lockrookies 90g main display tank (upgraded pictures and led moonlight bar)

[lockrookie]

i always feel like i am in an support group meeting when i start one of these..hi my names Jeff and i am addicted to saltwater...they always say admittenance is the first step i guess. anyways here it is i am from Regina sask and have had fresh water tanks since i was 17 thus far my favorite has been my 14 inch long Oscars aka my puppy dog fish. which i had in my custom 90g tank. but i got married and had to shut it down. the house we moved into had no room for the tank. 2 years ago we moved to our existing home and was finally able to set it up again.

well like ever fresh water setup i have had it always starts with ick then i have no problems. its a gift. but last November my 90g sprung a leak at 2 am. not during the day that would be easy. so tear down, reseal. and good to go again. this time though i decided its time i went salt. so i gave my fish away (African cichlids) to a parent of my wife's daycare. and as you all know the bank account began to dwindle. i am still learning and have enjoyed reading alot of your articles which have helped me since i've been lurking here.

thank you everyone and thanks for looking at my attempt at salty friends

Jeff Fuchs
Lockmaster Security.
Regina, Sk.

[lockrookie]

here are a couple pics when i started first is when it had a habituall busy back ground

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/tank2.jpg


secondly without the busy background

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_5908.jpg


the background is actually a piece of formica aka countertop this way if i get tired if the color i just get another chunk of formica i was thinking marble someday

[christyf5]

Hey Jeff welcome to canreef!! :biggrin: LOL, this is a support group, we're all in the same boat :razz:

The tank looks great, much better without the "busy background". Great aquascaping :biggrin:

[fishoholic]

Welcome to canreef :mrgreen: and yes this is a support group. Your set up looks great, I have to agree with Christy it does look better without the busy background.

[Kryptic4L]

if AA had keg parties this would be a support group. This is like trying to put out forest fire with gasoline.

[lockrookie]

like i say i have been lurking for awhile and have snooped at most your tanks already lol i just wish when i had built the stand 2 years ago i would have had sump in mind so im stuck with a 20g tall for now untoll i reinforce and take a dremel to some interior walls of the stand. i plan on a two part sump setup w/ refugem still working on the plans.

but thank you for the compliments

[fishytime]

Welcome to becoming an official non lurker then:lol:.......looks much better without the background:wink:.....

[lockrookie]

just a couple quick pics on progression of tank still figuring out camera so sorry for quality

left side
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6154.jpg

right side
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6152.jpg

middle w/ toadstool
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6153.jpg

[lockrookie]

next step which is a recent idea is i want to change my glass box, keep the stand but upgrade to aprox 120g a few nip and tucks here and there and it should be doable. i have to price it out yet but i want an internal overflow for sure so i can get rid of the hang on back type.

not to sure if i will be keeping the 90g for a future sump or selling it. the wife and i have talked about putting a 3 to 400g in the basement for the daycare kids. which the 90 may be useful as a sump

[lockrookie]

couple of coral shots now that they are awake

pearl bubble coral
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6163.jpg

lg flowerpot
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6158.jpg

lg brain and maxima clam
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6160.jpg

frogspawn
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_6157.jpg

my favs so far but it's just the begining

thanks for looking :juggle:

[globaldesigns]

Gorgeous Tank!!! Great woodwork.

Don't use the background, if need be put a blue or black background in its place.

And welcome to Canreef!

[lockrookie]

Gorgeous Tank!!! Great woodwork.

Don't use the background, if need be put a blue or black background in its place.

And welcome to Canreef!

thank you my dad is a contractor he built it .. doors and all from scratch i was suposed to help but was busy with work:( soi i cannot take any credit other than i designed it

and i did change the back ground there is a pic there somewhere i used a sheet of black laminate so if i get bored of the color i can change it

[lockrookie]

So as some of you know I have been fighting with ich for a bit. I didn’t really post anything due to I was busy trying to find all info and ideas to battle this pesky infection.
I have been using kick ich and the first dosing I was an idiot and under dosed my tank… which is better than overdosing but all the same it wasn’t helping.. expensive mistake. I also have been feeding garlic soaked mysis and flake. And the fish seem to be eating like pigs, which is a good sign. All of this could have been avoided if I had listened to my inner self and just set up a qt tank/hospital tank. Lesson learned. So I am now setting up a qt tank. Now I figured if im going to be upgrading my 90 to a 120 sometime near the end of the New Year/ beginning of the next I should have a tank that I can hold my live rock in and or fish until the setup is finished. Down the road I also want to build a bigger tank in our basement but that’s another story, for another time.

