Ricwilli's 215 build

[ricwilli]

Here is a FTS with the lights. I also transferred some of the corals to the tank. I still have more in my 90. The corals that I left in the 90 are the ones that are not doing so well after I moved the tank. I need to learn how to take pics.

I'm really hating the MP40. It does its job but the sand moves to one side.

 

[ricwilli]

Those PA pics are pretty cool when I first opened it I thought you opened some kind of frag business or something. Looks like a cool place. Don't worrry about not bringing stuff back for people they had free shipping last week and 10% off.

I wish I had an operation like PA's.

 

[asonitez]

I like your Lighting. Wanna Trade MH's for a day!

 

[BobnKate]

so u have an MP40 in a 215 and its moving the sand. and I see others that have 2 in much smaller tanks. Now I just picked up an MP40 for my 75, so I can take out all the other power heads. I hope I don't have a sand storm... :-\

Bob

 

[ricwilli]

so u have an MP40 in a 215 and its moving the sand. and I see others that have 2 in much smaller tanks. Now I just picked up an MP40 for my 75, so I can take out all the other power heads. I hope I don't have a sand storm... :-\

Bob

Yeah, I believe Bob (Magic) has two MP40 in his 42g tank. I think he is a sick man.
The one thing I like about the MP40 is that it pushes water in all directions where as a Tunze is a direct (straight) push. Another thing is, that I have it on the highest setting and it does NOT reach the other end of the tank. The frogspawn on the other end does not move. I will be adding two more Tunze to the tank. When I do this, I will move the MP40 in the middle and the Tunze's on each end.

 

[Hawkeye]

Those are really great pics of your trip to indiana. Thanks so much for sharing. Iknow all of this could have been summed up with the "nice pics" post but that has been said many times I just hate using that phrase...

Did they allow you thru the drygoods warehouse or no? I was thinking it would be more along the lines of what That Pet Place is like.

As for the vortech - can you not set it to that lagoon setting or whatever that is to dissipate it more? I do not own a vortech so i cannot speak to it. Call me cheap but I picked up the tunze that are discontinued (stream 1). Even then with only a 48" tank I had to dial down the pumps with the multicontroller. I set them on interval so one side is running for 10 minutes, then shut down, then the other side comes on for 10 minutes. When one side is on, the pumps are set to alternate in power every 3 seconds. Then once nighttime hits, the pumps set on the lowest power you have. If you go the tunze route - think about spending the money on the multicontroller 7096.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Gosh that is one beautiful tank, Rich! LOVE the lights. Are you happy with them? Did you feel the need to put sunglasses on when they all turned on? ;D

 

[Patriot76]

caution- i could be mistaken, but its possible there may some bryposis on this coral

 

[Nickjr000]

Yeah lights look good, nice and bright

 

[ricwilli]

Those are really great pics of your trip to indiana. Thanks so much for sharing. Iknow all of this could have been summed up with the "nice pics" post but that has been said many times I just hate using that phrase...

Did they allow you thru the drygoods warehouse or no? I was thinking it would be more along the lines of what That Pet Place is like.

As for the vortech - can you not set it to that lagoon setting or whatever that is to dissipate it more? I do not own a vortech so i cannot speak to it. Call me cheap but I picked up the tunze that are discontinued (stream 1). Even then with only a 48" tank I had to dial down the pumps with the multicontroller. I set them on interval so one side is running for 10 minutes, then shut down, then the other side comes on for 10 minutes. When one side is on, the pumps are set to alternate in power every 3 seconds. Then once nighttime hits, the pumps set on the lowest power you have. If you go the tunze route - think about spending the money on the multicontroller 7096.

Thanks Phil. PA does not allow anyone in there warehouse. They have a display full of items with what they have available. All you have to do is just ask them what you want and they will get for you. They also have a computer that you can use to shop and they will get you the item from the warehouse.
With the Tunze, I already have them as well as the multicontroller 7096. I will need to figure out a way to make the MP40 and the Tunze work together so that the pumps can be on one at a time for a couple of minutes like you have. I will try to change the setting on the MP40 to see if it does not move my sand.

Gosh that is one beautiful tank, Rich! LOVE the lights. Are you happy with them? Did you feel the need to put sunglasses on when they all turned on? ;D

Thanks Wendy. The tank is kind of bright when all the lights are on. I'm actually planning on adding more behind the fixture. 2x36" and 2x60". I'm also thinking if it will be best for me to replace this fixture with a 60" 10 bulb fixture. Are you over driving your bulbs?

caution- i could be mistaken, but its possible there may some bryposis on this coral

I honestly thought it was algae when I got the coral. I read this post last night but didn't have time to respond. As soon as I read your post I rushed to the tank to see if I see any algae, and to my surprise, there was none that I can see. It looks like the MB7 from Brightwells is doing its job. I will keep an eye on it. Thanks for bringing that up. Now I will be more aware of these things.

