Hi gang!
Just finished setting up my first Opae Ula tank, and it ended up costing me $184.24 (~ £156.03)
tank1.jpg (1.02 MiB) Viewed 14773 times
I live in Honolulu, where things are a little more expensive than many other places. I also could have searched harder for better deals (price match from Petco.com was a lifesaver!) but in the end I chose convince for some of the items.
Once I get my shrimp, total costs will be ~ $221.74 (£187.79)
Here's the spreadsheet that I started a couple months ago to plan out all my purchases. I then updated it every time I bought something:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
This tank is entirely from scratch, everything down to the Tupperware for the extra substrate, the toothpicks I'll use for the spirulina and even the ruler are new! (don't judge me I'm really minimalistic and didn't have any extra stuff lying around haha. In fact all the extra substrate and distilled water in the corner of my room is stressing me out)
tank2.jpg (994.46 KiB) Viewed 14773 times
tank3.jpg (1.13 MiB) Viewed 14773 times
It's been cycling for 3 weeks now. No sign on algae growth yet and I'm anxiously waiting to add shrimp friends (especially now that I work from home and stare at this empty tank all day!)
I'd love to hear your feedback on the set up!
In retrospect I wish I'd have done two things differently:
1) Purchased a slightly shorter light. The light is 40 cm and tank is about 30cm tall. 10cm difference looks awkward.
2) Realized that the acrylic disk I'm using as a lid was tinted blue. Might order a clear one in a few weeks. It's not a big deal but doesn't make it all look super seamless.
Will update when shrimp friends arrive home! Can't wait to watch them explore the caves and valleys of the lava rocks!
tank4.jpg (1.43 MiB) Viewed 14773 times
Just finished setting up my first Opae Ula tank, and it ended up costing me $184.24 (~ £156.03)
Once I get my shrimp, total costs will be ~ $221.74 (£187.79)
Here's the spreadsheet that I started a couple months ago to plan out all my purchases. I then updated it every time I bought something:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
This tank is entirely from scratch, everything down to the Tupperware for the extra substrate, the toothpicks I'll use for the spirulina and even the ruler are new! (don't judge me I'm really minimalistic and didn't have any extra stuff lying around haha. In fact all the extra substrate and distilled water in the corner of my room is stressing me out)
I'd love to hear your feedback on the set up!
In retrospect I wish I'd have done two things differently:
1) Purchased a slightly shorter light. The light is 40 cm and tank is about 30cm tall. 10cm difference looks awkward.
2) Realized that the acrylic disk I'm using as a lid was tinted blue. Might order a clear one in a few weeks. It's not a big deal but doesn't make it all look super seamless.
Will update when shrimp friends arrive home! Can't wait to watch them explore the caves and valleys of the lava rocks!
Last edited by ccaulfield on 25 Mar 2020 19:28, edited 1 time in total.
