--75g Barebottom/Starboard Reef Project--

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7378632#post7378632 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by arconom
I see the mounting screws but where do the wires go? Do they just get Jammed in those 2 square holes?

I bought little brackets, I think from Icecap. I just took some pics, I'll post them in a sec.
 
Oops, misread the question. I had some drama with my tank today and I'm still a bit frazzled.:rolleye1:

Anyway, yeah. You can feel the wire get lodged in there, it almost clicks (almost).

Here is the pic of mine since I resized it anyway.:) I thought you were asking how to mount the endcap. I'll just go back to my own issues now, sorry.:sad1: :D



vhobracket.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7379901#post7379901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by arconom
Whats there to hold the wires in?? When I mount those screw to something I guess it has no choice but to stay.

There is a metal "flapper" in there that is angled so it allows the wire to slide in but the wire will not come out no matter how hard you pull on it. If you need to remove the wire you can just stick a pin or paper clip down in the hole to push the flapper aside and then you can pull the wire out.
 
Ok Thanks Travis. How much should I strip the water insulation? How much bare wire does it need to lock in and make the connection?
 
Sounds about right. The quick connect wiring system is very convenient, and allows you to troubleshoot and repair bad sockets.
 
No. But I wish it was:) I still have to make 2 small doors for the canopy and add 4 brackets to mount up to my slide system.
 
Tons of updates I can't get to all of them tonight.

The most important improvment I made was the addition of the sump Melev built me. It funtions as good as it looks. I have plenty of room and it wa a long overdue upgrade.

I now have a reliable External Pump (Travis) I slept on that upgrade for so long. I don't know how many times I came home to a return pump impeller bound because of Calcium deposits.

I have to say on a scale from 1 -10 on dissapointments it would be my lighting. Even though I'm STILL working on my canopy I don't know why my corals ever looks like all of the peoples tanks on RC. I tried Xm,Ushio,Reeflux,Hamiltons and still never got colors like I have seen posted. WHY??? If you search all of my posts the #1 question I ask when I see a awesome looking tank is "What is your current light setup" alot of the times it's almost the same to what I tried.

The only tanks in person I am truly amazed by are 2 of the hardcore reefers in our club. Ross and Jay they both have 2 totally different lighting setups. But are amazing.

My newest addition to tanks I sweat.

clkwrk's

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=783025&perpage=25&pagenumber=1


Guys I just want my colors:(

MOre update tommorow.
 
Tell me about your lights, and maybe I can help. If I can't, I bet someone else can.

Also, are you talking about how it looks in person or how it looks when taken digitally? What is your personal preference? Do your corals have nice color to them? In other words, do you have a lot of brown and green corals? If so, that can be discouraging in itself, and getting the water quality up can really make a huge difference. I'm pretty famous about changing any SPS into green SPS. :rolleyes:
 
In this hobby, the assumption used to be that the main factor in bringing out the colors of sps corals was intense lighting of the proper spectrum. As knowledge in this hobby has progressed, the current level of reasoning is that water quality plays the most vital part in coloration. Could you post some updated pics as well as an updated list of your water parameters? I would also like to hear about your current lighting cycle, fish load, and how much food you feed your tank daily.
 
Thanks for the compliments Erik.

Guys, I can honestly say that Erik is one die-hard reefer. Just from our chats alone, I would bet he is one of the more advanced in our club but he doesn't accept the credit. His parameters are always in check (from what we see), he does constant maintainence to his tank (even when the wife is yelling - hehe), and is always reading and learning. It is just like Marc said, he has awesome corals but they turn brown or green after being in his tank. He does has some color, but he can give me a frag, and the color shifts to what most people have it look like in their tank. I can understand why he would be dissapointed. I can't remember what new lighting he just got, but I know if this doesn't work, that is all I am gonna hear about the next 6 months. HA! Don't do it to me Erik!
 
Travis - great point!! it has taken the focus of intensity or slamming the coral w/ light (yet i still do :D ) and switched the focus to other parameters. AA's, water clearity, po4, etc. give us 1-2yrs and i wonder what we will know by then.

Lunchbucket
 
If the corals are turning green or brown, phosphates, nitrates & nutrients are too high. I know, because I've lived through it myself. If the test results are indicating all is well, what does the tank reveal? Do you see nuisance algae? What about a second set of tests done by someone else to compare those first results?

Running carbon actively (in a canister filter or phosban reactor) will help turn the water more clear. Figure on changing out the carbon in three days, replacing it with more or just stop running it as it is spent: http://www.pets-warehouse.com/carbon.htm

Looking at the water through the side of the tank, what color does it appear to be? Greenish? Blue-ish? Clear? Clear would be ideal, of course.

Skimming hard is important as well. I know you have a Deltec skimmer, but how often do you clean the riser and collection cup? If you do some back to back water changes (every other day for a week or so), and clean the skimmer daily, and run carbon actively, your water will be more pristine than it has been in the past. Matter of fact, it will be so clean & polished that the light will increase intensity through the water and possibly burn the corals a tad. You might consider reducing the photo-period by an hour or two, and ramp it back up again so the corals can adjust to the increased PAR.
 
I agree, Erik seems to be a dedicated and hard-core reefer that does not slack on setting up a system the right way or maintaining the husbandry. That is why I am so surprised he is having troubles with colors.

From pics in the past, I would have guessed too low nutrients as most of the corals looked overly pale. But I know he has added fish since then and started feeding the tank. I am even more surprised to hear that his corals are greening out and browing out as that is most often associated with poor husbandry, improper setups, and/or elevated nutrients, all of which I know probably cannot be associated with this tank. Even without knowing his current params I can say with almost 100% certainty that it isn't the lighting. Most people's corals really pop under those reeflux bulbs from the pics I have seen.
 
From knowing Erik and seeing his tank I still firmly believe that it's still a LACK nutrients... or at least the right food for the coral...

Corals can not make pigment proteins from the products of photosynthesis therefor they have to come from some place else. that someplace else would be direct food capture and absorbed Nutrient uptake.

Even after adding the one fish... this tank has a skimmer that handle a FULLY stocked tank twice this size... and something tells me that he is barely feeding the one fish for fear that his PO may register 0.00000000001 :lol:

Yo E feed your damn corals Bro! I got some frozen Rotifers right here...:D

Ross and I feed the crap out a our tanks... FWIW.
 
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