Yeah lights look good, nice and bright

Thanks Nick

 

[JerseyWendy]

Thanks Wendy. The tank is kind of bright when all the lights are on. I'm actually planning on adding more behind the fixture. 2x36" and 2x60". I'm also thinking if it will be best for me to replace this fixture with a 60" 10 bulb fixture. Are you over driving your bulbs?

No, none of my bulbs are overdriven. I'm using the regular Tek lights Ready Fit Retros, 8 X 80Watts. Plenty of light for my tank.

Can't wait to see your tank full of corals. You picked up some really nice additions, too.

 

[asonitez]

Hey Rich, are you running any controllers?

 

[ricwilli]

Hey Rich, are you running any controllers?

I have the ACJr and the Apex. The Jr. is only controlling the lights right now. The Apex needs to be configured. But I have it set up where I can connect to it via the Web. Just need time.

 

[TanksNStuff]

First off, have to agree that the lights are really bright and the tank is shaping up nicely Richie!

As to the Vortech's, I only have an MP20 on my 75 and I think it's plenty for me. In fact my birdsnest, that is about a foot away from it, practically vibrates because of the water stream thown at it. I have a nice bush of xenia all the way on the other end of the tank and it gets a nice gentle flow too. I can't imagine having 2 x mp40's in a 42gal tank... that is insane! Richie's tank is certainly larger than mine though and due to the lenth I could see why an MP40 would need a bit more help, even if it can pull up sand on the side it's on.

There are several different mode settings on the Vortechs. Have you tried all of them to see if any get the results you want? Remember, you can always adjust the speed control on each mode as well. Have you tried raising it higher in the tank so it doesn't pull up sand? I have mine attached about 3" from the normal tank level so that there is a slight wave forming over the top. This also helps keep a nice stream across the top of the surface which helps push floating debris into the overflow.

Not that this would help any, but there are a few more features that most people don't realize these have: There is a "night mode" that you can program into the controller. It will basically slow down your flow to 50% of the normal rate at a specified time (every night - it has an internal clock) and then return to normal in 10 hours. I have my actinics setup so they come on right as it switches back to normal mode, so it's a nice simultaneous wakeup for my livestock. There is also a 5-minute "feeding" mode that slows down to a very light flow so you can feed your fish/corals. This has to be enabled manually by holding down the mode button for 3 seconds, just before you want to feed. Certainly neither of these are a solution to your issue, but just thought I may as well mention them.

A feature that may help you though is Pulse mode. These are manually programmed pulses where you set the max speed and the interval of the pulses. There are actually 2 pulse modes, one short, one long. You should probably be able to program the MP40 with a pulse mode so that it won't pull up sand.

Here's a link to the manual in case you are interested in setting up pulse mode. I believe it's on page 5.

 

[ricwilli]

Thanks George. This is good to know. I just need to find the time to play around with the settings.

Right now I'm playing with the Calcium Reactor to see if I can dial it in. All my corals are doing good so far. They have good PE. Here is a pic of the corals that I lost. How sad........

 

[Nickjr000]

Geesh thats a lot! I feel for ya

 

[ricwilli]

Its been pretty quiet as I have not done anything to the tank. Although I did add some fish.

COURTESY OF AQUATIC OBSESSIONS

A pair of Blue Throat Triggers

Purple Fire Fish Goby

I also got a Coral Banded Shrimp but it keeps itself hiding in the rocks. I can never get a pic of it.

 

[Hawkeye]

beautiful fish!. Do you find the goby to be fearful of the triggers? I think triggers are gorgeous but I was afraid my smaller fish would carpet surf.

sorry to see those corals. You lost more corals than I have... :-X

 

[NEWSALT]

Here is a FTS with the lights. I also transferred some of the corals to the tank. I still have more in my 90. The corals that I left in the 90 are the ones that are not doing so well after I moved the tank. I need to learn how to take pics.

I'm really hating the MP40. It does its job but the sand moves to one side.

Looking great. I like the light color. I have the same fixture. Where did you get the GE Ecolux bulb?

 

[ricwilli]

beautiful fish!. Do you find the goby to be fearful of the triggers? I think triggers are gorgeous but I was afraid my smaller fish would carpet surf.

sorry to see those corals. You lost more corals than I have... :-X

I spoke to Will about this and he said it should be fine. They are all doing great together. They all hang out in the same place. I guess I better keep the triggers fed huh.......

Looking great. I like the light color. I have the same fixture. Where did you get the GE Ecolux bulb?

hmmm, I honestly can't remember where I purchased them from. I've had them for a couple of months just sitting in my garage. I will have to go through my paper work to see if I still have the receipt. I'll let you know Mike.