iMacQuarium

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

TurboMirage

That’s how you get ants
VIP
1486903_10152095447951763_1393580223_n.jpg



we had fully gutted the imac previous to tank arrival. was not expecting it until after new years but it came this past tuesday. yesterday i got the chance to head into the office and spent about 3-4 hours getting it setup.
1511408_10152130053156763_243902826_n.jpg



i painted the backplate and strengthening mesh gold since they were NASTY. a quick scrub and blow dry and spray. gold was the first thing i saw in the box :) you will barely see the backplate but hey i thought it would look alot nicer in a reflective color.
1545052_10152130053206763_376048808_n.jpg



here you can see my little tank it's replacing.
1527034_10152130053246763_1612343846_n.jpg



wings on
1483363_10152130053376763_2105139303_n.jpg



tank bolted down!
1530360_10152130053421763_889709805_n.jpg



"internal" air pump it is smaller and quieter than the one i currently have. it's actually plugged in and running right now. most of these pumps cheap out within the first few hours so if its still running when i get back in i'll know its a keeper.
1504545_10152130053496763_854437889_n.jpg



rope light, full of bright little LEDs. if they don't meet my very tiny lighting needs (i'll even try reflective tape arranged in the case), i'll put an LED cluster over the top controlled by a timer.
1536618_10152130053526763_1120303000_n.jpg



1520816_10152130053661763_9495686_n.jpg



1486767_10152130053716763_1819477980_n.jpg



551061_10152130053756763_161198879_n.jpg



1514527_10152130053816763_1887037301_n.jpg



i'll polish up the cases over the weekend for when i return on tuesday xD
 
Last edited:
today we have more progress! now that i'm not so sick anymore. i polished up the lower half of the visible case to take out alot of the scratches. its not a remarkable difference, but i'll be more thorough on the top half.


i ended up rewiring the power to fit the autotimer for the lights.
1521270_10152144596786763_1720655620_n.jpg



we wired the speakers too! mono, but better than nothing. they are very quiet... will need some sort of amp since the iMac is amped .5 watts from the factory. my iphone puts out more sound with them than my laptop does.
1536511_10152144596946763_163624812_n.jpg



installed and screwed into the base.
1545067_10152144597071763_475883900_n.jpg



i had to put the auto timer back on the other tank. the photoperiod is finished for today, though.
1545178_10152144597161763_1133802082_n.jpg



if anyone comes across the small perforated piece for the back, let me know! i'd gladly pay for it. we're missing ours.
1560595_10152144597231763_556726362_n.jpg

mIYvJUwdk0qF1EmEqOrcDzg.jpg



and thats it! hope to get it running next week. next step is figuring out whether or not i want to continue to run the sponge filter or adapt the whisper filter. if i use the whisper filter i'll need a sponge or a catch on the downpipe anyways to stop the shrimp from getting sucked up.
 
the tank has been finished!!! sorry about the lack of progress photos. i set it up on the 10th.

emptied out the small tank into a bucket then started scooping the substrate out.
1604386_10152159051191763_66362064_n.jpg



started filling it, and put the filter in. the suction cup is superglued to the back of the tank.

1504993_10152159051286763_1458425305_n.jpg


1536726_10152159051446763_1661552621_n.jpg


1551664_10152159051601763_1207035952_n.jpg



starting to clear up after an hour or so running the sponge filter.

1560762_10152159051656763_338461716_n.jpg


1521959_10152159051761763_311809224_n.jpg




before i took off on the 10th it was nearly 100% clear

1606917_10152164158791763_499110505_n.jpg





this is how it looks today :) havent tied off any of the plants and they are still adjusting but i did not lose any critters. there was one unhappy shrimp but he seems to have recovered. i was going to do a water change today but i forgot the dechlorinator.

150212_10152185410511763_898574062_n.jpg
 
Cool idea. For a tank this small i would think it would be better/easier to just use purified water when you change it. When am topping off my big saltwater tank(due to evaporation) this is what i do. The tap water down here not only has chlorine, but also a lot of phosphates which are bad for tanks.
 
I want one. how much?

the tank? you can order it complete.... we got the kit and assembled one with an iMac we had on hand. about the cost of a track day :)

http://www.jakeharms.com/

Cool idea. For a tank this small i would think it would be better/easier to just use purified water when you change it. When am topping off my big saltwater tank(due to evaporation) this is what i do. The tap water down here not only has chlorine, but also a lot of phosphates which are bad for tanks.

possibly? but this is supposed to be low to no maintenance. i spend about 30 minutes a week maintaining each tank. ive been using tetra aquasafe with every change and just stopped dosing fluorish excel for a bit trying to get the algae to come back some.
 
Spray some white or Bisque, followed up with black behind the bezel or you could use HVAC tin foil tape to block the bleed through on the lights. Then it will only light up the water - will look real nice.

Looks real nice already!
 
the whole bezel illuminates with the lights on, that is how it's supposed to be. i will probably work out some kind of foil or light reflector for just the LEDs
 
so i wasn't completely sold on the LED strips. i temporarily mounted them above the tank to see if i could use them to save the plants. gladly enough, the dying rhyzomes were showing some new life within 3 days! yesterday i permanently mounted them during the water change.

at the point i have stopped dosing excel (doing so for about 2 weeks) to just let the water column relax a bit (been moving the soil around a bit too trying to situate everything still.

1505571_10152279064931763_1885495878_n.jpg



here is a video with the tank full. it shows everything.

 
Thanks! The tank is the highlight of coming up to my office. I know most folks don't care to see me I'm the big bad IT guy. :)
 
Back
Top