Saltn00b's Multi-Phase Upgrade Diary!

azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Well, at least you are getting something for it. I can't wait to start adding corals to my tank. I have one more fish (Diamond Goby) that I want to add after my two Bangaii Cardinals, then I'll start adding corals. I think I'll start with zoos and xanias.
Then after I've gotten my fill of those I'll start adding fish again.
 
kevin34

kevin34

Active Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
kevin: the doors on my canopy are right level with my lighting fixture, and i just slide the lights back when i need to work in the tank. mine still needs one more coat of stain, and i need to trim one of the stained glass panels and then it'll be done. hopefully by this weekend.
its coming along good saltn00b
.
-Justin
How do you slide the lights back? Are they on some kind of runner? What fixture do you have?
 
wangotango

wangotango

Active Member
Originally Posted by Kevin34
How do you slide the lights back? Are they on some kind of runner? What fixture do you have?

there is a piece of wood that sits on top of the tank trim that is screwed to the canopy (which is whats keeping the canopy on the tank). my tx5 fixture is sitting on top of those wooden pieces, and since they're so smooth, it slides very easily. i havent kept my word about the pictures but i will take them this weekend for sure.
-Justin
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
WOOT
the CBBF is acclimating to the DT
and the Demon Fish anthias is acclimating to the QT (county jail)
pics tomorrow
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
well here are a few shots i took today...
hastily snapped, cleaned up in PS tho
ENTER THE COPPERBANDED BUTTERFLY

the wrasse not being harrassed


cool shot, if you look at older pics, these were all a nice green , and i was told they were supposed to be green, but it turns out after a few days in some nice light, they are getting red, so they are candycanes!

frogspawn with new heads

Blackcap and Co.

slick

Galaxea fully healed after the move, and sporting a two tone coloration
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
A friend came by this morning to share his cabinetry experience with my brother and I. the Canopy plans have changed totally!
basically we are building higher with the Constellation hanging lower down on from a swivelling top panel. the front panel will have two cabinet doors for most maintenance, and anything more involved, the top can swivel up.
plans lol:

SO
A trip to the Depot and 345 dollars later (
:mad:
)
picked up enough Oak Lumber to get this project finished.
also a sheet of plywood and some tools....

 
noob101

noob101

Member
Yo Salt it has been awhile since i posted last but I had managed to aquire ich in my tank, I thought i caught it in time and started treating with (if i could only remember the name) chemical that was copper free and harmless to corals, all in all with in 2 weeks everything had gone back to normal so i stopped treating the tank with it and what ya know two weeks later it was back again. The good thing about all this was I was moving the next week and my LFS had a grea QT tank setup so I took mine back to him for store credit. But to make a long story short if you think u might of had ich then you probablydid and eventually it will come back again to haunt ya. But there is chemicals you can buy that are great for reef tanks and are copper free.
Great looking set up.
 
noob101

noob101

Member
Noob I was just thinking of something when I built my canopy like your initial design was i forgot to take into acct the wires for the harness since i have my ballast in a seperate location, i spliced mine and cut some when i placed the canopy on the tank like a jack@$$, so a little advice if the ballast is not going to be in the canopy to save on some weight use something called pex pipe you can get in white at a plumbing store in 1/8" or 1/4". Something else good about it, is it is flexible.
just a suggestion.
 
triga22

triga22

Active Member
Glad to see that your tank is on its feet after the stupid --- change. I cant wait to see the new cabints. Check out my thread in Fish Photogrophy.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
aww shucks AZ !
what are you running PCs?
these will do fine under PCs.
now that they are growing and splitting maybe we can do a trade
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
aww shucks AZ !
what are you running PCs?
these will do fine under PCs.
now that they are growing and splitting maybe we can do a trade
I have two 36" T5 double lamps, 10,000K/actinic, so don't think that will be enough. AND I don't have anything to trade
, tank is pretty empty still. But when I do (and I have the correct lighting) I'll come calling.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
:mad:
Well it definitely is Ick. the second wave returned this morning and there is no doubt now. it is still a very a light case of it and the wrasse is the only one showing signs. at this point i have chosen to use a 'reef-safe' medication. This is a bottle of stuff i used with success 2 years ago, called ick attack. i know it is a noob move but right now it is worth it to me to give this a try. its just so much rock and coral to move around and my QT tank is already being used, so my options are very limited. if it worsens, then i will have to take the proven method of action.
flame - suit : on
 
shawnlx86

shawnlx86

Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
AZ - im not 100% sure of what you mean by washed out. i think you are saying everything is whiter, well that is really a function of the camera quality / settings and the bulbs being un obstructed , affecting the white balance. your own reef is supposed to look like what feels good for you. meaning how blue or white or yellow even the light is in general, as long as the Kelvins are the right spectrum for the corals. and generally, as long as those things are watched, the brighter, the better. so far, very happy with the colors and in person it is not 'washed out' IMO. when i have some time i will playt with the camera and see if i can get better, more realistic pics. hope that answers your Q's ?
Kevin
with this set up you are allowed a lot more freedom and fine tuning of the colors at different points in the day because of the sheer amount of bulbs. i chose to mirror each side.
from the geek of the reef:
2 x 39W 6500K T5 HO Fluorescent by GE
2 x 39W Actinic Plus T5 HO Fluorescent (104036) by Giesemann
4 x 39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent (104976) by ATI
4 x 39W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent (104980) by ATI
2 x 39W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent (104992) by UV Lighting
switch 1 : B+, B+ and Act+
switch 2 : 12k and 12k
switch 3 : 10k and 6500k
i am about to go and return that intermatic double timer because i guess i read the packaging wrong, it doesnt time the two outlets. in fact, i cant even get it to use the programming at all. so i am going to go with three single digital timers with a set up like:
8am actinics on
9am 12k's on
10am 10/6.5 on
4pm 10/6.5 off
7pm 12k's off
9.30pm actinics off
I like the look of your tank with your new lighting!! I have the same fixture and just threw it up on top of new cycling 215g. tank, its still a bit cloudy so hard to say exactly how good it will look. I'll keep your bulb combo in mind in case I want to change mine up a little. I went with the following:
front:
ATI BLUE+
UV SUPER ACTINIC
GE 6500K
ATI BLUE+
GE 3000K (HEARD THESE REALLY MAKE RED AND ORANGE COLORS (POP)
ATI BLUE+
ATI 12000K AQUABLUE
good luck with the canopy!!
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
6500 and a 3k may make your tank very red, i was told to go with one or the other.
let me know how it works out!
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
:mad:
Well it definitely is Ick. the second wave returned this morning and there is no doubt now. it is still a very a light case of it and the wrasse is the only one showing signs. at this point i have chosen to use a 'reef-safe' medication. This is a bottle of stuff i used with success 2 years ago, called ick attack. i know it is a noob move but right now it is worth it to me to give this a try. its just so much rock and coral to move around and my QT tank is already being used, so my options are very limited. if it worsens, then i will have to take the proven method of action.
flame - suit : on
I was worried this might pop up again.
So sorry you are having to deal with it. I hope that med works. If so, let me know what you used. If it works it's a good thing to have on hand just in case.
 
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