So you got a new fish tank Newbie

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Pat - great tank and pics! My tank has 2 support bars over the top and so there are 3 "holes" so to speak. Currently we are testing some plexy-glass called Lexon over 1 of these "hole" but if the glass is working good for you I like that idea much better because I think it will be easier to clean.

Thanks for the idea. :rollface:
 
Loven,

The nice thing about plastic is that you can drill holes in it and provide better gas exchange. The bad part is that it scratches with age and soon limits light transmission. Also plastic, unless specially treated, does not block the UV rays of HQI lighting.
 
Deep Tank

Deep Tank

Waterkeeper, like many of the other newbieââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s, I have started at the beginning of this thread and thank you for the time you spend on this. Much appreciated.
I have only one place in my home to place a tank (OK, the wife really told me that this is the only spot and I cannot use the 55 gallon FW setup!!). It is a rather tall 47 gallon tank 20ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ Wide X 21ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ Deep X 31ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ Tall and just fits. It is built into a wall with access to the back. Only enough room to hang items on back of the aquarium and right in the middle on top is about 6 inches of clearance due to the wall above it.
Here is the equipment that I have or have on order:
AquaC Remora w/ MJ 1200 Protein Skimmer
20" Orbit 2x40w SunPaq wLunar Light and the light that came with the aquarium.
Fluval Biolife 55 Wet Dry Filter Filtration/heater
I also have a Fluval canister filter I plan on using for the quarantine tank and spot cleaning of the main tank.
I have not purchased yet but plan on to two circulating pumps at different depths, heaters and an RO/DI unit.
I plan on ordering live sand and rock from TBS (60 lbs sand and 30 lbs live rock ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œpackageââ"šÂ¬Ã‚) also will add 40lbs of ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œdeadââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rock at bottom to lift live rock up closer to the light.

My questions are:
I know that light hungry coral are out of the question so leaning toward FOWLR but with this amount of light and depth will I kill the live rock?

Have you an experience with the Biolife? It has ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œinert ceramic bacterial substrateââ"šÂ¬Ã‚. Is this the same as BioBalls? Link here: http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/FluvalBioLife.pdf
What are your thoughts on using this filter?

Considering the ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œdeadââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rock, I have about 15 lbs of rock from the LFS that is a light grey colored coral rock. How should I clean this up and insure that it is not somehow toxic to the aquarium?

Taking it slow!!

What additions or changes would you recommend?

Thanks a lot!!

J
 
Hi J
[welcome]

One day I'm going to count up the number of welcome banners that are contained in this thread :D

Tall tanks are always a problem with lighting when you plan to keep high light corals. That is not true of LR on which coralline resides. Coralline is a low light algae and even that 80 watts is enough. Heck, you can always add some corallimorphs or low light leathers with that lighting. Of course upping the ante by retro fitting some VHO would help even more. See the Lighting Thread for all the gory details.

Bioballs, ceramic saddles and about 500 other materials are all used for one thing. To provide a large surface area upon which bacteria can grow. To a large extent I discourage the general use of such materials and instead use LR to do the same job. The advantage there is the LR can help denitrify, a property that bioballs and their kin cannot accomplish except in special filters. It sounds like you will have enough rock where the ceramic media is not needed.

As to the base rock, just soak in in plain tap for a day or so, give it a scrub with a brush if you desire then rinse it under the faucet. In almost all cases that should be fine. Don't use detergents. If it is ultra dirty add a cup or two of plain bleach to the soak solution. Again rinse it well but let it air dry completely before you add it to the tank.
 
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m honored that you got to put up my ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œWelcome Bannerââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ :)
Thanks for the information as it really helps.
I will look into the VHO light for sure!
I guess the Fluval will have to provide some water flow instead. The Aqua C and the lights showed up today. Nice!!!

I will get some picââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s up as it progresses. Thanks so much!! Your great!
 
Sure thing on the Fluval. It is also useful for polishing tank water, for phosphate sponge products and running activated carbon. I love canister filters but I never use one as a biological filter. For mechanical or chemical filtration they are great.

To make the switch to VHO you only need to change ballasts and buy VHO tubes. The connections in the canopy will take any type of T-12 tube so there is no need to change them. The lighting thread gives the details.

I want to point out to everyone who reads this thread that lighting is a matter of what you wish to keep. Sure if you want things like clams, anemones and SPS corals you need some pretty bright lights. On the other hand there are all sorts of soft corals and other inverts that don't depend on photosynthesis to survive. These do well under much weaker lighting. It seems that everyone says you need metal halides but that is more fad than truth. Everyone can enjoy this hobby and it doesn't mean one needs a $1000 lighting system.
 
Wall comes out!

Wall comes out!

Now how did you know I was over there reading the lighting thread and scratching my head about converting this hood into a VHO?:confused: I just made it thru page 6! This canopy has a T8 bulb Eclipse Natural Daylight at 17 watts and a white round fuse (can you tell I know nothing about fluorescent lighting!) I did a quick web search for a kit but Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m still in the search mode. Just tell me you did a write up on this conversion process on the lighting thread. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll keep reading!:o
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve talked the wife into knocking the wall out above the tank so will be doing that today!:lol:

J:
 
Ouch, they make T-8 VHO tubes, I believe Phillips even has an actinic, but they are hard to find when compared to T-12. I need to meet someone right now but I'll see if I can find a source for you this week.
 
