New member from Fort Worth

[zambine]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and thought I would make an introduction.

I have had aquariums since I was a little kid and it was a hobby introduced to me by my mother at a young age. Right at about 11 yrs old I pestered my parents enough to get a 55 gallon tank put in my bedroom which my mom helped me take care of. A few years later our house was robbed and the tank was smashed by whoever robbed the place which killed all my fish except a 12" pleco that somehow survived in 1" of water in the corner for hours before we got home. I did not start back into the hobby for a while until I graduated from college a couple of years ago, got married, and got my first house.

I am now up to 4 tanks:

55 gallon

45 gallon hexagon tank

10 gallon quarantine tank

and recently started a 140 gallon "tall" tank project to replace the 55 that is going to include DIY under gravel jets and a DIY background and a few other DIY things but is still a few weeks from completion.

I heard about the forum from one of the moderators who came and bought a 100 gallon tank from me off of craigslist.

[dcacjc]

Welcome to da box,,, you are setting up a tank like I am doing, the 140 tall, what are you planning on putting in it?

[greeneyed]

Welcome!!
Sounds like you will fit right in with the rest of us who suffer from MTS.

Okay, who got the 100g?
Andrew?

[supersmirky]

Welcome...its always nice to see fellow hobbyists with MTS

Enjoy your stay at the box!! Oh yeah...don't forget the pics!

[rolloffhill]

:welcome: it's gotta be Blake or Andrew...

[zambine]

Thanks everyone!

Yeah I collected a few more these last months mostly courtesy of craigslist.

I am planning on moving my 3 Jack Dempsy's and numerous convicts into the new 140 and try to find some schooling fish to roam the top of the tank that will survive with the big fish. I am making a DIY cave background with vinly gutters and black lava rock like some of the other forums have posted but tweaking it a little to hid my power heads and filter intakes. I would like to get some more colorful cichlids in there too but have not found too many places who sell them. My wife also likes the "pretty" fish so I would like to get some more color in the new tank.

And no it's not Blake or Andrew.

What is the best way to post pics on the forum?
I have ssen those thumbnails but am not sure how to put them in.

[rolloffhill]

Chris? I know it wasn't me..:hehe:

[zambine]

No not Chris either. I'm actually a new forum member! Crazy huh? roflmao

[jgauna]

Welcome and enjoy your stay!

[greeneyed]

I heard about the forum from one of the moderators who came and bought a 100 gallon tank from me off of craigslist.
He was guessing all the mods names, I believe he went through all of 'em.

[zambine]

I guess that makes sense. I figured he though I was someone already on the forum who made a fake account to mess with people. I don't remember the guys name but I think he drove a blue Ford Explorer and said he needed is for a big peacock bass.

[fredtex]

(mts) it's a disease. and We all have it. welcome.

[rolloffhill]

I heard about the forum from one of the moderators who came and bought a 100 gallon tank from me off of craigslist.

He was guessing all the mods names, I believe he went through all of 'em.

:exactly:

[zambine]

Okay I got the pics to work finally!


Here's my 45 Hex tank where most of the fish will stay while the new tank is cycling.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2611294475_93e28a1ff2.jpg?v=0 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2611294475_93e28a1ff2.jpg?v=0)

This is my 55 that is getting replaced by the 140 - it has the dempsys and convicts in it now.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2611296727_cd5928850c.jpg?v=0 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2611296727_cd5928850c.jpg?v=0)


Here is the 140 project with with the jets pretty much done and some egg crate down.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2612138820_1323326200.jpg?v=0 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2612138820_1323326200.jpg?v=0)


Here's my 8" Dempsy in the 55.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/2611298935_45d4d28f00.jpg?v=0 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/2611298935_45d4d28f00.jpg?v=0)


And lastly a fish that needs a good home if anyone is interested. My red belly pacu is not going to make the transition to the 140 since is already 8"+ and growing by the day. He will get too big and I've heard maybe break the glass!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3248/2611291567_af447a6795.jpg?v=0 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3248/2611291567_af447a6795.jpg?v=0)






(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2611296727_cd5928850c.jpg?v=0)

[EAST_TX_RN]

Welcome! What a crappy thing those burglers did! I am not surprised about the pleco surviving...I think they could survive a nuclear blast! We would love to see photos of your tanks, including the in-progress DIY.

