My 20g Tank Setup Log

[SandFlea]

I am in the process of setting up my 20g long tank. Current hardware includes:

130 Watt Coralife Compact
AquaC Remora w\Maxi-Jet 1200
2 Maxi-Jet 400 PH
30lbs of Carib Sea Aragonite sand

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_Pics_022.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_Pics_020.jpg

Trying to decide where to order my Live rock from. What do ya think so far?

[SandFlea]

While trying to decide on my rock, I was inspired by Doug on his tank wiring, and I had to try my hand at it. Here is his thread

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=273216

Right side of stand

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_Pics_024.jpg

and Left side of stand



http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_Pics_021.jpg

My American DJ Power Panel will be here tomorrow. Will post pics once installed.

[fastredponycar]

looks nice. Very clean! Lemme know how your skimmer works for you cause I'm wanting one for my 29 gal.

oh, from what I've read TBS sells teh best live rock. Incredible growth.

Check wooglin's monster thread. and keep the pics and updates coming!

[SandFlea]

Thinking about picking up a few pieces of LR up from the LFS to get the cycle started. The wiring will look tons better when I get my Power Center. When I get the cycle started maybe I will be able to tell ya about the skimmer.

[FishDude16]

Get TBS(Tampa Bay Saltwater) Live Rock. Everyone has had amazing results with it. Highly reccomended. Im gonna use it when i get mine going. Looks good with wiring though. Keep us updated on whats going on and pics and stuff. Lookin good!

[SandFlea]

It is definitely between Dr. Mac and some kaelini, and the TBS package.

[dosterd]

i would go with tbs those guys know thier stuff give u pretty rock too

[speccialj922]

all the tbs i have ever seen has been great... one thing to consider though. floridian rock is much denser, so you will need more of it to equal, say fiji rock. kaelini has looked pretty good too. so its your choice, but you'll be happy no matter which one you choose. :)

[SandFlea]

Here are pics of my DIY moonlight that I put together. Only problem is that they are way to bright for my shallow tank. LOL. Gotta tone them down some with a dimmer.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Moon_001.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Moon_002.jpg

[FishDude16]

DIY?? Sweet what did you use to make it.

[SandFlea]

I used LED's from radio shack, A piece of speaker wire, and 3 small project enclosures. I made it with 3 LED's. The problem is that they are very bright. I have to hold them about a foot off the tank to get the effect I want. I need to build me a canopy, so I can hang these. It would work great on the taller tanks. The led's are 470nm. Same spectrum as moonlight.

[dosterd]

do u leave those light on all night?

[SandFlea]

That is my intent once I figure out how to dim or diffuse the light. Sort of like spot beams now. Other members says that it will enhance your over all eco-system. Thought it would be worth a try. Cheap enough to build.....LOL

[fastredponycar]

hey flea, I've been thinking about doing the radio shack moon light. would you mind taking some more pics and telling how you wired them up? right now, I'm just using a 55/65 watt actinite PC light but seems too bright to me.

[SandFlea]

These things are bright. Too bright for my tank actually. I will add a variable voltage switch to tone them down some. It is very easy to do. Get yourself some sort of DC transformer (old anwering machine plug, walkman, cordless phone, etc.). I am sure you prolly have one laying around. I still have to put in the 3rd LED, So i will post pics when I do it.

[SandFlea]

UPS has delivered my American DJ power center. Will post pics tonite when I get home.

[SandFlea]

Ran home on my lunchbreak to check out the Power Center

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/am_dj.jpg

All I have to do is mount it, and organize the wiring.

[sfsuphysics]

Well if you want the instant results and money is no object go with TBS, if you dont mind not having "freebies" and/or money is a problem I definately recommend Dr Mac, a couple more days and mine should be done curing ready to aquascape!

Btw your powerheads look a little low in the tank. Do they agitate the surface? They might suck up some sand if it gets blown around too.

[SandFlea]

Just kinda stuck them in there. They do agitate the surface somewhat. I will raise them when I add some rock. TBS recommends that I do away with my sand in my tank,and replace it with all live.

[sfsuphysics]

What's wrong with the sand in your tank? Other than it not being "live" yet? If the sand is ok, you might want to get just a pound or so of "live" sand and let the pods & other junk in there propagate through your whole tank.

