THANKS TO HAMILTON TECHNOLOGY!!

Here is the tank with the new lighting system-couldn't have done it without Hamilton Technology's Cebu Sun lighting! :)

We only had to make one change in the parts sent by Hamilton Technology. They included 3-inch screws to mount the light stand. These were too long and would have stuck out about 2-inches too far. In addition, there was no way to ensure the screw would remain stuck-through the hood after the glass cover was in place, which had to be installed before the legs. To fix these issues, we purchased shorter (~1 inch screws, some nuts, and lock washers. We slid the screws through the holes from the inside then held them in place with a nut, installed the lens, then stand brackets and used the original knurled knobs to hold the legs in place. In all this is a very well made lighting system and the customer service has been OUTSTANDING!! Ask for Dave when placing your order, he is great to work with.

Rock Setup

For this rock i used a rubber glove, blew it up, and then shaped the rock mixture around it :)

here is the current rock set-up, planning on keeping it like this. Its hard to see but the rocks on the bottom dont touch the sand except in a few places.

Making the Plenum

making the plenum-we used pvc pipes and the plastic to put it together. It works as a filter to the tank. The screen works to keep the sand from falling below the plenum.

Rocks

We used Aragonite sand and the shavings shown above for the rocks :)

Here are some pictures of the rocks and how i made them :) They are made of white sand, cement, and plastic shavings. You mix the sand, cement, and shavings together and then use sand (shown in the boxes) to shape the rocks. I let the rocks dry in the sand for about two weeks before taking them out.

2-2-10

(1) GE Reverse Osmosis Preplacement Filter discounted by Home Depot ($25 dollar store credit donation :D)

6-1-09 (equipment)

(1) roll nylon screen and 1" pvc bought at Home Depot

2-17-10 (equipment)

(1) 48" Cebu Sun Lighting System discounted by Hamilton Tech. Special thanks to Dave!! It really is a small world :)

2-17-10 (equipment)

(2) boxes of O-rings (to help improve suction from power jet) bought from Home Depot

2-17-10 (equipment)

6' of tygon tubing bought at Ace Hardware

2-17-10 (equipment)

-(2) Hydor Koralia2 pumps -(1) API marine water test kit -(1) Digital thermometer -(1) API ammonia test kit -(1) API pH test kit all donated by Pet Extreme, with a special thanks to Rick!!!

1-27-10 (equipment)

Complete set of T-5 endcaps donated by ICECAP, Inc.

2-27-10 (equipment)

Repair of ICECAP 660-009 ballast, repair cost donated by ICECAP, Inc. even though ballast was no longer under warrenty :)

1-26-10 (equipment)

(5) bottles SeaChem Reef supplements Donated by Seachem Laboratories

1-15-10 (equipment)

(2) Marinland 200 with each shatterproof heaters, Donated by Petsmart

2-19-09

1 Year membership to Garf :)

2-27-09 (rocks)

2 large bags of plastic shavings donated by Tap Plastics

2-27-09 (rocks)

(4) 40 lb. bags of Carib Sea Argonite purchased from Petsmart

2-26-09 (rocks)

1 Bag white cement was purchased from Truitt and White Lumber

2-25-09 (lights)

T-12 Waterproof Endcaps were purchased from Aquarium Concepts.

6-11-09

The tank was loaded today! It is now full of sand and the rocks are set up, waiting to add everything else :p

6-4-09

Today we made the plenum to go in the tank :) The plenum works as an under gravel filter for the tank

4-11-09

The second batch of rocks were removed today, we now have all the rocks needed to set up the tank. :)

3/7-3/21/2009

My dad and I started making the rocks. Carib Sea aragonite gravel, cement, and plastic shavings are all mixed together to make the rocks. Making the rocks like this allows less live rock to be harvested from the ocean, and will help the natural reefs to thrive.

2-12-2009

Today we purchased the tank that will be used for the coral. It is a 55 gallon, and should work perfectly! The tank was bought already used, and was full of cichlids who are now happily housed in a new tank :)