[bra8ndy8]

I love the decorations in your 55!! It's awesome!! Glad to have you here!! and GL on the 140!! Looks like it will be really neat too!!

[zambine]

I will definitely give updates on the 140 project. It has been my main project these last few weeks and will be for some time. Also, if anyone wants some new rocks for their tank I recently I was at Tex-Art stone in Colleyville and found tons of cheap aquarium rock for crazy prices. That's where I found the black lava rock for my DIY background. There url is http://www.tex-art.com/. I got 20 pounds of slate for the new 140 gallon for $2.89 and they also had some holey rock even though it was picked through quite well. (probably by people like us!) They usually sell by the ton to contractors so any small orders are very cheap.Thanks everyone for the nice welcome!

[AndrewH]

Hey Zambine - welcome to the site. Always glad to see folks from the Frot Worth side :tease:.

Nope wasn't me - though I wish it was :p: as I'd have lots of fun with a 5' 100 gallon :D.

Tanks look great! I really like the 45 "lighter" colors, but I'm also really diggin' the 55's setup as well. Looks like you have a great start on your 140! Can't wait to see it up and running.

[biggin]

We are not talking about that tank....................

It was me, Blake.

Welcome to the site, looks like the new tank is still in the same place from when I was there.

[zambine]

Yeah it is still in the same place as when you saw it Blake, I had to special order brown vinyl gutters from Lowes because no one keeps them in stock in Texas apparently. The UV light and extreme heat breaks them down and they crack is what I was told. I didn't want to go with the white because I wasn't sure if I could cover the gutters with rocks enough to hide all the white and I heard the aluminum ones can oxidize in the tank and maybe jeopardize the fish. So now I'm waiting two weeks for them to come in on a truck. I hate waiting!

[greeneyed]

Spray paint 'em?

[biggin]

Are you planning on caves out of the gutters?

Brown will be cheaper and safer in the long run.

Hope you post pics of the DIY background.

[biggin]

That was my thought at first, but then I thought that if you were attaching rocks to it that it has a pretty good chance of coming off and just pulling the spray paint off.

Spray paint 'em?

[greeneyed]

Yeah I thought of that too as an afterthought.

[zambine]

I had thought of doing spray paint on the entire surface of the white ones but I was worried about the rocks falling off like you guys said or the spray paint dissolving over time and putting chemicals in the water. I also thought of using a ton black caulk on the surface but wasn't sure if that would look good.

I am planning on making many caves as possible. I bought a hole saw kit for making the holes and some plastic landscaping border to cut up and use as dividers to make multiple caves in the gutters.

I looked in to the other DIY backgrounds and ones you can purchase and I was disappointed that I would have to give up at least 3" of tank space or more to a background that hid the filter intakes. Since it is only 18" deep I wanted as much usable space for the fish as possible and with aggressive fish in the tank the more hiding spaces the better.

[fischlein]

Hello and welcome . Your tanks are really nice .

Doro :)

[biggin]

From everything i have read the dried spray paint is not bad on the fish, but I would bet if you silicone rocks to it that it would pull away in pretty short fashion.

I doubt I would ever be happy with a bunch of black silicone plus it would be expensive.

[zambine]

Thanks everyone for the kind words about my tanks!

[zambine]

Do you guys have any suggestions about what lighting system I should use in the canopy?

I don't know if I will put in live plants right away but I would like to have a lighting system that could do the job when I do put some in the tank.

Right now all I have is a 48" traditional fluorescent that is over top of the 55 gallon.

With it being 30" tall I am worried about enough light getting to the bottom of the tank.

I was looking at the

Current USA DualSun Retrofit Power Compact 48"-4 x 65 Watt

it's on BigAls for $199

I know some people like the T5HO's better.