So the other night I found on used regina a 50 gallon tank for 50 bucks…over kill… maybe but the price is right I will not be treating fish with copper in this tank but will do the hyposalinity treatment if the kick ich doesn’t do the trick this time around. Both treatments seem to work well, but if I ever want to do other things with this tank copper would crush the dream. If I need to treat with copper ill get a 20g. in the end it will be just a qt tank for now.maybe a fowlr…maybe predator.. oh the fun this could be… possibilities are endless
I still have to build a temp stand and a proper stand to follow just in case i need it asap.

Ps sorry for the long post….my mission statement

[lockrookie]

so a few things have changed .. my toadstool got the dreaded brown slime may it rest in peace. and a couple pink paly's got eaten and brain is a lil bleached but slowly coming back. but here are some recent pics now that im using ozone its a bit clearer water but i still havent figured out our nerw camera so pic quality is not the best.

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/lms/DSCN0395.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/lms/DSCN0396.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/lms/DSCN0397.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/lms/DSCN0385.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/lms/DSCN0412.jpg

[lockrookie]

and now that it finally uploaded a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSsVuOEllwo

[lockrookie]

a few picss for fun



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1161.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1155.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1153.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1152.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1146.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1135.jpg



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/DSCN1126.jpg

[lockrookie]

well its getting close to my 1 year update for this tank so i may as well post pics now and a short video


the start

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/tank2.jpg

without the back drop

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_5908.jpg

present day

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/103_0023.jpg

short video
click on picture for video

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/th_103_0025.jpg (http://s998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/?action=view&current=103_0025.mp4)

[lockrookie]

just picked this up from pats yesterday and im sorry my photography skills are not so goodmy pics dont do this piece justice

so here it is my first elegance coral

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0048.jpg


http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0046.jpg

[lockrookie]

its a sad weekend. friday night i had looked over to my tank to seeing my hellow tang swimming funny. in closer inspection he was breathing rapidly and pale faced. my regal was also. breathing rapidly. freakout mode ensued. parameters seemed fine. so luckily i had 10g of water pre mixed. and i mixed up a new batch of 25 g of water. did a 25g water change friday night and another 15 g water change saturday. my efforts seemed to help the regal. but by sat night my yellow tang had passed on.



the other tank mates. seemed un affected by this. other than the previous week my sleeper head goby and firefish whent missing. so im not to sure whats going on with this tank. but ill have to keep a close eye on things. nothing hasbeen added save for a coule sticks of sps. hopefully the tank doesnt nuke on me but as it looks now i think im passed the worst. fingers crossed.

jeff

[lockrookie]

so an update had a little mishap yesterday...

was helping the wife in the daycare and walked upstairs to smell burning electrical found right away that it wascoming from my lights needless to say my fixture was hooped. so after having a panic attack and posting my dismay on our local board.....i picked up a tek 6 bulb t5 from trrunner since he had an extra and was nice enough to offer it to me. and with a little bulb juggling from the ones that i didnt fry it lights up my tank like none other. i am very thrilled at the moment. thank you a million harrold you are a life saver.

but.. lol there is always a but... this light comes to me with a few challenges...
first challenge was the depth of the fixture my tank is 15"deep...20" from front to the the wall. the fixture is 16". so with a little adjustment of the brackets (which i love btw easy to adjust) i was able to set the fixture back a little bit and still will have room to feed once lid is opened. as a foot note my old fixture was only 8 and a half so thenew fixture is double the size.

whats life without its challenges right.. well second issue was the height of the fixture.. keep in mind this tank was designed, stand and all for a fresh water setup. itwasnt meant for salt so i didnt think to leave room for improvement.
my lid inside height is 6" but with braceing forstability i only had room to have my fixture sit 2 1/4 from the water.. yes ultimately the reason for the fried fixture.more so due to the fixture had no splash guard...oh well whats done is done right... anyways the tex fixture with its legsmake the light sit higher thus the top puts it at 5 1/4 inches. this problem i have not yet figured out, but i feel a trip to a hardware store is imanent.. im most likely going to have to tear apart the hood and make some major changes.

lastly and i know some ppldontcare to have them but tek lights dont comewith moonlights.. i find they are a great nightlight for those late night bathroom breaks lol... well im in theprocess tonight of tearing the moonlights out of the old fixture and will build a new dimable set. just have toget creative with the wireing.

but all in all i am very impressed with this light(it will come in handy when i upgrade this tank to a 120) as well as with trrunners tanks it was a wonderfull chat and dont forget i havea ric with your name on it.

[The Grizz]

Sorry to hear of the loss Jeff hopefully the rest of your fish come back around.

Good luck with the hood mods, no one ever said this hobby was easy, right.

[Cugio]

Please take a pic of how you retro the tek with the moonlights. I want to do this as well.

[lockrookie]

Sorry to hear of the loss Jeff hopefully the rest of your fish come back around.

