor SOBs that paid $150 for a rimless 10g tank when they could have gone to walmart and bought a razor blade and a $10 tank to end up with the same result.

If you know what you want, the best thing is to get a tank made. It may cost a little bit more, but you'll be a lot happier for not settling.

Also if you want to go broke real quick, take a look at this site. Mr. Amano is "godfather" of planted aquariums and is treated as such.

Aqua Forest Aquarium

http://www.adana-usa.com/

Aqua Forest Aquarium is your best source for high-quality Nature Aquarium supplies in the USA. We also provide professional planted aquarium design, installation, and maintenance services. Our goal is to create a love for nature and help others make beautiful underwater landscapes in their own home.

**Miasma** · 10-08-2011, 09:30 AM

^ This guy knows his shit. DIY all the way. I built (drilled them and built the overflows, built the stand) most of my 2 reef tanks aside from getting the tanks on sale at petco for $1 a gallon.

I really want to start a planted tank with a extra 40 breeder I got at the $ per gallon sale, Thinking DIY Brinks security light MH retro with a couple night LED's, Still looking into a solid DIY CO2 system to handle the water volume.

This hobby gets really expensive when you cant do anything but hand your credit card over.

**glucklich21** · 10-08-2011, 06:53 PM

What kelvin temp is the light at? You may need to supplement it with some 6k if it's higher than 8k. Planted tanks don't need nearly the amount of 10k a SW needs. In fact none of my tanks had anything higher than 6.7k, but I was running at 5w/g, 10w/g on my growing tank.

The reef vase was 10k with an Actinic bulb.

My fish only saltwater 20g was the same.

**Miasma** · 10-08-2011, 07:01 PM

It will be 2 70 watt metal halides running at 6000k. May up it to 2 150s and hang the lights higher. Many color choices in that wattage. Def not gonna be running any saltwater lighting. Not sure about the tank yet, But love the aquascaping options with the 40B's depth.

The main reason for MH as shallow as it sounds... Is I love the shimmer effect. haha

**glucklich21** · 10-08-2011, 07:09 PM

The shimmer effect is awesome. It's damn near magical to watch.

My only problem with MH is the heat, I would melt in my old apartment if I had one. The AC could barely handle the little heat from the CF bulbs running on 6 tanks.

**b*saint** · 10-08-2011, 07:34 PM

I thought it was illegal to take coral from reefs?

**Miasma** · 10-08-2011, 07:48 PM

Yes it is actually.

But plenty of people/families in remote locales have collection licenses, And there are a shitload of floating coral farms now(http://vimeo.com/29893669). Not to mention all the aquaculture facilities on dry land that grow coral too, And there are a few really dedicated reefers like this dude that are making thousands of frags that will grow into colonies...

And he claims to not be doing it for profit. Which is badass.

And with the way humans are polluting the oceans this hobby might extend most of the most rare corals life long after they could survive in the wild...

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