Kidninja's 65G Tank Build

[kidninja]

One tip: avoid the mailman on Friday. Mine didn't look to happy having to deliver 40 of sand.

haha shouldnt be that bad, all he has to do is get out of his truck and carry 80lbs of sand and 50 lbs of rock haha

What are you planning on with that light? Those bulbs are gonna be centered right over the middle brace, You don't want them that close to it, They will start to melt the thing.

i dont think they will melt the brace... lol its not ganna exactly lying on the tank

 

[jaa1456]

[



i dont think they will melt the brace... lol its not ganna exactly lying on the tank[/QUOTE] I can tell this is your first time with Metal Halides. I will keep my advice to myself if you don't think you need it. Good luck with that brace.

 

[kidninja]

arg......... thats not good -_- what to do..

 

[kidninja]

you think even if its like 1ft away?

 

[jaa1456]

you think even if its like 1ft away?

At a foot awya and right over the brace it is still a good possibiltiy, What size are the lights? I melted one 15 years ago with a 250 watt bulb that was roughly 14"s above the brace.

 

[noelskii]

i've definitely seen a lot of those braces melt away with MH on top...i had a 65 just like that but the previous person i got it from took that brace off.. not safe at all, but i still had it running for over a year til i gave it away.

 

[kidninja]

oye vey.... looks like im ganna have to run some PC's until i can afford LEDs

the MH right now are 2 x 150w

 

[INNEED]

Cant u move the mh a lil over and re screw them?????

 

[noelskii]

you can't adjust the halides to be farther apart?

 

[kidninja]

can't adjust the bulbs =/ unless i do some major wiring and such, must save up for some LEDs!!

 

[Reeftanker3295]

Put 3 or 4 fans into the canopy. 2 blowing in and 2 blowing out. This will get rid of the heat and the center brace should be ok.

 

[kidninja]

so my tank is pretty much ready to be filled, but im just wondering what people usually do with the rock sand and water. Do you lay out the sand in the tank and scape the rock first, or do you scape the rock when the tank is full with water?

 

[eazy al]

tank looks kool

Sand first then water let it settled n scape UR rock so like that u don't disturbed UR sand n get it all over UR rocks

 

[CONSTANTNE]

If its not cured rock take your time and do it without water.

 

[kidninja]

If its not cured rock take your time and do it without water.

well im going to go through the whole cycle process

 

[R27]

congrats on the tank
can't wait to see it full especially after looking at your nano

 

[trivan]

I put plastic egg crate underneath my rock so it wouldn't slide around. It also help distribute the pressure if you have any pointed rocks. You can find it in the light section at home depot or lowes. I cut mine to size then put the rocks together outside the tank using the outside edge of the egg crate as the border not to cross. Much easier. I also used nylon rods and nuts to hold most pieces together. Once I was happy I then put it in the tank.

You also want the rock on the bottom of the tank not on the sand. That way things can't dig underneath and topple the rocks over.

 

[kidninja]

yea i actually just bought a 2' x 4' piece of egg crate today haha

 

[kidninja]

the thing im a bit worried about now is that if i invest in an LED setup, the middle brace will block the light. so do you think i should get 2 100w LED setups or 1 200w positioned in the center

 

[INNEED]

i would get 2 diff panels