Mac's 5 Gallon Pico Tank Build

Ok, so i have been thinking about getting a pico for a while now. i was originally going to get the JBJ Picotope but dicided to use my old freshwater 5gal instead. Im trying to keep maitnance low on this tank, so I plan on making a DIY ATO with a milk jug and airline tubing. I will try to do weekly 10% water changes (1/2 Gallon)

I already had the Filter (Marina S10), Heater (Marineland) and tank (Standard 5g). So today i went to my LFS and got a Coralife Mini Aqualight 11" (12watts), a hydrometer/thermometer, a glass top and 5lbs of Live Sand + 3lbs of Jakarta Live Rock. I will get a test kit in the future along with some other supplies (Prime, MagFloat ect.).

can anyone give me some more info on the Coralife light? will it support Softies and LPS? I'm disapointed that it doesnt have mounting legs, so it just sits on the glass.

Some Pics:








The Tank has been up for about 4 hours now (Mar 28/2012 9:40). Im going to try and make this tank a colorful Zoa Garden with Eagle eyes and other beautiful Zoanthids.

Thanks For Reading, All Feedback Is Appreciated.

 

It has cleared up a lot in the past couple hours

 

Looking good so far!!

 

Thanks!

I would like to build a bracket so I could hang my light 3" above the tank, its kinda in the way atm

 

It cleared up and is looking good. Now I just have to find the right aquascape.

 

Aquascape Double Arch, I like this scape and I'm glad I got small LR pieces. The cycle has begun!

 

Tank is looking good, that light should be good for softies and maybe some LPS in the future.

Just a thought, but a future light that would probably allow you to keep anything would be a LED par bulb. Rapidled makes them in a bigger size or Boostled makes them in a smaller size. These would also make the colors pop more than your existing light.

 

I would consider ecoexotic par 38, you could get a 12K for $100 ish and it will be good for 5+ years and it would be a lot brighter than your existing fixture. I have 2 over my 29 gallon and my corals just love it! I only have softies thus far but I will be adding SPS soon.

 

Yeah, I looked at the Par30's and they look great. I live in canada though, do you know if they ship it here?

 

This Aqualight Light isnt ideal for this tank, but i want to try and make it work. I have perched it atop of some Lego to try out some diferent setups. The Glass top's black hinge part is blocking quit a bit of light when the light is laying right ontop of the glass.I think its better when raised up a few inches but its no permanent setup. I thought of build some sort of DIY hanging Bracket but im unsure of how.





Does anyone know how I could get maximum light on the tank without having a clunky setup? (hanging it, building bracket ect.)