BigByrd Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 ahhh sand...i dont have much, maybe 10lbs, i hate sand my heaters in the first chamber...in this tank it goes empty chamber, return chamber, and then fuge, not sure how the shin mao is but im sure its got an empty chamber for the skimmer, thats where you should keep the heater. Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 Since I will be getting a nearly identical tank, could all of you tell me:A: Your opinion of the stock skimmer. B: How many lbs of LR and LS you have in there. C: Where your heater is. D: Temp with MH? Thanks! A. The stock skimmer actually isn't all that bad. I don't have any micro-bubble issues with mine unless I feed with the skimmer on, stir up detrius enough to send A LOT of junk to the skimmer, or run the pump chamber neary dry if I don't top-off in time (not and issue now that I have ATO on my tank). This causes a long drop to the bottom from the top at the drip tray, thus creating more bubbles from the "waterfall." B. I have about 30 lbs of sand in my tank (DSB for my jawfish) but I plan to take some out shortly, maybe like 10lbs worth. And I have about 26lbs. of L/R in mine. C. I have my heater in the fuge chamber next to the return pump tube. Works out great there. D. I just have the standard 4x24w T5HO setup on my tank (that I added individual reflectors to) so I don't have too much heat from that. But tank temp will definitely vary depending on ambient temp and placement location. My apartment here on the 2nd floor can get up to 88+ degrees by that day with no A/C on, so obviously without my chiller the tank temp would easily climb over 86F which would be a good comparison for you. Link to comment
Gvtv44 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Thanks for the responses! One more thing: (ever watch that old cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures? Remember the old guy: "ONE MORE Thing!" ) anyway: where should I put my ATO floaty thingy? Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 Thanks for the responses! One more thing: (ever watch that old cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures? Remember the old guy: "ONE MORE Thing!" ) anyway: where should I put my ATO floaty thingy? For my ATO I have the float placed in the return/pump chamber since that chamber looses water fast as it evaporates. Both the skimmer and fuge chambers are pretty much always at the top. Link to comment
volk23 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 sorry, i didn't notice the subscribe link, so posted "tag" to get subscribed.. Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 sorry, i didn't notice the subscribe link, so posted "tag" to get subscribed.. Oh, lol! I was wondering what "tagged" meant. Do you own or plan to purchase the Finnex 30g glass tank? Link to comment
Gvtv44 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Do you own or plan to purchase the Finnex 30g glass tank? Phixion= future finnex salesman Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Phixion= future finnex salesman haha, I LOVE my Finnex tank!! Link to comment
malla1ml Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Ok as some of you may know I've been stuck on getting the JBJ 28g HQI. Well after doing research and really thinking about the investment I've pretty much decided against it. So my question is does any one have any pictures of the 30g glass light fixture? I can't find one on any forum. Also should I upgrade to the 250w HQI or is it really to much for a 30? Thanks Matt- P.S. I figured this would be the thread to ask this question if not I appologize Link to comment
BigByrd Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 i dont have a pic of stock lighting...but i have a 250w sunpod on my 30...and i love it...though i think 150w would be plenty and if i did it over i would probably go the 150 route. had a couple new guys bleach on me...one surviving, the other not so much. what are the lighting choices for the new 30? Link to comment
malla1ml Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 The new 30 150 is : 150W HQI (Phoenix 14,000k bulb), 24W x 2 T5 HO fluorescent and LED fixture Refugium: Center located refugium with 13W power compact lighting fixture. And the 250 is: 250W HQI (Phoenix 14,000k bulb), 24W x 2 T5 HO fluorescent and LED fixture Refugium: Center located refugium with 13W power compact lighting fixture. The thing is its only 50 bucks more at PA for the 250w so it really makes me think for only 50 is it worth it or not really. I've been trying to find a picture of the new MH lighting in action and directly at the bulbs and can't find one. Thanks again. Matt- Link to comment
BigByrd Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 well everyhting in my tank especially the clams seem to love it...it was just those 2 that didnt...but for 50 bucks more id definately do it. what are you gonna be keepin? Link to comment
malla1ml Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Well this will be my first tank and I really want to have no limits to what i can keep. I know I want softies, rics, maybe some lps and sps but I really want a few clams. So right now i'm just trying to decide between the finnex 30g and the cadlights 34g. I figure if I'm going to do something might as well do it right the first time. Thanks again for the quick responses. Matt- Link to comment
