bennerkla's 5.5 AGA Nano Reef Diary (Lots of PICS!!!) - Page 30

bennerkla · 05/27/2006, 07:51 AM

Yup, same size tank! Some family is coming in today for my graduation, so hopefully I'll still be able to make it over to set up the lights. I have to play golf at 11:30

mr pink floyd · 05/27/2006, 09:43 AM

where did yo uget all those floyd posters????

pulse, wish you were here...

my friends bro has an original dark side on vinyl, with the posters in it

slave-of-rock · 05/27/2006, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bennerkla
Here are some snapshots of the new tank placement.

Any Pink Floyd fans out there?????

I love floyd! I have there DSOTM record, Wish You Were Here and Animals on vynal. I collect records and those are some of my prizes

. Nice posters, gotta love them!

mr pink floyd · 05/27/2006, 11:38 AM

the memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime

gotta love obscured, dark side, meddle was ight, wish you were here, animals... big man pig man, haha charade you are...

bennerkla · 05/27/2006, 03:19 PM

You...****ed up, old, hag, hahaaaaa charade you are......

I got most of them online, but a few in a going out of business sale from a local record store.

I own every, single, Pink Floyd album, except Delicate sound of thunder. Here is my top 10...

1-DSOTM
2-Animals
3-Wish
4-Wall
5-Obscurred
6-Piper
7-Meddle
8-Division Bell
9-MLOR
10-Final Cut

Anyway, back on topic, I'm heading over to my friends house right now to install my lights. Should be done in a couple of hours. I'll post pics!

Cya Floyd fans,

Ben

mr pink floyd · 05/27/2006, 03:28 PM

see, i think obscured is as good, if not better than Dark side, the thing is, it got completely trashed

it came out what, 3 -4 months before dark side?

the only song on it i dont like is absolutely curtains

bennerkla · 05/27/2006, 06:55 PM

Yay, I've got metal halide lighting!!!!!!!!

Here is just the actinics...

Here it is with the MH and actinics!!

Here is a shot of the setup. I can't really lift up the hood, because of how tightly everything is packed, but you can kind of get an idea from this shot. The actinic is on the right, and the MH is on the left. Both share the same large reflector. The wiring and the actinic's ballast are hidden beneath the reflector.

And, my tank with the legends...

Look at how bright this little tank is! It is really hard to tell from the pictures, but the shimmer effect from the MH lamp is absolutely stunning. Worth it, even if I don't have SPS. Hope you guys like! My friend Doug helped me out big time, without him I could have never done this myself. Thanks Doug! Also, I'll be getting some corals soon, along with possibly a small fish. I'm going to test the water soon to see what it is, but the rock is all from tanks so I shouldn't have a cycle.

Let me know what you think!

Ben

bennerkla · 05/27/2006, 07:56 PM

This is a horrible video, but you can at least can an idea of what the shimmer effect is.

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...current=MH.flv

bennerkla · 05/28/2006, 02:59 PM

I went to Phishy Business today and bought some livestock. I decided to go with a baby clown, I think it is a cinnamon clown. He is tiny, hopefully I can get him to feed and maybe host in one of my corals. He is hiding in the way back of my tank right now. Here are some pics of the new setup, every new coral is closed so I'll take another picture tomorrow when they will hopefully be open. Will probably move some stuff around and will get more corals on Wednesday.

Cya guys,

Ben

Jordan55 · 05/28/2006, 04:15 PM

Hey Ben.

Looks good! I like the little clown. I remember catching him and putting him in the tank you found him in. He is like .5 inches.

I like the lights.... seems like you did a good job. Is there any heat problems?

Only thing that needa little work is more rock IMO. But hey thats up to you.

Keep it up!

bennerkla · 05/28/2006, 05:10 PM

Thanks Jordan. I was planning on adding more rock today, but the fish is breathing heavily in the back of my tank behind rocks, so I want to try to calm him down as much as possible. I'll try to get him to eat before I add more rock from my 75 gallon.

