Tylers ~30 gal system build.

whatcaneyedo · #1 01-28-2011, 02:30 PM

I get texts and emails from mine. It has to send an email to 2503017298@txt.bell.ca for me to recieve the message as a text.

zum14 · #2 02-03-2011, 06:37 AM

So it arrived today. Ordered yesterday. Its hard to beat. Thanks JL.

I was a little worried, the wife said it was pretty light when she picked it up, and I remember my 400W ballasts are anything but light. I wasnt expecting such a tiny little box. Kinda nice though, dont have to get crazy with mounting it.
I have the pendant where I think im going to like it. Well I hope so anyways. I was able to turn it on for a couple mins to get an idea of the color. I really like it. Went with a phoenix 14K, lumenmax 3 pendant and sunlight supply ballast. I know its not magnetic but you cant even find them anymore. 150w ballasts are rare as it is looking at websites anyways. Ive got 5 days off this weekend so will slowly acclimate everything. Its going to be a huge change going from 2 t5 units 16" away with crappy bulbs to an awesome reflector and bulb. Its going to be a cloudy day in the reef tomorrow as I havent got the ballast mounted yet. The cord on the pendant is long enough ( another plus ) that I can run it through the floor and mount the ballast in the basement below. Cooler down there plus less moisture and well I dont have a tonne of room under the stand. With all the cords and switches and components on this tank its starting to look like the back of my surround sound. Ha. Going to finish the install and tie everything up friday, try to keep it as clean as possible. Working on some LED night lights. Have a few more floats to install. Nothing serious, just a lot of little odds and ends to tie up. I am a little concerned I will run into heat problems this summer though. I do run a/c in the house but not to sub 20* temps. Its only 30Gal of water which will be interesting. I only have pumps running and the old t5s a ways away and the tanks at 78*. Im going to run some fans (with auto top off I can get away with it now) and see how that goes before investing in a cooler, considering I will need to drill another hole in my floor if I need to run pipes into the basement for the chiller. Theres no room upstairs for it.

whatcaneyedo · #3 02-03-2011, 02:17 PM

Let me know if you're interested in a green coral goby. I may have to get rid of mine. It really likes hosting my elegance coral which wasn't a problem when I had all three frags in my sump. But now that only one is down there getting all of the attention I think the goby is irritating it too much. For the time being I've separated the goby to my QT tank.

Skimmerking · #4 02-03-2011, 05:35 PM

tank is looking stellar man , well done I love the 150 DE i wish that the 250'w would be like that.

zum14 · #5 02-05-2011, 02:44 AM

So i decided to order a matted filefish for my tank that has become overrun with them wonderful brown pests. I figure any corals he gets a taste for, well i guess ill have to set up a frag tank, darn... Anywho the lfs finally got one in and its probably just over 2". Anyone here think its a mistake in a 20g tank? I have a good amount of flow and kept the rock down in the DT for more swimming room. Im just a little concerned on this move thats all. One last thought before pulling the trigger, i dont like impulse buys, ive gotten burned too much. Anyone have any opinion on that? (the idea is if hes successful with the the pest removal i can do a new FTS)

zum14 · #6 02-06-2011, 03:43 AM

So the Filefish is in. Its not nearly as big as I thought it was once it was in the tank. It pretty much hung out in the back for a while. Its really crazy to see its colors go in and out so quickly. Neat eyes too. Anywho it started to cruise a bit, slowly and methodically. I saw it pic at some sand and rocks, figured good its eating a bit. This is a good sign. I watched it for a while and noticed something. Couple weeks ago I did a round of flatworm exit. I thought it worked well but didnt get all the flatworms. Well... Guess who has a taste for them. HA! Perfect. Zipped up all remaining flatworms right away. Neat. Had to go to the parents for dinner tonight and was watching him before I left. BAM! Nailed a huge aiptasia! Im stoked! All I know is he has to nibble on some corals. No fish is this perfect. And if he does, Im totally cool with it. Ill put them into a frag tank. Lets face it, no ones perfect. Really stoked and excited to see the progression of what is going to happen with it. Ill get some pics up tomorrow maybe, Hes still chilling out with the lights out.

zum14 · #7 02-06-2011, 06:20 PM

All I hear is the jaws song as I watch it lurk around the tank, its even got the top fin. Its great. Its hard not to spook it when it takes a chunk out of an aiptasia, Im just soo excited. Hahaha. Anywho here he is.

Some of the corals seem to really like the new light as well. Really starting to make some colors pop.

Ive got a bit more cleaning to do then I will take a new FTS.