Finally done with the tank

[Buckskin]

Well, I'm finally done with the new canopy and lights and have actually started stocking my tank. The picture with the short canopy is what came with the tank, but the two 250w MH's(Shawns old lights) would have been about 4" from the surface so I had to build a taller canopy. This also allowed me to add a couple of access doors. The top flips open as well.
I had ordered 40lbs. of Premium Coralline Live Rock from Gulf-View in Fl. but after 10 days of waiting it ended up back at Gulf-View, crushed and leaking, so I got my last 40lbs. from Matt at OTP. Also picked up the corals you see in the pics from Matt as well. For fish so far we have two clowns, one Royal Gramma, a P.J. Cardinal, and LawnMower Blenny.Everything is doing fine so far.Thanks for all your help so far. See you at the meeting.

[ZMattie]

Looks great! What size tank is that again?

[hansmatt]

nice and clean...looking good Dan!

[carym]

Looks great, keep the pictures coming...

[Jrmass]

I'm impressed... I didn't know you did woodwork on the side =)... Good to know as I do some as well =). Anyhow the setup looks fantastic you are definately on your way and I really like the double island look. You are almost done with the hard part which is the setup and building... Now comes the fun part which is the stocking of the tank.

Keep up the good work and hope you keep the pics coming as you progress.

Jason

[OLDETOWNENORTHPETS]

Look excellent Dan. And like everyone else is saying, keep the pictures coming.

[Loverotties]

Looking good!

[Buckskin]

Thank you all for the compliments. Zmattie, it's a 90g (48x18x24). Woodworking was a hobby I used to do quite a bit of, but now I only seem to do it out of necessity and not so much for r&r. As far as the tank goes, the only thing that concerns me right now is the water temp. I've been keeping it at 78.5F, but when the M.H.'s come on, the temp slowly rises to 81.5, even with the two fans on. The bulbs are about 10" from the water. Think this will be o.k. or is 81.5 too hot? Metal Halides are on for 5 1/2 hours, but it's only up over 80 for about the last two hours. One book I have says ideal temp range is 73-78 and should never be allowed to get over 80, another book says 72-80 is ideal (Conscientious Marine Aquarist), and still another book says 81-84. Tips on temps and lighting schedules you keep would be appreciated. Currently I'm running actinics from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 pm, M.H. from 3:00p.m. to 8:30p.m., and lunars the rest of the time.

[hansmatt]

I run at 78F, but I think 82 can be fine. My concern is when it gets to summer and the ambient temp is 10degrees warmer or more. Good call on timing the lights so the MH is only on when you are around to view, plus it's a bit of a cooler time of the day in the summer months. Are you running a controller at all? You can set them so your lights will shut off above a certain temp (maybe 84 for you). Depending on how you have your sump & hood, fans that directly blow on the water surface do a remarkable job of evaporative cooling, though you have to add more top-off water.

[Buckskin]

Have not checked into a controller yet but I can see where it would work out good. I have one fan blowing in across the water and the other one blowing out. Temps were higher before I turned one towards the water.

[hansmatt]

The fans directly facing the water, blowing it, will cause evaporation, which will drop the temp a surprising amount...at the expense of top off water. The fans cooling the bulbs do a great job of keeping them low...which is very important for t5's to work at optimal efficiency (don't know about MH). You can get the "ranco" brand controllers, but to control fans, lights, and heaters all your best bet is an "aquacontroller" made specifically for tanks. They monitor pH, temp, turn things off and on at whatever times, run alarms, etc. you can get cheap used ones for maybe $125...well worth it IMO.

[Jrmass]

Personally I think that you will not have an issue with the tank getting up to 81.5-82... It's just when you get into the 85-86 range is where things start to get hairy... Here's another random bit of into (Matt H. likes these) if you think about it... The Ocean actually has these heat increases and declines due to the sunlight... Especially along the shoreline as the water temp can vary by several degrees. So, how is it any different in our tanks. As long as the water is not heating up very quickly (meaning under an hour) then you should be fine as it's almost a natural ocean heat cycle. The only problem I do see in the VERY near future is that when Summer comes around you are going to run into some serious heat issues. Especially if you are having problems with heat in the Winter. You may end up having to look into some form of a chiller or other option. I agree with the having the fans hitting each other which does lower the tank temp sometimes by several degrees (which could be just what you need right now) but, you will definately have a loss in water due to evap.

Jason

[Buckskin]

Since the tank is in the familyroom which is in the basement, I'm hoping I don't have any high temp problems in the Summer. The temp stays fairly constant all year down there. Does see an increase in humidity, but I see that as a bonus. (less evaporation). Hey these controllers sound cool. Hookin' the tank up to the pc? I like it! Do they come in a wireless version? Oh yeah, I'm checkin' in to this.

[hansmatt]

Yes, they do come in wireless...some of us super nerds (Josh) can check on lights, pH, temp etc from their phone, email etc. and get updates if something goes outside of normal (however you define it in the program).It's connected through a router to his network I think. I think Josh can control his lights from his phone too...very cool! I think his is the neuptune Aquacontroller III, I have the Neuptune A.C. Jr...which doesn't do the wireless thing, and is a bit simpler, but less $ and is a nice safety check. If my heat gets too high, it shuts off power to heaters (in case their thermostat is broken) to prevent cooking the tank, mine shuts down the lights if over 84, and kicks on a fan if over 85. I can shut of my Ca reactor's CO2 if the pH drops too low, turn powerheads & skimmers off for feeding with one button, etc. There are other brands of really nice setups that test ORP, salinity, control dosing for chemicals, and wipe your butt too.

You are right...if the tank is in the basement you should have much smaller temp swings, and hopefully won't need to mess with a chiller, just fan.

[Jrmass]

I didn't know it was in the basement.. In that case you should be fine.

Great you guys got me thinking about controllers AGAIN... Heck I had that out of my head for a while (a few weeks) and back it comes...