luv2jeep Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 Well, thanks to some help from this board, I have a "New & Improved" Reef Tank. I dumped the Eclipse Hood and replaced it with a Hagen Mini Power Filter with Foam Block and ChemiPure. Also added a second Hagen 201 Powerhead. I made a DIY hood from some pine boards and black lacquer ... fitted it with a HelloLights.com 96W Quad 50/50 Retrofit. HOLY LIGHT BATMAN!!!! Anyway, corals are MUCH happier with the new light! My 10-Gallon Reef Pictures -Craig P.S. - Check out my timer/powerstrip. This thing is ####! Found it @ Target for $9!!! Link to comment
Korbin Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 That powerstrip IS mighty nifty. Nice tank. Is that that 96 watt retrofit. Is it worth the $$? Does it get steamy? Link to comment
luv2jeep Posted November 6, 2002 Author Share Posted November 6, 2002 Yes, the powerstrip is GREAT! I stumbled onto it by accident looking for a tabletop timer since I don't have room for a wall timer. Target ... $9! Yes, it is the HelloLights 96W Retrofit. The kit is VERY high quality. The only complaint is the ballast is friggin HUGE! I've seen smaller ballasts in dual-tube 4' flourescent fixtures! The light intensity and color is perfect. It does get hot, but I have slots in the top of my hood to keep in under control. So, to answer your question ... is it worth the money .... YES! I hesitated for a while when I saw the price, but broke down and now no regrets! BTW, thanx for the compliment! It is light on corals, but it is hard to find small frags here in Detroit. I'm currently waiting on a yellow toadstool that is splitting right now at the LFS. Link to comment
Korbin Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 Whoa, hahaha. I didn't even notice that you are in Royal Oak (or maybe I forgot). I used to live in Utica. What LFS do you go to? Do you have any pictures of the orange button polyps? You should check out Kee's in Utica. Sometimes they have some smallish frags. I know they will sell individual mushrooms and stuff. Their fish prices are better than anywhere else too. Link to comment
Korbin Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 Do you think that light would get too hot to keep under the eclipse hood? Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 sorry to butt into your michigan talk but i thought i could help! i have a 5 hex eclipse with just a 13W pc (integrated ballast=plenty of heat). i rigged up a fan with heat sink from radio shack for about twenty bucks including the power supply and it works sweet! gets rid of all the heat and condensation inside the hood and i think the heat sink actually cuts down on flow and consequently evaporation. if you have any questions about that let me know. otherwise i'd just like to say, maybe you can relate, i'm a little jealous of all the SoCal nanoreefers. must be tough! minneapolis-a booming mecca of like 3 million has two maybe three stores, and if you want my two cents, they all blow! Link to comment
luv2jeep Posted November 6, 2002 Author Share Posted November 6, 2002 1. LFS - I go to The Pet Connection at 5-Mile and Middlebelt and Aquatic Discoveries at 15-Mile and Ryan. Both have decent prices, but very rarely have small frags. I've had EXCELLENT luck getting small frags at Moby Dick's up in Pontiac, but the drive sucks! But they'll frag almost any coral they have for you for like $10-$15! 2. I wouldn't worry about the heat in an Eclipse, I'm just wondering how you're going to fit it! But yes, it will get too hot! Eclipse hoods don't have any vents at all. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 Originally posted by luv2jeep P.S. - Check out my timer/powerstrip. This thing is ####! Found it @ Target for $9!!! this thing is what? anyway, how does it work? does the timer control one of the outlets or all of them together or some of them or or or i'm needing some timers for my lights. Link to comment
luv2jeep Posted November 7, 2002 Author Share Posted November 7, 2002 Originally posted by adinsxq this thing is what? anyway, how does it work? does the timer control one of the outlets or all of them together or some of them or or or i'm needing some timers for my lights. The timer controls one half, the other half is switched. Link to comment
Sahin Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 Nice cute tank. Good startup. BTW what PDA is that on your desk? I am looking to buy a PDA very soon--looking to buy the Sony Clie T675. Link to comment
MrConclusion Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 Dude, that power quad is tight. ENVY! Link to comment
luv2jeep Posted November 10, 2002 Author Share Posted November 10, 2002 Originally posted by Sahin Nice cute tank. Good startup. BTW what PDA is that on your desk? I am looking to buy a PDA very soon--looking to buy the Sony Clie T675. It's a Sony Clie PEG-T665C and I would HIGHLY recommend it!!! Link to comment
tgrupert Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 Originally posted by luv2jeep The timer controls one half, the other half is switched. I want to get one, if you can speed up the clock you could use it as a DIY wave maker. do you have pictures or a brand name? if it uses a stepper motor then you could add a much faster motor and you would be in business. imagine a wave maker for 10 bucks! Link to comment
