Chad's 120

As moved from my introduce yourself thread:

Update:

Thanks for all the welcomes and advice. So Oct. 9th our son Teagan arrived and made us very happy parents!



I attended the reef fest and while I didn't do a very good job of meeting people I had a great time learning from the excellent speakers and observing the vendors. Didn't get lucky in the auction but of course had fun hoping. My wife and I visited a couple of lfs's and priced tanks and stands, we realized new ones cost more than we could offer for quite awhile so I tried to put fish tanks out of my head. After that I spent my time with the family and there was lots to do with the holidays. A couple of weeks ago my wife made a couple of comments about us getting an aquarium. It doesn't take much encouragement for me to look for things on KSL to buy. I found a nice 120 gallon tank with alder stand and sump listed. It was my favorite size tank and came with my favorite knotty alder stand. We talked about it for a couple of days and after it didn't sell and the price dropped a little we agreed it could be part of my Christmas and my birthday present. So here is what I got:

120 Gallon tank with alder stand and canopy








It came with a 50 gallon sump and a return pump:



175 watt metal halid lamps with an older ballast







Now for the questions:

1. During disassembly some of the bulkhead fittings were loosened and turned in the holes. What can I do now to make sure they won't leak? Do they use gaskets? Are they just sealed with RTV?

2. The lamps that came with it are different lengths. The short one is 175 watt, 10k. The longer lamp is completely unmarked. I'm not even sure if it is 175 watt. Will this hurt the ballast if it's a different watt rating?

3. The fixture also has two VHO tubes which don't light all the way. Not sure if it is worth my time to get adapters and tubes to run T5's in these. I will eventually upgrade the lighting system but need to keep things on the cheap for awhile.

4. I don't care for the blue back drop. Buy a stick on black backing or mask and tape it?

5. What else do I need to address now before adding water?

I would suggest black vinyl for the back. Probably same or similar material to the blue, but black. New lighting is always nice but will add to the costs. I'm a huge fan of MH's and VHO's. Old school? Maybe. Tried and try? Undoubtedly.

+1 on the backing and bulkheads.

A couple of things on the lighting:
1) I also think a VHO/Halide combo works well. I used to have that kind of setup on my tank till I switched out the MH's for LEDs, but I still use the VHO's. They burn a little cooler and last longer than T5's and the UVL brand have internal reflectors, so you don't need another extra piece of hardware.

2) I would buy new MH bulbs, mainly because old bulbs can put out a lot of "bad" wavelengths of light that will encourage more nuisance algae growth, and less good coral growth, and the bad stuff can be hard to get rid of once you get it. Also, be good and careful with the older ballast. It looks similar to the one I ran on my tank, and the old ones like that can wear out and throw stray voltage (mine somehow became un-grounded and electrified the housing as well as the metal power strip it plugged into.

Edited by Deluxe247 - January 09 2012 at 1:12pm

Thanks Akira, DLindquist, GaryF, Deluxe247 and laynframe.

I am so glad to hear the metal halide's and VHO's are a good combination. I will order some new halide lamps after I get paid next and have started pricing VHO tubes. I think I will get 175 watt 14K MH lamps, there are a couple of brands that seem to get good reviews for $65 ish each. Not sure if I need to troubleshoot the VHO ballast or just get new bulbs. They do come on but just kind of glow like they did not light off all the way. I need to re mount the MH reflectors - they are not very secure the way they are. Thanks for the advice on the tank backing, I will try and get to the Aquarium this Saturday for some vinyl.

There are some light scratches in the glass from previous cleanings. Not sure if they will be visible with water in the tank. Should I buy supplies and polish them out now while I have the chance?

Edited by wick246 - January 15 2012 at 9:38am

swiftra wrote: Hey Wick, don't know if you would be interested but I have 2 older 175w MH ballasts with bulbs that I no longer use that you are welcome to. Only problems are I have no idea how old the bulbs are I think one is new but not positive and I live up here in Ogden. But if you are interested and would like something to get you by for a little bit let me know.

Nice to meet you Ryan. Thanks again for the parts! Now I'm back on track.

pictures would help a ton. Did they have a second tank hooked up to it also? Maybe piping for a reactor or skimmer?

I can't keep track of them all!

Here is a list of critters I like. I will add to it over time and edit them for compatablity.

Fish:

3 striped Damsel
Schooling Banner fish
3 spot dominoe Damsel




Edited by wick246 - January 24 2012 at 1:49pm

Thanks a ton Akira but they won't live long in my tank - it still has no water! Saving birthday money and pocket change for my RO/DI unit, then some salt to start curing rocks and sand in a temporary bin. Then hopefully before too long I'll be filling the tank and finally getting started.

i agree with the fact that you have the funds for the apex now, and lesser costing things are easier to pick up along the way. additionally i would add that you might want the apex in the building stages so you can fully build it into your new system. as far as mounting and routing components.