[SandFlea]

TBS told me "To do it right, I need to do away with my aragonite,and get all live"

[sfsuphysics]

Well not to scoff at the wisdom of TBS since they've been doing this ALOT longer than I but... *scoff*

You have sand right not jagged pieces of crushed coral?
Its aragonite, which is exactly what their live sand is, except their live sand most likely has nitrifying bacteries (which will get there anyways) and most likely it'll have lots of micro & macro type organisms, which you can very easily get by getting a smaller amount or finding kind reefkeepers who have established tanks willing to give you a cup of live in trade for some old.

Granted with a 20 gallon tank you wouldn't break the bank by going to all live sand, but at what $2-3 bucks a pound, that's about $50 on live sand.

[yessongs]

Dr. Mac has really nice rock, great shapes. A cup of sand from an established tank will bring yours to life.
I use these for moonlight, there small and swivel so you can point them where you want www.winplususa.com/products/lights/dash_light/10416.html $12 at pep boys

[SandFlea]

The sand I have is CaribSea seaflor special grade reef sand. My idea was to use that and seed it with some Live. I like the looks of the Tonga Kaelini rock from Dr. Mac. Dunno which I will get.

yessongs-- That is a cool light. Could you maybe post of pic of it running on your tank?

[fastredponycar]

Originally posted by yessongs
I use these for moonlight, there small and swivel so you can point them where you want

haahah Not bad. They add 20 horsepower to your tank! :lol:

[klarnox]

Originally posted by sfsuphysics
Well not to scoff at the wisdom of TBS since they've been doing this ALOT longer than I but... *scoff*

You have sand right not jagged pieces of crushed coral?
Its aragonite, which is exactly what their live sand is, except their live sand most likely has nitrifying bacteries (which will get there anyways) and most likely it'll have lots of micro & macro type organisms, which you can very easily get by getting a smaller amount or finding kind reefkeepers who have established tanks willing to give you a cup of live in trade for some old.

Granted with a 20 gallon tank you wouldn't break the bank by going to all live sand, but at what $2-3 bucks a pound, that's about $50 on live sand.

Actually if you buy "the package" from TBS the live sand is only $1/pound not bad at all in my opinion and it is literally crawling with life. At least that's been my experience.

For a 20 gallon package from TBS your only paying about $250 plus shipping and that includes your cleanup crew in addition to the 40 pounds of rock and 20 pounds of sand. Other places I've looked you can spend much more than that on the rock alone, and it doesn't contain nearly as much life.

And before someone comments, no I don't work for TBS, I'm just a very happy customer. You can see the thread I started for my 29 gallon with a TBS package. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=313400 (My 29 gallon package thread)

[yessongs]

I will try and post a pic after 9PM, the lights are on timers.

[SandFlea]

I am not trying to degrade TBS in no form or fashion. I have saw some spectacular tanks running the TBS package. In fact I am still leaning toward the TBS package. I am just sad that I bought a 40 lb bag of CaribSea sand. Still kind of researching my options...

[klarnox]

Originally posted by SandFlea
I am not trying to degrade TBS in no form or fashion. I have saw some spectacular tanks running the TBS package. In fact I am still leaning toward the TBS package. I am just sad that I bought a 40 lb bag of CaribSea sand. Still kind of researching my options...

I realize that, sorry if my post seemed to indicate otherwise. My post was more to point out inaccuracies in sfsuphysics post and to try to emphasize that there really is so much life in the TBS sand that you probably won't get if you seed with just a few scoops from someone else's tank.

I understand not wanting to waste the 40lb of sand you already have... Maybe save it for when you decide your 20 gal isn't big enough. :D

[SandFlea]

I think what I will do is try to order the TBS package with maybe just 5 lbs of the live sand. Opinions?

[klarnox]

Sounds reasonable to me. You should end up with basically the same thing in the end as if you used all TBS live sand.

The smaller amount of live sand may extend your cycle length though (don't know, just guessing).

[Whiterat]

Note that there are various marine organisms (some burrowing fish/cukes and fungia and heliofungia corals) which will have a very rough time on the coarse, fragmented shells-and-gravel that TBS sand is composed of. They need a finer 'lagoon' type of sandbed.

