ok...my next step

L

ladyfsu

Active member
All right, I finished making 10 45-gallon tanks, 6 30-gallon sump/refugiums. I have donated Euro-reef skimmers on the way, and several hundred pounds of beautiful live rock was donated.

NOW...I have lights to focus on. I have some florescent lights and a couple of pc's. What I want to know is this. I see I can buy VHO bulbs relatively cheaply, and T-5 bulbs. http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=51
Can I just buy hoods (like those white metal ones that hold 2 bulbs) from Lowes or Home Depot?
 
Can I get them at Lowe's? Let's put it this way...if I bring them the information on the lights...will they be able to tell me if something will work in them or not? Just like LFS now, I don't have a lot of faith in any sales people anymore when it comes to my fish and other things with the tanks. I keep finding myself finally knowing more than them on a lot of things, and well, I never knew how either dumb or dishonest some people are!!!!

..........but I DOOOO trust all of you!!!!!
 
only thing lowes has would be for normal output bulbs which are available at your lfs normally. coralife make decent n.o. bulbs. ichthy has them for sure.
 
:D ... I'm getting there... tomorrow I get my BLOW TORCH lesson so I can round out the edges, lol...ME? blow torch? AHAHAHAHHA this is gonna be fun!!
 
OK also another step here...Kielty plumbing (big name in Pasco and I taught all of their kids)...they are willing to donate the plumbing for this stuff. Look at this pic. When I build the stands, this is somewhat how the setup will look. One tank on top, one staircased out from it, and then a refugium/sump underneath that which they'll run off of. I have to give him a list of what I need and he'll get it for me. I don't know what any of this is called.

What are those connector things that go in the holes you drill in the tank? Are those bulkheads? What size is best? And what size pvc goes into them? Do I need those elbow things or anything else?

thx

600_setup.JPG
 
Yes their bulkheads and the sizes Im using on my 180 are 1" and 3/4"

The sizes that go into them depend on if there a slip fitting or a barb fitting get the slip fitting it alows a bigger opening for more flow!!
 
THX MIKE!! That helps alot.

Here is a pic of my first working sump/fuge and this is what will be under all the tanks. This is my 10 yr old protein skimmer in it with a rubber band holding it together, lol, but I'm still VERY proud! There are wires all over but we're fixing that today.

600_sumpfuge.JPG


600_fuge.JPG


That light gets awful hot under there, but the water stays fine. What type/size bulb should go in there based on what you see (that spotlight).
 
I'm going to be there from 1145-1215 sealing a couple of leaks. I'll probably be there for 2-3 hours tomorrow.
 
ahh well PM me the info and I can give ya a hand today with something ya might need some assitance with :D
 
Cool looks like ya moving right along!!!! Good job on everything!!! :D Now ya can teach me the Acrylic end of this hobby ;)
 
The guy who gave us all this liverock also gave us a new "class pet." We named it Pearl (remember in Finding Nemo when Pearl says ... "awww you made me ink myself!!" ). We love our new guy!!


600_octo_pearl.jpg
 
not sure how much you know about those guys in aquariums besides they don't belong even the slightest bit but since you have one and it's even worse to release it where it's not supposed to be hopefully you have a very tight aquarium. they climb out, end up in drains you name it they can get into it. especially that size. good luck with it they are very impressive animals also might not want to put any fish in there you want to keep. at finz in tampa I saw them with food inside pvc pipe capped on both ends but had drilled several holes in the pipe sides for it to get the food out of. they said it makes them think and stimulates them. may be something to try for a cool watching.
 
I have him in my refugium at school that has a tight lid on it. And yes, I know they are quite the escape artist. He's eating the crabs we give him. We give him 1 every 3 days. I'm very nervous about having it, but I also consider this "live and learn" type things. We'll try to teach him some things or see what he can learn, but my main focus at this point is to make him comfortable in his tank and semi-comfortable with us.

About not belonging in aquariums. I've always been someone who believed the same thing, but as I teacher, I also believe something else. I believe in using animals if it makes my students respect and try to understand them more. They are in love with this guy, and to me...that means that they are more interested in and care much more about the environment and the critters in it than they did before this.

The same thing with disections. I actually oppose them for the most part except for the fact that it is such a learning experience that students don't forget. You here about people abusing different animals. I just feel that they more they around these beauties, the more the students realize how delicate and complex they can be, and how precious they are.

Hopefully all will go well. I hope to hell I don't kill it...I really like it. I'll keep you all updated. Fingers crossed...and I'll try to learn.
 
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