J,

Should be fine for general tank use. Tracking down VHO T-8 is not as easy as I thought. I know Phillips had a T-8 O3 actinic VHO a few years ago but I can't even find that. T-8 has never really caught on like the T-5's have. I think the PC's came out about the same time and cut into their share. Anyhow I'll keep looking.
 
Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s just you and me Tom!!
I returned the lame book I bought at the LFS for SW and joined as a ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œPremier Memberââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ thanks to your help and knowledge. Your help has been invaluable even if you are a grunt! You were a Marine ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ correct?:confused:
I also searched for conversions for this light (Eclipes). I looked at the IceCap Ballast kit but seemed a bit expensive and not sure if I can get 18ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ bulbs. I really like this Orbit and started looking at their conversion for T5. But then I saw there SunPod HQI. They have a 75 watt or a 150 watt metal halide bulbs. Would that be a better route than the VHO? Link to the SunPos: http://www.current-usa.com/sunpod.html
The RO/DI unit is in the mail so should be mixing salt water soon!!
Are you setting up your tank? You better get it up and running before you realize how much extra time you have on your hands ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ course that gives us more of your time!!:D

Thanks

J
:confused:
 
An icecap ballast can overdrive normal output bulbs to vho levels with good results and adequate bulb life. It's probably a lot easier to find NO T8 actinics.
 
You are certainly correct about the T-8 HO or VHO Reverend. They seem to have become extinct.

J,

I'm afraid I struck out on the T-8's, they just never caught on for Marine use enough to justify high output/K value tubes. I see you are still looking around yourself. Of course, if you want to do it right for that tall tank you can't go wrong with using HQI. With MH lamps I always op to go with two smaller ones over one large one. Since they tend to be more of a point source than fluorescents you get better coverage by using several.

As for the Icecap ballasts. Electronic ballasts are always more expensive than the magnetic. The Icecap is very versatile but the Workhorse electronic are definitely cheaper. However, even the Workhorse 7 is more limited in output than the Icecap.
Either is a good choice to drive VHO lamps. As the Rev points out you can overdrive normal fluorescent with an electronic ballast. Usually there is a tradeoff as the tube life is shortened however. That also can create havoc with nearby electronic equipment like your computer or TV.

I know your eyes are getting tired but Sanjay Joshi does all sorts of test on lamps and ballasts. Look over some of his comparison article at Sanjay's Publications. He is also usually pretty good at answering questions if you PM him at Reef Central Sanjay.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7017911#post7017911 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper

One day I'm going to count up the number of welcome banners that are contained in this thread :D
Click to expand...

43 so far:D sorry i got bored
 
:lol:

Heck, I've run off at least 100 times that number of Newbies since I started this thread. I hope they enjoy those hamsters. ;)
 
Thanks to everyone!
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m still on page 9 of the lighting thread and partway thru the Southdown thread so all this information helps. So much to learn!
To bad I canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t use the sand from here:
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/gallery.htm
Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s about 30 miles from my house! Looks like Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll have to stick with some sand from the LFS.

Thanks again.:D

J
 
Oh Oh, trying to get me in trouble with the NPS? I get a security violation for that link. :D

You can also get some good deals on-line for LS if you look around. A lot of aquacultured sand is sold Key West and other parts of Florida.

One thing about collecting your own LS is that it needs to be from warmer waters. LS from cool water regions will not necessarily do too well at typical tank temperatures.
 
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Waterkeeper



Wonderful thread and extremely useful information. I thought I would in detail share my cycling exp. as I set up a 120 gallon reef. First the basic equip for the system.

Tank- 120 gallon AGA with 2 mega overflows
20 gallon sump with mircron bag with
in sump EuroReef RS8-1 protein skimmer
T-3 return pump
Lighting- 4 T5's (2 atinic 03, 2 aquablue plus) ice cap 660
2 175w MH 10000k Ushiro ice cap ballast
2 moon lights
T5's 12hrs on MH 4hrs on
In tank- 80# CaribSea live sand
75# CaribSea Pink
80# LR pre cured
Chemistry- Salinity 1.023 @ 79 degrees
PH 8.2
Cal 380 ppm
Carb Hardness 214.8 ppm GH

Ok the tank has been up and running now for 1 and 1/2 weeks with
LR and LS in place .
Woke up this morning 3/26/06 and the beginnings of a Brown diatom bloom are appearing on some rock and power heads as well on top of the substrate in the back corners of the tank. I tried getting pics and posted them in my gallery but it is hard to actually see will try for better shots as the bloom continues. I will be posting as to the changes as the tank cycles on this thread. Hope it is of some interest. Ohh and of course hopefully someone will speak up and wont let me do something boneheaded to boot ;>)
 
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