|
well whats ****ing me off is i asked the guy, what i need to wire GFCI in a bathroom type environment to code. He then grabbed the readily available card that was by the wires and said, 16 3. So i bought 16 3. if that card is wrong, someone is going to get a ass whoopin when I get to the store. Stuff like this ****es me off. I just asked few people where i work, what gauage should be used for wiring and they all quickly said 14. Seems as though its a standard thing to know!!!
Btw as far as the humidity, the plugs are kinda sectioned off away from the water. And you are right, not going to move the stand but the GFCI is for the stand so it just made sense. |
No biggie, the main thing is you now know what's required and it should be a relatively easy fix. You can always use the 16/3 as an extension cord for other gear around the house.
|
the manager was nice and took back the 16guage wire and gave me 14guage!! and some money back since i bought less wire!
|
Welp! im excited! tank is filling up with water
Here is the finished plumbing i fixed up. not more chance of leak!! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...0water/013.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...0water/014.JPG I ended up having to chip some of the teeth off the overflow because not enough flow was happening! so kids, dont cut 1/8in holes for overflow http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...0water/015.JPG And here is what its starting to look like http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...0water/011.JPG Sump filled http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...0water/012.JPG |
so RO DI went into my kitchen sink and live rock is in
I got bunch new equipment thats not been installed including H & S skimmer, 1/4hp chiller, new sump, and marine tech calcium reactor The tank is going to finish cycling before i start putting in the above equipment. Here are some pictures of the RO DI It was funny though, I had the waste and clean water hooked up backwards and spent 4 days putting in 4 inches of water in the tank!! lol Before shots of my sink http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/001.JPG I went to clamp on the drain for the RO DI AND IT WOULDNT FIT!! the pipe was too big http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/003.JPG So after 5min of creative thinking, I came up with this: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/007.JPG Hot knife through butter http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/008.JPG Perfect fit http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/016.JPG i went to drill a hole for the top faucet and turns out i didnt have any metal drill bits.... so i started with a very tiny wood drill bit for about 15min, then to a 1/4 wood drill bit, then some needle nose pliers to widen it a bit. This wasnt the first time a hole was too small for me. anyways after a half hour it went in nicely http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/010.JPG I do have to say, this stage of the project was all about being creative since i didnt have the tools. And now for the live rock I think there is close to 250lbs of this stuff. (this was my first aquascape so dont be mean!!) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/018.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/019.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Rock/020.JPG feedback on aquascaping? |
Looking good so far Milad.
|
Aquascaping looks good for a fish only tank. If you are going to go with a reef tank I might consider putting some rock in your sump and letting the corals fill up the open water space. It's surprising how quickly corals grow. You probably don't want them touching the water surface right off of the bat. Right now the closest coral I have to the water surface is about 6" from the top of the coral (the coral itself is about 8" tall). This is just my personal opinion as I've seen beautiful tanks with rock piled really high as well.
|
thanks for tip, right now the sump is full of live rock to so until i put new sump in I have no room. you think the gaps between the rocks are too big in the middle?
|
when it comes to aquascaping milad its all about your vision. i think it looks good i wouldnt worry about gaps being to big or too small just be sure you dont have a rock slide and broken glass is my only concern. if you are happy and rock is secure... you are good to go:)
|
well the thing is I only have 150 MH so I wanted to get some height on the rock so I can put a few SPS in there. I can remove rock later right? When I get the new sump in Ill have more room to put rock in the sump.
Im also thinking of putting a small rubbermaid container in the sump to act as a refugium. Anyone think thats a bad idea? I dont want to put glass in, I was just gonna put the container in and drill some holes to let water slowly flow through. |
Looks good so far, you'll have to do a pic when she's all cleared up.
|
One week in
Sorry i dont have one of those inside glass cleaners yet lemme know if anyone has a suggestion on what brand to buy http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...t%20on/009.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...t%20on/011.JPG |
Sorry i dont have one of those inside glass cleaners yet
lemme know if anyone has a suggestion on what brand to buy There's a lot of good ones on the market. Get something that floats for sure. And the one thing I learned is bigger isn't always better. Those super strong magnets are ok until you pick up a grain or two of sand under them, then it's scratch city. The one thing you will want to buy for sure is an "Easy Blade Scraper Attachment". It will save you tons of time scraping that really hard stuff from the inside. http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...t_ID=cl-mrzebl |
Did you mix your salt in the tank or add it right after you mixed it ? That what it looks like. Not to bad to do during like your water change, but for a complete tank fill thats what happens.
|
ya i just poured salt in the tank when i filled it up. why is that bad? I poured just a bit every few hours until i finished a bucket.
black phantom, would you recommend http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ct_ID=cl-mre03 or a mag float? |
It is not bad at all.
