Saltn00b's Multi-Phase Upgrade Diary!

kayak385

kayak385

Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
thanks guys!
we are working on the canopy today , taking pics, cutting the wood etc etc, so stay tuned for more on that.
i will get some more photos of the lighting kevin.
kayak - cherry stone / little neck clams are great for tanks because they eat up nitrates! just ' burp' them first to make sure they are alive.
how do you burp a clam?
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
there are plenty of threads on this but basically put em in a bowl of tank water as pictured, as they warm up they will slightly open there shell and let the tank water in, when they realize they are submerged, they start to send their foot out of the opening and start feeling around. once you see this sort of movement you know they are alive, so you can drop em in.
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
slatnob.....I just got my constellation and was going to set it up today but had to work tonight....so I'll be installing it tomarrow....If I have any problems will you help me out? I only have 8 bulbs so far....I think I have two actinics, two aqua blues, and the rest 6500k's ? I have to recheck since I'm at work now.. how should I set these bulbs up in the fixture initially? My tank is 20" deep, 24" wide and 6ft long. Thanks...yours look so awesome.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
sleasia -
i think 3 65oos you might find to be too red, but in the end its really your preference. i am very happy with the different phases of colors i have set up so far. check out the prior page(s) for exactly what i used and how. i got help from Grim Reefer the T5 pro over on the other forum.
of course i will help wth any
Qs you might have !
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
actually I have two actinics, two aqua blue and 4 6000's. did you put in all 14 bulbs. I only have eight so far... I see what you mean by the red...when all the lights are on, its great, but when I switch off the actinics and leave only the 6000 its a bit red. thanks
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
i have all the bulbs.
i never switch off the actinics, i just add to the light and then take away in the reverse order, with actinics being the first to go on, and last to go off
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
clams are all still alive, too.
Kevin , i do have some pics of the first day's work on the canopy, i am going to try and get those up tonight. we might get another's day work in soon, then i have a little vacation coming up (booya!)
jeff, gimme a call or IM, and lets work out a time to get workin again
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
quick update:
well i think due to a bit of all the changes that have been made in the last 5 months, my trates are the lowest i have ever recorded, at 10!
i believe the macro algaes are doing well, possibly even growing at this point.
today is the first of a three day cycle i am running with no lights. i have heard that this is good for a tank every month or so, as it simulates cloud cover conditions and keeps algaes in check. cyano is really starting to thrive under the T-5s, and it is the first time i have ever had it in my tank. i am hoping that soon everything will settle out.
on the Ick front, i have captured all of my fish except my mandarin (not trying to catch) and my black cap basslet - still on the hit list. the POW's are in my 29g QT and a make shift QT tank made from a 45 g trash can, with a mag 5, a used bio wheel cartridge, and some PVC.
the Kick ich medication that i have used successfully in FOWLR conditions, started to cause some irritation for xenia, which were already getting beat up by my monstrous BTA. they are gone now. But most effected by this stuff were mushrooms. Green Fuzzy mushrooms stayed at about 1/3 normal diamter, and my red and green rhodactis colony reacted in a similar way. the rhodactis all melted unfortunately, but i managed to find one rolling in the sand that survived, so i am trying to get him to reattach.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
my poor diamond goby has passed away in the makeshift QT :(
the tub was going through minor cycling, that i have been trying to stay on top of.
nitrites and ammo got to 0.5, so that may have been the cause but i am not sold on that totally yet.
still have not caught the basslet!!!!
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
saltnoob...sorry about your losses....hope things perk up. ich is definately a pain....in the mean time thanks for listing your bulbs and how you arranged them...this will help me out a great deal...I don't have to think! I'm just going to copy your plan...looks good to me.
 
kayak385

kayak385

Member
Originally Posted by sleasia
saltnoob, kayak, check this out...
thanks for the info...this is cool.
I like the pics.
On a different note... Saltn00b, sorry for your losses and I hope I never see ick.
 
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