SSMangrove Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Methinks TAWD needs to update and keep this forum alive Link to comment
ReefMonkeee Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Where do you guyz get that digital TEMP. I cant seem to find it anywhere on marinedepot? Link to comment
Carinya Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Very nice! Clean, clean, clean. I love those little thermometers too. Am off to see if I can find one of those tanks online somewhere... C Link to comment
g0tfish Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 doesnt clear for life make sometin like this too? cept with yellow and red base? very nice tank. i would like to see a full pic of it when its done Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 I have been waiting forever for my 20k to come! MY Ushio 10k burnt out I think because I didn't run my fan before firing the bulb, and condesnsation from the night burnt it out. From now on I will be running a timer that kicks on 30 minutes before the bulb to ensure the canopy is bone dry. Heres an updated pic to feed your addiction. I filled the tank with 1 1/4" live sand from my propagation sump, its a very fine white sand loaded with pods. Do you think it looks like enough or should I add maybe 1/2" more? I have also been toying with the idea of making a micro skimmer inside of the aquaclear mini, its packed as is, but I will see what I can do. Reefmonkeee: Foster & Smith sells them for $6.99 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...1&N=2004+112986 Carinya: If you want to buy the tank you can get it at www.innovativelights.com for $50, I really shouldn't be telling people this because now every ones going to have a 3.5 Oh well, at least this gives it the opportunity for people to create mods for it. Link to comment
Pili4444 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 I think the sand level is fine, once it levels out it will look like more. The micro skimmer is a cool idea. Link to comment
EnderG60 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 you should really consider sealing in the bulb so it doesnt get any condensation on it at all. even if you kick the fan on before hand the dried salts on the bulb could cause it to crack when heated. you might also REALLY want to consider an ice probe for that thing. Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 I disagree with Ender, You can throw dry salt at a halide all day, it will not break. The bulbs respond negatively to moisture and condensation. It causes a hot spot which alters the structure of the glass and causes it to instantly shrink. When it shrinks, it breaks because it cant hold itself together anymore. That is why a bulb breaks when its up to temp. and gets splashed. Dry salt matter on the bulb wont have any effects other than cleanliness. I got burned bad on my 400w bulb over my reef on my elbow, theres still a big piece of skin melted to it, but the bulb didnt break. It still fires up every day. Link to comment
EnderG60 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 single ended bulbs have another layer of glass around them, double ended bulbs do not and the glass they do have is thinner. your actually not even supposed to touch the center of the bulb at all, and if you do be sure to whipe it off. They are just like HID bulbs for cars. Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 I understand that, but still, you could dip a running double ended bulb in a bag of salt, and nothin' would happen. Link to comment
beetlejuice Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Update: Tank is no longer available from www.innovativelights.com. I ordered it the other day and got an email today saying that they no longer carry this item due to high amounts of breakage during shipping. Where else can I get it? I've gotten this all planned out and now I can't get the tank. Link to comment
Carinya Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Thank you so much for the vendor link. Up until December I had an old AG that was manufactured in the 80s that was 8" x 8" at the base and 12" high. Was a find at Goodwill. Loved that little thing but the back cracked when we tried to drill it for an ice probe. Now I have the ice probe and a 70 HQI MH retro with no home. I had been resigned to the idea that a custom tank was the only way to get what I wanted. Am now thinking this Tru Vu may be the answer. ...of course I just set up my 18g via aqua this weekend so I'm not going to get the 3.5g real soon... but at least I know where to go now. Thanks again. C Carinya Edit: DOH! Beetlejuice! We're screwed! Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 18, 2005 Author Share Posted January 18, 2005 Enderg60: I think running the fan 30 minutes prior to firing the bulb will be sufficient because there is no salt build up at all in or around the canopy. When evaporation occurs only pure freshwater leaves the tank. Same process as distillation which is one of the purest forms of water possible. About 98% of the evaporation is already collected onto the UV protector, and when it is dried off from the halide each morning it was crystal clear again. Link to comment
J-Bass Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Carinya & Beetle, I emailed InnovativeLights.com and they replied back that the tank was on backorder and would be in stock sometime within the next week. Link to comment
Carinya Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Thanks, I will re-bookmark the site. It's a sweet little tank. Link to comment
