cbashaw

No problem I will be glad to help.

I plan to replace the auto top off tank from a 10g to a15 so I don't have to refill it as often, and I Willkie be adding a kalk reactor to my top off soon. Here's the sump

It's been a while since I've updated. I decided that I'm going to order cabinet doors I just can't make them as nice as I would like with the tools I have. I also made a few changes 1 Added a reef keeper controller with a temp and a ph probe to control my lights and heater. 2 Replaced my sump with a 29g tank so I could raise the water and I replaced the last foot of the pipe connected to the return pump from PVC to rubber hose so now the tank is silent even with the doors off. 3 traded my wp25 for a tunze 6045 which seems to be working much better for me and bought an OM squirt at the meeting that I plan to plumb up to the return soon. 4 added cleanup crew and a few corals. Front view Side view

I drilled my rocks. It was pretty easy to do and worked great. I had to driil 2 holes in some of my rocks in order to make them stable. IMO a combination of drilling and mortar would be the best way to do it. You can get more creative with the mortar since some rocks are too small or delicate to drill and you can mold the mortar to make 2 rocks look like one.

Aquarium One should have them.

Welcome!!! Post pics

I'm thinking about buying one of those I-phone clip on lenses, it looks like it would be easy to cut a small piece of the gel and fit it between the clip and the macro ring. that should help protect it, and it beats having to hold the gel manually.

They are very thin. I would say they are a little thicker than the cellopane on a pack of cigarettes but not by much. Once I figure out which one works best for me I will try to figure out a holder to protect it.

After seeing this thread I bought this http://www.amazon.com/Rosco-Lux-Small-Swatchbook/dp/B0002ER2YG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389146217&sr=8-1&keywords=rosco+swatch+book It has tons of different variations of orange. I still need to figure out which of over 50 orange swatches will be best but here's a sample of a pic with my iPad These photos are untouched. Without a filter With a filter

Here's a few updates. After coming back from my trip the tank had cycled but the salinity had gone up to 1.034 due to not having my ato setup. I took the t5s out of my light fixture and replaced them with 2 24" actinic strips from rapid led. I love the color of the lights but wish I had gone with the screw in set up over the adhesive because it was messy. I set up my herbie overflow and put a durso on the emergency drain. It's pretty quiet now but I will play with it later to get it perfect. Yesterday I put the fish and corals from my 29g in. They seem happy with the extra space. I'm still trying to dial in the wp25 it blows sand around in one position and blows water out of the tank in another. I'm on the fence about keeping it. I may replace it with a few maxi jets since I can make them completely hidden.

Looks good chuck

Thanks, I will post it on my build thread once I get the leds in the mail in the next few days.

Going by that thread I don't think I will have any issues. He also mentions the thick aluminum of the geisemann fixtures is great for heat dissipation. Thanks for the link... It looks like a great build, I'm going to start reading the whole thread now

The fixture doesn't have fans, but I'm sure I could add some small ones though, and I could leave the drivers out too.

I have a 24" geisemann halide t-5 fixture, and ordered 2 24" actinic strips from rapidled. Can I mount the drivers and led strips in the fixture where the t-5 bulbs were, or would they overheat, and shorten their lifespan?

+1 , and I believe they offer a WAMAS member discount

Very nice build. I'm looking at making something similar for my in sump frag tank. How is that driver working out? Do you know if it would be able to drive 4 10w multichip LEDs?

I used to have a 6100 on my old tank, they are monsters and are way too powerful, the one I'm asking about is the older style where the motor is out of the water. They don't have the wide flow like the stream pumps. Like the black one further down on this page http://www.paraquatics.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d11.html They are 634gph

I decided that for now I will just put some decorations on the shelf until the tank is up and then I will explore the herb garden option later because it can become a big project in itself. I also just ordered 2 24" actinic led strips from rapid led so I will get those together as soon as I get home. Has anyone tried using the tunze classic power heads? I was surprised to see they still make them. I know they don't have a wide flow pattern but they would be very easy to hide.

I had a crazy idea, of course I need approval from the boss but I'm wondering if there is some type of aquatic plant I could put on the shelf above the tank that could be fed by the tank. I was thinking of mangroves but I think they would grow too tall. Another possibility would be to have an herb garden up there. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I was planning on just throwing some shrimp in there, and letting it decay since I won't be there to feed it.

I am going out of town for 3 weeks, and want to let my tak cycle while I'm away. I'm using all dry rock. I have a heater and powerheads in the tank. Since I'm only using dry rick, and there is no livestock, will I be ok not setting up an auto topoff. As the water evaporates the salinity will rise, and I will need to adjust it when I get back. Can I get away without topping off if I set the salinity a little low before I go, or do I need to setup an ATO before I go.

Thanks for all the compliments I'm leaving for Ecuador tomorrow (getting married on Saturday) and won't be back for 3 weeks. I put powerheads and a heater directly into the tank. If I just drop some shrimp in the tank to start the cycle is there anything else I need to worry about when I'm gone? I have the tank full but not the sump, to reduce the risk of any disasters. If I don't hook up my ato will the change in salinity cause any problems since there is nothing live in the tank? I'm assuming evap will be minimal at his time of year, and the lights will be off the entire time.

Awesome setup, it looks like you have a very well thought out plan. I love the dimensions too. I will be following this build for sure.

Luckily the govt was closed today so I got a little more done. I still need to paint but the primer is on and I did a little work on the crown moulding.