12 Gallon Eclipse with 96w retro

[Primeval]

ttt

[Primeval]

Updates!

 

This tank will be 4 years old this April

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PrettyEyesSCT]

ttt

[pianoman96]

Are you using the hood that came with the tank?And how did you install it?? Sorry im a newbee

[Primeval]

Are you using the hood that came with the tank?And how did you install it?? Sorry im a newbee

 

 

Yes.

 

Full instructions are in the first post.

[Primeval]

Next up will be a top to fit on the existing rim - probably acrylic.

 

The reflector doesn't really "reflect" anymore due to salt buildup from condensation when the fan isn't on (only on when light is on) and the bulb gets a little buildup on it from time to time too. The electrical work is safe but I still think a top is necessary.

 

Its going to be an interesting cut though and I need to make it thick enough so it doesn't bow. Hopefully I don't lose much light.

[Primeval]

Well not much happened this weekend on my tanks. Hopefully I can get to cutting something this week

[Primeval]

I finally cut a small acrylic cover for this tank to keep the water off of my light fixture. Unfortunately this fixture has been uncovered for years so the damage has already been done in some places.

 

I decided today was the day to finally do the protect since the bulb went out randomly. It is barely a year old so I assumed condensation was the reason for the shut off. After I pulled the fixture off and looked at where water was getting to I assumed that the bulb was either lost or needed to be tossed anyway for safety reasons.

 

After drying the bulb and endcap the bulb came right back on no problem. Further inspection made me error on the safe side in the interest of safety from electrical shock to me or our tank.

 

Luckily, I already had a spare bulb from when I let salt-creep get into the ballast about a year ago. I thought my bulb was burnt out so I got another. I later noticed that salt-creep had moved up and down the power cord and right into the ballast. Some electronic cleaner fixed it right up and I ended up with a spare bulb.

 

Needless to say, the cover is now installed to keep condensation off of the bulb and endcap. I was going to cut the acrylic so it covered the entire opening but I decided to just cut the edges straight, giving me some room around the stock filter to still feed from the top door and to let some heat escape that may become trapped inside the display. But the reflector and bulb are still completely covered. We'll see how it goes.

 

Pictures to follow in a bit.

[Primeval]

Pictures for the above post:

 

Under the hood

 

 

Yeah...this reflector used to be a mirror. Now this crud will not come off at all. Everything else came clean with a bit of vinegar mixed with water in a spray bottle.

 

 

Condensation takes its toll on other parts. The stuff on the plastic is a bit of algae that came right off.

 

 

Inside the socket. Nasty.

 

 

 

 

This bulb literally just fell out of the socket. Not safe.

 

 

This is my small 2" x 2" feeding hold that I have available with the retro and stock filtration to work around. I've cleaned up the salt creep a bit too.

 

 

Spash guard installed

 

 

This should keep my bulb and socket dry.

[Primeval]

Updated pics coming soon

[bhskicker18]

I almost modified my hood like this a few years ago lol

[Primeval]

I almost modified my hood like this a few years ago lol

 

 

Yes get a two plug extension cord. You are right the wide plug will be the white side(or should be). Did your ballasts come with wires already in them?

 

 

Wasn't hard and it has yielded some great coral.

[Primeval]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Primeval]

I wish I knew anything about fragging so I could feed my other tanks

[Primeval]

As evident by the recent pics I have aiptasia out the hoo-ha. The clownfish are extremely aggressive and attack your hand relentlessly when you are inside the tank.

 

I wonder if the "hot water" method on aiptasia works with a turkey baster so I can keep my hands out of the tank for the most part.

[Primeval]

I did the "hot water" method with the aiptasia. No luck. Will try lemon juice this weekend.

[Primeval]

Update:

 

Still have a good bit of aiptasia lurking around - a constant battle.

 

More importantly, the two frogspawn are too big for this tank. I've never fragged anything before but this must be done. Before and after pics will be made available.

[Primeval]

My lights had already been off for an hour by the time I was able to get a pic before fragging. The frogspawn is probably not even half open yet but you get the idea. This thing went from 3 small heads to 7 very large heads over the years. I cut it in half and kept the side with the 3 heads. The other half was traded to the LPS for some other items and a credit.

 

 

 

[Primeval]

This tank crashed Friday night. The heater failed and cooked the tank. I woke up to a milky tank and immediately knew something was dead in there. I spotted the two clowns and searched to see if one of the frogspawns had fallen and maybe sucked into the powerhead. I felt the water and it was very warm.

 

After I did a 50% water change and yanked the heater out of my tank, I noticed that I lost just about everything. The two frogspawn pieces are bleached and still shedding tissue, the bubble looks like a complete skeleton, all polyps have closed or fallen off and all of my mushrooms seem to be missing. A new leather that I purchased a few months ago has fallen over - not sure if it is dead or not.

 

I did another 50% water change today and added a new chemi-pure and the water is clearing up.