220 Inwall - Plan

[rdmpe]

Great pictures bheron!!! Have you considered something like a reefkeeper to handle your temperature control and light timing? I have one and I think it is really great. And the price isn't all that bad considering what you would spend on decent timers and a real temperature controller.

I've read several major problem threads with the WON ProII heaters. I have one also, but currently only use it to heat up change water.

As for the temperature probe - I've had that problem before too. Seems like it could end up cooking your tank if you don't catch it! I now have the temp probe from the Reefkeeper secured to some plumbing with a couple of velcro straps so it would be very difficult for it to come out of the water. I wouldn't trust the suction cups!

Tank looks great!

On the dosing, I'm using Oceans Blend since that is what the LFS had... I think it was about $25 for a gallon of each part. You definitely should test before dosing, otherwise you may just be wasting your money. I do a small dose every day or two and test every few days since my demand (and yours too probably) is very low right now. I also used a couple of teaspoons of baking soda per day to slowly bring my alk up relative to calcium. There are some great articles by Randy Farley-Holmes on the relationships between Alk, Ca and PH, how to maintain them, correct problems, etc. I'd post links but I'm at work and don't have them handy. Some searches for those terms with his name will probably turn them up though. It's great reading.

Keep the pictures coming!

 

[Knyght]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6410161#post6410161 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I wish my fishroom looked that nice. I have got to do something with the walls, and get some woodwork done one day.

:beachbum:

 

[bheron]

Hi all, I apologize for the late replies. I had surgery a week ago and it really knocked me out :mad2: . I wasnt even able to get out bed for the first 4-5 days. Im still out of commission a bit, but not too much to get on here and also maybe tackle a few minor tasks on my tank I've been meaning to get to.

Also, since I have the time, I'm planning on taking a nice amount of pics today and posting them here.


Marc -

The frogspawn is a nice size. Score!

- Thanks! Coming from you I know I did good. The guy I got it from (a fellow RC'er) really set me up. One of those good people who really want to just help grow the hobby. I'll take another pic today. (as mentioned, the Frogspawn has always been my #1 favorite coral, so in a way, I guess I've topped out!)

The Liquid Life food is keep frozen, but doesn't solidify. You can squirt it into the tank or into a cup of tank water or RO water, then pour that into your tank or baste it on the corals.

- Thanks. Thats exactly what I've been doing. But there's no way, with it frozen, that I can use the squirt part. I just scrape some out, like you said, and swish it in some tank water. I have to say, this stuff really is concentrated. Thats why I think me LFS guy was pushing it. He did some kind of test and found it was more concntrated. I have no idea since I never used the other stuff. But let me tell you that a tiny amount stays around in my tank for a good 30 mins while the three fish and corals munch on them. I'll go the "popsicle stick" route next time to compare.

I wish my fishroom looked that nice. I have got to do something with the walls, and get some woodwork done one day.

- Thank you! Nice to get such compliments. Well, like I said before, we paid someone to build out the room. And, I had a female involved in the designing. But, yes, it really does add to the enjoyment of the whole thing.

Airman -

Pet the dog and don't feed him the camera. I enjoy the pictures to much.

- Got it.

Gkarshens -

That is a huge frogspawn for $15! There was a similar one here that went for $88.

- Yea, the one I had my eyes on in a LFS was one head for about $45. But, like I said, a fellow hobbyist I never met before really helped me out. It was suggested by alot of you previously to check out the local forums and clubs, and that really has worked well for me. THis Frog has 4 heads!



Rdmpe -

Great pictures bheron!!! Have you considered something like a reefkeeper to handle your temperature control and light timing? I have one and I think it is really great. And the price isn't all that bad considering what you would spend on decent timers and a real temperature controller.

- Yea, I think I know what you mean - like an "Aquacontroller"?. Would love one but they always seemed expensive. What kind of price, and product, exactly is yours?

As for the temperature probe - I've had that problem before too. Seems like it could end up cooking your tank if you don't catch it! I now have the temp probe from the Reefkeeper secured to some plumbing with a couple of velcro straps so it would be very difficult for it to come out of the water. I wouldn't trust the suction cups!

- Hmmm, thats a good idea. The two temp readings are still 3 degrees off. I havent been able to get out and get another thermometer since I cant drive being on heady meds

Tank looks great!

- Thank you!!!!

On the dosing, I'm using Oceans Blend since that is what the LFS had... I think it was about $25 for a gallon of each part. You definitely should test before dosing, otherwise you may just be wasting your money.

- Ok. The testing is on my list today. This is god info. Thanks.

Keep the pictures coming!

