Im Ready! Im Ready! Just add water....My 90 gal build

Very nice so far. You stand looks great. I have the same light fixture. I bought my coworkers. Set up the sysem and just put the light on top with the legs. I took a while to put the hanging kit up.

I found the legs to be a major PITA. The hanging kit is much nicer and only cost $20-$25. Much nicer for maintenance. Move it up out of the way. They are not hard to come by. I am much happier wiht mine.

 

Could you do me a favor and either mount a plasma TV on that rack behind the tank or take it down?

It looks like art deco gone completely awry.

 

I haven't had a change to take it down... need to do that quick.

Also as far as the lights, yeah, having the legs kinda sucks..I will look into the hanging kit but im afraid to hang them into the ceiling in the apartment im in.

 

What don't you like about the legs on the lights?

 

You do need toggle bolts, but nothing a little spackle can't take care of. I know what you are saying though.

 

Using the legs, it really doesnt give me enough room to get in there and clean or move around. Although, i shouldn't be in there as much after its all set up correctly. I wish there was a way that i could use the hinged legs from the other coralife fixtures.

 

Hm. I don't have any issues. I use a mag float for the front and side glass, and usually don't have to clean the rear, but when I do, I've built myself a contraption consisting of a 4 foot, 1/4" piece of PVC into which I've cut slots on a slight angle in the end for a razor blade. I can stand in the front of the tank, with the lights in place, and clean the entire black glass with no problems. It took a little getting used to, but the flexibility of the PVC helps a lot.

As for blowing off my LR with a baster, or introducing, moving corals or fish, the light doesn't get in the way. Nor for feedings.

I'm curious as to what issues you might be having specifically that the lights are getting in the way. But if you simply prefer the lighting a bit further from the water's surface--that's another thing.



Your tank is coming along great, by the way!

 

Thanks for the compliment. Its a "right now" situation. Im changing the rock arrangement almost every day or so until i get it right. I added 30lbs of sand the other day and had to take the lights off. I can fit my bulky arm in between the light and the tank frame but its a tight fit. Also, i intentionally made the stand a little taller than standard stands for the viewing level that I wanted. So a downside of that is that i can not stand up and put my arm in and get all the way to the bottom. ALMOST THOUGH!....

Tested all parameters this morning and WOO HOO!!! Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate at 0. PH at about 8.0-8.2....so im think im ready to add a starter fish.

Any suggestions? I thinking damsels. cheap and effective to start the tank. Should i get clean up crew now, or wait till the tank gets dirty? i dont want to starve them in a clean tank!

 

The first posted pics you have with water in the tank is June 30. Had there been water in there for a few weeks before you posted those pics? If not, your tank has probably not even begun to cycle.

You hadn't mentioned (or if you did, accept my apology--I've not read it) ammonia or nitrites on the rise. Have you experienced a rise in these compounds? Has nitrate begun to accumulate? If your answer to the last two questions are "no," then you still have about 12 weeks to go, bud.

You'll begin to see the formation of diatoms, which are brown, sandy looking deposits on your sand and rock--which will alert you to the cycling process.

For now, I'd recommend not running the halides at all, and running only your actinics. Get used to keeping calc, alk, and magnesium in the right levels and proportions. Calc should be around 440, alk, 8-12, mag, about 1500 or thereabouts. That will encourage coralline growth.

Take your time.

 

Well i had the rock in a seperate bath for a month and a half, or there abouts, Didn't have a test kit at the time but when i got one about half way through, I did show results on Ammonia and Nitrate tests. Then I transfered the Rock only, Not the water, to the new tank, added sand, and tested again after a week. I can not remember the results of this test as I had not started my log then. Now that you mention it, I have not noticed a spike in this tank. Since I started the cycle of the rock seperately I didnt think that I would be expecting that, Since I thought this had occured. ..