75 gal build

[little_fish]

yep, you can pull the shrimp now

 

[reeftanker84]

ok,im at a delema right now,i want to get a t5 light fixture but i also want a JBJ ATO system,but only have enough money for one or the other this week,any ideas guys?

 

[BL1]

Are you looking at getting corals right away? If not go with the ATO. If you want corals right away and don't mind topping your tank off every couple days then get the lights.

I will tell you that in August, Marine Depot will be selling their JBJ ATO for 20% off though.

 

[reeftanker84]

well from what you said i guess ill be getting the ato,as it will be several weeks before i add any corals,should have some money saved by then to get 2 4ft 4bulb setups,cheaper to buy 2 light strips then one big one,kinda strange but true with the quad odyssea

 

[Bifferwine]

A 6 bulb fixture would be fine for your tank too.

 

[camps23]

I have a 6 bulb Finnex T5 fixture on my 75 and couldnt be happier

 

[reeftanker84]

well its going to run me 300 bucks for a 6 bulb fixture and only 220 for 2 4 bulb fixtures,just dont seem right lol,then if a balast goes out i can replace with the icecap i already have on at least one fixture,i added 5 narsius snails,5 hermits,and 2 astria snails today,will get the rest of my cuc on the 23rd

 

[reeftanker84]

ok,got my jbj auto top off ordered,should be here hopefully by the end of the week, tank readings as of today are salinity,1.023,nitrite,1.0,nitrate,20,amonia,.5,kh 240,gh 180,the kh and gh seem on the high side,any problems with that? about 2 weeks into cycle give or take a couple days,temp is running kinda high at 83 deg,possible prob?
any tips to lower the temp?the house temp is about 75,but it dont seem to get below 83 even with no lights on

 

[Bifferwine]

I wouldn't worry about those parameters until your cycle is complete. They will be all over the place in the beginning.

Do you have a way to have a fan blow across the surface of the water? That will drop your tank's temp by a few degrees. 83 is pretty high.

 

[buddy08]

set your heater to 77 and see how that works for you. My heater is set to 76 and my water fluctuates between 77-81 degrees but a lot of it has to do with my room temp, if i keep my living room a around 72 or below, my tank stays at 78-79, if i turn the air off (and by i, i mean my girlfriend...shes drawn to thermostats) the tank can get up to 80-81. The lights will also effect your tanks temperature. Like biff said, you may need fans i your canopy. I have 2, and both are blowing air away from my tank to cool it off. If it still seems high with fans, you may have a faulty heater or may need to invest in a chiller but beware, they can be pricey.

 

[reeftanker84]

i have one fan blowing in the sump and a small one in the canopy blowing up tward the lights,turned off the heater to see if it made any diferance,over night temp was 82, but had to heat the house because it got pretty cold out,will keep track of it pretty close,will not turn the lights on today and see if it starts dropping

 

[reeftanker84]

ok so i dropped the temp in the house to 74 and tank dropped to 80,and the lights are on so mabey its not that bad,figure if i put the house temp to 72 i should be able to maintain the tank temp at 78

 

[Bifferwine]

That sucks, but if you are willing to do that, it works. 80 is just fine for tank temps.

 

[reeftanker84]

ok so i plugged the heater in again since over night the tank went from 80 to 76 and so far the temps gone up to 78 and is holding so far for 4 hours with no fluctuation,and the lights are on to boot,cross my fingers that it will stay below 80,if its ok for the tank to be 80 then mabey it will be ok as long as we keep it there lol,should be getting my jbj auto top off tomarrow,

 

[reeftanker84]

yay,got my ATO yesterday,but was not able to install it yet,i am hoping to make a how to vid tonight showing the instalation so everyone can see its parts and how it works,never made a vid so this should be interesting,hope i dont get stuck under my tank =) guess you all will have to watch and see huh?

 

[Bifferwine]

We will be waiting! :)

 

[reeftanker84]

ok guys heres the vids,its in two parts cuz i had to move my comuter to a spot behind the tank [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWi0VwHg9C4]YouTube - ‪JBJ ATO top off system install pt1.wmv‬‏[/ame] this is part 1,uploading part 2 as we speak,feel free to coment on the vid bit be nice guys,at least i didnt get stuck under my tank lol,sorry

 

[reeftanker84]

ok and here is part 2
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFpW4HXgBoU[/ame]

 

[Bifferwine]

Thanks for posting those. I'm sure those will help someone that has questions about the JBJ ATO!

 

[reeftanker84]

well now i got another big problem,my coralife 125 is now leaking wattage into my sump and causing the ATO sensor to malfuntion,put a ground wire in the tank and now wont get the crap shocked out of me,but unplugged the skimmer and i found out that its going to cost 80 bucks to get a new pump,boy i just cant get a break,wonder if there is a cheaper alternate to use?
btw the sensor works fine now on the ATO so no damage to the unit,thank god!