- Will do -- today!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm gonna go down and snap a few pics. Amd also going to do my first WC (I know, its been up over a month and no WC yet. Bad reefer).

We're having a big party this weekend, so this'll be my first time to really show this thing off. SO I have a few free days to get some things tidy'd up.

I'll be back soon with some good pics.

Until then.

 

[rdmpe]

Mine is one of the lower tech controllers. It's a ReefKeeper by Digital Aquatics. I picked it up for $165 shipped (used). Takes the place of a dual stage temp controller and several digital light timers, digital thermometer, etc. They are $219 new. There is a "model II" out now that is about $279 and has more features such as the ability to turn your halides on and off by time but also turn them off if the temperature gets too high, has a PH monitor/controller function and some other features as well.

 

[Airman]

Good to hear from you.

 

[bheron]

ok, as promised some pics.

Here's what I worked on today. I went down to figure out a temporary electrical setup until I get my American DJ100's down the road. But...I got an idea. I noticed right next to my outlets is a Home Networking box that we have our phones and cable hooked up to (each room in the house is wired for a network, etc, but we dont need it).

I noticed the bottom half isnt being used... so I thought, maybe I could use it to house all of my electrical stuff for the tank. To the right of the box I have my two dedicated 20 amp outlets built just for the tank.

So, check out what I did:

I punched out the little rubber stoppers in the bottom of the box, and installed three 15 amp powerstrips inside the boxes so I could run all of my equipment successfully to each one! I have to work on the exact configuration and split of all equipment for the two circuits, but for now it works.

Might even be a permanent solution. The entire box has a cover for it so its perfect protection from the SW.

You can see it with the cover on in this picture, to the left side:

So, mission accomplished there. I feel really good not to have powercords, timers, power strips, etc all exposed to water damage, etc.

 

[bheron]

More Pics and updates

More Pics and updates

Continuing from above, I also finally installed my moonlights (motivated from Joseph's thread).

Last year I purchased the one from www.thelebos.com. I actually just purchased the parts b/c I really wanted to try the DIY myself. I loved the whole project and finished it in a day. And the lights worked great.

Here's what they look like (I have my own modification using PVC caps as the housing for the LEDs)

Also, one of them isnt working, so I only have 4 LEDs for the whole tank. I'll be making another set soon to connect to this one.

I secured the main junction box to the top of my lighting canopy like this:

And then, I simply have them hanging down "through" my T5 lights so they dangle right above the water:

Can you see the little PVC cap right in the middle of the picture?

It seems to work out pretty well. I know tonight when I give it the real test. I also built in the option for a dimmer. I had to clean out some mean saltcreep on that today, but its working fine. I absolutely love the whole moonlight idea b/c it gives a whole new perspective to the tank at night. And, I think its one of the most relaxing ways to look at your tank.

 

[bheron]

Final update #3

Final update #3

Ok, final addition to the above 2 updates

Keeping with the lighting topic, I'm not sure if I ever snapped any clear pics of my T5setup. I built a very crude, very temporary canopy out of 2x3s for the time being. Its suspended by chains in the ceiling, and does the job for now:

You can see, above it all I have a small shelf to hold the 3 IceCap ballasts. And the cool thing is the exhaust fan is right there too, so it immediately draws away the excess heat.

Down the road, my new canopy will probably be made out of aluminum tubing.

Here's some shots of my back room:

My Main work area:

Its already become filled up with some shelves and the various tools I need and have collected.


Here's the water making system (below the sink). You can see my RO/DI system there, then an 18g rubbermaid to the right (NSW Holding) and a 55g to the right of that. I have many different ideas on how to make this work, but so far havent put anything to work. I basically want to make it easy to do water changes, and will probably incorporate the 55g.

Right now, I have a pump in the gray 18g rubbermaid for top offs. It has some tubing that runs around the room and into the sump. Its not automated now, but thats fine with me. It works well. I come down each day and turn on the pump for a short time until the water fills up. I dont even leave the RO/DI on 24/7 b/c I just dont want to take the risk. Still, not a problem.

Here's a shot of the sump where the water returns to. Its hard to see in this pic, but I twist-tied the return tube from the resivoir to the vertical PVC coming out of the sump. I had to make it high enough so that, when the pump shuts off, there's no back drain into the resivoir (I learned that one the hard way).

To the left of the sink I have my QT tank

Still sitting dirty and on my list next.


Here's the 15gallon "holding" tank that I used to acclimate new specimens. Has worked really well so far.

(Note the white panel on the back of the tank).

As mentioned before, I got some nice chloroplast (sp) for the back of my tank. I ordered it cut into sections and attached each section to the back of the tank with velcro.

