AquaticEngineer Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I figured I better post this up in here too I ended up adding another 3 inches of height onto the partial hood I got and painted it matching black. I retro fitted 2x70w HQI's and 2x24 50/50 pc bulbs into it. I'm thinking of going to 2x 150w hqi's and T5 actinics instead though. I drilled another hole in the stand for a second return and plumbed a SCWD valve into the system. Made the large sump into a refugium with a 27w powerquad 6500k bulb on the back side of the sump. I managed to squeeze a Coralife superskimmer 125 onto the back of the bubble trap, but it doesnt fit now with the plumbing for the SCWD valve so I'm trading it for a smaller one this weekend. Now for some pics (clap) These are all about 2 months old but still nice. I'll have to get some new growth shots posted soon and some pics of the sump and refugium setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 looks nice i would pull out the calupera though, if you want greens in there go for chaeto instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 I have more Chaeto in my sump than I could fit in my tank The calurpa was more to have something to root into the substrate to keep my pistol shrimp from pushing all the sand out of the corners of the tank (laugh) Anybody got any true sea grass they want to part with??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Very nice(clap) you will have to come out and get some more frags... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I really like the canopy set up. Nice work. I think I see a yasha goby. Am I Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 Very nice(clap) you will have to come out and get some more frags... What do you got going on this weekend? Just so long as I'm not balancing a huge ceiling fan on my head again (laugh) Btw sweet score on that fan(rock2) And yes that's my little yasha, he's been affectionately named " Long Duck Dong" by my fiance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Anybody got any true sea grass they want to part with??? I think JManrow has some sea grass... you might check with him and get it delivered to the meeting (if you're going). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Nice, that is something like i envisioned for the tank. I'm glad you're using it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Wow lots of light, looks great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Wow lots of light' date=' looks great!![/quote'] ......must........have.........more.........light...........(drooler) I'm still thinking of doing 2x150w hqi's instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Do it!!! More power!! Argh Argh arrrggh-tim the tool man taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 LOL. I don't know. That really is a ton of light for that tank. I would probably have only run 1 70w and actinics max. I have to say I love it with two though!! How is your temp doing? Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Tank temp during normal non summer months is right on the button at 78. I was going to run a single 70w bulb, but the tank is 24 inches long and I didn't think I would get the light spread I wanted with a single bulb. Plus 2>1 when it comes to the cool factor(laugh) Over the summer when the temp got warm outside, it did alright as long as my A/C was on. But when it got near the 100's outside I floated some 2 liters of ice in the sump on a rotating schedule. I have 3 x 25mm fans mounted in the back of the canopy, I probably should change the configuration but it seems to be working well with all 3 blowing into the canopy. I'd prefer to have more vents to the front of the canopy to allow air to escape, but I just prop it open barely and that works But yeah, on second thought, 2x 150's in there might be a little much(nono) I think I'll probably just convert the power compacts over to T5 actinics and replace the 70 watt bulbs so that they are the same brand. They both are supposed to be 14k bulbs but there is a visable difference in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 Dang its been a while, guess I better update with some new pics of the tank. Now that the wife is going back to work and I got a promotion I can afford to do more than just water changes on the tank now (laugh) Pretty much everything in these pictures is grow out from the original pics on page 1. I'll try not to be such a phantom on the forums going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 That is awsome!! Guess who built that system? Yep I did! Abought 3 years ago! Dose it still have the auto topoff behind the tank? lets see the sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 That is awsome!! Guess who built that system? Yep I did! Abought 3 years ago! Dose it still have the auto topoff behind the tank? lets see the sump. Kudos to you sir(clap) This is one of the best systems I've ever owned. The ATO is indeed still hooked up behind the tank. I think I listed most of the additions in one of the posts in the thread, but honestly there wasn't much more I needed to do. You can tell you put a lot of thought into the design. I did end up making the hood a bit taller and added the lid to it. Retro'd in some PC's and HQI's with 3 computer fans. Drilled an additional hole in the stand for another return and hooked in a SCWD valve. Running the sump as a fuge, added a skimmer onto the side of the bubble trap. I'll see if I can get some sump shots loaded up here soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Thank you! I did do allot of design and thinking when putting it together! Im so happy to see that it's getting used! Cienna I beleave was her name on here, bought it from me and I dont think she ever set it up! I love the lighting ya have! I dont think Id change a thing! Ya I would love to see the sump's again! there is still two right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Oh ya!! there it is! The skimmer looks like it was made to go there!! It looks great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 I originally had a much larger skimmer in there and it was kind of overkill. Then when I added the SCWD valve I had to move the bubble trap forward to make room for the return line. So I ended up going with a smaller skimmer and it really does fit like it was made for it (laugh) I kind of wish I would have kept the hard plumbed ball valve on the original return line that you had set up in there, but I just couldn't get it to fit in there with the scwd. Water changes are still pretty easy with the amount of room in stand. (Btw the stand is also really well made, nice job) I just drop one of my other pumps into the sump and pump it out, then fill it back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Some new pics of the tank that Eric (CA2OR) was kind enough to take with his much nicer than mine camera (clap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 this tank has chaged a bit since these pic's were posted....geez. Maybe next round I can get some clearer ones.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Wow, I wish I could get pics like you can!! When I get my SLR camera, I am going to have fun!!! Clay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 That is no SLR....P&S. Can't blame the blur on the camera though....I don't have tripod and am horrible at "holding still" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 its a beautiful tank and i love the canopy, im tempted to do something similar to that with my tank, thanks for the chance to actually see what it would look like and honestly man, that has got to be the nicest 15g tank ive ever laid eyes on, definitely a tank to be proud of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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