Eric B's 125 Re-Build Journal

[eric b 125]

i just fed my corals and fish.... man i cant wait to have my reef back. this thing looks pretty lousy right about now. all the livestock is cool, it just looks like hell with only half the tank lit and the un-lit side just a pile of LR. one thing i'm really looking forward to: when i drilled the tank i got a lot of water under the top trim. it left a white residue because of the glass "powder" from the drilling, that i couldnt remove. i'm pretty excited to finally clean that up. its not that it's very noticeable, just something that stands out to me.

 

[eric b 125]

i FINALLY ordered the new trim for my tank. it should be at the LFS on wednesday. i'm praying that it's the right fit. the dude that sold it to me (also a member of my reef club) assured me that it would fit. i have this fear that i'll drain the tank, everything in buckets, take the old trim off and find out the new trim wont fit.

 

[eric b 125]

the light came in the other day. it looks nice. too bad i've been so busy with school that i havent even gotten the chance to turn it on. will start mixing salt for a water change and also throw some brine shrimp eggs in the hatchery today. cant wait until saturday and i'm sure my corals cant either.

 

[gcgrad]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///forum/thread/369906/eric-b-s-125-re-build-journal/120#post_3363949
the light came in the other day. it looks nice. too bad i've been so busy with school that i havent even gotten the chance to turn it on. will start mixing salt for a water change and also throw some brine shrimp eggs in the hatchery today. cant wait until saturday and i'm sure my corals cant either.
Maybe I missed it but what kind of lighting are you using for your 125 gal?

 

[eric b 125]

its a 72", 1070 watt fixture. 3 X 250 watt MH, 4 X 80 watt T5.
I've been at it for 3 hours so far. I have all of the corals in styro's and buckets, and the fish in a big rubbermaid with an airstone and big piece of LR. all of the water that the livestock is in will go down the sink after i'm done. all of the LR is in garbage cans and i have 32 gallons of new water for a water change.
i've figured out how to get the old trim off. its a PITA and there's no way i could imagine being able to remove it in one piece. i'm waiting for a buddy of mine to stop by so he can help me pull the tank away from the wall so i can get the trim along the back of the tank.

 

[eric b 125]

well, after about 5 hours i finally got all the trim off the tank only to find out the new trim DOESNT FIT!!! its about 1/8" too small. i called one of my LFS (not the one i ordered this trim through) and they said that they could get the different trim. i cant remember if i have an AGA or a perfecto, but this LFS can order both so tomorrow i'll find out what brand the first LFS ordered and just order the other one from the second LFS.
thank God for good buddies, man... a couple of good friends came by to help me out. i couldnt have done it without them, for sure. i traded one of them a few softies for a 30 breeder which fits the 36" fixture perfectly so i have all my livestock in there. hopefully their supplier will have it so it gets here on tuesday.

 

[isthatright]

hey eric, iv'e been following your journal n can't wait to see the finished project, i was wondering what reef club you belong to, i don't know of anyone thats into saltwater tanks around me , so i'm interested in this reef club u speak of

 

[eric b 125]

thanks for following along. this thread doesnt get too much action, for whatever reason, so i'm always happy to see that someone is watching! i pretty much chalk it up to a way for me to track the progress of my tank over time.
where in PA do you live?
as it turns out, every single one of my LFS that told me that i could swap out the trim is now telling me that i cant. i like that the "cant" part only came after i destroyed my tank (and subsequently two rooms in my house) and wasted weeks waiting for this 72" fixture. now i have to order the original trim (which will hopefully be in on tuesday), return the 72" fixture and order two 36" fixtures and wait for them to be delivered. all the while, i will have to keep up daily water changes on this 30 breeder. i guess i knew i was signing up for aggravations like this when i decided to get into this hobby. i just have to keep reminding myself that as excited i was to have 3 halides, i will still be getting two new lights, with T5's instead of PC's, i'll get to re-do my aquascape which i wasnt crazy about before, and i got a sweet new setup that i can use for a frag tank.

 

[isthatright]

i live in beaver county , not far from pittsburgh, i have a coral life pc light, seems to do the job, but sometimes i think about upgrading, i just cant seem to keep some corals n have lost alot over time, a lfs i go to says my salt level is to high it's 1.025 n she keeps hers at 1.021-1.022, her corals r awesome. what do u think

 

[eric b 125]

check out www.pmasi.org. that's the club's website. we meet in monroeville/ penn hills right off of 376.
as far as your light: it depends on the wattage and the size of your tank. PC's dont really have the PAR that T5HO have. a guy that does research and development for marineland and reef brite came to speak at the last club meet. his spiel: there's great potential with LED's but they're "not there yet". he touched on the other lighting technologies and more or less said that MH is still the technology on which to rely.
i keep my specific gravity at 1.025 and my corals are all doing well (softies, lps, sps). i've read that softies do better at lower SG, like around 1.022/1.023 and sps do better at 1.025, with LPS sitting in the middle. i keep mine high because i'm starting to get the SPS itch and my direction is turning that way. one problem you can have with running at a high SG is when water evaporates, the salinity goes up and might go too high. i run an auto top off on my tank, so the salinity doesnt go up and (more importantly IMO) my tank doesnt experience a quick drop in SG when i would have to add 2 gallons of fresh at the end of the day.
definitely check out the club site, and if you dont mind the drive once a month, strongly consider signing up. i've learned a lot by going to the meetings, from professionals. we have the huge benefit of having anthony calfo as part of our club (google him, and you'll see what i'm talking about). i've learned a ton on this forum, but as with any forum, people tend to follow trends religiously. take the LED's for example: joe shmoes on forums all over the net wax poetic about them, and if it wasnt from hearing from a PROFESSIONAL aquarist, I wouldnt know any better than to believe what i'm told by some dude who probably never did the research or had experience with them. it's also nice to be able to hang out with other fish geeks and go to frag swaps as a group. (we might be renting a bus for MACNA, but that's still in the air)
DISCLAIMER: i'm not bashing LED's or the people that swear by them... its a great technology with even greater possibilites, but after having heard from a professional, i would only trust them as supplemental lighting until the quality control over them gets better.

