DaveAngie79
Premium Member
WHAT UP DAN, GET THOSE LIGHTS HOOKED YET
The (relatively) low cost reef project - build thread
- Thread starter dmits41
- Start date
dmits41
New member
They're up now, I still have like 3 updates worth of stuff to put up here but having a baby puts that on hold a bit. I have all the pictures ready to put on photobucket, just haven't gotten around to it yet. I have the 250w MH on there with the canopy, and it's not as yellow as I thought it would be since I'm using the mercury vapor ballast. I managed to get an Icecap 660, wiring harness, end caps, and stand offs for $25 from uncle bill's since it's all sitting in a box in their back room! I'm going to hook it up with 2 VHO actinic bulbs to get some of my corals to color up. Hopefully I can give the full update tomorrow. Here are a couple pics though.
DaveAngie79
Premium Member
LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED TO CENTER IT SOME MORE OR ARE YOU GOING TO ADD ANOTHER DOWN THE ROAD
dmits41
New member
A MH light is good for 2 feet of tank, so I put it on the left half and will add another later. I could have put it in the middle, but there would be a foot of darkness on either side and the brace in the center would shade it. I got my actinics today and will install them here in a bit. I'm pretty excited about it.
dmits41
New member
Long overdue update
Long overdue update
Well, since my last update much has happened. We had a baby boy last Tuesday, and all of my time has been devoted to taking care of the (almost) 2 and 3 year olds. Here he is:
Anyway, it looks like my last update was the clown moving over. I traded the aquapod for a canopy that I had to cut down a bit, along with a 250w Iwisaki 6500k bulb setup w/mercury vapor ballast. That type of ballast makes it burn white instead of yellow.
Canopy:
Full setup:
I bought new hardware to match the stand I built, along with using nickel spraypaint on the existing hinges. I couldn't use a reflector, but the inside is painted gloss white and the front is sloped so the light reflects down really well. I'm just doing the left side right now, so everything is a bit dark on the right. I've noticed that the fish live on the left too, either because of the light or the coral.
I also got a Mag Float for $4 on RC and a prefilter box for $28 from another user. I already had a bit of a disaster as the tubing on the skimmer pump isn't as secure as I'd like it to be, so I had a fountain coming out of the top of the tank last night. I loved the look of the tank at this point, with the glaring exception that every coral that needs actinic light was very dull. I was planning on taking my time to find a good deal on PC or VHO setups to add, but then I went to Uncle Bill's on the south side of Indy since they are remodeling and asked if they had spare parts. They were selling VHO setups used for $100 but that was far too expensive for me, but when I went back a few weeks later they had torn everything down and put it in a box. He said he'd sell me a ballast and endcaps for $25 as long as I untangle it and get it out of the box. Sold. I go back there and I find that the ballast is an Icecap 660 with full wiring harness, waterproof encaps and standoffs! That retro kit goes for over $300 with bulbs at premium aquatics! I added the 2 46" 110w VHO bulbs and it looks much better in there.
Icecap:
That does it for equipment for a while, with the exception of a $30 DJ power box with individual switches that I'll pick up from guitar center when I sell something or otherwise have money. I'll start a new reply for my livestock stuff.
Long overdue update
Well, since my last update much has happened. We had a baby boy last Tuesday, and all of my time has been devoted to taking care of the (almost) 2 and 3 year olds. Here he is:
Anyway, it looks like my last update was the clown moving over. I traded the aquapod for a canopy that I had to cut down a bit, along with a 250w Iwisaki 6500k bulb setup w/mercury vapor ballast. That type of ballast makes it burn white instead of yellow.
Canopy:
Full setup:
I bought new hardware to match the stand I built, along with using nickel spraypaint on the existing hinges. I couldn't use a reflector, but the inside is painted gloss white and the front is sloped so the light reflects down really well. I'm just doing the left side right now, so everything is a bit dark on the right. I've noticed that the fish live on the left too, either because of the light or the coral.
I also got a Mag Float for $4 on RC and a prefilter box for $28 from another user. I already had a bit of a disaster as the tubing on the skimmer pump isn't as secure as I'd like it to be, so I had a fountain coming out of the top of the tank last night. I loved the look of the tank at this point, with the glaring exception that every coral that needs actinic light was very dull. I was planning on taking my time to find a good deal on PC or VHO setups to add, but then I went to Uncle Bill's on the south side of Indy since they are remodeling and asked if they had spare parts. They were selling VHO setups used for $100 but that was far too expensive for me, but when I went back a few weeks later they had torn everything down and put it in a box. He said he'd sell me a ballast and endcaps for $25 as long as I untangle it and get it out of the box. Sold. I go back there and I find that the ballast is an Icecap 660 with full wiring harness, waterproof encaps and standoffs! That retro kit goes for over $300 with bulbs at premium aquatics! I added the 2 46" 110w VHO bulbs and it looks much better in there.
