[Chin_Lee]

October 27, 2006
Anthony (again) came over and helped me install the canopy that I had built. Hey…. it swings both ways ….. the canopy I mean….




November 2006
The finishing plywood was added to the frame, the pre-painted cabinets were sanded down and all wood pieces were stained.
The closed loop was plumbed with the intake from the 2” bulkhead in the center of the tank (previously the center overflow). Pump used is a Barracuda and the output is split three ways – one to the one inch hole in the center of the tank (also from the previous overflow) and two main returns to each back corners of the tank via two Wavysea Plus wave making devices.

December 2006
Lighting was added to the canopy. Two 400W HQI will used to light this tank and light distribution will be provided by a light moving device called a Sun Circle.

This device is more commonly used by hydroponic gardeners (aka Marihuana farmers) to maximize their lighting equipment to plant ratio. The device will move two lights in a circle continuously with one revolution every 90 seconds. The wiring for the lights are hard-wired within the device which is hard to explain in words but the end result is that the wires do not get wind up and stop the light movement.
Two Luminarc mini reflectors are attached to each arm and I’ve chosen to initially use 400 W 10K Reeflux bulbs for their incredible high PAR readings with HQI ballasts and their nice 430 nm spike of blue.
The lighting is intense but because its always moving, it is evenly distributed. The only downside are the corners do not get as bright as I would have liked but it’s disadvantage is considered very minimal. I introduced the acros to the new lights by using only one light one for a week and then started the second one for a few hours and still increasing,

The block of metal attached are counterweights of the mogul socket and metal holder on the opposite side of the reflector.

In this picture you can see the MH ballast wires running to the top of the Sun Circle, the four black dots are part of the hard wiring through the device, and the wires come out the bottom electrical box to the lamps. The motor on the top attached to the black cable is the motor that moves the lights.

December 15, 2006
So the cabinet is finished, the lights are in, its time to add RO/DI water.



The big wind storm and the turbulence in the water didn’t help to move the project along but in the end, 280 gallons of RO/DI was made, salt added, and added into the tank. Along came Anthony again (did I mention how helpful this guy has been… ) and he did all the initial aquascaping for me; the thing was beautiful even without any corals or fish.

Lighting in this picture are with Radium 20K bulbs. The plan for the aquascaping was established and created.

The move of all my hard corals began and many of the pieces did not like the move at all. I lost a few nice pieces and many are still recuperating. But the majority of them are doing well with nice polyp extensions.

[Continue third post as I exceeded number of images]