 

[isthatright]

thanks for the info eric, i was on you tube checking out some saltwater videos from mr. saltwater tank, but yea i would like to definately check that out, im not far from monroeville, it would be nice to talk to some people who r also into the hobby, thanks. by the way i have a 90 fowlr, n recently found out why i've been loosing all my mushrooms, my singapore angel is eating them, OMG, couldn't believe it until i saw it .

 

[eric b 125]

that sucks. angels tend to be risky around corals. a close friend of mine (one of the guys that helped me out the other day) has successfully kept angels in his reefs over the years. let me know if you decide to join the club or even just come to the next meet.
so after some frantic searching and question-posting i've finally made a decision about this light. of course the solution i've opted for was the most obvious: hang the light. that way the light will be far enough from the center brace that it wont put too much heat on it. new trim will be in late today, so i'll put it on tomorrow and while i'm letting the silicone cure i'll install the hangers in the wall. with any luck i will have my reef back tomorrow night!

 

[isthatright]

Yea I'm definately interested in joining n goin, good luck on your light

 

[eric b 125]

thanks. i'm going to re-inforce the frame with acrylic... just in case the heat becomes too much over time. i'm hoping to at least have the frame on and the light hung by days end. i'll have to mix more salt tonight to do the move tomorrow. as with many things with this hobby, this project didnt go as planned. i'll upload pics of what happened this weekend to photobucket today and hopefully post tonight

 

[sweatervest13]

Man, that light and new frame is not going as planned. Way to push through and just get it done. I have been following and feel your pain. I can't wait to see pics of the new set up.

 

[eric b 125]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///forum/thread/369906/eric-b-s-125-re-build-journal/120#post_3365432
Man, that light and new frame is not going as planned.
you got that right dude. the new-new trim came in today and i siliconed it on. its curing now. i also went to home depot and picked up some wrought-iron plant hangers that will support the weight of the light, no problem. actually, there is a problem: i cant find the studs in the wall. tried a stud finder-no luck. tried the tapping on the wall thing- no luck. tried drilling random holes in the wall (hope my landlord isnt reading this)- no luck. i want to get the tank back against the wall tomorrow and i'm really about to lose my cool over the damn studs!!!

 

[eric b 125]

i really hope i can find these studs today. i just want to have the hangers installed and the tank back against the wall by tonight. i cant believe these studs are giving me such a hard time! i even took my mag float and dragged it across the wall, when it hit what i thought was a nail in a stud i drilled only to find NO STUD! i'm going to try tapping some holes near the ceiling, hoping there's some sort of header, after class today.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///forum/thread/369906/eric-b-s-125-re-build-journal/120#post_3365638
i really hope i can find these studs today. i just want to have the hangers installed and the tank back against the wall by tonight. i cant believe these studs are giving me such a hard time! i even took my mag float and dragged it across the wall, when it hit what i thought was a nail in a stud i drilled only to find NO STUD! i'm going to try tapping some holes near the ceiling, hoping there's some sort of header, after class today.
How heavy are the lights? Toggle bolts work wonders sometimes in situations like these.

 

[isthatright]

hey eric, i know the frustration about finding studs in walls, good luck. well i finally caught my singapore angle, what a nightmare, ended up taking almost all my rock, omg!! so this morning my worst nightmare has hit,my yellow tang died n my tri color angel is on its side breathing heavy so i know i'll loose him too, i'm so sick . what a price to pay for to removing a coral eating fish

 

[eric b 125]

2Quills: the lights are 31 lbs. i dont think i would trust toggle bolts and dry wall to hang 1070 watts above my tank....?
isthatright: that sucks. i'm pretty livid about this whole situation.
so while in class, rather than focusing on immunology, i thought i came up with a good idea... i figured if i cant find a stud in the wall, i could probably find a floor joist in the ceiling. i was super wrong. i cant believe that this has caused me so much grief. i'm at a total loss of ideas and frankly i dont have the time to be dorking around with this anymore. this has turned from a one day project to a hellish experience. but such is the way with this hobby sometimes.
i'm still pretty hellbent on using this fixture, though. i guess i'll have to build a canopy, which i'm NOT thrilled about. i tried building one before. i got the frame done perfectly but when it came to skinning it, i screwed everything up.
if anyone has any other ideas, please toss them my way. i have a short break from class in a week in a half so i guess that's when i'll bang this out.
or maybe i could screw some 2x4's to the back of my cabinet and attach hangers to those?