rainbody

It ran for 2 hours without a hitch. Afew minutes after plugging in the last 3 things(all one extension cord) it popped. So Im down to either a 18W UV, heater, or small powerhead. The trial and error testing is about to begin. Im thinking now maybe water go into the UV. The heaters is pretty new. Replace about a month ago(old heater melted bracket). Pump is noraml (hopefully)

Im just thankful it doesnt look like one of the Panworld Pumps. (knock on wood)

Ryan

I leave for a work "vacation" on friday. The wife is going to be "watching" the tank. Im going to be nervous until I come home.

Looks like a RKM-NET is seen in my future.

As of now its doing ok. Ive unplugged alot of the extras and am only running core items. 40 mins and going well.

Im now thinking that it was a surge issue and that several resets of the GFIC was needed. We will see as I bring the other items online one at a time. Any thoughts?

Why are all the issues always on days you cant do much or have something pressing?

Ive got it up and running for now. It runs about 10-15 mins then kick off. The last interupt being with the possible bad pump not running. But ive got it into limp mode which means tons of microbulbs but its turning over. Could the GFIC be bad? Would back pressure on a pump cause it to trip the GFCI?

Theres zero leaks or water issues that would cause a grounding at this point.

Came home to a GFI cicuit popped and I cant get it reset. It will run for afew minutes then pop again. I have no idea where the interupt is. Ive got a panworld pump that may be the cause but i cant tell. Theres black gunk that i pulled from under the pump itself. Like tar but yellow when rubbed across my fingers. Any ideas? Is the pump the issue? What else should I isolate?

And I have to leave the tank for a month in 3 days!!!

Ryan

I can honestly say Ive been guilt of the over feeding. Its fun. But its hard to put a label on all the fish.

Depending on what you keep in the tank fish wise is how much you should feed. Anthias have a high metabolism and their natural diet doesnt contain alot of energy(zooplankton). But if they are eating other foods then it shouldnt matter.

But the big one for me is the aggression. I feed several small feedings keeps the tank alot happier. I dont end up with fish with split fins and good color. Of course I have to run extra filters just to be safe. But lack of feeding leads quickly to agression especially if you keep several of the same fish. ie group of tangs. Its something to think about as you stock your system.

Ive always had an issue with fittings. The math says I need 1.5" bulkheads but in reality I should make them 2". Its impossible to upgrade the fitting once the tank is running.

If any of you are like me then theres always an upgrade in the works. Its easy to reduce the mainline to fit the new item but the other way just doesnt work, the water just isnt there.

JMO

The one I linked is the ballast that hooks up to a reefkeeper through that Advanced Light Controller module. The digital aquatics forum has a whole slew of threads about how it works using mV 1-10.

Heres a demo of what I would love to see in my own reef tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L9s-wfjleA

And thats with the GHL Profilux Simu Sticks.

As I contine to research where to go on my light upgrade quest, Im found dimmable T5 ballast and group of loyal followers chating thats its "the way of the future". Why I do agree that a sudden click on or off of lights is anything but natural, I like to hear from the rest of you.

http://www.servicelighting.com/Sylvania-49673-QT2X54-120PHO-DIM-2-Lamp-Circline-T2-T5-Fluorescent-Ballast thats the product most are pushing. Ive yet find anything other.

And for those of us running a reefkeeper this is why my exploration started http://www.forum.digitalaquatics.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=955

If anyone could share their knowledge or even their thoughts it would be appreciated.

And if this thing works, what order would you turn the lights up in to be as natural as possible? Purples then Blues then 10ks? Any Ideas?

My reefkeeper has a slot for an ORP probe. Does it do many any good to hook one up? Whats the advantage to knowing what the ORP value is?

The airline tubing worked great. It prevent the impeller from dislodging and making the clicking sound but I found it really reduced flow. I just took them off wavemaker and let them run. Thanks for your help everyone.

So Im screwing them up by running them on a controller? or is it just not designed for that? Ill be putting that tubing in shortly regardless. Thanks

Ive got 2 Koralia #2s on the side of the tank that are now making sounds. I recently hooked them up to a controller and now they make sounds when they turn on. When they click on, I can see the impeller shifting forward and then dropping back. Any ideas on whats going on?

These are the big 36" dual tube type straight pin

4 96w straight pin bulbs never been opened. Got them by mistake. 2 10k bulbs and 2 10k/Actinic 03 blue.

$25 a piece

What kind of MH lights?

I run a 1/6 hp chiller oceanic type. Its big, draws huge amounts of power(popped cicuit day one), and is yet another set of fitting to worry about. But its need to keep control of the temp swing throughout the day as the house heats up not to mention its got heater attachments for those 40 degree days in texas.

My dad was one of the ones in houston who lost his fish during the hurricane. But it wasnt the lack of O2 or build-up of CO2. Lack of power also ment no A/C. That tank hit 95 degrees after the storm blew through.

I hate piggy backing on someone elses thread so I hope no one minds.

But as of now I have an Coralife Pro light set. Its got 3 150 HQIs and 4 96w PC lights plus 4 moon lights. I would love to upgrade to 250s or even 400s but Im not willing to shell out the 1k to 1500 bucks to do it.

I wrote corallife directly(oceanicsystems) about switching up to a 250 HQI set (asked if they had a refit kit or how to guide)and got nothing from them.

I guess the bottom line is I wanted to refit my 150 HQI lightset with 250s or 400s

I hope its that easy. They have been in for about 3 days now.

Well there went my cheap upgrade for my lights. Thanks for the help.

Is there a difference when it comes to HQI or SE?

Ive just added several small LPS colonies to the setup and I have no idea what Im looking for. While I do know alot about behavior and adjustments with fish Im fairly new to corals. Ive followed my instructions and put the corals onto the seabed but thats as far as I got. How do I know they are taking to the environment and what are some positive marks or even negative marks that I should be looking for?

As of now both specimens are at the bottom of a 30" tall 180g tank with 3 150 MHs and 4 96w PC lights. (brain coral and candy cane coral)

I just asked the same question at LFS the other day about switching 150 mh to 250s or 400s. I was told not just the ballast but the base and maybe even the wiring depending on the gauge need to be redone. True to told I would love to know if thats truthful. I hate having to buy yet another set of lights.

Someone shot me this article incase someone else wanted the info.

Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com