NightOwl

Hi all, I recently purchased a new PFO 250 HQI ballast, but I need some wiring help. I have two wires on the used spider reflector with mogul socket I purchased (black and white) and three wires coming from the ballast wiring harness (black, white, and green). I previously had a pendant and used a screw in the pendant as a ground. Where do i ground the green wire when I mount the reflector? Also I was reading that I should not mount the reflector directly on wood due to temperature. What people are people using when mounting these? Thanks, Henry

Coral Hind, LOL. The incident occured when I put the second breaker in the box. The green light was on my GFCI but none of the outlets worked. I plugged in my little circuit tester and it told me I had an open hot. So I unwired the breaker and checked my wiring and re-did the wiring in the three gang box and wa-la. It worked when I tested it again. My "Black and Decker - The Complete Guide to Home Wiring" book was a great help. Full of pictures and as long as you understand the basics it's easy. I did not even cut the power off to the house .

Well for the first time in over a year or so I was able to run the vacuum in my basement without plugging it in the back room or having it trip the basement breaker. I have successfully added 2 - 20 amp breakers into my existing panel. I probably cut more holes in the wall than needed but I am happy to report I did not electrocute myself in the process! After a lot of reading I was able to wire everything up with only one incident. I will try to get around to posting some pictures of the new control panel in my wall after I repair the 2 x 6 foot hole I made. I added 7 outlets and 2 switches but it works for me. For four days now the tank has been on its own circuits.

amos, From time to time if pick up a some new corals and they are a bit on the small side I change my bulbs to make them grow faster . During that time I am not concerned with the look of the tank but focused on growth. Depending on the growth I get I keep the blue plus out for a month or so then put them back in and watch things color back up. But that's just me.

jamesbuf, Sean over at AQUACO has them (ATI) or had them . With the right combo it does not end up looking too blue. I can tell you to save yourself some headache and just throw the Geissman away...lol. They have a pretty pacakage and thats about it . When you get a ATI bulb and put in and compare you will see the difference quickly. The GE bulb is going to be really yellow but your corals will grow like they are on roids. It will also make certain colors pop that you will not see from the blue plus. Keep us posted on what think.

I have been running the ATI Blue Plus bulbs in my T5 setup for about two years. As far as color I don't really think there is a blue bulb out there that can stand up to them. I have tried a few and multiple combinations. Most of them just end up in the T5 corner my little version of a scrap pile that allows me to look a different combinations. I recently tried the Giesemann Aqua Blue Plus bulbs, their brand new bulb did not compare color wise to my 18 month old ATI bulbs. So after 2 days of use they were taken out. ATI Blue Plus are really that nice! I originally started off with a 6 blub T5 set up and went with the suggestion from Grim over at Reef Central. I am now down to 4 T5 bulbs and the only time I take out my Blue Plus is when I am in a growing out phase. I switched back to T12 for actinic bulbs. The T5s just don't cut it in my opinion for actinic. I tried atlest three different brands :( and none made the coral pop like the URI VHO Super Actinic Bulb . For more info on T5's or if you have a certain look you want just go to RC thread and ask Grim. T5 Thread on RC Just my 2 cent

Well I got out to Lowes and Home Depot tonight. Finding a 3 gang socket plate is a pain in the rear. Neither place had it and I will have to check the Home Depot closer to me or an actual electrical lighing store. I was able to pick up the 20 amp Arc Fault Breaker tonight along with two 3 gang boxes. In the process I forgot the actuall outlets so I will look for a contractor pack tomorrow for those. CHUBAKAH, Are you saying that I can not have the two 3 gang boxes (6 sockets total) on a single 20 amp circuit and still be within the code limitations? Or is that referring to using multiple GFCI sockets? davelin315, Hopefully I won't get to the point where I need a subpanel just for the tanks. I am hoping the off-load will help. I have plans for adding another 20 amp breaker down the line but its not in the immediate future. Thanks

Lisa Julia Photography, Thanks for the comments. Glad you ran across the forum. We also have themed photo contests each month that you can particpate in as well. Welcome to WAMAS . Chris, Thanks for comments.

