Dustin Pedretti Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Nice man...I'm glad it's coming together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) More teaser pics. Lol nothing fun, just lots of boring but necessary stuff. Feels real good to stock up though. Firstly, stained two coats on the light rail. It's not an exact match but close enough for me. They both look nearly black anyway in a dimly lit room with a bright tank. Second coat of polyurethane curing. In 48 hrs I'll sand and paint the inside. Anyone have real world experience with white gloss appliance epoxy? I'm expecting a two week full cure time before it's reef safe. About 20-25 pounds of pukani rock (with a few pieces of Fiji I had laying around) underwent a 72 hour 20% bleach bath to break up and dissolve a lot of the organic filth on the rocks. They're super clean now. I don't want to acid dip because they're so porous I don't want to risk ruining it. After a thorough rinse and an overnight rodi bath, Manny is gonna test the phosphate to help me know if it'll be safe to use as is, or if I'll need to treat with Lanthanum Chloride. One of my best friends IRL manages a pool store literally about a quarter mile from my house so I'll get the hookup on LC there and avoid hunting it down online. Today I went to Houston to meet a dude who was vacating the hobby and stocked me way up on misc stuff on the bigtime cheap. It's boring stuff, but for around $100, I now have quite a bit of salt, several gallons of ca, alk, and mg, about a years worth of carbon and gfo, and some magnetic probe and dosing line holders. Not a bad score. I feel good going into the upgrade knowing I've got plenty of all that. Funny story. I locked my keys in the truck immediately after loading it all up. So, had to hang out for an hour waiting on pop a lock. Oh well. At least he shared his beer with me while I waited. Hope to get the canopy painted before weekend Edited May 8, 2014 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Looking good man! Love the way the canopy came out, that's a great way to hang your lights! You gonna cycle the new tank before you move everything over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Thanks rob! I am gonna do a cycle. I'm super anxious to start it actually. Just need to see this phosphate situation. I'm gonna cycle the new rock with some live sand in the garage. I'll also be removing a good bit of my current sandbed as well and relocating it to the new tank while it cycles. My aiptasia issue is beyond acceptable levels currently so I'm debating on puttin peppermints in pre or post tank change over. Gonna put the new hood over the old tank as well to get it light acclimated for a couple weeks. I spent all my extra money on other gear instead of supplemental lighting so I need to sell some sps to make that money back. Good luck on your tank move rob. I can't wait to see pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Man that guy gave us both killer deals. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 i agree the canopy looks nice. as for the aiptasia issue, i'd add the peppermints before moving it over. in case that solve it you can try other things to take care of it before it goes into the new tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'd tackle it before as well. I'll rent out my copperband butterfly fish for a small fee. He'll destroy everything in there in about a month I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Cb butterfly is actually on my wish list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 They are super sensitive to copper medication and are real hard to train to eat but if you can defy the odds, you'll never have an aiptasia issue ever again. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'm willing and able to accept the challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I think the hardest part of the equation is also getting one that was handled gently. I've read that damage to their fins during handling increases the mortality rate in these fish. To the point where when Jeremy caught it for me, he used a large bowl and scooped it up instead of a net. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Lol wanna sell me yours when my tank is transferred? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe he will trade it for a halographic golem card. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Doh!!! So much sanding!! On a positive note...manny let me borrow his Hanna checker and my new Pukani rock sitting in RODI water is measuring 0.07ppm phosphate. I can live with that. Tested the display twice an got 0.00 both times. Turned off the gfo/carbon reactor Edited May 8, 2014 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Almost done!! Canopy has been sanded down on the inside and painted with two thick coats of appliance epoxy enamel. This stuff is great. Cures hard as a rock and is smooth as glass. Should do well. I also sanded down the exterior of the canopy and refinished the polyurethane to give it a clean fresh shine. All went swimmingly. I'm going to put a single piece of aluminum channel along the top of the light rail just to resist bowing over time. Very happy with how it all turned out though. Looks clean and pretty. Rocks and another 25 pounds of sand have begun curing as well. Man oh man I forgot how bad that smells. Garage reeks of death. Good thing it only lasts a couple days. Moved the tank to the back of the garage and put shims under the stand so it's perfectly level and tomorrow I'll be doing a full test run with tap water. Also will complete the finishing process of the side car cabinet I'm building to house the ballasts, controller displays, power strips, ect. I'll post a pic of that when it's done. Getting closer to being finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veni Vidi Vici Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Photoperiod advice on the new halides? Previous tank was 4x54 watt t5ho with decent reflectors, directly on the tank , tank 18" tall, going to 2x250 overdriven halides 12" above the water 24" tall tank. Previous photoperiod was 10 hours. Still toiling over what to supplement with too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Any chance you have par measurements ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Negative. I think the closest par meter is about 2 hours from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'd just go back to 3-4 hours of lighting and ramp up slowly from there. You've had SPS long enough that you can probably tell if they are getting too much light by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Yeah, the cons of starting your lights too long are much greater than the benefits of ramping up quickly. I ramped mine up over a period of months to the 9 hours its at currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Good call and agreed. I'd rather start too low than too high. I can definitely tell when bleaching starts to happen. What's a safe increase time? 30 minutes a week? Gonna be super weird having a dark tank for the majority of the day except for 3 hours at night? Gonna wait till 7pm before I start the lights. Would be nice to get a BML strip or something just so I can at least view the tank, objectively if nothing else, to see and monitor the state of things, outside that tiny window of time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 That's what my cheapy stunner strip is for... basically just lights it up for my viewing pleasure but doesn't really add any significant par. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 What color stunner strips are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I only use it for dawn to dusk. It's just the standard blue one, 4' long. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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