Icecap:
That does it for equipment for a while, with the exception of a $30 DJ power box with individual switches that I'll pick up from guitar center when I sell something or otherwise have money. I'll start a new reply for my livestock stuff.
dmits41
New member
Current livestock
Current livestock
I figured I'd use this as a record of my starting point with the tank inhabitants. So far:
Cleanup crew:
2 dozen or so various hermits
15-20 Nassarius snails, most of the larger size
4-5 Astrea Snails
A few Cerith snails
Peppermint Shrimp
Brittle Star
A few other things that hitchhiked their way in there
Fish:
Ocellaris Clown
Firefish
Wheeler's Watchman Goby (I want to pair him with a pistol shrimp but I hear that could cause several rockslides)
Coral:
Hammer Frag
Frogspawn Frag
You can also see the Goby here
Horn Coral
Mystery Acropora
Millepora Frag(I've been told)
Red Monti Cap
Green Monti cap...maybe. Small rockslide broke it in 2 and I'm having a tough time keeping them on rock. I'm going to attempt superglue soon.
Kenya Tree
Green Tree Leather (I just made that up, feel free to correct anything.)
Zoos, brown with blue ring pictured here
Blasto frag below zoos
Purple star polyps
Green star polyps
Yellow polyps
Black sun coral (not doing well when I got it, hope to get it stronger
Some of those SPS frags will move, as I have read that the horn coral will destroy everything in it's path as it grows. I hope to add a 2nd ocellaris clown and a rose anemone next. After that I'm really not sure as far as fish. One thing I've discovered is that I've been bitten by the SPS bug. Since getting a few frags of them I can't stop looking their way. I hope to keep my frag collecting limited to SPS, LPS, zoos, and ricordea. Not very limited, is it? Anyway, I've also noticed that my softies aren't taking to the new tank very well. They're starting to come around though. On the flip side, the SPS frags look healthier than anything I've ever seen. I'll see how they grow and hopefully add more. The trick is being able to afford some frags! Maybe some of mine can grow quickly enough to trade soon. Let me know what you think now that it's a (nearly) complete setup!
Current livestock
I figured I'd use this as a record of my starting point with the tank inhabitants. So far:
Cleanup crew:
2 dozen or so various hermits
15-20 Nassarius snails, most of the larger size
4-5 Astrea Snails
A few Cerith snails
Peppermint Shrimp
Brittle Star
A few other things that hitchhiked their way in there
Fish:
Ocellaris Clown
Firefish
Wheeler's Watchman Goby (I want to pair him with a pistol shrimp but I hear that could cause several rockslides)
Coral:
Hammer Frag
Frogspawn Frag
You can also see the Goby here
Horn Coral
Mystery Acropora
Millepora Frag(I've been told)
Red Monti Cap
Green Monti cap...maybe. Small rockslide broke it in 2 and I'm having a tough time keeping them on rock. I'm going to attempt superglue soon.
Kenya Tree
Green Tree Leather (I just made that up, feel free to correct anything.)
Zoos, brown with blue ring pictured here
Blasto frag below zoos
Purple star polyps
Green star polyps
Yellow polyps
Black sun coral (not doing well when I got it, hope to get it stronger
Some of those SPS frags will move, as I have read that the horn coral will destroy everything in it's path as it grows. I hope to add a 2nd ocellaris clown and a rose anemone next. After that I'm really not sure as far as fish. One thing I've discovered is that I've been bitten by the SPS bug. Since getting a few frags of them I can't stop looking their way. I hope to keep my frag collecting limited to SPS, LPS, zoos, and ricordea. Not very limited, is it? Anyway, I've also noticed that my softies aren't taking to the new tank very well. They're starting to come around though. On the flip side, the SPS frags look healthier than anything I've ever seen. I'll see how they grow and hopefully add more. The trick is being able to afford some frags! Maybe some of mine can grow quickly enough to trade soon. Let me know what you think now that it's a (nearly) complete setup!
dmits41
New member
Clownin'
Clownin'
So I jumped the gun a bit and got a second clown before I sold the frags to pay for him. I put up a few softie frags online for $5 each to cover it, and I figured I'd use that to get a friend for my ocellaris. Today I was looking around at other things when I found some misbar percs for $15, so I grabbed one. I was hoping it would get along with the other one, but I was surprised to see that they are already hanging out together.
Hopefully they'll stay this way and maybe host together when I get an anemone down the road.
Clownin'
So I jumped the gun a bit and got a second clown before I sold the frags to pay for him. I put up a few softie frags online for $5 each to cover it, and I figured I'd use that to get a friend for my ocellaris. Today I was looking around at other things when I found some misbar percs for $15, so I grabbed one. I was hoping it would get along with the other one, but I was surprised to see that they are already hanging out together.
Hopefully they'll stay this way and maybe host together when I get an anemone down the road.
dmits41
New member
Man, it's amazing how having a 3rd baby and opposite work shifts with my wife make keeping up to date on this thread impossible. I figured I'd do an update now since I just built the canopy to match my stand. In a nutshell, I've had another fish jump out of the tank since the last update, which was a watchman goby, but I've added 2 green chromis, one blue reef chromis, and one sixline wrasse along with my fighting conch. I've been lucky enough to get several frags or full corals for free or cheap, including a huge frogspawn, more zoas, a scroll coral, a neon candy cane, a ricordea, and an RBTA. There are some paint issues in the pic that you can't see in real life. You'll probably notice a cyano problem, I'm probably stuck with that while I have to buy water from the LFS.
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