James' 75 gallon intro

[twisted]

thats cool! which one did you get? 2 or 4 led bulb? you are really gonna like the light....even if you do have to sleep on the couch for a while...thats just closer to the fish tank

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

It was the 2. I didn't even realize they had a 4 led tube until after. I got it for 25% off so the wife wasn't too pissed. She loves a good sale. Whenever she comes home with a bunch of stuff and I give her the evil eye, she says "What... It was on sale" . So I did the same thing and she just shook her head.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

My light fixture showed up earlier than i expected! I got it yesterday and spent a while trying to figure out how I wanted to put it on the tank. I ended up putting the front legs on and resting the back on top of the canopy. I tried it without the canopy but the light was too blinding when sitting on the ottoman. I may have to do without the canopy because I can't access the skimmer cup and the filtration portion of the tank to top off the water and what not. The LEDs look ridiculous! I took a few shots but the pictures are no where near what it looks like in person. Haven't noticed how bare the rockwork looks till now. Most frags are in the sand. I'll rescape when I get a different tank.
8 more days till QT is over for the clowns! Once those guys are back in the DT, I'll go hunt down a mandarin and it starts all over again!
Do fish pass gas? I coulda swore I just saw the bigger one rip one... weird.

[okiestranger]

Looks good bud. Your corals look like they are all doing well. Congrats job well done. I bet those clowns can't wait to get back home.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Thanks Chris! The 8 weeks flew by. I'm sure the clowns will not miss being crammed into a 20 gal.
Its amazing the difference quality bulbs make. Right now, its too blue because I reused the 2 actinic bulbs I had with my last fixture. I may go with a purple+ from ATI and another aquablue special but I'm not sure yet. There's so many different six bulb combos its mind boggling. I'm real happy with the light fixture and the temp only raised a half a degree or so even with the canopy blocking a lot of air flow. The only things I didn't like about the fixture is that the acrylic shield is cut too wide and bowed quite a lot when I tried to install it. Also, there was no IceCap sticker. To me, that's like buying a new car with no emblems.

[Parrothead]

Looking really good James, keep up the good work, and lights make a world of difference

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Thanks Robert! Hows the discus tank coming along?

[Parrothead]

Thanks Robert! Hows the discus tank coming along?

Discus idea got scraped a couple of weeks ago, gonna post some pics of the three stooges in twisty's thread here in a little while, went African Cichlids, mbunas, got 1 orange, 1 blue and 1 yellow at the moment, blue and yellow were added today

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Sounds good. Don't take too long posting those pics!

[Parrothead]

I'll get right on it

[twisted]

Thanks Chris! The 8 weeks flew by. I'm sure the clowns will not miss being crammed into a 20 gal.
Its amazing the difference quality bulbs make. Right now, its too blue because I reused the 2 actinic bulbs I had with my last fixture. I may go with a purple+ from ATI and another aquablue special but I'm not sure yet. There's so many different six bulb combos its mind boggling. I'm real happy with the light fixture and the temp only raised a half a degree or so even with the canopy blocking a lot of air flow. The only things I didn't like about the fixture is that the acrylic shield is cut too wide and bowed quite a lot when I tried to install it. Also, there was no IceCap sticker. To me, that's like buying a new car with no emblems.

thats funny, those were my only complaints. i removed the shield cuz it kept falling. tank is brighter without it. i didnt get an icecap sticker either. when i added the new light, i removed my fans and havent put them back in since. did you get it from bulk reef? if so call them, i called with the same complaints and they sent me a few supplies of choice. i got some fish foods and a refractometer...no charge! just to make things right......

[twisted]

oh, do the legs fit your tank or does the small inside tab make it stay on top? i cut the small one off and the legs fit the top frame better

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

thats funny, those were my only complaints. i removed the shield cuz it kept falling. tank is brighter without it. i didn't get an icecap sticker either. when i added the new light, i removed my fans and haven't put them back in since. did you get it from bulk reef? if so call them, i called with the same complaints and they sent me a few supplies of choice. i got some fish foods and a refractometer...no charge! just to make things right......

Strange that those things would be overlooked by such a respectable manufacturer like IceCap. Maybe they focused most of their attention in making sure the the 'important' components were perfect. I can't complain in that department.
I don't think I had any issues with the legs but I'm not using them traditionally either. The front legs are on but do not sit on top of the tank. They rest on the canopy brackets (if that makes sense). The rear of the fixture sits on top of the rear brace of the canopy. I might just remove the canopy for a while and see how I like because its a PIA to do water changes, feed, clean the skimmer cup, etc... For almost all tank maintenance, I have to remove the fixture, lean it on the wall and remove the canopy just to access the top openings.
Anyways, 3 days left before the 8 weeks is up! I stopped by my not so local fish store and picked up a beautiful GBTA. After acclimation, I placed it on the rock I would like it to stay on. I did a couple of laps around the rock and settled right where I hoped it would! Lets just hope it stays there. I've already fed it a small piece of silverside just to see if the tentacles were tacky and it gobbled it up. After only a few hours, it seems to have made itself right at home. I opened fully and wedged its foot in a crevice. I sure hope I get lucky with this one since I've read MANY threads concerning anemones and their failure rate. Wish me luck!

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I finally was able to put the clowns back in the DT last night. Acclimation went well and they were behaving normally within a half hour. They even took up residence in the BTA .

[okiestranger]

Well done James I want to say congrats looks great ecerything. Excellent pictures.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Thanks Chris! Things are progressing slowly but shurly. How's your tank coming along? You should be pretty close to the 8 week mark right? You haven't updated your thread in a while...

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Just picked up a red mandarin yesterday. It was wild caught and only about 1 1/4" long but it's beautiful. I fed her today and she picked at a few pieces. Not sure if she actually ate but at least she's showing interest. She's still camera shy but I managed to get a couple of shots.

[twisted]

very nice james! the red mandarin looks good! ive found blood worms and cyclopese work real well and also mysis

[okiestranger]

Nice!!! That's a cool looking fish. Have no doubt you'll make her feel right at home. Good luck with her.

[okiestranger]

Hey James my friend I have a ? What type clowns do you have. I am be checking out a fish to start again with. I personally wanted to do the tomato clowns again. But Rita said she wants something diffrent. I like the clowns and been looking at true and false percula clowns. Looking like maybe the false perculas might be easier to maintain. I like the black accent of the true but if the false are easier to keep healthy then ill head that route. That are still beautiful fish.