Was the clown eating when you saw him at Phishy?

Do you remember those 5 dollar mushrooms? I got that huge green one, great deal.

I'll post more pics tomorrow, cya guys,

Ben

leeweber85 · 05/28/2006, 05:18 PM

Do you have a glass cover to protect the inhabitants from the UV rays?

bennerkla · 05/28/2006, 08:00 PM

Lee,

Yes, I do. Thanks for the heads up, though.

bennerkla · 05/28/2006, 08:23 PM

My baby clown is out

He is hanging around my frogspawn, but the frogspawn seems to be upset as he has closed up a bit. I'm glad to see the little guy out, hopefully he'll eat tomorrow. My mushroom is starting to grab ahold of some rock, and the MH will get fired up tomorrow. I have still got to get my auto top off set up, my timers, a lot of stuff. So hopefully tomorrow I can figure it all out.

Lots goin on, I'll take some more pics tomorrow.

Cya guys,

Ben

bennerkla · 05/31/2006, 09:21 PM

Hey guys, here are some updated pictures of my tank. My mushroom is HUGE, and my clownfish hosts in it a lot, but for these pics he was hosting in my frogspawn. Both the mushroom and frogspawn seem to love my tank, but the [id please] does not. I've tried him in a couple of positions, might try a new one tomorrow.

My clownfish is eating! So everything looks good so far. I'm in the process of setting up my auto top off and installing moonlights.

Any comments or suggestions? Other than more live rock? (Will get more within a week)

Thanks guys,

Ben

1105 · 05/31/2006, 10:08 PM

Tank looks great! What do you have in mind for an auto top off? That tank has to evaporate a lot with that MH on there.

bennerkla · 05/31/2006, 10:29 PM

Thanks. When I get the heater (which I will not plug in), I'll put it in the fuge and zip tie the tubing to the heater, same as my old setup...

shouldabenacowboy · 05/31/2006, 10:34 PM

Nice setup

SBC

alien9168 · 06/04/2006, 07:56 AM

tanks lookin great!

Im glad to see ypu started another one up!

bennerkla · 06/06/2006, 12:00 PM

Hey all, thanks for the compliments. I have a lot of new corals, but everyday half of them look great, and the other half does not. Then it switches. So I'm trying to wait until they all look halfway decent before I snap a shot. I'm having huge temperature fluctuations, which I'm trying to battle since my stupid heater doesn't have a temp gauge. (grrr).

I'll hopefully post some pictures soon! My clown is doing just fine.

Cya guys,

Ben

bennerkla · 06/07/2006, 11:08 PM

Finally, I got my temp stable at around 80. My SPS really didn't like the fluctuations, but my corals looked a bit better today. Hopefully tomorrow they will look decent enough for a full tank shot, until then you will have to dream away!

Later my nano reefing friends,

Ben

mdisalvo55 · 06/07/2006, 11:25 PM

Lookin good man...I just got home to find out my yellow tang is MIA. My guess is he died and was devoured by my clean up crew. Now to find out how...Anyways, I like the tank and those Halides look pretty sweet, keep it up.

Kennyboy1984 · 06/08/2006, 12:06 AM

You hear that ben. He kept a yellow tang in a 55 gallon. And now it is dead! You need to give him a talkin to.

mdisalvo55 · 06/08/2006, 12:28 AM

Hey now...anymore of that and I may have to cut off using ebay pal.

bennerkla · 06/08/2006, 06:36 AM

Thanks for the compliment, mdisalvo. Did you get my PM?