Hey Gang, Work was a bit busy today so I did not have time to respond and for some reason the forum did not notify me I had responses. CHUBAKAH, I meant GFCI sorry for the typo. I have not created a new electrical socket just yet . I have multiple tanks in my basement right now and would like to move two of the tanks to the 20 amp circuit. I know its overkill but I don't plan to max it out. Currently my basement is very close to being maxed out. Plugging in the vacuum cleaner sometimes trips the circuit breaker depending on what is on in my basement. With the 20 amp circuit breaker I plan to use no more than 80% of its capacity. A 20 amp breaker at 80% is only 1920 watts. I will be pulling 1090 watts in just lights in a few weeks. When you start thinking about big pumps and lights that 1920 watts gets eaten up fast. It will also take some of the load off my existing wiring which I think is a high priority. I do not plan on putting the lights on the GFCI so I should be ok there. I am thinking of placing a pump on it for a closed loop that is in my pipeline of projects. Buucca, I checked on the price of the GFCI breakers and they are not as bad as I thought they would be so I worked them in my budget . Brian Ward, I currently have the 12-2 wire behind the wall and just have to decide how many boxes I want. If I add 6 sockets total that will be enough for miscellaneous things to plug in i.e. new ballast, new lights . I will look into the 20A Arc Fault breaker that you mentioned. I am trying to limit the number of GFCI sockets in my set up. I want to keep the wiring as simple as possible . I.E. not kill myself. I think the wife would like that a lot. I am not sure I want to wire each one separately so I may just stick to one. I think code or general rule is one per circuit /raceway or something like that I read last night. Integral9, I will look more into the 'plenum' wire. I do plan on doing an in-wall install behind the tank. I basically want a mini power center in my wall with a few sockets for my new toys that are coming. CHUBAKAH, Nothing really needs a 20 amp breaker, but I want to offload some things to a dedicated breaker just for my tanks. I have seen a few fish rooms that are pushing a 15amp breaker to the limits and I don't want to be there. It will also give me some room for the initial start up of ballasts and other items which draw a bit more at start-up then they normally run at. Heck I might even be able to hook up my vacuum cleaner in the finished basement area . I only plan on having one GFCI on the circuit. You can actually get the GFCI three pack pretty reasonable. I only needed one but the three-pack was a much better deal so that

reefmontalvo, I checked the county website before posting and I am reaching PDF saturation . If someones knows off hand it's quicker than me skimming through mulitple pdf documents not really knowing what I am looking for. I will check Lowes tomorrow but I don't think it will give me what I want either. I am hoping an electrician can answer the question off hand and save me some reading. Thanks

Hey Gang, I have a question on a new circuit breaker I want to install. I would like to add one CFCI socket and two or three sockets in a 3 or 4 gang box. I have already cut the wall for a single box and fished the new 12-2 wire for a 20 amp breaker. I have yet to install the circuit breaker or connect the wires to the service panel. After some more reading I was wondering would it be better to install a 20 amp CFCI circuit breaker and three to four sockets in the a box? Will putting the 3 to 4 sockets in one box violate any electrical codes? Thanks

Great job gang. Congrats again.

Once again Chris those are some sick corals. Very nice as always.

Bob that was me. I worked in Reston at the time . I remember being nervous about making the exchange in the MS parking lot. I kept think is someone gonna come out and get me...lol. Glad to see they are still producing.

Bob is that some the fuzzy green pocillopora you got back from me a couple years ago? My tank use to be overrun with it. I lost almost all of mine except a small frag when I had the PH incident but it is now making a good comeback. I have at least two like you that have taken a liking to the frag rack.

Ne0eN, Pretty much just dosing the additional mag from what I see. I have been doing it indirectly for a while now but I am going to use my triple doser to does the required amount of magnesium as well now. Currently I montitor and dose ever now and then when the mag gets low. Might as well get my money's worth out of the triple doser . It has only been using 2 of the pumps for the last year or so. That doer they use is too expensive for my blood.

I don't really think its a new method per say but its actually targeting magnesium as well. In the past when my levels are out out wack they always ask about cal, alk and mag levels. So if all three are actively monitored/dosed I guess it makes sense it keeps things in check.

I look at those pictures everyday when I visit RC the colors are amazing. The method (balling) he using to control his levels is the method I am going to start off with in another week or two just waiting for a part to get here and the third of part of the suppliments.

Mexican dwarf hermit crabs will eat it. Also check your phospate levels. Green Hair algae seems to thrive at higher levels.

JM this is the last one... I need to take some new pics...lol.

Niki, Thank you for the compliments.

Thanks Connor and Chris I appreciate the compliments.

Looks nice as always Chris! Thanks for the new updated pics I see a few of your new pick ups that are insane. I will be joining you with the radiums soon.

Welcome Members!!!! The August POTM topic will be... Top Downs!!! Subject: A Top Down shot of any coral your tank. Submissions must be made b4 August 31, 2008 Photo size: 800 x 600 ONE submission per person. All images must be accomponied by the following information to be included in the voting: Submitters: Name, BBName Location: where it's taken (who's tank, ocean, etc) Camera Used: (if not available please say unknown) Subject: (what title/picture name/picture of)

MLazar, Thanks for the comments. Sikryd, Thanks as well. It's a bristle worm I have at least two in my tank that are over a foot long. I probably have hundreds of smaller ones in the tank. They are good at cleaning up anything that gets left behind in the crevices in the rockwork and behind the rocks. You can see how many you have any night about 20 -30 mins after your lights go off. They come out in full force.