suubz Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 backorder confirmed... I ordered the damned thing after I saw how sweet it looks in this thread... THEN after a few days of not hearing anything about shipment they reply that it's on backorder... oh well... gives me time to get the rest of the equipment ready... Metal Halide here I come! Link to comment
The Unit Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Quick Question: did your tank come with an incadecent fixture? I saw one for sale with one and wanted to know if it was easily mounted in the hood cause i will just put a coralife screw in bulb up ther and keep lowlight corals. hopefully u can help me out. Also do u stil have a peice of that glass u got cut for the cover. Wondering if i could pay for shipping to get one...let me know thanks Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 Yeah I have two more pieces of uv glass that are cut to fit. The tank didn't come with an incandecent fixture or any light for that matter. As far as the coralife screw in, that will work fine you just have to figure out a way to attach the light without drilling. I used epoxy clay, you can use velcro or tape etc. Link to comment
suubz Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Where is your ballast at??? You showed what the socket/bulb/reflector looked like installed under the canopy (you later mentioned securing it with clay epoxy) but I didn't ever see your wiring coming out the back. No big deal, but I am sure you didn't mount the ballast under the canopy... was just wondering how you kept that part all clean with wires and whatnot. I am looking to do alot of what you have done to this tank... I love the way it looks. I am having trouble finding a 20k 70 watt halide bulb at the moment. I don't know if the look of the 10k (13k) aqualine is what I will like... I'm curious to see how things are goin'... keep us posted!@ Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 hook it with some new pics bro! Link to comment
beetlejuice Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 I got the tank from innovative lights. They told me that they were able to contact TruVu and that they had one in stock with a blue background. They had to charge me 15.00 for shipping to make sure that it didn't break because that is the reason why they have stopped carrying them. Anyway, I got the tank the other day and just set it up tonight. I am currently using a 13w 50/50 PC retro kit from hellolights.com. I simply used velcro with the sticky backing to secure it to the hood and there is no way it will come off. I might add another 13w eventually if my corals seem to be needing more. Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 29, 2005 Author Share Posted January 29, 2005 Its been a long time since a pic has been posted because I am waiting on my 20k to come tomorow or Monday. When it does thats when the pictures will start flowing. suubz: The ballast is an external unit. You can see in previous canopy pictures the wiring for the fan and halide running out the drilled hole in the back of my canopy. This simply goes down to the electronic ballast that sits on the ground next to my power cord. ssmangrove: Heres a new pic to hold you over until the 20k comes. I bought this coolworks chiller and it came yesterday. Heres a pic of the hole saw drill bit I am using to drill into the back of the tank. My idea is to drill a hole through back acrylic wall close to the sand bed directly in the middle. I will work on this tomorow and post pics soon. My liverock arrangement will be to surround and cover the probe with larger base pieces and build a decent reef slope. The coraline will encrust the probe anyways but I want to keep the inside of my tank as free from unnatural objects as possible. I know a few of you will think this won't get enough water flow covered in rocks, but remember the chiller is designed to change 10 gallons of water up to 8 degrees and this is only 3.5 What do you think? beetlejuice: I'm glad to see people are now able to purchase the tank through innovative lights. I talked to another member a week or two back that said they were out of stock and wouldn't order anymore because they kept breaking during shipment like you mentioned. Post some pics of your tank and canopy. Link to comment
SSMangrove Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Originally posted by B16A2NR ssmangrove: Heres a new pic to hold you over untill the 20k comes. I bought this coolworks chiller and it came yesterday. Heres a pic of the hole saw drill bit I am using to drill into the back of the tank. My idea is to drill a hole through back acrylic wall close to the sand bed directly in the middle. My liverock arrangement will be to surround and cover the probe with larger base pieces and build a decent reef slope. The coraline will encrust the probe anyways but I want to keep the inside of my tank as free from unnatural objects as possible. What do you think? I think that is a good idea. Make extra extra sure that its water tight. In such a small volume of water with good circulation I think you will have good coolness dispersement. You probably wouldnt want to do it as cleanness is in mind, but ive seen people put the probe in the back of HOB filters. Does the probe have a thermostat? Cant wait to see it up and running.. keep us posted. Link to comment
B16A2NR Posted January 29, 2005 Author Share Posted January 29, 2005 I've pondered the idea of putting it on the hob when I ordered the chiller, but now that its here, it simply won't fit on the aquaclear mini with the canopy covering half of it. If I was running a pendant this would work fine. The bulkhead seal has a nice silicone ring and should hold water fine. Link to comment
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