I am planning on keeping these in my next tank, and as a result will be adding TBS live sand to caribsea sugar-fine aragonite at about a 1:5 ratio.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

It shouldn't. Reason being, you will still have all the bacteria in the rocks to help with the cycle. Substrate options is a highly debated topic. I have saw pics of show tanks with bare bottoms, some started with the southdown play sand, and now I am seeing the TBS with all live sand.

Dazed and Confused

[SandFlea]

Ratty,

The sand I have is

"CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand: 1 - 1.7mm diameter grain size. This grade is specifically engineered for nitrate reducing beds. The pore water space created by precision grading also allows maximum pH support and dissolution of calcium carbonate."

Would this work with the burrowing fish and cukes? I thought about using the IPSF Live sand activator to seed the sand bed I have now.

[Whiterat]

That's the stuff!

I approached my first tank with the mentality that the ecosystem of the sandbed was a support infrastructure for everything else, so the healthier the sandbed, the healthier the tank.

With that in mind I went for biodiversity. My 29g tank was started with TBSW's live sand. At 2 months I added an IPSF live sand activator. Some things got killed off, some things dived right into the sand and have gone nuts. At 6 months I added about three pounds of GARF grunge. A lot less impressive, but what the heck. Since then I've just let it run wild. I figure that ought to give me a good mixture of diverse sandbed critters. It's always active, tons of spaghetti worms, tons of tiny brittle stars, lots of Hawaiian bristleworms. Happy tank.

[klarnox]

Originally posted by SandFlea
It shouldn't. Reason being, you will still have all the bacteria in the rocks to help with the cycle. Substrate options is a highly debated topic. I have saw pics of show tanks with bare bottoms, some started with the southdown play sand, and now I am seeing the TBS with all live sand.

Dazed and Confused

Yeah, now that I think about it I would probably agree with you.

I guess what I was thinking is you don't have all of the bacteria from the live sand (in addition to the live rock) to keep up with the dieoff that does occur when initially setup... which can lead to raised ammonia levels and more die off until the bacteria catches up... Of course if you keep up with the water changes that probably wouldn't be an issue.

[SandFlea]

I think I will keep the sand I have in there, and just concentrate on Rock for now. I will use LS and the IPSF activator to seed it with.

Ratty- was your 29g setup with the TBS Package?

[Whiterat]

Cool, good luck with it.

Yes, it was, and it's still running happily. If you eyeball the gallery you'll see some closeups of a jawless fish called a lancelet that came in on the TBSW rock, lying on the sandbed. Those'll give you an idea of how coarse the TBSW sand is.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Wow, that is coarse....Sweet tank though. How ya coming on the 54g?

[Whiterat]

Working on embedding the outlets of my undersand manifold in putty bommies covered with crushed coral and bits of dead coral skeleton.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

That is over my head.

[Whiterat]

Kay. I've built this water return from my sump that splits using a SCWD (switching device), then as the water comes out the left or right port of the squid, it shoots down the center of my tank inside one of two PVC pipes which are camoflauged using underwater plumber's putty coated with crushed coral and bits of coral skeleton. Once it gets under the sand, each of the two downtubes divides into a three-outlet manifold (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/album05/ajp) which flows the water from the three corners of the aquarium through duckbills inserted into the ends of the PVC. One of the manifolds points clockwise, the other counter-clockwise. Since the water flow switches back and forth between the two of them, this should cause some nice surge action.

What I'm working on doing now is camoflauging the dual outlets in each of the three corners by building them up with more plumber's putty with coral sand and fragments stuck in it. This will make them look like bommies (sort of pillars of independent reef sitting out in the open away from the main reef). Once in the tank, the dead coral should crust up with coralline and look nice and you won't be able to see all the PVC tubing.

That make more sense? I know, it's a weird and freaky project...

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Actually it sounds really cool. Are you a perfectionist by nature or just by hobby?

[Whiterat]

Are you a perfectionist by nature or just by hobby?

Uhm...

Welll...

I started to make an excuse, but...Yeah. In a way I am. I hold myself to a very high standard, especially if I'm gonna be putting several hundred dollars in pretty critters into an aquarium. I don't want them to 'not die'. I want them to thrive. And, yes, I tend to hold myself to some pretty high standards elsewhere in my life, too. I've been working on getting that 54g set up for a couple of months now, slow but sure, scrapping and redesigning different ideas for the overflow, the returns, the ()*@#$@# lighting (lighting a corner bowfront so it's pretty from all three sides because it isn't in a corner is kinda rough).

