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bph

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Posts posted by bph

    Closed Recirculating Loop Design

    in New to the Hobby

    Hi all,

     

    I have a AGA 125G tank that I am setting up and was wondering how to integrate a closed recirculating loop. It has two overflows pre-drilled just shy of each corner in the back. The piping for the overflows go out the bottom of the tank, and I have the tank set up so I can drill thru the wall to a "fish room" behind it that will be holding my sump/refuge/etc.

     

    From what I have read, you shouldn't rely on the return pump from your sump to provide all your water movement in the main tank (takes too much electricity, etc. for the end results :why: ). My question is how do you incorporate a closed loop for something like this? Do I just run another set of piping from the fish room to the aquarium and go up the back and over the top? I don't have a hood (yet, might never get one, still unsure) so having the white pvc around the top of the tank will detract from the overall "look" of the aquarium.

     

    Thanks in advance for any advice or ideas! :cheers:

    Brian

    125 AGA Tank Lighting/Sump/Refugium Questions

    in General Discussion

    What size sump would you guys recommend for a 125G?

     

     

    Magnetic1, you ever find an answer to this? I was out of town for a while and just got back. I am still in the market to buy a new house, so am on hold on setting this tank up, but want all details I can get for when I am ready to start putting it in its final location.

    125 AGA Tank Lighting/Sump/Refugium Questions

    in General Discussion

    If you would like to come by sometime I can show you my setup. I am currently running a grey seas skimmer, Kalk reactor and media reactor and my sump was made by Jeff(NAGA). I have been very happy with each one of my purchasses and wouldn't change a thing as far as my equipment goes.

     

    I would love to take you up on your offer sometime. It is always good to see how others set things up. Do you also have a 125G?

    Thanks,

    Brian

    125 AGA Tank Lighting/Sump/Refugium Questions

    in General Discussion

    Skip Deltec and talk to Dan (Dandy7200) or visit www.greyseasaquatics.com and get a skimmer from him. Much cheaper, as good if not better quality. He can also build you a sump/fuge or talk to NAGA - he can also build sumps. Look at either MH or T5 lighting. all-in-one fixture or retrofit kit is up to you. luminarc makes the best reflectors but you'll have to figure out how to mount them yourself.

     

    Thanks for the info! I PMed Dandy7200 with my current stand specs and will wait his response!

     

    Deltec & GSA skimmers are highly regarded. You will probably do very well with either. Your equipment selections will depend heavily on how you sctructure your setup. Did you get a canopy and stand with your tank, or are you building your own? When I started in the hobby, I was strapped for cash and had to build my own stand. because of that I decided to buy a metal halide retrofit light kit and setup my own fixture. this is the best route in my opinion as you get the power of metal halides at a reduced cost. The pre-built fixtures tend to be very expensive. If you only want to buy your lights once, I recommend metal halide. Be mindful of heat issues with MH lights, they tend to be very hot. You may be forced into a chiller if you have insufficient ventilation.

     

    When I bought the 125, I went ahead and got the stand to go with it. I did not get a canopy. As to being strapped for cash. Yup :( One reason why it is taking me sooooo long to get even water in the dang thing! I have had it since December and it hasn't seen a drop of water yet. I still need the sump/refugium/skimmer and plumbing before doing the water. I haven't even bought all the plumbing for my durso stand yet. Just the 1" return pipe and 1.25" drain pipe.

    125 AGA Tank Lighting/Sump/Refugium Questions

    in General Discussion

    Hello all,

     

    I got a 125 gallon AGA tank for x-mas :bb: and have been SLOWLY purchasing things to set it up. I expect to have it up and running sometime this summer :cry: , but was wondering about light fixtures. I am planning on doing my homework prior to purchasing anything, but wanted to know if anyone had any recommendations on where to start looking? 72" long... do I need to get one 72" long fixture or will a few fixtures work?

     

    I am also still trying to figure out which type of coral/fish combo I want, but I only want to purchase the lighting fixture once, so want to make sure that it is the best possible for anything (coral-wise) I finally decide to place into the tank...

     

    I am also looking at a sump/refugium and have been toying with the idea of getting Marc from melevsreef.com to make one... but the shipping & handling is a little high, but I will do it if this would be the best option. Are there local people that can make sump/refugiums?

     

    At BRK, they say that they would only recommend Deltec for skimmers (that's what they use at their store and at home), so I am waiting on the dough for one of those...

     

    I already have a 26gallon reef up and running. Been at it for about 9 months now. Love it! X-mas came around and Wally's was having that Aquarium sale so I bought the new tank. Now it is just sitting there big and empty. I am itching to get working on this guy, but know I have to take my time.... :)

     

    Anyways... thanks in advance for any feedback!!

    Brian

    Joining WAMAS

    in General Discussion

    This has been fixed.

     

    Dave

     

    Ran into it again. I will keep trying.

     

    Oh, and another thing. It asks for a BB name. I am assuming it is referring to my forum name? My forum name is bph, but when I hit submit, it says that it needs to be at least 6 characters long. Is the BB name referring to something different?

     

    Thanks again,

    Brian

    Joining WAMAS

    in General Discussion

    I want to join WAMAS, but when I fill out the join form at the following website:

    http://www.wamas.org/forms/join.htm

     

    I get the following error when I hit submit:

     

    Not Found

    The requested URL /_vti_bin/shtml.exe/forms/join.htm was not found on this server.