From what I hear they are great. I use the Mag Float ones though. |
Quote:
|
currently for water changes im using a 26 gallon Rubbermaid trash can i bought new
the gravity was 1.020 but im trying to slowly raise it to 1.025 |
I went to buy some more clean up crew and I came home with fishies!
dammit. They were so cute though, i couldnt pass them up Bought 7 turbo snails, around 15 other snails, 7 hermit crabs, 2 cinnamon clowns, 1 yellow clown goby, 2 shirmp (not sure what they are but one of them had tons of eggs on her) Here some pics! im so excited i got some clowns!! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/004.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/009.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/025.JPG Turbo snails, i love these guys, they zoom across the rock http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/026.JPG My buddy came over and saw some hair algea on one of the rocks so he gave me some of his red algea to put in my sump I put it right where the return comes (i still need socks on it) hopefully it will help. I also got a bunch of brown stuff on the rocks you can see on the second picture. It wasnt there this morning! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/029.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...20Fish/030.JPG |
Sorry I didnt get pictures of my building this mesh top but it was really simple. I bought the 1/4in poly clear mesh from http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...ble-price.html
EDIT: it now looks like you can get it from BRS too http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...ing-7-x-3.html it was a bit expensive to get it to canada but I didnt mind. I went and bought some aluminum framing for window screens from Rona which cost about 50 bucks with all the tools need (you gota get the roller tool, so hard without it) and then just follow instructions.. very simple to do I think it looks great The main reason for it is so the fishies dont get away. I dont want a dried up fish on my floor! I didnt put arcylic/glass because i didnt want to trap the heat mainly. BTW the fish feeder just sits on the top of mesh and drops pellets through the mesh. I didnt need to widen any holes. worked great actually. Here are some shots of it on http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...%20top/007.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...%20top/008.JPG Here is what i look at everyday now while posting messages on this board... http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...d/Desk/023.JPG |
Do i see an alliance druid? poor guy. Nice tank though, good setup.
|
yup alliance druid, glad this season hopefully!
|
Heh I have an alliance warrior lol
we should all get together and create a guild :P |
ooo, don't do that... I used to have an alliance pally (back when they where cool). 350days played of my life that i'll never get back :S. But.. good luck with gladiator, you guys should get together and be an OP 2's combo.
|
how about
We heart clownfish |
Idea's... bored? yes.
<SleepsWithTheFishes> <18lbCatfish IRL> <MrPinchyAteMyClownfish> <We Love Clams> <RealClamsDontHavePearls> |
lol so are we actually making a guild ? lmao
|
Automation
So I setup some of my automation.
I went with a neptune systems Apex controller (Very nice btw). Got two EB8s (power bars) cost me like 600+ for the package but I really really like it. So what did I get for 600? Main unit (the brain) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...mation/007.JPG One of the EB8s that switchs power on and off to each plug http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...mation/008.JPG Dispaly unit which I rarely look at but its on my desk: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...mation/010.JPG What this allows me to do is control all kinds of stuff. I have it matching my water temepture with the paracel islands area tempeture year round. So if its 77 over there today, so is my water. The controller has a tempeture probe and PH probe that monitor the water. My chiller and heaters turn on depending on what the tempeture probe tells the main unit. I also matched sun rise and sunset with my lights. I have 3 MH which go from east to west and when its sunrise over there, my east MH turns on followed 15min by central then west. Same for the moon, depending on the moon rise/set my led moonlights turn on. If the sun is not on, my sump light turns on (someone told me this is to help stableize the ph). So far so good. only thing I must note is that if you buy this controller, DONT PLUG ANYTHING INTO THE EB8 right away! you have to plug the EB8 into the main unit to program it first. I thought everything was broke when I got it so I was really ****ed but turned out I didnt read instructions! I had to keep my mian unit unplugged for 1 hour before giving it power again. I also found this user guide which is much better than the standard http://reeftech.webs.com/. What I really like about this unit is that its web enabled. Its basically a mini web server. I can control it anywhere in the world from the web... o and from my iphone! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...mation/011.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...mation/012.JPG People think im snazzy turning off my pumps when i manually feed. (they already turn off when my auto feeder starts to feed). You guys can also monitor my aquarium vitals on your computer. Just by clicking: http://www.reeftronics.net/milad/apex-status or look at the history: http://www.reeftronics.net/milad/apex-history |
Quote:
|
Wow, terrific build thread! You are doing a fantastic job for a first tank ever!
Love the automation! Cheers, Chris |
Looks like you have two green candy cane corals, red mushroom, green star polpys, xenia, a couple montipora digitata frags, and an acroprora frag or two. you have a mix of some of the easiest to some of the harder corals to start with. Cant wait to see how it asll turns out.
|
Quick update even though I know I should be doing a big update
here is the link to the live webcam stream http://milad.homeip.net:5679 |
I just went through your whole build looks great... Where is the FTS?
I like the webcam... but no lights on at 12:00 am where is the night viewing? I'll check back later :D |
Quote:
What is a FTS? |
Quote:
|
Here is full tank shot, im still trying to figure out how to shoot good pics. as you can tell i suck atm.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...7_filtered.jpg |
Quote:
|
Full tank shots and livestock update
Here are some full tank shots and livestock update (i havent killed two many things yet)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/029.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/035.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/003.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/006.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/007.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/008.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/013.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/015.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/016.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/068.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...-07-20/081.JPG |
Overbending wood
So while making my stand one thing that kinda sucked was the wood we laminated was severaly bent. So i couldnt put it on the stand with magnets because of the curve it had. My carpenter buddy was hoping the laminate would bend it back straight but it didnt.
So after talking to some more carpenters there turns out to be a whole school of thought on overbending wood! Some sort of "art". So i took a crack at it. First step, get bent piece of wood Second step, put some 2x4s or stack some other wood on a table somewhere Third step, clamp it down until you overbend it enough without cracking it http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...ending/043.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...ending/044.JPG http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aqua...ending/045.JPG As you can see, i had a trusty kitchen table that expanded which I used. I stacked a few pieces of small wood a few inches high then clamped down the ends to the table. I let this sit overnight and check it the next night. I bent it a little the first night then really reefed it the second night and it straightned out how I wanted it. Its trial and error I guess, you might need to go two or three nights instead of one. |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 02:36 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.