But I still occasionally do screw up. I just try to learn from it and stuff...

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

If you are a reefer, you are prolly a perfectionists. That is why most of the reefers want to build the stuff theirselves. To get it exactly the way they want it. I mean, people are cutting holes in their floor to the basement for extensive plumbing. Weird hobby heh?

[yessongs]

Moonlights www.winplususa.com/products/lights/dash_light/10416.html

http://picserver.org/view_image.php/K6I7BMHA3339/picserver.jpeg

http://picserver.org/view_image.php/1GOQT7Y80269/picserver.jpeg

[Whiterat]

*SWOON*

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Geez, that light does a great job. You just got one or 2?

[FishDude16]

THATS HILARIOUS!! Is it the same spectrum as moonlight? Cuz if its not its not gonan do ne good for the stuff in there. TBS Updated the package page. Made it much easier for prices and stuff. My price is 468 not inlcuding the airline shipping which isnt much. Im happy and excited about getting mine started soon.

[yessongs]

SandFlea, its not as blue as the 1st pic, more like the 2nd pic. They are sold in pairs there is two on that tank.

FishDude, The LEDs are 468nm, i believe moonlight is between 470-475nm.

[SandFlea]

I think I am going to look into those lights. Very nice looking

[NoobieNemo]

where do you put your lights exactly?they are very nice looking, I'll probably get some too...

[SandFlea]

The moons I made need to raised about 24 to 30" off the surface to look adequate. My problem is that my tank is a 20 long which is only 12" high. In a typical aquarium that is 24" tall with a 12" or taller canopy, it would be perfect. I will probably trade my moonlights off, and make some more with a different style LED. I possibly will look into the ones yessong has.

[SandFlea]

The American DJ Power Panel is installed. Also added a black background, as some base rock.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/dj2.jpg

[yessongs]

Originally posted by NoobieNemo
where do you put your lights exactly?they are very nice looking, I'll probably get some too... If your asking me my lights are inside a 250w MH pendent on a 25gal tank, i had them on the outside then moved them inside. they come with tape that sucks, i used ShooGoo it very strong and comes off when you want.

SandFlea, Do you have a GFCI i dont see any.

[SandFlea]

Yeah, I have one behind my recliner that the Power Center runs too

[sfsuphysics]

Wow nice power setup, unlike mine where I have a couple surge strips that I always manage to splash water into, and hear a "fizzy" sound, then need to take the damn things apart and dry them.

I'm curiuos am I the only one who went though 4-10 towels a day setting up the tank? Its a good thing I dont have a carpetted floor.

[SandFlea]

I am sure I will have my share of spills. Havent had one yet though.

[Whiterat]

Looking real good there, Flea. A lot of folks don't think about electricals until they notice they're running out of wall outlets...

*Cough*

Not that I would personally know anyone who did that. c_c

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Thanks for all the compliments. My next purchase Is a good RODI unit (one reason I am hesitant about stocking the tank). I dont want to keep 40 gallons of distilled water around for water changes. From what I have read, you have to do them almost daily when starting a TBS package. Might as well get a good unit from the start, and change my water out.

[Whiterat]

Remember that you want to have your salt water pre-mixed and 'stabilized' for a day or two before you put it in the tank. So you do really want to have a few big jugs. Over the years I've accumulated a couple of 10g trash cans, a couple of 5g trash cans, a couple of 6.5g plastic watercans, and a quarter of 5g plastic cubic bottles.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

I am gonna find me a 20 gal trash can to use to mix up this stuff. DO you have an RODI unit? I was wondering if the the 3 gallon holding tank is actually worth $25 extra over the cost of the unit. Anyone?

[Whiterat]

Naw. I buy RODI water cheap nearby and carry it in to work with me.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[yessongs]

You can use the tank for household RO water. Then with a Tee and a ball valve RO/DI water through a hose for the tank.

[SandFlea]

Not a bad idea. Save me from having to buy bottle water for my wife.

[sfsuphysics]

If you ever plan on drinking the water, then yes the holding tank is a MUST. Otherwise you'll get *drip drip drip drip drip drip* as it makes the water on the fly and it'll take forever to fill up a glass. Figure a beefy 100 GPD unit, a typical glass of water 8 oz would take almost a minute to fill up with water. That's a long minute if you're thirsty!

