55 G reef-in-progress!

as far as the gas exchange goes i was really relying on the water as it passes through the sump to do that, also the lids i have dont go all the way back on the tank, there is about a 3 centimeter gap. If this isnt sufficient i suppose i could remove the lids but i sort of like them :S Also i have a correction: i think i have 250w bulbs instead of 150 - the box was lost and the tag the guys had on it just said 14000k HQI MH and i suppose i just assumed it was 150 - but i was looking on the internet and i dont think the 150w version has the two fans in the middle, at least it doesnt in the pictures. Anybody who has this light setup and could clarify that would be great - it might be bad if i went to change the bulbs and bought the wrong ones ;D

 

Update: I researched my lights and found out they are actualy 150w. My only problem with them is the temp of the water increases, which is to be expected i suppose. The temp of my water with the lights off is around 77-78 but after a full day of lighting(10 hrs) it peaks at about 80-82. Solutions i have thought of are raising the lights up, or getting a chiller. Also my tank is partially in front of a window during the start of summer in coastal South Carolina...Great planning i know!!! Being a 17 year old dishwasher, i don't really have the $ for a chiller so i think i'll be having to raise the lights off the water a little more - maybe get a hanging kit i dont really know. It's not a huge problem right this second as there is no livestock in the tank. Measures i have taken are ive turned the heater all the way down, but this is obviously not a good solution once there are fish because the temp has to remain constant when the lights are off...i don't want to have to dial the heater down every morning and then up again at night...if i forget i could lose livestock. In other news ive started keeping a log of the perams, i tested right after the lights turned off last night at around 8:30. The PH is around 8-8.1, Ammoia .5-1 mg/l(not sure what that measurement means i guess miligrams per liter) and Nitrite is .3-.5 mg/l....temp was about 81F. My testing kit is none too accurate but ill be keeping a log so i can check trends at least. Any advice on my heating problem would be awesome!!!!

 

You could set the heater on a one inlet timer? There like ten bucks at your lfs.

 

Just have your heater at 80, so at night, your water will stay that temperature, and in the day, it will rise a few degrees, no big deal.

 

definately not a big deal for temperature to move between a couple of degrees during the course of the day or night. shouldnt have to worry too much about that.

 

Nice progress. How do you like your sump? I just ordered one from the same company and just curious how you like it so far. It's hard to find descent filtration to fit under the 55g stand.

 

I think that consistent parameters are more important. Try raising your lights a bit, this will also give your a "shimmering" effect that is really cool looking when your water flow stirs up the surface of the water in the display tank (also helps with gas exchange).

Great buy on the lights, looks great!

 

Ok thanks guys ive turned the heater back up ill see if its a bit more consistent
Phish- yes i like the sump just fine..there isnt a huge amount of space in the return chamber but theres room for a not-too-large skimmer along with the pump, also most heaters can fit under the bioball chamber.

 

Thanks. Keep up the good work.

 

Hey everyone i have a quick question....ive been running my lights for a bout a week now and i have a problem(?) The fixture is a 2x 150w 14000k MH and the lamp on the right seems to be either bluer or dimmer than the lamp on the left. At first i thought it might be a trick of the lights because my corner overflow is on the left side, but now i'm having an outbreak of brown algae on the sand (diatom? im not sure)....yesterday is when i first noticed it and there were a few splotches mainly on the left side where the light appears either brighter or whiter. That made me think that i might have a bulb problem or something...then when i got home from school today(my lights turn on at 10 AM) the algae on the left side has more than tripled and there is little to none on the right side. I have also read that MH bulbs may need up to 100 hrs of run time to "mature" but i dont know if thats true or not. I don't have time to post pics right now because ive got to be off to work but anybody who can help me would be awesome!!!!