Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal

[rdmpe]

OK Time for another update!

First the Open Light Surgery. The patient, a one year old 72" Maristar fixture, 3x250W MH with 4x39W T5s:

As you can plainly see in the above pictures, the patient is suffering from Agedlampsdontlightus and Loudfansuckesia. There is also an accute case of cordzartooshortitis that must be addressed, and now is the time



Some exploratory surgery is a good way to start. Afterall, we don't want to have any wire damage or other unforseen mishaps...

Ahh, now we can see some of the greasy gopher guts inside of this beast. It looks like the wire lengths will accomodate further dismantling without too much trouble.




Finally we have exposed the source of the Loudfansuckesia infection. Once this is cleaned out, the fixture should be able to breath without all of that horrible noise. Take a look at this for yourself...

So lets open it up all the way...

will continue in the next post...

 

[rdmpe]

So now that the patient is spread out obscenely, we can get to work... Here is the area where all of the wires come through the fixture. I have strapped a transformer onto the wire bundle. That bundle is connected to the case very solidly at that point by a bunch of ground wires that are screwed down. So it was a good place to attach the transformer that will run the new fans (the stock fans are 110VAC, the new fans are 12VDC). I had to get 110 VAC into that transformer in a way that was as clean and safe as possible. I could have wired a little piece of extension cord or something in there, but that would have been way too easy. So what I did was probably a really bad idea :lol: I trimmed the plug terminals down with some clippers and made them just the right length for these slip on connectors to fit. I had to open the connectors up just a little but they fit down on there really tight, so I think it'll be OK. Then I zip tied the wires down good so that they will not come loose down the road some day...

Some of the wire holders that SLS uses near the halide fixtures seem to be very brittle from the heat. Just the lightest bump will break them. Here's one that I broke. It should have two "legs" that hold the wire in place. Shortly after this picture I took care of that other one, it was looking so unsymmetrical sticking up there all alone...

Well, that was probably the hardest part of the wiring. After getting that set up, it was just a matter of running the wires along side the existing wires with zip ties to secure them and keep them away from those scortching MH reflectors

 

[rdmpe]

The next step was to mount the new fans in place of the old ones. The fixture has threaded studs that seem to be welded somehow so that on the outside you just see a little circle, but on the inside is a little bolt or threaded stud. Here's what the outside looks like.

I could not mount the fans to the existing bolts because I had to put a fan guard on the outside. I had to put a fan guard on the outside because I was going to cut that whole circle of material out. Why do I want to try to shove air through those leeeetle teeeeeny holes??? I could have put the fan guard on the inside, but that would have looked worse IMO and so I wanted to do it MY WAY.

So I had to drill the stock threaded studs out before I could but a new bolt through there...




Here's the damage:

I didn't really take any pictures of the cord replacement for the T5's - not much to see there really. Went from a 6' cord to a 20' cord (nothing like a little overkill )

And I put the Pheonix 14K halide lamps in. So far I'm still getting used to them. I'm not sure if I like them better than the Ushio 10K's or not. They are quite a bit more blue so I have to see them some more and maybe I'll put one of the 10K back in for comparison.

I also measured the T5 lamps. They are 33 3/8" long not including the pins. I am going to order some "Superblue" T5's from http://www.commodityaxis.com/ But I had to give them the exact size cuz they seem to carry a lot of oddball lengths of tubes. Unfortunately they are out of stock on the ones I need. Not expected to be back in stock for about a month! Oh well...

So that's about it for the light fixture mods!

 

[rdmpe]

And Finally ...

I got some great liverock from Jon (bkwudzjeep). It's just full of stuff and so far I haven't seen any problems with it (no HA, cyano, bubble algae, etc.) I also got a couple of pieces of base rock. I may have enough to finish my rockscape off!

The snails and crabs have been going over it very carefully... And somehow this one eyed Royal Gramma was able to ride it out and is now my second fish! :lol:

Here are some pictures of the rock and stuff. Some of the pictures aren't great, but that's a tribute to my lack of photography skills...

 

[rdmpe]

 

[rdmpe]

And here's the poor Royal Gramma. It has made itself right at home and is now haning out in a cave area in my one rock island that is complete...

