savethereef
SCRK
its looking nice so far.
8Ball_99s 310 upgrade
- Thread starter 8BALL_99
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8BALL_99
New member
Thanks!
I'm happy with it. IMO the MH is probably needed for SPS atleast this time of year. I do get pretty good light during the day though even though it is November. I'm really looking foward to this spring to see how they do. I'm glad I did the MH not just for cloudy days or winter but also for night time viewing. Thats probaby to me the biggest downside to a tank with nothing but solar Tubes. We look at the tank a lot at night. And T5s alone are ok but I just really like the look of either the natural light or the MH. With out the shimmer its just has a fake look to me. I'm even kicking around placing a photo censor and relay inline on the MH so the mh lights will kick on at dark or on cloudy days. Right now they just run off a timer. Even with running the MH at night I still cut down on my power usage pretty good. So as it stands I get more light for a longer period of time and I still use less watts then I did before. My MH bulbs will last longer to since they are getting used less. Not to mention I think natural full spectrum light will help the corals.
Sorry to say as far as colors I'm not sure yet. I've only had sps frags in the tank for less then two weeks. Pretty much all the sps you see in the pics above were just added. All the soft coral that has been in the tank for a month or so though seem very happy. The anemone on the top right of the tank looks So much better since its been in the tank. I've had it for several years and it pretty much had turned white with purple tips. After a month or so in the tank it looks like the day I got it.
I'm happy with it. IMO the MH is probably needed for SPS atleast this time of year. I do get pretty good light during the day though even though it is November. I'm really looking foward to this spring to see how they do. I'm glad I did the MH not just for cloudy days or winter but also for night time viewing. Thats probaby to me the biggest downside to a tank with nothing but solar Tubes. We look at the tank a lot at night. And T5s alone are ok but I just really like the look of either the natural light or the MH. With out the shimmer its just has a fake look to me. I'm even kicking around placing a photo censor and relay inline on the MH so the mh lights will kick on at dark or on cloudy days. Right now they just run off a timer. Even with running the MH at night I still cut down on my power usage pretty good. So as it stands I get more light for a longer period of time and I still use less watts then I did before. My MH bulbs will last longer to since they are getting used less. Not to mention I think natural full spectrum light will help the corals.
Sorry to say as far as colors I'm not sure yet. I've only had sps frags in the tank for less then two weeks. Pretty much all the sps you see in the pics above were just added. All the soft coral that has been in the tank for a month or so though seem very happy. The anemone on the top right of the tank looks So much better since its been in the tank. I've had it for several years and it pretty much had turned white with purple tips. After a month or so in the tank it looks like the day I got it.
8BALL_99
New member
Small update. I got the doors on the stand. It looks and sounds so much better in the fish room. its also good to get that moisture out of the house. I also got weather striping installed between the tank and the wall and installed weather striping between the canopy and upper canopy..
Will
Will
8BALL_99
New member
Thanks. Now the only thing I have left to do is the shelf around the top of the stand. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do a wood shelf with tile inlayed or if I'm goi g to get some granit cut for it. I think the granite would look sharp, but I need to get a price first.
8BALL_99
New member
Thought I'd post a couple new pictures. So far so good. Tank is jugging along. I still haven't put a shelf around the top of the stand 
I'm still debating on what I want to use for it. Corals are doing pretty good considering how new the tank is and the fact that I still haven't hooked up my CA reactor. This has caused my CA and ALK to bounce around a lot. Only reason why I haven't hooked it up yet is cause I want to try to make a new lid for it. One with a O ring groove vs just using a neoprene gasket.
I also replaced my Old cora Life Ozone reactor with a DIY one made out of PVC. It seems to be working well. Cost about the same as the coralife one but is much larger so give the ozone much more contact time with the water.
I'm still debating on what I want to use for it. Corals are doing pretty good considering how new the tank is and the fact that I still haven't hooked up my CA reactor. This has caused my CA and ALK to bounce around a lot. Only reason why I haven't hooked it up yet is cause I want to try to make a new lid for it. One with a O ring groove vs just using a neoprene gasket. I also replaced my Old cora Life Ozone reactor with a DIY one made out of PVC. It seems to be working well. Cost about the same as the coralife one but is much larger so give the ozone much more contact time with the water.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
Nice tank! I love the change from the typical SPS reef, yours looks very natural! Good job!
serenity
New member
Great job to say the least, I can't believe your not a Professional Craftsman your work is simply amazing. I wish I had 1/2 your talents! Keep up the great work, and I look forward to watching your tank grow. You have inspired a lot of great ideas I will be using with my big tank build next year when the house is finished!
Lowredranger
New member
Awesome looking tank!!!
Did you end up putting foam inbetween the frp and your tank? I like the FRP idea, I think i am going to use that over the plywood for the top of my new tank and under the sump to keep any water away from the wood.
Jason
Did you end up putting foam inbetween the frp and your tank? I like the FRP idea, I think i am going to use that over the plywood for the top of my new tank and under the sump to keep any water away from the wood.
Jason
8BALL_99
New member
Thanks guys! Thats great if my setup gives other some idea's. I know looking at other peoples tanks really helped me figure out what kind of look I wanted for my own.
Lowredranger, Yep I used 3/4 blue foam between the tank and stand. The FRP is glued to the plywood top and the edges are siliconed. Then the foam just sits on top of that. The top is very flat but since my tank doesn't have any trim on the bottom is recommend to use foam under it regardless of the stand. With out the foam any little bump or grit of sand could cause a pressure point on the bottom of the tank. The foam basically is just a cushion
Lowredranger, Yep I used 3/4 blue foam between the tank and stand. The FRP is glued to the plywood top and the edges are siliconed. Then the foam just sits on top of that. The top is very flat but since my tank doesn't have any trim on the bottom is recommend to use foam under it regardless of the stand. With out the foam any little bump or grit of sand could cause a pressure point on the bottom of the tank. The foam basically is just a cushion
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