[biggin]

I would go T5s cheaper, quieter, cooler....just better....

If you ever want to go Salt you might think about PC but even a lot of the salties are staying with T5s....

[zambine]

What setup/wattage would you use on a 30" tall planted tank?

Can you DIY and get some of the stuff from Home Depot to save some money?

[zambine]

I found a 60" T5 4x80watt retro kit for about $250 here is the link to it

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/shop/?shop=1&cart=293258&cat=78&

Do you think that would do it?

[sap]

how many gallon is it.....you need to base your decision on how many watts per gallon are required for your plants...

[supersmirky]

Andrew has Home Depot shop lights on his and his plants look great. I use T5's on mine and love the output it gives. If you rather go the T5 route, check out this instead

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18360/si1379087/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight48

[greeneyed]

Maybe you can get a deal on this:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/for/734352990.html

[AndrewH]

What setup/wattage would you use on a 30" tall planted tank?

Can you DIY and get some of the stuff from Home Depot to save some money?

A standard 55 gallon isn't 30" deep. Are you referring to the 140?

I found a 60" T5 4x80watt retro kit for about $250 here is the link to it

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/shop/?shop=1&cart=293258&cat=78&

Do you think that would do it?

A 60" light wouldn't be all that attractive over a 48" tank ;).

The amount of light you require relates to the type of plants you want to keep. If you want to keep simple, easy to grow plants you don't have to have as much lighting than if you want to keep the more difficult plants. Also once you break the 3 watts per gallon mark you need to start thinking of adding CO2 to the tank.

If you're into DIY and already have a canopy (and want to stay on the cheap) I might recommend some T5HO pieces and parts and stall them yourself. You can really save a lot of money this way. I installed a 4 lamp T8 system like this for roughly $30 ;). The main price would be the ballasts, but I can help you source some pretty cheap.

If you were to do a 6 lamp - 54W - 48" T5HO setup over your 140 you should be able to grow most of the common plants in the hobby.

The estimated price of the setup would be $100 give or take. Ballasts (http://www.1000bulbs.com/F54T5-Fluorescent-Ballast/33349/)

Or you can go with a pre-made fixture like I have.
Here's (http://www.pfolighting.com/ProductList-56-0-T5.And.T8.High.Bays.html) a good site to look at. The nice thing about the High Bay fixtures is the fact that they have individual lamp reflectors, which makes the fixture more efficient.

[greeneyed]

Andrew, have you done much business with 1000bulbs (http://www.1000bulbs.com)?
I use them for all my MH needs at work.
The best thing is they are located in Mesquite.
I have been VERY happy with the products and the prices are some of the best IMO.

[zambine]

Yes I was looking for lamps to put under my canopy on the 140. 60" lights on a 48" tank would be a pretty funny sight!:)

I like the 6 lamp setup from High Bay for the 140 but for $280 without any bulbs included it is a little on the expensive side. What would you recommend for the DIY setup? Do you have a favorite site/store where you get your materials? $100 is more my to my liking and I have been know to throw around some solder and a voltmeter when needed. :cool:

Thanks for the craigslist link greeneyed! I have texted the person selling it to see what he will take for it. I'll let you know if it works out.

I will go and take a look at Home Depot this weekend and see what I can find in their flourescent section.

[AndrewH]

Andrew, have you done much business with 1000bulbs (http://www.1000bulbs.com)?
I use them for all my MH needs at work.
The best thing is they are located in Mesquite.
I have been VERY happy with the products and the prices are some of the best IMO.

Yes, sir. I've bought lots of lamps from them. They're the first stop when I'm looking for lamps.

Yes I was looking for lamps to put under my canopy on the 140. 60" lights on a 48" tank would be a pretty funny sight!:)

I like the 6 lamp setup from High Bay for the 140 but for $280 without any bulbs included it is a little on the expensive side. What would you recommend for the DIY setup? Do you have a favorite site/store where you get your materials? $100 is more my to my liking and I have been know to throw around some solder and a voltmeter when needed. :cool:

Thanks for the craigslist link greeneyed! I have texted the person selling it to see what he will take for it. I'll let you know if it works out.

