Triggerfish31

My 75 is up and running with four power heads, T-5 lighting, protein skimmer as well as my 15 QT and 30 rubbermaid container. The skimmer is not running yet and I still have to add the rest of the salt. I have two questions is should you seed the tank before or after adding live rock? Should the rubbermaid container store RO/DI water or saltwater? Aaron

I also have been going thier about once every two months. I enjoy the drive up and buy dry goods they sell at a good discount compared to the LFS in our area. Shopping online with them has also be a good experience since I can have goods shipped by FedEx ground and it still arives at my house within three days. Aaron

I am located in NW DC near the intersection of Connecticut Ave. and Nebraska Ave. At this time I do not have salt water in the tank since I just filled it up with RO/DI water and added the powerheads. I wired the lighting system myself and can use some help from someone with electrical knowledge. Thanks for the replies. The best time for anyone to take a look at my set up would be after Easter. Anytime next week or next weekend. Aaron

I have finally finished filling my 75 gallon tank with RO/DI water. I installed my three power heads and double checked my T-5 lighting system and everything looked alright. I plugged one of the two ballast in the socket and it blew creating a small spark. There must be an easier way to do this. The wire connecting the ballast to the socket were freyed. I have one ballast left and nothing happened. I really do not have the money to replace ballasts on and off. Can anyone give me a suggestion on what to do? The light were working several weeks ago. Aaron

I am planning on being there. My first meeting was also at the National Aquarium. I plan to start filling my 75 gallon tank this weekend. Hopefully I will be ready to buy a clean up crew by the next meeting. Aaron

Thank you all for the advise on the bronken hinge. I took off the inserts and bought 4 hinges and attached them to the top of the canopy. The canopy is now fixed. Two weeks ago I did some shopping at "That Fish Place" and bought myself another powerhead, test kit and a DI unit to attach to my RO unit. I still have to get a background and tubing for my flitration system. Two days ago I bought a new protein skimmer online to replace the SeaClone 100. I hope to be filling up the 75 gallon tank by the end of this month. I took more pics with the lights working but you will have to wait until the film is developed. I am not ready to buy a digital camera yet. Aaron

If I bought four 3 or 3 1/2in hinges would this work instead of a piano hinge. Is a piano hinge the on that runs down the entire length of what you want to open/close?

It is a wooden canopy. There is nothing wrong with the lights except several are attach to the loose frame that opens. I am just going to break down and buy a digital camera. I saw one on sale for $125 at Microcenter with 5.1 megapixels over the weekend. Is this good quality, I am not sure who made this one since I was just brousing. I know the higher the megapixels the better. Aaron

Over this past weekend I got my new lighting system up and running. Just my luck to have the hinges that allows me to open the canopy up break loose. Does anyone know how to fix this? The canopy I have opens from the top and the hinges were attach to the inside of the canopy by two cylindrical pieces. One fits inside the other. Aaron :(

I bought one of these as well for my 75 tank setup. I have not even opened the box yet and I bought it early last month. I read the other replies on this thread. Should I return this and upgrade to a bigger one? Would the recomendations for the skimmers listed above be suitable for my 75 reef tank? Aaron

I have talked to the company where I got the ballast from and they told me that the problem I have is due to a loose connection in one of the light fixtures. Also They told me how to get the stuck wire out of the ballast. As for pictures, I still have none, but I have taken some with my camera and will have to wait until I finish the roll and get it developed. Has anyone had any luck with pictures from the CVS disbposable digital camera? Aaron

I will try to get a pic by mid week. I do not have a digital camera. I have taken several pics of my set up so far. Maybe I can use my cellphone and see what type of picture quality I get that way you can see what I am talking about. Aaron

I completed installing my T-5 kit into my canopy. I have two questions. 1)How do I get a small broken piece of wire out of the ballast? It broke when I was trying to get a piece of wire out becuase the wire was too short in reaching the light fixture. 2)I tried pluggin the other ballast in and only saw a flash of light and nothing else. I double checked my wiring and it matahces the diagram on the ballast. I have two ballast. Each one controls two bulbs.

I plan on attending as well. Aaron

Hi my name is Aaron Parker and I live in upper NW DC. I am new to WAMAS and plan on setting up a 75 gallon reef tank. Since this will be my first try setting up a reef I am planning to keep:soft corals, mushroom coral, toadstools, zooanthids, pulsing xenia and several small SW fish. I am in the process of setting up a web site to document my progress as well as my other interests. I have just started a new job with the US Department of Homeland Security and I have lived in DC most of my life.