CadLights 39G Signature

Oscar · #1 06-11-2008, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marlin65

Looks great and looks like you put lots of thought into your tank.
Not sure what MH you are running but on my tank thats about the same size I had my temp jump up about 3-4 degree in about 4hrs of light. A ice probe is only rated for about 1-3 degree pull down if I remember right. I had put two holes in my sump to run two but you also need two controllers. So in the end it was cheaper to get a real chiller. It takes a Mag 5 to run though so you would need to run that water off the main tank somehow. Maybe a over the top drain and sump.

Thinking is cheap. Fortunately the closest LFS is 1 1/2 hours away.

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Yeah I have a 150W hallide and I experience a similar temperature range. Thanks for the insight on the probe.

Until now I have been storing top-off water in the cabinet. Removing those bottles gives me a shelf I can dedicate to a chiller if necessary this summer. My carbon foot print is getting larger daily!

Now I really am going for that beer!

mseepman · #2 06-11-2008, 04:56 AM

Tank is looking really good Oscar. It's great to see this thread knowing that we spoke before you got into this hobby and already you've got a really nice tank, with a great setup.

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

Oscar · #3 06-11-2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

Yes the stock fan is very effective but painfully noisy. It interru[pted TV viewing in the nest room. It was also either on or off. CadLights now has a newer version of the fan whcih is supposed to be much quieter.

So I kept the fan box and replaced the internal with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. Almost silent and with a temperatue probe tha varies the speed based on air temperature. I have not really got it tweaked, the location of the probe needs adjustment.

mseepman · #4 06-25-2008, 10:32 PM

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

Oscar · #5 06-26-2008, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

I am very pleasantly suprised so far. Inside temperature right now is 73F. My tank for the past 2 weeks has been in the range of 78-82F with running the actinics for 12 hours a day and hallide for 10 hours.

I notice the forecast is for temps up to 35F for the next week and our rancher is south facing. I have an air conditioner that I can temporarily install in the window when necessary so this is going to be a major test.

I replaced the fan that came with the tank (it was way too noisy) with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. It has a temp probe that is installed between the water surface and the lighting unit. It is set to automatically come on the lowest setting at the same time that the hallide starts. The fan speed steps up as the air temperature increases. This fan is also super quiet which is a bonus.

I do have a 2nd fan that I received from CadLights. It is nearly silent although it is either on or off.

So next week I will shorten the time that the hallide is on and install the additional fan. In additon I have had a JBL top off setup so with all of this extra evaporation due to the fans, the salinity of the tank will stay relatively constant.

Next week will certainly be a big test.

Oscar · #6 06-26-2008, 02:06 AM

Lester the lobster molted again last night. That's the 2nd time in ~6 weeks. I think he likes his new home.

Oscar · #7 09-14-2008, 01:24 AM

I can't believe is was June when I last posted.

Since then:
- added two clowns
- clowns hosted with frog spawn
- new battle with algae
- installed top off system
- discovered a crab hitchiker

I discovered that I had a crab hitchiker only because I discovered his molt 6 weeks ago. I have tried to lure him out with food in a glass jar but no luck. Using a flashlight I discovered his little cave. So tomorrow I will extract the rock in question and try to "encourage" him to leave.

But while I am at it I will undertake a major aquascaping. I have concluded that I added too much rock to the tank. I created a large rock wall against the rear wall. It has losts of caves and tunnels but takes up too much space, limits corals to the front face and I can only clean the glass on 1 side.

So I am going to rearrange things into more of an "island" design. This means that some of the live rock will come out.

As you can see I am also suffering from a new algae burst I think is primarily from my feeding of the clowns. It took me a while to figure out the feeding methodology but by that time I had spilled an awful lot of uneaten food into the tank. As Myka pointed out I may still be leaching phosphate from the rocks