 

[melev]

Very nice update. Thanks for all the images and the narration was excellent. :thumbsup:

Did you consider that the wall wort (12v transformer) may get pretty hot and melt the wires you zip-tied it to? I'm always amazed how hot those things get. Those connections you made were nice.

 

[rdmpe]

Well that's a good point. I hope it doesn't get that hot! It's rated at 500 mA and but is only running 300 mA so hopefully that will help keep it on the cool side. It's close to the end plate, so I can take that plate off and see how hot it gets after work today... I should have plugged it in for a few hours with the load to see how hot it would get. Some of them get really hot and some don't so hopefully it will not be too bad.

 

[tgunn]

Hey Randy,

Nice work putting the new fans in. So what's the verdict? Is it overall quieter and cooler now?

:lol: Sweet, a hitchhiker fish! Gee and all I've gotten was a lousy pest crab (Which i haven't seen in the longest time)...

BTW, really nice new rock; looks like there's lots of life on it! You need a new full tank shot to show the whole picture...

Tyler

 

[rdmpe]

It is quieter for sure. I don't think I'll notice any temperature change in the tank from the light mods though. The fans built into the fixture are intended to keep the T5 ballasts cool according to SLS. The fans are actually wired off the T5 circuit, so when the T5's are off, the fans are off.

Jon, who I bought the rock from, said that he thought I may end up with that fish in my tank. He was right. I thought it was really funny!

I'm very happy with the rock. I have been lucky to find some nice healthy established rock so that I haven't had to deal with cycles and/or curing of the rock. I'll get some full tank shots if I'm ever home at the same time that all of the halides are on! I've been working late these days.

BTW - I'll have to figure out how to take pictures with those 14K lamps in there. My pictures with no flash come out totally blue! Very wierd how the camera is so sensitive to this but to my eye it doesn't look nearly as blue. Wierd...

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575277#post6575277 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
It is quieter for sure. I don't think I'll notice any temperature change in the tank from the light mods though. The fans built into the fixture are intended to keep the T5 ballasts cool according to SLS. The fans are actually wired off the T5 circuit, so when the T5's are off, the fans are off.

Jon, who I bought the rock from, said that he thought I may end up with that fish in my tank. He was right. I thought it was really funny!

I'm very happy with the rock. I have been lucky to find some nice healthy established rock so that I haven't had to deal with cycles and/or curing of the rock. I'll get some full tank shots if I'm ever home at the same time that all of the halides are on! I've been working late these days.

BTW - I'll have to figure out how to take pictures with those 14K lamps in there. My pictures with no flash come out totally blue! Very wierd how the camera is so sensitive to this but to my eye it doesn't look nearly as blue. Wierd...

AH okay..... I figured the fixture itself would probably run cooler too..

So for those superblue T5s; when I looked on commodity axis it looks like they are bulbs with prewired ballasts built in? OR are you able to get the bulbs separately. I'll be interested to see what those look like...

Yes, you're quite fortunate to have found such nice rock! My rock doesn't look anywhere near as "live" as that stuff! But I guess in time it'll encrust with all sorts of life. I just would've liked to be able to seed my tank a bit faster. Oh well.

Check the manual for your digicam. On my old one I could do a manual white balance where I basically just pointed the camera at something "white" in the tank and it sampled that. Then when I took pictures in that manual white balance mode it would automatically compensate for the white balance of the halides, etc.

Tyler

 

[rdmpe]

For those T5's - you can order them as bare lamps as well. I've been trading emails with them. They are very responsive IME.

I'll check out that manual white balance. I need to figure out how to use the "quick settings" features so that I can do a quick supermacro setting, quick change to my white balance setting for tank shots, etc. Still have to read melev's photo page more carefully too. I've skimmed over it, but my eyes got sort of glazed

I'll have to do that white balance thing to get any decent full tank shots I think. I also need to clean one side of the glass that I have been letting go for too long (hey, snails have to eat don't they?)...

Tonight I'm going to test NH4 NO2 NO3 (did I get those right? :lol: ) as well, I'll be interested to see if the new rock has had any impact on those readings.