Good luck with the hood mods, no one ever said this hobby was easy, right.

yeah i lost a few fish withthat episode butthings arecoming around now i actually added a picasso trigge ri have to get a photo of once i fix the hood situation.

Please take a pic of how you retro the tek with the moonlights. I want to do this as well.

im not sure if iwill be adding to the tek lights itself i dont want to have anything that will cause rust and ruin yet another fixture but once ive made my moon light contraption i will post pics.

[Skimmerking]

hmmmmmm that 50 gal is nice looking we should trade my 8 footer for your 50 gal.

[lockrookie]

lol dont tempt me like that if i had the room and method to haul it id do it. but would feel too guilty like i screwed you over my friend. your system is worth 1000 times more than my 50... i still recomend storage for you untill you get yourself back on your feet.

[Skimmerking]

lol dont tempt me like that if i had the room and method to haul it id do it. but would feel too guilty like i screwed you over my friend. your system is worth 1000 times more than my 50... i still recomend storage for you untill you get yourself back on your feet.





hey im all for it what size is that tank. if you are wanting to shoot a pm is that a 50 gal or 90

[lockrookie]

this is my 90g on this thread... my 50 is on this thread..

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=65428

this one i built last year

but in all seriousness i would love to help you out buti have no room to add a huge tank at this time if we didnt have the twins and aday care in our basement id be all over it. i dont even have a way to transport either tank from here to there and back again. with fear of breakage..

[lockrookie]

quick update ..hood adjusted fixture now sits 5"above the water line... i feel much better about this

went to lowes bought some alum u channel made clips and drilled and wired my moon lights.....

and in between i did a much needed cleaning.....water change tomorrow then pictures will add tomybuild thread

next mini project... must install fans to ensure cooling.. as well i noticed thanwhen the splashguard gets hot it sags near the ends will remedy that tomorrow as well or i should say later today lol

[Myka]

Jeez, you've had some bad luck!

[lockrookie]

Jeez, you've had some bad luck!

lol bad luck this month indeed in april we had to get our cat flushed out due to mucas in the bladder. this month we had to do it again both a 500$ bill. injune we had our dog in to have an absess removedfrom her head...400$ bill.. light fixture blew this month... our parrot passed away early this month...theres more but we will leave it at that lol.

but it all gets erased... when i think of the twins whom where born in july... life happens just have to carry on and enjoy that which is good lol...

[Skimmerking]

dude yea having twin is so friggin awesome, time for a tank upgrade man. come down and get it.

[lockrookie]

lol your relentless but wife would kick me out if i did. already discussed..i dont think ill win the battle. sorry bud

[lockrookie]

so here are a few pics of the nw lights and my retro fit moon lights



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0013.jpg



alum u channel with clips drilled holes to fit led i built two channels with ofset lights to maximise effect

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0018.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0019.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0021.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/100_0025.jpg

[lockrookie]

and a quick vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELl4kd2PmTs

[lockrookie]

since its the end of the year ill post a vid of this tank as well no new corals just an emlarged toadstool

enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x62lrH7D1i4

[lockrookie]

before i move the rock and drain the tank to move to a temp location in my house i figured id take some final pictures of this tank my first addiction to saltwater started jan 2009

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0811.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0810.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0808.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0828.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0819.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0805.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0804.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0803.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0802.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0801.jpg

[lockrookie]

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0799.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0793.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0791.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/lockrookie/first%20tank/100_0788.jpg

[lockrookie]

after 15 years of service of fresh then salt water i herby declare this tank retired.

[gregzz4]

G'bye 90, was nice knowin' ya

http://i10.glitter-graphics.org/pub/780/780920wevc3spomh.gif
http://images.zaazu.com/img/bye-bye-male-smiley-smiley-emoticon-000155-large.gif

[lockrookie]

truth fully i shed no tears i disiked how i had it set up i doubt its worth anything to sell other than the maple stand more leaks and floods than anythng but it was a start lol


memoriess.....blah

[Cugio]

I'm sure everyone is happier in their new home. :)

Would you mind sharing/summarizing your experiences with the the HOB overflow on this 90? Was this the main cause of your leaks outside of resealing your tank?

[lockrookie]

I'm sure everyone is happier in their new home. :)



Would you mind sharing/summarizing your experiences with the the HOB overflow on this 90? Was this the main cause of your leaks outside of resealing your tank?

Yes they Seem happier yet unsure of their surroundings..kinda Funny to watch.

He hang on back overflow is actually a really good overflow its a life reef 1200gph unit. It never lost syphon and never failed me at all. Its my plumbing from the unit to sump that sucks since I installed it after tank was running with pressure fit fittings. Definitely not my brightest idea. So every once in awhile my lame idea of plumbing popped apart. So over all loved the function hated the user installed plumbing.




Sent from a pineapple under the sea...