!!!25G Mixed Reef!!!

I got LIGHTS!!! It is a 175watt MH pendant. Really lights up the tank. My clownfish got scared at first, cause there was so much light. Photos to come soon.
 
Okay, I Got The Pics

Okay, I Got The Pics

After much difficulty with the digital camera, I finally managed to get semi-descent pictures from the tank. Now, this is a pendant, so my whole room is now blue. It really lights up the tank, and I'm hoping that for x-mas, I'll get a bunch of corals (or more money for them anyways). So now, onto the pictures...


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I also rearranged the aquascaping more, so that there is more of a solid base on top of the 3 rock pillars. Now, the corals should be able to fit more into the top (that is, once I get them)

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Here is a pick of my electrical center and the ballast for the pendant. Not too much stuff plugged in yet, so hopefully it's not too much of a fire hazard.

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I have also been pretty busy building a very nice, but not necessarily nice looking sump. I used the glass panes from a 10 gallon. I tried to cut them, but it is safety glass, and shatters instead of a clean cut.

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But...to make room for the sump, I have to clean up a lot of my fish stuff. It just gets everywhere. My room, attic, family room, basement. Geez, this hobby is crazy.

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Just got back from the LFS. I got some caulerpa algae for my sump, but it will be in my tank untill I get a pump for the sump (hehe that rymes). I also got a small green featherduster that is really cool looking.
 
Hey TCR - Just read through your thread. The tank looks good! How are your temperatures with that MH light on? What K is the lamp?
 
Everything's looking real good. I specially like the light, seems to be a 15K-20K bulb right? Good choice :D Keep up the good work.

BTW be carefull with the caulerpa it might get ahold of your tank's LR. Very nasty stuff. What are the chances of getting chaeto instead? Much better and safer IME
 
Another thing - I had a heavily planted fw tank for a long time. I had 130 watts of compact flourescent on a 30 G tank, had CO2 reactor, daily fertilizer, etc. and man did those plants grow. I used to sell the cuttings on ebay all the time. It was a very cool tank. One of the many fw tanks I got rid of in order to do this big reef tank I'm working on... Some of my favorite plants were red ludwigia (needs tons of light or it doesn't show much red), chain sword (sold a ton of this stuff on ebay) and microsword which looks like grass. Also like java ferns, good for growing on rocks and driftwood.

You really should try to do better aquarium lighting on that fw tank. A halogen shining in the side is not very efficient. Those halogens generate a lot more heat for the light you get out of them I think. On the other hand, if you are going to spend all of your time and money on your reef tank, how are you going to keep that planted tank going to? :eek:
 
the pvc on the right side of the tankw/ballvalve is that directly over your ballist?and wall socket?? be careful your gonna burn down your parents house!
how often are you topping off water????
 
RDMPE - The previous owner of the halide light said that it is 6500 K, and it is about 9 months old allready, so I'm looking for a new one. I figure just to keep the 6500 in there untill it burns out, and then replace it with a 15k or 20k. I really like the blue (it illuminates my whole room, SWEET) To be honest, I can't tell a change in the temperature in the tank. Because winter came just when I got the light, my house temp was also out of wack. That, and the fact that the third heater in this tank broke, so now I am using a dinky plastic heater (which actually works).
The reason for the halogen lamp on the Freshwater is because I just don't have enough money to buy a halide light for it, and I just had this laying around, so I figured it couldn't hurt too much, right? Plus, I am not really trying for a planted FW tank, but I just got fed up with the algae all over the fake plants. I also wanted it to look more natural.


gman0526 - yeah I agree with you. I just bought the caulerpa and put it in my display for a while, untill I get a pump for the sump, which I am thinking of using a Quiet One 6000. I will have to route a lot of the water back into the sump, but whats wrong with a little extra circulation, eh :) . Not sure about getting chaeto. Isn't it mpre expensive? I will check on my next visit to the LFS.


Whiskyrivr - dont worry, the outlet and ballast are on the other side than the overflow. The ballast is on two pieces of glass, and the outlet isn't too crazy yet, so I have tried to prevent a fire.
 
don't worry about the cost of cheato. plenty of people in this area will give it to you for free, including myself. with the right light it will grow very quickly.
 
Hey coralreef nice rock setup, all of them. Just one thought, your water level looked really low in the pic you took of the halide. Do you top off a lot and do you check the salinity. Sorry if you are already doing all of this.
 
My salinity is okay. I just had some suction problems with the pump setup. The pump didn't work as I planned, so I am now getting a Mag 7. Hopefully this will work better.
 
Yep...Here ya go:

I went to the LFS today and got MY FIRST CORAL. It has a few types of corals in it, but the main thing is zoos, two types. Here are a few pics, but they aren't very good. I need some type of underwater case or something. Any ideas?

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Got a picture of the inside of my MH (guess I was a little bored)
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I also cleaned up a little while making a mess of the PVC parts, and I put this rack on my cabinet door.
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Also, here is the plumbing job with the bad pump. It overheated too much, so now I took it out, and am getting a Mag7.
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Never look directly into a MH light!!! It could cause you to go blind!!!

I also hope that the goldifhs you spoke of is not in that half empty fish bowl. Goldfish generally require 20 gallons of water each. Goldfish bowls are usually 1 gallon, and yours is proably half a gallon.

Brock

BTW, from that last pic, it looks like your getting some cyano on the back glass...
 
Well, Geez. A goldfish is a goldfish, nothing special. It is in the taller bowl. At first I was thinking of putting a plant in there, because I heard that they benefit from the roots of the plants, but now I have a different idea (it is hillarious, will post pics later). The half filled bowl is the betta, which is actually my brothers, but I am the only one keeping it alive. Since that picture, I have switched the bowls though, to create more color contrast.

By the way, please excuse the algae throughout my tank. I am getting a scraper from a group buy that I organized, which will quickely get rid of it on the glass. However, I do have a problem with the algae on the sand. It is dark green, and coats it very thick. Also, I have started to notice bubbles forming where there is hair algae or the algae on the sand. Any way to get rid of hair algae besides time? I have heard of starfish and tangs, but I dont think they would suit my tank.
 
Well, guess what else I got...

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RBTA!!!

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Dag sold it to me. He's a really nice guy, with a great setup. It hasn't moved much, but did wedge into a rock crevice, so hopefully it is happy with it's spot.
 
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