05/27/2006, 07:51 AM	#726
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Yup, same size tank! Some family is coming in today for my graduation, so hopefully I'll still be able to make it over to set up the lights. I have to play golf at 11:30 __________________ -Ben

05/27/2006, 03:19 PM	#730
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	You...****ed up, old, hag, hahaaaaa charade you are...... I got most of them online, but a few in a going out of business sale from a local record store. I own every, single, Pink Floyd album, except Delicate sound of thunder. Here is my top 10... 1-DSOTM 2-Animals 3-Wish 4-Wall 5-Obscurred 6-Piper 7-Meddle 8-Division Bell 9-MLOR 10-Final Cut Anyway, back on topic, I'm heading over to my friends house right now to install my lights. Should be done in a couple of hours. I'll post pics! Cya Floyd fans, Ben __________________ -Ben

05/27/2006, 06:55 PM	#732
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Yay, I've got metal halide lighting!!!!!!!! Here is just the actinics... Here it is with the MH and actinics!! Here is a shot of the setup. I can't really lift up the hood, because of how tightly everything is packed, but you can kind of get an idea from this shot. The actinic is on the right, and the MH is on the left. Both share the same large reflector. The wiring and the actinic's ballast are hidden beneath the reflector. And, my tank with the legends... Look at how bright this little tank is! It is really hard to tell from the pictures, but the shimmer effect from the MH lamp is absolutely stunning. Worth it, even if I don't have SPS. Hope you guys like! My friend Doug helped me out big time, without him I could have never done this myself. Thanks Doug! Also, I'll be getting some corals soon, along with possibly a small fish. I'm going to test the water soon to see what it is, but the rock is all from tanks so I shouldn't have a cycle. Let me know what you think! Ben __________________ -Ben

05/27/2006, 07:56 PM	#733
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	This is a horrible video, but you can at least can an idea of what the shimmer effect is. http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...current=MH.flv __________________ -Ben

05/28/2006, 02:59 PM	#734
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	I went to Phishy Business today and bought some livestock. I decided to go with a baby clown, I think it is a cinnamon clown. He is tiny, hopefully I can get him to feed and maybe host in one of my corals. He is hiding in the way back of my tank right now. Here are some pics of the new setup, every new coral is closed so I'll take another picture tomorrow when they will hopefully be open. Will probably move some stuff around and will get more corals on Wednesday. Cya guys, Ben __________________ -Ben

05/27/2006, 09:43 AM	#727
mr pink floyd Moved On Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: west hartford, CT Posts: 3,480	where did yo uget all those floyd posters???? pulse, wish you were here... my friends bro has an original dark side on vinyl, with the posters in it

05/27/2006, 11:38 AM	#729
mr pink floyd Moved On Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: west hartford, CT Posts: 3,480	the memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime gotta love obscured, dark side, meddle was ight, wish you were here, animals... big man pig man, haha charade you are...

05/27/2006, 03:28 PM	#731
mr pink floyd Moved On Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: west hartford, CT Posts: 3,480	see, i think obscured is as good, if not better than Dark side, the thing is, it got completely trashed it came out what, 3 -4 months before dark side? the only song on it i dont like is absolutely curtains

05/28/2006, 04:15 PM	#735
Jordan55 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 2,208	Hey Ben. Looks good! I like the little clown. I remember catching him and putting him in the tank you found him in. He is like .5 inches. I like the lights.... seems like you did a good job. Is there any heat problems? Only thing that needa little work is more rock IMO. But hey thats up to you. Keep it up! __________________ I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Current Tank Info: None

05/28/2006, 05:10 PM	#736
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks Jordan. I was planning on adding more rock today, but the fish is breathing heavily in the back of my tank behind rocks, so I want to try to calm him down as much as possible. I'll try to get him to eat before I add more rock from my 75 gallon. Was the clown eating when you saw him at Phishy? Do you remember those 5 dollar mushrooms? I got that huge green one, great deal. I'll post more pics tomorrow, cya guys, Ben __________________ -Ben

05/28/2006, 05:18 PM	#737
leeweber85 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 2,482	Do you have a glass cover to protect the inhabitants from the UV rays? __________________ -Lee Current Tank Info: 120g reef, 20g reef

