50g FOWLR Setup

[JoJo]

first, congrats on the pump. next i'm not too sure about the valve's quality but it's worth a try. in the top pic you have to decide if you want to use flex line, which would need the adapter to the right or rigid pvc which would use the center adapter. i believe both would have to be cemented to the valve.

oh, next time put away the "desperate housewives" & "dirty minds" before taking the pics, this is a family site you know just kidding buddy

[CMG]

Originally Posted by JoJo

first, congrats on the pump. next i'm not too sure about the valve's quality but it's worth a try. in the top pic you have to decide if you want to use flex line, which would need the adapter to the right or rigid pvc which would use the center adapter. i believe both would have to be cemented to the valve.

oh, next time put away the "desperate housewives" & "dirty minds" before taking the pics, this is a family site you know just kidding buddy

BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I was soooo exited about my stuff I didnt even notice that. I live with two women so we have an abundent amount of such things....hmmmmm....maybe I could put those in the drygoods for sale section and clear up some table space.....hmmmmmm. ..hehe.

But how do I connect it to the pvc? Does the tubing just get glued to the pvc pipe?

[JoJo]

well you would use the adapter with the thread on it, the slip side will fit the valve adapter(to glue or not depends how snug they fit together) then you would get a pvc coupler thats has a threaded inside on one half and slip on the other then you just start from there. thats the simplest way i can think of unless you dont want to use that valve & wanted to go with a different ball valve then we could figure it out.

[CMG]

I came home and found my new frag on the sand? Who could of done that, turned out to be my snail I think...

Pic of frag at bottom with culprit above


Here is Shrek perching on my mushroom when I came home..




Should be getting my lights tomorrow!!!!!

[tbittner]

I can slide a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe right into the return hole on the Rios that I have and it's a really snug fit. Since the pump is under water, I wasn't concerned about it leaking so I didn't glue the pipe into the pump. This also permits me to remove the pump for service.

Shrek is AWESOME! I love the colors of him.

Congrats on the lights!!!

[JoJo]

yea, thats what i was thinking but was sure how snug the fit would be. also if the pump was powerful enough to force the pipe out.

[CMG]

So the reurtn pipe is 1/2" not 3/4"?? Or you just used the 1/2" to connect the pump to the 3/4" return?? Thanks for the info. I plan on taking the pump and the overflow to the hardware store when I go to buy the plumbing.

The UPS man just came to work and guess what he brought? My new light!!!! I can hardly sit still! Isnt it 5pm yet?! haha.

[CMG]

So as promised here are the pictures of my tank with the new lights on it!!! I cannot believe how much better it looks!!!

Before:

After: One set of lights

After: Other set of lights:

After: All 4 lights on:

Some shots of the light on the tank:



Look at all the packaging I had!

Some free surprise gifts enclosed!:

Here is my new frag I have been promising pics of; one is orange the rest green:

[tbittner]

Originally Posted by CMG

So the reurtn pipe is 1/2" not 3/4"?? Or you just used the 1/2" to connect the pump to the 3/4" return?? Thanks for the info. I plan on taking the pump and the overflow to the hardware store when I go to buy the plumbing.

The UPS man just came to work and guess what he brought? My new light!!!! I can hardly sit still! Isnt it 5pm yet?! haha.

I was able to get over 600 gph through the 1/2" pipe but I was using a Rio 32HF. I don't think you'll need to go to 3/4" but it certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

Great pics and great light! Your cardinal is probably like "HEY! Where are my sunglasses!"

[CMG]

Originally Posted by tbittner

I was able to get over 600 gph through the 1/2" pipe but I was using a Rio 32HF. I don't think you'll need to go to 3/4" but it certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

Great pics and great light! Your cardinal is probably like "HEY! Where are my sunglasses!"

So the drain will be 1" and the return 1/2". Sounds good. "Like I know what the heck I am doing.." hehe

Oh crappers...I forgot about acclimating them to the light.....maybe I should just run two bulbs for a few days or a week then start turning on all 4?

[tbittner]

I would run two bulbs for a couple weeks, then 3 for a week or two, then on to full bore sunshine. They've been sitting in the dark for a while now and the new bright sun is liable to give them a nasty sunburn (bleach them).

Keep a close eye on them. If they look like they're starting to wilt or anything like that, cut back on the light. You can also shorten the time that the lights are on. Don't be surprised if it takes a month to really get them used to it though.

[prow]

nice that fits perfect. i would for sure cut the lighting photoperiod down. IMO, better to go with running the normal lighting like first 2 blues/actinic then all 4 then 2 other bulbs (ones not used at first or whatever) but reduce the photoperiod. start off with something like 4 hour total then increase 30min a day.

[CMG]

Originally Posted by prow

nice that fits perfect. i would for sure cut the lighting photoperiod down. IMO, better to go with running the normal lighting like first 2 blues/actinic then all 4 then 2 other bulbs (ones not used at first or whatever) but reduce the photoperiod. start off with something like 4 hour total then increase 30min a day.

Ok, so if I do the 2 blue lights to all four to only white back to all 4 then to only 2 blue I will have to rearrange the bulbs in the lamp because each switch controls every other socket. I will try and do that tonight but its kind of a paint to twist those thinggs in and out of the sockets. I need baby fingers. hehe.

I lost another snail last night. He was on his back and couldnt flip and one of the nasarius snails got to him and I think was eating him alive because when I picked him up to put him back on a rock its arm/sucktion thingy looked torn open and white instead of greyish and he never ended up sucktioning back onto anything or moving around so I took him out to prevent ammonia.

I spent 3 hours online looking for sunglasses for the cardinal fish...couldnt find any....hehe

[prow]

i would just run whatever two bulbs then all 4 then the whatever other two

[CMG]

OK so I cut back on the lighting period for acclimation reasons. I also changed my bulb configuration but I dont think I like it so I am going to try some different setups and see what I like. My fish are gonna flip....hehe

The light switches are funky. The left switch controls the front and rear bulbs and the right switch controlls the two middle bulbs! hehe. I think this can be re-wired though.

From back to front

Originally: 12k white, Blue Super, 12k white, Blue +
(Tank was dominantly blue-ish regardles of which switches were on or off)

Now: Blue Super, 12k White, 12k White, Blue +
(Very white when all bulbs on, blue is totaly washed out, but allows for blue startup in morning and blue-outing at night)

Next: Blue +, 12k white, 12k white, Blue Super
(Blue bulbs switched from previous dont know out come yet, probably the same)

Next: 12k white, blue +, Blue super, 12k white (I am thinking this setup will allow me to run all 4 lights without the whites washing out the blues completely)

Next: 12k white, Blue Super, Blue +, 12k white
(same as previous but blues switched)