 

[bkwudzjeep]

Hey there!

It was good to see you again, and I'm glad everything made it ok! So how much water actually stayed in the cooler?

As crazy as it may seem, I knew that gramma would take the trip if given the chance... Like I said before, I don't even know how he made the trip on my first move since I never caught him for the transfer, he just disappeared and reappeared. He sure does love that rock!!

I know you said you were dissecting your lighting but wow, you weren't kidding...nice work btw!

Also, are those zip ties? You must have worked your tail off this weekend!

 

[rdmpe]

Hey Jon, glad you stopped by this thread! Was a busy weekend!

Surprisingly, there wasn't all that much spillage. The towels were definitely wet, but there wasn't a pool of water or anything... most of the water stayed in the cooler!

Those are zip ties holding the transformer to the other wiring. I love zip ties and teflon tape :lol:

That light was such a score. Normally a $1400+ fixture and I got it for $700 and was only 10 months old :thumbsup:

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6576687#post6576687 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
I'll check out that manual white balance. I need to figure out how to use the "quick settings" features so that I can do a quick supermacro setting, quick change to my white balance setting for tank shots, etc. Still have to read melev's photo page more carefully too. I've skimmed over it, but my eyes got sort of glazed

If they glazed over on my page, try picking up the manual that comes with that camera. :lol:

 

[rdmpe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6577117#post6577117 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
If they glazed over on my page, try picking up the manual that comes with that camera. :lol:

Exactly why I still don't know how to use the thing properly!





:mad2: Some Dang Critter ate my little GSP off my new live rock!

So here is the list of suspects:

• Sally Lightfoot Crab
• Emerald Crab
• Gorilla Crab
• Zebra Hermit
• Blue Leg Hermit
• Scarlet Hermit
• Mex Turbo Snail
• Nassarius Snail
• Cerith Snail
• Trochus Snail?
• Mr. Hankey (Atlantic Cucumber)
• Jack (One Eyed Royal Gramma)
• Hobbes (Clownfish)
• Emperor (12" bristle star)

CAST YOUR VOTES !!!

 

[melev]

More like praise the critter. That coral can get out of control, making you wish you'd never gotten any.

Why do you have a gorilla crab in your tank?

The emerald or the sally light foot may be the culprit.

 

[rdmpe]

The gorilla crab came free of charge with the LR I bought from Rock455. http://www.tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/watchout.html
I think the rock is TBS rock and I think I have one of these guys. I know what hole it lives in but haven't really managed to get a good look at it. I should probably try to trap it I guess.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6576687#post6576687 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
For those T5's - you can order them as bare lamps as well. I've been trading emails with them. They are very responsive IME.

I'll check out that manual white balance. I need to figure out how to use the "quick settings" features so that I can do a quick supermacro setting, quick change to my white balance setting for tank shots, etc. Still have to read melev's photo page more carefully too. I've skimmed over it, but my eyes got sort of glazed

I'll have to do that white balance thing to get any decent full tank shots I think. I also need to clean one side of the glass that I have been letting go for too long (hey, snails have to eat don't they?)...

Tonight I'm going to test NH4 NO2 NO3 (did I get those right? :lol: ) as well, I'll be interested to see if the new rock has had any impact on those readings.

Sweet. Well, when my current blue+ burn out I'll consider those lamps. Make sure to post pics of the results when you get 'em.

Yup, the while balance makes a HUGE difference. And hey, the snails are supposed to be doing something, right? :lol:

Yup, you got those tests right.. I must admit I rarely test them on the main tank; just on quarantine mostly (since it always seems to undergo a mini-cycle despite me storing the filter sponges in the sump and strating with tank water)...

Tyler

 

[rdmpe]

Well, the tests came out same as last test, so not seeing much effect from the new rock.
NH4 = 0
NO2 = 0.05
NO3 = 1
PO4 = 0
KH = 8.6/3.09
CA = 425
Mg = 1245

I want to bring the KH up to around 9 to 9.25 and Mg up around 1300 to 1350 but in general I've been pretty happy with my water parameters...

Haven't had a chance to mess with the white balance on the digicam yet and I forgot to check that 12V transformer temperature