I will go and take a look at Home Depot this weekend and see what I can find in their flourescent section.

I wouldn't waste my time at HD/Lowes if you're looking for T5 sources.

I'd get these (http://www.1000bulbs.com/T5Miniature-Bi-Pin/) sockets (the #2 or #3 in the list - #1 won't work very well for DIY). x12

These (http://www.1000bulbs.com/F54T5-Fluorescent-Ballast/33349/) ballasts. x3

And lamps ranging from 6,500 K to 10,000 K.

This (http://www.horticulturesource.com/index.php/cPath/39_80_78?osCsid=647b194d0de468dec37a6bdd4c233e7c) place has some pretty good pricing on T5HO lamps. I'd say get 3ea. 6,000 K and 3ea. 11,000. (for a slightly cheaper option you could get the 6,500 K GE lamps - here (http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php/products_id/489?osCsid=647b194d0de468dec37a6bdd4c233e7c))

The high bay fixture are pretty pricey (at least the ones with reflectors), but the DIY solution should work for your application.

[zambine]

So no reflectors for the DIY setup?

[greeneyed]

Just paint the inside of the canopy white.

[AndrewH]

So no reflectors for the DIY setup?

Not necessary unless you just really want to spend the money to get the max amount of performance outta your lights.

On XTC's I just had him paint the inside of the canopy gloss white (light colors reflect light - dark colors absorb light).

If you want to get reflectors I can see what I can find for ya. JLMK (just let me know)

[zambine]

One thing I was not taking into account was that my canopy is about 15" tall. I would have to modify it with some kind of a lowered ceiling to get the best use out of a retrofit kit. This is kind of making me lean more towards something like the High Bay fixture that you mentioned so I can change the height easier and hang it as close to the glass as I want. I would think that 12" of space between the lights and the top of the tank would be a big waste of light on a 30" tall tank. So now I'm back to a 6 or 8 bulb hanging fixture unless you guys have an easy fix to move a whole retro kit down 8 inches.

zambine added 4 Minutes and 24 Seconds later...

I guess I figured it out now. Someone must have stole these and put them on Ebay! They have 92 left so if anyone wants a High Bay 4' t5 fixture now is the time to buy. I'll take $170 over $300 any day! Here's the link below, sorry I don't know how to make it shorter.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-6-LAMP-T5-FLUORESCENT-HIGH-BAY-LIGHT-FIXTURE_W0QQitemZ150217324090QQihZ005QQcategoryZ26 219QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZ p1638Q2em118Q2el1247

[AndrewH]

Actually, light going through 12" of air compared to 12" of water isn't that big of a deal. You won't loose that much light through 12" of air.

Having the lights at the top of your canopy (15" away) would allow the light to "leak" out the back of the canopy if there's nothing to block it. Not that big of a deal either, but might light up the rest of the room quite a bit.

The High Bay fixtures normally include chains and V hooks so to hang them from the ceiling, so that should work perfect for your application.

A few things to keep in mind with choosing your mounting height:

1. Heat from the lighting - especially in the summer time (shouldn't be too bad for T5HOs).

2. Access to the tank for maintenance/feeding

3. Fish splashing the fixture

Oh and finding cheaper prices on eBay is pretty common. Normally what happens is a contractor orders say 200 fixtures for a project to get "special prices and discounts". Then they sell the surplus ;). If they're selling them for $150 they problem got them for $80-$100 each, but ordered 500-1000+ for the job.

[zambine]

I was thinking anywhere from 6 to 8 inches off the tank so I had enough room for feeding. I was also planning on using glass tops for the tank. I know that some people don't like them because of reduced gas exchange or whatever but I don't like filling my tank up every two days and my big fish tend to feed fast and splash around a ton. Do you recommend not using them? I just ask because of the fish splashing comment.

