don_chuwish
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hello,
This just completed, thought I'd share some pics & story.
The Hang on Back box is from Finnex, meant to be a 'multifunctional' item. The same box is available under various brand names I've noticed. But $25 + $5 shipping direct from Finnex was pretty good and includes an air pump for the bubbler intake. Capacity of the box is 1G, 10.25" x 5.5" x 5".
I'm putting some live rock, some dry rock rubble from our MarcoRocks order, some chaeto and a bottle of tigger pods in it.
I noticed right away that I didn't like the bubbler for moving water. It's loud, makes for severe salt creep and doesn't make much flow. So I got a Mini-Jet 404 adjustable pump, $20 at the LFS instead. 5/8" outside diameter - 1/2" inside diameter clear vinyl tubing from the hardware store connects the two perfectly. Dead silent too. I do wish the intake elbow didn't stick out so far though.
At the pump's lowest setting (20gph) it creates a steady but slow flow. I may experiment with higher flow.
So far I'm at $50. But I think you can get the box without an air pump for $20 + shipping, and the pump online for about $15. So call it $40 at the lowest. Much better than the purpose built $120+ boxes available, which I just couldn't jump at yet. The light so far is the hood light from our QT tank, moved over at night to sit on the fuge. I have an LED fixture on order.
I hope to continue seeing tigger pods living in there, chaeto growing, and maybe even nitrates falling a bit over time (<10 now). We'll see!
- D
This just completed, thought I'd share some pics & story.
The Hang on Back box is from Finnex, meant to be a 'multifunctional' item. The same box is available under various brand names I've noticed. But $25 + $5 shipping direct from Finnex was pretty good and includes an air pump for the bubbler intake. Capacity of the box is 1G, 10.25" x 5.5" x 5".
I'm putting some live rock, some dry rock rubble from our MarcoRocks order, some chaeto and a bottle of tigger pods in it.
I noticed right away that I didn't like the bubbler for moving water. It's loud, makes for severe salt creep and doesn't make much flow. So I got a Mini-Jet 404 adjustable pump, $20 at the LFS instead. 5/8" outside diameter - 1/2" inside diameter clear vinyl tubing from the hardware store connects the two perfectly. Dead silent too. I do wish the intake elbow didn't stick out so far though.
At the pump's lowest setting (20gph) it creates a steady but slow flow. I may experiment with higher flow.
So far I'm at $50. But I think you can get the box without an air pump for $20 + shipping, and the pump online for about $15. So call it $40 at the lowest. Much better than the purpose built $120+ boxes available, which I just couldn't jump at yet. The light so far is the hood light from our QT tank, moved over at night to sit on the fuge. I have an LED fixture on order.
I hope to continue seeing tigger pods living in there, chaeto growing, and maybe even nitrates falling a bit over time (<10 now). We'll see!
- D
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