05/28/2006, 08:00 PM	#738
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Lee, Yes, I do. Thanks for the heads up, though. __________________ -Ben

05/28/2006, 08:23 PM	#739
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	My baby clown is out He is hanging around my frogspawn, but the frogspawn seems to be upset as he has closed up a bit. I'm glad to see the little guy out, hopefully he'll eat tomorrow. My mushroom is starting to grab ahold of some rock, and the MH will get fired up tomorrow. I have still got to get my auto top off set up, my timers, a lot of stuff. So hopefully tomorrow I can figure it all out. Lots goin on, I'll take some more pics tomorrow. Cya guys, Ben __________________ -Ben

05/31/2006, 09:21 PM	#740
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Hey guys, here are some updated pictures of my tank. My mushroom is HUGE, and my clownfish hosts in it a lot, but for these pics he was hosting in my frogspawn. Both the mushroom and frogspawn seem to love my tank, but the [id please] does not. I've tried him in a couple of positions, might try a new one tomorrow. My clownfish is eating! So everything looks good so far. I'm in the process of setting up my auto top off and installing moonlights. Any comments or suggestions? Other than more live rock? (Will get more within a week) Thanks guys, Ben __________________ -Ben Last edited by bennerkla; 05/31/2006 at 09:46 PM.

05/31/2006, 10:08 PM	#741
1105 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Orlando, Floaida Posts: 305	Tank looks great! What do you have in mind for an auto top off? That tank has to evaporate a lot with that MH on there.

05/31/2006, 10:29 PM	#742
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks. When I get the heater (which I will not plug in), I'll put it in the fuge and zip tie the tubing to the heater, same as my old setup... __________________ -Ben

05/31/2006, 10:34 PM	#743
shouldabenacowboy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Where am I today? Posts: 529	Nice setup SBC __________________ They're selling make believe, and I don't buy that anymore They're trying to put an end to guys like me - Gary Allan Cuz there aint nothing funny when a soldier cries - John Michael Montgomery

06/04/2006, 07:56 AM	#744
alien9168 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,664	tanks lookin great! Im glad to see ypu started another one up! __________________ -Alien Current Tank Info: I used to have a 30g custom acrylic cube sps, lps, zoos, mushrooms, leathers, 3" gigas+ anthias. 30Xg Sea Horse Tank...starting fresh...

06/06/2006, 12:00 PM	#745
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Hey all, thanks for the compliments. I have a lot of new corals, but everyday half of them look great, and the other half does not. Then it switches. So I'm trying to wait until they all look halfway decent before I snap a shot. I'm having huge temperature fluctuations, which I'm trying to battle since my stupid heater doesn't have a temp gauge. (grrr). I'll hopefully post some pictures soon! My clown is doing just fine. Cya guys, Ben __________________ -Ben

06/07/2006, 11:08 PM	#746
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Finally, I got my temp stable at around 80. My SPS really didn't like the fluctuations, but my corals looked a bit better today. Hopefully tomorrow they will look decent enough for a full tank shot, until then you will have to dream away! Later my nano reefing friends, Ben __________________ -Ben

06/07/2006, 11:25 PM	#747
mdisalvo55 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 764	Lookin good man...I just got home to find out my yellow tang is MIA. My guess is he died and was devoured by my clean up crew. Now to find out how...Anyways, I like the tank and those Halides look pretty sweet, keep it up.

06/08/2006, 12:06 AM	#748
Kennyboy1984 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: SLC, UTAH Posts: 376	You hear that ben. He kept a yellow tang in a 55 gallon. And now it is dead! You need to give him a talkin to. __________________ Anti-Tang Police Current Tank Info: 24g nano cube, 125 g

06/08/2006, 12:28 AM	#749
mdisalvo55 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 764	Hey now...anymore of that and I may have to cut off using ebay pal.

06/08/2006, 06:36 AM	#750
bennerkla Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,046	Thanks for the compliment, mdisalvo. Did you get my PM? __________________ -Ben