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Items by IN_D_N-OH_SHUN

Marine Aquariums of South Africa

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  Hi All! I'm a second time "Newbie"!

  Posted: September 7th, 2010, 5:25pm CDT by IN_D_N-OH_SHUN

  I had a 55 gal. & a 20L back in the early 90's & enjoyed it tremendously! I've wanted to get back into this ever since I had to give them up!
  I recently bought a used 65 gal. 24" x 36" reef set up with a BLAAAAAAAAAAAAACK ( Yawn! )painted OAK cabinet ( OMG!:nono:) :banghead: - top & base. I'm starting out by creatively adding some class to it! I'm sanding all vertical flat surfaces, leaving the black on the shaped & horizontal ones. I'm refinishing the beautiful Oak I'm finding underneath, in Cabernet colored ( a reddish warm tone) Varithane stain. I think it's gonna be gorgeous! Since I intend to set the tank as a room divider between my living / dining areas ( 11ft x 18ft. total space ) , I'm going to do a bit more creative carpentry to cover the open "side" which would otherwise be the back of the cabinet. This will allow me better access to the sump & additional refugium /algae filter I'll be adding. I'll build an extra shelf for the refugium. A question here!- does it matter what I use for a refugium? Wouldn't a "Tupperware" tub work just fine if I want? I'm going to mount fluorescent tube fixtures above it, to the inner underside of the tank platform within the cabinet.
  I've figured out a way to get creative with the water flow , too! I'm going to plumb my live rock support structure PVC to my return line & put "T"s where I want outlet nozzles. By building my live rock on top of the structure & creating caves & shelves, it will be hidden & very "real ocean" like ! :thumbup: I have a large powerhead as well. I want to set up a surge / wave effect. I figure I can arrange that in the return line & plumb pvc to either end of the tank with the wave unit alternating the ebb & flow. By putting the strongest surges under rock shelves, I c an have softies that prefer gentler currents , above the selves & create stratified zones in the inhabitants. The shelves will also shade some areas for corals that prefer darker regions.
  The construction plan also includes another little creative feature. I'm planning to build a small light box "pan" to sit under the tank , such that the light boxes extend a few inches beyond the base of the tank so that I have BLUE LIGHTS / LED's as moonlights for my corals! Wired in concert with a timer & the top lights , I'll have full cycle /full spectrum lighting! :bigthumbup:
  
  I have a scavenged light fixture that has 4 swiveling track light type canisters mounted to a base. I'm thinking that if I remove the base & mount the individual lights in my cabinet top & use full spectrum screw in 100 w fluorescent bulbs in each one, along with my regular top lighting fixture, I'll have some pretty decent light in the top. Can anyone ( pardon the pun) enlighten me on the spectrum of the bulbs? I have 2 of them in my ceiling fixture in my Art Studio ( I'm a Wildlife Artist, working in Pastel) and 2 more in lamps. I love them! They appear rather blue! I'm wondering if that might just be perfect for some of my Corals? It's certainly cheap! The base of the bulb says "Aero-Tech" 5000K FS58 - 25W ( 100 W equivalent in an incandescent ) . I guess individually, they are short of the 6,500K - 10,000 K spectrum preferred for Reef tanks, but does that 5,000K multiply as I add bulbs? In other words, wouldn't the 4 5,000K bulbs add up to 20,000K ? . . . Or is that just 4 5,000K lights ? I also thought about checking out halogens. They're really HOT though. I watched that video on the Plasma light! Very impressive! But I'm betting it has a price to match! What is the spectrum of LEDs? I don't think they are very intense!
  Necessity is the mother of invention & my pocket says I'd better get REAL inventive!
  In my filtration plans, I'm going with the Jaubert - Plenum system; adding a sump & a algae refugium - all with as much live rock/sand as I can possibly manage. I intend to propagate amphipods & other small crustaceans as food, along with the algae in the refugium. I've bought a couple pretty good books & I'm trying my best to do my home work. I feel strongly that it's a big responsibility taking the lives of these creatures into MY hands & I take that seriously. Taking on the responsibility of ANY "pet" is often taken far too lightly & on a whim! Disaster most always follows & aside from the financial pain, it's the creatures who entrust us with their care, who get hurt most & often pay OUR price with THEIR lives! I personally consider that irresponsible & unethical! Bad things happen in spite of best intentions. I get that. But if one does the research, they are doing their best to prevent that! Beyond that. . .. "the elevator's BROKE!. . . take the STEPS! " ! Technology advances. It's our responsibility to keep up with it. As far as *I* can see, this doesn't HAVE to be hard, or even expensive, IF you do the homework! . . .Did you take notes? ;):) I am! We'll see how I score! :bigthumbup::rockon::y15::party::seeya: