Ziggy953's 150 Build errrr....120 Build

[pat8you]

I read over that link on the lumenbrights and it was very interesting. Keep us informed on how those work for you compared to your old reflectors.

 

[Ziggy953]

I'm about 110% sure that these will be a major improvement over what I have right now.

 

[Ziggy953]

I've been working on plumbing the new return pump in. I have some of the plumbing done but not all of it. My motivation level is low today so I'm setting it aside to start afresh tomorrow.

My returns

 

[Ziggy953]

Well I got the return pump plumbed in and all was well for the first 24 hours. The second day with the new pump running I had a frag that got knocked over by a snail so I stuck my hand in the frag tank to fix it and got the shock of a lifetime. The pump was sending some serious voltage through my tank. It is now unhooked and our of my sump. I'm back to running the 3 return pumps I had before. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I have a nice set of returns plumbed into the 120 and the frag tank. I'm thinking about getting an external of some kind and let that run the system. Right now I'm not going to worry with it. I still have to finish the rock work and get all my fish and corals in place.

 

[FishEggs]

aren't you plugged into a gfci circuit?

 

[Ziggy953]

The plug that I had that pump plugged into is not hooked to GFCI. Either way there is a problem with the pump and it is now out of the water.

I'm looking for an external pump.

 

[cmor1701d]

OUCH again! A new pump is in order and a good external is probably a good idea. A GFCI circuit is a MUST. I have two GFCI extension cord/outles under my tank. Time for another trip to Home Depot

 

[Ziggy953]

My fish room has a double plug that was there before it became my fish room. It is not a GFCI. The wiring I ran to the fish room is ALL GFCI. The only reason I plugged the pump in where I did is I had no choice. With have of my stuff in a pond I have extra heaters and pumps running. Believe me a new pump it will be. External for sure.

 

[cmor1701d]

Replacing my outlets was not a consderation either. That's why I got the GFCI extension cords

 

[Ziggy953]

I put in GFCI Breakers for the fish room. The one plug that I used to plug the Mag36 in is on a different breaker.

 

[ryshark]

I dont have anything hooked up to GFCI. I know it has something to do with automatially shutting down if in contact with water, right? I know the builder put all GFCI outlets in my kitchen and bathroom. But wouldnt water on a non gfci outlet trip the main breaker anyway? Somebody please convince me why GFCI is a must so I can also make the trip to Home Depot. Thanks.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

it takes longer and a lot more electricity to flip a breaker from water. If you have the GFCI it will instantly ground out the system, instead of using you or whatever the water is in contact with to ground out.

 

[FishEggs]

Here is a good explanation of what the gfci actually does. the actual breaker in the circuit box may or may not trip due to a ground fault. if it does it will take much longer for it to trip than a gfci outlet and you may be dead by that time. another alternative is a gfci breaker in the circuit box which would cover the entire circuit not just an outlet.

 

[Ziggy953]

Well I got all the rock I'm going to use in the tank and situated. I have some of the corals in place. I'm letting things settle for the week and then I'll work on getting the rest in next weekend.

I'll get some pics posted in the next few days. Everything looks pretty good. Since I lost most of my large colonies the tank is going to look pretty bare for awhile.

Anyway, more to come.

 

[Tank2379]

Man Ziggy I can't believe everything you've gone through with your situation.... First off I'm sorry.... Second man you got tramendance patience for eveything that your doing... I know i am just starting out but it's just amazing everything you do for a SW tank... I see you love this hobby.... right now I see you as the big brother here in this forum and i'm glad i am a part of this forum.....

 

[Ziggy953]

Man Ziggy I can't believe everything you've gone through with your situation.... First off I'm sorry.... Second man you got tramendance patience for eveything that your doing... I know i am just starting out but it's just amazing everything you do for a SW tank... I see you love this hobby.... right now I see you as the big brother here in this forum and i'm glad i am a part of this forum.....

Thanks for the kind words. I hope that others learn from my experiences and not make the same mistakes I have made. The whole reason behind this thread was to show how to set up a tank from start to finish. I just didn't realize I was going to do it 3 different times.

 

[happygirl65]

Well it has been very interesting to me and inspiring after many years in FW I am now looking to start a reef tank....I have to cool my jets though until some of our home construction is done, but it is SO FUN to plan it, and thanks to your thread I am learning a lot of things that are critical to the planning phase of our construction.

 

[Ziggy953]

Well it has been very interesting to me and inspiring after many years in FW I am now looking to start a reef tank....I have to cool my jets though until some of our home construction is done, but it is SO FUN to plan it, and thanks to your thread I am learning a lot of things that are critical to the planning phase of our construction.

I'm glad that I have been able to help you along your way in planning. Planning is a very important part of setting up a new reef/SW tank. The more time you spend planning the less headache you will have when you get started!

 

[Ziggy953]

Update!!

Well the corals I got into the tank over the weekend are looking great. All but 2 of them are SPS corals and I'm thinking that I'm going to go 90% SPS this time around. I have a surprise coral waiting for me at the LFS that I will pick up this weekend. I've been trying to get ahold of this thing for almost a year now and I finally have it!!!!!

All polyps are extended better then I have ever seen them. My ORA Blue Tort is looking incredible. The ORA Chips Acro is happy as can be and the Roscoe's is looking good too. The 12 corals I picked up several weeks ago at Fins&Feathers are really starting to pop! One of them was not looking so good in the frag tank but a lot of that had to do with the lack of lighting. The frag tank was so crammed that it wasn't getting good lighting. I have it in the 120 now and the color is coming back with a vengence. My duncan has about 14 heads now and the 2 largest ones are about 2" across. I'm going to have to do some research on how to frag it propperly.

The only coral that isn't doing so well is my ORA Tri-color Valida. I'm not sure what the deal is but it isn't coloring up and the polyps aren't out much. I have several frags of it so I'm hoping they all turn around and get happy again.

The new coral that I picked up over the weekend (monti of some kind) is looking amazing. I've had several people tell me it is Undata but I don't know. What ever it is I'm thrilled with it. I hope it grows like mad and covers the rock it is on.

I'm going to get back in the tank this weekend and get the rest of the corals in place and hopefully get all the fish in as well. I have to do some major cleaning on the frag tank as it is not looking so good. The corals are ok but the glass is not so nice.

In a couple of weeks I will have a new offering of frags for sale in the classified section so stay tuned.

 

[happygirl65]

PICTURES!!!