bbyatv March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 (edited) Well, I finally broke down my 30g found here: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...5&hl=bbyatv And started my new 90. Here are some pictures to date. I have a ton of DIY on this new tank. It has been very fun building it. When I moved the 30g down, it was so full of stuff, I had a hard time finding room for it all in the bigger tank. The new refugium/frag tank. Aclimating lots of coral at one time. Everything seems to be adjusting well. (Knock on wood!) Bruce Edited March 11, 2008 by bbyatv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawns March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 new totm tradition: after receiving the totm award, break down and get BIGGER!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 Looking good Bruce. Glad to see everything is handling the transfer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller March 11, 2008 Share March 11, 2008 Wow, Very nice Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv March 12, 2008 Author Share March 12, 2008 Thanks for all of the nice compliments. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 March 12, 2008 Share March 12, 2008 Hey Bruce, break down some of the DIY stuff you have on there. I think that the Helios disposable T5 reflector mod you did would be of great interest to a lot of people here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv March 12, 2008 Author Share March 12, 2008 Hey Bruce, break down some of the DIY stuff you have on there. I think that the Helios disposable T5 reflector mod you did would be of great interest to a lot of people here. Dave, Good idea. Here is the story. I wanted to add some additional T5 lights for some additional watts and color in my tank. I do not have a lighting box over the tank. It is open and so has to look presentable. So the plan was to buy some T5 strip lights that were nice enough looking that they could be attached right to the outside of the MH fixture I have. I found these light fixtures called Helios for $31 here: http://www.commodityaxis.com/ProductData.aspx?id=68 I knew I would not like the bulb and planned on replacing it with an ATI bulb. When I got the light I took it up to BRK and worked with John to check out the PAR. The light was only putting out 150 on the PAR meter. Oh No! Was the balast crap? John let me try a Giesman bulb in the fixture and the PAR reading went to 850. Good News! The problem was that the Giesman bulb was about 20mm shorter than the bulb that it came with. On the Helio box it claims that the bulb is not replaceable. No problem, just use a pair of plyers to pull out the plastic fitting from the end of the aluminum extrusion. OK. Now I had to cut the aluminum extrusion down in length by 20mm and then insert a new bulb. It took very little work to get what I wanted. If you are not worried about appearance or are hiding the fixture in a box, this could be done easier by buying a T5 strip light from BRK and adding a reflector for about the same price. Any way here are the pics of the lights. I added one on either side of the MH fixture and they are bright as heck: Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 March 12, 2008 Share March 12, 2008 I came by Bruce's place the other night. He was kind enough to break off a piece of the pocipora (sp?) to replace the one of mine that got badly bleached. Anyway, Bruce showed me his new set up and I have to say, seeing it in person was even more impressive. The photos just don't do it justice. Great job Bruce and thanks again for that frag. It's doing very nicely in my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak March 13, 2008 Share March 13, 2008 The new tank looks really nice. There is a lot of rock in there though, what about some open sand bed space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 March 20, 2008 Share March 20, 2008 The rock is all on racks, or at least it was when I was there. Hey Bruce, tell them about your custom overflows and how you get to the back! Bruce "King of the Cheap DIY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 4, 2008 Author Share April 4, 2008 Just a couple of recent pics. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Grenier April 4, 2008 Share April 4, 2008 Lookin good Bruce. Pretty neat that the rock is on racks but I can't see the racks in the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 4, 2008 Author Share April 4, 2008 Larry, It is hard to see the PVC from any angle. I have hidden it very well. The only way you can see it clearly is from the side of the tank. The tank is in a corner and you can not look down the sides any way. The racks work great. They have saved a ton of money in LR, allow for great water circulation, give the fish lots of room to swim and allowed me to create caves for all the live stock to move in and out of. All this and it still looks like tha tank is full of rock. I really like it and can not take my eyes off my tank. Bruce Lookin good Bruce. Pretty neat that the rock is on racks but I can't see the racks in the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 Man, that is a SWEET REEF! I'd LOVE to see how you built the racks. I was thinking that that is a LOT of LR. But you say it just looks that way. How much is in there? Looks like your anemone is on the move too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 5, 2008 Author Share April 5, 2008 There is about 120 lbs. or so. I took some pics from ths side so you could kind of see. The anemone moved once but has not moved since. Bruce Man, that is a SWEET REEF! I'd LOVE to see how you built the racks. I was thinking that that is a LOT of LR. But you say it just looks that way. How much is in there? Looks like your anemone is on the move too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 That's a cool idea with building a rack to stack rock on. Fantastic job stacking the rocks to cover the rack, Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 How do you keep the side glass so clean? It looks like the rock comes right up to the glass and the sides DO look clean. It also looks like you have some T's that are open so the PVC is flooded with water. Do you have water circulating through the PVC to keep it flushed out? Or do fish/inverts call the inside home? That really is a great idea. It really lets you get a lot of bang for a buck when it comes to the price of LR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 7, 2008 Author Share April 7, 2008 Here are some up the back shots: Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 7, 2008 Author Share April 7, 2008 Here are the overflows made from a trash can. I have 1/4 of the can in each of the two rear corners. I have also posted some pics of the access hole I climb through to get to the back of the tank. Good for me I am not a large person. Bruce The rock is all on racks, or at least it was when I was there. Hey Bruce, tell them about your custom overflows and how you get to the back! Bruce "King of the Cheap DIY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 7, 2008 Author Share April 7, 2008 Some Fish Pics: 3 Tang Clan Picked this guy up for $25 at Pacific East Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla April 7, 2008 Share April 7, 2008 Bruce, Great looking tank. BTW, what's the lineage on that RBTA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 7, 2008 Author Share April 7, 2008 Dan, Thanks a bunch. The RBTA is from Chip's tank via Johns Hess's tank. Bruce Bruce, Great looking tank. BTW, what's the lineage on that RBTA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 21, 2008 Author Share April 21, 2008 (edited) My new DIY Carbon/Phosphate reactor. Check it out in the DIY forum here: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=21679 Bruce Edited April 21, 2008 by bbyatv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 23, 2008 Author Share April 23, 2008 I am so stoked. I found some pics I took of the tank when I was leak testing it. I knew I had them somewhere. You can really see the trash can overflows and closed loop plumbing I have installed. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv April 27, 2008 Author Share April 27, 2008 Some cool new pics of my RBTA Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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