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Tank upgrade


evilknieval69

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Hey. Ive only had my tank running for a few months, and im about to upgrade :lol: The tank i have setup now (30L) only has a 20W light on it, and i realy NEED more light, so, because i had a spare MH sitting around, i thought, why not put it to use?!?!?! So i have had a 38 x 38 x 38 cm tank made, and am in the process of getting it ready for being setup

Heres a pic of the tank (with the skimmer randomly hanging on the side :lol: )

Tankandskimmerdec17Small.jpg

Heres the Budget jebo skimmer il be using

SkimmerSmall.jpg

Heres the seio m620 i scored for $20, perfect condition!!

SeioSmall.jpg

And heres the 150W halide I need to make a hood for.... (14k bulb in the mail :wink: )

150WhalideSmall.jpg

I will keep snapping pics as i move things over etc.

The tank will have the rock and corals from the other tank, plus some more rock eventualy, plus the HOB filter on the smaller tank running carbon and/or rowaphos and probably the 1200lph powerhead on the small tank aswell!!

Excuse the $h1T pics

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This looks quite good evil I will be watching with interest! :D

150 watts MH is actually quite a lot of light for that tank, to avoid shocking your corals, you will need to put the light high above the tank, perhaps a meter or so, for the first few days. As you see the corals adapting to the light, you can slowly lower it each few days until you have it where you want it.

The other biggy is nutrient export, that brown type stuff on your rocks is going to provide plenty of fuel for algae growth when you up the lighting.

You'll need to work that skimmer at max!, also, dosing 1/3rd of a ml of vodka each day will help. Rowaphos will also help.

Also, adding tap water will cause never ending problems, there is a DI unit for sale only 25 bucks on this thread, buying this will probably be the best 25 bucks you could spend on the tank http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/equipm ... 17456.html

Looking forward to see the progress!!

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Thanks for all that wasp! I did realise that it would be a big step up for the corals, so thought i would probably have to get them used to it somehow... I thought that i could just run it for a few hours a day, then after 3 days or so run it for another 30 mins, and then keep upping it every few days until normal. But, i shall do it the way you said if thats ow you would do it!!

I plan on dosing vodka once i upgrade, and i also plan on getting some rowaphos before i upgrade aswell. I am going to PM dogmatix now about that DI filter.

Thanks again Wasp, your a great help!

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I got bored this morning so moved it all over!! I need a bit more rock though!!! :lol:

Heres it as of 5 mins ago

CubestartangleSmall.jpg

And a shot from the top sorta, showing the two 2foot lights i have on the tank in the meantime whilst i get the MH ready!

CubestarttopangleSmall.jpg

The skimmer isnt going yet, i havent got around to it! lol

Next things i need to do are get some rowaphos, and get the skimmer going, and then im going to start dosing vodka for a little while.

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I'm not against the use of vodka, like all things it has it's place.

If I'm understanding you correctly you're going to try it as a method of nutrient control. That's fine. This will starve the algae out because their food source will be consumed by other things. When you stop dosing vodka you run the risk of ending right back where you are now, and having to repeat the nutrient cycle that lies ahead.

Make sure you do your water changes, and at this point siphon some 'muck' out when you do. At this point it will have a far more dramatic impact on your tank than any kind of dosing will.

If you are interested in dosing something have a look bacteria based supplements for nutrient control.

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The skimmer isnt going yet, i havent got around to it! lol

"lol" might be the wrong comment here! dude get your skimmer running first before you start experimenting with chemicals. vodka will to "bugger all" if the nutrients are not exported so whats the point? like bubbles said give it time, start your skimmer to get nutrient export going and then see how it goes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well i went away over the new years period for 3 days. The corals werent looking good at all before i left (werent looking good for the week before, so did a water change a few days before and didnt change anything) So today i came home to dead corals. All of them :evil: :evil: The water level had dropped a little bit from evap, salinity was on about 1.030. I dont think small tanks are the way to go. Unless you have a constant supply of saltwater to do constant small water changes, or are very skilled, then i dont think its the best way to go. I know it has been said sooo many times, and i know i tried the almost impossible, but owel, was a very good learning curve for me....

I have decided to hault the marine tank for the moment, and will probably start another one (wait, not probably... WILL start another one...) later in life when i have more $$ to play with.

So im going to sell all my rock soon, and just stick with my freshwater tanks for now.... :-?

Thanks everyone for all the help, and you probably all knew it was going to happen, and are probably seeing another unsuccesful marine newbie giving up :lol: I personally dont think its right for me ATM, with the small amount of $$ i bring in each week from my part time job... Being 16, you need to be dedicated to having a marine tank huh..........

Sorry Wasp for killing the awesome corals you sent me :( :lol: (just had to mention that....)

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I have decided to hault the marine tank for the moment, and will probably start another one (wait, not probably... WILL start another one...) later in life when i have more $$ to play with.

So im going to sell all my rock soon, and just stick with my freshwater tanks for now....

is this all you are selling evil. i will prob buy a bit of stuff off you if it going cheap... flick me a pm, I need some chemicals and other stuff and might just grab the powerhead off you if you don't want this stuff anymore...

lemme know. sorry to hear about the dead corals etc...

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Bummer Evil,

It is a shame that you are giving the marines up but I can understand your take on it. It does cost $$$ to set up, stock and maintain a marine tank and I guess a part time job (even a very well paid one) could make that difficult.

It may have been the temperature that caused the major problems. Came back from 6 days away to find my tank at 29.9 deg even with a chiller and that was at 5.30pm. Also major case of red cyano. Dropped the chiller thermostat, siphoned and washed the sand and changed 90 litres the next day and it all seems to have come right.

Keep on talking to us here and carry on with the "other side" (freshies)

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Sorry Wasp for killing the awesome corals you sent me :( :lol: (just had to mention that....)

Don't worry about it, other than newbies who have not yet had time, everybody has killed stuff. You are right it is part of the learning curve.

For me the best way to ease my own conscience was to breed and distribute more corals than I've killed, and I'm sure in a few years you'll be doing the same.

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No good bro. I havn't sent that MH bulb yet so if you want I can do a fast cheque to you and re-sell it on TM. Bro I'd be keen as on that skimmer too so if you want I'll buy it back. Can use it on my tank upgrade as part of my zeovit system ( take the cup off, put in a rack and use it for media) :D

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