Here's a shot with the above piece of backing removed:

Its great b/c it allows me to see in - this particular part houses my heater and ground probe.

Well, my dig camera only holds about 15 shots right now. I'll go down for more pics in a bit and post them later.

Enjoy!

 

[gkarshens]

Looks great! I am using coroplast for my background as well. I love it!

 

[melev]

Thank you so much for the behind the scenes tour. That was great.

I wish my fish room was bigger now.

 

[bheron]

Cool! Yea, I lucked out in that area and am glad with it. Its only 8x8 - even toned it down from 10x10 originally.

I'll take some more pics soon then.

Ive been noticing my Green Star Polyp hasnt really opened the last 2 days. I have it on the floor of the tank, right in the center -think it still might be too much light?

 

[melev]

No. Just keep an eye on them. Something might be nipping at them.

 

[gkarshens]

My star polyps didn't open for 3 days last week. I had pretty much given up on them and then out they came.

 

[bheron]

Hmmm.
Marc, I checked and am pretty sure nothing's picking on them. They're on their own island in the middle, bottom of the tank.

gkarshens - thats good to hear. they were out for the first week or so. i was messin with the lights today (above) so maybe they got freaked out.

 

[tgunn]

Bryan,

Looks like your fish room has plenty of working space for you. I wish I had more working surface. With my pumps and plumbing from the sump I ate that up considerably. Oh if only I had made my sump stand lower.

I wish I could have access to see in behind my tank; I'll bet there's lots of really interesting things back there to see on occasion!

Awesome job on the LED moonlights; that's a great idea. Do you find they give decent coverage like that?

Later,
Tyler

 

[Airman]

How quite is your durso?

 

[Knyght]

Nice, clear and sharp photos. Looks like you are getting the hang of the 340. :thumbsup:

:beachbum:

 

[rdmpe]

Looking great. It seems like your setup is really coming along. With all of that room to work with you really have a lot of great options! I like the pvc cap moonlights!

 

[bheron]

Tyler -

Looks like your fish room has plenty of working space for you. I wish I had more working surface. With my pumps and plumbing from the sump I ate that up considerably. Oh if only I had made my sump stand lower.

I wish I could have access to see in behind my tank; I'll bet there's lots of really interesting things back there to see on occasion!

Awesome job on the LED moonlights; that's a great idea. Do you find they give decent coverage like that?
QUOTE]

- Yea, Im really glad I planned out enough space for it all. I knew it would be eaten up quickly, so whatever I planned I added a small % on top envisioning what it would be like to be cramped in there.

- I really like seeing behind my tank. I can see where the three peppermints hide during the day, as well as my serpent star. The only thing - that someone pointed out way back, is that it'll eventually be covered in corraline. Thats why, in some areas, I really clean the back of the tank.

- Thanks for the props on the moonlights. I dont innovate very often as everything here is stolen, so I feel good about making that part up. The only thing better would be if there were little, tiny reflectors inside each of the caps . Hmmm, maybe some tinfoil?

- Yes, I'm pretty amazed at the coverage they provide after looking the first time last night. With only four LEDs, it does a pretty good job. But, of course, not enough. The Lebo design allows for expansion of more bulbs. I will definitely be doing that. But, last night, it did provide some cool viewing.

Thanks Tyler!


Airman -

How quite is your durso?

- Hey, I'm sure you mean "quiet". These things are one of the greatest inventions in the hobby. I'll tell you this: 99% of the time they are 100% quiet. Really. The only problem I have is - Just as Mr Durso himself warns - when salt creep starts to clog one of the holes. I just have to rinse it out ever few days. He's got some really good workaround on his site that will easily fix the problem. But its really low on my list b/c its so easy to clean. But, long answer - yes, very quiet. Let me know if you have questions (I had a great time building them).

Knyght -

Nice, clear and sharp photos. Looks like you are getting the hang of the 340.

- Gee, thanks I didnt think I was getting much better. You know, what I'm finding is that these new cameras these days are so good that my best pics come out when I dont change any of the settings. Just the one from "auto" to "macro" shot is about it. Even the "flourescent" lighting setting doesnt look better. Thanks though!

Rdmpe -

Looking great. It seems like your setup is really coming along. With all of that room to work with you really have a lot of great options! I like the pvc cap moonlights!

- Thanks for the comments! I'll have more improvements to show over the next few days!

Bryan

 

[melev]

I don't think you need reflectors for your LEDs, since they don't shine outward. However, if you were really wanting to pimp your lighting, you could sand the inside of the surface to roughen it up, then spray paint it with chrome paint.