Can you believe they were selling those High Bays for $149.99? I went ahead and bought one right away when I saw the sellers feedback was okay. That's crazy compared to that other site you showed me. Now I can pick the bulbs myself too. I like that. :)

[AndrewH]

I do recommend using glass tops (a.k.a. hoods).

Very nice find! Congrats :clap: Check out (http://cgi.ebay.com/TEK-LIGHT-T5-HO-4ft-6-LAMP-FLUORESCENT-AQUARIUM-LITE_W0QQitemZ140244428033QQihZ004QQcategoryZ46314 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) the "for aquarium" 6 lamp T5HO fixtures - :eek: very pricey!!!

6-8" should be just right (I have mine mounted at 6" and I wouldn't recommend going any lower unless you plan to take the fixture down a lot).

[lellison]

sry late to the post. Great to have you here! :)

[zambine]

What do you guys think of using the Coralife bulbs from Big Al's? They have 48" 6700K Plant Lights and 10,000K Lamps for $12.99 Each. I was thinking 3 of each like you suggested. The other bulbs you linked for me the other day made by "Giesemann Lighttechnik (http://www.horticulturesource.com/index.php/manufacturers_id/91?osCsid=647b194d0de468dec37a6bdd4c233e7c)" were around $19 each. Do you think there is that much difference or would I be safe with the Coralife?

By the way if I had not said it earlier thanks for all the help everyone! It's nice to get help from people close by who actually know what they are talking about! :woohoo:

Here's the link to the bulbs:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18371/cl0/?pageLimit=48&oldParentID=&item_orderbydirection=DESC&item_orderby=csku_qsoldstore&ctl_nbr=3684&keys=&attrib_cnt=&attrib_search=&attrib_id_0=&attrib_value_0=&viewType=Category&specialOffers=&merchgroup=&isManufacturer=

[AndrewH]

What do you guys think of using the Coralife bulbs from Big Al's? They have 48" 6700K Plant Lights and 10,000K Lamps for $12.99 Each. I was thinking 3 of each like you suggested. The other bulbs you linked for me the other day made by "Giesemann Lighttechnik (http://www.horticulturesource.com/index.php/manufacturers_id/91?osCsid=647b194d0de468dec37a6bdd4c233e7c)" were around $19 each. Do you think there is that much difference or would I be safe with the Coralife?

By the way if I had not said it earlier thanks for all the help everyone! It's nice to get help from people close by who actually know what they are talking about! :woohoo:

Here's the link to the bulbs:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18371/cl0/?pageLimit=48&oldParentID=&item_orderbydirection=DESC&item_orderby=csku_qsoldstore&ctl_nbr=3684&keys=&attrib_cnt=&attrib_search=&attrib_id_0=&attrib_value_0=&viewType=Category&specialOffers=&merchgroup=&isManufacturer=

The only thing about cheaper bulbs is: typically you get what you pay for.

That being said, some of the bigger name brands simply over charge for their products :D (plus there might be import taxes etc which drive up their prices). The Coralife's should be prefect!!! and going with 3 - 6,700 K & 3 - 10,000 K should be exactly what you need.

And you're very welcome, that's why we're here ;).

[zambine]

Thanks for the help with the lighting situation! I had another question about substrate for the plants so I started a new thread over in the aquarium plants section.

[kSpieler]

Hiyas! and welcome :)

I have the 48" Coralife T5 Freshwater fixture that was linked earlier on my 55, which used to be setup as a planted tank. Even without CO2, my plants did great.

...and I LOVE Cirque du Soleil!!!!

[zambine]

It's actually more of a reference to Stephen Colbert more the Cirque du Soleil but I do like the show they do to entirely Beatles songs. I just took a piece of the quote though.

Here is the rest:

I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

-Steven Colbert at the White House Correspondant's Association Dinner

Pretty funny stuff!roflmao

[AndrewH]

Thanks for the help with the lighting situation! I had another question about substrate for the plants so I started a new thread over in the aquarium plants section.

(sorry I'm getting back to you so late)

You're very welcome.

I'll look for your other thread, too :D