[SandFlea]

Well I just ordered this unit

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2386076709&category=46310

tell me what you think

[yessongs]

I think your wife will like RO water better then bottle spring water. TDS - Poland Spring in the 20s, RO water 3. Also makes great coffee

[sfsuphysics]

Poland Springs? hehe.

But yah I love my RO water, whenever I have any recipes with water use that. Make ice cubes out of it (and have noticed that they shatter easier due to impurities being removed). Reminds me when I redid my kitchen I yanked out the old 1/2" galvinized pipes and saw that there was so much build up you couldn't see through the pipe, and it made me sick thinking I drank out of that for so long, copper was much better, then I went RO and felt like "Hmm this water tastes funny... there's no crunch to it.. no pool taste... I like it!"

[SandFlea]

The unit will be here in 5 days. I have heard mixed opinions about it. Nevertheless, It is always upgradeable.

[SandFlea]

Well my RODI 110gpd unit arrived today. Here is a pic after I unpacked it, shortly before installation.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/wg_002.jpg

[SandFlea]

Hooked up the RODI unit. Ran about 30 gals through it, then proceeded to make some tank water. I replaced all the water in tank, with RODI water. Live Rock from DR. Mac came on 4-2-04. The rock is alot more colorful than I can get my pics to show. Here are some pics of it in the tank.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_003.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_002.jpg

[Whiterat]

Looking good!

Don't be afraid to rearrange for the first couple of days until you get it the way you want it. You'll find that 3D foreground and background areas look pretty good, as to caverns and overhangs.

Also think about 'where on this structure will I easily be able to put frags'.

Ratty
Ratty's Reef (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

This is what plagues me. I think I have just too much rock. I re-aquascaped for the 5th time, and I think I am gonna stick with it.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_002.jpg

[SandFlea]

I have these little creatures crawling around, not sure what they are. They hiked in on my rock.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/Tank_001.jpg

[dosterd]

it looks like oenone fulgida. if so they feed on snails and clams

[SandFlea]

These guys eat snails and clams?

[loyalty]

hey sandlfea, where did you get your light set up? I've got a spare 20 gal tank and am thinking about setting up another tank with "leftovers" from my 30 gal. Those lights look ideal too.

thanks

[SandFlea]

It is a 30" Coralife 2x65 Power Compact lamp. Fits the 20 long perfectly.

[loyalty]

thanks

[SandFlea]

Well the tank is coming along nicely. Colors are starting to get more vibrant.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_009.jpg


http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_001.jpg

[SandFlea]

Just need to get a clean-up crew in now to combat the algae bloom. Here are some pics of my algae.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_007.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_003.jpg

Can you say refugium? That is next on the list.

[Whiterat]

Looking real good there, Flea!

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Various images

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_006.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_005.jpg

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/rock_004.jpg

[SandFlea]

What is the small blue growth in the last pic?

[Whiterat]

I'm not sure. I would've thought it was an artifact if you hadn't asked. It looks a little blurred. Can you get a better closeup of it? There's all sorts of things it could be, tunicates in my tank off TBSW rock were that color...

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Gonna order the clean-up crew from premium aquatics tomorrow.

5 margarita snails
5 mex turbos
5 cerith snails
5 Nassarius Snails
1 queen conch
2 scarlet hermits

Is there any thing I am missing, or need to substitute? Also need to add some live sand to start getting some biodiversity and seed my existing sand. Any opionions or donations? (LOL)

[rjwilson37]

hmmm.. Green Hair Algae... what a nucense.

[Jonny]

How long has that tank been up for!?!! Ive had my LR for 3 weeks and it dosent look like that, my lights are 10watts 50/50

[SandFlea]

It has been set up since April 1. Bout a month. The green hair algae isnt real bad. I have some red balls of stuff that seem to be cropping up everywhere though. Looks like a red cotton ball. My light is 130 watt Coralife. I am going to add a aquafuge HOB and a phos reactor to my system in the near future. I am hoping the bloom is from the uncured rock. I have been using RODi since the start.

[waterlily]

The blue is a clear brown algae with an irridescent sheen. It's dictoya, I believe. I have it on my Kaelini too. It hasn't spread much but it is pretty. I have the red stuff too. I got a lettuce nudibranch that has been mowing down all of the hair algae.

