Transformation!!!! Huge job!

[Dimdim]

Hey there, so ive been talking about it, and heres the work in progress lol, been going all day long since I woke up! I had piranha in it this morning, took them to my lfs, and ended up getting 25 lbs base/lace rock and 30 lbs aragonite sugar sized sand! All for fweee with store credit i started with the stand, cost me 27 bucks i built it! Now to clean out my tank and let the stuff dry overnight to get ready for water tomorrow ! heres the pics

 

[obscurereef]

Nice job on the stand. No doors/sides? What are you planning to put in it?

 

[Dimdim]

Nope no doors or sides, its a column stand, the stand is going to have a refugium under it, i will be putting up a backing on it tho, to hide cords. All is washed and ready for a cycle to begin tomorrow! I dont have a light yet , no biggy! Its gonna be my reef thats just an old fixture that came with the tank... I posted a pic of the ends, i have no idea which type of bulbs its ment for.. T8?

 

[obscurereef]

If I can make a suggestion...I find real corals to be much better than a picture of fake corals in the background. Black is my fav., but blue and white are great too. I use Krylon spray paint and it's worked well and dries in 10 minutes. Can find it at Walmart or Michaels. Just my opinion, but if you like it, then definitely keep it .

 

[Mrc8858]

Quick question for you. It's hard to tell when you painted it black but do you have 2x4s attached to the legs or is it just the 4 legs only?

 

[Dimdim]

There are attached lol ill snap a pic! Also had a question bout my lace rock it came with these dead things on it, im assuming mushrooms, should i worry about scrubbing them completely off ? I just rinsed th rocks cause they were dusty lol and yeah the background is just temporary, im going with a black background its 99 cents a ft at my lfs

 

[obscurereef]

There are attached lol ill snap a pic! Also had a question bout my lace rock it came with these dead things on it, im assuming mushrooms, should i worry about scrubbing them completely off ? I just rinsed th rocks cause they were dusty lol and yeah the background is just temporary, im going with a black background its 99 cents a ft at my lfs

Looks like a type of algae. And sweet, that's cheap.

 

[Dimdim]

Thanks ! Any idea on the light fixture?

 

[obscurereef]

Depends what corals you want to grow and what your budget is. It seems that Taotronic LEDs are becoming very popular, grow practically everything, and are cheap so I just put that out as an option. I have 6-8 T5 HOs grow pretty much everything too (which I have). PCs and MH are also other options.

 

[Dimdim]

I was asking about the fixture i posted, lol i dont think its a t5 its in a reply above. It came with no bulbs and no info so i left it at that lol, im gonna be putting on a 4 bulb fixture

 

[obscurereef]

Oh sorry :L. Yeah the end caps are too far apart to look like they are made for T5s...No individual reflectors either. What brand are you getting? 4 bulb should work for soft and LPS corals.

 

[Dimdim]

Im getting the odyssea 4 bulb with blue moon leds its 150 something watts, ive heard this will grow most nems on my 35

 

[Dimdim]

Can i start with tapwater and slowly change over to ro with ro top offs? Reason im asking is cause distilled water at our grocery store is selling for like 1.15 per gallon !!! I thought that was pretty outrageous

 

[obscurereef]

I don't think any 4 bulb T5 HO is enough for an anemone, but I'm sure it will survive (maybe not thrive). I've heard Odyssea is good for growing soft and most LPS corals. I just got one for my FW and it's not too bad, but like many say, they do get hot.

It's better to start out with the right water. Are you sure there's no machines outside the grocery that sell water for 25 cents? You just bring your own containers. That would be much better. No LFS sells RO water?

 

[Dimdim]

Nope no water its outrages the best was a 20$ deposit for a 5 gallon jug 15 mins away then its 2 bucks to fill with water its 7 trips not worth it ! I am starting with tap, our tap is very clean used ice cold then heated it, what lughts would support a nem on my tank with dimensions of 36"lx 18"tallx13"wide

 

[obscurereef]

$20 for that! If you have a Walmart near you they sell 5 gallon jugs in the fishing isle. Buying a RO/DI or at least an RO system would be cheaper in the end (saving gas, money, time, etc.)

T5 HO 6 bulb, one taotronic LED or other kind of strong 3 watt LED fixture & MH (heat issue).

 

[Dimdim]

In canada? Ontario to be more specific? And would the odyssea fixture cause an issue with heat in my tank?:s i dont want that, i know most lights get hot thats a given but if its gonna burst into flames... I'm keen on keeping "cool" ahah

 

[Dimdim]

Heres the finished product!

 

[jsmith]

Heres the finished product!

I like color scheme of the room might have to show that to the Lady would look good in the bar... oh yea look great man

 

[Dimdim]

I like color scheme of the room might have to show that to the Lady would look good in the bar... oh yea look great man

Lol thanks ! I love the bright rusty colours they really pop and give a really warm feeling, and thanks ! I put two pieces of lr in to start the cycle, here wee goooooo!