JesseJ Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 Hey you should check out Tropicorium in Romulus. I go there all the time for livestock. They have tons of stuff and lotsa small frags. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 i just bought a couple the other week and they are really a sweet deal for the money. four of the eight outlets are contolled by the timer. the tmer has 96 setting so i think you could just depress every other one and you should have a wavemaker that turns your powerheads on and off every what 15 minutes! get two, and stagger the on off times, maybe overlap em a lil. i think it would work awesome. BTW...there isn't really a name brand-just target. they came in a grey box maybe 5"x14" with yellow writing and designs. hope i helped! Link to comment
tgrupert Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 I did a little reasearch. a company makes the same exact product only it has a digital timer. it sells for 60 dollars. so they slap one of there analog timers in and sell it under a different name to save embaresment. I don't know much about wave makers. I don't know even the advantage they have. however 9 dollars for a wavemaker is amazing. I don't know of any targets near me but I really want to take this thing apart. the steper motor in there goes around once every 24 hours, I could easaly find one by the same manufature that is the same size that does a revolution every 12 hours. that way I could have one going every 15 minutes and one every 7.5 minutes. also some steppers will go faster if you apply more voltage without becoming dammaged. I still wish I knew what exactly a wave maker does. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 i could prolly pick one up for ya and ship it if you make it worth my time. what exactly do you mean when you say, "i still wish i knew what a wavemaker does?" i assume you mean the electrical/computer components and how they function. NFC:D dude! you can PM if you're interested in one of those timer/powerstrips-did you see the picture under the initial post- http://www.jeepnuts.com/reef/ not very computer savvy-hope that works and doesn't blow up the mainframe later Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 wavemakers allow you to simulate the ocean by creating alternating currents from different directions, surges, etc. only rivers and aquariums have a constant unidirectional current. alternating currents allow flow to reach different parts of corals-ridding them of excess mucus unwanted debris and bringing them the particulate matter or microorganisms (zooplankton, phytoplankton, bacteria) they feed on. alternating currents/surges can also stir up detrius from areas where it would otherwise settle-the leeward/"downstream" side of corals/LR/etc. this detrius may then be utilized by filterfeeding organisms or removed from the water via some form of mechanical filtration. just think of waves coming in and then the following undertow that pulls you out to sea. most inverts experience and benefit from the same wave action...hope that makes sense! Link to comment
tgrupert Posted November 15, 2002 Share Posted November 15, 2002 that's kinda what I thought. basicly kills the dead spots. what are the cycles that the expensive computer wave makers use? there are several things on ebay that are more configurable. they have tons of devices athat could be used as wave makers or temperature controllers for 5-30 dollars. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted November 15, 2002 Share Posted November 15, 2002 one thing you might look into is a soft start feature that a lot of wavemakers employ. its designed to lengthen the life of powerheads (that aren't supposed to be turned on and off , on and off, etc.) most wavemakers have three or four recepticle to supply three or four pumps. often there will be a main pump recepticle. power is maintained to te pump at all times except when a feed button is depressed momentarily-to allow for feeding the tank and not having it all swept into your tanks filter system. on nano's that feature is often wasted-first because of minimal feedings and second because a lot of the time no mechanical filtration is employed to filter out the food. the other recepticles are often wired so that when one goes on the other goes off. most of the time you can select the duration of each cycle (up to a couple minutes, i think) i believe other wavemakers are making it possible to have random currents (random durations and patterns) but that could be your new thing. still others have a light sensor that slows or stops auxillary pumps (main(s) stay on) at night simulating calmer night waters. if you come up with a design let me know, i live in an apartment so if it burns down who cares (assuming everyone gets out!) plus i really dig new gadgets n stuff! Link to comment
tgrupert Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 well right now i'm getting my dual stage temperature controller set-up. I got it for UNDER 30 DOLLARS!!!! Link to comment
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