Brian Ward

So after doing more research, I've decided to scratch the timer idea and go with a "real" monitoring system. Probaly a Reefkeeper 2, but looking at others as well (Aquacontroller Jr., not sure if there are any others). If anyone has any experience with any of these, I'd much appreciate some insight. I pulled the main electrical feed for the tank last night - about 45' of 6-3 wire (copper is horribly expensive right now). I'm dedicating a 50A circuit in my main panel to the sub-panel (GFCI protection will be on the big breaker - much cheaper than protecting the individual circuits or outlets) with up to 6 15A circuits for the fish equipment. I'm going to work on the rest of the wiring this weekend, as well as putting some coats of polyurethane on the stand frame. I'm trying to include a frag tank in the stand, and I think a 30"Wx18"DX20"H is about the right size. It's probably easiest to make this myself out of acrylic, but I have no idea how to do this. Anyone have suggestions? Since space is at a premium (DC rowhouse and all), I'm planning to mount this on a slide-out drawer inside the stand. Accuride makes some industrial strength slides designed to carry up to 500 lbs, so that's what I'm considering: http://www.accuride.com/products/industria...;c=heavyduty_ie This company in MD is a distributor, so I'm going to get in touch with them: http://www.hitechfasteners.com/ Plumbing is forthcoming - probably a couple weeks out since Hokie Football is coming into season - I'm actually going to attend some games this year instead of selling all my tickets! I'm planning to drill the back of the tank for a closed loop - and figuring out how to plumb the chiller and where to place it is my biggest concern right now. I want to put it outside (the tank backs up to an exterior wall that goes under the front porch) to reduce noise, but I'm not sure about drilling out the bricks. Anyway, focus on the electrical for now, that's what i know, and get to the plumbing later. ~Brian

Gobies can be hit-or-miss when it comes to seeing them - not unusual at all for them to hide in a hole forever. Unless you re-do your aquascaping or add a fish that steals his hole, he's not going to move. ~Brian

WeldOn sounds like an idea. You might also look for a material meant to repair boats - esp something for underwater repair. You could also call a plumbing supply house like Ferguson and ask what they have for fixing such a problem. ~Brian

Weekend construciton has gone fairly well. I've finished the frame for the stand and the beginnings of the canopy frame. I'll have to see what the cabinet doors bring before I can do too much on the canopy - it's mostly dependent and what I need to attach the doors. I put the tank up on the stand to see what it would look like, as well as to get more precise measurements and figure out how everything will work together before I order the cabinet doors (which I got a quote on today, and definitely cannot afford to have any of those not fit). I've got to sand and put a couple coats of polyurethane on the stand and canopy frame, pick up a rubber membrane to line the floor and inside of the stand with (to contain the inevitable spill) and work on framing out the rest of the cabinet, as well as pluming and electrical. Speaking of electrical - anyone know where I can pick up some Square D QO GFCI 15A breakers for less than $50 each? Even eBay doesn't seem to be much help on this one. Take a look at my pics. Space is so limited on here, I've put them in a Picasa share, here's the link. Let me know what you think. http://picasaweb.google.com/brward5/FishTankStandBuild ~Brian

I had good luck with the slime algea by doing several large water changes - about 3 20% changes in a week. The HA is a different battle ... ~Brian

I'm not completely sure what bulb colors I like just yet. I picked up some PFO ballasts pretty cheap, and planning to run SE MH w/ VHO Super Actinic. I'll probably match the pendant/reflector to the ballast and the PFO Horizontal Pendant w/ Mogul base socket fits into my design: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~PF2653.html and probably go with the Hamilton 10000k bulb: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~MB8411.html I'm still working on all the plumbing and electrical in my head - looking at the PanWorld group buy and trying to figure out what I need to get in on that. I have a Mag12, but I think I'm going to need more than that to run my sump, fuge, chiller loop and closed loop. I want to wire outlets in the back for all my equipment to connect to, while using timers that are easily accessible to control each of the outlets. Shouldn't be too hard. I'll run each outlet off something like this: http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmD...p;section=17138 I need to check that it will work with ballasts for the lighting, but it will give an easy-access manual override to kill the pumps for feeding, run the lights out of cycle, etc. I have the drywall torn out in the space I'm going to build the stand and started cutting/joining the frame last night. Pictures forthcoming.. ~Brian

I decided on the 400W bulbs because a guy on here is offering a dual PFO pulse-start ballast for $150. Seemed like a good deal and that pendant is cheaper than the one I was looking at anyway. By my calculations, it's only an extra $8/mo in electricity to go 400W instead of 250W, and more light is supposed to be better. For additional flow - I haven't completely throught it through, but powerheads is what I'm using in my BC and that's the way I was thinking about going here too. If anyone has pros and cons, I'd love to hear them - every time I talk to someone about this project it gets more complex. ~Brian

Hello All, Now that I'm finally settled into the area, I'm about to begin expanding my knowledge of the hobby beyond my 29gal BioCube to the 120 gal system I had intended to set up a year and a half ago before my move to this area. I'm planning to build this system into my basement living/theater room. The right side will be bordered by a brick wall, so the tank will be visible head-on and from the left. I've posted a scale drawing of my planned stand, cabinetry, and lighting scheme in my gallery. I'm still working out how to include the full sump, fuge, and hopefully a small frag tank within this footprint. I fully intend to pull a heavy-gauge wire and install an electrical sub-panel, running all outlets on GFCI breakers with multiple circuits. This is a work in progress and will likely take a while - due to time and financial constraints, seeing as how I'm all of 26 - all suggestions are welcome, and if anyone is handy, bored, or otherwise wants to help out, feel free to volunteer and I'll be in touch when I find a suitable spot. ~Brian

I'm also looking at the sapphire aquatics skimmer - you can find more info on it at www.sapphireaquatics.com, I also like the 4.36 mod for the BC29 from nanotuners.com - that puts in 2 more 36W PC lights to brighten it up and changes out the fans to make the hood quieter. I think you can scrape the black off the back of the tank and get a lightbulb behind it to turn chamber 1 into a fuge take a look here: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...mp;hl=tealcobra http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=robster Those are 2 of the better threads on setup and mod of a BC29. I've been running mine "stock" since the end of september with no real problems. I'm battling cyano right now, but that's pretty typical for a young setup. There's another new tank out that is quite a bit more expensive, but if you're looking at modding your BC extensively, it at least comes close to working out, it's the Red Sea Max 34: http://www.redseafish.com/max.asp CadLights also just came out with a new tank that has some nice features including a built-in refugium: http://www.cadlights.com/product_info.php?...;products_id=89 If you have any questions, just let me know. ~Brian

Do some research about those tangs you want to keep. Not sure about the dimensions of your tank, but they like long tanks to swim the length of - 4' is generally considered the minimum. I don't have any personal experience with it, but I read a ton of forums and thats what most people seem to recommend. ~Brian

I've also got the 29. You were asking about mods a while back, have you looked at www.nanotuners.com ? Most of their mods are targeted at other systems, but they're coming with more for the BioCube. I've been looking at the 4.36 144W light mod. I like the MH mod, but it doesnt include an acitinic like the NanoCube version does. As far as fish - I've got a Yellow Watchman Goby and I just added a Orange Spotted Goby to mine - theyre nipping a little to establish territory, but I'm hoping they'll be OK. The Orange Spotted spent his first full day digging himself a home. I'm also planning to add a pair of either Ocellaris or True Percula clowns. ~Brian