!!!25G Mixed Reef!!! - Page 2

TheCoralReef731 · #26 09/20/2005, 08:50 PM

kbmadale - Yes the rock is underwater. On a side note, the temperature in my tank reached ~82, which is 4 degrees more than I want it at. That was all from the little heater in the filter.

TheCoralReef731 · #27 09/23/2005, 05:49 PM

Any thought on the lights?

gman0526 · #28 09/23/2005, 06:21 PM

I would personally go with a 175 MH 20K this would allow you to meet basically any kind of coral light requirements in this particular tank. Magnetic ballast are less efficient as far as power consuption is concerned. T5 are more power efficient and run a lot cooler than MH.

TheCoralReef731 · #29 09/26/2005, 10:06 PM

Thanks for the feedback gman0526. That is basically what I was thinking also.

TheCoralReef731 · #30 10/11/2005, 09:16 PM

The New Tank and the Plumbing

On a Side Note, Here is My Freshwater Fishtank with a Halogen Light to Grow the Plants. Also a Betta, a goldfish, and a lemon tree.

Reefaholic1980 · #31 10/11/2005, 09:57 PM

Hey the tank is looking great. I am exited when i see other 20 gal tanks, being i have one. In fact it looks like we have the same tank, at least untill you changed yours. Im running Aquatraders (Odyessa)T5 HO (2 fixtures of them on my 20) I got them both for 88 or something like that. I like them so far for the price, but if i had more money then i would go with something like this. http://www.reefgeek.com/products/cat...ng/104186.html

A few shots of my tank a couple months ago in case your wondering what the lights look like.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

TheCoralReef731 · #32 10/12/2005, 03:36 PM

Reefaholic1980 - Thanks for the feed back. I really like your tank. Ever thought of keeping SPS under those lights, or is that way out of the question.

I forgot to mention the specs of the new tank. It is a twenty-five gallon tank with the same base specs as a 20 gallon, with only 4 inches added to the top.

Reefaholic1980 · #33 10/12/2005, 11:08 PM

Yeah i have, I was thinking about a purple monti. (thats SPS im thinking.) Not really sure of the limits of these lights really. Everything i have seems to be doing well so far. I think next on my list is either a Green maze brain or sun coral however.

I just got over a bad cyano outbreak in my tank so im trying to keep that under control at the moment. ( just now adding macro to the HOB fuge)

I dont know anybody else with these lights really, so lemme know if you find somebody with them so i can ask them what they have under them.

Thanks, Dave

TheCoralReef731 · #34 10/13/2005, 09:10 PM

I have heard of people keeping tons of SPS under T5 HO lights, but I am not sure if some brands are way better than Odyssea. Some people claim that their corals get too much light from their T5s, so that is a good sign for T5. As soon as the dang search button works, Ill try to look it up.

TheCoralReef731 · #35 10/21/2005, 10:48 PM

Guess What!!!

I found some more life on my live rock.

1st is something that is translucent pink, and resembles a timy sun coral.

2nd is brown featherduster colonies. They ARE alive, because they have retracted when my new inhabitants (surprise) crawled over them.

So my new inhabitants are....

...in the next post. Hehe.

TheCoralReef731 · #36 10/22/2005, 09:46 PM

New Red Banded Boxing Shrimp

These Two Shots may show some of the life that I found on the rock. Also, I got 10 blue legged hermit crabs, and one more turbo snail to replace the one that commited suicide. Now my other snail is almost dead. I have no clue why, maybe sadness????

TheCoralReef731 · #37 10/22/2005, 09:49 PM

Never mind about those last two pictures. They didn't come out well at all.

TheCoralReef731 · #38 10/23/2005, 09:44 PM

Anyone know if it will hurt my water chemistry to leave a snail that might be dead in the water?

TheCoralReef731 · #39 10/26/2005, 07:27 PM

Okay, I think its dead, but Im just gonna leave it and let my shrimp and hermit crabs take care of it.

TheCoralReef731 · #40 11/03/2005, 06:05 PM

I put in some shells for the hermit crabs to move into, maybe they'll like 'em.

TheCoralReef731 · #41 11/27/2005, 01:59 PM

I got LIGHTS!!! It is a 175watt MH pendant. Really lights up the tank. My clownfish got scared at first, cause there was so much light. Photos to come soon.

TheCoralReef731 · #42 12/02/2005, 11:11 PM

After much difficulty with the digital camera, I finally managed to get semi-descent pictures from the tank. Now, this is a pendant, so my whole room is now blue. It really lights up the tank, and I'm hoping that for x-mas, I'll get a bunch of corals (or more money for them anyways). So now, onto the pictures...

I also rearranged the aquascaping more, so that there is more of a solid base on top of the 3 rock pillars. Now, the corals should be able to fit more into the top (that is, once I get them)

Here is a pick of my electrical center and the ballast for the pendant. Not too much stuff plugged in yet, so hopefully it's not too much of a fire hazard.

I have also been pretty busy building a very nice, but not necessarily nice looking sump. I used the glass panes from a 10 gallon. I tried to cut them, but it is safety glass, and shatters instead of a clean cut.

But...to make room for the sump, I have to clean up a lot of my fish stuff. It just gets everywhere. My room, attic, family room, basement. Geez, this hobby is crazy.

TheCoralReef731 · #43 12/03/2005, 12:08 AM

Here's a closer look at my sump. The arrows represent the water flow throughout the sump. It goes right to left.

TheCoralReef731 · #44 12/04/2005, 12:56 PM

Any thoughts on my sump design?

TheCoralReef731 · #45 12/04/2005, 05:48 PM

Just got back from the LFS. I got some caulerpa algae for my sump, but it will be in my tank untill I get a pump for the sump (hehe that rymes). I also got a small green featherduster that is really cool looking.

rdmpe · #46 12/05/2005, 10:18 PM

Hey TCR - Just read through your thread. The tank looks good! How are your temperatures with that MH light on? What K is the lamp?

gman0526 · #47 12/05/2005, 10:31 PM

Everything's looking real good. I specially like the light, seems to be a 15K-20K bulb right? Good choice

Keep up the good work.

BTW be carefull with the caulerpa it might get ahold of your tank's LR. Very nasty stuff. What are the chances of getting chaeto instead? Much better and safer IME

rdmpe · #48 12/05/2005, 10:43 PM

Another thing - I had a heavily planted fw tank for a long time. I had 130 watts of compact flourescent on a 30 G tank, had CO2 reactor, daily fertilizer, etc. and man did those plants grow. I used to sell the cuttings on ebay all the time. It was a very cool tank. One of the many fw tanks I got rid of in order to do this big reef tank I'm working on... Some of my favorite plants were red ludwigia (needs tons of light or it doesn't show much red), chain sword (sold a ton of this stuff on ebay) and microsword which looks like grass. Also like java ferns, good for growing on rocks and driftwood.

You really should try to do better aquarium lighting on that fw tank. A halogen shining in the side is not very efficient. Those halogens generate a lot more heat for the light you get out of them I think. On the other hand, if you are going to spend all of your time and money on your reef tank, how are you going to keep that planted tank going to?

Whiskyrivr · #49 12/06/2005, 11:46 AM

the pvc on the right side of the tankw/ballvalve is that directly over your ballist?and wall socket?? be careful your gonna burn down your parents house!
how often are you topping off water????

TheCoralReef731 · #50 12/07/2005, 06:59 PM

RDMPE - The previous owner of the halide light said that it is 6500 K, and it is about 9 months old allready, so I'm looking for a new one. I figure just to keep the 6500 in there untill it burns out, and then replace it with a 15k or 20k. I really like the blue (it illuminates my whole room, SWEET) To be honest, I can't tell a change in the temperature in the tank. Because winter came just when I got the light, my house temp was also out of wack. That, and the fact that the third heater in this tank broke, so now I am using a dinky plastic heater (which actually works).
The reason for the halogen lamp on the Freshwater is because I just don't have enough money to buy a halide light for it, and I just had this laying around, so I figured it couldn't hurt too much, right? Plus, I am not really trying for a planted FW tank, but I just got fed up with the algae all over the fake plants. I also wanted it to look more natural.

gman0526 - yeah I agree with you. I just bought the caulerpa and put it in my display for a while, untill I get a pump for the sump, which I am thinking of using a Quiet One 6000. I will have to route a lot of the water back into the sump, but whats wrong with a little extra circulation, eh

. Not sure about getting chaeto. Isn't it mpre expensive? I will check on my next visit to the LFS.

Whiskyrivr - dont worry, the outlet and ballast are on the other side than the overflow. The ballast is on two pieces of glass, and the outlet isn't too crazy yet, so I have tried to prevent a fire.