     

    Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request

     

    Can anyone help me out? :)

     

    Thanks,

    Brian

    I bought a thing and I see some things in tank

    in New to the Hobby

    · Edited by bph

    Hello all,

     

    I got my nitrate test today and did a reading. It looked to be between 10-25ppm (again, this is pretty subjective... wife was thinking it was closer to the 25 reading). It is a Salifert test. I tried looking on the side (the low range test) and it was the same color as 100ppm, which you then divide by 10, but since this was the top of the scale, I am not sure how accurate that is :eek:

     

    Is there anyone else out there with this test that might be able to give me a hint on how to read this thing properly?

     

    Thanks again,

    Brian and Kristen

     

    P.S. It seems as if those copepods have disappeared. :cry:

    I bought a thing and I see some things in tank

    in New to the Hobby

    It's one of those 'doh!' things...

     

    Once I realized what was happening, It only made sense.

     

    bob

     

    So I moved the xenia to the bottom of the tank, and a little bit out of the direct current, but he still just seems to flop about. Certainly not as perky as he was when I first got him at BRK... :(

     

    Nitrate test hasn't arrived yet, so still waiting to test those numbers.

    I bought a thing and I see some things in tank

    in New to the Hobby

    Good point. Didn't think about it and yes, I have been topping of with salt water. I had two jugs of salt and one jug of fresh just for that purpose, but then failed to think about what I was doing when I started just adding more salt water into it.

     

    Not sure how new you are to the hobby, or how much good information you got. Are you 'topping off' the evaporation with FRESH water, as opposed to salt water? Once you think about it, it seems only reasonable and logical - but I can tell you that I didn't think of it in my first tank until my salinity hit about 1.030. Probably seemed to the guys at the fish store that EVERYONE knows that...

     

    bob

    I bought a thing and I see some things in tank

    in New to the Hobby

    Everyone,

     

    Thanks for the replies! I have ordered a Nitrate test.

     

    I have read that xenia can be very sensitive to pH. That may be why they are acting funny. Only way to tell is to get your parameters in line and see if things improve.

     

    What is the best way to realign my parameters? I understand putting in less salty or fresh water would lower my salinity, but how do you affect the pH reading?

     

    I would recommend that you try some mushrooms as well. They are pretty bulletproof and tolerable of different water conditions.

     

    Are there any particular mushrooms that you would recommend?

     

    Thanks again!

    I bought a thing and I see some things in tank

    in New to the Hobby

    · Edited by bph

    Yes, I am a total noob. I went to BRK last Tuesday and we bought a cleaner gobie (blue and black) and a wavy coral thingy (pulsating xenias?). The xenias is pink and has a lot of arms. At the end of the arms are fingers that open and close. Well, they used to open and close. Now they just wave around (with the water current). He is in some heavy current at times (I have a canister filter that fills up with water and ejects it into the tank at a cycle of about 2 minutes per. Should I move him? Why did he stop pulsating? He was in a heavy current at BRK when we purchased him.

     

    And the other things we have discovered in our tank. On the glass are these little (tiny tiny tiny) white (actually, kind of clear) ovals with a lot of legs on them. We don't have many of them, but just started noticing them. What are they?

     

    I just ran some tests and have the following results:

     

    pH 8.6 (this too high? how do I lower it if it is?)

    Nitrite 0

    Ammonia 0

    HydroMeter 1.028 (yes, kind of high, will add pure RO water (without salt) on my next water change

    Calcium was around 460ish, test is a little subjective as it relies on you telling when it changes from purple to blue)

    I don't have a Nitrate test yet.

     

    Tank is about 8 months old. 26 gallon with 35 lbs of live rock and about 2-3" of live sand.

    My light is a Orbit brand 30" 2-Lamp 65watt 24 hour lightning system; one 65 watt sunpaq dual actinic [420NM + 460NM] and one 65 watt sunpaq dual daylight [6,700K + 10,000K], two lunar lights

    BakPak protein skimmer.

     

    Thanks in advance!

     

    Brian & Kristen

    Anyone in the Dale City, VA area?

    in General Discussion

    I live in Manassas, not exactly in Dale City, but still fairly close.

     

    James

     

    James,

     

    Thanks for the reply. I am closer to Manassas than Woodbridge and my wife loves to head to Manassas to do all her shopping (stay away from that Potomac Mills traffic nightmare).

     

    Also, are there any lfs that you or anyone else in the area would recommend? We have been going to Wally's Aquarium in Alexandria.

    Anyone in the Dale City, VA area?

    in General Discussion

    I'm in the area, pretty busy this weekend with the holiday coming up...........after the holiday?

     

    Disclaimer - I'm not certain I could "make it better", though I do have years of "what not to do" experience.

     

    ErikS,

     

    Thank you for the quick reply! That would be great.

    Anyone in the Dale City, VA area?

    in General Discussion

    Howdy all. I am still pretty new at all of this and was hoping I might be able to get some advice from some local experts. I just bought a coral (my first one) and am not sure if I put him in my tank right. I was wondering if anyone lived in the Dale City area would be willing to stop by my house sometime this weekend and have a look at my tank? And please, offer suggestions on how to make it better! I am falling in love with this hobby!

     

    Thanks in advance,

    Brian

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