got my 55 gallon setup! (pics later today)

[Charlie97L]

I love craigslist! I picked up a 55 gallon acrylic tank setup that my friend pointed me to on there... I'll get some pictures up tonight, as I need help identifying the equipment... I think some of it is rather old school.

The tank looks to be 18" front to back, which is great, i was worried about aquascaping with the 12" i thought it was... it has an overflow, and it has what looks like a ~20 gallon mandarin II wet/dry sump with a trickle filter over a lot of plastic balls. I also have an unidentifiable protein skimmer with a cone filter in the middle of it... but it's pretty big. i also have an ice cap 660 ballast with 4 VHO bulbs. it came with a lot of books, buckets, powerheads, supplies and testing stuff. I'm so excited! And it was a great deal!

Anyway, my main questions are these... can I use that ballast to run a MH setup? I know the wattage will determine that, I haven't checked on that yet. I definitely want to go this route, and the guy said the VHO bulbs probably need replacing at this point, so I thought I'd just switch over.

Second, there are some fine scratches on the acrylic... what's the best way to get rid of those?

Third, I want to switch to a wooden hood to match the stand, right now the hood is black acrylic. will the acrylic be able to support the weight of the wood?

Thanks all! Pics up tonight, or maybe at lunch if I can't wait and run home to take some!

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

well fisrt off congrats on the setup. as for the icecap ballast it will not run MH lights. as for the scratches there are places that sell acrylic scratch removal items but i am unfamiluar with any of them as i don't work to much with acrylic. and as for the hood why not just start from scratch and make a wooden hood rather than using the acrylic hood as the base it will be lighter then adding them together otherwise how thick is the acrylic hood?

 

[Charlie97L]

oh yeah, i meant replace the acrylic hood... it's a bit beat up. sorry i wasn't more specific...

thanks for the tip on the icecap. guess i'll be looking into MH retro setups this weekend.

also, to refine my question will any acrylic scratch repair kit work? or do i need to get a specific one to be safe for the livestock?

thanks again guys!

 

[Pandora]

Hey Charlie, just wanted to say

and hello! Not only am I too a big fan of craigslist, but I'm also in your area, so thought I'd wave at you (I'm in Silver Spring). Glad to see another reefer in the area! You know, we have a very large and active reefing club over here by the name of WAMAS (www.wamas.org)... check us out if you get a chance, it will help you a LOT (and save $ through trades & buy/sell).

On question one, I'll leave someone else to field the ballast q, I'm not certain of that. My own, I run 440W of VHO over my own tank. Are you certain you want to switch over? Sure, MH's have the strongest intensity, but switching over is a big expense, and also you will have to worry about cooling issues with halides. THere are only a few corals and clams that really do much better with them, VHO's have been quite good for me for everything I've wanted to grow. Changing bulbs is something you have to do anyway 6mos-1yr with most lights because of spectrum shift.

Fine scratches--as the other person said, there are scratch removal kits for acrylic, but honestly, they are a pain. Scratches are almost a constant struggle with most acrylic tanks, which is why I don't have one anymore (many people do like them, so not to dissuade you and have you change, just be aware that even some sand between the magnetic cleaner or a clumsy hermit cragb can cause them, and to be aware of this).

Good luck! Welcome to the hobby in the DC area, too!

 

[Charlie97L]

Thanks! I joined WAMAS the other day... already seen some great stuff for trade... i'm definitely going to that meet in Feb.

yeah, after reading i think i might just go with T5s... i don't want to deal with the heat, really. expense really isn't an issue at this point, not after i spent way under budget getting all this stuff... i'm sure i'll have to get some additions, maybe a new skimmer, but i'm good to go.

i was aware of the problems with acrylic... it's not too bad, just a few i want to take care of... i may go to glass eventually, but this was such a killer deal at the right time, i couldn't pass it up!

thanks for the welcome!