volk23 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Oh, lol! I was wondering what "tagged" meant. Do you own or plan to purchase the Finnex 30g glass tank? got mine in april, its the newer version, where the plenuim is in the right corner of the tank its gonna cost you more then just 50 bucks, you might also want to buy a chiller Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 got mine in april, its the newer version, where the plenuim is in the right corner of the tank its gonna cost you more then just 50 bucks, you might also want to buy a chiller Ditto on the chiller. Well in my case a simple 120x120mm fan blowing down over the return/pump chamber has a better and quicker effect than a chiller. The fan can easily drop my tank from 81 to 77 in about a couple hours. But bae carful if you add a fan, because a drop like that isn't too good for the tank, and I don't really like my tank under 79F. Now that i got an ACjr. for my tank, I don't have to worry as the fan comes on at 81.4F and shuts off once the tank hits 80F. Anywho for Matt, I don't have a picture of my 4x24w T5HO standard light fixture for the Finnex tanks, but I believe there ARE pics of it on Finnex's website. I'd go the 150w MH option, 250w might be much for a 30g tank. What I did with my lights was I added a pair of TEK reflectors to the daylights to give an individual reflector touch to the lights, and then since the built-in moonlights were covered by the reflectors, I added in a couple R2 moonlights into the fixture. The reflectors really make the output of the bulbs more intense. Ok, I found a pic of the fixture, it's not that close up but should get the idea across of how it is (the stock T5HO fixture like I have on mine)... And the festures of the fixture per Finnex's website are: XL and TL Series Electronic ballast Aluminum hood with corrosion resistant powder coated finish Polished aluminum reflector Moisture resistant UV filtration lens Independant power control switches Adjustable fixture stands The fixture on the website is model: XL-T2424 Hope that helps you out some. BTW, not sure where you plan to get the tank from, but it's $350 at PremiumAquatics. That's where I got mine from, and then the tank ships from Finnex's factory directly. Link to comment
malla1ml Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Right now I actually starting to purchase everything but the tank. If i have the tank i'll just rush into things and buy things i'll have to replace later. So right now i'm in the process of buying a reefkeeper 2, tunze osmolator, a couple tunze 6025's, and possibly a tunze 9002. Figure once I get all of the expensive stuff (besides the tank) I'll be much better off. As for a chiller I'm all for going the fan route first. If I can't keep my temps under control with them while setting up the tank then I'll buy one. Again thanks for the advice. Matt- Link to comment
volk23 Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 guys! anyone upgraded the powerhead from the skimmer to MJ1200? what did you do with the air intake, i just tried to DIY my MJ, but the air intake dont work, its not sucking in air by itself. Link to comment
Phixion Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 guys! anyone upgraded the powerhead from the skimmer to MJ1200? what did you do with the air intake, i just tried to DIY my MJ, but the air intake dont work, its not sucking in air by itself. I'm not sure myself how that would work... =/ did you attach the air tube from the stock pump to the MJ pump? Seems strange it would suck in any air though... Matt, you seem to have the right idea there. I did that with my AP12 when I had it setup before i got the Finnex. I bought the tank, but bought mods for it before setting it up, so that it all modded how I wanted it to be once I was ready to set it up. Definitely go with a fan first, then let that determine if you need a chiller or not. The RK2 will be good because it'll allow you to control the fan like you would a chiller, I do the same with my ACjr controller. I notice that a single 120x120mm fan over the main return pump chamber will cool the tank down below 78F (I once saw it dip below 77F before) if the ambient room temperature is lower than say 83F. My 2nd level apartment gets quite hot, during a recent heatwave I came home a couple different days to my apartment being 92F inside at 5:30pm!?! Of course my centrail air A/C cooled it right down. The chiller was running at that time because of the temps, and the fan not being able to pull down when it's that warm. But if it's lower than 85F ambient temp, then the fan is able to pull down by itself and the chiller never comes on. I have the fan programmed to shut off once the temp hits 80F and it comes on at 81.3F Link to comment
zann Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 my finnex is working fine going to upgrade the skimmer with a needle or mesh type. as for the micro bubbles i only get them when i feed the tank other then that i have no bubbles the skimmer right now skims very wet here are some pics of when i first started it up with the stand i made for it. Link to comment
zann Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 heres a updated pic not the best but ok some bubbles i just feed the fish Link to comment
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