from 10g to 20g !!

trukgirl

Well, I did it! Turned the 10g into a 20g tall! All I did was get a new 20g tank at Petco since they have them on sale $1 per gallon, and transferred everything in it! All the copepods made it and are alive as well, my son and I were sitting there counting them!

Hubs cut a piece of solid wood to stabilize the tank since it ended up hanging over the edge of the solid 70's repainted and repurposed table that we've been using for the stand. He also cut a piece of plexiglass to set on top. For now, the hood from the 10g is sitting on the plexiglass for light. I am going to try to find a light for the tank or DIY one (wasn't gonna pay $41 for a new hood or $39 for a strip light!!), and Hubs is going to make a lid/top for it similar to the one on our 65G, and paint it with the stone paint like we have on the table.

Everything is testing great, so we also added a Chocolate Chip starfish! (this tank will NOT be a reef) The damsels are definitely enjoying themselves in a house twice as big! It is still clearing up from all the stuff I stirred up, but here are a few pics!

No flash






Flash




Starfish!


Top as it sits now

kitten_penang

hey you got a new tank. can't wait to see coral and fishes in there. was that a starfish in there???

bearwithfish

nice work!!! if you are going to get coral eventually just hold off on the light until you can upgrade but for now if you want to get more out of that hood here is an idea i came across a little while back

strip the hood out
paint the inside white
(it looks like incandecent type fixture) add in two 50/50 bulbs
keep the plexy in place and rock with it!!!!

a buddy tried this recently and it really looks good....

trukgirl

Kitten - its essentially the same tank as my 10g... just took everything, all the equipment, sand, rock, fish, inverts, and water, and transferred it into the 20g after I made sure it was clean! Then yesterday eve I added the starfish!

Bear - I am gonna save all the fancy lighting, corals, etc for the big tank. I for sure want to keep this tank a FOWLR so I can have some non-reef-safe stuff in there, like that starfish. The whole family has been dying to have a fat starfish like this one, but they're not reef safe, so I never got one for the big tank. Since I expanded the little one, now I have some room for some more interesting stuff that we can't have in the soon-to-be-reef tank!

I don't wanna strip out that hood, because as soon as i get some different lighting in place I think we may sell the 10g, or put it up somewhere and keep it just in case I need it for a hosp tank or something. Not exactly sure what kind of plans we are going to do for it... thought maybe we could DIY a light strip and attach it to the hood after he makes it. I'm glad my Hubs is so handy!

trukgirl

So these aren't the greatest pics due to glare from the bay window... but here are some pics I just shot a few mins ago. The dust has finally settled and the water is nice and clear again.









My new little buddy!




Stuck the cam around back of the tank and finally got a shot of his topside lol

kitten_penang

cute fren you have there

trukgirl

Yeah so far he seems to like to stay near the top of the tank. I did a lot of reading about those stars today and I guess sometimes they can get food off the surface of the water?? He stayed in that front corner all day till about an hour ago, now he's making his way across the front glass to the other corner. So interesting watching a new creature!

Is there any other inverts (that can get along with the turbo snail and star) that anyone can suggest thats not reef safe to put in here? I guess I want to purposely put things in this tank that aren't reef safe since I can't have them in the big tank.

Also... is there any other semi agressive fish I can get to put in there without having to remove the damsels that anyone can think of?? To be honest, these 2 have been with me since I first started into my salty adventure, and I'm a little attached to them. Not to mention they seem to be LOVING their new home since its twice as big.

trukgirl

Some new pix!!!

Finally got our hood and home made light/reflector made. It still needs some decorative trim but it looks a million times better. Going to try out one of those 50/50 CFL's from Zoo Med soon and see if i can get some more Coraline going in here. Also have a new piece of rock in the corner. I'm also considering taking out that ugly ass Petco powerhead and get a stylin' Koralia Nano. I look at this tank all day since its right next to the TV and I really hate looking at that powerhead. That Fiji Blue Damsel is who is always re-arranging the sand, lol.

Bear - I ended up giving the 10g to my sister... upgraded her FW tank from a 5g to 10g, her fish are SOOO happy and she loves it!










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badxgillen

things worked out awsome...a royal gramma might work out for the tanks foot print...have you considerd a pencil urchin or a decorator crab...a purple reef lobster...lotsa good stuff to put in there...serpent stars..sand sifterstarts...linkia stars...cowries...coral banded shrimp..arrow crabs...i like em all....

Mattcot

nice tank you have there.