[Whiterat]

How much hair algae does one need in a tank to successfully keep a lettuce nudi so it doesn't just graze the tank once, then keel over from starvation?

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Should do well in my tank for a while anyway. i have plenty of green and red hair algae

[Whiterat]

The 'for a while' part is what worries me. I don't want to buy something that'll eat itself out of its food supply and die.

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Good point

[SandFlea]

Well now I have no algae. Put in a cleanup crew with 5 mexican Turbos, 6 Astreas, 5 cerith snails, 1 scarlet hermit, and a skunk cleaner shrimp. I also added a lawnmower blenny. The mexican Turbos have one heck of an appetite. They eat all nite and day. Now I am having to supplement them with Nori. I am gonna take 2 or 3 of them to the LFS for store credit. I think now that all the algae is under control, 2 of them should be able to maintain the tank. Still need to get some Live sand to seed my sandbed, and get some more cerith snails and other sand stirring detrious eaters.

I also bought an 18" CPR aqua fuge. I put about 4 inches of sand in it. I have to buy some live rock rubble, and some good macro algae. My coralline is spreading, so I guess Im doing something right.

[katchupoy]

It would be nice if you can turn those powerhead opposite to what they are now... facing the glass.... It will be a nice indirect but strong flow...

Also you can add a electronic wavemaker... I just bought for a very good price...

try searching "natural wave" at ebay for $29.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46310&item=4303342909&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[SandFlea]

Great Idea. These are just Maxijet 400 (100gph). I want to just go ahead and put the 1200 in there. I would definitely have to point those against the glass. I envy those with sumps, cause i got a ton of crap hanging on my back wall inside the tank. I am also looking into getting a 150 or 175 MH HQI lamp.

[Whiterat]

Sounds like you're doing well, Flea!

Look forward to more pics when you can get'em...

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[sfxer02]

You will have some serious cooling issue with a 175w MH on that 20 gallon I have a 65g and my 175w gets it up there and have to control it with a fan!

Why don't you build your self a 10 gallon sump and put it in your stand?

Looking good man

Tony

[Whiterat]

You will have some serious cooling issue with a 175w MH on that 20 gallon I have a 65g and my 175w gets it up there and have to control it with a fan!

I don't think so. If there's good airflow between the light and the water (most hoods with MHs have fans for this purpose) there won't be much of a cooling issue. I've run a 175w MH over a 29g for a year and a half and it really didn't affect the temperature significantly. I know other people who have run more wattage over even smaller tanks (check out Nano-Reef (http://www.nano-reef.com) to see what I mean, you'll find people with 400w over a 20g!). If the light is so close to the water and has so little air flow that there is a temperature effect, you will have other problems (salt encrusting the light, light getting wet and blowing, etc.).

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[sfxer02]

Ok I learned something then, My hood has fans and I need to run a fan on my sump to keep it cool, my hood is also 7 inches from the water line. 400w over a 20 is some serious light!


Tony

[Whiterat]

I imagine your environment would matter, too. The light will add a degree or two (for a 175w MH over a 30g tank) over the course of the day if it's about 7-8" from the water, IMLE. That's no big thing. A larger tank won't heat up as much from the same light. A smaller tank with the same light at the same distance will heat up a bit more. So long as it's only a degree or two you should be fine.

Unless, of course, your tank already runs hot, or the nights where you are are warm enough that that degree or two never fully goes away...

The worst heat culprit I have ever seen was a powersweep. One powersweep elevated the temperature of my 29g reef by 4.5 degrees!

Ratty
Ratty's Reefs (http://www.bastet.org/gallery/whiterat)

[SandFlea]

Here is a pic of my Ricordia. It was brownish when I got it. Hope it greens up more.

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/inhabitants_002.jpg

Here is a pic of a free Zoo frag from Robs Reef when I bought the Ricordia

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/inhabitants_005.jpg

[SandFlea]

Here is a pic of the Refugium. Still need to get a light, some Live rock rubble, and some Macro in there.

Left Side

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/inhabitants_001.jpg

Top Right

http://img38.photobucket.com/albums/v117/dragonbuilt/inhabitants_004.jpg

All in all it is coming along nicely.

[SandFlea]

A little dark pics, but you get the idea