Tank Is Getting Upgrades!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
P

Pazzoman

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
3,005
50
81
New York
Hey Everybody,

Finally the mission has begun as I have gathered enough money along with the help of my Mom...Lol Christmas. Well here are the upgrades that will be taking place before Christmas as the LFS employee is coming over to take measurements of my stand and other details.

Upgrades:

-FX5 is gonna be kicked out for a 20-29 gallon sump (Hoping that the 29 will fit)
-T5s being upgraded to reef brite leds if anyone is familiar....will be one fixture of blues and one fixture of all whites
-Protein skimmer will be moved to bottom of tank along with other junk to give better viewing pleasure
-More Rocks have been added as the employee has a very creative mind and pieces rock work for customers.


So far these upgrades will defiantly be happening but I wanted to ask is their anything that should be added to my tank when the rocks are emptied and the water is emptied? Should I add more sand as I have about 2-3 inches?

Also as for the sump should their be anything different that I should ask about? As I just told the employee for a wider refugeium as I'm going to hang my skimmer to the sump ( HOB SKimmer).

Hope Everyone had a great thanksgiving
 
Pazzoman said:
Hey Everybody,

Finally the mission has begun as I have gathered enough money along with the help of my Mom...Lol Christmas. Well here are the upgrades that will be taking place before Christmas as the LFS employee is coming over to take measurements of my stand and other details. Sweet!!

Upgrades:

-FX5 is gonna be kicked out for a 20-29 gallon sump (Hoping that the 29 will fit) GOOD!!!
-T5s being upgraded to reef brite leds if anyone is familiar....will be one fixture of blues and one fixture of all whites Do you have a link to the exact fixtures you are referring to? If they are the ones I am thinking of, they are not strong enough to grow corals and aren't meant for reefs even though they are pushed by some LFS's and say Reef in the title. They do make the tank look nice though.
-Protein skimmer will be moved to bottom of tank along with other junk to give better viewing pleasure That's always nice!!
-More Rocks have been added as the employee has a very creative mind and pieces rock work for customers.


So far these upgrades will defiantly be happening but I wanted to ask is their anything that should be added to my tank when the rocks are emptied and the water is emptied? Should I add more sand as I have about 2-3 inches? No more sand. This is plenty.

Also as for the sump should their be anything different that I should ask about? As I just told the employee for a wider refugeium as I'm going to hang my skimmer to the sump ( HOB SKimmer). I would not have the skimmer in the refugium area. The water coming from the tank should go in the skimmer chamber first, then on the refuge. Being that the skimmer is hang on, it won't take up any space really. Make the refuge as big as possible though.

Hope Everyone had a great thanksgiving
Click to expand...

Good luck with the upgrades and keep us posted!
 
Thanks, also all I know it's like "Reef Brite Illuminations" something like that...hope its ok. The employee said that the white leds are the ones that grow corals and keep them healthy while the blue is for looks and just health. Also these are the upgraded ones so they cost about $80 extra on each fixture....the cost of these leds together is $640...I put the price just in case if it might help identify them. Also I'm getting them because I can't do halides and my cousin has just the blues on his 65 gallon coral tank loaded with corals and seem to be doing very good. I'm really hoping that these are not the ones that don't grow coral...because thier coming in already :(

Thanks for tips will make sure on the skimmer in first chamber
 
Pazzoman said:
Here's the link:

http://www.reefbrite.com/reefbrite-tech-led/

Its one of these fixtures...may not be the right category I just know it's this brand based on thier halide...because the lfs has it for SPS...
Click to expand...

Gotcha. The pages I am seeing seem to be very vague on what it actually has. 3 watt led's are a good thing. Given the cost, they sound like an actual reef quality unit. I believe your link is for the wrong one, the xho led 48" I believe is what you ordered. From what I am reading about them you shouldn't have any problem growing most corals.

Sorry to scare you!
 
Lol I feel like a great load has been lifted lol...as I was scolling I was like "Please, please, please" lol because these fixtures are now a family thing lol, cousin has them, aunt is purchasing them along with mine lmao.

I'll give an update saturday when Ralphie (Owner of the store) come's along to check out my tank...hopefully he thinks a 29 gallon be fitted into the sump as I do know a 20 gallon long can...

Also should I do DSB for the fuge? And what plants I should throw in thier? And best light fixture for the fuge? Lol so many questions... well thanks a million nonstophoops
 
Pazzoman said:
Lol I feel like a great load has been lifted lol...as I was scolling I was like "Please, please, please" lol because these fixtures are now a family thing lol, cousin has them, aunt is purchasing them along with mine lmao.

I'll give an update saturday when Ralphie (Owner of the store) come's along to check out my tank...hopefully he thinks a 29 gallon be fitted into the sump as I do know a 20 gallon long can...

Also should I do DSB for the fuge? And what plants I should throw in thier? And best light fixture for the fuge? Lol so many questions... well thanks a million nonstophoops
Click to expand...

Haha sorry.

I think you should do a DSB with a few stipulations.
1. You have to maintain your tank and not let too much waste or nutrient buildup. This can/will lead to the DSB being a nutrient trap that can cause problems.
2. When you feed your fish you don't feed a ton at once. If you do, again you will end up with a lot of waste in the refuge. So you can either feed a lot, but spread out over many feedings, or feed a little.

Some rock in the fuge, but not too much covering the DSB as it will make it less effective.

For algae, I would use Chaetomorpha. It doesn't go sexual and grows fast. It is easy to prune and is an open water algae so it doesn't attach to anything.

For lighting, you can use a number of lights depending on size of the fuge. If I am right about the approximate size you will have, I think a cheap clip on shop light from Home Depot with a 5k or 6.5k bulb also from Home Depot. It is cheap and effective. Bulb replacement is also cheap.

I would run the lighting opposite your tank lights. So when your tank lights turn off, your refugium light should turn on. When your tank lights turn on, your refuge light should turn off. The reasons for this are:

1. Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and creates oxygen and will keep your tank oxygenated through the night.
2. Keeping the tank oxygenated and not letting carbon dioxide build up over night will keep your Ph stable.
 
Ok thank you for the further tips, can't wait for tomorrow when I get the quotes and plans lol. Also does this sound good?]

From 10 am - 10pm white leds
From 10pm -10 am blue leds (think it's too much however they stimulate night time...)
Fuge light from 10 pm - 10 am

?
 
Pazzoman said:
Ok thank you for the further tips, can't wait for tomorrow when I get the quotes and plans lol. Also does this sound good?]

From 10 am - 10pm white leds
From 10pm -10 am blue leds (think it's too much however they stimulate night time...)
Fuge light from 10 pm - 10 am

?
Click to expand...

Well, depending on how strong these lights actually are, 12 hours may be too long. What is the fixture you currently have? You don't want to shock the corals from the light change if this one is significantly stronger, so I would somewhere closer to the 6-8 hour range and go from there. Then have the blues run an extra hour or so on each end of the whites being on to simulate dawn/dusk. Darkness simulates night time lol, so I would have all lights off all night.

So depending when you are home to enjoy it you can slide the timing to that time.

Example:
10am to 7 pm Blue LED's on
11am to 6 pm White LED's on
7pm to 10am Fuge light on.

If you find you need more light, just keep the LED's on for a longer duration, but under the same structure as above.
 
Dude that is awesome to hear about your upgrade. You have a nice tank the way it is and it only stands to be amazing. You are going to he so much happier with a sump. Easily customizable and less hassle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom